WWE SmackDown live results: Night of Champions go-home show

The final SmackDown before Saturday’s Night of Champions PLE airs tonight as London, England plays host to Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes calling out both Gunther and Sami Zayn.

Rhodes will face both men on Saturday in a triple threat match with the title on the line. It’s a matchup that was made last week after Zayn served as the special guest referee for a title bout between Rhodes and Gunther. After they were unable to get on the same page, Zayn ended up doing a fast count that caused Gunther to lose.

The AAA Cruiserweight Championship will be up for grabs tonight with Rey Fenix, coming off a successful defense against Axiom a couple weeks back, facing off against Nathan Frazer.

A pair of matches in the women’s division are also set with Paige vs. Jacy Jayne and Giulia vs. Kiana James.

Plus, we’ll get the final build to Trick Williams and Ricky Saints’ United States title match at Night of Champions.

Our coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.

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– The show opened tonight with a recap of the saga involving Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Gunther, and Sami Zayn. After the recap, we got arrivals for the three men involved in the Night of Champions Triple Threat match tomorrow afternoon.

Trick Williams kicks off SmackDown

The men’s United States Champion got the show going proper, accompanied by his sidekick/best friend L’il Yachty. Williams, of course, got a good reaction from the London crowd, “Whoop that Trick” chants and all.

Once Williams got into the ring, he and Yachty got into their routine, stating that that the people of London missed them, especially since they missed last week. Williams said that last week, he went to Jamaica, revealing that he and Lash Legend got married officially.

Yachty described the crazy party last week because love was in the air there. Williams said that it was the best day of his life with his family and friends there, and especially since Lash said “I do”. As they got back to business, Williams was informed that Ricky Saints would face him at Night of Champions tomorrow, stating that he’d absoutely whoop his ass. Before Williams could continue, Ricky Saints himself interrupted the proceedings.

Saints said that Williams wasn’t that good at making life decisions, and that more importantly, he wouldn’t give it that time to last longer. Williams threatened to smack Saints down to London Bridge if he kept going. Saints responded by talking about how Williams must be on the sauce from the wedding, so to speak. Saints told Williams should not be overlooking him because at Night of Champions, we’d be looking at the next U.S. Champion. Saints declared that the Trick Williams hype train would end tomorrow. Saints gave a cheap shot to Li’l Yachty as he ran out of the ring. Saints returned to give Williams a shot with the microphone as he scurried out to the ramp.

First off, mazel tov to Trick Williams and Lash Legend on their wedding last week. Secondly, this Saints/Williams match tomorrow should be at least interesting, even if Saints’ work on the mic as of late has been somewhat just kind of there. it was clear that Williams was just getting the best of him here.

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Tiffany Stratton & Alexa Bliss vs. B-Fab & Michin

Stratton and Michin started off here. Side headlock takeover with a little rope assist by Stratton. The somersault was followed by a running hip attack to Michin and a basement dropkick. Firewoman’s carry position, but Michin escaped as Bliss tagged in and went right after her foe with slaps and a dropkick. She went for the Sister Abigail DDT, bu Michin got out of it. Bliss, however got a dropkick on Michin while B-Fab tagged in. Outside the ring, B-Fab struck Bliss with a side kick as we took a break in the action.

We returned from commercial as Michin missed an elbow drop on Bliss. A kick from Bliss gave her time to tag in Stratton, who went after B-Fab with an elbow and the floatover Alabama Slam. One, two… NO! B-Fab with a jawbreaker, but that didn’t save her from the somersault Stunner from Stratton. The Women’s U.S. Champion headed up to the top rope and connected with the swanton bomb. One, two…. Michin broke it up at the last second. Bliss pulled Michin out of the ring and began to fight with her. That ended with Bliss getting sent into the timekeeper’s area. Michin slid into the ring and created a perfect distraction as Jade Cargill tripped up Stratton while she was looking for her Prettiest Moonsault Ever. B-Fab made no mistake with the spinning X-Factor variation for the pin and win for the Baddies 2.0.

After the match, Chelsea Green ran in with a kendo stick to ward off Cargill and her crew.

B-Fab & Michin def. Tiffany Stratton & Alexa Bliss via pinfall

It’s clear WWE sees a lot in Jade Cargill and are determined to keep her in a prominent role, which has obviously extended to Michin & B-Fab, who are getting booked rather strongly as a result. It is what it is for better or worse.

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– Backstage, Solo Sikoa was met with Talla and Tama Tonga. As Sikoa admired his handiwork on Monday’s Raw, Tama said that he and Talla were tired of being dragged into Sikoa’s obsession with Roman Reigns. Talla told Sikoa that he and Tama got word from the Elders, and that they were officially out, apparently spelling the end for the M.F.T.s.

– Eleswhere, Jade Cargill demanded that Nick Aldis make a match between her and Chelsea Green, with her request granted.

AAA Cruiserweight Championship: Rey Fenix (c) vs. Nathan Frazer

Very high-flying start as Frazer and Fenix showed their moves with acrobatic dives and dodges as neither man got the upper hand. Frazer sent Fenix face first into the middle turnbuckle, but that only got him a hit with the crossbody from the Cruiserweight Champion. Fenix leapt from the top rope for another crossbody to the outside while Frazer was taking a breather.

As Fenix got on the apron, Frazer kicked him down before he took off over the top ropes for a massive tope con hilo as we took a commercial break.

Our match returned from the break with both men back in the ring as Fenix blasted Frazer with machine gun chops before he connected with the handspring Stunner. Fenix then hit the modified Death Valley Driver-into-Neckbreaker for a near-fall. As Fenix headed up to the top, a step-up enzuigiri from Frazer left him open for the superplex. After the roll-through, Frazer’s attempt at a Final Cut was countered into a cradle pin for a near-fall. As both men got to their feet, Frazer and Fenix knocked each other down with a simultaneous kick.

Now back to their feet, both men exchanged strikes until Fenix hit the feint into the spinning kick. Frazer responded with a Spanish Fly from the second rope and the Final Cut. That, however, wasn’t enough to put an end to this one. Frazer’s Phoenix Splash couldn’t find its mark as Fenix attempted a Mexican Muscle Buster. Frazer kicked Fenix out to the ringside area. Frazer went for a suicide dive, but Fenix dodged at the last second as he crashed right into the commentary table.

Back inside the ring, Fenix headed to the top rope and soared with a Frog Splash. One, two…. 2.999999999!!!!!!!!!! Frazer tried to get himself to the top rope, but Fenix caught him in position for the Mexican Muscle Buster for the three in this fantastic match.

Rey Fenix def. Nathan Frazer via pinfall to retain the AAA Cruiserweight Championship

One hell of a match here between Fenix and Frazer. I’m glad that these two got a chance to put on a fantastic contest here. I really, really enjoyed it.

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– R-Truth and Damian Priest were confronted by the War Raiders and challnged to a winner take all match for both the WWE Tag Titles and the AAA Tag Titles. As Truth was being silly, Priest said that they were up for the challenge, and that he’d let Erik and Ivar know when and where that match would be.

– LA Knight arrived and said he was going to go to the ring and look for some answers on certain events.

LA Knight addresses the Bloodline situation

“Let me talk to you,” started Knight. He talked about how he and Jimmy Uso had a hard-fought battle, but unfortunately for him, he had to be left looking up for to the lights. Knight wanted Solo Sikoa to walk down to the ring right now to addresss why he helped him on Raw.

Sikoa made his way down to the ring, a man without his family and looking to confront Knight in the wake of it all. Knight pointed out that 10 of 10 times that Sikoa came out of the ring was to attack and distract him. Which is why it confused him why Sikoa helped him out.

Sikoa answered by stating that he wasn’t here for a fight and that Knight was wasting his time for that. Sikoa said that his family left him earlier tonight, which didn’t get him any sympathy from Knight. LA pointed out that all of this just left Sikoa wide open to return to the Bloodline. Sikoa said that he helped Knight on Monday because he hated the Bloodline, hated that he was part of the group. Sikoa shouted that he hated Jacob Fatu, the Usos, and most importantly, Roman Reigns.

Sikoa said that he and Knight had one thing in common, and that they both didn’t like the Bloodline. Knight replied that Sikoa should hate Roman Reigns for what he did to him. But, Jimmy, Jey, and Jacob also said that they hated Reigns, but they ended up being a part of the Bloodline fold. Sikoa said that this was different because he was alone now and that the enemy of his enemy can be friends. Sikoa offered to be Knight’s ally.

Knight remained skeptical, as he said that he hates the Bloodline and he was outnumbered. Did he probably need help? Yeah. Did he need Solo Sikoa watching his back? Nah, nah. Knight said that he did things his way and he’ll continue to do that in this war with the Bloodline.

This entire Bloodline stuff is all kinds of terrible, but LA Knight being portrayed as the one guy who doesn’t buy the change of heart is a nice touch. That being said, it doesn’t save the angle from being a complete hot mess and it’s kind of endemic of why WWE as a whole feels really boring and stale at the moment. It’s not WCW 2000 bad, but it’s up there.

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– Sami Zayn said that nobody got what he was going on with him, other than Johnny Gargano. Zayn said that good things happen to good people, and that involves him winning the Undisputed WWE Championship. Zayn admitted that he hadn’t been quite himself as of late, and it all started when he lost his last world title match at the Royal Rumble. Now, Zayn said that the universe gave him a chance to redeem himself and that could mean becoming the Undisputed WWE Champion.

Paige vs. Jacy Jayne

Paige, of course, had the hometown advantage here for this one.

Jayne took advantage of a distraction by Lainey Reid with a superkick on Paige for a an early near-fall. Paige fought back and threw her across the ring. She then sent Jayne into the top rope and hit her with a headbutt. Paige bopped Jayne’s head onto the turnbuckles repeatedly as she then stomped a mudhole in the corner. Paige then applied a modified STF on Jayne, but couldn’t keep the hold on for long.

Jayne retreated to the ringside as Paige flew right into Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley with a cannonball. Jayne took advantage with a hard kick from the apron as we took a break.

We returned from commercial with Jayne in control of the match. Paige and Jayne traded punches and kicks before Paige connected with two suplexes. The Paige-Turner only got a near-fall. A frustrated Jayne recovered and looked to put Paige away with the Rolling Encore, but couldn’t connect. Backslide pin, as Jayne attempted to use the ropes for leverage. Brie Bella broke up the count and got beaten up by Fatal Influence. In the ring, Paige took advantage of the chaos and made the pin for the win.

Paige def. Jacy Jayne via pinfall

I do get why they had Paige go over here for the hometown pop, but I do find it a bit concerning that after coming out hot off the gate, Fatal Influence has basically just had their push diminished slightly. it’s not damaging yet, but it’s of concern.

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– Backstage, Danhausen was hanging out with The Miz and Kit Wilson, who he was experimenting on. Matt Cardona wanted to talk with Danhausen, but Wilson and Miz ran off.

– Elsewhere, Finn Balor ran into Tama and Talla Tonga. Tama pointed out how he and Balor used to be together in the past, but so was Shinsuke Nakamura, and he said that everyone knew how that turned out.

Danhausen TV

The very nice and very evil Danhausen introduced us to the first edition of “Danhausen TV” as he was joined by his Legion of Danhausen, Kit Wilson and The Miz. Before this show could get far, Los Garza interrupted the proceedings.

They didn’t waste time and attacked Miz and Kit Wilson, depositing the two out of the ring. With Danhausen left alone against Angel and Berto, Matt Cardona ran in and looked to even the odds. This was enough for SmackDown’s GM, Nick Aldis to book the tag match between Cardona and Danhausen vs. Los Garza, which starts after the break.

Matt Cardona & Danhausen vs. Los Garza (Angel & Berto)

This match continued from commercial as Cardona went to work on Berto in the with a Broski Boot. Outside the ring, Miz and Wilson were ambling about as Cardona soon found himself isolated in the Los Garza corner. Angel and Berto stomped away on Cardona in the corner, as they were successful in keeping him alone. Outside the ring, Wilson was clotheslined by Angel and Berto. However, that gave Cardona an opening to hit Angel with a flapjack and the tag to Danhausen.

Danhausen showed off some good offensive range as he held his own against Los Garza, even busting out a German suplex. Angel went to grab a steel chair from the ring, but Miz and Kit Wilson stopped him from doing any damage. Rough Ryder by Cardona to the outside. Back in the ring, Berto was cursed by Danhausen with the exploding turnbuckle. DDT by Danhausen and this one’s in the books.

Danhausen & Matt Cardona def. Los Garza via pinfall

This was fine. The Danhausen stuff won’t be for everyone, but I think it’s harmless fun and I find it entertaining.

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Chelsea Green vs. Jade Cargill

Green struck Cargill in the back and paid for it with a hard clothesline from the former WWE Women’s Champion. Green attempted a dive from the outside, but got caught in the fallaway slam as we took a hydration break of sorts.

Back to this match as Cargill dropped Green with a chokeslam for the near-fall. Cargill kept pummelling at the head of Green before she went for a running shoulder attack. Swing and a miss as Cargill flew right into the corner, but it was a momentary break. Snapmare by Green as she launched herself out to the apron and headed to the top with a missile dropkick. One, two… not quite. Big boot by Cargill, then came Jaded for the rather easy win.

After the match, Cargill continued her attack on Green, but Tiffany Stratton and Alexa Bliss made the save. B-Fab and Michin ran in and it was another Baddie beatdown as they got the upper hand on Stratton.

Jade Cargill def. Chelsea Green via pinfall

As i noted above, your mileage may vary on how strong the Baddies 2.0 are being booked, but if were speaking from a personal perspective, I’m not really feeling it at all.

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Giulia vs. Kiana James

James struck Giulia with a kick to start off as she was aggressive right from the get-go with the shoulder thrusts. Giulia answered with a dropkick that sent James to the outside of the ring. The two brawled for a bit at ringside before the action spilled back into the ring. Giulia hit James with a kick to the spine.

Headbutt by Giulia drove James out of the ring as she leapt from the apron. Missed as James got her with the slam onto the steel steps as we took a break in the action.

Back from commercial as Giulia and James exchanged strikes before the former too over with unanswered elbows to the jaw of James. Giulia’s momentum got stalled with a superkick from James, but she avoided the spinning moonsault afterwards. Shouldter tackles from Giulia led to a nice headscissors takedown on James. Running big boot to a prone James along the bottom rope. The cover, but James was able to kick out at two. Giulia headed to the top rope, but James met her there and lifted her up for a powerful slam. Falcon Arrow by James, but Giulia kicked out at two. Arrivederci Knee countered by James into a powerbomb for another near-fall.

James whipped Giulia into the corner and propped her on her shoulders and ascended to the top rope. Giulia escaped her predicament and turned it into a sunset flip bomb. Soon after, the Arrivederci Knee from Giulia paved the way for the Northern Lights Bomb and the victory.

After the match, Blake Monroe finally made her debut as she assaulted Giulia from behind. She then hit her Gotch-style Piledriver on Giulia.

Giulia def. Kiana James via pinfall

This was a decent blowoff match between Giulia and Kiana james, but the bigger story is Blake Monroe’s debut finally arriving. It’ll be interesting to see how she fits into the SmackDown women’s division moving forward.

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Cody Rhodes, Gunther, and Sami Zayn’s final face-off before Night of Champions

“London, what do you wanna talk about?” asked Rhodes. Sami Zayn cut him off before Rhodes could address this crowd further.

Zayn started off by thanking his Ride or Die fans for supporting him since day one. However, that wasn’t why he was out here. He was here to tell Cody something man-to-man, face-to-face, as a friend. He said he regretted how things went down as a special referee last week, but he was still a good guy ni his own eyes. The “last real good guy”, in fact. Zayn claimed that he regreted all those actions that he viewed as a mistake, but Rhodes didn’t buy it. Zayn claimed that he never wanted how he wanted to be in the World Championship.

Rhodes said enough of that as he told Zayn was playing the victim card towards him, that “thing” lying around backstage (Johnny Gargano). Rhodes told Zayn that he was exhausting, acting like a mosquito hanging around him. He said that he couldn’t wrap around how Zayn was best friends with Kevin Owens. For one thing, KO would’ve stabbed Rhodes in the front, and not the back. And at least, KO was a World Champion between him and Zayn.

Zayn responded by stating that the only reason why Rhodes was WWE Champion in the first place was because of him. And at Night of Champions, he’ll be the only reason why Rhodes won’t be the Undisputed WWE Champion. At that point, Gunther walked down to the ring with a mic in hand.

Gunther said that he didn’t care about the drama between Rhodes and Zayn, and that the only thing he cared about was winning the Undisputed WWE Championship. Gunther pointed out that Zayn was right about how he would’ve been the champ right now if not for Zayn. Gunther said that Zayn did a lot of damage as a referee, but as a wrestler, Gunther viewed him as a nonfactor. Gunther told Rhodes that he was going to take away everything from him and that he’d be facing the King of the Ring at SummerSlam.

Jey Uso joined in on the “fun” as he marched down to the ring, all business with the crowd yeeting as per the usual. Gunther interrupted and said that this wasn’t going to go down on his time. Jey answered that he was going to keep this short and sweet by stating that he’d win King of the Ring tomorrow. he called out Rhodes, Gunther and Zayn specifically. He called Gunther a “little bitch” as a brawl broke out. In the chaos, Rhodes and Jey superkicked Gunther out of the ring before they stared one another down. It was time for one more guest as Jey’s King of the Ring finals foe, Oba Femi made his way down to the ring.

Jey superkicked Rhodes, but got hit from behind by Gunther. Zayn then hit Gunther from behind with the Undisputed WWE Title. This led to Rhodes getting Zayn with Cross Rhodes. Our night ended with Rhodes and Oba staring down one another.

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A very interesting go-home segment for Night of Champions, but the way I see it, this kind of feels like dangling a carrot and WWE’s track record as of late with paying off satisfying audience moments has been lacking as of late, and it’s hard for anyone to care as a result.

As far as this episode was concerned, the in-ring action was great for the most part, with Frazer vs. Fenix being the match of the night, but you could be forgiven if everything else wasn’t grabbing your attention. That’s just how WWE feels at the moment, there are flashes of greatness, but the overall mediocrity of the product right now in the TKO Era doesn’t make it really a must watch every week like it used to be.