Posted on 6/06/126 by Bob Magee
– Following the WWE signature, we got a recap of last
Sunday’s Clash in Italy PLE, specifically from the SmackDown
side of things. After that, we opened with Michael Cole
(filling in for Joe Tessitore) and Wade Barrett as they were
interrupted by an irate Gunther ripping apart the commentary
tables.
Gunther wants justice
Gunther ranted about how he was the greatest wrestler in the
world and that he intentionally put his foot on the bottom
rope, which invalidates Cody Rhodes’ win on Sunday. As
Gunther called out Rhodes, the theme of the Undisputed WWE
Champion interrupted.
Rhodes said that Gunther was right, but he wondered why a
twenty year veteran acted like he never had moments where he
was “big mad”. Rhodes said that sometimes, you’re the hero
or the cold-blooded sausage maker, and that he knew who was
which between him and Gunther as he challenged “The Ring
General” to have a rematch for the title tonight. Sami Zayn
interrupted not long after.
Zayn started by saying he knew how Gunther felt with all the
complaining he’s doing. He again called Rhodes a “golden
boy” as Gunther told him to go away. Zayn noted that he
might not know what being a world champion is like, but he
knew a thing or two about beating Gunther. Rhodes told Zayn
to calm down, but the mouthy Canadian wouldn’t take that for
an answer.
Gunther shoved Rhodes into Zayn and locked him into the
sleeper. Zayn hesitated but tried to help Rhodes. The two
brawled outside as Rhodes went for a suicide dive. Gunther
shoved Zayn in the path of Rhodes’ dive. Gunther backed off
as Zayn refused to accept Rhodes’ apology.
This Zayn/Rhodes story is one of the better things in WWE
right now, and I enjoy it intersecting with the Gunther
title feud. Hope they can make it interesting.
*************
– Nick Aldis admonished Gunther for what he did before the
break, but Gunther said he was being disrespected,
threatening to drown Aldis in lawsuits until he got what he
wanted.
Queen of the Ring Fatal Four-Way Qualifier: Raquel Rodriguez
vs. Jacy Jayne vs. Kiana James vs. Bayley
This match kicked off as all four women faced off in the
ring. Bayley and Raquel fought it out briefly as James and
Jayne tried to go after the Judgment Day’s giantess. A
clothesline from Bayley took Rodriguez out of the equation,
while she hit a Bayley-to-Belly on Jayne for an early near-
fall. James tried to roll-up Bayley, but couldn’t get the
pin.
Jayne attempted a double stack pin on Bayley and James, but
the two kicked out. The action was fast and furious in the
ring as Raquel re-entered the fray with a crossbody that
took everyone out as we took a commercial break.
Back from commercial as Raquel was driven shoulder-first
into the steel steps by a group effort from Bayley, James,
and Jayne. On the apron, Jayne took off with a diving
cannonball to take out Bayley and James. Jayne threw Bayley
into the ring and hit her with a neckbreaker. The throw to
the ropes as Jayne stomped away on Bayley in the corner.
Kick right into Bayley’s spine was followed by a Jayne
senton for another near-fall. James tried to get back in the
ring, but Jayne knocked her down. James recovered and had
Jayne in the corner, but she missed with the running
shoulder charge. Jayne then got Bayley and James with
rolling cannonball sentons. Rodriguez joined in and hit the
corkscrew splash from the corner for a close two.
Raquel placed Bayley on the top rope and punched at her.
Jayne pulled Raquel down and then went after Bayley herself.
Frankensteiner connects as Raquel then hit a powerbomb on
Bayley, throwing her right into Jayne. Double chokeslam by
Raquel, but Jayne broke it up as we took another break in
the action.
Back from commercial as Jayne pummelled James in the ring,
but it opened her up for a knee strike from Bayley. On the
top rope, Bayley hit the diving elbow on Jayne, but James
broke up the count. James blocked a Bayley-to-Belly, as she
then hit the Dealbreaker and a standing moonsault for a two.
Outside the ring, Jayne took Giulia out, as James got the
pin and used the ropes for leverage. Jayne knocked the foot
off the rope as Giulia struck her down. When James
recovered, she saw Giulia and yelled at her for supposedly
ruining the win, but Bayley got James with the Roseplant.
Rolling Encore to Bayley, but Raquel stepped in and hit the
Tejana Bomb on James for the win.
After the match, James was still angry at Giulia for costing
her the win, continually yelling at her and stating that she
was done with Giulia. This led to Giulia snapping and
attacking James for all the insults thrown at her.
Raquel Rodriguez def. Bayley, Kiana James, and Jacy Jayne
via pinfall
This was a decent start to the night’s action, but the
Giulia attack on Kiana should hopefully mean the beginning
of righting the course, so to speak for Giulia, who many
feel hasn’t gotten her fair shake on the main roster.
*************
– Sami Zayn stormed around backstage and found Johnny
Gargano as he whined about Cody Rhodes some more to him.
Nick Aldis appeared and warned him to stay out of Rhodes and
Gunther’s business. Zayn kept whining, but Aldis said he had
a very important meeting to attend to. Zayn wondered who was
important enough for the meeting as Chad Gable, the former
“Original” El Grande Americano appeared. Gable walked into
Aldis’ office.
Royce Keys vs. Talla Tonga (w/ Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga)
Keys stood nose-to-nose in front of Talla and got pie-faced
for it. Keys responded with some strikes that barely
staggered Talla. The M.F.T.s’ monster responded with a huge
shoulder block. Keys attempted a powerslam, but couldn’t get
Talla up as he got battered in the back. The two big men
traded strikes, but Talla blasted Keys with a throat thrust
that brought the powerhouse to his knees. Slam attempt was
countered by Keys, as a pair of clotheslines sent Talla over
the top rope, which took us to the break.
Back to SmackDown as Keys’ attempt at a slam was blocked by
Talla, who dropped onto the chest of Keys. The running big
boot from Talla into the corner failed to find its target,
which gave Keys the opening to try and create something.
Clubbing strikes from Keys rocked Talla, but not enough to
ground him. Running clotheslines to no avail, as well as the
slam attempt. Talla missed with a running splash into the
corner, which opened him up for Keys knocking the giant off
his feet with a running pounce. Finally, Keys was able to
hit the powerslam on Tallla as the straps went down.
Solo Sikoa got on the apron to distract as Tama Tonga tried
to instigate further. He ate a punch for his troubles at
ringside. As Keys got back into the ring, he got hit with
the big boot from Talla and the Talla T-Bomb for the win.
Post-match, Sikoa had Talla and Tama attack Keys until R-
Truth ran in to try and make the save. The Numbers’ Game™
seemed too much as Damian Priest ran down, but not to save
Keys. This left the powerhouse open for a Cutthroat from
Tama, who struck with the dulled edge of an osprey.
Talla Tonga def. Royce Keys via pinfall
The Bloodline over on Raw and the M.F.T.s on SmackDown are
just not grabbing my attention, and this match being more of
the same when it comes to M.F.T. stuff is boring. The tease
at Clash in Italy of these two factions potentially feuding
is something I’m dreading and given WWE’s predilection for
reheated leftovers, especially when it comes to anything
Bloodline-adjacent, it’s an inevitability.
*************
– We got a vignette teasing the arrival of SmackDown’s
newest arrival, Finn Balor. We’ll see him next week in a
King of the Ring Fatal Four-Way where he’ll take on Jey Uso,
Royce Keys, and L.A. Knight.
– Elsewhere, Damian Priest was upset about helping about
someone that he doesn’t even know. Royce Keys is not someone
that Priest knows, and that his priority was keeping R-Truth
okay. As Priest left, the AAA Tag Team Champions, the War
Raiders, appeared and said that when Priest and Truth were
ready to face them, they’d be game. Truth told the Raiders
that he never met either of them ever.
Rhea Ripley addresses Clash in Italy
The WWE Women’s Champion entered to a huge ovation from the
Bologna crowd, fresh off of her defeat of Jade Cargill at
Clash in Italy.
Ripley started by saying hello to the Bologna crowd before
she talked about how she finally put the Jade Cargill
chapter behind her this past Sunday. Ripley noted that she
didn’t come out completely unscathed, as her knee was a
little bit banged up after Clash in Italy. The Bologna crowd
continued to sing their love for Ripley.
Ripley noted how Cargill came into Sunday with a gameplan to
take her out, use the numbers of The Baddies against her,
but at the end of the day, Cargill failed because Ripley was
still the WWE Women’s Champion. As for that numbers
advantage Cargill tried to play, Ripley said that she got
some unexpected help in that situation as Charlotte Flair
made her way down to the ring.
Flair said that she knew that Ripley didn’t ask for her
help, but she had Ripley’s back because she respected her.
Flair admitted after the past few weeks, she had fun teaming
up with Ripley, but with the Queen of the Ring coming up in
a few weeks, she knew that she was a competitor. So, for as
much fun as Ripley had in teaming up with Ripley, at
SummerSlam, it would be her standing in front of Ripley.
That’s because Ripley still had what she wanted.
Tiffany Stratton, the WWE Women’s United States Champion
interrupted things. Flair wondered if Stratton was her to
apologize to her, but Stratton said she was here to call her
shot for the WWE Women’s Championship. Enter Jade Cargill
and fellow Baddies B-Fab and Michin.
Cargill said that since she was in the Queen of the Ring
alongside Flair, she was ready to make her pay for her
little sidequest on Sunday. Cargill then turned her
attention to Stratton, telling her to stay out of the grown
folks’ business. Cargill then said she was coming after what
was her’s right now.
SmackDown’s esteemed GM, Nick Aldis cut in before Charlotte
Flair said that maybe we should see her and Tiffany Stratton
face off against Cargill and one of her Baddies right now.
Aldis said that he never let a good idea pass her by as this
match officially was made. Holla holla.
Standard setup for the Queen of the Ring fatal four-way
matches involving Cargill, Flair, and Stratton happening
next week. Nothing much else to say here.
*************
Charlotte Flair & Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill & Michin
Flair and Michin started off here as she got her with the
rolling head-scissors before she stared down Cargill. This
allowed Michin to recover and hit her with a release German
suplex. Stratton tagged in and hit Michin with the running
hip attack against the ropes, followed by the basement
dropkick. Cargill tagged in and got Stratton with the
fallaway slam, followed by the spinebuster for a near-fall.
Flair tagged in and connected with a crossbody on legal
woman Michin, followed by the stepover clothesline. In the
corner, Flair chopped at Michin twice before she nailed her
with a big boot. Flair got Cargill and B-Fab with big boots
as she hit them with a diving crossbody. This opened her up
to a Michin suicide dive as we took a timeout.
Back fromt he break as Flair hit a huge back suplex on
Michin to create some needed separation. Michin tried to
stop Flair from making the tag to Stratton. Cargill got
Flair with a cheapshot, which allowed Michin to hit the
Styles Clash. One, two… Stratton broke up the count. Michin
attempted a figure-four, but Flair reversed it as she sent
Michin crashing into the ringpost. This allowed a hot tag
from Stratton, who unleashed a back elbow on Michin and a
shotgun dropkick to Cargill. Alabama Slam by Stratton to
Michin as she headed up top and connected with the Swanton
Bomb. One, two… Michin kicked out at two.
Pele kick from Michin allowed for the tag to Cargill, who
got hit with a springboard Stunner by Stratton for the two-
count. Flair and Michin took each other out, which led to
Stratton and Cargill mixing it up in the ring. Cargill
caught Stratton and lifted her up for the Powerbomb and the
near-fall. Outside the ring, B-Fab blasted Flair with a
pump-kick as Stratton got lifted up for Jaded. To no avail.
On the second time around, Cargill hit Stratton with Jaded
and the win.
Jade Cargill & Michin def. Charlotte Flair & Tiffany
Stratton via pinfall
An alright tag match. The Cargill & Baddies faction is still
doing nothing for me whatsoever, no matter how hard WWE
tries with them.
*************
– Backstage, Fatal Influence attacked Paige & Brie Bella, as
they interrupted a photoshoot by the WWE Women’s Tag
Champions.
– A video of Cody Rhodes hanging out with contest winners at
Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe was shown.
– R-Truth chatted with Royce Keys, wanting to get him to
play ball with Damian Priest, or as Truth called him “D.P.”.
Keys said he wasn’t willing to team up with Priest.
Ricky Saints vs. Carmelo Hayes
Saints ambushed Hayes before the bell could even ring as he
attacked him in the corner before lighting his chest up with
a chop. Hayes fought back and threw Saints out of the ring
as he took off with the tope con hilo. In the ring, frog
splash by Hayes on Saints got a near-fall. Saints wrenched
Hayes’ arms and chopped him, but he got hit the springboard
clothesline. A clothesline from Hayes to Saints took us to
the commercial break.
We returned from the break as Saints hit Hayes with a
clothesline before he kept the pressure on his foe. The
running uppercut into the corner, followed by the bulldog
for a near-fall from Saints. Hayes countered a Northern
Lights Suplex attempt from Saints into a DDT that kept both
men down. Both Saints and Hayes got to their feet and began
to exchange strikes. Big Boot by Saints was met by Dirty
Diana from Hayes. One, two…. 2.999999999!!!!!!! First 48
countered into a jackknife pin combination, but no three.
A bounce off the turnbuckle and the Revolution DDT by Saints
on Hayes, but that wasn’t enough for the three. Powerbomb by
Saints reversed into the First 48 by Hayes, but the Absolute
One kicked out at two. Hayes headed up top and looked for
Nothin’ But Net, as Saints used the ropes to knock his foe
off balance. Out of the ring, Hayes leapt at Saints, but got
hit in the gut, with the referee counting down. Hayes beat
out the count as Saints argued with the referee. Hayes
rolled up Saints but got only a near-fall. Hayes’ rollup was
turned into a rollup by Saints, and a handful of tights got
the win for Saints.
Ricky Saints def. Carmelo Hayes
I enjoy these two facing off one another and this match was
another solid entry in their current duology of matches.
*************
– Trick Williams’ interview was interrupted by Bron
Breakker, who stared him down. These two will be in the King
of the Ring fatal four-way later on tonight.
– Chelsea Green tried to once again ask for Tiffany
Stratton’s help, but got told by the Women’s U.S. Champion
that she could handle it herself.
– Blake Monroe focused on Tiffany Stratton in this latest
vignette heralding that she was coming soon to SmackDown
(despite, again, having appeared in a brief backstage cameo
two weeks ago). Monroe said that Tiffy Time was going to run
into “Monroe Minutes” real soon.
Chelsea Green vs. Lash Legend (w/ Nia Jax)
Green slapped Legend in the face, as she ran out of the ring
and was chased at ringside. Green slid in the ring and hit
Legend with a Codebreaker. However, Legend got her with the
rolling uppercut. Legend took time to play with her food as
she hit the running splash on Green. Bearhug by Legend had
Green ragdolled out of the ring as Nia Jax attacked with the
ref focused on Legend in the ring.
In the ring, Sunset Flip by Green led to an Aloha Arn
struggle, but Legend kept her balance before she absolutely
tattooed Green with the big boot. Running splash by Legend
was missed as Green began to try and mount a comeback.,
Clotheslines by Green weren’t enough to keep Legend out
cold, but the top-rope-a-dope was enough to send her out of
the ring. Green to the top rope and a diving crossbody onto
both Jax and Legend. In the ring, Green went for another
high-risk move as the missile dropkick found its target in
Legend. One, two… not quite.
Un-Pretty-Her by Green, but Legend used her strength to
block it and turn it into the Lash Extension for the three.
Lash Legend def. Chelsea Green via pinfall
This was decent, and the Lash Legend counter of the Un-
Pretty-Her into the Lash Extension was well-executed.
*************
– We got a recap of Jacob Fatu acknowledging his Tribal
Chief, Roman Reigns, on Raw this past Monday.
– Royce Keys was confronted by Solo Sikoa backstage. Sikoa
said that Roman Reigns made Keys’ boy Jacob Fatu kneel like
a dog, which meant Keys had nobody around. Sikoa asked if
anybody checked up on him even as Keys was busting his ass.
Roman Reigns didn’t. Jacob Fatu didn’t. But Solo Sikoa did.
Sikoa said that they needed to get ready for war as Keyes
needed to stop making it difficult, or else Sikoa would make
it difficult himself.
– We got a recap of Chad Gable’s unmasking following Mask
vs. Mask last Saturday in AAA. After that, AAA World
Cruiserweight Champion Rey Fenix was chatting with the
Fraxiom duo of Nathan Frazer & Axiom before Chad Gable
showed up. Gable said that he and Fenix had an awesome match
at WrestleMania, but it was under false pretenses. Gable
noted that he wore the El Grande Americano mask originally
as a mockery of lucha libre. Gable flew all the way from
Italy and asked for Fenix’s forgiveness. Fenix said that he
accepted Gable’s apology, but told him that he wasn’t the
only one that he needed to ask an apology from.
– Elsewhere, Cody Rhodes was informed by Nick Aldis that he
had to wait until next week for Gunther to announce the
terms for the rematch for the Undisputed WWE World Title. We
learned that this match would happen in two weeks in Kansas
City, MO.
King of the Ring Fatal Four-Way Qualifier: Damian Priest vs.
Bron Breakker vs. Trick Williams vs. Dominik Mysterio
Breakker didn’t waste time as he hit Williams with a German
suplex to start. Priest then began to fight with Breakker as
he got hit with a German suplex. Another German suplex to
Williams by Breakker as he then flattened Priest with the
super-speedy shoulder block. Outside the ring, Breakker
stalked Dominik and got him with the massive shoulder tackle
as we took a commercial break.
Back to our main event as Priest and Breakker stared down
before they briefly worked together to hit an interfering
Breakker with a superkick. With Breakker taken care of,
Priest hit Dominik with a slam before he unleashed his
flurry of kicks on Williams and Breakker, who both got
deposited to the outside. Superkick to Dominik by Priest
turned the AAA Mega Campeon inside out. Priest’s forearm was
countered by Dominik, but that couldn’t keep him down for
long. Breakker connected with the Frankensteiner for a
pinfall, but Dominik broke it up.
Dominik tried for the Three Amigos, but Breakker reversed it
into a military press World’s Strongest Slam. Williams broke
up the subsequent pinfall attempt by Breakker. Williams and
Breakker exchanged strikes as the U.S. Champion then hit him
with the sidekick. There was one for Dominik, as he was then
flattened by the clothesline. Neckbreaker to Priest by
Williams, who then connected with the Book-End for a near-
fall. Priest headed up top but he was met by Dominik.
Williams hoisted Dominik on his shoulders as Priest got his
shots in the prone Dominik. Breakker tried for another
Frankensteiner, but that was blocked. Breakker and Williams
briefly teamed up as they hit the double superplex and we
headed to one last commercial break.
Our main event returned from the break with all four men
fighting in the ring. Dominik moved out of the way of
Breakker’s spear, which sent him crashing into the ringpost.
Meanwhile, Dominik got taken for the Razor’s Edge ride by
Priest. The cover, but Liv Morgan distracted the referee.
Breakker grabbed Priest by the neck as he lifted him up and
hit the uppercut on the crash to Earth. Breakker then took
down Williams with a toss across the ring. Superkick by
Dominik followed by the dropkick, which put him in the 619
position. Spear by Breakker on Priest, he got sent out of
the ring with a Trick Shot knee from Williams. The cover on
Priest, but Dominik pulled the ref out of the ring.
Breakker recovered and put Williams through the commentary
table with his signature leaping apron clothesline. In the
ring, Priest was dropkicked by Dominik, but he was met with
a big boot. J.D. McDonagh tried to interfere, but he got
dropped with South of Heaven by Priest. Dominik got choked
by Priest, but Liv Morgan hit him with the low blow. 619 by
Dominik, then the Frog Splash, and that’s it, over. Dominik
Mysterio is on his way to the King of the Ring Semifinals….
and a date with Oba Femi.
Dominik Mysterio def. Damian Priest, Bron Breakker, and
Trick Wiliams via pinfall.
*************
A good main event for an otherwise by-the-numbers edition of
SmackDown. The dynamic between Dominik, Trick, Breakker, and
Priest was great and it made for a fun four-man match to cap
off the show.
Elsewhere, the show didn’t really seem all that exciting,
and a lot of it stems from how the booking feels like it’s
on autopilot right now, especially in the runup to Night of
Champions. The reheated leftovers of things like the
Bloodline don’t help, either.
Speaking of reheated leftovers, as good as the Sami Zayn
stuff is, the same really can’t be said for Cody Rhodes vs.
Gunther. The wrinkle of a title match on TV in a couple of
weeks being preceded by a set of stipulations to be named by
the challenger who complained of a questionable finish?
That’s pretty much what the booking was for the Rhodes vs.
Drew McIntyre title feud from a few months back. In which
case, don’t be surprised if Gunther does win in Kansas City,
but through dubious means to set up the rubber match this
Summer.
All in all, not really a SmackDown to write home about. Some
good stuff (the main event, Saints vs. Hayes), but
everything else just feels kind of there.