Joe Tessitore welcomed everyone into the show as shots of Philadelphia aired. LA Knight, Nakamura, Braun Strowman, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, Solo Sikoa, Drew McIntyre were all shown walking around backstage and outside the arena until it got to McIntyre, who ran into Damian Priest and McIntyre laid out Priest.
A video package recapping Elimination Chamber weekend aired.
Randy Orton’s music hit back inside the arena and Orton made his entrance.
I’m a fan of them building Orton vs. Owens on the basis on Orton finally connecting with the punt kick on Owens. Owens has been in so many furniture fights over the last months – and we’ve already established the danger of the piledriver – why not take the simple road with this and just return to one of Orton’s most beloved and menacing spots? I also liked the fact that Owens didn’t show up here. Give Orton his reintroduction time; there’s enough space between now and Mania where Owens and Orton can jaw at one another in real time. With Orton’s voices back in his head (THEY TALK TO HIM), it should be a fun build to their presumed Mania showdown.
Orton soaked in a ton of cheers before he started to talk. Orton said a lot of crazy stuff has happened since he’s been gone. Orton mentioned John Cena and the crowd booed loudly. Orton said Cena has always been on the top of their profession and now he’s “just a bottom for The Rock,” and that gives a whole new meaning to the term “Rock Bottom.” I’m not so sure the crowd got it, so Orton fired up and officially welcomed everyone to SmackDown. The crowd cheered.
Orton brought up Kevin Owens and said they have both done vile things to get jobs done. Orton said they always did what they did in the name of business. Orton said he respects Kevin Owens The Wrestler and touted Owens’s journey to WWE. Orton said it’s Kevin Owens The Man who he has a problem with. Orton said never underestimate a jealous man’s ability to destroy another man and he thinks of Owens when he thinks of that cliche.
Orton brought up how Owens tried to ruin Cody’s career because Owens was jealous about the gold around Cody’s waist. Orton noted how Owens tried to drop Sami Zayn on his head at Elimination Chamber because Zayn had become a bigger star than Kevin Owens. Orton said Owens was once his friend, but Owens dropped Orton with a piledriver because Orton was trying to protect his own friend. Orton recalled how Owens main-evented WrestleMania not once, but twice – including his brawl with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Orton explained how he was told his spinal fusion would be career-ending for him a year and a half ago. Orton said he busted his ass to come back, but once he got back, he wasn’t going to let anyone piss him off … but Kevin Owens pissed Orton off. Orton talked about how he RKO’d Owens at Chamber, but that didn’t satisfy Orton because his voices started talking to Orton again for the first time in a decade. Orton said he wanted to punt kick Owens so hard, his family wouldn’t recognize him. Orton said he will prove that Pat McAfee is only the second-greatest punter in WWE and threw his microphone. Orton’s music hit and that was the end of the segment.
Footage of Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green in Nick Aldis’s office from earlier today aired. Stratton told Green to shut up and turned her attention to Piper Niven, challenging Niven to a match. Green said Niven couldn’t do that because of Green’s match later. Naturally, Aldis made the match official instead and Stratton’s music hit for the first match of the night.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Piper Niven [7:43]
A fine television match. The outcome was never in doubt, and I’m a little surprised how long it went and how much offense Niven got in, but we got to where we needed to go, complete with the post-match attack from Charlotte. The bigger story is how this highlights how thin the women’s mid-card is on SmackDown. Stratton needed a win against someone to then set up Charlotte’s attack, and instead of giving a new face a chance, they threw Niven, who will most likely be in another segment later on in the show, out there. Nothing against Niven – she’s great! – but this could have been used to elevate someone else. The problem? There really isn’t a someone else to elevate in the SmackDown women’s midcard scene. Maybe that will change after the presumed Draft after Mania.
Niven came to the ring without Green. Niven and Stratton locked up to to begin the match and Niven took Stratton to the mat. Niven went for a running Senton, but Stratton moved and hit a basement dropkick. Stratton followed that up with a springboard splash, but Niven kicked out at two. Niven then caught Stratton and threw Stratton to the outside, where Niven landed a cannonball on Stratton as the show went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Stratton was giving it back to Niven, taking her down and connecting with her gymnastics splash in a corner. Stratton followed that up with a basement dropkick and a two-count. Niven ran at Stratton, but Stratton moved and went to the top. Stratton then connected with a Swanton for a near-fall. Niven came back with a Boss Man Slam and a near-fall of her own. Niven dragged Stratton to a corner and set up for a Vader Bomb, but Stratton moved, hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and that was the end of the match.
As Tiffy was celebrating, Charlotte Flair ran out and chop-blocked Stratton. Charlotte then worked a Figure-Eight as Tiffy screamed in pain. Officials ran out to break it up and Charlotte’s music hit to end the segment.
Nick Aldis hosted a segment in his office and the segment was designed to dissect the SmackDown tag team division. Next week, The Street Profits will take on #DIY for the tag titles. Meanwhile, Pretty Deadly, MCMG and Los Garza will compete in a triple threat tonight to determine who gets the next shot at the tag titles after the Profits get their shot. Yeah. I don’t know, either.
Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson & Elton Prince) defeated Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) and Los Garza (Berto & Angel) to become the No. 1 contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship [7:05]
Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Down
A mild surprise when it comes to the finish, but in the end, none of this really matters. The tag division (on both brands, really) is cold and I understand the “Hey, it’s chaos!” approach to try and heat things up, but it just isn’t working. The truth is, a nuclear bomb needs to fall into the WWE tag division and the whole thing needs reset. It isn’t that I don’t think I’m capable of buying into a serious tag program between any of these teams; it’s just that at this point, so many wins are traded and so little attention is paid to the booking of the division that I could care less about who does what anymore. The MCMG experiment was fun while it lasted, but at this point, even The Dark Profits can’t breathe life into things.
Angel tagged himself in and Angel received a dropkick from Wilson. Angel came back with a dropkcik of his own and then ripped his own pants off. Shelley tagged himself in. Berto did the same. None of it mattered because all six guys ended up brawling from there. Los Garza hit stereo moonsaults on the other wrestlers on the outside and all six guys were down on the outside of the ring as the show went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Shelley fired up, complete with a hot(ish) tag to Sabin, who came and cleaned house. Sabin landed a Tornado DDT on Berto for a two-count. Prince tagged himself in, but things broke down again and Sabin hit his dive to the outside on the other two teams. MCMG lined up for Skull And Bones, but Prince got in a backslide on Sabin and Pretty Deadly stole the win.
A video package highlighting Jade Cargill’s attack on Naomi at the Chamber aired.
Members of the Philadelphia 76ers were shown in the front row and boy, they got a storm of boos raining down on them from the live crowd (and rightfully so). Put that on First Take, Stephen A.
The Bianca Belair/Naomi segment
As The SmackDown Turns. Days Of Our SmackDown. The Young And The SmackDown. A tip of the cap to the women, who sold this thing all the way to hell and back, even if the live crowd wasn’t all that kind at times (anyone who shouts “WHAT?” in the year 2025 should be banned from all live wrestling events). WWE people correctly take flak for being bad actors, but I don’t really think Naomi or Bianca were bad actors here. Even if they were reciting lines and they’ve taken “learn how to cry on demand” classes, I think this worked really well. If nothing else, it was leaps and bounds beyond what we usually see from emotionally charged promos on WWE TV. I’m not sure where they go from here because that’s two shows in a row that Cargill just simply appeared and ran through Naomi. But the dynamic between Belair and Cargill should be interesting to watch unfold as the weeks pass, especially considering how it’s WrestleMania season.
Belair made her entrance and was not all smiles. Instead, she was wearing all black and walked to the ring with purpose. The crowd felt a little confused as to how it should react and Belair stood in the ring in silence for a few seconds. Belair said she should feel like she’s on top of the world, but instead, it’s hard to do that when “two of your friends are fighting.” Belair talked about how close she became with Naomi after they formed their tag team. Belair said she doesn’t believe that Naomi would attack Jade Cargill. Belair said she needed answers and asked Naomi to come out and give her some answers. Naomi’s music hit and Naomi walked out in a neck brace.
The crowd booed and Belair asked Naomi, “What in the hell is going on?” Naomi said it’s not what it looks like. Naomi asked Belair who stepped up when Cargill couldn’t compete. Belair told Naomi to stop and asked Naomi if she attacked Cargill. Naomi said “all the outside noise is distraction,” and they need to focus on getting their tag team titles back and Belair getting to WrestleMania. Belair told Naomi to stop talking about everything else and to talk about Jade.
Naomi repeated Cargill’s name and said the truth is the way she sees Cargill, Cargill has been piggybacking off Belair all this time. Naomi said she had been forced to watch someone like Cargill succeed off Belair’s hard work. Naomi said she let Belair and Cargill get their flowers. Naomi got emotional and said she doesn’t give a damn about Cargill because Cargill doesn’t give a damn about Belair. The two talked over each other and started shouting at each other until Belair grabbed Naomi and told her to stop.
Belair said it’s a yes or no. Naomi cried – like, actually cried tears – and said, “I did it.” The announcement drew a huge pop from the live crowd. Naomi said she did it for Belair. Belair cried and yelled at Naomi to not touch her. Belair said it hurt so bad because she loves Naomi. Belair said things between her and Naomi are done and walked out of the ring. Naomi continued to cry and begged Belair not to walk away. Naomi shouted at Belair that she wished she would have pushed Cargill “harder” and “sooner.” Naomi yelled at the crowd that everyone turned on her. Naomi then called Belair an “ungrateful bitch.”
Belair turned around and a car pulled up on the big screen. Jade Cargill stepped out of it and the camera followed her as she marched to the ring. Cargill walked out and stood beside Belair before walking to the ring with purpose. Cargill hopped on the apron and chased Naomi out of the ring. Eventually, Cargill grabbed Naomi and ran Naomi into the announce table. Cargill ran Naomi into a ring post. Cargill hit Jaded on Naomi and stood tall to end the segment.
Drew McIntyre was shown walking backstage and ran into Byron Saxton, who said McIntyre’s attack on Priest earlier in the show was unprovoked. McIntyre noted how Priest stole a pin from Drew at the Chamber and Drew said because of Priest, Drew has nothing to give but violence on the way to WrestleMania.
Footage of Cody telling Lex Luger he will be inducted into the WWE Fall Of Fame this year aired.
Saxton interviewed Charlotte backstage. Charlotte said the women’s division has gone soft and every time Charlotte comes back, she has to remind people that there are levels to what they do. B-Fab walked into the frame and Charlotte said no one compares to Charlotte. B-Fab said nobody is interested in bowing down to Charlotte anymore. Charlotte said everyone eventually bows down to the queen. Charlotte challenged B-Fab to a match next week in Spain.
Braun Strowman defeated Solo Sikoa va DQ [6:55]
Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Down
Sikoa ran into Strowman a couple times, to no avail. Strowman ultimately took Sikoa down and sent him to the outside. Strowman went for his run-around-the-ring spot, but Sikoa ran Strowman into the ring steps and hit a hip attack on Strowman, who was down against the crowd barrier. The show then went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Strowman was on the receiving end of a headbutt and an impressive Samoan Drop from Sikoa. From there, Sikoa followed things up with a hip attack in the corner. Sikoa went for another, but he instead ran into a big boot. Strowman followed that up with a cross-body and another boot. Sikoa rolled to the outside, where Strowman successfully hit the Strowman Express. Back inside the ring, Strowman lifted Sikoa, but Sikoa got out of it and ran Strowman into the corner repeatedly. Sikoa ran at Strowman, but Strowman caught him to hit his signature powerslam. It looked like Strowman would win, but Tama Tonga ran in and that was the end of the match.
Strowman attacked Tonga and Jacob Fatu’s music hit. Fatu walked out and Fatu and Strowman engaged in a stare down. Both guys got onto the apron and the crowd went crazy with “Fatu!” chants. Both guys stepped into the ring and started to brawl. Fatu super-kicked Strowman to the outside and went for a dive through the ropes, but kind of/sort of tripped and Strowman threw Fatu over the commentary table. Fatu popped right up and hit a leaping elbow from the commentary table. Fatu threw Strowman into the crowd and the two battled through the crowd. They eventually found their way onto some road cases and Fatu tried to set up a Samoan Drop, but instead, Strowman chokeslammed Fatu through some tables. It wasn’t long until Fatu just simply got up and stumbled his way to the back.
Saxton interviewed LA Knight backstage. Knight talked about Fatu going through the table and said there will be no distractions for his match later with Nakamura. Knight called Philly the birthplace of the United States and said they are standing in the place that will be the rebirth of his U.S. title reign. Knight said everyone will pledge allegiance to the United States Champion with everybody saying “L.A. Knight. Yeah.”
Chelsea Green was talking to Piper Niven backstage and Zelina Vega walked into the frame, saying she will challenge whomever wins the women’s U.S. title. Green then made her entrance dressed as Cactus Jack. Niven was behind her, stumbling, selling pain from her earlier match.
Chelsea Green defeated Michin in a Street Fight to retain the United States Championship [10:01]
This was really fun. I don’t quite know why Alba Fyre got to stick around and do this while Isla Dawn had to hit the road, but I kind of like the wrinkle of adding Fyre to the Green/Niven mix (perhaps this was the part Blair Davenport was at one point rumored to take in Green’s faction?). It didn’t feel like it was quite right to take the belt off Green so soon, so the outcome was hardly in doubt, but they had me wondering after Niven and B-Fab brawled to the back. All women worked hard here and I’m a fan of this mid-card title feud, assuming it’s not over now that Green stole another win from Michin. Good stuff from everyone here.
The two jumpstarted the match and Michin broke out a baking sheet early. Michin then emptied her trash can and threw a bunch of weapons into the ring, including a crowbar, a chain, a chair, a kendo stick and the trash can itself. Michin hit a drop-toe-hold onto a chair and posed with chains in her hands. Green came back with a trash can shot, but Michin back-dropped Green onto the chains. Michin then bit Green’s fingers. Michin went under the ring and pulled out a table, but Green stopped her and pushed the table back under the ring. The crowd booed and the show went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Green was selling pain inside the ring. Michin grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed Green. Michin then successfully grabbed a table from under the ring. Niven then attacked Michin and slammed Michin on the commentary table. Green went to the top and Niven held Michin’s head against the trash can. Green then hit a Coast To Coast for a good near fall. B-Fab walked out and picked up a Kendo Stick. B-Fab worked over Niven with said stick. The two ran through the crowd and to the back.
Back in the ring, Michin had her own Kendo Stick and worked Green over with it. Michin threw a trash can at Green and then hit a Cannonball in the corner with said trash can on Green. Michin got a two-count out of it. Michin made a pile of chairs in the middle of the ring. Michin then got the table into the ring. Out of nowhere, Green slammed Michin on the bottom of the table and then set it up properly. All of this ended with Michin giving Green an Eat Defeat, which left Green on the table. It looked like Michin was going to win, but Alba Fyre showed up, gave Michin a Canadian Destroyer onto the pile of chairs and placed Green on Michin. Green got the win. After the match, Fyre presented Green with her U.S. title and saluted Green.
Backstage, Santos Escobar was shown yelling at Los Garza. Escobar said things have to start changing for Legado Del Fantasma. Escobar said he won’t expect it; he’ll demand it. Andrade walked in and spoke to Berto individually. Andrade told Berto that he deserves better.
Cody showed great fire, but man, that black eye is gnarly. You have to think Travis Scott is going to get a receipt someday. Cody has such a weird body in that when it gets hurt, he almost as a secret power to make his injury look worse than the same injury on anybody else’s body. Case in point: That HIAC torn bicep. I maintain that this program will suffer the more Cena doesn’t come around. There are only so many “Ra! Ra!” promos Cody can cut between now and Mania without having an adversary around to talk about it with, but we’re only a week into the build, so we’ll see. For now, this was a solid follow-up to one of WWE’s biggest moments in recent memory.
Cody was subdued in his entrance and had a massive black eye. He even sat out on the “Whoa!” His music cut and the crowd chanted his name loudly. Cody looked around, took his time, and the crowd eventually launched into “Cena sucks!” chants. Cody asked Philadelphia what they wanted to talk about, but he was forlorn. Cody said it was obvious because what happened on Saturday was the most-watched moment in WWE history. Cody talked about how his daughter asked him what happened to his face. Cody said he lied to his daughter and said he ran into a wall.
Cody said it wasn’t entirely untrue, because he ran into a wall designed by the Final Boss, his associate, Travis Scott, and, of course, John Cena. The crowd booed loudly. Cody said he drove John around for two years, trying to get all the knowledge he could. Cody said he thought Cena was a hero. Cody said one day, he’ll tell his daughter what actually happened: A great man who did great things and said he’d never give up … gave up. Cody apologized for the language he used on Saturday. Cody said if Cena doesn’t owe it to Cody, he owes it to his fans, to know why he did what he did.
Cody said Cena will have a well-crafted retort and Cena will feel bullet-proof and justified, but there is no justification for John Cena. Cody said he was aware he was talking to the whole world, but for those in the room in Philadelphia, Cody wanted to remind everyone that Philly was the one place Dusty was always afraid to perform in. Cody referenced how he finished his story last year at WrestleMania. Loud “Cody!” chants broke out.
Cody said speaking of WreslteMania 40, you could see John Cena celebrate with Cody in the ring after his match. Cody noted how Cena told Cody that “it gets heavier every day” while referencing his title. Cody said he was holding his championship and it’s not heavy enough. Cody said he’s been holding his championship for 300-something days. Cody said Cena is convinced he is the last of his kind, but he is not and at Mania, Cody screamed at John Cena to “come and get some,” and threw the mic down. Cody’s music hit to end the segment.
The Miz was talking to Melo backstage and Nick Aldis was around. Miz pitched “Melo Don’t Mizz TV.” Melo said if the Final Boss came to him, he would have done what Cena did and referenced Fortnite. Randy Orton walked into the frame and also talked about Fortnite. Aldis said it looked like Orton is itching to get back into the ring and Aldis made the match for next week: Melo vs. Orton.
Drew McIntyre defeated Jimmy Uso [7:17]
I think literally – literally! – half this match was lost to a commercial break. So, there’s that. It was all about Drew getting the win back that he lost a couple weeks ago and then doing everything they can to heat up this McIntyre/Priest program that seems destined for WrestleMania. I’m not sure it’ll get to the temperature they want, but that’s another story for another day. In the meantime, I can’t help but think about this: Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso and the entire Bloodline is essentially MIA these days when it comes to important stories in WWE. That’s kind of wild when you consider the past three or four years and how their story has carried the company. Jimmy goes from accompanying Roman Reigns down the aisle for every single Most Important Match Of The Night on every Important Show for years to losing to Drew McIntyre in a seven-minute TV match that’s lost to commercial time. It’s a cold business.
Jimmy jumpstarted the match and attacked Drew. Jimmy went for a suicide dive on Drew, who was on the outside of the ring, but Jimmy ran into an elbow. McIntyre kicked Jimmy in the gut and rolled to the outside, where he hit a forearm onto Jimmy, who was draped over the apron. McIntyre lifted Jimmy, but Jimmy fought out of it and slammed McIntyre into the commentary table. Jimmy tackled Drew over the table and the show went to a commercial break about 1:45 into the match.
The show returned and Jimmy hit a Samoan Drop on McIntyre for a two-count. Drew went for a high-risk move from the top, but it resulted in a super-kick from Jimmy for a nice near-fall. Drew sold knee pain and Jimmy went to the top for a splash, but Drew moved and ultimately hit a Claymore Kick for the win. Drew teased walking to the back, but turned around and started walking back towards the ring, but Damian Priest showed up and attacked McIntyre outside the ring. Officials ran out and pulled Priest off McIntyre, who said he would kill McIntyre. Priest said every week, he will be coming after McIntyre.
– A Street Profits vignette aired.
#DIY were interviewed by Saxton backstage. Gargano said the tag division is on fire, and there is a lot of great teams, but the best team in the world is #DIY. Ciampa said all the teams want what #DIY has. Ciampa talked about the Profits’ new attitude and Gargano chimed in saying hope is a dangerous thing and the Profits have hope – but their dream is already dead. Ciampa then did his Moment Of Silence bit, this time for the Profits’ dream of becoming tag champs.
Next week in Barcelona, #DIY will take on The Street Profits for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Also, Charlotte vs. B-Fab will happen, Melo vs. Randy Orton will go down and Miz TV will feature Cody as Miz’s guest.
LA Knight defeated Shinsuske Nakamura to win the United States Championship [11:09]
I liked the finish a lot more than I thought I would. Having the thought that it was very possible Knight would win his title back tonight, I was hoping for anything but the boilerplate finishes that Knight matches have these days. Instead, I was going back and forth in the last minute, wondering who actually might pull the victory out. Good on both guys for that. The questions remain: Why did Knight drop the title to begin with? Why did Nakamura get this run without ever really defending the belt? What happens to Nakamura, who we barely see anyway, now that he is beltless? Those answers may never come, but for now, this was a good title change with a creative finish. I’m not sure where either guy goes from here, but perhaps something for one (or both) can heat up between now and Mania.
Knight came out with some quick offense, but Nakamura rolled to the outside. Knight followed him and Nakamura kicked Knight in the gut before hitting a running knee. Nakamura then hit a cartwheel elbow on Knight. Nakamura ran at Knight and hit a sliding German Suplex on Knight. Nakamura ran into a boot, which turned into a bulldog from Knight from the second rope. Nakamura rolled to the outside and Knight hit his modified baseball slide/basement dropkick on Nakamura. The show then went to its final commercial break of the night.
The show returned and Knight clotheslined Nakamura. Knight followed up with a cutter and a pop-up powerslam. Knight then dropped an elbow for a two-count. The two battled on the top rope, but it resulted in Knight going for his pop-up super-plex. Nakamura countered and worked over Knight with some back elbows and a back suplex from the second rope. That resulted in a two-count for Nakamura. Knight hit Nakamura with a clothesline as Nakamura went for a Kinshasa. Both guys were down to reset the match.
Nakamura kicked Knight in the back of the head and went to the top, and it was here where Knight hit his pop-up super-plex. Knight went to the top and hit his step-up leaping elbow. Knight called for the BFT, but Nakamura pushed Knight away and rolled to the outside. Knight went to the outside and stopped Nakamura from hitting him with a chair and then stoped himself from hitting Nakamura with a chair. Nakamura took advantage of that and hit a back elbow. Back in the ring, Nakamura had a chair, but referee Charles Robinson grabbed the chair and threw it away. Nakamura went for the mist, but accidentally misted Robinson. Knight tried to roll up Nakamura, but there was no ref for Knight. From there Nakamura hit a Scorpio Rising, but the ref was still down.
Nakamura grabbed the chair, but Knight kicked it out of Nakamura’s hands and then landed a BFT on the steel chair. A referee ran down and counted to three for Knight to get the win. Fireworks went off as Knight posed on the second rope with his U.S. title and the show quickly ended.
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