By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Smackdown Live on the USA Network
Aired live on September 3, 2019 from Norfolk, Virginia at the Norfolk Scope
[Hour One] Smackdown opened with a recap of Bayley turning on Becky Lynch on Monday’s Raw… The broadcast team was Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton…
Powell’s POV: It’s nice to see Smackdown open with something other than a recap of the Roman Reigns mystery. By the way, I’m filling in for Jake Barnett, who has a Labor Day hangover. No, not really. Jake isn’t feeling well so here’s wishing him a speedy recovery.
Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley made her entrance. She dressed the same and did her standard entrance along with the “wacky waving inflatable tube men.” There were some boos and a loud “Bayley” chant. Bayley said she doesn’t get it, everyone has something to say about what went down on Raw.
Bayley said Sasha Banks is her best friend and nothing has changed. She said she’s trying to be the champion the division needs and to lift people up. She said she gives it her whole heart. There were more boos. Bayley said she’s trying to make the fans feel the way she felt when she was a fan as a kid.
Bayley said she’s the hero and the role model and she’s trying to show the kids what it means to be loyal. Bayley said she’s doing everything she can to put Smackdown on the map and to give the brand the type of champion who gets the same recognition as Becky Lynch. Bayley said she will beat “the most selfish person on the roster” in Charlotte Flair.
Charlotte Flair’s entrance music played and she made her entrance in regular clothing. Once in the ring, Flair took exception to Bayley labeling her selfish, then said she’s the queen of selfishness. Flair said you can say a lot about her, but what you see is what you get. She said there’s no confusion or blindsiding or hugging. Flair told Bayley to hug her title tight.
Sasha Banks made her entrance dressed in her ring gear. Flair blasted Bayley with a forearm and then put her down with a kick. Banks entered the ring and Flair took her down and punched her repeatedly. Bayley hit Flair from behind with a weak chair shot, then followed up with additional chair shots.
Bayley handed the chair to Banks, then hit Flair with it. Banks handed the chair back to Bayley, who hit Flair with it once and then threw the chair down. A “Becky” chant broke out. Banks and Bayley stood over Flair in the ring and smiled. Bayley picked up her title belt and they headed backstage together…
Powell’s POV: A good angle that I’m actually surprised played out on Smackdown. I didn’t think we’d hear much from Bayley tonight and they’d save the real follow-up for Raw to use it as another hook since the show is going up against the ESPN Monday Night Football doubleheader. It played out well, though, with Bayley acting like herself and using heel logic to justify her actions.
The broadcast team spoke about Bayley and Banks, then hyped that Daniel Bryan will demand an apology from Roman Reigns, and the King of the Ring quarterfinal matches… Ali made his entrance going into a commercial break… [C]
1. Ali vs. Elias in a King of the Ring quarterfinal tournament match. Elias’s entrance was also televised. He put his guitar on the KOTR throne that was set up on the stage. Ali threw a nice twisting kick that sent Elias to ringside, then followed up with a suicide dive. Elias caught Ali and shoved him into the LED boards on the side of the ring, then tossed him onto the entrance ramp. Elias ran Ali into the barricade and then tossed him into the timekeepers area. [C]
Powell’s POV: So if both men are counted out, will they each advance next week’s match? I have no idea anymore given that Samoa Joe and Ricochet both advanced after a double pin on Raw.
Ali came back with a suicide dive to Elias’s back, which sent him into the barricade. Elias came up selling an arm. Back inside the ring, Ali performed a dive from the ropes onto the arm, then applied a cross face. Elias reached the ropes to break the hold. Elias rallied with a sit-out powerbomb for a two count, then applied a stretch muffler, which Ali broke by reaching the ropes.
Elias targeted the left knee and slammed it into the ring post. Elias sent Ali to the floor and then went up top and dove at him, but Ali superkicked him on the way down. Back inside the ring, Ali sold his leg injury while going to the top rope and then went for a 450 splash, but Elias rolled out of the way. Elias drove the bad knee into the mat using his own knee. Elias performed Drift Away and scored the clean pin…
Elias defeated Ali in 11:30 to advance to the semifinals of the King of the Ring tournament.
Powell’s POV: A strong television match. Elias showed good intensity throughout the match and this was one of his better outings. Ali is terrific and did a great job of selling the bad knee. The winner of this match will face the winner of Chad Gable vs. Andrade. I had Andrade winning KOTR, but now I’m second guessing given that WWE typically avoids heel vs. heel matches.
Backstage, Kayla Braxton interviewed Samoa Joe, who said what happened on Raw was “a minor inconvenience.” Joe said he was at Smackdown to scout his competition in the KOTR tournament and everyone will have to take a knee and refer to him as king…
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross were shown walking backstage. Graves said they would be in acton after the break… [C] An ad for Raw touted Steve Austin moderating the Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman contract signing for WWE Clash of the Champions…
Aleister Black sat in front of a black backdrop and said that if the mountain isn’t going to come to him, then he will go to the mountain. Black removed his tie as he said he was going to the ring to see if anyone was man enough to pick a fight with him…
2. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville in a non-title match. Graves asked what’s better than a goddess. “I’ll tell you, Mandy.” Cross was isolated for a stretch, but she came back with a cross body block from the top rope onto both opponents at ringside. [C]
Bliss took a hot tag and put Deville down with a DDT. Bliss went up top, but was distracted by Cross fighting with Rose on the floor. Bliss went for her finisher and Deville put her knees up. Rose and Deville hit their high/low finisher on Bliss and then Rose pinned her.
Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville beat Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in 7:30 in a non-title match.
Randy Orton was shown walking backstage… [C] The NXT on USA Network ad aired…
Powell’s POV: A good tag match that provided the answer to two important questions – which team will challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Titles at Clash of Champions, and whether the Graves character is hornier for Bliss or Rose.
An ad aired for Undertaker appearing on next week’s Smackdown…
Chad Gable was shown preparing for his match backstage when Samoa Joe bumped into him. Joe told short jokes and said he could tell that the jokes hurt Gable even though he’s heard them all his life. “Good luck, Bilbo,” Joe said…
Powell’s POV: The crowd laughed at Joe’s jokes and showed no pity for Gable. These silly short jokes aren’t even getting the guy sympathy.
Randy Orton headed to the ring for a promo and the crowd chanted his name. Orton said Clash of Champions is two weeks away and that means there will be a new champion in two weeks. Orton said Kofi Kingston has never been on his level. The same crowd that was cheering for Orton moments earlier started chanting for Kofi.
Orton recalled the “sweet sound of Kofi Kingston’s head bouncing off the floor.” Orton boasted that he’s been destroying New Day, then set up a video package that recapped his recent attacks on the trio.
[Hour Two] Orton said he didn’t want to wait for Clash of Champions and called out Kingston. The New Day theme played, but Kingston didn’t come out right away. He eventually came out and was being attacked by The Revival duo of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. The broadcast team explained that Big E was receiving treatment and Xavier Woods was recuperating at home.
The Revival threw Kingston inside the ring. Orton stomped Kofi while saying “stupid” repeatedly. Orton had The Revival hold up Kingston while he told him that he’s going to beat him once and for all at Clash of Champions in front of his friends, family, and brothers. Orton started to deliver the RKO line, but Kingston kicked him. The Revival quickly beat him down. Orton had the duo shoot Kingston into the ropes and then they popped him up so Orton could RKO him on the way down…
Powell’s POV: Another good segment that put even more heat on Orton and The Revival going into their title matches at Clash of Champions.
The broadcast team set up a recap of the Roman Reigns saga… Phillips noted that Reigns will face Rowan at Clash of Champions. Graves said Reigns and Bryan will meet face to face later on Smackdown… [C]
A Connor’s Cure video aired and was narrated by Roman Reigns…
3. Chad Gable vs. Andrade (w/Zelina Vega) in a King of the Ring quarterfinal tournament match. Vega told Gable that from one vertical challenged person to another, she has nothing but admiration for the way he overcomes the odds. She said she would believe that he would become the next KOTR winner if Andrade wasn’t in the tournament. She said there’s not shame in losing to the future King Andrade. “So you keep going, little guy,” Vega said.
Gable took offensive control early, but Andrade caught him charging toward him in the corner and dumped him to ringside heading into a split screen break. [C]
Andrade had Gable in the tree of woe and hit him with a double stomp from the top rope. Viewers knew this wasn’t the finish because Graves said it was over, which led to the inevitable two count.
Gable came back with a pair of German suplexes. Andrade elbowed his way free and went for a moonsault, but Gable put his knees up. Gable went up top and the crowd chanted his name, then he hit a moonsault for a good near fall.
A short time later, Gable hit a suplex into a bridge and had the pin, but Vega distracted the referee. Andrade caught Gable with an elbow to the head and set up for his finisher, but Gable rolled him into a pin for the win…
Chad Gable defeated Andrade in 7:55 to advance to the semifinals of the King of the Ring tournament.
Powell’s POV: The sad thing is that the creative forces behind the short jokes will convince themselves that the fans popped for Gable because of their stupid jokes. Anyway, we’re getting Gable vs. Elias and the oddball Joe vs. Ricochet vs. Corbin three-way as the semifinal tournament matches next week.
The broadcast team hyped Reigns and Bryan meeting face to face. They also hyped Steve Austin appearing on Monday’s Raw…
Aleister Black made his entrance. Phillips questioned who would be man enough to fight Black… [C]
4. Aleister Black vs. Shelton Benjamin. The broadcast team said Benjamin came out during the break to accept the challenge. In the end, Black ducked a Benjamin kick and then hit a Black Mass kick and scored the pin…
Aleister Black defeated Shelton Benjamin in 1:55.
Powell’s POV: Whatever happened to Benjamin making silly faces during backstage interviews? Wait, who cares? For that matter, I hope Black’s days of waiting for someone to knock on his door are finished.
Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura were shown talking backstage, and the broadcast team said Nakamura would be in action after the break… [C] An NXT on USA Network ad aired…
Drake Maverick and his wife were shown walking backstage. She called him and idiot and said they were in a boiler room. The Singh Brothers showed up and tried to beat him, but he kicked out. One of the Lucha House Party members flew by on a production crate. Curtis Axel rolled up Mverick, who kicked out. Bo Dallas rolled up Maverick and pinned him to win the WWE 24/7 Title…
Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn made their entrance. Zayn called for the music to stop. He said the fans want to sing along with Nakamura’s music, but it’s not about the fans. Zayn said Nakamura is “your Intercontinental Champion.” Zayn questioned if Nakamura’s opponent was named Andrew Howard. The enhancement wrestler shook his head no. Zayn said it didn’t matter because Nakamura was seeing him as The Miz…
5. Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. a man not named Andrew Howard in a non-title match. Nakamura destroyed the man while Zayn spoke over the house. Nakamura hit the Kinshasa and scored the clean pin…
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated a man not named Andrew Howard in 1:15 in a non-title match.
Powell’s POV: I really like Zayn in his role as Nakamura’s mouthpiece, but I could do without the Lio Rush approach of talking throughout the matches.
After Nakamura and Zayn left the ring, the B-Team entered it and were followed by the Singh Brothers and Gran Metalik. Curtis Axel helped Bo Dallas fight off the challengers, but Drake Maverick snuck into the ring and then rolled up and pinned Dallas to regain the WWE 24/7 Title. Maverick went to the stage and celebrated. R-Truth was behind him wearing the KOTR robe on the throne platform. R-Truth pinned Maverick to win the WWE 24/7 Title…
Daniel Bryan was shown walking backstage while the broadcast team hyped his face to face meeting with Roman Reigns… [C]
An ad aired for Undertaker appearing on next week’s Smackdown. The broadcast team hyped Roman Reigns vs. Rowan for Clash of Champions…
Daniel Bryan made his entrance. A loud “Daniel Bryan” chant broke out. Bryan said it looked like there was finally a group of people who believed him. He said he knows how it looks to everyone else because there’s video footage of Rowan attacking Reigns. Bryan said people think he’s guilty by association.
“I have said this entire time that I had nothing to do with it,” Bryan said. He added that people may not like him or his opinions, but no one can say that he is a liar. Bryan said he’s never lied to the fans and he hates liars. Bryan demanded an apology from Reigns, not just for accusing him of something he didn’t do or for spearing him last week, but for calling him a liar.
Roman Reigns’ entrance music played and he came out to what sounded like a mixed reaction. Rowan attacked Reigns from behind and ran him into the barricade and the ring steps. Rowan picked up Reigns and slammed him face first into the apron.
Bryan approached Rowan, who shoved him down. Rowan powerbomed Reigns into the ring post and then rolled him inside the ring. A “Roman” chant started. Rowan performed his iron claw slam. Rowan picked up the mic and said asked if Reigns was up. “You think Daniel did this?” Rowan asked. “Well, the joke’s on you.”
Rowan waved to Bryan and told him that he’s worse than everyone else. Rowan said Bryan thinks he can control him, but he is nobody’s puppet. Rowan told Bryan to show him what a big man he is by joining him in the ring and slapping his face. Rowan told Reigns that he’s proud of what he’s done to him. Rowan said he’s most proud of the pain that Reigns is going to feel at Clash of Champions.
Rowan tossed Reigns to ringside. Rowan followed and then picked up the ring steps and ran them into the head of Reigns. Rowan cleared the broadcast table. Bryan approached Rowan and asked him what he was doing and said he’s his friend.
Bryan slapped Rowan. Rowan gave Bryan an iron claw slam through the broadcast table. “Nobody tells me what to do,” Rowan said. Rowan also barked that no one touches him. Rowan’s music (who knew he had music?) played while referees tried to talk him down. Rowan jawed at Reigns to close the show…
Powell’s POV: Wait, so Rowan really was behind the attacks? I’m fine with them wrapping it up if that’s what this was, but it certainly was a lot of television time spent building to what feels like a throwaway match between Reigns and Rowan at Clash of Champions. Perhaps there’s another twist coming. I was actually hoping that Bray Wyatt was pulling Rowan’s strings, but I doubt that’s where this is going since he’ll be challenging for the WWE Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell. I’ll have more to say in my members’ exclusive audio review coming up later tonight.
Did graves subtly troll jericho? Just after maverick won the title with his limo and chain restaurant line?