This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown opened with “The Grayson Waller Effect,” complete with a new set that doesn’t look much different than the old one, featuring special guest WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. I went in expecting them to do something to add some excitement to the Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens title match at Bash in Berlin.
Waller actually tried to drive a wedge into the discussion by mentioning how many times Owens and Randy Orton had been beaten up because of their association with him. Rhodes used the opportunity to put KO in the spotlight by saying that he could, and probably had, beat anyone on the SmackDown roster and that he therefore deserved the title shot.
Of course, Cody then turned the tables completely by targeting Austin Theory – whom he called “Magic Mike” – and telling him that everyone in the background had been waiting for him to finally get his act together and take out the guy who was holding him back.
So Grayson switched to a video they had prepared showing Owens turning on everyone he had ever called a friend in WWE. It was obviously intriguing because he did all of those things. You saw it right in the video!
That brought Owens to the stage and he defended himself, saying that everyone in the video deserved it except Kofi Kingston, to whom he then apologized as well. He promised not to turn on Rhodes and instead went straight to the formalities by getting SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis to come out and book a tag match for the main event.
A brief brawl broke out and Owens accidentally hit Rhodes. A taste of what’s to come?
A backstage segment led to Owens appealing to Rhodes again, hoping to make Cody believe he’s not like that anymore and that these guys really deserve it (except Kofi, of course). The champion said he’s taking him at his word and is just trying to be ready for what’s next.
Hmmmm.
In the match that followed, they made sure to argue a few times, but Owens was there for Rhodes each time. He then cleanly pinned Waller with the Pop Up Powerbomb to give the babyface team the win.
After the win, there were still a few minutes left until the hour mark, and I wondered if they were going to pull a twist here anyway. They hinted at it again by having Owens take the WWE Title and hold it as if he was going to put it to Cody’s head. The crowd stood and was ready, but at the last second, Owens just handed it to him, taunting A-Town Down Under.
Rhodes saw enough to have a strange feeling about it.
We all have to believe that it is only a matter of time.
Hey, anything that makes this game more exciting, right? I’m in!
Solo Sikoa said in Washington DC that he had a lot to say.
Point number one: The OTC is done.
Point two: Whether Kevin Owens or Cody Rhodes wins the WWE Championship, he’s next. He’s going to bring the title back to his family.
Number three: Since he’s going to be the undisputed WWE Champion, there’s something wrong with the tag team titles. He asked Jacob Fatu to step in and he did. Then he demanded that his enforcer give him the title. No, actually he should give it to Tonga Loa.
Fatu did exactly what was asked of him. Sikoa said he couldn’t be tag team champions if he was supposed to be Solo’s personal enforcer. It seems like this is their way of giving the title back to Loa, who has taken off the eyepatch.
But would that mean reducing the titles to The Street Profits?
For most of the match, it looked like that was the case, as Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford played with Loa and Tama Tonga for long stretches. It wasn’t until Solo distracted the referee and allowed Fatu to hit both Profits with a superkick that it became clear how the match would end.
The bloodline remains intact.
DIY came out on stage afterward to help the Profits avoid a post-match brawl, and they were eliminated as well. The tag team division seems completely unprepared for what is still the best stable in the country.
The rest
- LA Knight’s first defense of the US Title was against Santos Escobar, who tried to take advantage of an ambush by his Legado del Fantasma stablemates before the bell rang to get enough of a lead and steal the belt. It didn’t work, and instead the referee sent the whole group away, leaving Escobar all alone. He wasn’t good enough to survive the blunt force trauma, and Knight’s first defense was successful. I loved that Escobar was good and mad about his team screwing up so much, telling them they were no use to him if they weren’t out there. This led to Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews showing up and laughing at them, and a fight being set up for next week. Later on, LA Knight also mentioned that he would be in Berlin for an open US Title contest.
- Carmelo Hayes was doing a promo in a barbershop and Andrade came in to tell him that he disrespected him last week, so they would meet up for another fight next week. They didn’t fight and instead Hayes got mad at everyone around him for letting Andrade get to him like that. It was weak, but it was worth it for next week.
- In a six-woman tag match, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Naomi defeated The Unholy Union and Blair Davenport, with Cargill looking particularly good after a hot tag. Naomi eventually defeated Davenport and left the others to fight outside as a preview of their title match at Bash in Berlin. The babyfaces still look much stronger than the heels, but at least they haven’t defeated the champions yet.
- They showed a pretty great vignette of Michin telling the story of an underdog who was told she wasn’t good enough and eventually broke through with a title shot against Nia Jax. They cut to Jax upset about the situation. Tiffany Stratton wanted to know what she could do for her and Jax had her fix the crown. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven were heard talking bad about Stratton and sowing even more doubt about a cash-in that could happen next week since Jax vs. Michin will be a street fight.
A decent show.
Grade: C+
It’s your turn.
