With just over a week until Saturday Night’s Main Event returns, WWE has continued its build by focusing on the upcoming WWE Undisputed Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens. The two were not in the building together until the last moment of the show, but once they occupied the same space, a wild fight broke out.
Before Owens’ attack, Rhodes was otherwise busy with Chad Gable, who showed up from Raw, and after exchanging words with Rhodes, found himself lined up opposite the champion in the main event of the evening.
Rhodes managed to survive a tough challenge from Gable, but that gave Owens a chance to strike, leading to a brawl between the two as the show went off the air.
Rhodes and Owens fight to close the show
The show opened with American Made interrupting a show opening promo by Cody Rhodes. Chad Gable said Nick Aldis called to find out how to get them to SmackDown because “the transfer window is about to open.” After some back and forth between the two about various disappointments in each other, Rhodes told Gable to go talk to Aldis and lace up his boots for a match later that night.
Rhodes’ main event opponent, Kevin Owens, was scheduled to participate in an interview with Michael Cole. Owens instead sent a video to his cell phone while sitting in his car in the parking lot. He said he refused to go into the building and that Cole could come and question him in the parking lot. Cole eventually did so and Owens claimed that Cole would not have been impartial before briefly arguing with the man play-by-play, kicking him out of the car and leaving.
Cody Rhodes def. Chad Gable via pinfall after hitting Cross Rhodes. Gable had removed Rhodes’ boot and went after the ankle throughout the match, but ultimately couldn’t get the victory. After the match, Owens stormed the ring before landing his own shots at Rhodes’ ankle. Rhodes eventually fought back and the two men continued to brawl as security and WWE officials attempted to separate them as the show ended.
Overall, this was a very good episode of SmackDown with good story beats and strong in-ring action. Rhodes and Owens provided what they needed, even if the last few months of WWE programming have felt like one or two brawls a week. Despite this, the build-up to Saturday Night’s Main Event continued and Owens conveyed his anger well both towards Cole and with his attack on Rhodes. Grade: B+
What else happened on WWE SmackDown?
- Solo Sikoa and the New Bloodline were shown arriving before the showeliminating Apollo Crews and several others backstage in a fit of rage.
- Tiffany Stratton def. Naomi and Elektra Lopez via pinfall after hitting a prettiest Moonsault ever on Lopez. With this victory, Stratton qualified for the United States Women’s Championship tournament.
- Bianca Belair def. Piper Niven via pinfall after hitting Niven with a Kiss of Death on Chelsea Green. Earlier in the show, Niven and Green attacked Belair backstage.
- Shinsuke Nakamura was in the ring with his new United States Championship when he was interrupted by LA Knight.who asked for an opportunity to regain the title from Nakamura. These two were then interrupted by Andrade, who said he had his own unfinished business with Nakamura. That’s when Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu hit the ring to attack Knight and Andrade before Nakamura escaped. Sikoa took the mic and said he was tired of not being taken seriously and challenged anyone to step up and take a photo.
- WWE Tag Team Championship — #DIY def. Motor City Machine Guns (c) via pinfall to win the titles. The Motor City Machine Guns were supposed to defend the titles against the Street Profits, but the Profits had been attacked backstage, leading Johnny Gargano to ask Nick Aldis to take their place in the match. Gargano then delivered a low blow to get the win, completing a heel turn for #DIY as they won the belts.