#the only one that comes close to mind is Miz vs Morrison

[jtmarx]

These two might actually kill each other holy shit. This is better than any street fight I've seen on the main roster by a lot.

[jxffhxrdy]

Money in the Bank Predictions 2020

Hey y’all! New blog here, but long time supporter of WWE and the professional wrestling industry. Today, I want to give my predictions on what I THINK is going to happen at this year’s Money in the Bank PPV! Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with WWE, so what I say is not bible. This is just what I would love to see happen.

♡Fatal Four Way Tag Team Championship

New Day (c) vs. Miz & Morrison vs. Forgotten Sons vs. Lucha House Party

What I WANT to happen

: 

I think it is WAY too soon to take the titles off of New Day, so starting off here, I think New Day is going to retain their titles. Miz & Morrison and Lucha House Party are there for entertainment value, potentially starting a new feud between those two teams, but they will not win. It’ll be between New Day & Forgotten Sons and HOPEFULLY Xavier Woods (who has been out since October) will rejoin New Day and even out the stakes a little bit. At the end of the day, New Day takes it and boosts Forgotten Sons’ credibility a little bit. 

What I THINK will happen: New Day wins. Miz & Morrison vs. Lucha House Party feud forming. So everything I just said.

♡Women’s Smackdown Championship

Bayley (c) vs. Tamina

What I WANT to happen: With all the stuff happening with Sasha Banks and them repeatedly ruining each others’ matches, I think Sasha is definitely getting involved at some point for the disadvantage of Bayley. I think this would be an AMAZING start for a feud between Bayley and Sasha. That being said, I definitely think Tamina deserves this belt and at least a chance to be a title holder for a little bit.

What I THINK will happen: Bayley will retain, but Sasha will get involved, thus starting Sasha’s run for the belt. Bayley v. Sasha at Summerslam if I had to guess. Tamina is just there for stand-in. Disappointing, honestly.

♡Universal Championship

Braun Strowman (c) vs. Bray Wyatt

What I WANT to happen: Honestly, I want them to keep it with Braun. Yes, I know he is a stand-in for when Roman eventually returns, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Braun himself is a beast and very good at his job. I think he’s a stand-up guy outside of the ring and brings good credibility to the title. As much as I loved the Wyatt Family when they were all still together, I think the Bray vs. Braun storyline should’ve happened in 2017/2018 when they were still semi-relevant. Plus, beating around the bush when referring to Harper and Rowan is just... awkward, to say the least. I get they have to make do with their current situation, but I think I’d rather see Braun vs. Roman (tank vs. tank).

What I THINK will happen: Bray will take it. Once Roman comes back, he’ll win the title off Bray. It’ll be a clean win.

♡WWE Championship

Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Seth Rollins

What I WANT to happen: Listen. Drew is the best WWE champion we have had in a VERY long time (well, besides Kofi). Lesnar was boring, because you know he’s a beast. Drew is so good and very charismatic and just a joy to watch. I think he needs to keep his title for a while, at least until he gets in front of a crowd. I think he deserves that. Plus, this could be a great opportunity for a lot of growth in Rollins as well. If he loses at both Wrestlemania and MITB, that could be the “turning point” for him, if you will. Maybe he’ll just go on a rampage and attack everyone (I’d love to see him with Orton, we need a baby face Orton) or maybe this could be a chance for baby face Seth, who we really haven’t seen in a while. Regardless, Drew needs to keep it. 

What I THINK will happen: Drew retains, as he should, and subsequently starts a feud with someone else as Rollins loses his mind. Will most likely end in a DQ.

♡Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax vs. Dana Brooke vs. Lacey Evans vs. Carmella

What I WANT will happen: Well, for starters, I am 99% convinced it will be someone from the RAW roster, considering they ran a promo of Becky with the winner the Monday afterwards. If it was someone from Smackdown... that would make zero sense. Besides, I don’t think it’s time for anyone from Smackdown to take it, honestly. Dana needs a better solo footing before she gets a title, Lacey had a growing feud with Bayley/Sasha/Tamina, and Carmella is far more entertaining with R-Truth and the 24/7 Championship that it’s not really her time either. That leaves Asuka, Baszler, and Nia. I think it is far too soon for Baszler to win, considering she only made the switch to main roster a month or so ago. Yes, she’s amazing, but I think being in the match is enough for her to get some credibility. Asuka, yes is great, but she’s at the top of her game. Does she really need it? I think she could give Becky a run for her money with or without the briefcase. Nia is being pushed heavily and rightfully so, I think Nia is amazing and deserves a title shot. Would love to see her bring it home.

What I THINK will happen: Asuka will win it and subsequently get the belt from Becky. Baszler and Asuka will temporarily team up to take down Nia (similar to what we saw on RAW last week) and Asuka will reign victorious.

♡Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Daniel Bryan vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Aleister Black vs. King Corbin vs. Otis vs. AJ Styles

What I WANT to happen: Woof. This is a difficult call, because there is SO many ways we could go with this. For starters, mark off Otis. Otis has a strong storyline going on right now and we won’t see him in the title picture for a while. Mark off Bryan and Mysterio as well. Both of these men are champions already and we don’t need ANOTHER title reign from them. Besides, we’re getting very close to the retirement of Mysterio so I don’t think they’ll give him a title until the very end. Leaving Corbin, Black, and Styles. What I ultimately want and, yes this is a stretch, is Black to take the briefcase, shakeup over to Smackdown, and feud with the Fiend, on the chance that Wyatt wins the title. Even if that doesn’t happen, Black needs that briefcase. He is easily one of the best performers on RAW at the moment and that man in the title picture would be insane. He deserves it and MITB win would be great on his resume. Would love to see him feud with Drew or Seth- I think there would be some insane promos thrown all around.

What I THINK will happen: Again, difficult call. I see one of two things happening. Corbin wins it and gets his redemption from when he fucked up a few years ago. Besides, we all know Vince loves Corbs. Second thing I see happening is AJ winning it and going after Drew. If they decide to keep Drew’s feuds in the A-class rank (Lesnar, Big Show, and now Seth), then the only logical next step to becoming the best is defeating AJ. Or, I can see them pulling a fast one on us and AJ NOT challenging for a title, but for another shot against Undertaker (seeing as he’s all “there was no ref”, “not a real ring”, so on). 

So yes! Those are my predictions for this year’s MITB. I look forward to watching and will be BACK to post what I thought this Sunday (:

[placetobenation]

Hard to believe folks, but we are less than one full month away from WrestleMania. In any normal year, we’d already have half the card planned for wrestling’s biggest stage. Yet, here we stand with only one match solidified going into April 10-11’s two-night event in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium.

We’ve got Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. That’s it. The only other match that’s close is the Universal Championship match with Edge taking on whoever walks out of FastLane as the champ – either Roman Reigns or Daniel Bryan. Everything else is up for grabs or better yet, Vince McMahon’s whim.

It’s a WrestleMania like no other and with the FastLane PPV, the first ever on Peacock, coming next Sunday, it’ll be a mad dash after the PPV to get things in shape and hyped up for Tampa. Sure, we have our guesses as to who might fill out the rest of the card. Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre or maybe it’s a returning Brock Lesnar could be on tap. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair maybe? Randy Orton vs. The Fiend or whatever he’ll come back as. Bad Bunny & Damien Priest vs. The Miz and John Morrison is sure to happen as well. Whichever way they go, the WWE has its hands full and not a lot of time to get it done.

RAW

RESULTS

WWE Championship Match: Bobby Lashley defeated The Miz to retain title

No DQ Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus went to a no-contest

Xavier Woods defeated Shelton Benjamin

Riddle defeated SLAPJACK

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler defeated Naomi & Lana to retain titles

AJ Styles defeated Randy Orton

I’ll give it to RAW the past few weeks. It’s been better and that trend continues again this week.

The Hurt Lock signaled the end of the match and @fightbobby remains #WWEChampion!#AndStill#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/CcKEsEZZj8

— WWE (@WWE) March 9, 2021

Talk about starting with a bang. No need for one of those cliche championship celebrations. All new WWE Champion Bobby Lashley did was remain dominant and make quick work of The Miz to make his case to highlight a main event at WrestleMania. It’s a quality move by the WWE to make Lashley look as strong as possible headed towards April.

THIS IS AWE-SOME!

#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/8DMXiSQHqc

— WWE (@WWE) March 9, 2021

We praised Drew McIntyre and Sheamus last week for a wonderful one-on-one contest. This week, Sheamus wants more after attacking Drew backstage. Now, just when we were getting more of the brutal beatdown between the two behemoths, oh my the welts on their backs with those kendo sticks, the duo decided to pick up the steel ring steps and collide into each other. Instead of taking out the other, they both take out themselves to end it in a no-contest. I’m sure match three will be on tap for Fastlane.

"Oh, Randy… Not yet."@AlexaBliss_WWE's mind games continue to plague @RandyOrton. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/N5cYmLQ2It

— WWE (@WWE) March 9, 2021

To complete a trio of kudos, AJ Styles and Randy Orton put on a very good main event. Of course, the ending was a bit predictable with Alexa Bliss distracting Orton from the big screen just long enough for an explosion, more black goo spewing from Randy’s mouth and a top rope forearm splash from Styles to give him the pinfall. The Fiend’s resurrection is coming. We’ll just have to wait a bit longer for it, right Miss Bliss?!

Otherwise, Xavier Woods earns The New Day a tag team title shot with a singles victory over Shelton Benjamin. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler get an uneventful championship match win over Naomi & Lana. BTW: not a big fan of putting Reginald with Nia and taking him out of the mix of SmackDown even for one show. Reggie deserves better. Plus, Riddle takes out SLAPJACK. If it’s not Riddle vs. Ali, which we get this Monday night for the US Title, I’m not interested in RETRIBUTION. 

There’s so much left to be done to set up for WrestleMania and with Fastlane being the bump in the road to get there, I’m sure a lot will happen over the next 10 days. Take Charlotte Flair for instance, her only appearance of the night was to tell Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose to bring it when it comes to asking for a RAW Women’s Championship Match against Asuka. Something tells me Rhea Ripley is soon to be added to that mix.

Yes, I’ve left Shane McMahon and Braun Strowman for last. That may have been one of the worst 10 minutes of RAW in many a year. I get it that the WWE wants us to hate Shane and cheer Braun, but that promo from McMahon not only made no sense, it hurt my head to try and listen to it. And, not for nothing, why not give Braun a microphone. Nothing about that segment or the storyline is making me have any interest in it. It’s just more square pegs trying to be pounded into a round hole.

NXT

RESULTS

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Io Shirai defeated Toni Storm

Pete Dunne defeated Jake Atlas

NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon defeated Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez to win titles

Xia Li defeated Kayden Carter by DQ

Legado del Fantasma defeated Grizzled Young Veterans

NXT Championship Match: Finn Balor defeated Adam Cole

Raw emotion. Pure talent. #AndNew #WWENXT Congratulations @ShotziWWE & @WWEEmberMoon! pic.twitter.com/pZFQDxKXhK

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) March 11, 2021

So, that didn’t take long! General manager William Regal wasted little time in banging out the two “game-changing” announcements for the NXT brand. First, we get a two-night TakeOver: Stand and Deliver during WrestleMania week. Then, after last week’s tag team fiasco, Regal declares Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez as the first ever NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last long for Kai & Gonzalez as Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart take them out in their very first title defense. It’s a good way to keep things moving and doesn’t leave any room for doubters to say that the champs were just handed the titles. Moon and Blackheart won them in the ring and move on with the gold.

In an incredible battle for the #WWENXT #WomensTitle, @shirai_io retained against a determined Toni Storm! pic.twitter.com/QjVZmjHd2s

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) March 12, 2021

Io Shirai just keeps going strong. No matter who or where the challenge comes from, Shirai continues to prove she’s the best thing going these days in NXT. I really thought it could be Toni Time for Storm in this one, but Shirai made her tap out surprisingly clean. Next up for champ, she wants Raquel Gonzalez. Now that’s an easy way for her to forget about a quick tag team title loss.

Jordan Devlin is back from the travel ban and yes, ladies and gentleman, it looks like we’ve got a fight for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship next week!

A tip of the hat, or is that a space helmet tip to Breezango as MSK distracts the Grizzled Young Veterans enough to give Legado del Fantasma the win. But, not to be left out, Breezango arrives to give Legado a little payback for last week’s beatdown. Maybe we’ve got an 8-man tag team in our future between these teams.

Kacy Catanazaro’s got a little fire in her belly, taking the crutches to Xia Li during her match with bestie Kayden Carter. Unfortunately, while getting some payback, she also costs Carter a chance at a win, giving Li the DQ victory. This one’s far from over as Kacy gets over her knee injury at the hands of the badass Li.

LA Knight vs. Bronson Reed? Could it be with Knight’s in-ring debut coming next week?

It looks like Imperium wants to grow and is recruiting Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa. Interesting mix to say the least although it looks like Ciampa has his sights set a bit higher on WALTER and the NXT UK Championship. Now that would be a fun fight on either side of the pond. But first, it looks like we get a fight between the four coming up this Wednesday night. 

"What took you so long?"

#WWENXT @FinnBalor @WWEKarrionKross pic.twitter.com/U7zaOlGJDX

— WWE (@WWE) March 11, 2021

Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole – thumbs up! Terrific main event between two of the best in NXT. Both men had their chances near the end and Kyle O’Reilly’s appearance ringside distracted Cole just enough for Balor to get the Coup de Grace and the win. It was a clean victory that I wasn’t sure was in the making. O’Reilly gets his licks in on Cole after the match to boot as well leaving the ring clear for the face-to-face between Balor and Karrion Kross. Finn’s line – “what took you so long” was perfect to end the show too! I hope they build it up for the main event of NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver instead of rushing to it too soon. O’Reilly ripping The Undisputed Era armband off Cole was nice symbolism as well.

I don’t know about you, but NXT was so good this week, it felt like it was over in about five minutes rather than two+ hours. Great in-ring matches. History-making announcements. Storylines opened and advanced. Really good show folks.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

The Street Profits, Rey & Dominik Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Chad Gable & Otis

Cesaro defeated Buddy Murphy by DQ

Tamina & Natalya defeated Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair

Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E defeated Sami Zayn to retain title

"You're better than this… But you're not better than me."

#SmackDown @EdgeRatedR @WWEDanielBryan pic.twitter.com/PUQKdgX4lf

— WWE (@WWE) March 13, 2021

Just in case there’s an upset at FastLane, Edge and Daniel Bryan sure did a nice job starting off SmackDown giving us some really good personal heat between two of the bigger babyfaces in the company. You wonder if Edge will do whatever it takes to make sure Roman Reigns wins, even if it means costing Bryan a shot at WrestleMania.

I don’t know about you, but I really enjoyed the 8-man tag team match. With The Street Profits joining forces with The Mysterios to get the better of the tag champs, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, along with Otis & Chad Gable, it set the right tone and put both teams in line to make their case for a title match. There was never a down time in the match and there were bodies flying everywhere. Solid action to start the night in the ring with the good guys going over.

Poor Reggie! Nia Jax is smitten over him! That shopping spree made me harken back to the days of the Tuesday Night Titans skits. A bit too long, but got the job done. I will say this though. Shayna Baszler is about to snap. Book it. She’s beyond tired of the Nia-Reggie show already and it’s only a matter of time before she takes them both out.

Speaking of Reginald, he cost Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks their tag match against Tamina & Natalya. Something that made Belair not too happy and continues to build the heat between Banks and Belair with Banks continued attention to Carmella’s fired old friend.

After a vicious attack on @WWECesaro, It seems like @WWERollins has the attention of @ShinsukeN!

#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/GcGIOYJKC8

— WWE (@WWE) March 13, 2021

Buddy Murphy vs. Cesaro, part 2 was really just there to set up Seth Rollins attack on Cesaro of course. The most intriguing part though comes after the match. Is Shinsuke Nakamura about to join the Messiah against his former mate? Maybe the evil side of Shinsuke is about to return? I like it. And let’s be honest, Nakamura would be one heck of an upgrade over Murphy.

.@WWEApollo blindsides @WWEBigE after his #ICTitle Match with a vicious attack! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/jI9lQqcMvJ

— WWE (@WWE) March 13, 2021

Oh my Big E! That’s as serious as it gets for The New Day’s biggest superstar. “I need to end you.” WOW! But, instead of getting Apollo Crews and some justified payback, Big E made Sami Zayn his latest Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge victim. Zayn’s loss only comes after he steals King Corbin’s attempt to accept the challenge. Zayn’s right, you snooze, you lose Corbin. Apparently, Crews caught Big E snoozing celebrating his victory with a brutal post-match attack. Damn, what is the WWE’s love for those ringside steps these days. It’s only a matter of time before these two will be battling again for that I-C Gold. UPDATE: WWE has added a title match between the two to FastLane.

Not too shabby! That’s one way to liven up your tired old contract signing. First, Daniel Bryan guilts Roman Reigns into signing the contract for the match at FastLane. Then, when Jey Uso tries to force him into the equation as the special enforcer, Edge ups the ante, challenging Uso next week for that job at the PPV. It’ll be the first time in over a decade that Edge is back wrestling live on the blue brand. Now, that’s how you dot the “I’s” and cross the “T’s” on a go-home show next Friday night.

Parting shots:

@PeytonRoyceWWE just went OFF on #RawTalk. She wants an opportunity against #WWERaw #WomensChampion @WWEAsuka! pic.twitter.com/alnsKByeYA

— WWE (@WWE) March 9, 2021

If you missed RAW Talk this past Monday night, you missed Peyton Royce getting as personal and as real as she’s ever gotten. Her best promo of her WWE career, hands down. Talking Smack continues to be must see watching on Saturdays on the WWE Network.

Coming up this week:

RAW: RAW Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day vs. The Hurt Business United States Championship Match: Riddle vs. Mustafa Ali

NXT: Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott LA Knight’s in-ring debut Dexter Lumis vs. Austin Theory

SMACKDOWN: SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax Edge vs. Jey Uso – winner gets to be special enforcer for Universal Championship at FastLane

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND

[placetobenation]

SmackDown on Fox Episode #53 (Fox One Year Anniversary) SmackDown Episode # 1,102 Orlando, FL – The Thunderdome (Amway Center) 10/2/20

We open the show with a recap of the Universal Championship match at Clash of Champions between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso, we then we go inside the Thunderdome where the Universal Champion Roman Reigns makes his way to the ring alongside Paul Heyman. 

Heyman takes the mic first and says that they are here tonight to officially declare Roman Reigns as the Tribal Chief which was something that he knew was destined to happen from the day that Reigns was born. Heyman says that Reigns is not just the tribal chief of the Anoa’i family or of the WWE but of the entire WWE Universe and that is why Reigns must be the Universal Champion. 

Reigns takes the mic and says he doesn’t want to be known as the Tribal Chief because Jey Uso refused to acknowledge him as such and for that reason he wants Jey Uso to come to the ring, 

Uso comes to the ring moments later with his head bandaged up from the beating he suffered at the hands of Reigns.

Uso says he doesn’t even know Reigns because at Clash of Champions Reigns showed his true colors, but even though Reigns beat his ass at Clash of Champions he didn’t break his spirit and had Jimmy not thrown in the towel we would be looking at a new Universal Champion. Reigns stares at Uso for a moment before asking Uso if he thinks he is proud of what he did at Clash of Champions, Reigns says that Clash of Champions was the worst night of both his career and his life. Reigns says that all he wanted to do was help Uso by putting him in the main event and giving him a big payday so that Uso can do something nice for his wife and kids. Reigns says that he loves Uso even more so than his brother does and all he wanted to do was raise him up and all Uso had to do was acknowledge him as the Tribal Chief, but Uso refused to do so. Reigns says it was his birthright to become Tribal Chief, but he didn’t sit back and let it be handed to him, no, he went and worked his ass off for it and Uso has seen him do it the entire time. 

Reigns says all he wanted to do was represent their family to the fullest, but Uso disrespected him and embarrassed the entire family, and worst of all he broke Reigns’ heart. Reigns calls out Uso for not looking him in the eyes despite him spilling his guts out to him right now and sees that Uso’s eyes are set on the title so he asks Uso if that title means more than their family and if so then he can have another shot at it because Reigns doesn’t care. If Uso wants the shot at Hell in a Cell then he is fine with that, but that match will have higher stakes than any match in WWE has ever had. Reigns and Heyman exit the ring. 

As Reigns and Heyman walk up the ramp Uso gets on the mic and tells Reigns that it is on at Hell in a Cell regardless of what the stakes are. 

Roman Reigns stepped up to the plate and once again he hits a home run with this promo. I love the story of Reigns placing blame on Uso for the attack he gave him and placing zero blame on himself to the point where he sees himself as the hero in all of this, that is exactly what an asshole like that would do because he is not about to make himself look like the bad guy because in his mind he is the greatest thing on God’s green earth. I am really intrigued as to what the stakes are going to be for the match seeing as they are hyping it up as the highest stakes ever seen in WWE. I know they did something very similar a couple of months ago on Raw, but I think something they could do to build even more heat on Reigns is to have him beat the living shit out of Uso with either a kendo stick or a belt and the entire time have him screaming at Uso to call him the Tribal Chief to the point where someone from the back has to come out to pull Reigns off Uso (I would have that be Big E), that would put over even more how pissed off Reigns is at Uso for disrespecting him. I look forward to what the Tribal Chief does next week on SmackDown as it is one of the best stories going today in WWE. 

Before Uso even has a chance to think about what just happened he is greeted by AJ Styles who comes out and says that he doesn’t really care who is sitting at the head of the table, but what does matter to him is Usos’s safety and that is why he thinks someone else who is more qualified should have that title shot against Reigns. Uso finally gets enough and attacks Styles but Styles is able to roll out the ring where he thinks he is safe, but Uso runs across the announce table and dives off onto Styles and this takes us to a commercial break. 

We come back and go straight into our first match of the night. Match #1: Jey Uso vs AJ Styles Styles talks some trash as the bell rings and then sidesteps a charging Uso and takes advantage of that mistake by Uso, Styles stays in charge until Uso stops himself from being sent into the corner and then he hits Styles with a big right hand and then follows that up with a big slam and a jumping headbutt. Uso sends Styles into the corner and looks to hit him with a running hip attack but Styles is able to move out of the way. Styles snapmares Uso into the middle of the ring and delivers a kick to his spine followed by a jumping knee drop for a 2 count. Styles uses the bottom rope to choke Uso and then he catapults him throat first into the bottom rope. 

Styles picks up Uso but is hit with a jawbreaker out of nowhere, but this only slows Styles down for a moment as he comes back with a flurry of strikes to take Uso back down. Styles sets up for the Styles Clash only for Uso to throw him off and then Uso clotheslines Styles out of the ring. Uso looks to dive out onto Styles but is stopped in his tracks when Styles nails him with a kick from the floor. Styles grabs Uso and suplexes him from the ring onto the announce table and this sends us to a commercial. 

We come back from commercial to Uso trying to get back into the match as he catches Styles with a schoolboy but Styles is able to kick out. Styles catches Uso with a backbreaker but it only gets a 2 count. Styles puts the boots to Uso and then locks him in a chin lock which Uso quickly fights out of only to be sent into the corner where he sidesteps a leaping clothesline from Styles and then moments later he takes Styles down with a  pop-up Samoan drop.and then he follows that up with a back suplex style neckbreaker which gets another 2 count. Uso goes for a superkick but Styles ducks and comes with a Pele kick and an ushigoroshi which gets him another very close 2 count. 

Styles sets up for the Styles Clash once again but Uso keeps blocking it until he is able to backdrop Styles out to the apron. Styles catches a kick from Uso while on the apron but Uso turns that into an enziguri that knocks Styles down to the floor. Uso is able to hit the tope suicida that he was looking for earlier and then he throws Styles back into the ring, Uso goes up top looking for the Uso Splash, but Styles is able to get his knees up. Styles rolls out to the apron and looks to hit the Phenomenal Forearm only to be knocked off the top rope by a superkick from Uso, Uso hits him with a second superkick as Styles is draped across the top rope and then he hits him with a third one which keeps Styles down long enough for Uso to hit him with the Uso Splash to pick up the win. Winner: Jey Uso via Pinfall   Match Rating: ***

This was a really good match and it was nice to see Uso get a win over a multi-time world champion, if these two end up on the same brand after the draft I would love to see them face each more as I think this is just the tip of the iceberg for what these two are capable of doing against each other. 

We get a recap of the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match from Clash of Champions and that leads into a backstage promo from the new Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn. 

Zayn guesses that we probably expect him to be gloating about his win at Clash of Champions, but he is actually feeling a mix of emotions with anger and resentment being at the top of the list. Zayn says that there was no reason for him having to take such risks in order to win a championship that was rightfully his all along and this just pisses him off! Zayn then goes on to blame the fans for all of this happening to him because we let management get away with crowning two fraudulent champions. Zayn then takes the Intercontinental Championship that was held by Styles & Hardy and he throws it in the garbage and this sends us to another commercial break.

We come back and go straight to the entrances for our second match of the night which features John Morrison taking on Otis, during Otis’ entrance he gets an inset promo where he says he is ready to fight Miz & Morrison in court and he will be representing himself. 

Match #2: John Morrison vs Otis Morrison goes behind Otis right away but Otis backs him into the corner only for Morrison to shove Otis away using his feet and then Morrison lays back on the top turnbuckle, Otis charges in Morrison connects with a kick to the head. Morrison rolls to the outside and when Otis goes out to get him he is hit with another kick to the head, but Otis recovers quickly and hits Morrison with a clothesline while he is standing on the apron. Morrison rolls back into the ring and Otis steps on his chest. Otis sends Morrison into the ropes and looks to hit him with a backdrop, but Morrison lands on his feet and runs to the ropes himself but is met with a shoulder block and that is followed by a back elbow and a flapjack in the center of the ring. Morrison tries to land a kick, but Otis catches him and hits him with an exploder. Otis hits Morrison with an avalanche in the corner which sets up the Caterpillar elbow drop and then Otis finishes things off with a Vader Bomb. Winner: Otis via Pinfall   Match Rating: *¼  

I’m not sure why we needed to have this match as I feel we could’ve just had that Otis promo backstage and that would be enough follow-up on that story for this week. I  have a feeling that whatever segment we get next week with Otis representing himself will be full of Vince humor, but hopefully, poor Otis can make it work. 

Before we go to break we see Sasha backstage still wearing her neck brace and we are told she will make an appearance later tonight. 

We come back to our third match of the night and during Sheamus’ entrance, we get an inset promo from Big E where he says they can’t settle their feud in just any kind of match so he challenges Sheamus to a Falls Count Anywhere match next week. Big E wants to do it quickly seeing as he and Sheamus could be drafted to separate shows after next week. 

Match #3: Sheamus vs Shorty G Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick right out of the gate but Shorty ducks and tries to get a quick win with a schoolboy but Sheamus kicks out. Shorty sidesteps a charging Sheamus sending him shoulder-first into the ring post and then he hits Sheamus with a bridging German suplex which gets a 2 count. Shorty goes up for the moonsault but Sheamus is able to get out of the way and then he hits Shorty with two Brogue Kicks to pick up the win. Winner: Sheamus via Pinfall   Match Rating: * 

It’s a good thing that SmackDown is doing a great job of telling stories on this episode because these last two matches sure didn’t bring any work rate to the show. I am looking forward to the Big E vs Sheamus match next week as it will be fun to watch a couple of hosses beat the crap out of each other all over the Thunderdome. 

We cut to the back where we see Raw’s Kevin Owens looking over his note cards for tonight’s KO Show with his special guest Alexa Bliss and while he is looking them over we see a video of The Fiend pop up on the monitor behind him and this sends us to break.

We come back and it’s time for the KO Show.

KO is happy to be on SmackDown because after the draft next week this could be his new home and said that WWE management asked him to come on SmackDown for this special episode of the KO Show. KO then introduces Alexa Bliss who gets a lot of pyro for her entrance and as she comes to the ring we are shown a replay of her actions last week in her match against Lacey Evans. 

KO says that he has been watching SmackDown and talks about how Alexa has changed her attitude and how it reminds him of Aleister Black. Alexa feigns ignorance of the change KO is talking about, KO continues and talks about the Alexa he met who was happy and upbeat all the time to which Alexa replies that people change and perhaps he should think about doing the same. KO says he has been trying to change for the better and treat people right, but tonight isn’t about him it’s about Alexa and how she has changed. KO says he needs to understand the darkness that has taken over her because if he can understand what is happening to her then perhaps he can understand what has happened to Aleister Black. 

Alexa says that people fear what they don’t understand and then she asks KO if he has ever been around “Him”, she says it’s both terrifying and captivating at the same time and when you’re in his presence your spine turns cold and then when he touches you you’re entire body goes numb sort of like pins and needles and when he looks at you it feels like he is looking right through you, but you can’t look away from him. KO says he doesn’t think she is talking about Aleister Black and he sees now that he isn’t going to get any clear answers from her because she is brainwashed which Alexa agrees with and she says it has been washed and now she sees the truth.

KO asks if The Fiend is there and Alexa gets a big smile on her face as she says that he is everywhere and she can hear him now, Alexa demands that KO “Let Him In”. KO gets to his feet and the lights go out and when they come back on The Fiend is in the ring and has KO in the Mandible Claw which he keeps on until KO is out cold. The Fiend stands back up and locks eyes with Alexa and then he extends his hand which causes Alexa to get up from her chair and take his hand and then Alexa has a smirk on her face as the segment ends with the both of them officially joined together. 

When I saw that Alexa Bliss was going to be on the KO show I knew we were in for something good and it turns out I was right because nothing but greatness can come when you have two of the greatest talkers in WWE involved in the same segment. I loved KO coming out wearing the Street Profits shirt because you never see anyone wearing shirts of anyone else but themselves so that was cool to see. I thought it was a nice touch that KO used his interview with Alexa to further his feud with Aleister, at least he gave some kind of reasonable explanation for why he would want to be on SmackDown.

Alexa is doing a great job in this role (as if there was any doubt) as her whole demeanor this week is completely different than what we are used to seeing as it is clear that she is fully under The Fiend’s spell as both the way she looks at people and the way she talks to them is completely different as she is now a lot more slowed down and deliberate with her words and the fear she had for The Fiend has completely vanished to the point where she smiles when she is talking about him. This segment left me wanting more as I can’t get enough of what they are doing with Alexa and The Fiend and I am on the edge of my seat waiting for what is going to happen next, speaking of next, we were told that next week Kevin Owens will face The Fiend in what will be The Fiend’s first-ever match on weekly TV, but before that, we will see Bray Wyatt as Kevin Owen’s special guest on another edition of the KO Show which will be happening this coming Monday on Raw. I highly doubt that the match between KO and The Fiend actually happens nor should it because The Fiend is special and should be treated like it, there is no reason for him to be wrestling on weekly TV unless it’s the rare occasion where a big-time feud gets blown off on TV rather than a PPV. 

We come back from commercial to see that King Corbin is making his way to the ring for the next match. We cut to the back where Matt Riddle and Lucha House Party are interviewed about their match against Corbin, Cesaro, & Nakamura which is coming up next. The interviewer asks why Kalisto is missing and Dorado tells her that the is not there because he can’t fit into his mask because his head has gotten so big. 

Match #4: King Corbin, Cesaro, & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Matt Riddle & Lucha House Party Dorado and Nakamura start things out with Nakamura landing some knees to the midsection as Dorado is up against the ropes, but Dorado comes back moments later and takes Nakamura down with a running hurricanrana followed by a dropkick. Kalisto then makes his way down to the ring and this sends us to a commercial break. 

We come back to the heels in control as they are working over Metalik. Corbin knocks Riddle off the apron which prompts Riddle and Dorado to jump in the ring, but the referee holds them back and this allows the heels to work over Metalik in the corner with stomps. Cesaro tags in and hits Metalik with a delayed vertical suplex which gets him a 2 count. Nakamura gets tagged in and after a knee to the gut he locks Metalik in a front face lock but he breaks it prematurely just so he can knock Dorado off the apron. Metalik lands on his feet off an inverted exploder and then he ducks a kick before catching Nakamura with a spinning DDT and this gives Nakamura enough time to crawl over and make the hot tag to Riddle while Nakamura tags in Corbin on the other side of the ring.

Riddle comes in hot with a Pele kick to Corbin which he follows up by hitting Corbin with a couple of running forearms in the corner and then an exploder. Riddle goes for a PK but Corbin ducks so Riddle goes for the standing moonsault but Corbin rolls out of the way so Riddle hits him with a broton and then he is able to hit the PK which gets a 2 count when Nakamura breaks up the pin. The match breaks down as Dorado hits Nakamura with a handspring stunner and then Cesrao takes Riddle down with an uppercut for a 2 count. Dorado sends Corbin over the top rope with a low bridge and then Metalik takes Corbin out with a big dive to the outside.  Cesaro counters an attempted handspring stunner into a back simplex, but Dorado lands on his feet, and then Cesaro shoves Dorado into Kalisto who accidentally hits him with a step up kick. Cesaro throws Dorado out of the ring and then turns around to be met with a knee strike from Riddle and that is followed up by the Bro Derrick to pick up the win for his team. Winners: Lucha House Party & Matt Riddle via Pinfall    Match Rating: **½ 

After the match, Kalisto tries to raise Riddle’s hand but it ends up with him and Dorado fighting once again. 

This was a fun little match and that is about all there is to say about this match. 

We get a recap of the Sasha Banks and Bayley feud and then Sasha makes her entrance which sends us to a commercial break.

We come back to another Carmella vignette and this time she finally shows her face. Carmella blames us for her career getting sidetracked because we wanted her to do things our way and by our rules but all of that got her nowhere. Carmella said she had to remember who she was and that is someone who is better than everyone, however, she no longer wants to be a princess and whether she is on Raw or SmackDown she is untouchable…unless she doesn’t want to be.

I’m not sure how I’m going to like this new Carmella because I loved the Princess of Staten Island gimmick so much and this just feels like her same old heel gimmick but done in a way that has been overdone and less entertaining, I could learn to love it but right now I am very hesitant as to whether this is going to be a good move for her. 

Sasha is in the ring and she has the mic. Sasha asks Bayley if she really thought that a doctor refusing to clear her was going to stop Sasha from beating her ass at Clash of Champions, Sasha says that Bayley has no backbone and if it weren’t for her Bayley would’ve lost her title a long time ago. Sasha says that Bayley used her the entire time to achieve the accomplishments she has and to become the longest-reigning SmackDown Women’s Champion. Sasha says that she knows Bayley isn’t there tonight, but next week they are going to have a match for Bayley’s coveted SmackDown Women’s Championship and when it’s down to just the two of them with nobody else around to save Bayley she will come for her. Sasha rips off her neckbrace to put over that her neck is good to go for next week. 

This was another solid promo by Sasha that quickly got over her wanting revenge on Bayley by taking her SmackDown Women’s Championship. Just like the Fiend vs Kevin Owens match, I don’t expect this match to happen or if it does it will be very short as they are clearly paving the way for this heated feud to be settled in a Hell in a Cell match. 

Sami Zayn makes his way to the ring and he is all bandaged up after being in the ladder match just 5 days earlier, this takes us to a commercial break. 

We come back and the announcers hype up the draft which starts on next week’s SmackDown and also run down what looks to be a very solid show for next week as we will see Kevin Owens vs The Fiend, Bayley vs Sasha Banks, & Sheamus vs Big E in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. 

It’s now time for the main event of the night. 

Match #5: Sami Zayn © vs Jeff Hardy (WWE Intercontinental Championship) Zayn goes right at Hardy as he drives him into the corner where he gets in some punches and kicks before the referee backs him off, but Zayn goes right back to working over Hardy as he chokes him in the corner with his boot. Hardy finally gets back to his feet and fires away with some punches of his own before grabbing a headlock, but Zayn shoots him off into the ropes and Hardy comes back with a shoulder block taking down Zayn. It looks like we are going to get a drop-down and leapfrog spot but something happens which leads to Hardy kicking Zayn low. Hardy puts Zayn in the corner and drives his shoulder into the bandaged midsection. Zayn drops to the mat and rolls to the floor only for Hardy to go out and throw him right back in. 

Hardy looks to go back on the attack but Zayn catches him with a knee and is able to gain control of the match as he hits Hardy with repeated punches and then looks to slam Hardy’s head into an exposed turnbuckle, but Hardy is able to block it and then he sends Zayn into the ropes where he hits him with a big backdrop that sends Zayn out of the ring to regroup while  Hardy points out the exposed turnbuckle to the referee. Hardy hits Zayn with a baseball slide that sends him into the announce table, Hardy uses the steps as a springboard to hit Zayn with Poetry in Motion, but Zayn moves out of the way causing Hardy to land back first onto the barricade and this sends us to our final commercial break. 

We come back to Hardy fighting out of a chin lock and hitting Zayn with a sitout jawbreaker, Hardy runs off the ropes but is taken down with a clothesline which gets a 2 count. We are shown a replay which shows that Zayn exposed the turnbuckle while Hardy was making his entrance to the ring. Zayn drops an elbow on Hardy and then goes back to the chin lock, Hardy fights out but is taken right back down with a mat slam. Zayn throws Hardy to the outside where he drives him into the barricade and then he throws him back into the ring and goes for a cover but only gets a 2 count. Zayn gets up on the second rope and waits for Hardy to get to his feet and when he does Zayn comes off with an elbow onto the back of Hardy’s neck which gets another 2 count. 

Zayn slams Hardy to the mat and then goes up top but is cut off by Hardy who hits Zayn with a superplex moments later. Both men slowly get to their feet and then they start trading punches in the middle of the ring which Hardy eventually gets the best of and then Hardy comes off the rope with a forearm which takes Zayn down. We then get the Jeff Hardy combo of the inverted atomic drop, double leg drop, basement dropkick, and standing splash which gets a 2 count. Hardy looks to hit the Twist of Fate, but Zayn counters it into a backslide for a 2 count and then Hardy counters a back suplex attempt into a sunset flip pin for a 2 count. Zayn stops Hardy’s momentum when he catches him and hits him with an exploder into the corner. 

Zayn is slow to get back to his feet but as he does he locks eyes with the exposed turnbuckle and looks to whip Hardy into it but Hardy holds onto the ropes to prevent that from happening and then he hits Zayn with a mule kick. Hardy charges toward Zayn in the corner but Zayn side steps and hits Hardy with a Blue Thunder Bomb but Hardy is still able to get his shoulder up. Zayn sets Hardy up on the top and joins him up there but Hardy knocks him down and goes for the Swanton, but Zayn gets his knees up. Zayn waits for Hardy to get back to his feet and then he goes for the Helluva Kick, but Hardy side steps and almost sends Zayn into the exposed turnbuckle, but Zayn is able to stop himself. 

Hardy goes for the Twist of Fate once again, but this time he is pushed off in the direction of the exposed turnbuckle which Hardy is able to prevent himself from hitting. Hardy hits Zayn with a back elbow and climbs up top looking to hit the Whisper in the Wind, but Zayn grabs his foot and pulls it out from under him which causes Hardy to hit the exposed turnbuckle face-first, Zayn slowly crawls over to make the cover and that is enough to get the win and successfully retain his Intercontinental Championship.  Winner: Sami Zayn via Pinfall   Match Rating: *** 

The show comes to a close with Zayn celebrating his win. 

This was another really good match to close out a very good episode as I liked the match being worked around the exposed turnbuckle and both men trying to avoid hitting it as that was something you don’t see happen often which makes it nice to see because it was something different. I look forward to seeing what happens with Zayn now that it seems like his feud with Hardy and Styles is over, I just hope he doesn’t end up on the same brand as KO because WWE wouldn’t be able to resist pairing them up once again and I feel like we have seen everything from them being together and we don’t need to see it again anytime soon. 

SmackDown has put on yet another great show, especially in terms of storytelling the Reigns and Uso, Alexa and Fiend, and Sasha and Bayley stories are some of the best things they have done in quite a while and I highly look forward to seeing where each of these stories go next. I’ll be back next week for a recap of what looks to be one of the most action-packed episodes of the year as we have 3 big matches advertised (Fiend vs Owens, Sasha vs Bayley, and Big E vs Sheamus) as well as night one of the WWE draft, so I look forward to seeing what happens on the blue brand next week.  Since this is my one-year anniversary of writing the SmackDown report I want to thank everyone who takes time out of their day to read my article each week and whether you loved or hated my opinions I hope it at least kept you entertained for the duration of your reading of it. I also want to thank everyone at Place To Be Nation for giving me this opportunity to write this weekly article as it has been a lot of fun and I plan to keep going for years and years to come. 

[placetobenation]

SmackDown on Fox Episode #51 SmackDown Episode # 1,100 Orlando, FL – The Thunderdome (Amway Center) 9/18/20

We open the show by going straight into the Thunderdome where The Miz and John Morrison are already in the ring for an edition of The Dirt Sheet. 

Miz and Morrison say tonight they will expose many of SmackDown’s secrets such as the real reason as to why Bayley attacked Sasha, why WWE management is trying to erase Sami Zayn from history, and the family secrets of the Samoan family that Jey Uso has tried to keep buried, but before they get to all of that they have to talk about the biggest story which is Mandy Rose’s sudden departure from SmackDown and soon to come arrival on Raw. 

Miz wants to shut down all the rumors and gossip that he had Mandy moved to Raw in order to play mind games with Otis or just to get revenge on him, Miz says he is a former Money in the Bank winner so he knows the pressure that comes with holding that briefcase so he decided to get Mandy on Raw so that Otis can focus on cashing in that contract instead of being occupied with Mandy Rose. Miz says Otis should thank him and although he understands that Otis is heartbroken right now he will get over it, it seems like Mandy already has gotten over it given what he has heard from some of his buddies over on Raw. Miz and Morrison then joke about the guys on Raw wanting to do more than just smell that rose and also mentions Dolph Ziggler being on Raw, this is enough to bring out Otis. 

Otis runs in and takes Miz down with a double leg and then starts firing away with right hands before he has to throw Morrison off of him and then he takes both men down and throws Morrison out of the ring. Miz tries to escape but runs into Tucker who throws him back into the ring where Otis hits him with an exploder. Tucker throws Morrison back in and Otis hits him with an exploder over the top rope. Otis hits Miz with an avalanche in the corner and then follows up with the Caterpillar elbow drop and then he hits the Vader Bomb. Otis looks like he is going to leave but he turns around and runs back in the ring where he strips Miz down to his briefs and the segment ends with Miz running off trying to cover himself while Morrison runs behind him. 

We come back from a commercial break to Miz and Morirson in the back flustered over what just happens, Kayla Braxton comes up and asks if they regret agravating Otis but Miz says this is all apart of his plan and then he grabs his phone and makes a call and asks the person on the other end if it was enough and then gives a thumbs up as Miz and Morrison walk off. 

As much as I and everyone else love Otis I have to question why this feud with Miz and Morrison needs to be featured in the 20-minute show opening segment as there are several other storylines going on that I would much rather see featured in the opening segment of the show. I’m not sure how I feel about Miz insinuating that Mandy is going to be passed around the Raw locker room like a hot potato that was a bit much and not really needed. I also didn’t see the need for Otis to strip Miz down to his underwear other than to get a laugh out of a couple of people in the back like Vince and Bruce Prichard. Overall I didn’t really care for this segment and thought the time could’ve been better spent on something else. 

Lucha House Party make their way to the ring and on their way we get an inset promo where Kalisto and Dorado argue over who should give Metalik advice for his match. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura come to the ring and we get ain inset promo from them as well where they talk about being on fire. 

I don’t know why but seeing Kalisto wearing street clothes was a bit strange especially the hat as it was weird to see the hat sitting up on top of his mask. 

Match #1: Cesaro w/ Shinsuke Nakamura vs Gran Metalik w/ Lucha House Party Metalik side steps a charging Cesaro and tries to pick up a quick win with a schoolboy but Cesaro is able to kick out. Metalik takes Cesaro down with a flying headscissors and then walks the rope only to be distracted by his partners arguing on the outside and giving him different words of advice and this gives Cesaro enough time to get to his feet and he catches Metalik with a big slam when Metalik jumps off the ropes. Cesaro takes control as he hits Metalik with an uppercut in the corner and then he whips Metalik into the corner but Metalik is able to get his boot up and then he catches Cesaro with a diving hurricanrana, but Cesaro is able to regain control moments later when he reverses a whip into the ropes and takes Metalik down with a clothesline. 

Cesaro grounds Metalik as he applies a kneeling armbar with a neck crank, but Metalik quickly gets back to his feet and fights out of the hold only to be sent into the corner where he avoids another charge from Cesaro and then he charges in himself and gets backdropped out to the apron where he hits Cesaro with an overhead kick. Kalisto and Dorado jump up on the apron like a couple of idiots as they are still arguing about who has the best advice but by this point the referee is tired of them arguing and ejects them both from ringside and they continue to argue on their way to the back. Cesaro knocks Metalik off the apron and then goes out and throws him back in the ring and then he gets distracts himself by taunting Dorado and Kalisto who still haven’t walked behind the curtain and this gives Metalik enough time to climb up to the top and take Cesaro out with a dive to the outside and this sends us to a commercial break. 

We come back to Metalik working his way out of a chinlock and then landing on his feet when Cesaro goes for a back suplex and then Metalik lands a side kick only to run into a big boot which gets a 2 count for Cesaro. Cesaro tries to ground Metalik once again with a chinlock but Metalik fights out so Cesaro nails him with an uppercut and then sits him up on the top rope and Cesaro joins Metalik up top and they jockey for position until Metalik steps back and is standing on the top of the ringpost and then he takes Cesaro down with a super hurricanrana for a very close 2 count. Metalik goes up top looking for his moonsault but Cesaro gets his feet up which causes Metalik to stumble back into the corner where Cesaro hits him with a big running uppercut and then Cesaro hits Metalik with a jumping Neutralizer to pick up the win.  Winner: Cesaro via Pinfall   Match Rating: **½ 

Kalisto and Lince Dorado looked like complete idiots in this match with the constant arguing to the point where they jump on the apron when their team member was in control of the match, I have no interest in this Lucha House Party inner turmoil story that is playing out as I would much rather just keep the three of them together as a team seeing as the SmackDown tag team division is scarce so why break up one of the few teams that is on the show, it makes no sense. 

After the match we go to a backstage interview with Jey Uso who says that Paul Heyman told him that last week was just a big miscommunication but tonight will be different. Jey says Reigns has been throwing his weight around ever since they were little but they are not little anymore but that is at Clash of Champions and then he welcomes Sheamus and Corbin to the Uso Penetintiary and this sends us to a commercial. 

We come back to a promo from Riddle where he explains why he says “Bro” all the time, he says that it can convey any emotion or thought. Riddle goes through various emotions while saying Bro to explain what he was talking about.

How did Riddle go from being a featured part of the show a few weeks ago to now being relegated to cutting this ridiculous promo that did nothing to make anyone interested in seeing him. If your going to have a talent like Riddle up on one of the two main shows then use him in a way that can showcase his what he is best at (which is everything between the ropes) if not then keep him down in NXT because he is too special to be wasted doing corny shit like this. 

It’s now time for the first edition of A Moment of Bliss inside the WWE Thunderdome. 

Alexa introduces her guest who is usually sitting beside her as her co-host but after her big win last week she had to have her on as her guest. Alexa then introduces Nikki and Nikki comes out hyped up as usual.

Alexa congratulates Nikki on her big win but then asks Nikki what her plan of action is for facing Bayley at Night of Champions considering she has had numerous opportunities against Bayley over the past few months and she has always come out on the losing end, so why is this time going to be any different? Nikki says that this time she won’t have to worry about Sasha Banks interfering and thus she will able to have her full focus on Bayley and then Nikki vows to walk out of Clash of Champions as SmackDown Women’s Champion. 

Nikki then says she has a question for Alexa which is what is going on with her, but Alexa doesn’t know what she is talking about. Nikki says that last week during the fatal four way out of all the moves she could have hit her with she hit her with a Sister Abigail and then just walked off in a trance. Alexa is stumbling over her words as she tries to explain that she herself doesn’t fully understand what is going on and before Alexa can go into further detail she is interrupted by Lacey Evans. 

Lacey calls Alexa and Nikki a couple of nasties and then mocks Alexa for having feelings and then she tells Nikki that she should be thanking Alexa for throwing her off her game last week because that’s the only reason she won the match. Lacey then talks about how Nikki is too nice and that’s why she will never beat Bayley and then she pulls out her handkerchief to use it but before she can Nikki grabs it and blows her nose in it and then throws it back at Lacey, but it falls to the ground so Lacey goes to pick it up but as she does Nikki attacks her and this sends us to break.

I liked the fire and passion that Nikki showed when talking about why her match against Bayley at Clash of Champions is going to be different than all the other times she has challenged for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, unfortunately for Nikki I do believe this one will end the same way except this time it will be Alexa that costs her the match instead of Sasha. I like how they are dragging out Alexa explaining in more detail as to why she has been acting differently. I thought the Lacey promo was fine but there was a moment where it felt like she was being a little over the top at times like when she was laughing at Alexa having feelings. 

We come back from break and go right into the next match. Match #2: Nikki Cross w/ Alexa Bliss vs Lacey Evans Alexa Bliss is on commentary during this match. Nikki charges at Lacey, but Lacey runs out of the ring and uses some hand sanitizer that she has with her and cleans her hands real good but an impatient NIkki hits her with a baseball slide. Nikki goes out to get Lacey and throw her back in the ring, but Lacey sends Nikki into the ring instead and then sweeps her leg and looks to hit the slingshot elbow drop but Nikki rolls out of the way. Nikki jumps on Lacey’s back but Lacey is able to break it by backing Nikki into the corner, Lacey charges at Nikki but receives a back elbow and then Nikki comes off the middle rope with a crossbody for a 2 count. Nikki hits a short arm clothesline and then rolls Lacey up with an Oklahoma roll but Lacey is able to kick out. 

Nikki looks for another short-arm clothesline, but Lacey catches the arm and takes Nikki down with an arm wringer, and then she drives her knee into the back of Nikki’s arm. Lacey roughs Nikki up in the corner and then wraps her arm over the top rope and pulls on it. Nikki tries to fight back but Lacey hits with a shot to the ribs and then stomps on the arm in the corner. Lacey gives Nikki a big kick into the corner and then hits her with the elevated bronco buster for a 2 count. Lacey locks in a seated cobra clutch but Nikki is able to get to her feet and elbow out of it only to be taken right back down when Lacey puts her knee on Nikki’s arm and drives it into the mat and then she pulls on the arm, even more, looking to hyperextend it, Nikki eventually is able to roll toward Lacey which puts her shoulders to the mat but Lacey kicks out which also releases the hold. Lacey takes Nikki down with a clothesline and then talks some trash which allows Nikki to get in a desperation headbutt to Lacey’s gut only for Lacey to come right back and slam Nikki to the mat and go back to work on her arm as she drives her knees into the arm and then just punches away at the arm. Lacey hits Nikki with another arm wringer when she tries to get to her feet and then Lacey hits her with a standing moonsault for a 2 count. 

Lacey goes out and grabs her hand sanitizer and looks to squirt it into Nikki’s mouth at first but ends up squirting it on Nikki’s face and makes sure to rub it in and for some reason this is not considered a disqualification as the match continues. Nikki hits Lacey with a couple of elbow shots to the gut and then slams her to the mat by her hair. Nikki hits Lacey with an avalanche in the corner and then hits a flurry of forearms to the chest of Lacey in the corner until the referee makes her back up, Nikki then hits Lacey with a monkey flip. Nikki stomps over to Lacey who tries to drop toe hold Nikki into the middle turnbuckle but Nikki blocks it and then she hits Lacey with a tornado DDT which she rolls through into a rope draped version of The Purge and that is enough to finish off the Sassy Southern Belle. Winner: Nikki Cross via Pinfall   Match Rating: ** 

After the match Lacey crawls over to the commentary table and is screaming at Alexa and while screaming she mentions The Fiend and this puts Alexa back into her trance as she gets up from the table and walks over to Lacey and then gives her a Sister Abigail before walking off in a trance just like last week. 

Outside of the spot with the hand sanitizer I found the match to be underwhelming and all of the time spent working over the arm of Nikki was for nothing as it didn’t play into the finish of the match at all. Alexa hitting the Sister Abigail on Lacey after the match was nice but didn’t do anything to further the story as it was basically a rehash of what she did last week to Nikki, except for the fact that this time she didn’t enter the trance until Lacey mentioned The Fiend, so I guess that’s furthering the story a little bit but I was expecting more after what happened last week.  

We see Sasha Banks who is in a neck brace getting mic’d up for her interview which is coming up next after the break. 

We come back and go to a video package narrated by Paul Heyman which highlights the legacy of the Anoa’i family in WWE, the video was used as a way to further hype up the match between Reigns and Uso at Clash of Champions.

This was a really well done video package to show off the legacy in which both Jey and Reigns come from and why we should care about their match at Clash of Champions.   

We then go live via satellite to Sasha Banks who is at the Performance Center for an interview.

Sasha is asked the extent of her injuries and after a brief pause she says she is still here isn’t she? Sasha is then asked her thoughts on what Bayley said last week when she was giving her reasoning for attacking Sasha, Sasha repeats what Bayley said about her being useless and then says she heard everything Bayley said last week and she is overcome with emotion about it, especially since she is at the PC where they trained everyday and talked about all the things they wanted to accomplish in WWE and this summer being at the PC they showed they world that they could take over the whole damn company and then says all of their accomplishments they did together. Sasha tries to continue but the more she talks the more she is overcome with emotion to the point where she has to gather herself before continuing. 

Sasha says that last week Bayley mentioned how Bayley thought that Sasha saw her as an idiot and naive and she was damn right because Bayley is an idiot and naive becaue she is nothing without Sasha. Sasha says that since she is useless to Bayley one day she will take the one thing that Bayley loves which is the SmackDown Women’s Championship. All of a sudden out of nowhere Bayley attacks Sasha with a chair and then rips her neckbrace off before placing Sasha’s head in the chair like she did two weeks ago, but thankfully before she could do any more damage people inside the PC run in to stop her and this sends us to a commercial. 

We come back to Sasha still being checked on at the PC before we go back inside the Thunderdome for the next match of the night. 

I loved everything about this segment as Sasha was fantastic and conveyed the exact emotion that she needed to without it coming off as corny or forced and I especially liked when she had to stop for a moment in order to regain her composure as that put over the emotion she was feeling even more. I liked how Sasha used her being at the PC as a way of bringing more emotion into the interview as she was probably reminded that entire day while getting ready for the interview of all the good days they had when they were starting their careers in WWE. I was not expecting Bayley to attack Sasha again but I’m glad she did because I want this match between the two of them to be held off as long as possible because they could definitely stretch it out until WrestleMania if they want, but as I said last week that probably won’t happen and we’ll just see them face off in a Hell in a Cell match next month, however, with that being said at least they would have a match that would be worthy of being inside the Cell which is not the case for most of the Hell in a Cell matches on that PPV. This segment by far was my favorite thing that happened on SmackDown this week and I have to give a big kudos to both Sasha and Bayley for delivering fantastic performances.  Before the match Zayn argues with Greg Hamilton about not announcing him as Intercontinental Champion but Styles gets fed up of waiting for Zayn so he attacks him at ringside and then throws him into the ring to officially start the match. 

Match #3: AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn Styles hits Zayn with a leaping forearm in the corner and follows that up with the ushigoroshi which gets a 2 count. Styles sets up for the Styles Clash but Zayn is able to escape and roll out of the ring for a breather but Styles goes out after him and throws him right back in and then catches him with a backbreaker for another 2 count. Zayn rolls out of the ring once again and just like before Styles goes out and rolls him back in, but this time Zayn catches Styles when he tries to get back in the ring and starts putting the boots to him before he hits Styles with a DDT for a 2 count. 

Zayn locks Styles in a chinlock but Styles gets to his feet and backs Zayn into the corner where he hits him with a couple of back elbows and then Styles charges in but gets backdropped onto the apron and is then sent face first into the opposite turnbuckle, Zayn looks to hit Styles with the Helluva Kick on the apron but Styles avoids it and gets back into the ring where he hits Zayn with a clothesline that sends him falling off the apron and onto the floor. Styles dives out of the ring onto Zayn with a plancha forearm and this sends us to a commercial break. 

We come back to Zayn in control as he sits Styles up on the top rope and looks to hit a superplex but Styles slips between Zayn’s legs and trips him up sending Zayn face-first into the top turnbuckle. Zayn recovers quickly as he charges at Styles in the opposite corner but Styles gets his feet up and goes to the outside where he looks to hit the Phenomenal Forearm but Zayn ducks and Styles is able to roll through only to run into a stun gun from Zayn. Zayn looks to hit a vertical suplex but Styles reverses it and hits Zayn with a neckbreaker for a 2 count. 

Styles goes to pick Zayn up but Zayn hits him with a jawbreaker and then we get a forearm exchange in the middle of the ring which Zayn gets the best of momentarily until Styles comes back with the Styles rush but Zayn catches him with a big boot only for Styles to come back with a Pele kick and now both men are down. Both men slowly get up and Styles looks to hit a suplex but Zayn floats over into a rear waistlock but Styles escapes with a back elbow and tries to run to the ropes, but Zayn hangs onto his tights and pulls him back so that he can hit Styles with a blue thunder powerbomb for a 2 count. 

Zayn picks up Styles and Styles looks to lock in a Calf Crusher but Zayn rolls through and then gets kicked in the head. Styles looks to clothesline Zayn in the corner but Zayn catches him with an exploder into the corner. Zayn waits for Styles to get to his feet as he looks to hit him with the Helluva Kick but when he runs in Styles tries to counter but Zayn blocks that and rolls Styles up in a schoolboy but referee Jessika Carr stops her count because she sees that Zayn is holding Styles’ tights so Zayn argues with her about it and then Styles catches Zayn with a schoolboy and he pulls Zayn’s tights but the referee doesn’t see it and counts Zayn’s shoulders to the mat 1-2-3. Winner: AJ Styles via Pinfall   Match Rating: ***¼ 

After the match, Zayn argues with the referee over her counting while Styles had his tights and then goes back to yelling at Greg Hamilton as he wants to be announced as still Intercontinental Champion. Jeff Hardy runs down to the ring and attacks Zayn sending him into the barricade and then goes under the ring and at first, pulls out a table but thinks better of it and then grabs a ladder. Hardy takes both Zayn and Styles out with the ladder on the outside and then he throws Zayn back into the ring and hits him with the Twist of Fate and then sets up the ladder and climbs it, but before he can do anything Zayn rolls out of the ring. 

Hardy gets on the mic and says he is tired of this crap and wants to end this once and for all as he wants to determine the undisputed Intercontinental Champion in a triple threat Ladder Match. 

This was a really good match and it’s good to see Zayn back in the ring as it’s been a while since we have seen him have a match this good. It was pretty predictable that this was going to end with the three men facing off in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship but just because it’s predictable doesn’t mean that I’m not looking forward to it as all three of these men excel in ladder matches and I’m sure they will do everything they can to make it the best match on the card at Clash of Champions. 

We then go to the back where Heavy Machinery is hanging out when a man walks up and serves Otis some papers, Tucker pulls out the papers and reveals to Otis that he is being sued and this sends us to commercial. 

We come back to Heavy Machinery and Tucker informs Otis on exactly what he is being sued for and there is a whole list of things including Money in the Bank negligence and violating the first amendment rights of The Dirt Sheet. Tucker tells Otis that it says he has a week to either give up his Money in the Bank briefcase or the case goes to court and this has Otis very distressed as he tells Tucker he is in trouble. 

As if the opening segment of the show wasn’t enough for this storyline we now have Otis getting sued for ridiculous things such as Money in the Bank negligence. The only way they could get me to care about any of this is if they bring back Joseph Park as a lawyer. If it were me I would have Otis counter-sue for contract tampering and have that be the reason as to why Mandy gets to come back to SmackDown. 

We go to the back where Sheamus and Corbin are talking about their match when they security guard from last week shows up (Sheamus is happy to see him as he helped Sheamus lure Big E into the ambush) and tells Sheamus his car is getting towed, Sheamus runs out and screams at the attendant who has his back turned at first but when he turns around it is Big E and he goes after Sheamus but he is able to get away. Big E then turns his attention to the security guard who helped Sheamus and beats the crap out of him before setting him up on a car and despite the referees trying to get him to stop Big E hits the security guard with a belly to belly suplex onto the windshield, but that isn’t enough as he grabs the guy and throws him into the trunk as Adam Pearce tells Big E that he needs to leave and this sends us to break. 

I really liked how this was done with Big E getting his revenge on the security guard once Sheamus ran off as he wasn’t going to let the security guard get away when he was the one that lured Big E into the ambush last week. I liked how Big E was serious during most of this but was also able to throw in a little bit of comedy as well. I look forward to when Big E gets his hands on Sheamus.  

We come back from commercial to another vignette of the mystery woman and this week we get a slight glimpse of her face before the vignette ends. 

Now that it seems like the mystery woman is Carmella I have to be honest that I’m not looking forward to it because I like her F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S Mella is Money character so much that her being portrayed as anything but that just doesn’t seem right, perhaps she will make me change my mind once she actually returns but as for now, I’m not impressed.  

The Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman make their way to the ring and then Reigns gets on the mic and says he came out first because he doesn’t want there to be any confusion that this is his yard, his island, his ring, and his WWE and if anyone wants it they have to come and take it from him. 

Jey Uso makes his way to the ring as we go to commercial.  Match #4: Roman Reigns & Jey Uso w/ Paul Heyman vs Sheamus & King Corbin (Samoan Street Fight) Reigns and Uso dominate early as Reigns takes down Sheamus with a clothesline and then he clotheslines Corbin over the top rope to the floor. Uso runs off the barricade and takes out Corbin at ringside or at least I think that’s what happened because the camera totally missed it (thanks a lot Kevin Dunn). Sheamus pulls Reigns out of the ring and they trade punches until Reigns backdrops Sheamus over the barricade and when Sheamus gets back to his feet Uso puts him right back down with a superkick. Corbin throws a chair at Reigns’ head and then he hits Uso with a Deep Six on the floor.

Corbin throws Reigns in the ring and slides a chair in as well but when Corbin bends over to pick up the chair he is kicked by Reigns and then Reigns grabs the chair and hits Corbin with it several times in the back. Reigns goes out and grabs a table from under the ring but ends up getting hit with a running knee by Sheamus. Corbin and Sheamus double team Reigns at ringside and then throw him over the announce table. Corbin and Sheamus slide the table into the ring and then turn their attention to Uso, but Uso tries to fight back as he hits Sheamus with an enziguri and then goes up top but the heels trip him up and then they double powerbomb him through the table. Sheamus goes for the cover but somehow Uso is able to kick out. 

Corbin goes out to make sure Reigns is still laid out but he walks right into an office chair being thrown by Reigns. Sheamus goes out and hits Reigns with a blow to the head taking him back down, Sheamus clears off the announce table and looks to hit Reigns with a White Noise through the table, but Reigns slips out the back and then hits Sheamus with a low blow and then looks to put Sheamus through the table with a Samoan drop but when he hits it the table doesn’t break. Reigns sends Corbin into the ring post and then he hits Sheamus with a Spear through the barricade. 

Corbin runs over and slams Reigns face-first into the steps and then rolls him back into the ring, Uso tries for a tope suicida but Corbin catches him and sends him into the timekeeper area. Corbin reaches out to grab his scepter but Uso clocks him with the Universal Championship which causes Corbin to stumble backward into a Spear from Reigns and then Uso finishes things off with an Uso Splash for the win. Winners: Roman Reigns & Jey Uso via Pinfall   Match Rating: ***

After the match, Uso grabs the Universal Championship and acts like he is going to lift it into the air, but he tosses it over to Reigns instead. Uso and Reigns hug and both are all smiles and then Uso leaves the ring and as he is going up the ramp we cut back to the ring where Reigns is giving Uso a death glare and that is how SmackDown comes to a close.  

I was not expecting the Samoan Street Fight to be as much fun as it was but it was a blast to watch and that spot where Reigns chucked the office chair at Corbin was really great. I loved the post-match where Reigns kept being all nice to Uso to his face even though Uso had the gall to put his hands on Reigns’ Universal Championship but when Uso turned his back he gave him a go to hell lock. This match and post-match made me look forward to seeing Reigns vs Uso even more. This was a mixed bag of an episode as the stuff that was good was really good like the Sasha Banks and Bayley segment, everything involving Roman Reigns and Jey Uso, and the AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn match, however, the rest of the show was not that great especially everything involving The Miz, John Morrison, & Heavy Machinery as a terrible storyline such as that one shouldn’t be taking up so much time. That’s it for me this week I’ll be back next week with the go-home show for Clash of Champions.