WWE SmackDown Top-3 Hits (07/19/24): Kevin Owens returns to help Cody Rhodes; Knight, Paul official

Cody Rhodes has been here before, but not like this. He’s gone back and forth with The Bloodline on endless occasions since returning to WWE in 2022 to finish his story, ultimately defeating Roman Reigns in their rematch at this year’s Wrestlemania; but this isn’t Reigns and the Usos he’s contending with — it’s the brutality of Jacob Fatu and Co. led by Solo Sikoa heading into Summerslam.

How the WWE Champion responds to this version of the same challenge will help mold his legacy, even if it is to a lesser extent. But with Kevin Owens helping to nurse his mother back to health and Randy Orton being beaten to a pulp last week, Rhodes is gonna need help.

And a lot of it.

LOOK: KEVIN OWENS GIVES MAJOR UPDATE ON ILL MOTHER

Logan Paul has continued his part-time status to the chagrin of LA Knight, who has gone so far as to trespass at Paul’s home a few weeks ago to let The Maverick know exactly how serious things are when it comes to The Megastar wanting a title match.

Paul hasn’t been able to escape him since.

WWE EXPECTED TO POACH ANOTHER BIG TALENT FROM AEW

Knight pinned Paul to earn a spot in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match, and he now has a signed contract from general manager Nick Aldis guaranteeing him a shot at the WWE United States Championship at Summerslam if Paul signs it.

Let’s see if he will, and what other goodies went down during the latest episode of the Blue Brand.

Honorable Mention: Timeout for Tiffy

The feud between Nia Jax and Bayley, with Tiffany Stratton heavily involved, has driving Bayley to add a darker side to her latest face turn and it’s truly spiking interest in the upcoming battle on Summerslam.

Stratton wound up losing to Michin on SmackDown due to the butterfly effect of Jax interfering and nearly costing Michin before Bayley appeared from the crowd and beat Jax down with the briefcase before nearly destroying it entirely on the floor as Stratton pleaded with her to stop — giving Michin a chance to roll her up from behind for the pinfall.

It makes you wonder if Stratton will blame Jax for her loss because, if so, it would drive a deeper rift between the two, seeing as Jax doesn’t entirely trust Stratton to not try to cash in on Bayley or her if she wins the title in Cleveland.

We'll get a better idea of where the relationship of Jax and Stratton stands next Friday, when they team up to face off against Michin and Bayley.

Stay tuned...

3. Finish 'Him'!

Talk about a match. This had all the makings of a sleeper when it was booked last Friday, the legendary luchador against the high-flying rookie first-round pick, so you knew there would be several jaw-dropping moments and it did not disappoint.

There wasn’t much build-up for this one, but it was a wild ride once it got underway.

Things went back-and-forth for much of the match and the athleticism from both was on full display via timely counter moves and top rope acrobatics, but there was a ton of toughness put on display by Andrade and Hayes as well — to the surprise of no one.

But the inexperience of Hayes came into play as the match went on and he was unable to figure out a way to put down the legend once and for all.

Hayes even hit Andrade with a First 48 that caught him in mid-air after an attempted maneuver off of the top rope, but there was still a kickout at the two-count.

Andrade went into Mamba mode after seeing his life flash before his eyes after being on the business end of that failed finisher, ending Hayes once and for all for the clean pinfall.

And, with that, Hayes continues to struggle on the main roster.

2. Knight and Day

More of this rivalry, please and thank you. LA Knight was in the building early on, always reporting to work ready to do exactly that: work. Nick Aldis wasn’t present in the ring last week to present the contract, leaving it to Knight at the time, but that was an exercise in futility.

This time around, Aldis called Paul out himself to get the contract signed for Summerslam.

Believe it or not, he showed up, smug demeanor and insults in tow.

“You talk about there’s no reason for you to face me and maybe you’re right. Maybe you should take a walk … but the one reason you might want to reconsider is every time we’re face to face, I have owned and cooked you,” Knight replied in the face of the insults.

‘Tis true.

Paul wasn’t done with the insults, and he also went as far as diminishing Knight’s value and self-worth.

“The fact is you need this match against me, but I don’t need this match,” said Paul. “That’s a fact, LA Knight. We are not the same. You’re entire existence is defined by what you do in this ring, but not me.”

And that is the difference between the two, folks.

Knight began launching insults of his own, going so far as to say that at least Jake Paul “has the balls” to face Mike Tyson while Logan Paul is ducking him — telling the latter that “balls must not run in the family” and that was the final straw that set Paul off.

He’d sign the contract to make the match official and then launch a sneak attack that backfired, nearly ending in a BFT (Blunt Force Trauma) before Paul narrowly escaped and left the arena.

Ring the bell in Cleveland and ring it loudly.

These two are gonna do some damage.

1. Rhodes to Destruction

The champ was all business on Friday and got right down to brass tacks.

He wasn’t adorned in an expensive custom tailored suit, and he didn’t wait to grab a mic. Rhodes was in a sleeveless tee and athletic gear just in case something popped up yet again — this time being dressed for all of the smoke and the fire burning beneath it.

Rhodes began by talking about Orton, offering praise, admiration and thanks to Orton for putting his body on the line to try and help last week.

“Imagine my guilt watching this Bloodline put Randy Orton through a table,” said Rhodes. “ … Randy is family. Randy is my brother.”

He then got to talking directly to “the man responsible” for Orton’s absence this week, Solo Sikoa, and reminded him of the message Rhodes delivered to him earlier this year: “You’re not ready.”

It wasn’t Sikoa that interrupted Rhodes’ promo though, it was A Town Down Under, the recent losers of their tag team titles, with Austin Theory blaming Rhodes for Fatu attacking them (too) last week but, as Rhodes pointed out, Theory’s “cheek being swollen” was because Grayson Waller gave him a knee to it in the chaos; and that serves as yet another nudge toward the fracture that exists within the duo.

Waller and Theory weren’t hearing it, entering the ring only to realize fairly quickly that Rhodes wasn’t really in a talking mood anyway. He threw down the mic immediately and attacked Waller before being jumped by both, rolling out of the ring and being handed a chair by none other than professional boxer and ass kicker Terence Crawford.

Rhodes used the chair to sanitize the ring of the ATDU infection (wow, that acronym actually sounds like one, doesn't it?), and that was that, until the champ went to Aldis and requested a match against ATDU, which he was granted if he found a partner.

And guess who showed up to ride with him?

BY GAWD THAT'S KEVIN OWENS' MUSIC.

Business definitely picked up, J.R.!!

Moments after hearing Sikoa and his henchmen threaten the entire locker room if they even considered helping Rhodes, that was all Owens needed to hear to crave the smoke, because few men in the locker room hate The Bloodline like Owens does.

But first, he and Rhodes took to towering above A-Town Down Under.

That business was dispatched with when Waller nearly caught Theory with another knee to the face, but Theory caught it and began yelling at his partner only for Waller to then push Theory in the way of the Cody Cutter (yeah, that tandem is burning to the ground so prepare for Theory’s face turn, imminently).

No sooner did Rhodes and Owens get the victory than did Sikoa and the Tongans come out to deliver violence to both, and it was a fair fight until you realized Jacob Fatu wasn’t with them which meant, as has become his staple as of late, he was hiding for a sneak attack — that mission being accomplished en route to a beatdown of Rhodes and Owens that ended with the champ being put through the announcer’s table like Orton and Paul Heyman were.

And so the intensity ramps up for the main event of Summerslam, or so you would think, but this really just felt like WWE put the end of last week’s SmackDown on repeat versus inserting an explosive “new” character into the mix.

Meh.

Here's to hoping next Friday unveils a curveball because there's only so many times you can throw the four-seamer.