WWE Smackdown (9/20/24)

WWE Smackdown

Golden 1 Center

Sacramento, CA

September 20, 2024

Commentators: Michael Cole and Corey Graves

Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor

We are just two weeks away from Bad Blood and Roman Reigns had to enlist some unlikely help to battle the Bloodline. WWE Champion Cody Rhodes supposedly is to meet Roman face to face to discuss what they have to do later tonight. We also have a US title match with LA Knight taking on Andrade. So let's get to the show.....after a dark match.

Dark Match

Karl Anderson vs Baron Corbin

Anderson of the OCs takes on the wrestling version of the 4A baseball player. Corbin wins it with End of Days.

Winner: Anderson by pinfall

The show opens with a vignette from last week with Cody Rhodes defeating Solo Sikoa in a cage match but gets jumped by the Bloodline. Roman Reigns ran in to help Cody clear them out and Solo challenged them to a tag match at Bad Blood. Cody initially refused so Roman said he can do it without him. Its his company and his ring, Cody replied "It was". The Bloodline attacked Cody and Roman again and they both signed the contract, the tag match is on. Michael Cole welcomes us and tells us of a movie style vignette between Cody and Roman tonight in Atlanta. We're shown The Bloodline arriving to the arena and Jacob Fatu beats up security dudes at the metal detector. Jacob "Anyone else want a pat-down??" Cole says the Bloodline is embarrassed and sends us to our first match.

Match 1

Andrade vs LA Knight for the WWE United States Championship

Andrade won his Best of Five series with Carmelo Hayes so he gets the title shot tonight. They circle to start and Andrade wants a handshake. Knight shakes it and they lock up to start. Andrade gets cradled up for a one count and they both block finishers. Andrade bails to the outside as we go to commercial. Back from break Andrade chops Knight and Knight counters with one of his own. Andrade chops away but Knight counters with right hands. Andrade chops away in the corner like his father in law and Andrade does the Flair Flip onto the apron. He goes upstairs and hits a crossbody for 1..2...no. Andrade locks in a chinlock then Knight drops him with an elbow to the face. Andrade bails to the outside and pulls Knight out. Knight bounces Andrade's head off the announce table to a chorus of "YEAH!" and throws Andrade back inside. Knight hits a slingshot shoulderblock and covers for 1...2...no. Knight shoulderblocks Andrade in the corner but is backdropped onto the apron. Andrade also goes to the apron and shoves Knight into the ringpost. Andrade hits a top rope moonsault on Knight as we go to break again. Back from commercial, Andrade hits a big forearm to drop Knight. Andrade stomps Knight in the corner but misses a charge. Knight hits an inverted DDT and covers for 1...2...no. Knight stomps away at Andrade and hits a running knee to the head. Knight hits a reverse neckbreaker and covers for a deuce and puts Andrade on the top rope. Andrade knocks him off with an elbow and goes for a moonsault, sticks the landing because he saw Knight rolling, then hits a standing moonsault for 1..2...no. Incredible spot as the crowd chanting "this is awesome". Andrade hits a running knee in the corner and covers for 1..2....no. Knight hits a running powerslam and goes to the second rope, hitting the big elbow drop. Andrade rolls him up for 1.....2...no. Andrade hits a spinning back elbow and covers for 1......2...NOOOOO. Knight fails to jump up to the top rope so he gets shoved off. Andrade misses the missile dropkick and Knight catches him with the BFT. He covers for 1.....2....3 to win the match. Now THAT'S how you open the show. Damn good match and Cole tries to bail out tonight by saying its hot and the ropes are slippery.  After the match Knight goes to bump fists but Andrade wants a handshake. Andrade physically makes him shakes hands after. Ah well, respect is respect.

Time of match: 17:09

Winner: Knight by pinfall

We cut to last week where WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax challenging Bayley and Naomi to a tag match. If either of them score a fall, they face Nia at Bad Blood, but if the team loses then whoever takes the fall leaves Smackdown. We cut to real time where Tiffany Stratton whines about her day and Nia slaps her shoulder hard and says "You go girl." Then says if Tiffany loses the fall then she should leave Smackdown.

We cut to a mini-preview of Cody and Roman face to face as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a graphic for Saturday Night's Main Event coming up this December complete with Animotion's Obsession. December 14 at Nassau Coliseum....damn that's old school and I love it. Carmelo Hayes shows up to laugh at Andrade and says he hasn't seen a choke like that since the Kings lost to the Lakers. He tells Andrade to put the fries in the bag because he's washed and Andrade pie faces him. They brawl in the back with the referees separating them. This feud is NOT over.

Back to Graves & Cole, they send us to the vignette style face to face encounter between Cody and Roman set to I Am The Storm by Titus O'Neil. Cody and Roman meet at Georgia Tech's football field where Roman used to play. They meet at the 50 yard line and Roman says everything around this stadium is his. He shed blood, sweat and tears on this field many times, its his field. If this is his field, its his stadium and its his city. Roman asks what he's done for his city. Cody says outside of the stadium down the street is Techwood Studios, Centerstage and not too far is the sight of the old Omni. Multiple generations of his family bled in this city and Roman played football, but went back to the beach. This may be Roman's field but its Cody's home. Roman "That's very good...it is your home. Let's cut to the chase. You signed yourself into a lose/lose situation. You have everything to lose and you're dealing with people who have nothing to lose. They took Jimmy from me, they took my Wiseman, they took my Bloodline and they took my ulafala. I got nothing to lose." Cody "You're telling me this like I'm supposed to be surprise. I told you before Wrestlemania 39 that you'd be a chief without a tribe. I raise you another situation, we already got a tribal chief and its not you. We have a WWE Champion and its not you. So if you can't even beat your own Bloodline, who's standing here right now? Its the guy they used to call Roman Reigns." Roman "What do you want?" Cody wants his word that Roman will have his back so Cody can have his. Roman says he's got Cody's back but when this is all over, he's coming after the WWE Championship. Cody goes to leave but says "Its not yours to take." Roman "You're in my way, in life." Roman walks off and that overblown, overshot promo literally could be summarized by Cody will team with Roman as long as Roman doesn't turn on him. Roman promises he won't, but he's coming after him eventually.

We cut to Kevin Owens looking at a monitor confused. Byron Saxton asks him what's up and Owens just walks off. That can't be good....on to commercial. Back from break, Owens is still downtrodden as we head to the next match.

Match 2

Apollo Crews vs Giovanni Vinci

This stems from 2 weeks ago when the re-invented Vinci made his Smackdown debut only to be humiliated by getting pinned in 5 seconds by Crews, which was absolutely hilarious. Corey Graves says what we're all thinking in Roman and Cody take ten minutes to get to the ring but Vinci couldn't even get his ring jacket off. This time there are no shenanigans as Vinci attacks at the bell. Vinci forearms him in the back as Graves says the "pencil neck" that reffed the last match went back to NXT while Cole points out referee Ryan Tran is a veteran. Vinci uppercuts Crews and chops him against the ropes. Vinci open handed chops him in the chest as Corey says Nick Aldis just fined him via text for making fun of the officials (hahahahahaha!). Cole says he's the best GM we've ever had. Vinci hits a big clothesline on Crews and punches away at Crews. Vinci scoop slams Crews against the ropes three times. Vinci goes for a powerbomb but Crews rolls through for a schoolboy 1.....2....3 to win the match. Corey "Nooooo! Are you kidding me?" Vinci again can't believe it as Crews laughs at him. Now THAT'S how you do comedy without looking stupid. Graves commentary added to it instead of taking away and the quick pin on a heel always is good for a laugh.

Time of match: 1:36

Winner: Crews by pinfall

Uh oh! Post-match Vinci attacks Crew in the aisle. Vinci throws Crews against the barricade and Cole calls him a sore loser. Vinci hits a brainbuster in the middle of the ring as the crowd boos. Good way to get some heat back. Cole "That's impressive and all but you have to win a match." Back to Kevin Owens and Saxton and Byron again asks what's up. Kevin says no offense but he'll do it in the ring. Cole "What a pest Byron is!" We get a vignette for Survivor Series coming up in Vancouver on November 30th. Back from break, Cole says the first WWE show on TV in Sacremento was a Saturday Night's Main Event back in 1988, Randy Savage vs Andre The Giant.

Here comes Kevin Owens for a conference. Kevin thanks the crowd for the ovation and says everyone wants to know what he thinks with Cody and Roman. Owens says he's gotta be honest.....and here comes the Tongans. Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu and Tonga Loa walk out with Tama going "Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah" repeatedly. Tama says let the right hand man speak. Tama says it was a big mistake to embarrass them and they're going to get what's coming to them at Bad Blood. But YOUUUUUUU Kevin Owens, Solo Sikoa says he's next. Kevin Owens says "Before you start talking again, I can guarantee you no one has ever wanted to hear anything you've had to say ever. We all know how this is going to end so just get up here so I can punch you in your stupid face." Here they come for the beatdown but here comes DIY to even the odds. DIY clears out the Tongans and here comes Nick Aldis to make a six man tag match. There's our main event.

Back to Naomi and Bayley who say they need to pin Nia and Tiffany to keep their jobs. Naomi and Bayley say they'll give the other a title shot once they win the match and then at Bad Blood. On to the next match.

Match 3

Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton vs Bayley and Naomi in a Tornado Tag Match

Bayley can't get her jacket off and has Naomi help get it off (hahahaha!) as the match begins. The faces bumrush Tiffany and Nia to start. Naomi is heaved into the corner and Nia shoulderblocks her. Bayley and Naomi do a do-si-do to forearm Tiffany and Nia. Naomi splashes Tiffany in the corner then Nia. Naomi hits a bulldog on Tiffany and a double bulldog into the buckle on Nia. Tiffany runs into a shoulderblock and a double clothesline puts Nia down. They pin at the same time for 1...2..no. Graves says if that worked, would referee Jessika Carr be the winner? Nia faceplants Naomi and Tiffany throws down Bayley. Nia and Tiffany do a samoan drop/blockbuster combo and Tiffany covers for a deuce as we go to break. Back from commercial the action spills outside where Naomi is thrown into the timekeeper's booth. Nia gets kicked in the head and Bayley clotheslines Tiffany down. Bayley throws Tiffany into the barricade and hits a suicide dive onto Nia. Naomi hits a crossbody on Nia and Tiffany rolls inside. Naomi dropkicks Tiffany into a Bayley back suplex. Bayley covers for 1...2...no, Naomi pulls her off. Nia clotheslines Naomi and throws Bayley into the corner. Naomi and Bayley hit a double backdrop on Nia but Bayley's charge eats elbow. Nia throws Naomi in the corner and goes for the Banzai Drop but Bayley stops her. Tiffany sends Bayley in the corner but the charge eats boot. Nia does a second rope legdrop while Bayley drops an elbow on Tiffany. Nia and Bayley cover for 1..2....no. Bayley rams Tiffany's head into the corner and set her up on the second rope. Nia headbutts Bayley and hits an X-Factor and covers but Tiffany swantons Nia by accident. Bayley and Naomi hit a 1D and Tiffany rolls to the outside. Nia hits a Samoan drop but Bayley turns it into a crucifix. Naomi runs over and hooks the leg for 1...2.....3 to win the match on a double pin. Bayley and Naomi are declared the winners so we still have no number 1 contender....or both of them are. I'm sure Nick Aldis will figure it out. Sloppy match but the design was for the ending.

Time of match: 11:06

Winners: Bayley and Naomi by pinfall

Cole hypes up our main event as we go to break. Back from break we get a graphic saying this is our 39th TV sellout and 58th sellout overall. We take a look at some fan signs to kill time as we go to a mini-vignette of Chelsea Green as a trash collector. This was her "training" to face Mia Yim in a dumpster match in two weeks on Smackdown on "Mia's home turf". I'd say that's stupid comedy, but that's Chelsea's thing. Cole goes nuts on commentary and gets excited that Chelsea's going in a dumpster. Next week Andrade faces Carmelo in a sixth match which telegraphs that Melo is going to win.

We cut to Nick Aldis with Bayley and Naomi in his office. He says there can be only one contender so next week they're going one on one, winner gets Nia. That's fair. Kevin Owens comes out to the ring but there's no DIY. Uh oh, looks like the Tongans attacked DIY and took them out before the match starts. Owens says the hell with it and attacks the trio to start. The numbers game catches up to owens and Fatu shoves him into the ring. Hang on a second, here comes the Street Profitz to even the odds. Owens jumps off the top and takes out all five others as we go to break.

Match 4

The Street Profitz (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) and Kevin Owens vs Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Jacob Fatu

Back from break Owens is stomping a mudhole in Tonga Loa in the corner. Ford tags in to kick at Loa when Dawkins tags in. Ford slinghshot hilo on top of Loa and Dawkins sends Tonga off the rope into a shoulderblock. Dawkins covers for 1..2...no. Owens tags in to clothesline and sentons Loa for 1...2...no. Cole says Owens has never pinned ANY of the Bloodline in his career as Ford tags in to stomp Loa in the corner. Loa counters with a clothesline out of the corner and sends him into his own. Jacob Fatu tags in and he uppercuts Ford into the corner. Fatu kicks away at Ford and sends him into the corner. Fatu tags in Tama Tonga for the suplex, slingshot hilo combo. Tama taunts the irate crowd and punches away at Ford. Tama clotheslines Ford down as Cole says Tama is a seven time IWGP Tag Team Champion. Fatu tags in for a huge dropkick. Fatu misses the ass bump in the corner and Dawkins tags in. Angelo hits a flying elbow on Fatu and faceplants Tama. He knocks Tonga Loa off the apron but runs right into a superkick. Fatu hits a top rope moonsault as Graves says its not fair. We go to break with a highlight of the moonsault. Back from commercial its the Tongans double teaming Dawkins. Tama covers for 1...2...no. Graves iterates that its not fair that Fatu is THAT athletic at his size. Tama pounds away on Dawkins then locks in a chinlock. Tama tags in Fatu who hits a standing senton and whips Angelo into the corner.  Fatu headbutts Dawkins in the corner but runs into a dropkick. Fatu charges again but eats ringpost. Dawkins tags in Ford who Pele kicks Tama who tagged in. Ford hits a crossbody then knocks Loa off the apron. Ford hits a big lariat on Tama and kicks him in the ribs. Ford does a standing flip into a heel kick then the standing moonsault gets two. Ford hits an enziguiri then tags in Owens. Kevin outside the ring clotheslines Fatu and Loa down. He does a DX chop then frog splashes Loa off the apron. Kevin in the ring cannonballs into Tama in the corner. Kevin climbs upstairs and hits the swanton for 1...2....nooo, Fatu broke up the count. Dawkins clotheslines himself and Fatu out of the ring and Owens goes for another swanton, but Tama stops him. KO hits a fisherman's buster off the second rope and covers for 1..2....no, Loa pulls Owens off. Kevin calls for a stunner as the crowd chants "this is awesome." Owens hits the stunner but Tonga pulls him out. Tonga throws Owens into the steel steps for the DQ. That was a great match but once again we have a schmozz for an ending. Fatu is out of this world, his solo run eventually is going to be epic.

Time of match: 14:47

Winners: Profitz and Owens by DQ

Post-match its a pier sixer outside. Everyone is down as Ford wipes out Fatu and is last man standing. Fatu recovers to throws Dawkins into the timekeeper's booth. Ford rams Tonga against the apron but Fatu headbutts him. Tonga sets up the announce table but Owens tries to fight out of it. Tama throws Owens into the table as inside the ring, Tonga scoop slams Ford. Fatu hits the top rope splash like his uncle Rikishi as the crowd boos. Tama says now its time to take out Owens. The numbers game is too much but here comes DIY for the save. Tomasso and Gargano run out to save Owens but they get taken out too. Owens heaves Loa into the steps but Fatu backs him against the apron. Loa shoves Owens into the ring and all three heels decimate him. Inexplicably we go to commercial just as Cody Rhodes hits the ring with a chair....nice timing, dopes. Back from break, Cody cleans out the Tongans with a chair to set up Fatu one on one. Cody hits the Cody cutter to chase him off as KO grabs a chair. KO looks like he's going to hit Cody but at the last second throws the chair down. Cody extends his hand and KO shakes it. Guess things are okay with them as we sign off.

But but....we ain't done yet. Apparently we had an entire damn show afterwards of dark matches following the TV broadcast. Let's get to them.

Dark Match 2

Lyra Valkyria vs Liv Morgan for the World Women's Championship

Yes, believe it or not this was AFTER the show on Smackdown. Morgan retains with a victory.

Winner: Morgan (still World Women's Champion)

Dark Match 3

Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre

Well this is weird. Two Raw guys on a Smackdown dark match. Around this time, HHH says they were cutting back on house shows so it made sense to cram as many matches on one show as possible. Uso wins it.

Winner: Jey Uso

Dark Match 4

Carmelo Hayes vs Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship in a steel cage match

Believe it or not, the live crowd in Sacremento got a world championship cage match after Smackdown went off the air. Rhodes wins it to retain.

Winner: Rhodes (still WWE Champion)

That was a good show for the most part. Only four matches was kind of meh but at least they were good ones. The pow-wow between Cody and Roman established a one night only unholy alliance to dispatch the Bloodline. Bayley takes on Naomi next week to decide who faces Nia Jax at Bad Blood and in two weeks we got a dumpster match. LA Knight is still the US Champ while Andrade battles it out with Carmelo Hayes next week as well. At least we got stuff to look forward to. This Monday's Raw will update us on the Raw side of things as we inch closer to Bad Blood. I'll see you there!

WWE Raw (9/16/24)

WWE Raw

Moda Center

Portland, OR

September 16, 2024

Commentators: Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett

Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin

We are weeks away from Bad Blood with the final showdown between Drew McIntyre and CM Punk scheduled to be a Hell In A Cell Match. Other matches haven't been signed yet but maybe this week will shed some light on the subject. Damien Priest is supposed to go one on one with Dominik Mysterio while the two behemoths Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed go one on one again. Let's get to the action.

We're shown people arriving to the arena including Rhea Ripley and Damien Priest. Priest takes on Dom Mysterio later. All five members of Judgment Day arrive with a graphic saying Balor & McDonough put the tag straps on the line against New Day. Next are Kairi Sane and Iyo Sky as its going to be Kairi against Bianca Belair one on one. Jade Cargill and Bianca arrive as well as Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed. CM Punk arrives and leaves his rental car door open with it still running. That's a good way to get it stolen.

Here comes Punk to open the show with a soliloquy. Wade Barrett on commentary says Drew McIntyre failed to end his career and Punk will be looking to make Drew face the consequences for it. A deadly serious Punk says softly that people ask how many matches he has left in his own bones. Punk says the answer is way more than you think and the crowd chants his name. He says when he came back to WWE he claimed the wasn't there to make friends. He didn't anticipate making such a mortal enemy that the only way to settle it was in Hell in a Cell. He had a feeling that touching four turnbuckles in Berlin wasn't going to settle it and Drew probably didn't think taking out Punk in Chicago would settle it either. Punk is too damn stubborn and Drew's fatal mistake was not getting the job done. Punk says if anyone asks how many HIAC matches he has left in him and Punk says the honest answer is zero. His sister, his wife and an angel on his shoulder all told him not to do this. Punk says he's going to explain why he's going to do this. The last time he was in Portland he said if Drew pushed him far enough he could become the devil himself. Punk says the devil in him told him this only ends in Hell In A Cell. Punk says he can't promise he's going to kill Drew because he doesn't make promises he can't keep, but he promises he's going to make Drew bleed. Punk says Drew is going to have to kill him because he's prepared to die and be over with. If this is the end of his career, so be it. He says Drew better be prepared for the end of his career because he'll see Drew in hell. Deadly serious Punk with no humor or sarcasm just makes things even bigger.

We cut to a highlight of the Intercontinental Championship number one contender tournament match between Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser from two weeks ago with Pete Dunne beating down Sheamus, costing him the match. Last week Sheamus returned the favor and chased away Pete. We cut to Cathy Kelley with Sheamus and asks what's going on with him. Sheamus says he taught Pete TOO well and hit him where it hurts, the dream he had to become a grand slam champion. He says Pete hates being called Butch, so Sheamus naturally says it over and over again. Sheamus says "ARE YOU READY FOR A BANGER?" On to our first match.

Match 1

Sheamus vs Pete Dunne

The graphic says "Don't call him Butch". Wade Barrett says Pete was an international superstar and became a lackey to Sheamus in the Brawling Brute days, now Dunne is out to show he's more than that. Bell's gone and Dunne immediately goes for a Brogue Kick that Sheamus dodges. They slug it out with Sheamus getting the upperhand. Pete chips and kicks Sheamus but walks into a sidewalk slam. Sheamus heaves Pete over the top to the apron. Sheamus goes for 10 Beats of the Bodhran but Pete blocks the second forearm by hyperextending the elbow. Pete runs into a tilt-a-whirl slam and Sheamus stomps him in the corner. Pete hits a standing enziguiri and goes to a finger lock. Dunne stomps on Sheamus' elbow and taunts the irate crowd. He does a plancha on Sheamus on the outside and steps on Sheamus' hand against the steel steps. Sheamus hits the Alabama Slam on Dunne on top of the announce table as we go to break. Back from commercial, Sheamus has Dunne on the top turnbuckle. Sheamus goes for White Noise from up the top but Dunne counters with a sitout powerbomb for 1...2....no. The crowd chants "Butch" to get under Pete's skin and Dunne starts hitting Sheamus with seriously stiff elbows. Sheamus blocks another attempt and calls him a bitch before hitting a stiff lariat. Sheamus hits a clothesline as Barrett says "payback is a butch." Sheamus clotheslines Dunne in the corner and hits a running powerslam. Sheamus goes up to the top rope and pulls his right kneepad down. He hits the top rope kneedrop and covers for 1...2...no. Sheamus goes for the Celtic Cross but Dunne hits an enziguiri to the head. Dunne goes to the top rope but Sheamus uppercuts him. Sheamus delivers a powerslam off the second rope and covers for 1...2...no. Sheamus goes for 10 Beats of The Bodhran and does it 17 times....ouch. Dunne grabs the shillelagh and kicks Sheamus away only to walk to the knee to the head. Sheamus grabs the shillelagh and threatens to hit Pete but the ref stops him. Pete grabs a cricket bat from underneath the ring and hits Sheamus in the shoulder with it. Pete hits a Brogue Kick and covers for 1..2..3 to win the match. Big time cheating by Pete but that was a damn good match. Dunne wanted to break out of the shadow of Sheamus and he did it big time here. Barrett says Sheamus got hit for six.

Time of match: 11:07

Winner: Dunne by pinfall

We go to a highlight of last week where Judgment Day laid out the terror twins but Jey Uso made the save. We cut to the Twins walking in the hall and running into Jey Uso. Jey says Priest can handle the match on his own but he'll be watching. Xavier Woods shows up and says they haven't seen eye to eye in the past but they all hate Judgment Day. Woods says he and Kofi want to face the JD alone and Priest says to whoop they ass and take their titles. Jey and Rhea give each other the flirty eyes and Priest tries not to laugh. We get a highlight of Liv kissing Dom at Summerslam before a graphic of Priest vs Dom tonight.

Back from commercial The Miz walks up to Braun Strowman and says good luck as Braun shows off his bruised bicep. Miz asks why Braun says Miz was no match for Bronson Reed and Braun says that was out of context. Miz says he's beaten every superstar and Braun says sometimes it takes a monster to beat a monster. Miz says got it and to go win.....hmmm. On to the next match.

Match 2

Natalya (with Zelina Vega and Lyra Valkyria) vs Zoey Stark (with Shayna Bayzler and Sonya Deville)

This is Natalya's 175th match on Raw. We get a quick cut to last week where Pure Fusion Collective called out Lyra and Zelina only for Natalya to show up to even the odds. Natalya's team won now she faces Zoey one on one. Natalya rolls up Zoey for a one count and Zoey shoves her halfway across the ring. Natalya rolls over Zoey and blocks a hiptoss with a takedown. Natalya goes for the sharpshooter but Zoey bails to the apron. Zoey kicks Natalya in the head and hits a springboard dropkick as we go to break. Back from commercial, Zoey goes for another springboard dropkick but misses it. Natalya hits a german suplex and a clothesline, then boots Zoey in the head. She covers for 1...2...no. Zoey misses a charge but arm drags her then hits a rolling slam. Zoey hits a superkick and covers for 1...2...no. Zoey tells Lyra to shut up but Natalya blocks the Z360 and rolls her up for 1..2...no. Natalya and Zoey exchange counters and Zoey rolls up Natalya for 1...2...no, Natalya reverses it for 1..2.....3 to win the match. Natalya rolls out of the ring as Tessitore says she's building momentum. Wade says she has the deepest playbook of anyone and it was definitely veteran instinct to win. Not sure why they're building up Natalya of all people but hey, least she can go.

Time of match: 7:01

Winner: Natalya by pinfall

Back to Cathy Kelley with Rhea Ripley. Ripley is going to face Liv at Bad Blood for the World Championship but Finn Balor interrupts. Finn says they haven't had a chance to speak and he really feels like he's just as bad as Priest. He goes on to say they thought they were family and Priest & Rhea are the reason none of them are World Champions. Rhea says they're not re-writing history because they WERE family and she stopped them from fighting every single week. Rhea says they'll be the bad guys in his fictional story but at Bad Blood, they'll find out how bad the Twins will be. Finn says he was responsible for telling Dom to go after Liv....and here comes Jey Uso. Finn says there's no problem here and to focus on his IC title shot because Rhea is out of his league. Rhea says he's got a point and Jey goes "What, that I'm out of your league?" Rhea says no, that he needs to focus. Jey puts on his sunglasses and heads to the ring.

Back from commercial, here comes Jey for a conference. Tessitore holds up a sign that says Keep Portland Yeet and Barrett says "What on EARTH are you doing?". Wade says he's supposed to be gentleman, hahahaha. Jey says he's going to be the new IC champ and excited about it. He's wanted it since he left Smackdown and The Bloodline. Uh oh, here comes Bron Breakker for a rebuttal in the ring. Bron "We got any dogs barking in Portland??" Bron goes on to say Jey's pursuit is relentless for the IC title. Bron says Jey's been here 14 years, a big star and the fans love him. Bron says he's done more in 6 months than Jey has in those 14 years. Bron did it without his father and uncle and didn't need their help or their name. Bron holds up the belt and says this is his family, next Monday he's going to expose Jey. Bron says Jey is nothing without his family but Jey says Bron has the dog in him. Jey won't take him lightly and says he's been winning championships since Bron was in diapers. Jey is only 12 years older than Bron so I don't remember a teenage Jey winning anything in WWE. Jey says he's going to dog walk Breakker's ass and see what Bron is about. Jey says his IC title reign will end up short and sweet like Bron's NFL career. THAT got Bron mad he sucker punches Jey. Jey counters with a spear as Tessitore goes nuts on commentary. Jey throws his shirt to the crowd and Barrett says if Jey hits that spear next week, we'll have a new champion.

Back to Joe and Wade to discuss what we just saw before we cut to last week's Raw where Damage Control faced the Unholy Union. Jade and Bianca interfered costing Damage Control the match. As Jade and Bianca are walking in the back, here comes an irate Iyo. Iyo calls Bianca a coward as Kairi has a bad eye and Bianca says it wasn't her call. Bianca challenges Iyo instead and Iyo accepts. Well, that takes care of that. On to the next match.

Match 3

The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs Judgment Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonough) for the World Tag Team Championships

Tessitore says we're coming up on the 10 year anniversary of the formation of New Day (damn we're old). JD and Balor come out alone as Tessitore says this is their first title defense in MONTHS. Joe has no room to talk since boxers defend the title like once or twice a year. Wade asks which Day this will be, New or Judgment. Bell's gone and Kofi starts with JD. Kofi forearms JD down and tags in Woods for a double dropkick. A slingshot splash and a scoop slam has Kofi tagging in for the moonsault off the shoulders of Woods. Kofi covers for a deuce and both New Day members double superkick the heels to the outside. We cut to commercial and when we're back from break, Balor has an arm ringer on Kofi. Kofi knocks McDonough off the apron as Tessitore says Woods hasn't held main roster gold since April 2021. Kofi does a move I have no idea what its called as Woods gets the hot tag. Woods wipes out both heels and gets a huge pop from dropping McDonough with a flying forearm. Woods hits a russian leg sweep with Kofi hitting a slingshot clothesline. Kofi planchas Balor and Woods hits a sitdown powerbomb on JD for 1...2...nooooo. Here comes Liv Morgan, Dom Mysterio and Carlito as Joe Tessitore complains. But wait! Here comes Rey Mysterio Jr, Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde to take them out. JD rolls up Woods for a deuce then eats a superkick. Kofi and Xavier climb opposite corners as Kofi takes out the intruders and Woods hits the Limit Break. Woods covers but the ref is on the floor much to Tessitore's dismay. Woods grabs the ref's attention and goes for an O'Connor roll but Balor blind tags in. McDonough rolls out of it and Balor comes off the top with the Coup De Gras on Woods. He covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Judgment Day retains with an actual clean win when you think about it. Carlito and the others never touched the New Day but uh oh....Woods throws a tantrum in the ring and says "EVERY TIME! EVERY TIME!" Woods is tired of this and Tessitore can't blame him. They're slowly going with a Woods heel turn and with Odyssey Jones released, they might need Big E back to for the finale. Damn good match with the obligatory schmozz ending.

Time of match: 8:29

Winners: Judgment Day by pinfall (Still World Tag Team Champs)

Obligatory Wyatt Sicks video with a QR code. None of this means jack because Bray Wyatt is dead. I understand Bo Dallas is trying to keep the spirit alive, but without Bray its not the same. The message is "You speak, we follow." After commercial we're shown both Mysterios at the UFC 306 show seated separately of course. After a highlight of the previous match, we go back to New Day with Cathy Kelley. Kofi says its not a good time as Woods is screaming at the LWO. Kofi says he told the LWO to have his back and Woods is mad about it. Kofi knew this was going to happen which is why he called for help and Woods said they never needed help before. Kofi says they had Big E Langston before and that makes Woods even more irate. Woods asks that they're not good enough anymore and Kofi says that's not what he's saying. Woods asks why he didn't know the LWO was coming and storms off. Now THAT he's got a valid point on. Back to the announce booth where we're about to have a big hoss fight. We get a vignette of Bronson Reed talking about all his victims before we go to the ring.

Match 4

"Big" Bronson Reed vs Braun Strowman

Hoss fight time. Strowman gets in the ring but Reed bumrushes him to start. Strowman sidesteps him and throws him into the corner where Reed legit rips the top rope off. Strowman hits a chokeslam and boots Reed out of the ring. The bell still hasn't ring as Braun calls for the Freight Train. Strowman goes to plow Reed but Bronson heaved some fan over the barricade onto Strowman. Okay, THAT was innovative. Strowman plows Reed through the barricade and Tessitore says this one is over. Security escorts Reed back with the Suit Brigade following suit. Strowman runs over Reed and sends security guys flying like the puddy patrol. Reed puts Strowman through an catering table as Jason Jordan tells them to stop. Strowman then puts Reed through a legit wall with Shawn Daivari running for an ambulance. Normally a no-contest is a waste of time but that was legit fun. Throwing a fan and ripping the top rope off was creative.

Time of match: N/A

Winner: No contest

After a highlight of the mayhem, the Suit Brigade, EMTs, security and the referees try to help out the two fallen guys like out of a MASH movie. We cut to Adam Pearce being confronted by Ludwig Kaiser. He wants to know who Gunther's next opponent is. Pearce says he's busy with the catastrophe and says he just might give the title shot to Sami Zayn. Sure enough, Sami's music hits and he's up next. Pearce says if Gunther has a problem, come see him himself.

Zayn hits the ring for a conference. Zayn says he's standing in the middle of a red hot ring in Portland, Oregon but all week he's been thinking of him and Bret Hart together in Calgary. Sami says Bret was his hero growing up and last week was motivational. Sami says he wants to be a true Canadian champion and he wants it. He NEEDS it, he NEEDS to become the World Heavyweight Champion. The fans deserve a fighting champion but Gunther refuses to give him a shot. Gunther claims that Sami isn't on his level while Sami says the real reason is Gunther is afraid he'd lose again just like at Wrestlemania. Here comes Ludwig Kaiser for a rebuttal and Kaiser asks what Zayn is doing asking for a match. Gunther shouldn't be scared of Zayn because he's the most dominant force in WWE. He's trying to protect Sami from embarrassment. Kaiser says there won't be a match because he's not good enough. Zayn says Gunther doesn't Kaiser to speak for him or need him for anything. Zayn stirs the pot by saying Kaiser doesn't need Gunther either as he already broke off his team with Giovanni Vinci because he wants to stand alone. Zayn says he's not going to win respect as Gunther's mouth piece and grow some balls to speak for himself. Finally, Gunther himself walks out. Gunther gets in the ring and says he'll deal with Zayn in a minute. He asks if Kaiser has anything to tell him, do it now. Kaiser says he's had something he wants to get off his chest...and drops Zayn with a clothesline. Kaiser pounds away on Zayn and hits his DDT on him. Kaiser holds up Sami and Gunther says no match. Kaiser and Gunther hug as Barrett says we all should be as loyal as those two. Gunther leaves but Sami hits a release German suplex on Ludwig followed by the Helluva Kick. The title match is definitely going to take place, just a question of how Sami will get to Gunther.

Back to the announce booth, Tessitore says "Good for you Sami!" We go backstage to Cathy Kelley with Damien Priest. She says he has a lot on his plate in the last two weeks and asks how he's going to prepare for Dom. Here comes Liv Morgan to interrupt and says you should have seen how easy it was to choose between her and Rhea & Priest. Damien says its nice to see someone in Judgment Day have a set for once, but Rhea is going to shove Liv's set down her throat. He tells her to go kiss Dom goodbye because he's going to put him down. On to the next match.

Match 5

Bianca Belair (with Jade Cargill) vs Iyo Sky (with Kairi Sane)

Both partners are there for support which is weird since Kairi was supposed to be hurt. Bell rings and they stare at each other to start. Bianca gets a headlock takeover but Iyo reverses it with headscissors and nip ups. Bianca is rolled up for two but blocks a crucifix. Iyo cartwheel backflips away from Bianca and Bianca front flips over Iyo then tells her to kiss her ass. Iyo goes for the frankensteiner but Bianca blocks it, only for Iyo to sunset flip for 1...2...no. Iyo chops Bianca in the corner but Bianca goes up and over and tells her to kiss her ass again. Bianca backflips over Iyo and hits a delayed suplex. Iyo hits an armdrag and they both point at each other as we go to break. When we come back, Iyo has a chinlock on Bianca. Bianca throws Iyo off and rolls her up for a deuce before dropping her with two shoulderblocks. Bianca dropkicks Iyo and tackles her into the corner. Bianca punches her in the corner and backflips over her. Iyo drops her with two clotheslines and a dropkick of her own. Iyo hits the running knees in the corner and goes for the pedigree. Bianca backdrops her but Iyo lands on her feet. Bianca hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Iyo recovers to hit a missile dropkick from the top rope and covers for 1...2....NOOOOO. Both women are down and they trade blows in the center of the ring. Iyo goes for the sunset flip for a deuce but gets launched onto the top rope. Bianca hits a spinebuster and a springboard moonsault for 1...2...no. Bianca pressslams Iyo over her head but Iyo counters with a german suplex for 1..2....no. Bianca shoulderblocks Iyo on the apron as the crowd chants "This is awesome". Iyo snaps Bianca off the top rope to the floor and Iyo hits a suicide dive. Bianca literally walks up the steel steps with Iyo in a vertical suplex position as Wade and Tessitore can't believe it. Bianca drops her inside and goes for the 450 splash, but Iyo gets her knees up. Iyo goes for the moonsault but Bianca counters by going for the KOD. Iyo lands on her feet and turns it into a small package for 1...2....3 to win the match. That was the match of the night for sure as Iyo FINALLY gets a victory over Bianca. That was a ppv quality showdown and Iyo showed she's still a threat.

Time of match: 12:24

Winner: Iyo by pinfall

Back to Damien Priest preparing for tonight's main event with Rhea next to him. Priest says he's going to tear Dom apart as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a vignette for the American Made stable. Its literally just Diamond Mine just with Chad Gable instead of Damon Kemp aka Bobby Steveson. At least they're attempting to push the Creeds and Ivy Nile. Back to Cathy Kelley with Ludwig Kaiser trying to straighten a tooth. Kaiser says next week on Raw, he's going to beat Sami. Kaiser says Sami's past is shady since he and Kevin Owens turned on each other all the time when one was more successful. Kaiser says Sami will never be champion....damn good promo.

We get a graphic for Sami vs Kaiser next week as well as Drew McIntyre making an appearance. The main event will be Bron Breakker defending the Intercontinental Championship against Jey Uso. Speaking of which, we cut to Jey Uso running into Ilja Dragunov in a suit and tie. Dragunov wishes him luck and "Yeet!" Uh oh, after Jey leaves here comes Judgment Day to give him crap. Balor says to choose his friends wisely. Dragnunov says he respects Damien, Rhea and Jey which is more than he can say for any of them. Balor says its a friendly reminder, but next time the message won't be delivered nicely. Good Ole Anderson style warning by Balor as Judgment Day leaves. On to the main event.

Match 6

Dom Mysterio (with Liv Morgan, Carlito, JD McDonough and Finn Balor) vs Damien Priest (with Rhea Ripley)

Liv kisses Dom before the match and Tessitore says "Would you look at this?" Bell rings and Priest immediately drops him with a shoulderblock. He heaves Dom in the corner and fires away and stares at Carlito, Priest choke bombs Dom and Mysterio begs off. Priest applies a wristlock and shoulderblocks Dom down again. Priest hits a heel kick and covers for 1...2...no. Dom rolls out of a back suplex and dropkicks the right knee of Priest. Dom can't whip Damien and runs into a flapjack. Dom begs off again and Priest stomps away at him in the corner. Priest chokes Dom on the second rope in front of Judgment Day and Dom tries to rally with a body punch. Priest dropped him with a right hook that Tessitore admires. Dom rolls out of the Razor's Edge attempt and bails to the outside. Priest goes outside and rocket launches Mysterio into the apron before backing Carlito off. Priest throws Dom into the announce table. Wade says this has been one way traffic, Dom hasn't gotten an offensive move in yet. Priest pops Dom then Carlito much to the crowd's delight. Priest rolls Dom in but the ref takes his eye off for one second, allowing Finn to shove Damien into the ringpost. Dom hits a suicide dive that sends Priest into the announce table. We go to break and when we come back, Dom rolls out of a suplex and walks into an elbow. Priest misses a charge in the corner and Dom hits a tornado DDT. Dom covers for 1...2...no. Dom taunts the crowd and Rhea taunts him back. Dom slaps Priest in the chest and it wakes up Damien. Dom's face says it all and Damien rallies with right hands and a series of kicks. Another big right hand drops Dom and Priest hits an inverted DDT. Priest covers for 1...2...no. Finn distracts Priest again causing Dom to roll him up for two. Priest gets a kick to the head and a broken arrow. Priest covers for 1...2...no, Liv puts the foot on the rope. Ripley tackles Liv completely over the announce table, wiping out Barrett in the process. Tessitore tries not to laugh as Priest drops Carlito with a right hand. Priest grabs Dom out of mid-air and throws him into Balor outside. Priest superkicks Carlito but back inside, Dom superkicks Priest into the second rope. Dom hits the 619 but misses the frogsplash. Priest clotheslines Dom who does a 360 and pulls the straps down. Priest nails South of Heaven and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Tessitore "TAKE THAT DIRTY DOM!" Good match and the crowd's energy carried it as Dom had no realistic chance against Priest without his cronies at ringside.

Time of match: 12:11

Winner: Priest by pinfall

1 second after the match, its a four on one beatdown as Carlito, JD and Carlito hit the ring to help Dom. Rhea gets on the apron but Liv pulls her off and throws her into the steel steps. Liv throws Rhea in the ring but here comes Jey Uso! Jey hits the ringside area but Bron Breakker appears out of NOWHERE and spears Jey out of his shoes. Meanwhile Judgment Day continues the attack on Priest as Balor hits Coup De Gras. Liv hits Ob-Liv-ion as Balor hits Coup De Gras a second time. Balor goes for a third attempt and hits it as Tessitore is having a coronary on commentary. Judgment Day stands tall as we sign off. Damn good show, especially the Bianca/Iyo showdown. It leaves the fans wanting more, especially with a lot of advertised not just for Bad Blood but for next week as well. The Judgment Day/Terror Twins feud is far from over and Uso/Breakker is going to rock. Not to mention Sami's pursuit of Gunther and the potential New Day Break up. The Bloodline may be carrying Smackdown but Raw is stepping it up big time. The next show after this is tomorrow night's NXT. I'll see you there.