Posted on 8/03/124 by Bob Magee
– Corey Graves welcomed everyone into the show as a shot of
the Cleveland Browns Stadium was shown.
– Logan Paul pulled up backstage in a Prime truck. Paul
shook hands with SmackDown GM Nick Aldis. Cody Rhodes’s
music hit and we went to the first proper segment.
The Cody/Bloodline segment
This was all right. I could be in the minority, but for me,
this match just hasn’t clicked for me. Still, I can see WWE
trying – and Sikoa, especially, has gained something in all
of this – but I can’t buy into Cody losing at SummerSlam,
even if it is now going to be a Bloodline Rules match.
Speaking of that, Sikoa noted how Cody keeps talking about
his WreslteMania match being a Bloodline Rules match … but
has he? I don’t seem to recall Cody bringing that up a ton
in this build, but maybe my brain is fried. Either way, the
Bloodline Rules makes tomorrow’s main event at least a
little more intriguing.
Cody soaked in “Cody!” cheers and then asked Cleveland what
they wanted to talk about. Cody said he wanted to talk to
Solo Sikoa and Sikoa’s music hit. Out walked Sikoa, who was
alone. Loud “We want Roman!” chants began. Sikoa pointed to
the crowd and Sikoa said, “Cleveland, Ohio, acknowledge me.”
The crowd chanted “Solo sucks!” Cody said he saw a chip on
Solo’s shoulder and what Solo has done hasn’t been easy.
Cody said from a distance, he almost admires what Solo has
been able to do. Cody said tomorrow night at SummerSlam, the
bell is going to ring and when it rings … Solo cut Cody off
and asked him if he was done.
Solo said Cody was wasting his time. Cody said he wasn’t
done and Solo was a self-appointed Tribal Chief while Cody
is the actual WWE Champion. Cody named-dropped Randy Orton
and Kevin Owens and said if he loses to Solo, he can’t repay
his debt to Randy and Kevin. Cody said he wants to pay them
back with Solo’s blood. Cody referenced beating Roman at
WrestleMania in a Bloodline Rules match. Solo called Roman a
weak Tribal Chief. Solo said Solo is not weak, Solo is
dangerous. Solo said he’s going to show Cody how dangerous
he is at SummerSlam. The crowd started a “What?” chant and
Jacob Fatu began walking through the crowd. Tama Tonga
appeared as well. Tonga Loa followed suit.
In the midst of this, Sikoa asked Cody if he wanted the
match Saturday to be a Bloodline Rules match. Cody spoke to
all the members of the Bloodline and called Fatu a mean
name. Cody accepted making tomorrow’s match a Bloodline
Rules match. Solo asked Cody if he knew what Solo could do
before SummerSlam. Solo said tonight, the tag titles come
back to the Bloodline while tomorrow, Cody’s title comes
back to the Bloodline, too. Cody said he won’t have to fight
Solo’s family; all he’ll have to do is defeat the Tribal
Chief and since the Tribal Chief isn’t there, he’ll settle
for the wannabe. Cody’s music hit and the segment ended.
**********
– A Carmelo Hayes vignette aired and he spoke about Andrade.
Melo said all Andrade does is quit and switch teams. Melo
said the next time he and Andrade wrestle, Melo will win
because when Melo shoots, he doesn’t miss. Andrade then made
his entrance for a match against Hayes.
Andrade defeated Carmelo Hayes [16:06]
It would have made sense for Hayes to win and even the
series but I had a gut feeling we might get another Andrade
win. I like it. As for the match, I prefer their first bout,
but that could also be because it kind of came out of
nowhere. The expectations here were higher, and I’m not sure
they lived up to it. Still, they made use of the increase in
time they got and some of the near-falls towards the end
were a lot of fun. The first match felt like a sprint; this
felt a bit bloated. How will No. 3 go?
The match opened with a fury of action, topped off with some
tough chops exchanged. Andrade got the upper hand with a
dropkick and went for a vertical suplex, but Hayes countered
into an inside cradle for a one-count. Andrade returned the
favor for a two-count. Andrade went for his finisher, but
Hayes pushed him away and rolled to the outside. The show
then went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Hayes ran Andrade into the ring steps
on the outside. Hayes put the boots to Andrade. Back inside
the ring, Hayes hit a super-kick for a two-count. Hayes then
worked on Andrade’s arm. Andrade worked his way out and
landed a chop, dragon-screw and a forearm. Andrade went for
a double-knees, but Hayes moved. Andrade went for a
springboard move, but Hayes cut him off. Hayes followed up
with a suplex and and went to the top, but Andrade cut him
off. Andrade hit a super-plex from the top and both guys
were down as the show went to a break.
Back from the break, Andrade fired up and pushed Hayes over
the top to the outside. Andrade followed that up with a
moonsault from the second turnbuckle onto the outside.
Inside the ring, Hayes hit a Spacebuster out of nowhere.
Andrade came back with a back elbow and the double moonsault
spot, which resulted in a good near-fall. Andrade worked a
figure-four until Hayes got to the ropes for a break. Hayes
came back with a pair of super-kicks. Hayes went to the top,
but Andrade moved. Hayes went for a roll-up but Andrade
countered with one of his own and got the surprise win.
**********
– Legado Del Fantasma was shown backstage and Santos Escobar
was chewing out his faction. Escobar said their fortunes
will turn by beating Apollo Crews tonight.
Santos Escobar defeated Apollo Crews [3:33]
This was sort of a nothing match, but it continues to be
nice to see Crews and Corbin get some TV time. I can’t say
this makeshift feud feels particularly interesting, but it
does give everyone involved something to do and there’s
something to be said for that.
Escobar attacked Crews with a boot to begin the match. Baron
Corbin appeared at ringside to cheer Crews. Escobar hit a
tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a two-count. After a minute or
so, Crews came back with a belly-to-belly suplex and
followed that up with a series of clotheslines. Corbin hit
Angel on the outside of the ring. Inside the ring, Crews hit
a standing moonsault for a two-count. Crews went to the top
and someone grabbed Corbin from under the ring. Escobar
landed a Phantom Drive on Crews inside the ring for the win.
**********
– Cargill & Belair were interviewed backstage. Belair said
they had been waiting for their match with Fyre & Dawn.
Belair said they will walk out with the tag belts.
The Logan Paul segment
Meh. Maybe it’s on me tonight because I feel like I might be
being too negative on this fine evening, but this does not
feel like a big deal go-home show. I expected more from
these two, and if the crescendo was going to be Knight
driving off with Paul’s truck … maybe do something sinister
to Paul’s truck to punctuate the whole thing? Oddly, Paul
didn’t get the response I think everyone involved was
looking for in his hometown. The crowd started hot, but the
more he talked, the more he lost them. Conversely, the
Knight pop was there to begin with, but it didn’t hold as he
roamed around backstage. Everything just felt less than what
it could have been.
Paul said “Cleveland, I’m home,” and the crowd booed loudly.
Paul said he had never met a guy so eager to take a belt off
him and it turns out Knight isn’t Paul’s type. Paul said
Knight is delusional if he thinks he’s going to beat Paul in
his hometown. The crowd chanted Knight’s name. Paul said he
inspires and represents Cleveland. Paul said, “I am
Cleveland.”
Paul said he’s had two title defenses in 273 days. The crowd
was a bit subdued as Paul said he can’t relate to the
audience because he actually made it. Paul introduced the
people he had in the ring, whom he called “Cleveland’s
finest.” Aldis chimed in saying the people in the ring
weren’t important, but Paul said Aldis doesn’t know
anything. Paul unveiled a banner of himself and it was
defaced with a big “Yeah!” LA Knight’s music then hit and
Knight walked out.
Knight taunted Paul as the crowd said “Yeah!” Knight said
they were 24 hours away from Paul losing his title. Knight
called Paul out for being from a suburb of Cleveland and not
actually Cleveland. Knight said he’s going to give Paul a
gift – another banner. Knight walked to the back and ran
into Pretty Deadly, who were going over their musical.
Knight walked away from them and asked people if they had a
banner. Knight found the Prime truck Paul came to the venue
in. Knight drove off in the Prime truck as Paul threw a fit
to end the segment.
**********
Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair defeated The Unholy Union (Alba
Fyre & Isla Dawn) via DQ [7:33]
I’m not a fan of these types of finishes, but I didn’t
expect to see one here. Also on the plus side, this inserts
Davenport into an important program and I’ve been wondering
of SmackDown would ever get around to doing that. So, I
can’t complain too much. Also worth nothing: Cargill is
getting better. It’s hard to see, because we don’t see her
work that much, but her selling has improved a lot during
this run with Belair and she feels like a more complete
wrestler than she was. Good for her.
Fyre and Dawn tried to jumpstart the match, but Cargill and
Belair countered it with stereo fallaway slams. Cargill and
Dawn began the official match and Cargill had control before
she tagged in Belair, who went for a suplex, but Fyre ran in
to break it up. Things broke down and all four women were in
the ring. Cargill and Belair landed stereo guerrilla press
slams and the show went to a break.
The show returned and Fyre was working over Cargill. Fyre
kicked Cargill in the midsection and hit a backstabber. Dawn
tagged in and landed a splash for a good near-fall. Cargill
came back with a double suplex on Dawn and Fyre and then
Belair received the hot tag. Belair hit a double cross-body
and took out both opponents. Belair landed a moonsault on
Fyre for a two-count and Cargill ran in. Cargill and Dawn
fought on the outside and Fyre rolled up Belair for a two-
count. Out of nowhere, Blair Davenport showed up and ran
Cargill into the ring steps to end the match. The heels took
out both Cargill and Belair after the match, throwing
Cargill over the commentary table.
**********
– Tiffany Stratton was shown crying over her MITB briefcase.
Nia Jax showed up and gave Tiff her own MITB briefcase on
the condition Stratton doesn’t cash in. Chelsea Green and
Piper Niven showed up and Green blamed Stratton for Green
not winning the MITB ladder match. Stratton said green isn’t
Green’s color and left. We then went back to the ring for
the main event.
The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga) defeated #DIY
(Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) to win the WWE Tag Team
Titles [9:15]
This was shorter than I expected, but the outcome was,
indeed, expected. Good for Jacob Fatu, though, who’s been
through it and now has WWE gold around his waist (or Sikoa’s
shoulder). That said, I’m a bit tired of WWE playing hot
potato with their tag belts, so I could go for a nice long
title run from Fatu and Tonga. The match was fine, but
nothing particularly memorable outside of Fatu popping up
after taking a Poison-Rana. When it comes to Gargano and
Ciampa … hey, at least they got a title run, right?
Tonga and Ciampa started the match with Tonga getting the
best of it. Tonga threw Ciampa into a ring post and Ciampa
was down on the outside of the ring as the show went to its
final commercial break. Back from break, Gragano received a
hot tag and Gargano took Fatu and Tonga out with a fury of
moves. Gargano hit a spear on Tonga for a two-count. Ciampa
tagged in and landed an Air Raid Crash on Tonga for a good
near-fall.
Ciampa chopped Tonga, but Fatu got in a blind tag and ran
right into Ciampa. Fatu hit a hip attack on Ciampa and
tagged in Tonga, who hit a splash. Tonga went for a cover,
but Gargano broke it up. Outside the ring, Fatu ran at
Gargano, who was up against the ring steps, but Gargano
moved and Fatu ran into the steps. Gargano tagged in and
#DIY hit a Shatter Machine. Solo Sikoa hopped on the apron
and hit a Samoan Spike on Ciampa as the referee was
distracted. Tonga tried to capitalize, but Gargano kicked
out of a pin attempt.
Fatu and Tonga beat down Gargano and give the world the No.
1 pose. Gargano came back with a series of super-kicks on
everyone. Tonga was taken out by a suicide dive from
Gargano. Gargano then hit a Poison-Rana on Fatu, but Fatu
got right back up and hit his pop-up Samoan Drop. Fatu
landed a moonsault and the implant DDT for the win. The
Bloodline posed as Sikoa held the tag titles on his
shoulders to close the show.