Posted on 5/16/126 by Bob Magee
– Our show kicked off with the prerequisite arrivals to the
arena, including Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest & R-Truth and
The M.F.T.s, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, and Jade
Cargill’s crew. We then got a shot of hometown hero Trick
Williams in the middle of the Gamecocks’ stadium as we went
to a recap of last Saturday’s Backlash.
Trick Williams’ Columbia Homecoming
The night kicked off with the arrival of U.S. Champion Trick
Williams to a massive hometown reaction. He was accompanied
by Li’l Yachty and the Gamecocks mascot to the ring. With
the “Whoop That Trick” chants loudly filling the air of the
Colonial Life Arena, Williams introduced himself and said
that he was back home in Columbia.
Williams said he was proud of representing WJ Keenan High
School, and the University of South Carolina growing up.
Williams said he remembered driving up the road to his
favorite restaurant, “Kiki’s Trickin’ and Waffles”, with the
chicken wings so good that you had to eat them while
standing up. He recounted eating these mythical chicken
wings and how they related to his now-famous “lemon-peppa
steppas”.
Williams talked about his family being in the crowd as he
recounted his days with the Gamecocks. So, to WJ Keenan, to
U.S.C., to his mama, Williams declared himself as the star
that they helped create.
The Miz rudely interrupted the celebrations, as he mocked
the Gamecocks mascot and the Gingerbread Man last week. Miz
said that Williams was being a joke by bringing all these
costumed characters to WWE. L’il Yachty stepped up and told
Miz and Kit Wilson were being disrespectful to the hometown
hero, as he pointed out that this was the reason why Miz was
cursed by Danhausen. Kit Wilson joined in with some “slam
poetry”, as he called himself “Kit Willy”. Wilson read his
supposedly-disparaging slam poetry about Williams and
Yachty.
Yacht didn’t like what Wilson had to say and offered his own
diss verses against him, stating that Miz and Wilson came
out cocky because they had “little tiny balls”. Miz angrily
shouted that they wouldn’t bring the Tiny Balls talk back as
he demanded for a referee to come ou. Miz said he was going
to whoop Williams’ ass in front of his mama. Wilson spoke a
bit too much trash an paid for it by getting thrown out of
the ring. Miz soon found himself flat on his back, and we
learned that we would indeed see this match coming up after
the break.
I think it’s no secret that I much preferred this over the
Gingerbread Man antics of last week. Williams looked like a
natural and had the hometown crowd in the palm of his hands
for this opening segment. My only complaint is the “Miz has
Tiny Balls” running gag is not really as funny as WWE wants
us to believe.
*******************
Trick Williams vs. The Miz
We kicked things off right after the break as Miz backed
Williams into the corner. A disrespectful shove from Miz was
met by a harder push to the ground from the U.S. Champion.
Williams fired up and blasted Miz with a flying shoulder
block that sent his foe into the apron. Miz dropped
William’s head over the top rope to gain the momentum as he
headed up to the top rope. Miz’s dive was intercepted by a
gut shot from Williams. Miz responded with a Kitchen Sink
strike, followed by the running boot to a seated Williams.
Miz choked at Williams across the middle rope as he then
struck him with the running kick to the back of the head.
Miz held control of the match with stomps to Williams, but
missed with the running boot. Williams turned that into a
jumping neckbreaker on Miz, followed by the slaps in the
corner and the “Whoop That” stomps. Miz got out of the way
of a running boot from Williams by leaving the ring. Miz
missed the sliding dropkick to the outside as Williams threw
him around the barricades. Behind the referee’s back, Wilson
struck Williams with a running elbow, as Miz finally
connected with the rope-assisted sliding dropkick. We took a
break on Miz getting in Li’l Yachty’s face at ringside.
This opening match returned from break with Miz and Williams
exchanging strikes, but it was the U.S. Champion who got the
best of his foe with his signature strikes. A scoop slam
from Williams was followed by the stylish Book-End for a
near-fall. Miz went for Williams’ eyes and almost had the
Skull-Crushing Finale, but couldn’t connect. He did,
meanwhile, nail the torquing DDT on Williams for the close
two-count. Miz went for his kicks to a kneeling Williams,
but missed on the last one as that got turned into a pin
attempt. Williams dropped Miz with a flapjack as he hyped
himself up. Kit Wilson pulled at the foot of Williams, as
Miz eventually hit a Skull-Crushing Finale on his
opponent.Williams kicked out at two as Wilson tried to
distract the referee. The Miz went to grab a kendo stick,
but Li’l Yachty intercepted him and stole the weapon. Yachty
blasted Wilson with the kendo stick, and meanwhile in the
ring, Williams finished Miz off with the Trick Shot knee.
Trick Williams def. The Miz via pinfall
Not gonna lie, I kinda enjoyed this opener. It was far from
a great in-ring match, but the crowd was hot for it and
giving the hometown hero Williams his moment unspoiled
really added to it.
*******************
– Backstage, Carmelo Hayes was interviewed about his match
against Ricky Saints later tonight, his first in a while.
Hayes said that he was shooting for the U.S. Championship as
he was interrupted by Ricky Saints. Hayes talked about how
“this place” had a funny way of humbling people like Saints
eventually. Saints continued to talk trash to Hayes as he
left. “Like looking into a dirty mirror,” Hayes spoke of
Saints.
– Elsewhere, after Nick Aldis chatted with Rey Fenix, Sami
Zayn approached him and said that he needed to do things the
right way, and that he wanted to earn a U.S. Title shot.
Problem for Zayn, according to Aldis, he already had his
U.S. Title rematch. Zayn angrily pointed out that he had
supposedly earned his shot after all that he’s done, and
it’s something that his “ride or dies” see. Aldis didn’t see
it that way, stating that all he saw from Zayn as of late
was nothing but “entitlement” as he left. Zayn looked like
he was going to blow a gasket, but Rey Fenix returned and
tried to calm him down. Zayn was delusional and didn’t think
he had changed.
– Paige and Brie Bella were interviewed before their
upcoming match as it was clear that the target was on their
backs now more than ever. The Irresistible Forces
interrupted and stated that they were going to take the WWE
Women’s Tag Titles back from Paige and Brie. The Women’s Tag
Champs left Nia Jax and Lash Legend hanging as they had a
match to get ready for.
Brie Bella & Paige vs. Giulia & Kiana James
James and Brie opened the match for their teams, as the
former showed her power off with a forceful shove. Brie
avoided a boot from James and followed that with a side
Russian legsweep. Paige tagged in as she and Brie showed
some nice double team offense with a boot from the Brit and
a bulldog from Brie. Giulia entered the match and took it to
Paige with hard strikes to the chest in the corner. Giulia
then hit the snap suplex and went for the cover, to no
success. Paige recovered and hit a version of the Shining
Wizard after a snapmare on Giulia. Paige struck Giulia with
kicks across the chest, but James tripped her up on the
apron. Giulia recovered and threw Paige into the ring post
as we took a break in the action.
We returned as Giulia continued to take it to Paige on the
top rope. Giulia had her opponent set up for a risky move,
but Paige fought back and turned it into a sunset flip
powerbomb. Paige struggled to get to her corner, but Brie
got the hot tag. Brie went into “Brie Mode” as she blasted
both James and Giulia with knee strikes on opposite ends of
the ring. Brie then hit them with the Bryan Danielson kicks,
followed by the Bella Buster on James. Giulia broke up the
count but got thrown out for her troubles. Tag by Giulia as
James hit Brie with the lungblower, followed by a Northern
Lights Bomb from Giulia. Paige broke up the count. James
accidentally sent a running Paige into Giulia, which took
her out of the ring.
With James’ partner out of the equation, Paige finished this
match off with Rampaige for the three.
Brie Bella & Paige def. Giulia & Kiana James
That was a bit rough, to say the least. The spear that
Giulia took from Paige at the end did not look good at all.
Not terrible by any means, but really quite evident that
there wasn’t any chemistry between Brie/Paige and
Giulia/Kiana.
*******************
– Women’s U.S. Champion Tiffany Stratton was interviewed
about how the women’s division had strong alliances all
around and where she fit in. Just then, Giulia and Kiana
James bickering about their loss just now interrupted.
Stratton noted that she was doing well enough alone, but
Chelsea Green interrupted her. Green tried to get Stratton
to be on her team, but got ignored.
Cody Rhodes wants an answer from Gunther
The Undisputed WWE Champion made his way down with the
SmackDown contract of Gunther in hand, looking for an answer
from his would-be Clash in Italy foe. Rhodes threw some
office chairs into the ring followed by a table, looking
like he was set to do an impromptu contract signing. With
the tables and chairs set up in the ring, Rhodes got down to
business.
“Columbia, South Carolina… what do you wanna talk about?”
asked Rhodes as he talked about how he had all the formal
ingredients for the contract signing, including a SmackDown
contract and the Clash in Italy match contract for Gunther,
and that’s what they were going to do right now.
Out came “The Ring General”, and he angrily asked Rhodes
about how much time it took to get this roster transfer, and
how Rhodes made it all about himself, like a typical
American. Gunther pointed out how Rhodes was supposedly
complaining and crying every week and made it about himself.
All Gunther wanted out of Rhodes was to be professional
about it, stating that he had to ask nicely.
Rhodes responded by stating that Gunther was the one who got
the drop on him and that he was the one who made the favor
with Paul Heyman to get this title match. Rhodes then said
“please come sign this contract, so that you’re guaranteed
to get your ass kicked at Clash in Italy!”
Gunther said that Rhodes didn’t mean it when he said it, as
he was unexpectedly interrupted by Royce Keys. The
powerhouse made it simple… “If you won’t sign it, I will,”
as Keys made his way down to the ring. Just as Keys was
about to sign the contract, Gunther stopped him and got into
Keys’ face. Before anything could unravel, Nick Aldis
interrupted.
Aldis talked about how that contract was supposed to have
Gunther’s name on it, but he overplayed his hand with is
antics, so that means the Clash in Italy title shot was up
in the air. This led to Aldis making the match: Royce Keys
vs. Gunther with the Clash in Italy title shot up for grabs.
As Gunther left to argue with Aldis, Rhodes simply told Keys
the same thing he told Gunther last week: “I’m easy to find,
hard to beat.”
This was a good segment, and setting up a potentially good
match in Keys vs. Gunther as our main event is a nice bonus.
*******************
– Solo Sikoa gave marching orders to Tama Tonga and Talla
Tonga backstage. Sikoa told Tama to take care of Damian
Priest while he and Talla were going to pay Royce Keys a
little visit. As Sikoa and Talla left, Shinsuke Nakamura had
words for Tama, but Talla charged in and attacked him. Talla
chokeslammed Nakamura onto a cargo crate as the ineffective
team of backstage staff came too late to stop the carnage.
– Nick Aldis went at it with Gunther backstage, again
reiterating that the big man overplayed his hands with his
antics and refusal to sign the SmackDown contract. Aldis
remarked that maybe Paul Heyman rubbed off on him a bit.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints
Saints got the upper hand with a cheap shot on Hayes as the
bell rang. Hayes recovered, but missed on the first
dropkick. A second attempt did hit its target as Hayes threw
Saints into the corner and chopped him. Saints wrenched the
arm of Hayes and went up for a little Old School action that
connected. Saints was sent to the apron by Hayes and left in
position for the springboard leg drop. The former U.S.
Champion then soared over the top rope for the Fosbury Flop
that left Saints down and out as we took a break.
This match returned from commercial as Hayes pushed Saints
off the top rope as he got maximum hangtime on the frog
splash for the two-count. Hayes attempted the First 48, but
Saints blocked it and hit him with a forearm strike,
followed by the high-angle driver for the two-count. Our
match was inexplicably interrupted by a “preview” of a movie
called Pressure while Saints applied a chinlock on Hayes.
Hayes broke free from the hold and leveled Saints with
superkicks a-plenty. He then followed it up with the
springboard forearm strike as he had Saints in his sights.
The Dirty Diana from Hayes, but Saints kicked out at two.
Saints hit Hayes with the boot to the face, followed by a
rebound back suplex for the two-count. A frustrated Saints
tried to lift Hayes up, but he couldn’t. A couple of stomps
from Saints finally had him open for the Revolution DDT.
Hayes reversed and turned it into the First 48. One, two…..
2.9999999!!!!!!!!!! Hayes struggled to get himself back up
top to the top rope, but he missed the Nothin’ But Net.
Saints then followed it with the Revolution DDT, but Hayes
somehow kicked out at the very last second.
Saints failed to hit Roshambo, so he pushed Hayes into the
turnbuckle and tried to get a dirty rope-assisted pin.
Referee Charles Robinson noticed the feet of Saints on the
ropes and stopped the count. Saints argued with Robinson as
Hayes snuck up and rolled up Saints to get the three… with a
little help from the bottom rope.
Carmelo Hayes def. Ricky Saints via pinfall
This was a solid match and a great return for Carmelo Hayes,
who was sorely missed after time off from TV. I thought this
was Saints’ best match to date in his short time on
SmackDown, and Hayes was the perfect opponent for this one.
*******************
– Danhausen was hanging out in his “lab” as he was planning
something “even bigger, better, and larger” on the horizon.
Danhausen dragged a body on a stretcher with a towel draped
over it and was messing about with curious intent on his
computer.
Damian Priest vs. Tama Tonga
Tama went right after Priest as the bell rang, but soon
found himself being pummeled in the corner with the rights.
Tama got cracked with a backwards elbow from Priest. The
goozle from Priest was broken by Tama, but the New York
native hit him with a big boot. Tama got sent out and Priest
was locking and loading for a running attack. Tama
intercepted with a dive off the steps, and the sport-style
replay of that last spot took us to the break.
The match returned from commercial as Priest had Tama
stunned in the corner. He then attempted a Razor’s Edge.
Tama turned that into a rear naked choke as Priest broke the
hold by backing into the corner. Tama then got Priest with
the jumping DDT for the near-fall. Priest withstood Tama’s
shots, which agitated him and he launched his own strikes.
Step-over shoulder block by Priest, followed by the spinning
kick. Tama found himself flattened by the Flatliner of
Priest. Body splash in the corner into the Broken Arrow from
Priest, but that wasn’t enough for the win. Priest tried for
his rebound lariat, but Tama smartly rolled out of the ring
to avoid it. Priest sent Tama over the announce table with a
pounce as he sent him back into the ring afterwards. Priest
headed up top and kind of lost balance off the top rope,
which allowed Tama to get him with the swinging neckbreaker.
One, two… not quite.
Tama went for a double underhook maneuver, but Priest got
ahead of that as he had him held by the throat. Tama escaped
the hold, but the rebound lariat made its mark. Straps went
down and so did Tama as he took a ride South of Heaven and
Priest got the win.
After the match, Talla Tonga absolutely pasted Priest with a
kick. Solo Sikoa got Priest with the Samoan Spike with no R-
Truth or Royce Keys making the save.
Damian Priest def. Tama Tonga via pinfall
Decent match, but again, my general apathy for the M.F.T.s
as a unit is quite clear, especially in this broken down
form after recent releases.
*******************
– Sami Zayn was speaking about his troubles of being called
to the sad-sack Johnny Gargano, who was still lying down,
unmoving.
Jade Cargill speaks her mind
The former WWE Women’s Champion, flanked by her friends B-
Fab and Michin, made their way down to the ring, as Wade
Barrett referred to them as “Baddies”.
Once Cargill got into the ring, she started by saying that
everyone acted so tough when she wasn’t in the building. So,
when her music hit, everyone seemed to become more quiet.
Rhea Ripley found that the hard way, and at Clash in Italy,
the WWE Women’s Championship was coming home with her.
Before Cargill could wrap up in her usual manner, Charlotte
Flair interrupted, with mic in hand. Alexa Bliss soon
followed, also with a mic in hand.
Flair said that nobody wanted to hear Cargill talk, because
this was Flair Country, according to Bliss. Flair talked
about how she and Cargill had been doing this dance for the
last few years, but last week finally pissed her off. Bliss
stated that B-Fab and Michin were there to make Cargill look
good. Cargill demanded a referee to get out so that the tag
match could start.
This was dire, if we’re being honest. I’m just not a fan of
Cargill’s faction as a trio, when a better version of them
exists in the form of Fatal Influence.
*******************
– Yet another vignette for Blake Monroe aired as the debut
is still coming.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. B-Fab & Michin
Flair got it going by lifting Michin with a toss, but
couldn’t follow it up as Michin grabbed hold of the rope and
got out of the ring. Once Michin got in the ring, Flair
again dropped her with a takedown, but a shot to the back of
the leg turned it around. Flair recovered and threw Michin
in the corner as she hit her with a chop and a step-up boot
to the face. Michin countered and slammed her after she
grabbed her by the hair. Michin kept momentum going with a
hurricanrana and a spinning kick afterwards. Flair avoided a
drop kick from Michin and wrapped her leg around her foe’s
head and slammed her thrice. Bliss and B-Fab entered, as the
latte was shelled by a dropkick and the double knees to the
back of the head. Michin’s distraction from the apron
allowed B-Fab to get the advantage as she punched her
repeatedly. Bliss countered with a boot and went up top for
a diving attack. B-Fab caught her and slammed her face-first
as we took a commercial break.
We returned from the break as Michin and B-Fab kept Bliss
isolated for a moment. Michin intercepted Bliss and hoisted
her on her shoulder. Too much showboating from Michin led to
Bliss capitalizing with a DDT to create some separation.
Flair with the hot tag as she launched herself for the
crossbody on B-Fab. Flair then leveled both B-Fab and Michin
with the chops to the chest. Fallaway slam by Flair to B-Fab
and Michin, with the message to Jade Cargill made all the
more clear. As Flair headed to the top rope, Cargill stepped
to the apron, which allowed B-Fab to trip up Flair. Michin
hit a missile dropkick on Flair as she and B-Fab hit a
double pump-kick. Bliss broke up the count in the nick of
time. B-Fab rolled up Flair for the pin, but that got turned
into the Figure-Four leg lock. Michin broke the submission,
but found herself clotheslined out of the ring. Bliss blind
tagged as Flair delivered kicks to Michin and B-Fab. Sister
Abigail DDT from Bliss, but Cargill pulled her from the pin
to cause the DQ finish.
Post-match, The Baddies tried to get the jump on Flair, but
found themselves waylaid by a determined Flair.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss def. B-Fab & Michin via
Disqualification
This was a fine enough match, but I was not fond of the DQ
finish. Seems like a creative crutch that gets used often in
WWE as of late.
*******************
– Fatal Influence were interviewed backstage. Jacy Jayne and
crew put themselves over a group that believed loyalty was a
currency and that it would soon pay dividends with Fatal
Influence holding all the gold in SmackDown’s women’s
division.
– Backstage, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss were licking
their wounds, as the two conceded that they were going to
need help to deal with Jade Cargill and her Baddies.
– A recap of Jacob Fatu destroying Roman Reigns on Raw this
past Monday was shown.
– Royce Keys was preparing for his match against Gunther
when Solo Sikoa approached him and again offered to help
out. Sikoa said that Keys should seek his help, because what
happened to Shinsuke Nakamura would happen to him if Keys
wasn’t careful. Keys calmly said “I got this” and left, as
Sikoa noted that Jacob Fatu said the same thing to him a
while back.
Next Week on SmackDown (Lexington, KY):
Talla Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Saturday Night’s Main Event:
Intercontinental Championship: Penta (c) vs. Ethan Page
World Tag Team Championships: The Vision (Logan Paul &
Austin Theory) (c) vs. Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo
Dawkins)
Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, & Rhea Ripley vs. The Baddies
(Jade Cargill, B-Fab, & Michin)
Gunther vs. Royce Keys (Winner Faces Cody Rhodes at Clash in
Italy)
The SmackDown main event began with a test of strength
between these two big meaty men. Gunther pushed Keys in the
corner and piefaced him, as Keys responded with a punch to
the face of his opponent. Gunther backed out of the ring as
Keys beckoned him to fight in the ring. Gunther stepped into
the ring and again got out. Once Gunther returned to the
ring, he hit Keys with a boot to the gut, followed by a chop
to the chest. Side headlock by Gunther was broken by Keys,
as the two traded running shoulder blocks. Keys finally took
Gunther down with a shoulder block, as he took the knife-
edge chops and barely reacted. Gunther took a run at the
powerhouse and got dropped with the Bulldog-strength
powerslam that sent his foe out of the ring. With Gunther
looking for a breather at ringside,. Keys didn’t give him
any time to breath with the throw into the LED barricades.
Keys then threw Gunther over the announce table as we took
our final commercial break.
Our main event returned from the break as Keys attempted a
suplex on Gunther, who escaped two attempts and hit his foe
with a chop. However, Keys turned that around for the suplex
on the third try. Gunther got back on it with the knee to
the gut followed by a hard chop to the chest and the near-
fall. Keys was thrown out of the ring by Gunther, who took
time to mock the crowd before he stepped to the apron.
Gunther attempted a big boot from the apron, but Keys caught
him and dropped him for three World Strongest Slams onto the
announce table. Back in the ring, Gunther caught Keys with
the big boot, but failed to connect on the second strike.
This gave Keys a brief opening, but he got dropped with the
Gunther clothesline.
Gunther tried to ascend to the top, but was sent back down
to earth with a Keys superplex for a close near-fall. As the
two big men shambled back to their feet, Gunther caught Keys
by surprise with the sleeper as he brought him down to the
ground. Solo Sikoa appeared at ringside to “motivate” Keys.
Sikoa’s appearance seemed to distract Gunther, which allowed
Keys to escape the hold and then level his opponent with the
flying clothesline. Keys made Big E proud as he struck down
Gunther with the hard lariat for the near-fall. Keys put
Gunther on his shoulders, but once again found himself in
the sleeper hold. Keys again fought back and freed himself
from the hold. The pounce from Keys pushed Gunther into the
referee, which allowed Sikoa to grab a steel chair and try
to give it to Keys. An emphatic rejection by Keys
unfortunately opened him up for Gunther’s clothesline and
powerbomb, and that’s it, over. Gunther will face Cody
Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Clash in
Italy.
After the match, as Gunther was taunting the camera, Cody
Rhodes got the last word in with a Cross Rhodes on his Clash
in Italy opponent.
Gunther def. Royce Keys via pinfall (will face Cody Rhodes
at Clash in Italy)
*******************