Our WWE SmackDown results for tonight include Giulia taking on Kiana James, Women’s Tag Team Champion Paige clashing with Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne, Jade Cargill battling Chelsea Green, tag team action with Alexa Bliss and Tiffany Stratton teaming up to face Michin and B-Fab, Danhausen and Matt Cardona lock up with Los Garzas, United States Champion Trick Williams returning, and Rey Fenix defending the AAA Cruiserweight Championship against Nathan Frazer. WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has words for challengers Gunther and Sami Zayn. Here’s our review and grades for tonight’s show, live from the O2 Arena in London, England.
WWE SmackDown Card:
- Paige vs. Jacy Jayne
- AAA Cruiserweight Championship | Rey Fenix (c) vs. Nathan Frazer
- Jade Cargill vs. Chelsea Green
- Giulia vs. Kiana James
- Danhausen and Matt Cardona vs. Los Garzas
- Alexa Bliss and Tiffany Stratton vs. Michin and B-Fab
- United States Champion Trick Williams returns
- WWE Champion Cody Rhodes addresses Gunther and Sami Zayn
WWE SmackDown Results:
Whoop Dat!
United States Champion Trick Williams is in the ring with Lil Yachty. Williams tells the crowd he missed last week’s SmackDown because he was in Jamaica getting married to Lash Legend. Ricky Saints inturupts and the crowd chants, “Who are you?” Saints tells Williams not to overlook him. At Night of Champions, you are looking at the new United States Champion.
Williams tells Saints he only needs to be concerned with who his dentist is going to be when he punches Saints’ teeth down his throat. Saints wants to know if Lil Boat comes with the United States Championship when he wins it. Boat tells Saints’ he’d never work for him. Saints decks, Boat, and rolls out. As Williams checks on Boat, Saints attacks him from behind.
Grade: C+
This angle doesn’t seem to be hitting with the audience. The issue here is that, despite how good Saints are, they haven’t given the crowd a reason to care. The Saints need to do some despicable things to get the crowd to boo him. If anything, the move may be putting the title on Saints at NOC.
Alexa Bliss and Tiffany Stratton vs. Michin and B-Fab
B-Fab and Michin take control after a brief flurry by Bliss. After the break, Bliss manages to tag in Stratton, who clears the ring. Jade Cargill teleports to ringside and knocks Stratton off the top rope while she is setting up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. B-Fab hits a neck breaker into an X-Factor for the win.
Winners- B-Fab and Michin
After the match, Cargill and Co surround Stratton. Chelsea Green runs to the ring to make the save with a kendo stick, but the stick bounces out of her hands as she tries to get between the ropes. Green ends up surrounded but manages to clear the ring in the most Chelsea way ever.
Grade: C+
Fine TV match with a surprising finish. It was nice seeing B-Fab get a big pin. Also, her finish is kinda cool. Green’s hilariously successful run-in was the best part of all of this. Give Green every title.
Backstage, Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga walk into Solo Sikoa‘s locker room. Sikoa gloats about costing Jimmy Uso a match on Raw. Tama tells Sikoa that they told him to stand down. Talla notes they got a call from the elders. Tama tells Sikoa that they are out. Sikoa goes nuts. Tama and Talla walk away. The MFTs are done. Sikoa screams that nobody leaves him.
Grade: B
This was short, sweet, and impactful. What the heck is Sikoa going to do now? This throws everything on its head. Sikoa is going to be in direct conflict with the Bloodline, and he has no soldiers.
Backstage, Cargill finds SmackDown GM Nick Aldis and demands a match with Green tonight. Aldis agrees.
AAA Cruiserweight Championship | Rey Fenix (c) vs. Nathan Frazer
After a flurry, Frazer lands a dive. Feinix fires back with a handspring cutter. Frazer kicks out. Frazer lands a superplex. Fenix counters Frazer’s falcon arrow with a small package. Frazer kicks out. Both men boot each other in the face at the same time. Everyone is down. Frazer counters a springboard from Fenix with a suplex. Suplex cutter by Frazer. Fenix kicks out. Fenix avoids a phoenix splash. Superkick and double knees by Fenix. Fenix eventually lands the Mexican Muscle Buster for the win.
Winner and STILL AAA Cruiserweight Champion, Rey Fenix!
Grade: B
Great fast-paced match. If they had been given more time, this one could have developed further and reached the next level. It’s a good thing WWE is giving Fenix something to do before inevitably reuniting him with Penta to form the Lucha Bros.
Raw’s LA Knight arrives backstage and says he’s here because he’s got some questions.
LA Knight
Knight notes that Jimmy Uso is the one person in the Bloodline that he respects, but Jimmy got what he deserved last week. Knight wants Solo Sikoa out here right now. Sikoa stalks to the ring. Knight notes that Sikoa helped him last week, and he wants to know what. Sikoa says he isn’t here to fight. Everyone in his family has left him. Knight says he knows that must hurt, but his heart doesn’t pump purple piss, so he doesn’t care. Sikoa’s family leaving him only paves the road for Sikoa to run back to Reigns. Knight wants to know why.
Sikoa guts off and says he hates the Bloodline. He hates every single one of them. The only way for Sikoa to feel better is if he finishes the Bloodline. There is one thing they have in common: they both hate The Bloodline. Sikoa says it’s just him now, and the enemy of his enemy is his friend. Sikoa pitches for them to watch each other’s backs. Knight says he’s skeptical, but let him think about it. Does he need Siko watching his back? Nah. He’ll live and die doing things his way. Thanks, but no thanks. Knight drops the mic and walks off.
Grade: C+
This went on entirely too long. Get to the point.
Paige w/Brie Bella vs. Jacy Jayne w/Fatal Influence
Paige and Jayne trade big shots. Jayne kicks out of the Paige Turner. Paige kicks out of a running knee strike. Paige avoids the rolling encore. After a struggle, Jayne takes Paige over in a pin with her feet on the ropes. Brie Bella knocks Jayne’s feet off the ropes, leading to a brawl with the rest of Fatal Influence. Back in the ring, Paige rolls up Jayne with a handful of tights for the win.
Winner- Paige
Grade: C+
Fine TV match. Has Jayne won a match in the last few weeks? Odd way to get a new talent over. If Paige had to win this match, why couldn’t it be Reid or Henley eating a pin tonight? Also, this is the second week in a row Paige or Brie Bella has cheated to win. At some point, this has to be addressed. It’s odd that it hasn’t been.
Backstage, Finn Bálor runs into Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga. Bálor notes they used to run together. Tama reminds Bálor that Shinsuke Nakamura was in his past, too, and look how that turned out. Tama and Talla walk away.
Angel and Berto beat up Miz and Kit Wilson. As Los Garzas gang up on Danhausen, Matt Cardona runs down to the ring and stands with Danhausen. GM Aldis walks out on the ramp and books a tag match.
Danhausen and Matt Cardona vs. Los Garzas
As Berto climbs the ropes for a moonsault, Danhausen curses him, and pyro burns Berto’s butt. Danhausen lands a Scorpion Death Drop for the win.
Winner- Danhausen and Matt Cardona
Grade: C+
This was pretty dumb, but entertaining.
Backstage, Gunther says Cody Rhodes screwed him, but at NOC, it will be different.
Jade Cargill vs. Chelsea Green
Green manages a bit of offense, but Cargill lands Jaded for the win.
Winner- Jade Cargill
After the match, Cargill beats down Green. Stratton and Bliss hit the ring. B-Fab and Michin aren’t far behind. Cargill and co take control. Cargill drops Stratton with Jaded.
Grade: C-
This was too short, and we’ve seen this already tonight.
Giulia vs. Kiana James
James is in control to start off, landing a flurry in the corner. The fight spills out of the ring. Giulia misses a dive and gets dropped on the steel ring steps, face-first. After the break, Giulia and James trade strikes. James takes over. Giulia lands a sunset fli bomb. Running knee by Giulia. Giulia hits a Northern Lights Bomb for the win.
Winner- Giulia
After the match, Blake Monroe attacks Giulia. Monroe drops Giulia with a Neutralizer.
Grade: B
Solid contest. Having Monroe debut in the UK is smart, not sure if Giulia was the best first target.
Woaaaaah!
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes asks the crowd what they want to talk about. Sami Zayn interrupts. Zayn says what happened last week was a mistake, but Rhodes isn’t buying it. This isn’t how Zayn wanted it. Rhodes says Zayn is acting like a victim. Rhodes tells Zayn he is exhausted. Like a mosquito, sucking the blood from him. Rhodes notes that it’s funny Zayn is best friends with Kevin Owens. At least Owens would have come out here and told the truth. The other thing is that at least Owens has been the champion before.
Zayn says the only reason Rhodes is champion is because of Zayn. When Rhodes loses the title, it will be because of Zayn. Gunther power walks to the ring. Gunther doesn’t care about any of this. All he cares about is winning the championship. Jey Uso is out next. Jey tries to run it back, but Gunther puts a stop to that. Jey says if Gunther is champion, he’ll beat him again like a little you know what. A brawl breaks out. Jey and Rhodes are left in the ring and have a faceoff. Oba Femi’s music hits. Jey superkicks Rhodes.
Femi and Jey stare each other down. Gunther attacks Jey from behind and hits a Rainmaker. Gunther picks up the championship and stares at Femi. Zayn rips the title out of Gunther’s hand and clocks him with it. As Zayn holds the championship, he locks eyes with Femi. Rhodes surprises Zayn with Crossroads. When Rhodes bends down to pick up the championship, Femi steps into the ring and gets in Rhodes’ face. Rhodes holds up the championship.
Grade: B+
This segment was great. So many interconnecting storylines are colliding and adding more intrigue in the WWE Championship picture. If Femi wins, will he challenge Rhodes? We already know what Jey will do, but Femi is making it clear that Rhodes may be in his sights as well. Another underrated thing here is keeping Gunther and Femi from touching at all. That’s something you save for much later.
Read More: Chad Gable’s Strange New WWE Gimmick Tied to Major Creative Plan
WrestleZone features weekly audio and video content on Facebook, YouTube, and your favorite podcast apps like Apple, Spotify, and SoundCloud. Subscribe now for hours of exciting wrestling content, including exclusive interviews, previews, reviews, and more!
