Posted on 3/14/126 by Bob Magee
– Over flyover shots of Phoenix, the voice of Joe Tessitore
welcomed us to tonight’s show before he tossed it over to a
recap of last week’s Undisputed WWE Championship match that
saw Cody Rhodes regain the title over Drew McIntyre. After
that recap we got a shot of Rhodes chatting with Jelly Roll,
as well as Randy Orton walking backstage.
Drew McIntyre calls out Nick Aldis
Meanwhile, as Nick Aldis was looking over the Rhodes/Orton
contract, Drew McIntyre angrily interrupted and paced his
way into the ringside area. An incensed McIntyre demanded
that Aldis get out to the ring now to make it right. On cue,
Aldis walked down to the ramp and said that there was
nothing to “make right”. Part of being the Champion included
defending the title, and Aldis stated that McIntyre should
be looking at the consequences of his own actions.
McIntyre took exception and accused Aldis of being a
“corporate stooge”, so Aldis went for the jugular and said
maybe the reason why McIntyre kept screwing Rhodes over was
because the moment Cody got a fair shot, McIntyre lost. The
surly Scotsman stormed into the ring and threatened Aldis to
once again make things right, as this was “bullshit” in his
eyes. Just then, Jacob Fatu walked down to the ring to
confront his archnemesis.
“Yaddamean?” started Fatu, who said that there was nothing
to fix, because McIntyre wouldn’t even be champion if it
wasn’t for him. In his eyes, Fatu stated that he fixed the
situation because McIntyre was no longer champion. This
wasn’t about Aldis or Cody, so McIntyre kept blaming
everyone else. Fatu said to keep it one-hundred, he declared
that he was the one who screwed McIntyre’s ass. “So, what
are you going to to about it?”
Apparently fed up with it all, McIntyre said that he quit
WWE, as he walked off.
This seems like it will lead to a McIntyre/Fatu match at
WrestleMania, so it’ll be interesting to see how we get to
that off of this angle of McIntyre “quitting”.
***************
– Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s discussed strategy as the
former was set to team up with Talla Tonga against Uncle
Howdy & Erick Rowan. Sikoa once again asked Tama Tonga to
keep watch of the Wyatt Sicks’ lantern. As everyone but Tama
left, Shinsuke Nakamura once again talked to him about being
his own man before Sikoa returned and warned Nakamura to
stay away before he got hurt.
– Jacob Fatu was angry at Nick Aldis for Drew McIntyre
quitting until Trick Williams interrupted things, and from
there we got Jacob Fatu vs. Trick Williams made for tonight.
Uncle Howdy & Erick Rowan (w/ The Wyatt Sicks) vs. Solo
Sikoa & Talla Tonga (w/ M.F.T.s)
Talla and Rowan got things going with a big man battle as
they traded shoulder blocks. Talla struck Rowan in the face,
as he hit him with a headbutt and forced him into his team’s
corner. Sikoa tagged in and taunted Rowan, who responded
with a shoulder block to knock the M.F.T. patriarch down.
Howdy tagged in but quickly found himself trapped in the
enemy corner. Howdy tried to fight back, but Talla pulled
him out of the ring and threw him all about at ringside as
we took a break.
This match continued from the break as Talla was the legal
man and maintaining control over Howdy with a running splash
to the corner, followed by a Samoan Drop. Howdy, however,
kicked out at two following that. Sikoa tagged in and tried
to hit Sister Abigail on Howdy, but that got reversed into a
back suplex. With both men, the two men tried to reach their
respective big men as they got the tags in.
Rowan went on the attack against Talla with a running elbow
that knocked him down. Rowan then headed from the middle
turnbuckle for a diving attack for a near-fall. With Talla
down and out, Rowan lifted him on his shoulders, but Sikoa
blind tagged, which allowed Talla to escape and hit Rowan
with a clothesline. On the top rope, Sikoa went for a
splash, but Rowan got his knees up. Howdy tagged in and
attempted a Sister Abigail of his own, but got countered
into the Samoan Spike. Rowan broke up the count as he and
Talla took each other out at ringside. Things erupted at
ringside as the Wyatt Sicks and the M.F.T.s brawled all
around the ring. Sikoa exited the ring and took out Dexter
Lumis and Joe Gacy with Samoan Spikes.
As Sikoa entered the ring, he had Howdy at his mercy for the
Spike, but Nikki Cross grabbed the Wyatt Lantern, which got
Sikoa’s attention. This opened him up to a Sister Abigail
from Howdy and the three.
After the match, however, as Howdy held the Wyatt Lantern in
his hands, he was hit from behind by a the not-so-hidden
blade of the Cutthroat by Tama Tonga. This allowed the
M.F.T.s to retreat with the Lantern in toe.
Uncle Howdy & Erick Rowan def. Solo Sikoa & Talla Tonga via
pinfall
This feud is still limping onwards even after what feels
like an eternity of the Wyatts and M.F.T.s fighting over a
lantern. Yes, a lantern is somehow being treated as
important as, say, the literal title belts being held by the
M.F.T.s at the moment as tag champs. Look, guys, I don’t
have to tell you how much this feud stinks and how it’s
affecting my enjoyment of anything involving these two
factions, and probably the most generous thing I can say
about tonight was that the actual match was not terrible.
Then again, that’s essentially putting lipstick on a pig.
***************
– Kiana James & Giulia had some harsh words for Tiffany
Stratton ahead of James’ battle against her later tonight.
Jade Cargill vs. Michin
Michin attacked Cargill from behind in the ring, as she
struck with kicks and strikes before the match began proper.
When the bell rang, Michin continued her assault on Cargill
with a diving hurricanrana that sent the WWE Women’s
Champion out to the ring. Michin kept the offensive going
with a suicide dive to the outside. However, things changed
as the two got back into to the ring as Cargill hit Michin
with a pump kick. In ther corner, Cargill choked Michin by
planting a boot, as she then struck her in the back with
clubbing blows. Michin tried to fight from underneath, as
she used a feint to send her out of the ring. Michin kicked
Cargill from the apron and tried for a dive, but she was
caught for the fallaway slam and we took a commercial break
here.
We returned as Cargill hit Michin with a spinebuster for a
near-fall. Cargill tried for a chokeslam, but Michin tried
an escape. Cargill had her in position for Jaded, but again
couldn’t pull the trigger after Michin countered it. A
tornado DDT from Michin almost got the victory. Michin
maintained her edge with a modified Sliced Bread, followed
by Eat Defeat. However, Cargill rolled out of the ring to
avoid eating a pin. As Michin attempted a rolling senton,
Cargill dodged it and hit a powerbomb onto the timekeeper’s
barricade.
In the ring, Cargill grabbed Michin and licked her face
before a chokeslam and Jaded for the pin and win.
Jade Cargill def. Michin via pinfall
While I haven’t been too hot on this “feud” with Michin and
Cargill, this match was actually rather decent. And while
Cargill didn’t set the world on fire with her performance
tonight, she did well enough here.
***************
After the match Cargill was interviewed, but the champ took
the mic from Cathy Kelley to speak for herself. Cargill said
that the whole world thinks she should be scared of one
woman: Rhea Ripley. Cargill said that she didn’t see a
challenger or a threat in Ripley, and that she wasn’t afraid
of anything her whole life. Cargill promised to beat Ripley
at WrestleMania and that she’d be always on top.
This brought out the aforementioned Ripley to confront
Cargill. However, the WWE Women’s Champion thought better
and backed off from Ripley, who took a mic of her own.
Ripley said that Cargill wasn’t an icon of female
empowerement, and that come WrestleMania, Cargill would be
“her bitch”.
– Cody Rhodes chatted with Nick Aldis about his contract
with Randy Orton and that everything was in order. After
Aldis left, Sami Zayn and said that he didn’t want to make
this a thing, but he just wanted to congratulate Rhodes for
his win. The WWE Champion was short with Zayn asked what it
is he wanted and if that thing he wanted was a shot at WWE
Championship. Zayn said that he only talked with Randy Orton
that way because he looked up to him, but he didn’t look up
to Rhodes as he saw him as a “friend”.
Rhodes took exception and said that he spent the week
tellling everyone how magical Zayn was as he again was
wondering what this was all about. Rhodes said that maybe
Zayn didn’t need to look up to him, when he could just look
towards “this”, as he motioned at his Undisputed WWE Title.
As Rhodes left, Zayn again threw a fit as Aleister Black and
Zelina laughed at his plight, perhaps carrying the cross of
a familiar role left behind by others. Zayn threatened Black
to stay away from him.
– Backstage, Michin was nursing her wounds with B-Fab, as
Rhea Ripley tried to have a chat with her. While Michin
seemed to want to talk, B-Fab apparently didn’t share that
sentiment as she got Michin to leave with her.
– The Bella Twins made their way down to the ring and
addressed the crowd. Nikki and Brie said that it felt good
to be back on SmackDown, and that the reason they showed up
here was that they were set to be next in line for the
Women’s Tag Team Championships. As such, they’ll be at
ringside to scout the competition for this match coming up
next.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Irresistable Forces (Nia
Jax & Lash Legend) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss
Jax and Legend went after the challengers right away as the
bell rang. Bliss and Flair regrouped and managed to send Jax
and Legend out of the ring. Bliss tried to go for a diving
cannonball on the apron, but Jax caught her and slammed her
on the apron. Flair dropped Jax with a dive from the ring as
Legend then took her out with a big boot. The Irresistable
Forces stared down the Bella Twins at ringside as we took
another commercial break, just a few minutes after we had
one.
We returned from break as Bliss nearly got the tag to Flair,
but Legend intercepted her successfully. As Bliss headed to
the top rope, she was caught by Legend, but she rolled out
of harm’s way to finally get Flair into the match. Flair
unleashed a flurry of chops on Legend, followed by her
cartwheel clothesline. As Jax tagged in, Flair tried for a
move from the apron, but got caught into a Samoan Drop for
the near-fall. Jax dragged Flair to the corner and looked
for the Annihilator. Flair dodged at the last second and
instead connected with her moonsault. Legend broke up the
pin, as she fell victim to a tornado DDT from Bliss. Outside
the ring, the scuffle between Jax and Flair ended with the
Bella Twins caught in the crossfire.
Back in the ring, Flair connected with Natural Selection, as
Bliss headed to the top rope for Twisted Bliss. Brie Bella
stormed the ring and attacked the fallen Jax to cause a
disqualification. After the match, the Irresistable Forces
stood tall in the ensuing chaos.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss def. The Irresistable Forces
via Disqualification
I can’t say the idea of the Bella Twins entering the WWE
Women’s Tag Title scene, presumably at WrestleMania, is
going to move the needle at all. Just nothing good can come
from that. As far as this match was concerned, it was
nothing special, and the DQ finish didn’t help matters
either.
***************
– Jelly Roll had a chat with Damian Priest & R-Truth, who
were getting ready for their tag match against Los Garza.
Following that, Jelly met with his good pal Randy Orton, who
recommended that Jelly give The Miz an ass whooping later on
tonight during MizTV.
– Backstage, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss argued with The
Bella Twins, who once again stated that they had next.
Damian Priest & R-Truth vs. Los Garza (Angel & Berto)
Priest dropped Angel with a standing flapjack as Truth hit a
spinning kick. Truth took too long playing to the crowd,
which allowed Angel to take advantage with a kick, as Berto
was tagged into the match. Angel hit the running boot on a
prone Truth while Berto held him in position and added a
kick to the back of his own.
In the ring, Truth found his way back into the match with a
hurricanrana on Berto, followed by the running splash. Los
Garza took advantage again as Angel pulled down the middle
rope to cause Truth to spill to the outside. Angel and Berto
then hit stereo dives on their foes as we got yet another
commercial break.
This match resumed as Truth and Berto fought it out in the
middle of the ring, with the latter getting the best of his
foe. Angel tagged in aas he and Berto maintained control of
Truth at this stage of the match. Angel hit a vertical
suplex on Truth as he mocked him with a “you can’t see me”
taunt. That was met with with a suplex-into-stunner move by
Truth, as Priest finally entered with the hot tag. Priest
held his own against Angel and Berto with strikes a-plenty
for both. Priest held Berto and hit the Old School crossbody
from the ropes. Priest then blasted Berto with his signature
lariat. Angel broke up the pin as he got dispatched in short
order. Razor’s Edge attempt was interrupted by Angel who
blind tagged as he and Berto shelled Priest with high-flying
offense.
Priest blocked a moonsault from Berto with boots to the
face, as he held Angel in South of Heaven position. Angel
escaped, but he couldn’t avoid the Razor’s Edge from Priest.
Truth begged to be tagged in, as he and Priest hit their
finishers — Attitude Adjustment and South of Heaven,
respectively — on Los Garza for the win.
Damian Priest & R-Truth def. Los Garza via pinfall
I will say this, the Truth/Priest tag team is starting to
somewhat grow on me, and it highlights Priest’s strength as
a tag team guy, which is probably not a bad place for him
for the time being.
***************
– Alex Shelley was seen hanging out with Johnny Gargano &
Candice LeRae and trying to motivate Johnny to be his old
self again. He was met by his Motor City Machine Gun
partner, Chris Sabin, who didn’t seem too happy with Shelley
hanging around with the man who cost them the WWE Tag Team
Titles. Sabin told Shelley that he got them a match next
week against Fraxiom as he then challenged his partner to
show how committed he was to the MCMGs.
– The Miz was set to go to the ring, but he was interrupted
by the incomparable Danhausen, who hawked his new t-shirt to
him. Danhausen again listed off his demands to Miz just
before the interview with “Jelly Jam” but got blown off. In
response, Danhausen told Miz that he was now cursed.
MizTV with Jelly Roll
As The Miz began his introduction, his mic suddenly cut off
as he asked for another one that worked. Following that, Miz
introduced his guest, Jelly Roll.
Jelly stated that there was no way he’d miss his boys Randy
Orton and Cody Rhodes signing their WrestleMania contract
tonight right here in Phoenix. Miz interrupted and tried to
convince Jelly to take him on as a mentor, but only got a
“no” in response from Mr. Jelly.
Jelly stated that Miz had a history of stabbing his partners
in the back. Miz talked about how everyone discussed Jelly
Roll’s comeback story, but not the guy who was behind it.
Miz seemingly took credit for Jelly losing 250 pounds two
years ago. Mr. Jelly said that Miz should be disgusted for
taking credit for his successes and said he’d whoop his ass,
fat or skinny.
Before things could escalate, Kit Wilson interrupted things
and said that Miz should stop wasting time with Mr. Jelly.
Wilson said that the problem wasn’t Miz’s mentoring, but the
problem was Jelly himself. Jelly talked about how everyone
secretly liked Wilson as he showed off his dance moves to
him. Kit was upset about being supposedly mocked by Jelly,
and that losing weight doesn’t make him a hero. It makes him
nothing more than “fatphobic”. He then called Jelly “toxic”
afterwards. Wilson shoved Jelly as things began to escalate.
Jelly struck with a punch, but Wilson dodged as Miz got hit
by it instead.
Yikes. That segment was a bit rouugh, wasn’t it? That it was
anchored by the “usual” WWE sense of humor didn’t help at
all. That it’s leading to a Miz vs. Jelly Roll match at
WrestleMania 42 should put some butts in seats.
***************
– Apollo Crews and Ilja Dragunov were reacting to the
segment we just saw as Carmelo Hayes went to have a chat
with the latter. Dragunov said he was stuck between two
extremes: ultimate confidence and self-doubt. Hayes asked
him to lock in, unless there was something more to why he
couldn’t fight him. Dragunov said that he couldn’t fight
Hayes right now because he was fighting himself.
– As Tiffany Stratton was addressing Giulia and Kiana James,
Chelsea Green rolled up and got promptly pushed away just as
Stratton was on her way to the ring for her match with
James.
– Kit Wilson stood backstage with The Miz and said he’d go
to Nick Aldis and possibly seek a match against Jelly Roll.
Danhausen appeared again and asked if Miz got his teeth
knocked out by “Jimmy Jam” and that he could’ve taken the
fight to him if he was out there. Danhausen then reminded
Miz that ther was only one way to reverse the curse, as he
then vanished.
Tiffany Stratton vs. Kiana James (w/ Giulia)
Stratton and James started off with a bit of chain wrestling
before the latter used her agility to get ahead with an
early pinfall attempt. James responded by planting
Stratton’s face on the turnbuckle. That momentary advantage
was snuffed out as Stratton dodged a James attack. On the
apron, James hit a Dealbreaker on Stratton, which allowed
her to gain advantage as she then threw Stratton into the
barricade. That led us to, of course, a commercial break.
As we returned from break, Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre
appeared at ringside while Stratton connected with a
cartwheel cutter inside the ring for a near-fall. James
escaped a move from Stratton, as she countered the Alabama
Slam into a driver of her own. James went for a powerbomb,
but Stratton countered with the rolling senton and was going
to hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Giulia pulled James out
of the ring, so Stratton hit a dive on both James and Giulia
at ringside. In the chaos, the wheelchair-bound Green tried
to go after Stratton, but Giulia got in the way. At the end
of it, Stratton avoided a big boot from James, as she hit
Giulia instead, who then fell onto Green and Fyre.
Back in the ring, Stratton finished James off with the
rolling senton and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.
Tiffany Stratton def. Kiana James via pinfall
This was a fine match up until the weird shenanigans-filled
ending that kinda took me out of the whole thing. It does
seem like we’re potentially getting a multi-woman feud for
the Women’s U.S. Championship at WrestleMania when all is
said and done.
***************
Next Week on SmackDown
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Irresistable Forces
(Nia Jax & Lash Legend) vs. Nikki & Brie Bella
Kit Wilson calls out Jelly Roll
– As Trick Williams was getting ready to face Jacob Fatu,
Sami Zayn showed up to call him as someone who can’t back up
his big talk. Williams didn’t take too kindly and said that
if he didn’t have a match up next, he’d drop Zayn where he
stood.
Jacob Fatu vs. Trick Williams
Fatu and Williams locked up before they traded strikes in
the corner. Williams held momentum with chops to Fatu’s
chest, as he then athletically avoided a running strike into
the corner. Fatu seemed to get strength by headbutting the
top turnbuckle as he then hit his spinning elbow on Williams
and then struck him with repeated headbutts in the corner.
Williams tried to fight back with a neckbreaker, but Fatu
withstood the damage and then went after him with a
clothesline and an acrobatic moonsault. Fatu then
clotheslined Williams out of the ring as we took a timeout
here.
This match returned from the break as Fatu dropped Williams
with a jump-up Whisper in the Wind for the two-count.
Williams recovered and hit the spinning pump kick on Fatu
followed by the jumping neckbreaker for another two-count.
Williams beckoned Fatu to get up but he missed with the axe
kick. He made no mistake with the flapjack, however as
Williams kipped up to his feet. Willams had command with a
stytlish uranage, but that still wasn’t enough to put Fatu
away.
Williams stalked Fatu for the Trickshot knee, but ended up
in the throes of a pop-up Samoan Drop. Fatu then hit his
running hip attack in the corner as he then headed up top
for the Swanton Bomb. One, two… NO! Fatu looked to be going
in for the kill, but Williams rolled out of the ring.
Meanwhile, outside the ring, Drew McIntyre attacked Fatu
while the referee was checking up on Trick Williams. As
McIntyre threw Fatu back in the ring, Williams hit him with
two Trickshot knees and that’s it, over.
After the match, McIntyre took out Fatu with a Claymore
Kick.
Trick Williams def. Jacob Fatu via pinfall
I quite enjoyed this one, even if the Drew McIntyre
intereference finish was something everyone could see
coming. Trick getting wins over top names shows how much of
a big deal he’s being seen on SmackDown and he should
comfortably fit into the world title picture post-
WrestleMania.
***************
Cody Rhodes/Randy Orton WrestleMania contract signing
SmackDown GM Nick Aldis was in the ring as he addressed Drew
McIntyre’s actions moments ago. He made it official and
booked McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu for next week’s show. With
that order of business out of the way, Aldis then introduced
both Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes for the contract signing
for their WrestleMania 42 title match.
While Orton got a loud set of cheers from the crowd, the
reaction was a bit more mixed for the Undisputed WWE
Champion. Before the contract signing began, Rhodes and
Orton shared a respectful hug between friends as the former
took to the mic first.
“Phoenix, sounds like I know what you want to talk about,”
Rhodes said as he recounted his beginnings with Orton
starting in 2007. He talked about how how Orton went on to
become a WrestleMania main eventer and that he left. Then
once he returned, his brother didn’t come with him, there
was no “Codyverse”, but Orton was there. Rhodes said that he
wasn’t Orton’s brother or a son, but he was always proud to
be his boy as he signed the WrestleMania match contract.
Orton took a look at the contract and didn’t seem to know
how to react as he told that he didn’t think that Rhodes
understood how much Orton needed the title. Drew McIntyre
was supposed to be here facing him. Rhodes interrupted Orton
said that knew that we’d get the best version of Randy Orton
at WrestleMania when the bell rings. After the main event
when the last bell rings, Rhodes said that he’d always love
Orton.
As the two shared a hug, Orton bashed Rhodes’ head against
the table and then kicked him in the groin, much to the
protestations of the commentary team. Orton busted Rhodes
open with the steel steps as he then pushed Nick Aldis down.
With the announce table cleared, Orton continued his attack
on the Champion as the fans cheered on this heinous attack.
Orton lined up Rhodes’ head against the bottom half of the
steel steps which was set up against the commentary table as
the vanguard of referees and road agents showed up. Jelly
Roll tried to talk some sense into Orton, but he pushed him
down. As Orton backed away, everyone checked up on the
bloodied Rhodes before Orton ran down with a chair and
smashed against him. Orton rolled back into the ring and sat
on a chair and looked at the Undisputed WWE Title.
***************
Well, that was an effective way to intensify the feud by
giving us an unhinged heel Randy Orton, but… as you probably
noticed, the crowd cheering on as brave babyface Cody Rhodes
is beaten down to an inch of his life is making this a bit
of an uphill battle on WWE’s part. The intent was to sell
this as a brutal betrayal by a friend, but it’s slightly
undercut when fans, who are seemingly tired of Cody hovering
around the title picture again (whether or not they’re
justified is up for you to decide) are happily cheering his
brains getting blasted. That said, I did like this closing
segment despite the weird crowd dynamic.
As far as the rest of tonight’s SmackDown is concerned, it
was mediocre, save for the main event match and contract
signing. The Wyatts/M.F.T.s feud continues to be a snore
that persists even against all logic, and the other feuds
aren’t really inspiring anything whatsoever. With
WrestleMania in 5 weeks time, and slow ticket sales amidst a
middling build towards April 18 and 19th, time is quickly
running out for Paul Levesque and company to convince fans,
lapsed or otherwise, to tune in to Mania this year. Shows
like tonight’s SmackDown doesn’t inspire much hope that they
can do that.