Onward we march into the penultimate episode of WWE SmackDown ahead of the “Money in the Bank” weekend in Toronto. This one promises to find a way to level up over what was witnessed one week ago, though that will be tough billing when considering the destruction laid forth by the debut of Jacob Fatu as the newest member of The Bloodline — at the expense of Cody Rhodes’ breathing.
The WWE Champion announced one day later that he suffered two broken ribs at the hands of Fatu, something Solo Sikoa was all set to brag about in a special ceremony to officially initiate Fatu.
Instead, he got his ass kicked.
And then there’s LA Knight and WWE United States Champion Logan Paul, whose feud took another turn with the interference of Santos Escobar and, now, all three squaring off with a ticket to Toronto on the table.
Kayla Braxton will conclude her WWE career on Friday, and six women collided for their chance at grabbing the MITB briefcase in a little over a week from now, in a coming episode of SmackDown that should again be packed to the gills with action and controversy.
What surprises does the Blue Brand have for us this week??
Tag in and find out below!!
Ceremonial Beatdown(s)
The episode could only open one way after the way the previous one ended. Solo Sikoa made his way to the ring with Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga in tow, but someone was missing: the “Samoan Werewolf” and Bloodline newcomer Jacob Fatu.
It was to hold The Bloodline Acknowledgment Ceremony.
But before they could make it down the ramp, out came WWE Champion Cody Rhodes with his own army by his side, namely Kevin Owens and Randy Orton.
And just like that, the Bloodline was being planted at the Garden.
I mean that literally, as Owens took to the sky, in the crowd, to land an air-flip-bomb onto one of the Tongas as he laid battered on the table far below. It forced an immediate retreat of the threesome and Paul Heyman, who asked Sikoa of Fatu’s whereabouts before they walked out … clearly foreshadowing something to come later on.
It took quite a while for general manager Nick Aldis to settle things down, as Rhodes refused to leave the ring before Orton delivered an RKO outta nowhere on a member of security; and both Rhodes and Owens followed suit by decimating every member of SmackDown's finest guards.
The rampage was on ... and more than justified.
But the one they wanted the most was nowhere to be found.
*insert thinking emoji here*
Aldis called upon the NYPD to finally get the ring clear and even that didn't work swiftly, but one thing is certain and that's just how electric this six-man tag match at Money In the Bank will be.
If you thought it was over though, you were wrong, because Sikoa told one of his many lies when he assured Heyman that Fatu wasn’t in the building in New York and that he wouldn’t be showing up; because the Werewolf was trotted out to his new WWE intro (which is insanely good, by the way) for a ceremony that was originally scheduled to open the show.
After Sikoa took his disrespect of Reigns to another level by demanding the audience and every single member of the new-look Bloodline “acknowledge me”, he took aim at making sure Heyman did as well, before he found himself being disrespected in return.
“I will not acknowledge you as my tribal chief!” said the Hall of Famer.
He’d then pay for that decision by being obliterated by Fatu and the entire Bloodline, and it ended with Heyman being put through the announcer’s table by the entire faction who then stood over his carcass holding up the No. 1.
With Rhodes, Owens and Orton escorted from the building earlier, there was no one who’d come out and save Heyman, but you can bet your ass Reigns is watching as HIS Wise Man was brutalized at the hands of his own family for what they viewed as treason, but what Reigns will view as loyalty.
Civil War.
Period.
MITB Qualifying Match (Women’s)
Jade Cargill vs. Candice LeRae vs. Tiffany Stratton
Result : Stratton wins due to interference (pinfall)
Reaction : Bianca Belair didn’t have much luck in her qualifier against Chelsea Green and Michin, losing to Green not long after being upset at Clash at the Castle to drop the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship alongside Jade Cargill. It was Cargill’s turn to try and earn a way to the Briefcase at Money in the Bank, and her path was considerably more challenging than Belair's — when considering the trajectory of Tiffany Stratton and how it mirrors her very own.
LeRae was also all set for the smoke, and while seemingly outmatched by Cargill and Stratton, the recent list of upsets means no one can overlook anyone in any match, ever.
In the first match since dropping her tag title, Cargill was hungry early.
LeRae and Stratton wisely teamed up to start with a combo punishment on Cargill, trying to weaken the strongest contender, but that didn’t last long. Cargill began throwing them around like ragdolls before being interrupted by Nia Jax, the 2024 Queen of the Ring, who defeated Cargill in the QOTR qualifier due to disqualification after Jax baited her into using a chair.
Belair promptly made her way to ringside to pull up on Jax, though.
LeRae took full advantage of of the distraction and got momentum in her favor, nearly pinning Stratton before being interrupted by a Cargill punch to the back of the head. Then came Tiffy Time, but a miscalculation on a corner flip cost her for a bit.
Meanwhile, Belair and Jax were about to set it off ringside before Indi Hartwell launched a sneak attack on Cargill, leading to Belair chasing her into the locker room while Cargill laid ringside in corpse-like fashion.
Stratton took it from there, rolling up LeRae for the pinfall and a trip to MITB in Toronto, much to the delight of her new bodyguard and known Cargill hater, Nia Jax.
At what point will Cargill get fed up with Jax costing her wins?
MITB Qualifying Match (Men’s)
LA Knight vs. Logan Paul vs. Santos Escobar
Result : Knight wins clean (pinfall)
Reaction : Both Escobar and Paul are mercenaries who work only for themselves, but here they were just a week removed from teaming up against Knight. The looming question entering this match was a simple one: how long would it take for them to turn on each other and, in doing so, shift the odds back toward Knight? And especially considering what was on the line??
As you would’ve guessed, not long.
But first, leave it to Paul to pull off a massive troll job. After the crowd celebrated Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks being in attendance, Paul marched out Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers — the team that eliminated the Knicks from the NBA playoffs.
That’s gotta sting.
There was still a match that had to be fought, though.
Paul took control early on after Escobar was made a nonfactor and gathered himself outside of the ring, but Knight had no plans on staying down or being an easy out. That led to plenty of back-and-forth between The Maverick and The Megastar, the fight spilling to the mat but, guess who, Escobar landed the suicide dive on … Paul.
The temporary allegiance was officially dead and buried beneath a nameless tombstone.
Paul and Escobar then exchanged plenty of blows as Knight recovered before making his way back into the ring. A splash onto Knight by Paul nearly gifted Escobar the victory but Paul caught his mistake in a timely fashion and pulled Escobar off of his bitter rival, and there was simply no telling what was to come next in this brawl.
Knight began wrecking shop, but a running knee from Escobar stopped that momentum temporarily, before The Megastar dropped him on his head and then dropped a Big Elbow on that very same cranium.
Still, Escobar wouldn’t give in for a three-count.
After he regained his wherewithal, he began pummeling Paul once again, until a belly-to-back suplex ended it, abruptly, at the expense of Escobar, and of course Paul had Haliburton bring out the brass knuckles. And he would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for that meddling Brunson.
Brunson not only kept his NBA rival out of the match, leading to Knight hitting Escobar with a BFT (Blunt Force Trauma) before reversing a roll-up on Paul for the pinfall, but the Knicks superstar also grabbed a chair to even the odds inside of the ring after the match was over.
If not for a broken hand he’s rehabbing, Brunson would’ve probably gotten some real life revenge, but the WWE way.
For Knight, the Briefcase is now literally within his reach, and that means so is Paul’s belt.
MITB Qualifying Match (Women’s)
Naomi vs. Blair Davenport vs. Indi Hartwell
Result : Naomi wins due to interference (pinfall)
Reaction : Bayley had a pep talk with her bestie, Naomi, ahead of this match and directly following the outcome of the previous women’s qualifier that saw Stratton turn it into Tiffy Time. It’s not as if Naomi needed extra motivation to win and then make sure it was not Stratton taking home the Briefcase, that would then allow her a chance to cash in on Bayley, but she received some anyway.
Hartwell made the mistake of attacking Cargill earlier in the show, and had to know that would likely come back to haunt her, be it sooner or later.
Davenport is dangerous in her own right though, so that’s who Davenport, and Naomi, needed to focus on (though that is precisely who the latter had her target set upon).
Naomi showed why she’s a legend in WWE, her athleticism and savvy being put on full display, and almost landed a pinfall following a dropped split but it only resulted in a two-count.
The future Hall of Famer had control for most of the match though, that was until Hartwell stacked both ladies in the middle of the ring, reminiscent of Roman Reigns, but considering she didn’t need to pin both, only one, it was an error that cost her a possible win at that point.
But, as I mentioned, you knew Cargill was gonna get her lick back.
She returned to the ring to throw Hartwell’s face into the ring pillar then tossed her back into the ring for the finisher from Naomi, who then rolled her into a pinfall.
Naomi is heading to Toronto, and Bayley is loving it.
Most Popular
Comments / 0