Posted on 6/20/126 by Bob Magee
– From Kansas City, MO, it’s the 1400th episode of
SmackDown. We got the arrivals from the King and Queen of
the Ring competitors, as well as the players in the
Undisputed WWE Championship match tonight. From there, we
were welcomed by Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett, who
informed us that the Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther match would
kick off tonight and it would be commercial free.
Undisputed WWE Championship Match (Guest Referee: Sami
Zayn): Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Gunther
The Gunther-appointee guest referee, Sami Zayn, was first
out for this match. Challenger and champion soon followed.
Following the official ring introductions, this match
finally got underway. A technical start between Rhodes and
Gunther as the challenger chopped down the champion. In the
corner, Rhodes had a wrist lock applied on Gunther until
Zayn got him to break it up as the crowd booed. Gunther took
over with another chop to the chest and a big boot, but
Rhodes fought back. As “QB1” drilled Gunther with strikes in
the corner, Zayn forced Rhodes out of the corne, which gave
Gunther the opening to flatten his foe with a big boot.
Gunther continued to punish Rhodes with a seated chinlock as
Zayn did the five count tjat he failed to administer on
Rhodes. Suddenly, Rhodes struck with a Cody Cutter on
Gunther, followed by the powerslam. Gunther responded with a
big boot, followed by the figure-four in the middle of the
ring. Rhodes struggled as Gunther used the ropes for
leverage. Zayn took his sweet time to get Gunther to break
the hold. Gunther argued with Zayn, as Rhodes nearly rolled
him up for the cover.
Rhodes countered the powerbomb of Gunther into Cross Rhodes.
The cover, but Zayn stopped it as he spotted Gunther’s foot
on the ropes. Rhodes and Zayn argued as it led to Rhodes
being pushed into the sleeper hold of Gunther. Rhodes tried
to fight out of it and reached the ropes. Zayn forcibly
pulled Gunther off of Rhodes, which led to a shove from the
Austrian. Slap to the face by Zayn, as Gunther then blasted
him with the Powerbomb. Rhodes recovered and hit Gunther
with the Super Cody Cutter. Cross Rhodes, as a new referee
ran in. One, two…. 2.9999999999!!!!!! Rhodes to the top
rope, but Gunther intercepted him. A leap, and the dropkick
by Gunther. Powerbomb made no mistake. The cover, but the
referee gets pulled out by Zayn! Gunther held on to the
ropes, as Zayn kicked it away. Roll-up by Rhodes and the WWE
2K quick count on Gunther and this one’s done with more
questions than answers.
Cody Rhodes def. Gunther via pinfall to retain the
Undisputed WWE Championship
Your standard guest referee bout, but Zayn’s anger at
Gunther powerbombing him playing into the finish worked for
me, at least.
***********
– After the break, emotions were still high as Gunther
argued with Sami Zayn and Nick Aldis. Cody Rhodes demanded
the match to be restarted as the match was indeed rebooted.
With the match begun ranew, Gunther had Rhodes in the
sleeper, but had it broken. Zayn ran in and attacked Gunther
with a Helluva Kick to cause a Disqualification. Zayn
snapped and hit the official, as well as Rhodes with the
Undisputed WWE Title. The “Sami Sucks!” chants rained down
as Zayn left and ripped up a fan’s sign on the way out.
I imagine that this will be what sets up the triple threat
match for Night of Champions next week, even if this was
clunky.
***********
– Gunther shouted at Nick Aldis to have a match made for him
at Night of Champions.
– Jacob Fatu was with Solo Sikoa and reminded him that he
was only here to help Jey Uso later tonight. Fatu also noted
that Sikoa was making the wrong choice, mentioning that it
wasn’t up to him to decide. Tama and Talla Tonga instructed
Sikoa to let them go for the titles alone.
– Blake Monroe said in vignette form that we shouldn’t cry
when she passes us by, as she was coming soon… again,
despite the fact we saw her in a backstage segment over a
month ago.
WWE Tag Team Championships: R-Truth and Damian Priest (c)
vs. The M.F.T.s (Talla and Tama Tonga)
Priest and Talla got it started with a collar and elbow tie-
up. Priest was thrown into the corner by Talla, as he
answered with a couple of right hands, followed by running
forearm strikes. Those had little effect on Talla, who
flattened Priest with a shoulder block. Priest was left
isolated in the MFT corner, but Tama was clobbered by a
flying elbow from Priest. after a barrage of strikes from
Priest, Truth tagged in and got Tama with the John Cena
tribute combo. AA attempt was stopped as Talla distracted
Truth. This allowed Tama to dump his foe over the top rope
as Truth got destroyed by a Talla big boot. Chokeslam to the
apron on a leaping Priest by Talla sent us to the commercial
break.
We returned from break with Truth avoiding a clothesline
from Tama and hitting him with the dropkick. The hot tag to
Priest, who blasted Tama with the spinning kick. Flying
elbows into the corner by Priest was followed by the
Flatliner. Cover, but Tama kicked out. Talla entered to
prevent Priest from hitting the lariat. Instead, Priest got
him with it, but the snap neckbreaker by Tama left him
reeling. Meanwhile, Solo Sikoa appeared at ringside, much to
the dismay of Talla. Priest ended up causing Talla to crash
into the ringpost, as Truth rolled up Tama in the ring to
get the pin and win.
After the match, the Tonga brothers left Sikoa high and dry,
angered that his appearance cost them the Tag Titles.
R-Truth & Damian Priest def. The M.F.T.s via pinfall to
retain the WWE Tag Team Championships
I feel like the rift between the MFTs has been teased
forever and doesn’t feel as impressive as it may have been
before.
************
– Nick Aldis read the riot act to Sami Zayn for his
disruption of the WWE World Title match, but Zayn said he
didn’t ask for any of this and that he wasn’t going away
that easy.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints (Winner faces Trick Williams
for the U.S. Championship at Night of Champions)
Our Sonic-sponsored match got underway with Hayes getting
ahead of Saints’ attempted cheapshot and hitting him with a
few shots to the face, followed by the bread-and-butter
springboard clothesline. Saints avoided the no-look leg
drop, but his Old School attempt was turned into an inverted
Atomic Drop by Hayes. Saints took a retreat to the outside,
but that didn’t save him from the Fosbury Flop from Hayes.
On the top rope, Saints avoided a Frog Splash and hit Hayes
with the running uppercut into the corner, followed by a
bulldog. Chop to the chest by Saints as he kept Hayes
grounded with the elbow to the face.
Hayes had Saints on the apron as he leapt over the rope for
the DDT that planted Saints right on the hardest part of the
ring. That took us to the commercial break.
As we returned from the break, Saints had Hayes trapped deep
in a chinlock that would make Davey Boy Smith proud.
However, Hayes battled out of it, but he was soon dropped
with a back suplex by Saints. Near-fall as Saints punished
Hayes with stomps and strikes to the face. The former U.S.
Champion rallied back as he countered Saints’ bulldog with a
back suplex of his own. Both men staggered to their feet,
but it was Hayes who seemed to have the advantage. On a
kneeling Saints, Hayes hit an amazing no-look springboard
DDT that nearly had this match won for him.
Sunset flip attempt was nearly turned into a Boston Crab by
Saints, as he then caught Hayes for a flapjack from the
fireman’s carry position. Hayes reversed the Roshambo, as we
then got a double down with both Hayes and Saints taking
each other out with the clothesline. Both men staggered back
to their feet as Hayes caught Saints by surprise with the
Dirty Diana, followed by the modified lifting cutter for a
close two. Hayes went up top and went for his leg drop, but
Saints got out of the way and attempted the Revolution DDT.
Hayes countered that and in the ensuing fray, the turnbuckle
got pulled off as Hayes and Saints exchanged pin attempts.
Hayes’ First 48 was countered by Saints, as he was placed on
the top turnbuckle. Saints tripped him up which caused him
to fall onto the exposed turnbuckle. Saints couldn’t
capitalize as he was hit with First 48. However, a well-
timed kick to the gut of Hayes sent him crashing into the
exposed turnbuckle. The cover, and this one was done.
Ricky Saints def. Carmelo Hayes via pinfall
These two have fantastic chemistry with one another and this
match was another good one in their short series they’ve
had. It was smart to have Saints win here by chicanery to
setup the match with Trick Williams in Riyadh.
************
– Backstage, Cody Rhodes met with Nick Aldis and said that
he was tired of catering to both Gunther and Sami Zayn. So,
he had the solution for all this: a triple threat match for
the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions. With
a handshake between Rhodes and Aldis, the match seemed to be
made official.
– Danhausen was messing around with the Miz and Kit Wilson
as Los Garza confronted him for not cursing the Knicks. Matt
Cardona joined the party and told Angel and Berto to let
Danhausen go. Los Garza left as Cardona touched Miz and it
caused sparks to fly. Cardona said that he was okay as he
left, with Danhausen turning to the camera with a
mischievous smile on his face as the segment ended.
– Elsewhere, R-Truth tried to play nice with Finn Balor,
thinking that they were still in Judgment Day as Damian
Priest appeared. Priest said that whatever celebrations
Truth had planned, he wanted to be counted out as he didn’t
go to places with people he didn’t trust (i.e. Finn Balor).
King of the Ring Semifinals: Jey Uso vs. Je’von Evans
Evans and Jey opened things up as the O.G. used his speed to
flummox his foe in this early point. The dropkick by Evans
to Jey, who rolled out of the ring to catch a breath. Jey
slid back in and immediately ate another dropkick. Evans
soared and hit Jey with a big splash off the top rope as we
took a break in the action.
Back from break as Evans flipped over Jey for a dodge,
followed by an acrobatic suplex punctuated with the kip-up.
Evans continued to trash talk Jey, but he paid for it with
Jey hitting a huge pop-up Samoan Drop, shades of Jacob Fatu.
Jey ripped off Evans’ shirt to expose the ribs that were
damaged by Bron Breakker on Raw this past Monday. Jey
targeted the ribs of Evans, who tried to fight back with
punches to the face. Uso flattened Evans with a slap to the
face, followed by the backbreaker right on the taped-up
ribs.
Evans struggled to get up, but he got Jey with the elbow to
the face. He headed up top, but Jey pushed him right out of
the ring as he was sent flying into the barricade. We took
another break at this stage.
Back to our match as Evans launched himself and Jey through
the air for the Spanish Fly. One, two…. Uso managed to
kicked out at two. We saw a replay of what happened during
the commercial with Evans flying right into Jey over the
into the timekeeper’s area for a fierce attack. The two
traded strikes for a bit, until Evans got the best of Jey
with the rebound single-legged dropkick. Evans got up and
looked for his O.G. Cutter, but Jey avoided it and hit him
with the superkick. The Spear by Jey, but somehow, Evans
kicked out at two!
Evans dragged himself up and intercepted Jey’s spear attempt
with a superkick. This was a followed by Evans’ Red Dot
Kick. He looked for the O.G.C utter, but Jey tripped him up
and got him with the Spear. The Uso Splash and that’s it,
over. Jey Uso advances to the King of the Ring Finals to
face Oba Femi.
After the match, Jey pulled Evans to his feet and raised his
hand to show his respect for the efforts shown by his
opponent.
Jey Uso def. Je’von Evans via pinfall
Jey Uso winning is certainly something that’s going to
elicit a wide variety of reactions, as is the case with
Jey’s booking in general as of late. That doesn’t take away
the fact that this was an entertaining match, and Evans came
out really looking good in this one.
************
– Jacob Fatu was confronted by Solo Sikoa, who said that
Fatu was sent by Roman Reigns to mess with his family. Sikoa
left by warning Fatu that if Roman was going to do this,
then maybe he should do it himself.
– Chelsea Green tried to make peace with Tiffany Stratton,
who didn’t seem convinced, especially after all that Green
had done to her.
– Jey Uso was congratulated by Cody Rhodes. Jey said that he
was calling his shot against Rhodes, who reminded Jey not to
look past Oba Femi. Sami Zayn confronted Jey and said that
maybe it would be him facing Jey potentially at SummerSlam.
Jey said that he was going to do what he was going to have
to do. Zayn told Jey to say hi to the “family”.
Night of Champions Card
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Gunther vs.
Sami Zayn
King of the Ring Finals: Oba Femi vs. Jey Uso
Steel Cage Match: Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
Women’s U.S. Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade
Cargill
Men’s U.S. Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Ricky Saints
Queen of the Ring Finals: IYO SKY vs. Winner of Charlotte
Flair vs. Liv Morgan
– After a confrontation with Jade Cargill and the Baddies,
Charlotte Flair was assaulted by Cargill’s crew. The trio
attacked Flair’s legs as the ineffectual cadre of road
agents shooed them away. After the break, Charlotte Flair
was being looked at as Liv Morgan made her way down for our
main event.
Queen of the Ring Semifinals: Liv Morgan vs. Charlotte Flair
Morgan went right after the hurt knee of Flair just as she
was entering the ring. Nick Aldis tried to convince Flair to
not go through with the match, but she didn’t care about the
risks. The bell rang as Flair had her leg clipped by Morgan
to start. Outside the ring, Morgan slammed Flair’s leg
against the LED apron before she threw her into the stairs
as we took a timeout.
Back to our match as Flair punched Morgan out of the ring.
However, Morgan continued to target the injured knee by
slamming it across the LED ringpost before she hit the
dropkick. In the ring, the suplex by Morgan on Flair caused
the knee to impact against the bottom rope. Flair fought
back with a suplex of her own. Flair headed to the dop rope
and connected with the diving crossbody on Morgan for the
near-fall. Flair and Morgan exchanged strikes until the
former hit her opponent with the elbow to the face. Then
came the signature chops to the chest of Morgan by Flair.
The Women’s World Champion regained momentum with a violent-
looking Irish Whip that caused Flair to crumple to her
knees. Morgan’s leap from the middle rope was intercepted by
a big boot from Flair for another two-count.
Flair hobbled to the top rope and looked for her moonsault,
but she couldn’t get it as Morgan connected with the
powerbomb for the near-fall as we took one more timeout.
This main event match returned from commercial as Morgan
still had the clear advantage against Flair. Morgan headed
to the middle turnbuckle and looked for the Frog Splash.
Flair got her knees up to block it for the near-fall.
Figure-four blocked by Morgan, followed by the Backstabber
on Flair for another two-count. Flair gutted through the
pain, but Morgan chopblocked her left knee again. Morgan
trapped Flair across the top rope as she stomped on the hurt
knee over and over again. Flair got around it with a throw,
followed by the Natural Selection from the middle rope. One,
two… NO!
Flair finally was able to lock in the Figure Four, but the
busted knee allowed for Morgan to briefly reverse the
leverage as she then got the rope break. One more chopblock
by Morgan as she then took time to seriously apply a single-
leg crab that would make Lance Storm smile. Flair battled
hard just to get to the bottom ropes to break Morgan’s hold.
Flair rolled outside as the medical crew and Alexa Bliss
checked up on her. Morgan pulled at Flair and got dropped
across the middle rope. Morgan connected with Ob-Liv-ion,
but Flair somehow kicked out. Once more with the move known
to some as the Canadian Maple Leaf and Morgan got the
submission win to punch her ticket for the Queen of the Ring
Finals.
Liv Morgan def. Charlotte Flair via pinfall
************