WWE SmackDown live results: Wrestlepalooza go-home show
The final WWE SmackDown before Wrestlepalooza, WWE’s first PLE on ESPN, will feature an interaction between WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and his next challenger Drew McIntyre.
Rhodes returned last week after a month away to save Randy Orton from a potential Claymore kick through the announce table. Tonight, Rhodes and McIntyre will have a contract signing to make their Wrestlepalooza title match officially official.
In an exclusive interview, Brock Lesnar will address his Wrestlepalooza matchup against John Cena. Last week, Lesnar delivered an F5 to R-Truth after demanding a face-to-face with Cena.
United States Champion Sami Zayn continues his open challenge series with Carmelo Hayes stepping up to the plate, much to the chagrin of his tag partner, The Miz.
A WWE Women’s Tag Team title match originally set to take place in France will come to fruition tonight as Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair defend against Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre.
Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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– We opened tonight’s SmackDown with the arrivals of Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice, Carmelo Hayes, and Sami Zayn to the Huntington Center in Toledo, OH.
– Inside the arena, Michael Cole and Corey Graves welcomed us to the show as they talked about tomorrow night’s Wrestlepalooza. Cole said that Brock Lesnar wanted to do the sitdown interview right now as he left commentary. However, Lesnar made his entrance and it appeared that the interview would happen in the ring instead.
Brock Lesnar interview ahead of Wrestlepalooza
Lesnar grabbed Cole and held him over his shoulder as he made his way into the ring. Inside the ring, Lesnar continued to threaten Cole before Corey Graves entered the ring and pleaded with him to not attack Cole. He got an F5 for his troubles as the crowd chanted for John Cena. Lesnar then directly addressed the camera, yelling that he was coming for John Cena’s blood tomorrow and that it was D-Day. Lesnar paced around ringside and destroyed the Prime Hydtration station before he once again entered the ring to hit Graves with another F5. Various referees and security surrounded the ring while Lesnar yelled for Cena to come get himself some. He then left the ringside area, as the crowd jeered.
Pretty much a last gasp attempt to add fuel into this Cena/Lesnar Wrestlepalooza match that’s barely had a build. I can’t say if they succeeded on that front, though. That said, I guess we’ll have to find out tomorrow whether or not this match that has been haphazardily built will be any good at all.
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– We returned from the break with Cole and a few WWE road agents checking up on the fallen Graves, who was still out cold from being on the receiving end of two F5s.
– Backstage, Brock Lesnar was walking as he was confronted by Paul Heyman and The Vision’s Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. Lesnar simply said that he and Heyman should talk before he left. SmackDown GM Nick Aldis warned The Vision to not cause anymore problems tonight, especially with the Cody Rhodes/Drew McIntyre contract signing to come. Heyman said that he and the Brons were simply here to enjoy the show.
– Back in the arena, Cole returned to the commentary table and was at a loss of words for what happened to his commentary partner. He said that in the years he’s been on commentary, he never felt as helpless as he did tonight. Cole said that if that’s what awaited John Cena tomorrow, he doesn’t know if even Cena had the answers.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Alba Fyre & Chelsea Green
Flair and Green started off the match here with a lockup. Green took a shot at Bliss in the corner, but ate an elbow from Flair as a result. Bliss tagged herself in and went to work on Green and Fyre for a moment. The challengers took advantage after Bliss was dragged into their corner. Green connected with a dropkick, as Bliss was then slammed into the ringpost by Fyre. This took us into the break.
During the break, the Miz took over for Graves as he joined Cole on commentary.
We returned from the break with Bliss desperately trying to get the tag. She almost got the tag, but Flair was pulled from the apron by Fyre, which gave Green a chance to continue her attack on Bliss. Green taunted Flair and ended up missing on the shoulder charge to Bliss. This allowed Bliss to finally get the hot tag for Flair.
Flair teed off with chops on both Green and Fyre, before she blasted the latter with a somersault clothesline. Flair tried to set up for the FIgure-Eight, but Green provided a distraction as she ate a big boot. Fyre went for the roll up, but couldn’t get the pin. As Flair headed up top, Green grabbed at Flair’s leg, which allowed for Fyre to connect with the Swanton Bomb. Bliss broke up the pin at the last second.
A double suplex from the challengers was turned back as Bliss and Flair delivered stereo Natural Selections to Green and Fyre instead. Flair ended up getting the pin on Green to get the victory and the successful Women’s Tag Title defense.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss def. Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre via pinfall to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships
A decent defense for the tag champs, who continue to be a popular act with fans. I’m curious now as to who steps up to Flair and Bliss.
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– Backstage, B-Fab tried to get The Street Profits on the same page, but was interrupted by Michin, who told B-Fab that Nick Aldis wanted to talk to them about getting a chance at Giulia and Kiana James. Montez Ford told Angelo Dawkins that he was going to talk to Nick Aldis about getting back into the tag picture, as Bo Dallas tried to get into Dawkins’ head. Ford got into Dallas’ face, but Erick Rowan attacked the Profits to leave them laying.
– We got a backstage skit with R-Truth and Los Garza telling us how to download the ESPN app in order to watch Wrestlepalooza tomorrow.
– Fraxiom were set for a match, but got attacked by Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. Paul Heyman soon walked down the ring and did his usual introduction. He said that Fraxiom reminded him of the Usos, because both were down, out, victimized, and lying on their backs. As Heyman continued to talk, Nathan Frazer and Axiom got up on the top rope and took out the Brons with dual dropkicks. The two then unleashed a barrage of dives on Breakker and Reed to leave them staggered.
Nick Aldis appeared on stage and decided to book a tag match between Fraxiom and the Vision’s duo, which was to take place right now.
The Vision (Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed) vs. Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom)
The match returned from break joined in progress, with Breakker working over Axiom in the corner. Axiom fended off Breakker momentarily, but got thrown overhead instead with a back drop. Breakker got a full head of speed and absolutely flattened Axiom with a lariat. Reed entered the match with a tag and continued to pummel Axiom with a senton. Breakker got the tag once more as he suplexed Axiom before pulling down the straps. He attempted a spear, but was met with a calf kick from Axiom. This allowed Frazer to get the hot tag.
Frazer had Reed staggered with a dropkick, as he soared from the top with a frog splash. Reed kicked out at two and avoided a moonsault before he dropped Frazer with the Jagged Edge. The Aussie headed up top for a Tsunami but was stopped temporarily by Axiom. Reed shoved Axiom below right into a spear from Breakker. Reed then finished Frazer off with the Tsunami.
After the match, Heyman tried to announce his men as the winners, but were interrupted by The Usos on the titantron. Jimmy and Jey were already in Indiana and said that they were going to lock things down as they welcomed The Vision to the Uso Penitentary.
The Vision def. Fraxiom via pinfall
Just a short and sweet match to give the Brons some momentum heading into their tag match with the Usos tomorrow. Bron Breakker’s spears continue to be a thing of beauty.
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– We got a sizzle reel for WWE’s full court press on ESPN in anticipation of tomorrow night’s Wrestlepalooza event.
Nia Jax in-ring promo
Jax asked what she was sick of, before she took a shot at the Toledo crowd. She then went on to say that she was sick of the SmackDown women’s division claiming that they were the alpha females, when she was the “true” alpha female of the division. Jax took credit for taking Tiffany Stratton out, which prevented her from showing up on the NXT Homecoming this past Tuesday. Jax then took a shot at Jade Cargill, saying that she should trade places with her, as Cargill was apparently not talented. Jax said that she was the alpha and that she’d annihilate any storm or any Tiffy time, any damn time.
This brought out the WWE Women’s Champion out for a rebuttal. Tiffany Stratton said that the people have had enough of Nia Jax being in the women’s division. She said that Cargill was not a superhero here to save the division. And since Jax and Cargill were committed to acting so delusional, Stratton said that she was here to prove that she was the one, true WWE Champion. Stratton attempted to walk down the ring to confront Jax, but was stopepd by a gaggle of referees. Jade Cargill made her way and decked a few security personnel.
Before Cargill could enter, Nick Aldis stopped things as he announced that next week on SmackDown, we’d see Stratton vs. Cargill vs. Jax in a triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship.
This match was reportedly set for tomorrow’s Wrestlepalooza, but postponed due to an apparent injury to Stratton, so it seems like they’re moving to have this match happen next week instead. That said, hopefully it’s the last we see these particular set of players in the women’s title picture together.
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– We got another R-Truth skit about the ESPN App, as he told the Motor City Machine Guns and Rey Fenix how to use it, again neglecting to mention the $30 monthly price tag of the new app.
U.S. Championship Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes
The action kicked off with Zayn and Hayes trading hammerlocks in a show of chain wrestling prowess. After that, Hayes used his athleticism to hit Zayn with a dropkick after a leapfrog dodge. Hayes continued to hit Zayn with blows to the back, but found himself on the receiving head of a forearm strike by the U.S. Champion. On the apron, Zayn looked like he was going for something big, but Hayes stunned him with a a guillotine leg drop as we took a break in the action.
SmackDown returned as Hayes had the upper hand on Zayn. The challenger had his foe floored with a leg drop for the near-fall. Zayn fought back with a clothesline on Hayes, as he then followed that up with an axe handle from the middle turnbuckle. Zayn dragged Hayes to the corner and teed off on him with repeated punches to the face, much to the chagrin of the Miz on commentary. Zayn then spun Hayes’ world right round with a tornado DDT, but couldn’t pick up the win there.
Zayn headed up to the top rope, but Hayes recovered and avoided the high-risk attempt. Hayes, however, couldn’t avoid Zayn’s Michinoku Driver, which got yet another near-fall. Hayes caught Zayn on the button with a big knee to the face as he headed up top for a frog splash. Zayn got his knees up at the last second, which sent Hayes scurrying to the corner and right into the crosshairs for a Helluva Kick. Hayes intercepted Zayn with a superkick as both men went down and we went to a second commercial break during this match.
We returned from break as Zayn attempted the Exploder Suplex into the corner, but Hayes managed to block it. On the apron, Zayn got dropped with a flip over the rope by Hayes, which had his wrist caught up in the middle rope. Hayes then headed up top and got the Frog Splash, but could not secure the victory. Hayes followed that up with the First 48 after successfully countering a Blue Thunder Bomb attempt by Zayn. One, two… no!
Hayes lifted Zayn up for a cutter, followed by springboard neckbreaker on the U.S. Champion. Zayn managed to avoid the Nothin’ But Net from Hayes and turned that into a Blue Thunder Bomb for the rare victory with that signature maneuver.
Sami Zayn def. Carmelo Hayes to retain the United States Championship
Another solid match for Zayn in this U.S. Open Challenge he’s run as of late. I’ve been enjoying these matches, which have become the highlight of SmackDown every week.
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– Kit Wilson was talking with Nick Aldis about hypermasculinity, as Damian Priest stormed in and demanded a shot at Aleister Black. Wilson got upset at Priest’s demands, calling it a case of toxic masculinity, as he ended up being thrown through the wall by an irate Priest.
– The second part in the retrospective of John Cena and Brock Lesnar’s rivalry was shown.
Wrestlepalooza on ESPN Card
- Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena
- AJ Lee & CM Punk vs. Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins
- Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. The Vision (Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed)
- Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY vs. Stephanie Vaquer
- Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
– We got a vignette from Solo Sikoa as he showed appreciation for Tonga Loa for showing loyalty to him since day one. He said that he owed it to Tonga to be a champion, and that his loyalty would be rewarded as long as Tonga was part of his Family Tree. Tonga then said that he loved Solo to end the vignette.
Cody Rhodes/Drew McIntyre contract signing
In the ring, SmackDown GM Nick Aldis said that the main event of Wrestlepalooza would be the Undisputed WWE Championship match, of which the contract would be signed for in mere moments. Aldis then introduced the challenger, one Drew McIntyre, to the ring.
The surly Scotsman made his way to the ring and immediately took a mic. Before he could utter a word, the theme of Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes interrupted, which brought out the American Nightmare to the usual reaction of cheers from the crowd.
Once both Rhodes and McIntyre in the ring, the champion took to the mic. He said that fifteen years ago today, he and McIntyre won the Tag Team Championships, and that no one wasn’t talking about it, mainly because it wasn’t his or McIntyre’s story. It was the story of the people, and they didn’t care about the lore and wanted to see two people fight.
Rhodes listed off McIntyre’s past accolades, as he said that he was a “keyboard warrior” as of late. He urged on McIntyre to do his talking on social media because it’d be the last time he’d get one up on him. McIntyre showed his phone to Rhodes, with a post that said “Thank you, Cody.”
McIntyre responded that this match without intereference or shortcuts was what he wanted all along, before he called Rhodes a cardboard champion that was unwilling to compromise the main event of Wrestlepalooza. McIntyre said that the crowd would eventually turn on Rhodes and all he’d be left with is to say that “Drew was right”.
Rhodes fired back asking McIntyre what would happen if his legacy now was to be the man who lost the first main event of the ESPN Era. As both men signed the contract, McIntyre delivered a blindside headbut on Rhodes and attacked the champion at ringside.
As McIntyre had Rhodes at his mercy against the announce table, the Scotsman refused to hit the Claymore kick, stating that he wanted him to be at his best tomorrow at Wrestlepalooza. As McIntyre tried to walk away, Rhodes dove through the middle rope to tackle McIntyre. The two continued to fight as referees tried to separate the two. As the producers credits for Paul Levesque and Lee Fitting popped up, McIntyre popped Rhodes with a boot to the head. We ended the final SmackDown before tomorrow’s Wrestlepalooza with McIntyre taunting Rhodes, stating that it was going to be the last time he’d be sleeping with the title for a long time.
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A decent final segment to build up, again, another haphazardly-built feud for this first ESPN PLE where it just happened within a span of a week. That seems to be a pattern with this Wrestlepalooza card, with the exception of CM Punk/AJ Lee vs. Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch, which seems to be the best-built match out of the five matches set to take place tomorrow.
As a go-home show for Wrestlepalooza, this SmackDown was okay on that front. The Sami Zayn U.S. Open Challenge continues to be the stand out of these weekly shows, as the matches there have been excellent. Other than that, everything else just ranges from okay to mediocre, sorry to say.
WWE SmackDown recapper. Former NXT PLE/WWE Saturday Night's Main Event/fill-in recapper.