By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Friday Night Smackdown (Episode 1,305)
Taped earlier in the day in Berlin, Germany at Uber Arena
Aired August 30, 2024 on Fox
[Hour One] Cody Rhodes was shown arriving at the building while Michael Cole checked in on commentary. Separate shots aired of the arrivals of Kevin Owens, Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton…
U.S. Champion LA Knight made his entrance. Cole was joined on commentary by Wade Barrett at ringside, and Samantha Irvin was the ring announcer. The German broadcast team also checked in briefly from the floor.
Knight said it had been 27 years since WWE had held a major televised event in Berlin. Knight said who better to start things out than him. Knight issued the open challenge for a shot at his U.S. Title.
Ludwig Kaiser made his entrance and played to his home country crowd and spoke briefly in German. Kaiser said he would beat Knight in the capital of his home country and then take it across the pond and make it his own personal European Champion. The crowd chanted Kaiser’s name.
Knight said that was impressive coming from Gunther’s stooge. Knight said Kaiser could do whatever he wants with the title, but the problem is he needed to win it and he would not do that. Knight said the fans in Germany and around the world could pledge allegiance to the U.S. Champion. Knight and Kaiser went nose-to-nose while Cole called out for a referee as the show went to break… [C]
Powell’s POV: Given the special circumstances, I’m not going to whine about Kaiser being a Raw wrestler, but surely some fans will. By the way, Jake and I swapped coverage nights this week. I could be mistaken, but I believe Jake is busy cramming for his 2028 Olympics flag football draft. You can never start too soon. Jake will team up with Will Pruett for tomorrow’s Bash in Berlin audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Speaking of fantasy football, I’ll be out tomorrow at my draft, so Colin McGuire is stepping in for the Bash in Berlin coverage. Finally, a quick shoutout to MyFantasyLeague.com, the fantastic home of all my fantasy football leagues (but not Jake’s flag football league).
1. LA Knight vs. Ludwig Kaiser for the U.S. Championship. Cole listed the attendance as 12,021. Cole and Barrett spoke about how Gunther would likely have the crowd behind him at Bash in Berlin, just as the German fans were pulling for Kaiser.
Kaiser threw a punch at Knight that drew cheers and then he put the boots to him in the corner. Knight came back with a clothesline and there were scattered boos. Knight took Kaiser to ringside and dumped him on the apron.
Kaiser came back by shoving Knight’s back into the apron and then into the ring steps. Kaiser got a running start and dropkicked Knight against the ring steps. [C]
Knight slammed Kaiser’s head off the broadcast table and then rolled him back in the ring where he performed a neckbreaker. Knight went to the ropes and got the fans to chant his name before jumping onto Kaiser and getting a two count.
Kaiser hit a step-up enzuigiri and got a near fall. Knight rallied with a power slam. Kaiser rolled up Knight for a two count. Knight stuffed a BFT and then hit a Kaiser Roll for a near fall. Kaiser played to the enthusiastic crowd. Knight stuffed a move and then slammed Kaiser, which drew boos. Knight hit the BFT and scored the pin…
LA Knight defeated Ludwig Kaiser in 12:00 to retain the U.S. Championship.
Powell’s POV: An enjoyable match with the fun dynamic of the German fans pulling for Kaiser. Knight received some boos, but he had the fans with him when it came to chanting his name. In other words, the majority of the fans wanted to see the hometown guy go over, but they also seemed to like the babyface. At the rate Kaiser is going, I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t have at least a secondary title reign somewhere down the road.
Footage aired of Dallas Cowboys’ player Michah Parsons pretending to RKO his teammate Trevon Diggs during a practice…
A video package aired on the Gunther vs. Randy Orton match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Bash in Berlin…
Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin made their entrance for a tag team match against Los Garza… [C]
A Nia Jax video package aired and then Cole hyped her street fight with Michin for later in the show… A portion of the Legado Del Fantasma entrance was shown…
2. Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin vs. “Los Garza” Angel and Berto (w/Santos Escobar, Elektra Lopez). Cole said it was an important match for Los Garza due to the speech that Escobar gave them last week. Angel and Berto wore the campy temporary tattoo claw marks that they wore in NX. Corbin tossed Crews over the top rope and onto Los Garza on the floor. [C]
After some back and forth action, Crews and Angel went for simultaneous standing crossbody blocks. The crowd applauded while all four men were down. Corbin slammed Angel on the German broadcast table. Escobar ran Corbin into the steps while the referee was distracted by Lopez.
In the ring, Crews put Berto down and went up top. Angel went after Crews, who kicked him away, but it gave time to Berto recover and perform an armdrag from the ropes. Angel tagged in. Berto popped up Crews and then Angel hit Crews with a kick as he came down, which led to the pin. The broadcast team said the move is called the MTY and is short for Monterey…
“Los Garza” Angel and Berto defeated Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews in 9:10.
Powell’s POV: A nice match despite being light on star power.
A Bloodline video aired with Solo Sikoa seated a a table while Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa stood next to him and Jacob Fatu stood behind him. Sikoa recalled taking out Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman, and Roman Reigns. Sikoa said he took the right to be the Tribal Chief. Sikoa said if he did that to his own family, then imagine what they will do to “the four of you.” Sikoa said that regardless of who wins the WWE Championship match at Bash in Berlin, the Tribal Chief is coming…
Cole hyped a face-to-face meeting between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens for after the break… An ad aired for the first WWE Speed tournament for women that starts Wednesday… [C]
A video package aired for Smackdown moving to USA Network in two weeks. Cole said he considers Smackdown his home and said he was excited to be back…
Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis was introduced as he stood inside the ring. Aldis played to the crowd, plugged Bash in Berlin, and touted the European tour. A video package narrated by Cole showcased the European tour.
Aldis thanked the German fans. He started to speak about “one of the most important matches” at Bash in Berlin, then said he’s the Smackdown GM and dubbed it “the most important match” while touting the WWE Championship match.
[Hour Two] Kevin Owens was introduced by Aldis and made his entrance. Cole noted that it’s been over seven years since Owens held a singles title. Barrett said it was hard to believe that statistic.
WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was introduced by Aldis. Cody came out dressed in a suit. Many of the German fans knew the words to his song, and “Woah Oh” is universal. Cole said the Arkansas Razorbacks marching band played Cody’s song during a game the night before.
Aldis left Cody and Owens in the ring together. Cole cracked that it was nice to be back on Smackdown with a competent general manager. Funny. Owens asked Cody what he wanted to talk about.
Cody spoke about the WWE Championship and how they would face off in front of a sold out crowd in Berlin for the title. Owens asked Cody if he wanted to talk about what happened to his knee during the European tour. Cody said his knee was fine and nothing happened.
Cody said he wanted to talk about what happened last week. He recalled that they teamed up and beat Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. He said that was great, but what happened afterward left him pause.
Cody said it seemed like Owens was going to hit him in the back with the title belt. Cody said he wasn’t accusing Owens, but he had to ask given his track record. Owens said the video that showed all the people he turned on had it coming with the exception of Kofi Kingston. Owens apologized to Kingston.
Owens brought up the relationship he had with Cody’s father and asked why Cody thinks he would do that to him. Cody said maybe Owens was a little angry with him when he went out into the world in 2015 and 2016 and visited a lot of the rooms that Owens had walked in. Cody said he feels like Owens doesn’t get enough credit whereas perhaps he gets too much for the renaissance.
Owens said he wouldn’t do that to Cody, but he once again asked about his knee. Owens said he was getting text messages from people on the tour who said Cody was limping badly and was in the trainer’s room for an hour.
Cody asked if Owens still thinks he’s unworthy. Owens questioned why Cody didn’t take a knee during his entrance like he always does. Owens said it was eight years ago yesterday that he won the WWE Universal Championship. He said people told him he didn’t deserve it and he only got it because of Triple H. Owens said he’s still bitter about it.
Owens asked what would happen when he beats Rhodes at Bash in Berlin. Cody took exception to Owens saying “when” he beats him. Cody said his knee is 100 percent and rock solid.
Cody said he’d be angry too because the day after Owens worked with Steve Austin at WrestleMania, he had to share the spotlight with him. Cody said Owens is one of his true friends in the business and questioned whether they would still be friends after Bash in Berlin. Owens tossed the mic down and then said something in Cody’s ear before leaving the ring…
Powell’s POV: Cody and Owens have done a terrific job of setting up their match by simply playing up the mystery of whether Owens will stay true to their friendship. The knee injury is a new wrinkle and one can only assume that it will play a meaningful part in their match on Saturday.
Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin were walking through the backstage area when they encountered Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. Waller said Theory was just saying that Crews and Corbin are not half the team that they are. Corbin took offense. Theory confirmed saying it. Crews pulled Corbin away.
Theory got upset with Waller for repeating what he said. Theory said he thinks they are falling apart. Waller said it’s just banter and it’s what they do in Australia. Waller said Theory is his best mate and apologized. Theory accepted the apology…
Andrade El Idolo made his entrance and was introduced by Samantha Irvin, who was shown and had a name graphic. Cole said she was killing it… [C]
Powell’s POV: I mistakenly listed Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer earlier. I corrected that line and apologize for the error.
The latest Giovanni Vinci vignette aired. A graphic noted that Vinci will make his Smackdown debut on next week’s show…
Carmelo Hayes made his entrance while the broadcast team team recapped their first three matches…
3. Carmelo Hayes vs. Andrade El Idolo. Andrade leads the series 2-1. Andrade performed a corkscrew dive over the top rope onto Hayes on the floor. A short time later, Andrade draped Hayes over the middle rope and then hit him with a top rope double stomp. [C]
Hayes hit The First 48 (Codebreaker) and went on the offensive. Andrade came back with a one-handed powerbomb for a two count. Andrade went to the corner and was distracted for a moment because he noticed that Hayes had pulled off the turnbuckle pad.
Hayes used the distraction to connect with a superkick for a two count of his own. Andrade caught Hayes on the middle of the ropes, joined him, and executed a Springboard Spanish Fly for a near fall. [C]
Barrett spoke about how the wrestlers were beating the hell out of each other and said the fans were sickos for loving it. Andrade stood on the top rope over Hayes, who was seated on the top turnbuckle. Hayes slipped under Andrade and tripped him so that his head hit the exposed turnbuckle. Hayes hit Nothing But Net and scored the pin…
Carmelo Hayes beat Andrade in 13:50.
Powell’s POV: This rivalry is getting better with each match. They have yet to say whether it’s a best of five or a best of seven, but Cole said he had a sneaking suspicion that the rivalry was far from over, so that would seem to suggest it’s going seven matches.
Cole hyped the main event and then a video package recapped Michin crashing the party that Tiffany Stratton threw for Nia Jax… Jax made her entrance… [C] Cole spoke as a graphic listed the schedule for Bash in Berlin, which includes a two-hour pre-show and a post show…
A sponsored video package aired on Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair. They were interviewed separately and were shown finishing each other’s sentences. They also spoke about going for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles at Bash in Berlin…
Cole and Barrett ran through the Bash in Berlin lineup. Cole hyped a sit-down interview that Corey Graves conducted with Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens, and then hyped his own sit-down interview with Randy Orton…
Michin walked backstage with a kendo stick over her shoulder and said she fought her whole life for this. She said that you can like her or hate her, but you won’t forget her once she wins the title. Michin pushed a shopping cart filled with some weapons through the curtain and made her entrance…
4. Nia Jax vs. Michin in a Street Fight for the WWE Women’s Championship. Barrett said Michin is a big fan of the street fight style and grew up a big fan of the likes of Tommy Dreamer in ECW. Jax took the kendo stick away from Michin and swung it at her, but Michin moved and Jax hit the ring post with the kendo stick.
Cole mentioned that Michin is a former TNA Knockouts Champion. The crowd chanted for tables. In the ring, Michin performed a huracanrana that drove Jax’s head into the match, which led to an early two count. A short time later, Michin pulled a table out from underneath the ring for a pop. [C]
Michin sprayed a fire extinguisher at Jax. Back in the ring, Michin followed up with a missile dropkick. Michin went for a tornado DDT, but Jax stuffed it by slamming Michin onto a trashcan. Michin battered Jax with trashcan lids. Michin performed a tornado DDT onto a trashcan lid for a near fall.
Michin set up a table on its side (another table was leaning in a corner of the ring). Michin went to the floor and tossed a trashcan inside the ring, then set up the table. Cole said Michin was taking too much time.
Jax hit Michin from behind and thens lammed a chair over her back. Jax placed Michin on the table and went to the ropes, but Michin got up and hit her from behind. Michin powerbombed Jax through the table for a big pop.
Tiffany Stratton ran out with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Stratton entered the ring and worked over Michin with the briefcase. Stratton looked at the referee and nodded, but then looked at Jax and thought better of it. Stratton tried to help Jax win, but Michin kicked out.
Bayley ran out and attacked Stratton. Bayley dumped Stratton over the barricade at ringside. Stratton’s foot got caught on a production cord and she took a rough landing. The German crowd sang the damn Bayley song. Yes, really.
Jax roughed up Michin after Bayley and Stratton were out of the picture. Jax placed a trashcan over Michin and then hit the Annihilator and scored the pin…
Nia Jax defeated Michin in a Street Fight to retain the WWE Women’s Championship in 10:55.
After the match, Jax battered the trashcan that Michin wore with a kendo stick. Cole and Barrett argued about whether Stratton intended to cash in her Money in the Bank contract or if she was there to help Jax, who celebrated her win to close the show…
Powell’s POV: A solid WWE style hardcore match. I never thought for a second that Michin would win, but the tease for Stratton cashing in was well received by the live crowd. As much as I love Stratton as a heel, there’s a good chance this ends with her eventually cashing in as a babyface.
Overall, the show featured a lot of PLE hype thanks to video packages and the announcers. Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens were the only wrestlers on the show who are actually advertised for Bash in Berlin. Their segment was very good and the crowd was hot, so there should be a fun atmosphere for the PLE. I will have more to say about this episode in our weekly same night audio review of Smackdown for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Smackdown by grading the show below.
Join Colin McGuire for his live review of WWE Bash in Berlin on Saturday and stop back for our live review of NXT No Mercy on Sunday night.
I find it amusing that Mia Yim/Minchin was allowed to watch ECW in the mid-to-late 90s considering her age. Anyway, my prediction for Bash in Berlin is that it’ll basically be a glorified house show.
That’s not a prediction. It’s how these PLEs are at this point.
I guess they are having to go the extra mile to keep Samantha Irvin happy now!
Poor Corbin & Crews…