By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@barnettjake)
WWE Smackdown (Episode 1,315)
Buffalo, New York at KeyBank Center
Aired live November 8, 2024 on USA Network
Michael Cole narrated as The New Bloodline entered the building, and introduced a video package for Crown Jewel that focused on the Bloodline vs. Bloodline match.
In the arena, Roman Reigns music hit and he made his way to the ring with Jimmy Uso. They held up the ones and Roman held the microphone. Before he could speak, Jey Uso’s music hit and he made his entrance. Jey said he thinks there’s a lot of misunderstanding going on, and he wanted Roman to hear him out and listen to what he had to say. Sami Zayn then made his entrance. A “Sami Uso” chant broke out as he got in the ring and grabbed a microphone.
Sami told Roman that the kick to the face wasn’t intentional, and the only reason he showed up at Crown Jewel was for Jey. He then told Roman that it had been a long time since they had been in the ring together, and he had thought of everything he would say, but revealed that being in the ring together at Crown Jewel brought up memories of a time in his career when the four of them felt like family.
He said those times were special, and he knew they had all felt it when they were in the ring together. Sami said that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference, and he knows that Roman isn’t indifferent to him. He then said they could run all of it back again, and mentioned riding in the bus and doing their handshake and Roman looking jacked and cool. Sami then told him that if he wanted him to leave and never get involved in Bloodline business again, but he knows that he wants the good times back and he would do it. Zayn noticed a smirk on Roman’s face and told him that he knows he loves him on some level.
Sami then said he wanted one thing in order to put the band back together, and that was an apology. Roman piped up and asked if Sami wanted an apology from him, and Sami said he wanted an apology for Jey. Roman acted like he was going to apologize, but then said he was sorry that Jey wasted his time with this. He said the problem is Solo, and asked him to come to the ring so they could handle business. Sami left the ring and headed towards the stage.
Jacob Fatu appeared on the big screen and said that Solo moves on his own time, and he would be out there when he damn well pleases. He reiterated that Roman wasn’t the tribal chief anymore and Solo does not move at his command. Jacob then said at the end of the day he would acknowledge that. Roman then left the ring…[c]
My Take: A good segment to continue the process of Roman softening and shedding of his baggage. He’s still resisting the urge to bury his old beefs, but there’s still plenty of time before Survivor Series.
A video aired to promote WWE returning to Toronto for Elimination Chamber in March of 2025. Roman and Jey met backstage, and Jey told him that he hoped that Roman would hear him out. Roman got prickly and told Jey to go find Sami if he means so much to him. Jey replied that he told him if he got disrespectful he was out, and that was his one pass. Jey walked away, and Jimmy asked Roman was he was doing. Roman told him to go find his brother, and Jimmy walked off upset with Roman’s attitude.
In the arena, Bayley made her ring entrance, followed by Candice LeRae. Video was shown of Candice pinning Bayley in a tag match a few weeks ago.
1. Candice LeRae vs. Bayley: Bayley got an early advantage, but Candice turned the tables with a neckbreaker tied up in the ropes…[c]
Candice dominated during the break and had Bayley in a crossface as the show returned. Both women battled in the corner and on the turnbuckles. Candice knocked Bayley back into the ring and performed a missile dropkick. Bayley popped right back up and delivered a running lariat. She then drove Candice into the corner and delivered some forearm strikes. She then delivered a tilt a whirl side suplex for a near fall. Bayley then climbed up top, but Candice rolled out of the ring to avoid an elbow drop.
Bayley chased Candice around the ring, and Candice sold an ankle injury as she got back in the ring. The ref separated the women, and Candice attempted to steal a win with a rollup. Bayley avoided it and pulled Candice into a pin and got the win.
Bayley defeated Candice LeRae at 8:30
Backstage, Johnny Gargano welcomed Motor City Machine Guns to WWE and wished them luck with Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. Ciampa walked up after the Guns left and told Johnny he needed to get over their history together and focus on regaining the WWE Tag Team Championships they were screwed out of and never got a rematch for. Johnny agreed, and then Randy Orton was shown walking into frame and heading towards the arena. He made his ring entrance as the show went to break…[c]
My Take: Solid match from Candice and Bayley, but too short to really get out of 3rd gear.
Members of the Buffalo Bills were shown in the first row. Orton got on the microphone and said Crown Jewel was just the beginning, and he was going to end this shit right now and demanded Kevin Owens get to the ring so he can whoop his ass in front of the world. Owens appeared on the stage, and brawled with Orton when they got in the ring. The referees separated them, and Owens delivered a kick in the groin.
He then delivered a piledriver, and Michael Cole went nuts about the move being banned and Orton’s history of back injuries. Referees and Officials finally cleared Owens from the ring and he headed to the back. Medics rolled a gurney to ringside, and Orton was taken out of the arena on a backboard. Cody Rhodes walked down to the ring and checked on Orton, along with Corey Graves. He was wheeled to the back and groaned in agony as he was loaded into an ambulance and taken out of the arena.
My Take: It’s kind of jarring to see the piledriver being treated like attempted murder in 2024, considering you can watch people take a handful of piledrivers per match in other places. I’m not complaining, it’s just a very different approach.
Pretty Deadly completed their entrance for the next match. DIY was already in the ring.
2. DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs. Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince): Ciampa started the match and kicked the absolute crap out of both members of Pretty Deadly. He tossed Kit Wilson to the floor and over into the timekeeper’s area. He then tossed Prince into the announce table a handful of times and then the ring steps. He quickly put away Prince with a Fairy Tale Ending in the ring without making a tag. Gargano looked concerned as they headed to the back.
DIY defeated Pretty Deadly at 1:43
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill will face Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton after the break…[c]
My Take: Ciampa is going full Blackheart. He’ll be putting Gargano in a casket within a few weeks.
Roman Reigns was shown contemplating his future backstage. Cole and Graves then introduced some video of the Women’s Crown Jewel Championship match from Saturday. Tiffany Stratton spoke to Candice LeRae backstage when Nia Jax approached and got upset she had put a match together between the two of them with Jade and Bianca. Stratton said it was her plan to make them number one contenders for the Tag Team Titles.
Candice piped up and said her plan didn’t work out so well on Saturday, and said if she had been there Nia would have won. In the arena, Jade and Bianca made their ring entrances.
3. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax: Cargill started the match with Stratton. Jade drove Tiffany into the corner and landed a forearm shiver. Stratton slapped her in response, and it pissed Jade off. She then hit a fallaway slam, but Tiffany rolled into her corner and made a tag to Nia. Stratton then ran around the ring and pulled Belair off the apron. Jax delivered a Samoan Drop to Cargill…[c]
Jax attempted to free herself from Jax, but got caught with a head butt. Jade reversed a suplex into one of her own and scrambled to the corner to tag Belair. Stratton also tagged in, and Bianca delivered a vertical suplex and a headbutt. Bianca attempted a moonsault, but Tiffany got the knees up. Nia tagged back in and she and Stratton delivered a Blockbuster and Samoan drop combo. Jade was forced to break the cover.
Things started to break down.a moment later when Candice LeRae interfered to shove Belair off the top rope. Tiffany bickered with LeRae about her interference. Naomi then ran down to the ring to even the odds, and that led to Bianca putting away Tiffany Stratton with a KOD after more chaos on the outside.
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defeated Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton at 9:45
Motor City Machine Guns will face Theory and Waller after the break…[c]
My Take: Stratton has been taking a lot of losses lately. I have to wonder if the plan is for her to turn babyface and cash in on Jax sooner than later. That would pave the way for Charlotte Flair to return as a heel, which is a more natural character for her.
Waller and Theory were in the ring as the show returned. The Motor City Machine Guns then made their entrance.
4. Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) vs. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller: Shelley started the match with Theory. Sabin tagged in quickly and landed a seated dropkick. Waller tagged in and got pulled into an arm drag. Sabin held onto a top wristlock, and Waller had to fight to escape. Shelley made a blind tag, and Sabin slipped out of the ring to pull Theory off the apron. They then landed a double soccer kick to Waller.
Shelley sent Theory to ringside and then performed a springboard to the floor. Shelley sold his left knee, and got cut off by Theory and Waller as they took over on offense…[c]
Waller made a cover as the show returned for a two count. He then tossed Shelley to the floor. Waller followed, but ate a superkick from Shelley. Theory got involved again, and gave Waller enough time to get back in the ring and prevent a tag. Shelley sent Waller into the corner and made a tag to Sabin. Sabin sent Theory and Waller to the floor, and then delivered a suicide dive onto both men. He then made a tag back to Shelley, and they delivered a double team facebuster for a near fall.
Sabin tagged back in, and Waller pulled Shelley off the apron. Sabin tried to roll up Theory, but Waller hit him with a flatliner in the process for a near fall. Waller then officially made a tag, but missed a second rope elbow a moment later. Motor City Machine Guns delivered Skull and Bones and got the win.
Motor City Machine Guns defeated Grayson Waller and Austin Theory at 10:33
Roman Reigns was again alone backstage. The Acknowledgement Ceremony for Solo Sikoa is up next…[c]
My Take: A solid tag match, but the crowd was pretty quiet throughout. They desperately need some heel teams that haven’t been completely defanged for the Machine Guns to feud with. Hopefully that’s coming soon.
UFC Champion Alex Pereira was shown in the crowd. Cole and Graves then introduced some footage from Crown Jewel of Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther.
DIY walked up to Motor City Machine Guns and said they wanted the next shot at the Tag Team Championships. The Street Profits walked into the picture and informed them that they’ve already got the next shot next week in Milwaukee. Ciampa got fed up and stormed off. Dawkins then told MCMG that they would find out if they can handle real pressure next week.
In a video package, Nick Aldis introduced a new Women’s United States Championship. Cole seemed to indicate that the title could be defended on either Raw or Smackdown, but it wasn’t 100% clear. Nia Jax vs. Naomi and Street Profits vs. Motor City Machine Guns were confirmed for next week in Milwaukee. The New Bloodline was then shown heading towards the ring. Jacob Fatu placed the ulafala around the neck of Solo.They made their entrance into the arena…[c]
My Take: Hopefully the Women’s US Championship isn’t exclusive to Smackdown. The alternative is adding a Women’s Intercontinental Championship on Raw, and the divisions might be a bit thin to support two new titles without some infusions of new blood from NXT.
Solo had a microphone and said there was only one way to start this off, and then demanded that Buffalo acknowledge him. Roman Reigns’ music hit and he headed back out to the ring. Solo then said before he has the crowd acknowledge him, he wanted Roman to acknowledge him as the undisputed Tribal Chief. Roman then spoke up and asked the crowd if they acknowledged him, and the boos kicked off. He then said neither did he. Roman said he won’t ever acknowledge him, and he was there to challenge Solo one on one, and the winner is the only Tribal Chief.
Solo said he was already the only Tribal Chief, and in case he hadn’t noticed, the people acknowledge him. The crowd booed loudly. He then said he can’t be a chief without a tribe, and challenged him to find four people who would tag with him so they could go to war. Roman asked if he was talking about War Games, and Roman replied that he only saw four of them. Solo then replied that the fifth guy was his dawg Sami Zayn.
The Bloodline then jumped Roman, and Solo screamed out that the kick in the face wasn’t an accident. Sami walked out on the stage, and then Jey and Jimmy ran past him. They were quickly dispatched by Jacob Fatu. Solo called for Sami to get in the ring, and demanded that he kick Roman in the face. Sami backed up into the corner, and delivered a kick to the face of Solo. Fatu entered the ring, but Roman got back up and delivered a Superman Punch.
Roman delivered a spear to Solo, and then stared at Sami. Jey and Jimmy then got in the ring, and they held up the ones. Sami looked Roman in the eyes and held it up, and Roman followed suit. The crowd cheered as The New Bloodline regrouped on the stage. Cole put over War Games at Survivor Series between New Bloodline and OG Bloodline.
My Take: I thought they might drag it out further, but that was a fun segment to close the show. I expect the War Games match will end up being four on four, as it would be a bit awkward to add a guy to each side at this stage. This episode of Smackdown was fairly newsworthy. Overall the show was above average, with the Bloodline segments doing the heavy lifting.
Oh I don’t know, Jake. I can see Cody joining Roman’s team and that would put KO in the frame given I think they’re selling time off for Randy and it hasn’t been settled between Cody and Kevin. And that’s not taking The Rock into account although War Games for someone like him might be risky.
They’ve also supposedly signed other members of the extended Anoa’i family, so 4 on 4 might occur with interference from a new 5th person (Zilla or Journey) that necessitates Cody or Brock joining to even the odds again.
There’s also the likely return of Paul Heyman at some point.