WWE Smackdown (3/12/25)

WWE Smackdown

Olimpic Arena

Barcelona, Spain

March 14, 2025

Commentators: Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett

Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia

Welcome to Barcelona, Spain as the UK Rampage Tour continues with a special edition of Smackdown. Going into it, Cody Rhodes will be on Miz TV and DIY defends the tag belts against the Street Profitz. Pretty Deadly won the four corners tag match last week so they got winner of that. Alba Fyre joined Chelsea Green last week so her antics will be must see TV later. B-Fab challenged Charlotte Flair last week so we'll be seeing that as well. Let's get things going.

We open with a panoramic view of Barcelona with the fans already chanting to start. Cody Rhodes is here, so is Gunther, Carmelo Hayes, Randy Orton, DIY, the Street Profitz and Paul Heyman. We start the show with LA Knight in his gear on the way to the ring with a highlight of Knight winning the US strap last week against Shinsuke Nakamura. The fans are cheering so loud Knight can't even get a word in. He just repeatedly says "Yeah" until he says "los toros" and this is the first Smackdown in Barcelona which causes the fans to chant again. Knight "Mah gawd, I'm worldwide." Knight says the belt is where it belongs but here comes Jimmy Uso who doesn't look happy. Jimmy says he's not here to congratulate him, he's desperate. Jimmy says he can't make it to Wrestlemania unless he challenges Knight for the title. Before Knight can answer, here comes Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga. Solo says if anyone deserves a title shot its Jacob Fatu. Jacob actually gets a cheer as Solo says Knight got lucky a few weeks ago. Solo says Jimmy is the failure of the family and Jimmy says the only failure was trusting him as his brother, but the biggest failure is Solo losing to Roman Reigns in Tribal Combat. Those are fighting words in Solo's country so he and the others surround Jimmy and Knight. Tonga hits a hanging DDT on Jimmy and the three on 2 attack is on.....but here comes Braun Strowman. Strowman pain trains Tama before cleaning out Jacob and Solo. Jimmy and Knight join in to clear the ring. But wait! Here comes Nick Aldis to make this an official six man tag team match.

Match 1

Jimmy Uso, Braun Strowman and LA Knight vs Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa

We go to commercial as soon as Aldis says the match is official and when we come back, Solo is clobbering Jimmy in the corner. Jimmy goes up and over and chops Solo in the corner before punching him in the corner. Jimmy decks Tama and Jacob off the apron, but walks right into a Rock Bottom by Solo. Jacob tags in and hits a running senton. A graphic shows Damian Priest vs Shinsuke Nakamura later as Tama hits a hilo on his way in. Solo tags in and Jimmy says something to him before crawling in the corner. Solo hits the Umaga in the corner and headbutts him down. Jacob tags in and applies a nerve hold. Jimmy fights out of it and dives to tag in Knight. Knight punches away at Jacob but gets thrown in the corner. Jacob misses a charge and Knight hits a jumping neckbreaker. Knight hits a DDT and covers but Jacob no sells it, kicking out before a count. Jacob hits a superkick and headbutts Knight in the corner. Jacob misses a Stinger Splash and Knight hits the top rope elbow. Knight calls for the BFT but its blocked. Tama holds Knight and Fatu drops LA with a back elbow smash. Tama tag in to pound away on Knight and splashes him in the corner. Solo tags in and mocks the LA Knight chant. Knight punches his way out of it but gets sent into the buckle. Solo taunts Knight again before dropping him with a back elbow smash. Solo covers for 1...2...no. Tama tags in and headbutts the left arm. Tama headbutts Knight and delivers a snapmare before a basement clothesline. Tama covers for a deuce before Jacob tags back in. Fatu delivers a falling headbutt before tagging in Solo. Solo punches away on Knight in the corner but misses the Umaga. Knight rolls out of a back suplex and hits one of his own. Tama tags in but Knight gets the hot tag to Strowman. He cleans house of all three baddies and the crowd wants the pain train. Strowman plows all three of them on the floor and Jimmy suicide dives on the floor to send Jacob over the announce desk. Back inside Strowman hits the running powerslam on Tama and covers for 1...2..3 to win the match. Serviceable match and it got the crowd hot, not much more you can ask for.

Time of match: 10:09

Winner: Knight, Uso and Strowman by pinfall

The celebration is short lived as Solo hits the Samoan spike on Strowman after the bell. Knight throws Solo into the ring steps on the outside and sends him over the barricade with a clothesline. Jacob superkicks Jimmy on the floor and he attacks Strowman on the inside. Jacob hits the moonsault and calls for a second one. Jacob hits the second one and gets a big pop from the crowd. Fatu hits the third one and leaves with Tama....or not. He sprints back and plows not only Strowman but the barricade itself. Tessitore "Message sent to the monster". Yeah, I'll say. Fatu is a mean looking fella. We're shown a graphic of B-Fab and Charlotte coming up later along with a sit-down interview with Jade Cargill. Before the commercial break, we get a vignette of HHH being an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Back from break, Tessitore glazes over the 1992 Dream Team as Wade Barrett picks his WWE dream team of Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Randy Orton, Gunther and Dom Mysterio. Tessitore is IRATE that he chose Mysterio and sends us to Cathy Kelley with Jade Cargill before the show started. With nobody in the arena, it looks like an AEW show. Jade says physically she's fine and hates that Naomi is playing victim. Cathy knows how did she know it was Naomi and why didn't she say anything earlier? Jade says she got hit from behind and thrown onto the car, she saw Naomi running away. Jade says that was supposed to be her best friend. She saw Naomi tag with Bianca like nothing happened so she had to take matters into her own hands. But wait, here comes Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez to interrupt. Liv says she told everyone she didn't do it and she blows a raspberry at Jade. Jade challenges Liv to a match next week and walks off. Guess we got a match next week. B-Fab cuts a promo in half Spanish and half English like she's Gerado. The match is next, let's get to it.

Match 2

B-Fab vs Charlotte Flair

Charlotte's heel run established her as a queen bee and B-Fab is having none of it, hence this match. Bell's gone and Tessitore says Charlotte was number 27 and didn't have to go that long to win the Rumble. Charlotte backs B-Fab into the corner and they tie up again. Charlotte arm drags her and drops her with a shoulderblock. Charlotte chops B-Fab three times but Fab hits a superkick, followed by a clothesline. B-Fab hits a half nelson slam as we go to break. Back from commercial Charlotte delivers her knee rolls but the Figure 8 is blocked. Fab is smacked and shoved by Charlotte but then rallies with right hands. She hits shoulderblocks in the corner and a suplex before hitting a sweeping kick in the corner. Charlotte takes her father's bump over the turnbuckle and Fab hits a big pump kick. Fab covers for 1...2...no. Flair superkicks Fab and hits Natural Selection before Charlotte taunts the irate crowd. Charlotte locks in the Figure 8 and B-Fab gives it up. Valiant effort by B-Fab but you knew this was coming, it was designed to put Charlotte over.

Time of match: 8:22

Winner: Flair by submission

Charlotte refuses to release the hold so here comes Tiffany Stratton to get her some. Referees, security and the Suit Brigade (Shane Helms, Shawn Daivari, Kenny Dykstra, etc) run in but Tiffany and Charlotte continue to brawl all over the floor area. Tiffany hits swanton off the top rope onto security and Charlotte. Petey Williams finally separates them as Kenny Dykstra drags Tiffany away. Good stuff. 

We cut to a Drew McIntyre vignette and he blames Damian Priest for all his problems lately. He beat Seth Rollins to win the World title only to be beaten up by CM Punk and cashed in on by Damian Priest. He got screwed by Punk at Clash At The Castle and again after winning Money In The Bank. Priest then eliminated Drew at the Rumble and pinned him at Elimination Chamber. McIntyre says this isn't about titles anymore, this is persona and he's putting Priest down for good so he can't take anything from him ever again. Once again Drew blames everyone else but himself for his problems.

Its time for Miz TV as The Miz makes his way to the ring as we go to break. Back from break Tiffany and Charlotte brawl back to the entrance with Miz trying to start his promo. The funny thing is there's about ten men out there and they can't separate two women. Tiffany climbs up onto the titantron and swantons the entire security team and Charlotte as well. The crowd loved it as Tiffany says "There's a new queen in town" as Charlotte stares a hole in her. Back in the ring Miz says "That was awesome." Miz says his guest tonight should have taken The Rock's offer and instead got beat up by two rappers, Travis Scott and John Cena (haahahahahhaa!). Miz says unlike himself, Cody Rhodes will not beat John Cena at Wrestlemania. Say what you will about Miz, he CAN boast that he retained the WWE title against John Cena at Wrestlemania. Here comes Cody but Miz cu1ts off the music much to the crowd's chagrin. Miz "I don't have time for sing-a-long with Cody Rhodes! I've already been interrupted by Tiffy Time" and Cody doesn't wait around. He hits the Dustin punch and Cross Rhodes immediately. Rhodes wears a Barcelona Nightmare shirt and says he doesn't want to talk to anyone but John Cena. He'll be in Belgium on Monday night to see Cena.

We cut to Shinsuke Nakamura with Nick Aldis and Shinsuke wants a re-match. Damian Priest shows up and wants Drew McIntyre. Shinsuke says something in Japanese and Priest answers in Spanish. Aldis says he has no idea what either of them are saying but if they want a match, they got one. Priest makes his entrance as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a vignette to signify Ray Fenix is on his way although he's not named.

Match 3

Damian Priest vs Shinsuke Nakamura

The rumor going around is Shinsuke's contract is up and he's leaving. If he loses this one, that could be a sign that the rumors are true. Bell's gone and they tie up to start before Priest gives a clean break. Priest locks in an arm-ringer before switching to a headlock. Shinsuke kicks away at him in the corner but Priest catches the leg. Priest throws him into the corner and rallies with right hands. A big right hand rocks Shnsuke and face plants him. Priest clotheslines Nakamura over the top to the floor as we go to commercial. Back from break, Nakamura has a pinfall attempt for 1..2...no. Shinsuke locks in a chin lock as Priest fights his way out of it. Nakamura hits an enziguiri and goes for the second rope elbow. Priest catches him in mid-air and hits downward spiral. Priest kicks away at Shinsuke and drops him with a discuss punch. Priest hits an avalanche in the corner and a broken arrow. Nakamura bails and Priest bullrushes him into the announce table, missing Wade Barrett by two feet. Priest walks the top rope and hits a cross body before calling for South of Heaven. Nakamura counters with a triangle choke but Priest sldies out of it. Priest turns Nakamura into a 360 spin with a lariat and calls for South of Heaven. Drew McIntyre pops up and sits on the announce table as Nakamura rolls up Priest for 1...2..no. Nakamura calls for Kinshasha but runs right into South of Heaven. McIntyre runs in to beat up Priest for the DQ. Good way to keep Nakamura's head by having him not take the fall there. It was a good match for what it was.

Time of match: 8:42

Winner: Priest by DQ

McIntyre rakes the eyes of Priest and Nakamura hits the Kinshasha to the back of the head after the match. McIntyre smiles at Shinsuke as Nakamura leaves. The crowd chants for CM Punk and McIntyre continues the beat down. McIntyre throws him outside then into the barricade. McIntyre throws him into another barricade and picks up the ring steps. Drew blasts Damian with the ring steps and goes to leave. He sees Priest getting up so he hits him with the Claymore Kick. McIntyre leaves Priest laying again as McIntyre says Priest has taken everything from him so he's got nothing left to lose. Sometimes that's all you need in a feud.

We cut to Cathy Kelley with DIY and she asks how they're so sure they're winning. Ciampa "Why is Smackdown the greatest tag team division in wrestling? Us!" Gargano says Street Profitz never win the big one and say the Profitz don't want the smoke, they want the choke. Here comes the Motor City Machine Guns and Alex Shelley says DIY are marked men. Chris Sabin says when they're done with the Profitz, the Guns will be waiting.

We cut to Randy Orton making his way to the ring for his first match since October 11th against Carmelo Hayes. Back from break some soccer players are shown in the crowd before we cut to Cathy Kelley with Chelsea Green, Piper Niven and Alba Fyre. Chelsea tells Cathy that she's been facing injustices like Nicholas Aldis and Michin. She says her administration is in full force but Zelina Vega doesn't agree. Vegas calls herself the next champion but Niven steps in and says you have to go through her first. Vega says fine, next week its her and Niven and then Chelsea is hers "byeeeee". On to the next match.

Match 4

Randy Orton vs Carmelo Hayes

The crowd sings along to Orton's theme as he makes his entrance. Tessitore "Every time Carmelo opens his mouth, there's always a massive challenge in front of him." Orton can barely get a reaction out of a girl in the front row and Melo just stares at her. Bell rings and Melo wants a hand shake to start. Randy goes for it and Melo pulls his hand away. Melo shoves him and Randy hits him with an uppercut before hitting nine punches in the corner. Randy heaves him into the ring post and out of the ring then slams him on top of the announce table as we go to break. Back from commercial, Melo has a headlock then calls for a suplex. Orton blocks it but Melo hits a chopblock to the left leg. Melo covers for 1...2..no. Melo locks in a chin-lock then wraps his legs around Orton's waist. Orton fights out of it but walks into a kick to the ribs. Orton responds with two lariats and a powerslam. Hayes blocks the second rope DDT and goes for the springboard crossbody, but Orton powerslams him. Orton covers for 1...2...no. Orton finally hits the second rope DDT and caters to the crowd. Orton goes to coil up but Hayes bails to the outside. Melo snaps Orton off the top rope and goes for Nothing But Net. He misses but still hits a springboard DDT, covering for 1....2..no. Melo says its over as he goes for Nothing But Net again. Orton stops him with a right hand and they play "yay/boo" on the second rope. Orton hits a superplex and Orton coils up. He goes for the RKO but Hayes blocks it. Hayes goes for First 48 but Orton blocks that. Hayes blocks a second RKO but Hayes hits First 48. Randy no-sells it, hits the RKO and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Tessitore "UNO, DOS, TRES INDEED!" Orton wins his first match in damn near 8 months and it was pretty fun with the crowd.

Time of match: 10:22

Winner: Orton by pinfall

Orton offers a hand shake after the match and Melo slaps him. Orton hits him with the RKO and goes to punt Hayes. Suddenly Kevin Owens appears out of thin air and Orton attacks him on the floor. Owens throws Orton into the post and makes a mad dash out of here. We're shown a graphic of Jacob Fatu crushing Braun Strowman from earlier before cutting to the New Bloodline in the back. Tama and Solo hype up Fatu and Jacob wants Strowman next week. Jacob "I'M BOUT TO DOG WALK YO ASS!"

Here comes Gunther in full gear as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a creepy vignette of a crowd of smoke and what looks to be the number 4. What the hell is that? Gunther grabs a mic for a soliloquy. Gunther says the road to Wrestlemania in Europe starts tonight in Barcelona. Gunther calls himself the greatest European wrestler ever and wishes he was in Madrid instead. Gunther says the fans loves Jey Uso because his waves his hands like an idiot but doesn't mean a damn thing when the bell rings. Gunther then calls out Axiom from NXT since he's from Spain and says he's going to make an example of him.

Match 5

Axiom vs Gunther

Non-title as Axiom is one half of the NXT Tag Team Champions.

Hell of a way to get on the main roster as Axiom faces the nearly unbeatable in his home town. They chain wrestle to start before Axiom ducks a chop. Axiom gets heaved out of a headlock as Gunther towers over him. Axiom kicks away at the legs and misses another chop. Axiom continues to evade Gunther with chops of his own. Tessitore admires the stick and move strategy as the crowd goes nuts. Gunther puts Axiom on the top rope but Axiom counters with an arm-ringer and a boot to the head. Axiom boots him in the head and the chest but runs right into a big chop. Gunther chops him again, delivers a snap mare and then a scoop slam. Axiom fights back with strikes in the corner but gets thrown backwards by Gunther.  Gunther kicks away at Axiom but Axiom fights back with kicks and chops. Gunther trips him up and applies the Boston Crab. Gunther then turns it into an STF and tries to rip Axiom's mask off. That fires up Axiom enough to fight out of it, but get chopped down. Gunther hits a knee to the ribs and backs Axiom into the corner. Gunther chokes him with his boot and once again goes for the mask. Axiom counters with a dragon screw on the apron, then dropkicks the left leg. Axiom hits a missile dropkick and forearms Gunther in the head. Gunther's powerbomb is blocked and Axiom hits an enziguiri. Axiom counters a suplex with an inside cradle for 1..2...no. Axiom dropkicks him down but Gunther counters with one of his own. Gunther hits the powerbomb and stacks him up for 1...2...nooooooo. Gunther can't believe it and goes up to the top rope. Axiom dropkicks him but is swatted away. Axiom hits a running high knee but the hurracarana is blocked....momentarily as he hits it anyway. He hits Golden Ratio and covers for 1...2....NOOOOO. Barrett says no one in NXT ever kicked out of that but this is a new level. Axiom and Gunther trade strikes and Axiom applies Rings of Saturn. Gunther rolls through it and hits the powerbomb. He hits a lariat and another power bomb before covering for 1....2....3 to win the match. Outstanding match and that's how you do big man vs little man.

Time of match: 9:24

Winner: Gunther by pinfall

Post match Gunther poses with the belt then puts the sleeper on Axiom. The refs pry Gunther off of him as Gunther leaves with more heat. We're shown a highlight of Monday's cage match where Roman Reigns unintentionally helped Seth Rollins win by dragging him out and kicking the crap out of him. Apparently Paul Heyman is up next as we go to break. Back from commercial we're shown Reigns not liking Paul Heyman helping up Punk so he spears him for good measure. In the ring Paul Heyman says tonight he's going to hype the crowd on two things. Heyman says this is Roman Reigns Day since WWE2K25 came out today. Heyman says wait till after the show to play the game and goes on to say people have a problem with Roman Reigns Day. One of them is CM Punk who Heyman calls his friend. A massive CM Punk chant breaks out but Heyman says its not Punk's day, and it damn sure isn't Seth Rollins day. Heyman says he hates the Seth Rollins chant and if anyone has a problem with him or Reigns, they can say it to Roman's face next week in Bologna, Italy. Heyman says that's not a prediction, that's a spoiler. Nice heel promo by Heyman while politely putting down Punk while demonizing Rollins.

Next week Roman Reigns will be in Italy along with Jade Cargill vs Liv Morgan. Zelina Vega takes on Piper Niven and Braun Strowman vs Jacob Fatu. We cut to the Street Profitz getting ready for tag action when Legada Fantasma walks up. Santos Escobar says they want them to win so Garza and Berto can take the titles off them. They laugh and Montez mocks their laugh. Dawkins says they're winning the straps and they want the smoke. They head to the ring as Tessitore says they haven't been tag team champions since January of 2021. Back from commercial, Jimmy Uso is favoring his shoulder when Gunther sits next to him. Gunther says he's got a younger brother and says he left Axiom laid out like a wet towel. He says that's going to happen to Jey and tells Jimmy to talk Jey out of facing him. Jimmy replies Gunther will lose at Wrestlemania and we'll be yeeting. Gunther says he tried and walks off.

Match 6

The Street Profitz (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) for the WWE Tag Team Championships

The Profitz kept the MCMG from winning at the Royal Rumble so they can beat DIY themselves, this is their chance. Dawkins starts with Ciampa and backs him into the ropes. Ciampa applies a headlock but eats a shoulderblock. Dawkins tags in Ford who dropkicks Ciampa down. Ford moonsaults Ciampa and covers for a deuce before Ciampa bails. Dawkins tags in and he decks Gargano with a right hand, but Ciampa puts the boots to him. Ciampa punches Dawkins down and Gargano tags in. Dawkins backdrops him to the apron but Gargano's springboard DDT is blocked. Dawkins heaves him away and Ford tags in for the flying crossbody. Montez drops Gargano with a lariat and caters to the crowd. Pretty Deadly watches from the back as Gargano shoves Ford off the apron into the barricade. Ciampa puts the boots to Ford on the outside before throwing him inside. Tommaso suplexes him off the top rope and delivers a running knee. Gargano and Ciampa taunt the irate crowd before Gargano throws Ford into the side of the ring. Back inside Gargano does a crotch chop to Dawkins to bait him in the ring. They double team Ford in the corner with frequent tags before Ciampa puts Ford on the second rope. Tommaso is headbutted off and Montez is pushed down by Gargano. Ciampa hits a death valley driver off the second rope and covers for 1..2...noooo. Ciampa goes for Fairy Tale Ending but Ford backdrops him off then avoids a Gargano splash. Dawkins gets the hot tag and cleans house, dropping Ciampa with a back elbow smash. Dawkins hits a spinning Stinger Splash and a DDT, covering for 1...2..no. Ford tags in and hits an assisted moonsault for 1...2...nope. Ford goes for the 450 Splash but eats Ciampa's knees. Gargano hits a Ribstabber on Ford and covers for 1...2...no, Dawkins makes the save. Ciampa slugs it out with Dawkins and both are dispatched as Ford hits a high knee on Gargano. Outside Dawkins throws Ciampa into the timekeeper but Gargano suicide dives onto Dawkins. Back inside Gargano jumps into what looks to be Cross Rhodes and Ford goes for the Doomsday Blockbuster. Ciampa stops it but is thrown out of the ring anyway. Ford kicks Gargano then Ciampa off the apron. Ford flips onto Ciampa out side then goes back to the top. Ford hits Doomsday Blockbuster and covers for 1...2...noooo, Ciampa makes the save. Dawkins throws Ciampa over the top rope and tags in. Ford jumps into a Ciampa knee and Tommaso distracts Dawkins long enough for him to miss a swanton. Ciampa tags in and hits a running knee. Ciampa hits Fairy Tale Ending with a Gargano superkick for good measure. Ciampa covers for 1...2...NOOOOOO. Gargano superkicks Ciampa by accident and Dawkins hits a spine buster. Ford tags in and hits the frog splash off the top. He covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Tessitore "DO WE HAVE NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS? YESSSSSS" The Street Profitz are the new WWE Tag Team Champions for the first time in four years. Good match and the Profitz are rewarded after going through so much the last few years. After the pseudo heel turn with Bobby Lashley that went nowhere to playing second fiddle to everyone, it was their time to shine.

Time of match: 11:52

Winners: Street Profitz by pinfall (new WWE Tag Team Champions)

We sign off with the new champs celebrating and that's two straight Smackdowns with a title change. All in all it was a good show and the crowd carried it. Priest and McIntyre is definitely headed to Wrestlemania and Tiffany FINALLY got one over on Charlotte. Axiom vs Gunther was a great big man/little man match and the tag title change lit the crowd up. The tag division is so loaded you could have anyone as the champs going into Wrestlemania. I see a multi team tag match unless Pretty Deadly wins next week. Chelsea Green continues to be entertaining and Jacob Fatu continues to get babyface pops. Guess we'll have to tune in to Raw to find out what happens next. Raw will be at a special start time of 3 PM on Netflix this coming Monday since they'll be in Belgium. I'll see you there!

WWE Evolve (3/12/25)

WWE Evolve

Performance Center

Orlando, FL

March 12, 2025

Commentators: Pete Rosenberg and Robert Stone

Ring Announcer: ???

Last week the debut episode of Evolve had all the feel of black & gold NXT from 2012 and it was entertaining for what it was. We had a good women's tag match featuring NXT Level Up mainstays as well as introducing Trill London and six independent dudes. This week, there's no Shawn Michaels to make the matches, it'll be Ava Raine by herself. More newcomers and NXT rookies will be shown this week so let's get right to it.

Rosenberg and Stone welcome us to tonight's show and they have a "HUGE" night planned. We're sent to Stevie Turner (from the old NXT UK days) and Stone doesn't like it. She's here on behalf of Ava Raine with tonight's main event being NXT stars Oro Mensah and Riley Osbourne going at it. We also have WWEID prospects with Kylie Rae taking on Zara Zakher. Gal Barkay joins Kendal Grey and Carlee Bright in the VIP section and Grey doesn't like it at all. Before our first match, we have to introduce who they are. Even though we already knew who Harlem Lewis was through NXT, we get an introductory vignette anyway. He got into a lot of fights when he was younger and he's a natural born leader. He can't stand soft, lazy or non-hard working people. He got into his first fist fight in fourth grade (I was brawling in Kindergarten, Lewis was a little late there) and nobody can stop him from being a champion. Interesting heel promo but the "first fist fight in fourth grade" line made me laugh, I got in plenty of scraps well before fourth grade. Braxton Cole is actually former Brown & Villanova University football player Camden Gagnon. He was shocked WWE invited him to try out for the PC but he's going all in. He sees someone that has a stronger mind than others and will set him apart. Well his body is going to be put to the test, on to the match.

Match 1

Harlem Lewis vs Braxton Cole

Lewis is basically the same gimmick as Keanu Carver from last week and Braxton looks like an 80's jobber just with a better physique, I can see where this is going as the bell rings. Braxton wants a hand shake to start and gets clotheslined for his trouble. Lewis heaves Braxton in a gorilla press across the ring. "I'm getting paid to beat his ass, I'd do it for free." Braxton chops Lewis but he no sells them, decking Cole with a big right hand. Braxton slaps Lewis who no sells it and drops Cole with yet another right hand. Stone "I have NEVER played chess in my entire life." Lewis hits an Oklahoma Slam and covers for 1...2..3 to win the match. Total squash to establish Lewis as a mean looking fella and I'm all for it. His theme song isn't half bad either.

Time of match: 1:11

Winner: Lewis by pinfall

Chuey Martinez hits ring side for an interview with Harlem. He says that was impressive and Harlem says nobody can touch him. Right on cue here's Keanu Carver for a showdown. Now that I want to see....but wait. Gal Barkay grabs a mic, gets into the ring and says he's arrived. He calls Keanu a big dummy and says he'll take him next week. Carver says why wait and gets in the ring with a referee. Guess we're doing this now.

Match 2

Keanu Carver vs Gal Barkay

Gal is in the teel suit and loafers so he wasn't ready to wrestle tonight. Gal sheds the sports jacket and rallies with forearms but Carver no sells. Carver takes his head off with a clothesline and drives him into the corner. Carver hits shoulderblocks but Gal kicks him away. Carver catches him in mid-air and hits a huge fallaway slam. Gal hits a standing enziguiri but Carver face plants him. Carver hits Sky High and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Another total squash and we got dueling badasses here with Carver and Lewis. Sucks they had to sacrifice Trill London, Gal Barkay and Braxton Cole...but that's how you build guys. Carver and Lewis will meet down the road.

Time of match: 1:25

Winner: Carver by pinfall

Rosenberg says up next will be Kylie Rae taking on Zara Zakher. We're going to take a closer look at Kylie Rae...or "Smiley" Kylie Rae. We already know her past in AEW, TNA and NWA along with her Main Event match from December 22 but apparently she was a lifelong WWE fan and she never thought she'd be here. She's here to make everyone happy...yay. Back from commercial, Pete is with last week's tag team winners. Carlee Bright is happy but Kendal Grey not so much. Grey says there's no competition in Evolve because she's the best. Bright says "You mean we?" Grey "Yeah sure." All of a sudden Zayda Steel barges in demanding a match. For those that don't know, Zayda Steel is an independent star who got picked with the ID program. Grey nods her head in agreement that Zayda deserves a match. Kylie makes her entrance and Pete says she's the most experienced of anyone in Evolve. Considering she spent years as a stuntwoman and 9 years in the business, I'd say so. Now we get the introductory video for Zara Zakher. She says she's small and had to overcome being a person of color and it shaped her into the person she is now. She brings up how she's been a gymnast her whole life and she was called "the petite powerhouse". The real life story is a lot more interesting. She was born Gabi Crump and went viral at age 4 for dancing like Tina Turner and later became a dancer for various recording artists on stage. She's been on The Voice, Oprah and various shows as well. She was a celeb long before signing with the PC. This next match will make hardcore wrestling fans heads explode with a 9 year independent vet facing a "social media star" like Zara (albeit a LOT nicer than Logan Paul).

Match 3

Kylie Rae vs Zara Zakher

They shake hands to start and tie up immediately. They chain wrestle to start before Kylie drops Zara with a shoulderblock. She covers for two then immediately rolls Zara into a crossface. Zakhar makes it to the ropes and Kylie locks in another headlock. Zara drops Kylie with a shoulderblock and covers for two. Zakhar does a crucifix for two but her stunner attempt is blocked. Kylie makes it to the ropes as Pete says Kylie is "older".  Normally 32 is nothing but this is supposed to be for young stars like Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes. If anything Kylie should be on NXT, not Evolve. Kylie gets in a headlock takeover as the announcers bicker with each other. Zara clotheslines her in the corner and hits a snap mare. Zara dropkicks her in the back and covers for a one count. Zara goes for the waistlock but Kylie elbows her in the head. Kylie throws her in the corner and hits the running european uppercut. Kylie cannnonballs into Zara and covers for 1...2..no. A graphic shows Kylie really was a stunt woman but here comes Zayda Steel to whine about not having a match. Even Stone wonders what her problem is as Zara hits a big roundhouse right. Kylie goes up and over but runs right into a spinebuster. Zara covers for 1...2..no. Zayda pouts in the VIP section with Carlee and Kendal as Zara hits a high knee to stun Kylie. Some fan yells "Boo this woman" and they boo Zayda, ha! Kylie gets a sunset flip for two then does some kind of tilt-a-whirl ddt into a crossface. Zara powers out of it but eats a superkick. Kylie goes for a death valley driver but Zara turns it into a sunset flip for 1...2...3 to win the match. Did NOT see that one coming. Zara wins a serviceable match as Pete says that had nothing to do with Kylie's "niceness". Nothing to complain about but nothing special here.

Time of match: 5:15

Winner: Zakhar by pinfall

Chuey Martinez hits ring side to talk to Zara Zakhar. He says he sees her and tells the crowd to give her a hand. He says this was an upset and she agrees. She puts Kylie over as a great wrestler and says next time it won't be an upset. Zara thanks Kylie and says she respects her before hugging it out. Zayda has enough and challenges both of them but here comes Wendy Choo. Wendy has been around NXT/wrestling as long as Kylie Rae, the hell is she doing in Evolve too?  Zayda runs off as Wendy hands a bear with a note in to to Kylie before getting in the ring. Zara and Kylie read it but the camera doesn't pick up what it says. Wendy is up next as we go to commerical. Back from break Wendy will be taking on Aria Bennett who was known previously as Aljea Lee Hargrave on NXT. Her vignette says she's from Atlanta, GA who has a four year old daughter. She was a college gymnast (to say the least) and performed well at the PC. The real story is once again more exciting as she was an all-american gymnast. On to the match.

Match 4

Wendy Choo vs Aria Bennett

The announcers bicker with each other as the bell rings to start. Wendy hits a waistlock takedown as Stone brings up how Wendy used to be normal. Wendy stalks Aria who backflips over her. Aria does a handstand and Wendy spears her down, what was Aria thinking? Wendy shoulderblocks Aria in the corner and stands on her hair. A graphic shows Wendy made her WWE debut 7 years ago at the Mae Young Classic. Wendy splashes her in the corner and a running superkick. Wendy no sells two right hands although a standing enziguiri pushes her back. Aria goes for the crucifix but Wendy rolls out of it. Wendy hits a nasty looking full nelson slam and locks in the Dirt Nap. Aria is out cold and this one's over. Another total squash and it showed off Aria's athleticism but made her look like she had no chance against the crazy Choo. Choo puts a black blanket over Aria after the match. 

Time of match: 2:07

Winner: Choo by submission

After the match, Brinley Reece of NXT hits the VIP section to say hi to Kendal and Carlee. Brinley says she's got a match next week and says to check her out. Carlee is excited but Kendal isn't impressed....at all. Again, odd couple tag teams work and they're trying hard with those two. Pete says the first ever face-off is this week between Javier Bernal and Luca Crusifino. What's that? Its just a sitdown pow-wow between the two and Luca looks like he's wearing women's red heels with no socks. Luca says Javier didn't take kindly to what Luca said last week. What? Apparently after the show, Bernal cut a promo calling out Luca for being the "don" of Evolve. Bernal says he's got no problem with him or the D'Angelo's, he just wants to get involved since he's been out with injury. He says how can he move forward if he's being judged by his past. Luca says he appreciates saying it to his face but he wasn't talking about Bernal because he wasn't thinking about him. He doesn't consider Javier a threat because Javier always takes himself out, he doesn't need to do it. Javier agrees and says this is a fresh new start and will fight for the rest of his life. Luca says those are just words, action speaks louder. Javier says give him a chance in a one on one match. Luca says you got it but just remember, he asked for this. They shake hands and we cut here. Sometimes that's all you need to set up a match and it doesn't need chairs, chainsaws, attempted vehicular manslaughter or a love triangle. "You want me, come get some."...simple and effective. Up next is our main event between former NXT UK star Riley Osborne and NXT star Oro Mensah as we go to break. Back from commercial, Jack Cartwheel, Cappuccino Jones and Sean Legacy are in the VIP section. Don't tell Swipe Right this....uh oh, Kali Armstrong is here too but she's got no place to sit. She walks off as Oro Mensah makes his entrance.

Match 5

Oro Mensah vs Riley Osborne

For those who follow minor league baseball know guys get promoted but sometimes they get demoted. Mensah and Osborne going from NXT to Evolve is definitely a demotion, but if they can rock the house here, what's the harm in that? They tie up to start after a handshake and Osborne eats a hiptoss. Riley hiptosses Mensah as Rosenberg brings up how Chase U from NXT is gone. Mensah takes Osborne down from the waist and Riley gets stacked for a one count. Riley spuns around for a front headlock but Mensah gets in a wrist lock. Mensah kicks Riley in the chest and armdrags him. They trade arm drags and Oro rolls him up for a deuce. Pete asks Stone if he's ever been in the main event before and Stone responds by asking if Pete has ever been in the ring period. Riley rolls him up for a two count and sunset flips for another deuce. Riley hits a crucifix for a deuce and says he was that close to winning. Mensah shoves him so Riley responds with a shove of his own. Mensah hits a head scissors but Riley goes up and over, dropping Oro with a dropkick. Mensah does a tornado ddt onto the top rope, snapping Riley off before landing a missile dropkick. Riley rolls outside as we go to break. Back from commercial they slug it out in the center of the ring before Mensah hits a scoop slam. He covers for 1...2..no. Mensah locks in a chinlock then delivers a T-bone Taz plex. Mensah misses a kick but Riley stuns him with one. Mensah blocks the springboard dive but Osborne blocks a suplex. Riley hits a rolling hurracarana and covers for 1....2...no. Stone says if Pete doesn't watch it, he won't be here next week. Mensah blocks a whip and hits a spinkick to the face. Mensah hits a nasty looking full nelson suplex and covers for 1...2...no. Oro goes for a springboard dropkick but Riley counters with a dropkick to the knees to send Oro crashing outside. Riley does a crossbody to the floor then hits a Michenoku Driver inside the ring. He covers for 1...2...no. Mensah's piledriver is blocked and Osborne victory rolls him for 1...2...nope. Mensah drops Osborne face first and covers for 1....2...noooooo, that was close. Mensah rallies with right hands but Osborne punches back. Mensah hits a spin kick to the gut but Osborne hits a standing enziguiri. Osborne goes up to the top but gets Pele kicked (!!!) off the top. Mensah hits the Call of Autumn and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Damn good effort by both guys and too bad its on the Double A show, this would have fit right in on Smackdown. Hats off to both guys.

Time of match: 8:09

Winner: Mensah by pinfall

Mensah celebrates at the entrance ramp but Swipe Right makes a mad dash from behind the curtain. Apparently something's going on in the back. Its Gallus from NXT who smashes up the backstage area saying they're here to make noise. Oh great, more NXT guys? Not that Gallus isn't good workers, but this is supposed to be about the younger guys....not NXT dudes. But that's just nit picking. All in all it was another good introductory show and it established that Keanu Carver and Harlem Lewis are mean looking fellas, Carlee Bright and Kendal Grey have hilarious chemistry as a tag team and Wendy Choo is a crazy bastard. Next week Brinley Reece should be in action along with Luca Crusifino taking on Javier Bernal. Should be an interesting show. The next show after this is Friday night's Smackdown in Barcelona, Spain. I'll see you there.

WWE Raw (3/10/25)

WWE Raw

Madison Square Garden

New York City, NY

March 10, 2025

Ring Announcer: Mike Rome

Commentators: Michael Cole & Pat McAfee

Last week's Raw was a high impact show dealing with the fallout of Elimination Chamber but this week was a well hyped event with two big matches signed already. LWO vs New Day and Seth Rollins vs CM Punk in a steel cage. Also, AJ Styles wants a piece of Logan Paul and that might be a Wrestlemania match. Iyo Sky won the World Women's Championship last week when Rhea heeled on Bianca Belair, so Rhea might be apart of tonight's show for an explanation. We're 41 days away from Wrestlemania so let's get this one started.

Michael Cole welcomes us to Madison Square Garden and apparently Cody Rhodes is here tonight. Iyo Sky and Dakota Sky are here as well. Bianca Belair arrives through the freight elevator and she looks pissed. Seth Rollins is here as well as CM Punk for their steel cage match. Jey Uso makes his way through the crowd of cheering fans for our opening match McAfee stands on the announce table while Cole remains on the ground to greet Uso, hahaha. We're shown comedian Andrew Schulz in the front row as we get started.

Match 1

Grayson Waller (with Austin Theory) vs Jey Uso

Cole informs us that Waller wants Uso because he's going to Wrestlemania and Waller isn't. Bell's gone and they tie up to start. Waller throws him off to start before they tie up again. Waller gets in a headlock and drops Jey with a shoulderblock. Waller runs into a running back elbow and Uso follows with a scoop slam. McAfee mocks A-Town Down Under as Uso gets in a right hand in the corner but Waller dropkicks Uso in the knee. Waller rallies with punches to a chorus of boos then goes for the blatant choke. Waller throws Uso into the ring post and Grayson stands on his head before taunting the irate crowd. Grayson misses a charge in the corner and Uso responds with a running ass bump. Jey hits a step up enziguiri and clotheslines Waller over the top to the outside. Uso hits a suicide dive onto Waller on the outside before throwing him back in. Theory grabs the leg from the outside allowing Waller to dropkick Uso off. Waller slides outside and drops Jey with a clothesline as we go to break. Back from commercial Waller is on the top rope and he hits a second rope flying elbow drop. Waller covers for 1....2..no. Waller kicks away at Uso before they play "Yeet/boo". Uso drops Waller with a big right hand and hits a superkick to the ribs. Jey hits the samoan drop and calls for the Umaga. He hits it in the corner then goes for the top rope splash. Theory distracts him long enough for Waller to get up. Waller gets superkicked through the ropes to the outside. Uso runs into a cutter on the ropes as Waller dives into the ring, hitting a Flatliner He covers for 1...2...no. We're shown WWE2K25 ratings which is ridiculous as Waller makes another cover for a two. Jey ducks under the right hand but gets kicked in the head. Waller hits the discuss punch but runs into the superkick. Uso kicks Theory off the apron and hits the spear on Waller. He covers for 1....2...3 to win the match. Serviceable match to keep Jey hot going into Wrestlemania even if its against guys cold as ice right now.

Time of match: 9:10

Winner: Uso by pinfall

The celebration is short-lived as Austin Theory attacks from behind after the bell. Theory rallies with right hands as Waller joins in for the double team. Jey backdrops Waller out of the ring and spears Theory as well. Uso heads to the top and hits the top rope splash on Theory but all of a sudden Gunther appears out of nowhere. Gunther lays him out with the sleeper for the second week in a row. WWE referees pry Gunther off of him as Cole reminds us that this was Gunther's plan to mess with Jey as often as he could until Wrestlemania.

Back to Cole and McAfee as Pat does the Mr. Perfect pencil toss and Cole says he hopes Jey serves it back to Gunther. He hypes up the steel cage match between Rollins and Punk coming up as we get a highlight package. Punk returned after Survivor Series 2023 and Seth Rollins was visibly pissed. Rollins isn't happy that Punk abandoned WWE for 10 years while he stayed and built his legacy, only for Punk to return with all the hooplah he did. Punk defeated Rollins on the first Netflix Raw and Rollins vowed to take Wrestlemania away from Punk. Punk eliminated Rollins and Rollins curb stomped Punk to cost him the Elimination Chamber to John Cena. Last week on Raw, Punk dropped a pipe bomb on everyone but once he mentioned Becky Lynch, Rollins came running to fight. General Manager Adam Pearce made a deal with Rollins to blow off steam by putting them in a cage tonight. Rollins is wearing some of the finest pajamas you've ever seen while Punk warms up in the New York Knicks locker room as we go to break.

Back from commercial, Jey Uso is in the back where Alpha Academy comes in to console him. Otis gives him a big kiss on the head and says he's got his back as they walk off. We head back to ring side where Logan Paul is introduced, guess he's beating AJ Styles to the punch. Logan spots a fan wearing an "I Hate Logan Paul" shirt and rips it off him. Must be one of their PC guys because the dude looks ripped. Paul gets royally booed by the fans and can't even get a word in because of it. Paul says he doesn't associate with guys like AJ Styles and he's Logan Paul. Paul compares himself to The Rock and John Cena, transcendent superstars and would do anything it took to get to the top. Paul was shocked that Cody Rhodes rejected Rock's offer and it took Cena 20 years to realize that nice guys finish last. He's known that since Day 1 and he says his soul is for sale and doesn't run away from opportunities, that's why he's in the ring at MSG and the "reggies" are in the stands. He says guys like Andrew Schulz are there to see him and they show him on camera. He gives Schulz a mic and he says he's there to see the steel cage match, CM Punk and Seth Rollins. Andrew "Logan, nobody is here to see YOU. This is not Cleveland, Ohio, this is New York City. We're a real arena and we like real pretzels." He wants to see AJ Styles and Paul pulls him over the barricade. Paul throws Schulz in the ring and goes to suplex him, but here's Styles himself to make the save. AJ unloads with right hands to drop Paul and he hits the Phenomenal Forearm. AJ and Schulz high five as Paul rolls out of the ring. AJ tells him to come back and get some. Logan walks off as AJ baits him to come back. AJ raises Andrew Schulz's arm as the fans cheer. This is definitely setting up for Styles/Paul at Wrestlemania as Schulz climbs to the second rope for the obligatory cheer.

We cut to the announcers who hype up the steel cage match and sends us to last week's main event where Iyo Sky defeated Rhea Ripley Before the next match, we're shown a steel cage match from 1975 where Bruno Sammartino defeated Ivan Koloff in Madison Square Garden. On to the next match.

Match 2

The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs The LWO (Dragon Lee and Rey Mysterio Jr) in a Tornado Tag Team Match

Oba Femi is shown in the crowd to hype up tomorrow night's NXT as the LWO makes their entrance. Tornado rules means no tags, everyone's in there. They brawl to start with Lee taking Kofi and Rey taking Woods. They hit double splashes in the corner and 10 punches. A double bulldog drops both members of New Day and they bail. Rey kicks Woods in the back as Lee sends Kofi into the ring post. Rey rams Woods' head into the announce table as McAfee says "eat the table Xavier Woods!" Woods is rammed into the post by Rey and the faces pull out a table. New Day jumps them from behind as Woods sends Rey into the ring post. Woods tries to start a "tables" chant and puts the table back under the ring. Rey fights back against woods as Lee scoop slams Kofi on the floor. Rey hits a seated senton on Woods and throws Kofi back in the ring. Lee and Rey get the table back out and set it up outside. Lee puts Kofi on his shoulders but Kofi fights out of it and Woods trips Lee off the apron. Kofi and Woods send Rey shoulder first into the ring steps and catch Lee mid air. They double powerbomb Lee on the floor as we go to commercial. Back from break, inside the ring Kofi puts Lee on the top rope. Woods shitcans Rey outside as Woods & Kofi get pushed off by Lee. Rey crotches Kofi on the top rope but Woods knocks Mysterio down. Woods climbs up to the second rope to trade punches with Lee. Rey somehow joins all four on the top rope, hitting a huracarana on Woods. Lee hits a huge double stomp on Kofi and covers for 1...2...no. Lee hits a hurracarana on Woods through the outside to a big pop but Kofi hits the O'Connor Roll on Rey for 1...2..no, Rey kicks him into the ropes. Rey calls for the 619 but Kofi goes for Trouble In Paradise. Rey ducks under it and hits a springboard crossbody for 1...2...no. Rey slides under Kofi and his head scissors puts Kofi on the ropes. Rey hits the 619 and goes for the frog splash, but Kofi gets his knees up. Kofi covers for 1...2..no, Lee saves the day. Lee clotheslines Kofi over the top to the floor and hits a hilo to the floor on Kingston. All of a sudden a dude in a mask and black clothing hits a hurracarana on Lee on the floor. Then drops him with a flying headbutt. Rey goes to attack but he's sent into the side of the ring and the dude does a german suplex. Judging by the red white and blue mask, that's gotta be Chad Gable. Security pounces on the guy and whisks him away as the announcers start to figure out its Gable. Meanwhile Kofi has no idea where he is but somehow revives Woods. Kofi in the ring hits a backbreaker and Woods hits the big stomp. Woods covers for 1...2..3 to win the match. Damn good tag match but somewhat ruined by Lucha Gable. Now the concept of Lucha Gable is either going to be not funny at all or too hilarious for woods, there won't be an in-between. New Day just happened to be there, the LWO could have been facing the Hardy's and Gable would have interfered. New Day gets the win to keep their heat moving forward.

Time of match: 11:16

Winners: New Day by pinfall

McAfee says Kofi ruined everything yet got the win at ring side. Then we cut to last week where Bron Breakker cleaned out Judgment Day. We cut to the Judgment Day in the back where Finn Balor is ranting and raving about Breakker last week. Carlito isn't paying attention as he just stares at an apple. Dom Mysterio along with Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan walk in, Liv says Bayley will face Raquel Rodriguez for a women's IC title shot. Carlito says "Now THAT'S cool" and goes to fist bump Raquel who just blows him off. Carlito then just punches Dom's arm so he's not left hanging. Dom says he got Balor a title shot for the men's IC title next week on Raw if Balor wants it. Balor hugs Dom and thanks him before leaving to talk to Adam Pearce. Dom says Balor has got this but Liv isn't convinced. I know Carlito is supposed to be the comic relief of the group, but he's even more detested than R-Truth and Truth was never an official member. Without Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, this group is virtually useless.

We then get a plug for WWE Evolve this coming Wednesday before we're shown Peter Rosenberg in the crowd. The rapper Fabolous is shown in the house as well and now I feel old because its been 20 years since Holla Back Youngin came out. Next we're shown long time WWE fan Macaulay Culkin and his brother Rory sitting next to him, although Rory doesn't get named. He rubs his brother's head who gives him a weird look, hahaha.

Here comes Cody Rhodes for a conference with the crowd. He already appeared on Smackdown to tell John Cena to come get some, what's in Satan's fire does he want now? Cody "So, New York City, whataya want to talk about?" He says he's here because MSG is the cathedral of wrestling and brings up the fact John Cena isn't here tonight. Cody says Cena must have told Travis Scott and The Rock that he'll be in Brussels, Belgium next week. Cody says this was the same man that won the US title here in MSG and won the Royal Rumble after tearing his pectoral muscle. Cody says it was easy for Cena to sucker punch him after kicking him in the gonads with backup around him. He doesn't begrudge Cena for a part time schedule because Cena part time is better than a lot of people full time. What he DOES begrudge is Cena going on social media....and he's cut off by the old "Lets go Cena/Cena Sucks" chant with the adults screaming let's go Cena and the kids saying Cena sucks, which is surreal. Cody says let's hear it for Cena and gets a mixed reaction. Cody says he begrudges Cena for posting on Twitter "Have the discipline to do what needs to be done, even if you don't feel like it." Cody compares Cena to a spiteful mentor or coach that some day you have to say "John, sit down and shut up you god damned moron." Cody mocks the term best for business although he says Cena always knew what's best for business, until it changed. Cody says its tacky to count stats in wrestling but one stat that's been on everyone's mind is "seventeen". Cody says that's not happening because he's going to beat his hero in his hero's last chance at "seventeen." Cody "John, I'm the captain now. Good night, New York." The message is clear, Cena is after the record breaking 17th title and Cody says its not gonna happen. McAfee wants to hear what Cena has to say next week in Belgium as we go to break.

Back from commercial we're shown the famous MSG cage match between Don Muraco and Jimmy Snuka with Mick Foley and Bubba Ray Dudley in the front row. We get more hype for tonight's cage match before we see actress Ali Ahn in the crowd with some overzealous Cody Rhodes fan in the crown. The cast of the Netflix show Selling The City is shown as well before we're shown Rich The Kid. Finally we're shown championship boxer Amanda Serrano who's going to be fighting Katie Taylor this July in MSG. On to the next match.

Match 3

Bayley vs Raquel Rodriguez (with Liv Morgan and Dom Mysterio)

Number one contender's match for Lira Valkyria's IC title. Bayley enters alone despite the 3-1 odds. Cole can't help himself to heckle Dom & Liv during Bayley's introduction. McAfee joins in and Liv heckles them back. Cole brings up how Bayley beat Lira to get into Elimination Chamber as the bell rings. Raquel backs Bayley in the corner and chokes her in the corner. Bayley kicks her in the knee but Raquel works the arm, throwing Bayley down by the hair. Bayley plays cat & mouse with Raquel until she's dropped off the apron. She stomps on Bayley's hand before throwing her back inside. Bayley hits forearms to the back but runs into a shoulderblock. Rodriguez misses a charge in the corner but Bayley's not strong enough to arm drag Raquel. Rodriguez drops her with a shoulderblock but runs into a boot in the corner. Cole says if anyone can pull this out, its Bayley....which is surreal considering these two had hilarious interactions when Bayley was a heel. Bayley finally arm drags Raquel and elbows her in the corner. Bayley's spear is blocked and Raquel swings her around like a rag doll. Raquel hits a fallaway slam and stands on her. Bayley pulls her off the second rope and clubs away with forearms. Bayley hits a knee to the face and a bronco buster, but Raquel kicks her off. Raquel regroups with Liv but Bayley sneaks around to hit an elbow to the back of the neck. Bayley taunts Liv as we go to commercial. Back from break Raquel misses a legdrop on the apron but doesn't scream "my hole". Bayley snaps her off the second rope and hits a running knee to the head. Bayley snaps her off the second rope but Bayley hits a sliding clothesline. She covers for 1...2..no. Raquel blocks a back suplex and throws her across the ring. Bayley rolls her up for 1...2..no. Bayley hits another running knee to the head and goes up to the top rope. Bayley hits the flying elbow and covers for 1...2...noooo. Pat McAfee "OOOOHHHH YEAHHHH" Cole brings up Randy Savage having a cage match in MSG as Bayley sends Raquel into the buckle. Bayley ducks under a clothesline and hits a back suplex, covering for 1...2..no. Bayley's rose plant is blocked and Bayley sends Raquel out of the ring. Bayley goes for a baseball slide but Raquel moves. Raquel gets thrown into the ring post and Bayley slides back in. Dom Mysterio hops up on the apron to distract referee Jessika Carr but Liv hops up on the other side. Bayley drops her first then Dom but Raquel catches Bayley mid-air. Raquel slams Bayley on top of the announce table and rolls back inside. Bayley just barely makes the count back inside but runs right into a big boot. Raquel hits Tejana Bomb and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. The numbers game catches up to Bayley as it was too much for just one person to overcome. Bayley beat Lira Valkyria to get to EC but Raquel beats Bayley, the message is Lira is going to have to face the vicious bodyguard of Liv Morgan.

Time of match: 10:05

Winner: Rodriguez by pinfall

Cathy Kelley is with Chad Gable who accuses him of attacking Rey and Lee. Gable says that wasn't him and it was just a common fan. Cathy says all evidence points to him since he's wearing the same exact clothes as the attacker. Gable replies they're in MSG and security is pathetic to let that fan do what he did. Cathy calls him a liar when the camera pans behind him to see security escorting out a masked man wearing the same clothes as Gable. Chad looks at Cathy with an "I told you so" look and once again says New York security is pathetic. This reminds me of the angle Owen Hart had going on where he'd attack someone as the Blue Blazer then had Koko B Ware or Jeff Jarrett as the Blazer with him as himself in the ring. Like I said, this angle is either going to be great or bomb and so far its interesting.

As Cole mentioned earlier, we're shown a highlight of Randy Savage vs Ted Dibiase in a cage from 1988 for the WWF Championship. We get more hype for tonight's cage match before Michael Cole hits the ring to interview the new World Women's Champion Iyo Sky. The crowd chants for Iyo as Cole congratulates her. She says its a dream to be here at Madison Square Garden as champion and proved the impossible is possible. Iyo says she's over the moon to be champion going into Wrestlemania. Cole says the number one contender is Bianca Belair and introduces her. Bianca says congrats to Iyo and even though they've been rivals, its going to be excited to go to Wrestlemania together. Cole brings up how Bianca got into it with Rhea Ripley and Cole speculates that if she weren't there, Rhea might have won. Bianca says she's had enough drama as it is and denies costing Rhea the match. Right on cue, here comes Rhea herself. Rhea "Cut the music!" Ruh roh. Rhea asks Bianca why she was there and Bianca says she won Elimination Chamber. Rhea doesn't want Bianca's excuses, she says Bianca had no reason to be there unless it was to help Iyo win since she's scared of Rhea. Rhea says she should have handled business with her friends while she herself handled Iyo. Bianca "Really Rhea?" Bianca says let's be real and she's not mad that she didn't clap for her, Rhea's mad that Bianca clapped for both of them. Bianca says Rhea couldn't beat Iyo and is blaming her for it. Iyo interjects and Rhea piefaces her down. Rhea says she's hiding behind Iyo the same way she's hiding behind Jade and Bianca gets in her face saying no one's hiding. Iyo tries to separate them and Bianca piefaces her away as well. Iyo throws the mic down, slaps Rhea in the face, and slaps Bianca in the face as well. The crowd LOVED that and Iyo wants respect because she's the champion. Iyo storms off as Rhea and Bianca look at each other confused. Good for Iyo to defend herself like that and we're heading more toward triple threat than just Sky vs Bianca.

We get a graphic that next week in Belgium, John Cena and Cody Rhodes will be there. Pent will face Ludwig Kaiser one on one NO HOLDS BARRED! Jey Uso faces Austin Theory one on one (with Grayson Waller), Dakota Kai takes on Ivy Nile and Bron Breakker takes on Finn Balor. The good news is since these shows will be taped, they'll air earlier in the day here in the United States. CM Punk and Seth Rollins make their entrance for the cage match, here we go.

Match 4

Seth Rollins vs CM Punk in a Steel Cage Match

Escape, pinfall or submission rules here. Cole says this stems all the way back to 2012 when The Shield made their debut and they don't wait around, Punk and Rollins brawl at the start of the bell. The door is locked as Rollins unloads with right hands to start. Punk rallies with his own right hands before Rollins backs him into the corner. They trade blows and rub elbows in each other's faces. Cole brings up how Punk eliminated Rollins from the Royal Rumble, defeated him on the first Netflix Raw and eliminated him from Elimination Chamber. Rollins and Punk block strikes into the cage as fans duel chants. They continue to slug it out for a full minute before they both miss kicks. Back to brawling before Rollins hits a chop. Punk returns it before they trade right hands. They play "yay/boo" with Punk getting the yays. Punk goes for the Go To Sleep early but Rollins gets out of it. Punk goes for the running knee but Rollins hits the buckle bomb into the cage as we got to break. Back from commercial Rollins rakes the face as Cole says no pins or submission attempts has happened yet. Rollins rakes Punk against the cage and chokes him with his boot. Rollins with a boot to the mid-section and goes to the door. It opens and Rollins taunts him to take the coward's way out. The camera is on Rollins and apparently Punk flipped him the bird according to McAfee. Punk rallies with right hands but Punk calls for another buckle bomb. Punk hits a headscissors to send Rollins into the cage, Seth turning around right into the GTS. Punk doesn't leave, he just sits and stares at Rollins. Rollins and Punk get to their feet and Punk hits a running knee to the face. Punk rakes Rollins face against the cage and goes to the door. Punk tells Rollins to get out and once again the camera misses Rollins flipping Punk the bird in return. Punk hits a running knee in the corner and a neckbreaker in the center of the ring. Punk drops an elbow on him and goes to the top rope. He hits the flying elbow drop and once again there's no cover. Punk drops a second flying elbow as the crowd chants for one more. Punk goes for a third one and hits it before covering for 1...2...no. Punk climbs all the way to the top of the cage but Rollins gets to his feet. Rollins climbs up to the top as well as a drone camera shows the two of them up that high. Punk kicks Rollins onto the top of the cage and Punk gets crotched as well. Rollins falls to the top turnbuckle and hooks up Punk for a superduperplex. Rollins covers for 1...2....nooooo. The crowd chants "This is awesome" as McAfee says "Yes it is." Rollins and Punk slug it out in the center of the ring before Rollins goes for the pedigree. Punk counters with the GTS and covers for 1...2...noooo. Punk calls for another GTS but this time Rollins counters by hanging onto the leg, rolling into an STF. Cole says this is how Cena won Elimination Chamber as Punk looks like he's fading. Rollins "Come onnn, go to sleep!" Punk reverses it into the Anaconda Vice and Rollins flails about. Rollins grabs the rope but referee Rod Zapata says rope breaks don't count in the cage. Rollins rakes the face instead to get free and hits the curb stop. He covers for 1...2....noooo. Rollins calls for a second rope curb stomp but is tripped up by Punk. Punk hits a third GTS and covers for 1...2...nooooooooo. Cole and McAfee can't believe it, Punk can't either. The crowd chants "This is awesome" as Punk gets back to his feet. Punk hits his own curbstomp and covers for 1...2..noooo. The door is opened and Punk makes his way to it but Rollins stares at him. Rollins screams "Put me out, take it from me. You want this?" Punk hits another knee to the head and goes for a fourth GTS. Rollins rolls out of it and hits his own GTS. He hits a curbstomp and covers for 1..2....noooooooo. You gotta be kidding me. Rollins can't believe it and he goes toward the open cage door. He instead goes up to the second rope again and hits a super curbstomp. Rollins sits in the corner but here comes Roman Reigns for the first time since the Royal Rumble. Reigns pulls Rollins out of cage to officially end the match. BS ending aside, that was a damn good match with both men refusing to leave without beating the other. Neither one could beat the other until Roman showed up. You don't always need a bloodbath to have a damn good cage match.

Time of match: 19:29

Winner: Seth Rollins by Escape

Roman throws Rollins against the barricade as Mike Rome announcers Rollins the winner. Reigns hits a superman punch on Rollins and a spear as Cole says this is revenge for the curb stomp at the Rumble. The crowd starts a thunderous OTC chant as Rollins is heaved into the barricade again. Reigns chills on the barricade for a minute and tells the camera man to beat it. He hits a curb stomp of his own on the floor and the crowd cheers. Roman says one more time and puts Rollins on the ring steps. Reigns says he's going to end it all for him now but here comes Adam Pearce and the Suit Brigade to stop him. But wait....Paul Heyman made his way into the ring to help up CM Punk. Uh oh....Roman didn't like that. Reigns charges into the ring and throws Punk face first into the cage. Reigns sends him into the other side of the cage and hits a spear. Heyman didn't like that one but still pledges allegiance to Roman as we sign off.

Lot to unpack as this was a 3 hour Raw with only a 4 match card. The talk segments dominated the show with Cody's being kind of unnecessary since he already rambled on Smackdown. The Logan/AJ/Shulz crossover was killing two bird with one stone and Bianca/Ripley/Iyo looks like it might be a triple threat. In ring action was okay but only 4 matches. They're setting up Jey as the underdog to Gunther like Sami was last year only without the obvious Rocky storyline. Lucha Gable looks to be interesting since they're doing the "Owen is not Blue Blazer" angle from 26 years ago. Who the luchador might be is anyone's guess at this point. Raquel needing Liv and Dom to beat Bayley is right up Judgment Day's alley and Lira Valkyria is in trouble. New Day as heels is working to perfection but they don't have a blowoff in sight yet. Unless Big E comes back out of nowhere, they're just kind of "there" so to speak. Finally, with Roman Reigns back all signs point to triple threat with him against Punk and Rollins with Heyman being the wild card. They might have Heyman turn on Roman and go back to Punk or Heyman cost Reigns at Wrestlemania as the "favor" Punk is owed. Rollins and Reigns have been feuding off and on for 10 years so to have them go at it again isn't the end of the world. All in all it was a fun show, especially the second half and the crowd was very into it. The next show after this is tomorrow night's NXT. I'll see you there!

WWE Smackdown (3/7/25)

WWE Smackdown

Wells Fargo Center

Philadelphia, PA

March 7, 2025

Commentators: Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore

Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia

The fallout of Elimination Chamber has now hit Smackdown. Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre cost each other the match on Saturday, Randy Orton made his return after months out of action and the John Cena heel turns means a Cody Rhodes rebuttal. We begin with a graphic that LA Knight will meet Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE United States Championship as well as Braun Strowman going one on one with Solo Sikoa. Solo arrives with Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu. Drew McIntyre arrives....and attacks Damian Priest. He says "What did you think was gonna happen?" McIntyre walks off and Priest is laid out. That's one way to start the show.

We hit ringside to introduce Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett. We get the same Elimination Chamber highlight package from Raw including the hilarious fan reactions. Here comes Randy Orton for a conference who hadn't been seen on Smackdown in a while. He says a lot of crazy stuff has happened since he's been gone. He says since he started, John Cena has always been on the top of the mountain and now he's The Rock's bottom. He says that gives a whole new meaning to the term "rock bottom". Orton says Cena has been one of his only friends in the business and Kevin Owens was another. He says both him and Owens have done vile things and crossed the line to get the job done. He respects Owens the wrestler because of how he fought and clawed to get to WWE. Its Kevin Owens the man he has a problem is and "never underestimate a jealous man's ability to destroy another man." Orton says Owens was jealous of Cody Rhodes not because he chose Roman as a tag partner, but because he wanted Cody's title. He brings up Owens wanting to destroy Sami not because he stayed neutral in the ladder match, but he was jealous that Sami became a bigger star than him. Randy asks what Owens had to be jealous about since he main evented Wrestlemania twice, including against Steve Austin. A year and a half ago doctors told him he'd never wrestle again and Owens pissed him off. Orton says when he rKo'd Owens normally he would have been satisfied but he felt the "old" voices in his head tell him to punt Owens so his family wouldn't recognize him. Orton promises Owens that Pat McAfee is only the second greatest punter in WWE. Great story here that Orton has to dig down deep for the venom in order to counter this sadistic side of Owens.

Nick Aldis is with WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton when US Champion Chelsea Green and Piper Niven walk in. Chelsea complains that Tiffany ruined her Canadian homecoming last week and says she knows her rights. Tiffany says she has the right to remain silent and to shut up. Piper takes exception of it and Tiffany says let's go one on one. Chelsea says she can't because Piper's her "secret service" but Aldis says he runs the show, not her. Aldis says it's gonna be Tiffany vs Piper later....and here we go. During the commercial break preceding the match, Cody Rhodes will be here tonight to speak about the beat down at Elimination Chamber. 

Match 1

Piper Niven vs WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton

Title isn't on the line, Tiffany just wants to do the world a favor by shutting up Chelsea by taking out her bodyguard first. Barrett "Piper is the equal of anyone in the division, including Stratton." They tie up to start and Niven backs her into the corner. They shove each other and Piper laughs before throwing her down out of a headlock. Tiffany goes up and over, backflips over Piper and locks in a headlock. Niven drops her with a shoulder block but misses the running senton. Tiffany hits the basement dropkick and a springboard hilo, covering for 1...2...no. Piper catches her mid-air and dumps her over the top rope to the floor. Piper hits a cannonball off the apron as we go to break. Back from commercial, Tiffany rallies with clotheslines and a shoulderblock. Tiffany hits another springboard back elbow in the corner and another basement dropkick. She covers for 1...2...no. Tiffany  gets backed into the corner with shoulderblocks by Niven. Piper misses a charge in the corner and Tiffany pulls her down by the hair. Tiffany hits a swanton bomb and covers for 1...2..no. Tiffany runs into a Bossman Slam and Piper covers for 1...2...no. Niven goes for the Vader Bomb but misses and Tiffany hits the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, covering for 1...2....3 to win the match. Joe Tessitore "It...IS TIFFY...TIME. Serviceable match to try to make Tiffany look good ahead of her showdown with Charlotte Flair.

Time of match: 7:43

Winner: Stratton by pinfall

No time to celebrate because here's Charlotte Flair for the beat down. Flair clips Tiffany's left leg and hits the figure eight to a chorus of boos. Charlotte as a heel makes sense and Tiffany looks like she has no chance.

We cut to Nick Aldis with a chart of current events surrounding the WWE Tag Team Championship. He has an actual chart to tell us what's going on. Its the "madness" for March...haha. The Motor City Machine Guns made their debut and defeated DIY for the tag straps in November, the Street Profitz had their shot but Tommaso Ciampa interfered to cost them the match. It was supposed to be a rematch but someone took out the Profitz allowing DIY to take their place against the Guns. DIY turned heel and won back the titles in the match. The Profitz were waiting for DIY but Pretty Deadly showed up and said it was Legada Fantasma that attacked them. Profitz then attacked Los Garza only to find out they didn't do it. DIY told Pretty Deadly to claim it was Los Garza because Kit and Elton wanted a title shot. When DIY laughed at them, Kit and Elton said their title shot was coming. At the Royal Rumble, DIY won the 2 out of 3 falls match after the Profitz interfered to make sure DIY kept the belts so they themselves could take it from then. Aldis says The Motor City Machine Guns will take on Los Garza and Pretty Deadly in a triple threat tag team match to determine the number one contenders while the Street Profitz get the title shot next week against DIY. Wouldn't that mean the winners of the next match are the number 2 contenders? Aldis concludes this by saying "Its simple." We cut back to Wade Barrett who says "There was nothing simple about that. While Nick Aldis is making our brains hurt with trigonometry, let me sum it up for you. Smackdown's tag division is a chaotic mess and tonight we're going to restore some order." 

Match 2

Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) vs Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson) vs Los Garza (Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo)

Kit Wilson starts with Chris Sabin....until Angel Garza tags himself in and tells Sabin to get lost. Garza eat a dropkick to the outside but Garza hits one of his own. Garza rips his pants off but Shelley tags himself in. Carillo tags himself in as well but apier six brawl develops as everyone beats on each other. Pretty Deadly sends the Guns outside, but Los Garza drops Pretty Deadly off the apron with double superkicks. Angel and Berto hit moonsaults on the other four guys before Berto throws Shelley inside. Berto kicks him in the back and taunts the irate crowd. Berto scoop slams Alex and hits a standing moonsault for 1...2...no. Angel tags in as Carillo drags Shelley to the apron where Garza kicks him off. Garza does jumping jacks on the apron to taunt Pretty Deadly then chops Shelley outside. Back inside Prince tags himself in and punches away at Shelley. Kit tags in but Shelley fights his way out of the corner. Prince hits a European uppercut and goes to tag....then realizes he already tagged (haha). Kit goes up top and they hit the Steiner Bulldog. Kit covers for 1....2...no, the others break it up. Wilson hits a European uppercut and sends Shelley shoulder first into the buckle. Wilson hits two running elbow smashes in the corner and Prince tags back in. Shelley hits a double DDT and gets the hot tag to Sabin. He cleans house and hits a top rope frankensteiner on Carillo. He then hits a top rope tornado DDT and covers for 1....2...no. Kit blind tags in as it breaks down with everyone spamming finishers to clear out. Sabin suicide dives onto Prince, Carillo and Garza. Prince is thrown back in and they call for Skull & Bones. Wilson shoves Shelley off the top and Prince hits a backslide on Sabin for 1...2....3 to win the match. Wow! After the last two months, Pretty Deadly gets the future title shot? Pretty Deadly head for the hills as an excited Barrett declares them the winners.

Time of match: 7:06

Winners: Pretty Deadly by pinfall

Tessitore and Barrett bring us back to Elimination Chamber when Jade Cargill returned to attack Naomi. After commercial we're shown the Philadelphia Sixers in the crowd, poor bastards. Bianca Belair hits the ring for a conference and we're shown her being involved in the World Women's Championship match on Raw that resulted in Iyo Sky winning the championship. Bianca says she should feel on top of the world after winning Elimination Chamber and going to Wrestlemania but she can't focus because her friends are fighting. She says Jade and her elevated the tag division and Naomi stepped in so the hard work didn't go to waste. Bianca says Naomi became her best friend and she can't believe she did it, so she wants answer. Naomi and Jade aren't texting her so she wants answers right now from Naomi. Naomi comes out in a glitter neckbrace and Bianca what in the hell is going on. Naomi says this isn't what it looks like and to lock in with her. Naomi says she stepped up when Jade was out and Bianca stops her. She asks flat out if she attacked Jade and Naomi says the outside noise is distraction from getting their tag belts back from Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Bianca says stop talking about anything else but Jade. Naomi mocks saying "Jade" and says her true feelings is Jade has piggybacked off Bianca the entire time. Naomi has been forced to watch Jade succeed off Bianca's hard work while she had to push forward by herself. Naomi starts breaking into tears as she says she didn't say a word because she wanted them to get her flowers. She says she doesn't give a damn about Jade and Bianca starts shouting at her to stop. Bianca breaks down herself and wants to know "Yes or no" or she's walking out for good. Naomi says "I did it." Bianca shakes her head as Naomi pulls a line from her father-in-law by saying she did it for Bianca. Bianca says this hurts because she loved Naomi and she can't look at her anymore. Bianca says they're done and walks out. Naomi shouts to come back before saying THEY turned on her, calling Bianca an ungrateful bitch. Bianca turns around slowly but Jade Cargill arrives in a van. Jade storms out of the van and walks up to Bianca. Bianca nods as if to say "Do what you gotta do." Barrett says Naomi better get her running shoes on. Jade chases Naomi but catches her on the barricade. Cargill throws her across the announce table and into the ring post. She throws Naomi in the ring and hits Jaded on her. Jade stands tall over Naomi and I still say they used the wrong woman for the heel turn. Bianca as a heel would have been monumental and Bianca/Jade would be epic. Guess they want to told that off for a while. Byron Saxton catches up to Drew McIntyre who blames Damian Priest for Wrestlemania last year, Elimination Chamber and everything else. He says he's going to take it out on the "black sheep" of the Bloodline. Braun Strowman makes his entrance for the next match as we go to break. Back from break, we get a vignette of Lex Luger doing DDP Yoga with DDP himself when Cody Rhodes walks in to announce Lex is going into the WWE Hall of Fame. Well deserved and long overdue. Now Byron Saxton is with Charlotte Flair and Charlotte says Tiffany didn't listen to her. Charlotte says the division has gone soft and no one's on her level. B-Fab walks in to take exception of being called soft. Charlotte says no one compares to her but B-Fab says no one is bowing to her and Charlotte says everyone does it eventually. Charlotte challenges her to a match next week in Barcelona....good idea. Charlotte needs someone to run over to show she means business heading into Wrestlemania.

Match 3

Braun Strowman vs Solo Sikoa

Solo walks out by himself but you know his boys will show eventually. This stems from Solo costing Strowman the Elimination Chamber match and Carmelo Hayes pulling an Eddie Guerrero last week. Bell's gone and a shoulderblock goes nowhere to start. Strowman finally drops Solo with a shoulderblock and sends Solo over the top rope. Braun runs the pain train but Solo throws him into the ring steps. He hits the running ass bump to Strowman against the barricade as we go to break. Back from commercial Solo hits a Samoan Drop on the 380 pound Strowman. Solo hits the running hip in the corner and poses for the irate crowd. Solo runs into a big boot and a crossbody by Strowman. Strowman hits a forearm to the chest and hits the pain train on the floor. Back inside Strowman avalanches Solo but gets sent into the buckle twice. Solo hits two kicks and calls for the Samoan Spike. Instead he runs into the powerslam and Braun covers for 1....2...nooo. Tama Tonga runs in for the DQ and gets clotheslined for his trouble. Garbage match but we're not done yet.

Time of match: 6:56

Winner: Strowman by DQ

After Strowman sends Tonga flying, here comes Jacob Fatu for the stare down. They get in the ring forn the brawl and Strowman walks into two superkicks. Strowman falls to the floor and Fatu goes for the suicide dive. Strowman catches him and slams him off the announce desk. Fatu gets up and runs across the desk to drop Strowman with a shoulderblock. Fatu sends Strowman over the barricade and jumps on him. Fatu superkicks Strowman onto the ring crates. He goes for the samoan drop off the crates but instead Strowman chokeslams Jacob through tables set up below. Strowman poses for the crowd as the refs and Suit Brigade hold back Fatu from further punishment. Tessitore and Barrett wonder how Fatu got up from that so easily and its funny how Fatu became the silent assassin that Solo was just 2 1/2 years ago.

We cut to Byron Saxton outside the Philadelphia Flyers locker room who's with LA Knight. Knight wants to talk to ya. He says One Moment, One Time in Japanese because he's gonna slap Shinsuke back to factory settings. He says we're standing in the birth of the US in Philly and the rebirth of his US title reign. He's faced everything Nakamura has thrown at him and he's going to give the US better representation and everyone will pledge allegiance to the US Champion...YEAH!!

Chelsea Green is dressed like Cactus Jack and she's with a busted up Piper Niven. She tries to revive her by putting her sunglasses on sideways. Zelina Vega walks in and says she's got winner of tonight's street fight. Chelsea punches Piper in the stomach to say this is the last thing she needs. She grabs Chelsea by the tie and leads her to the ring. Hahahahahaha!

Match 4

Michin vs Chelsea Green (with Piper Niven) for the WWE Women's United States Championship in a Street Fight

Tessitore and Barrett laugh at Chelsea dressed as Mick Foley as she makes her entrance. Michin brings a trash can full of weapons to the ring and Green cuts her off to start. Chelease gets send into the barricade as Barrett says Michin trained at the ECW Arena. Michin waffles Chelsea with a cookie sheet and throws in a crowbar. Michin throws Hercules' old chain in the ring and heaves the garbage can in as well. Chelsea hits Michin with a chair as the bell finally rings as the crowd chants ECW. Michin hits a drop-toe hold on Chelsea on a chair as Chelsea gets backdropped on the chains. Chelsea bails and Michin bites her fingers. Tessitore "Are you kidding me?" Michin grabs a table much to the crowd's delight but Chelsea hits the backstabber, kicking the table away. Chelsea kicks Michin in the back as they go back to the ring. Chelsea ties up Michin with the chain and flings her around the ring with it. Chelsea drags Michin outside and heaves her into the barricade. Chelsea heaves Michin into the side of the ring and chokes her with the chain. Michin then uses the chain to ram Chelsea into the ring post. Michin frees herself and sprays her with a fire extinguisher. The crowd wants a table and Michin grabs it to a chorus of cheers....until Niven drops her from behind with a right hand. Piper heaves Michin back in the ring and holds her down with a trash can as Chelsea hits a Van Terminator (!!) on Michin. B-Fab hits the ring and chases Piper away with a singapore cane. Michin canes Chelsea Green a few times and dropkicks her into the corner. Michin sets the garbage can against Chelsea, twerks (Keith Lee approves) and hits the cannonball in the corner. She covers for 1...2...no. Michin sets up a pile of chairs but gets the table from the outside. The crowd chants ECW but Chelsea bulldogs Miachin into the bottom of the table. Chelsea sets the table up in the corner and goes for the Dreamer Driver, but Michin blocks it with Eat The Feet. Michin heads to the top rope and hits the senton off the top rope through the table. She covers for 1....2....noooo, someone in a hood pulls her out. Who the hell could this be? ITS ALBA FYRE! She hits a Canadian Destroyer on Michin on the pile of chairs, then rolls Chelsea on top of her for 1....2....3 to win the match. Alba takes her jacket off to reveal a business suit, THERE'S your next secret service agent for Chelsea. Alba helps her up as she retains in a great, fun match. Chelsea dressing up in different outfits every week is hilarious.

Time of match: 10:03

Winner: Chelsea Green by pinfall (still US Champion)

Santos Escobar gives Los Garza a tongue lashing for losing the match. Escobar is PISSED they lost to Pretty Deadly and I don't blame him. Escobar DEMANDS they win their next match and Garza walks off with Escobar. Andrade walks up to Berto and says he can be a breakout star if he goes with him. With Elektra gone, a breakup of Legada Fantasma seems imminent. Back from commercial, TKO is partnering with Saudi Arabia for future boxing fights, ah lovely.

After another Elimination Chamber highlight, here comes Cody Rhodes for his long awaited speech regarding the John Cena heel turn. Cody is still showing the shiner that Travis Scott gave him for real on Saturday. Cody sets the belt down and grabs a mic for his soliloquy. The crowd chants "Cena sucks" like its 2015 and Cody says "So, Philadelphia....city of champions....what...do you wanna talk about?" Cody goes on about how he has to face his four year old daughter asking what happened to his face. He says he had to tell a Cody lie and say he ran into a wall. He says it was a wall designed by the final boss The Rock, his associate Travis Scott and his Wrestlemania 41 opponent John Cena. He says he drove Cena around for two years and sponge his knowledge because he was a hero. So one day he'll tell his daughter that a great man, that did great things and never used to give up....gave up. Rhodes apologizes for his language and wants to know why Cena did this. Rhodes says it will be an epic speech from Cena but there is no justification for his actions. He's well aware he's talking to the whole world but for those in Philly tonight, he's going to tell a story. He says Dusty Rhodes was afraid of working in Philly and needed the Road Warriors to help him feel cool. Then Philly cheered Cody at MITB and helped him finish his story last year. He says Cena pointed at the WWE title and said "it gets heavier every day." Cody picks the belt up and says its not heavy enough. Rhodes says Cena is not the last of his kind as Cody is still here and if Cena wants some, COME GET SOME! Cody is definitely ready for Wrestlemania.

We cut to The Miz and Carmelo Hayes with Nick Aldis. Miz wants an interview with Cody on Melo Don't MizTV. Melo didn't agree to that but he wonders why Cody turned down The Rock's offer. Carmelo says Randy Orton's been on his couch playing Fortnite for four months and naturally Randy walks up behind saying Fortnite is for kids, he's been playing Elden Ring. Aldis says Randy's got a match next week with Carmelo Hayes in Barcelona. Melo shakes his head but Orton says he's on the one yard line, don't fumble. Back in the day the European tour would start after Wrestlemania in March but now that its in the middle of April, the tour comes first. On to the next match.

Match 5

Jimmy Uso vs Drew McIntyre

This has all the makings of a squash since Jimmy is just kind of there right now and Drew desperately needs a win. Jimmy doesn't wait, he punches Drew right at the start. Jimmy chops drew and throws him over the top rope. Jimmy's suicide dive is blocked by a right hand from McIntyre. Drew chops Jimmy in the corner and kicks him in the stomach. Drew chops Jimmy's chest as the crowd chants CM Punk. Outside Jimmy slams Drew's head into the announce table and hits a superkick. Jimmy tackles Drew over the announce table as we go to commercial. Back from break Jimmy chops Drew and kicks him in the ribs. Jimmy hits an enziguiri and a samoan drop. He covers for 1...2..no. Jimmy hits the ass bump in the corner on Drew and goes up top. Drew stops him but Jimmy stops the superplex attempt by shoving him off. Jimmy hits a superkick and covers for 1..2...no. Jimmy goes up to the top rope but misses the splash. Drew hits the Claymore Kick and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. As expected, Drew needed a big win for some heat back and Jimmy was the sacrificial lamb.

Time of match: 7:16

Winner: McIntyre by pinfall

After the match, Drew goes to jump Uso but here comes Damian Priest for the beat down. Priest punches him down and has to be restrained by the Suit Bridgade and referees. Priest breaks free long enough to superkick him in the head. This is definitely going to be settled at Wrestlemania.

We cut to Shinsuke Nakamura's Japanese promo. He says "There is no better location for the death of your dreams than the birth place of the United States." He says Knight will beg for mercy and will find none tonight.

Back from break, we get a promo for Street Profitz vs DIY for the WWE Tag Team Championships next week in Barcelona. Now they have to worry about Pretty Deadly as well. Profitz still want the smoke though. Byron Saxton is with DIY and they say they're the best and other tag teams can fight each other, but they're number one. Ciampa says the Profitz are big, bad and hoping to win, but Gargano says their dream is dead because DIY is too good. Ciampa and Gargano hold a moment of silence for the Profitz chances of winning. Saxton angers Gargano by talking almost immediately and Barrett tells Tessitore to be silent. Ha! We get a graphic for Barcelona next week, Profitz vs DIY, B-Fab vs Charlotte Flair, Carmelo Hayes vs Randy Orton and MizTV with Cody Rhodes. On to our main event...as Wade Barrett screams YEAHHH.

Match 6

LA Knight vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE United States Championship

Shinsuke takes forever to take his mask off during the intro and attacks at the bell. Knight runs into a knee to the ribs but Knight rallies with right hands. Nakamura bails to the outside but Knight gets caught on the apron with a running knee. Nakamura kicks Knight in the back and hits a sliding german suplex off the second rope. A charge in the corner eats boot and Knight hits a second rope bulldog. Knight clotheslines Nakamura over the top of the floor and baseball slides him. Knight hops up on the barricade and clotheslines Nakamura down. Back inside Knight goes to the second rope but Shinsuke pulls him off. Shinsuke hits a knee to the ribs and kicks Knight in the chest outside. Knight rams Shinsuke's head into the announce table a bunch of times and is dropped throat first on it. Knight screams YEAAHHH but is thrown into the ring steps. After breaking the count, Nakamura sends Knight back inside. Nakamura kicks Knight in the ribs and face then Shinsuke drops a knee to the face. He covers for 1...2...no. Shinsuke knees Knight in the ribs and kicks him in the side of the leg. They play "yay boo" with punches and Knight clotheslines him down. He hits a jumping neckbreaker and hits a powerslam. Knight does the Yeah Elbow and covers for 1...2..no. Knight goes for the superplex but Nakamura blocks it. Knight goes for a frankensteiner but Nakamura goes for the back superplex. He hits it and covers for 1...2...no. Nakamura knees Knight in the ribs and calls for the Kinshasha, but Knight counters with a clothesline. Nakamura still goes up to the top but Knight pounces to the top rope and hits the superplex. He hits the flying elbow drop and calls for the BFT. Nakamura bails and grabs a chair, but Knight takes it away. He goes to use it but stops himself, knowing he can't win that way. Nakamura kicks him away and brings the chair into the ring. Referee Charles Robinson grabs it and Knight charges only for Nakamura to move out of the way. Knight stops himself and Shinsuke loads up the mist. Knight ducks and Robinson gets sprayed with it. Knight rolls up Nakamura but Robinson can't count. Tessitore complains about it as Nakamura hits Scorpio Rising. He grabs the chair but it gets kicked in his face. Knight hits BFT and covers...but there's no ref. Another one runs in for 1......2....3 to win the match and title. We hit the credits with Knight as the new US Champion. Damn good match but peculiar to have Nakamura drop it back to Knight here instead of Wrestlemania. Oh well, the fans go home happy.

Time of match: 11:10

Winner: Knight by pinfall (New US Champion)

This kind of felt like the same format as Raw. Big speech (Punk/Cody), shocking title win (Iyo/Knight) and good tag team action. We got a month and change to Wrestlemania and taking titles off two of your champions seems rather odd. Nakamura vs Knight at Wrestlemania makes sense as well as Bianca vs Ripley....but we ain't getting one of the two for sure, if not both. Still, we got a whole month to build some stuff that's not already set in stone. Still, Jade getting her hands on Naomi again this soon after Elimination Chamber seems pointless if you want to drag something out another month. We got a new US Champion and matches set for Barcelona, not much more you can ask for. The next show after this will be Monday night in Madison Square Garden for Raw. I'll see you there.