Posted on 3/01/125 by Bob Magee
The Trish Stratus segment
This was fun, and it was nice to see Trish get her flowers
in her home country. Stratton continues to come off as
weirdly uncomfortable in a babyface role – almost as if she
really, really, really doesn’t want to work as a face, but
she’s trying because that’s the direction in which they are
going … but she’d just rather … well … not. Pairing her with
Stratus was a good idea in terms of moving that transition a
step forward and throwing them out there on a SmackDown in
Toronto couldn’t and didn’t hurt. Green, meanwhile, is
straight box office, no matter what she does. Heeling on the
crowd with the Matthews jab was perfect. There just aren’t a
lot of wrestlers anywhere who can walk out to deafening
cheers and get those cheers to become boos in a matter of
seconds, but Chelsea never disappoints. Green is one of the
best in the world these days, full stop.
“Thank you, Trish!” chants broke out as she stood in the
middle of the ring. Stratus appeared to get emotional and
the crowd cheered her, complete with another round of “Thank
you, Trish!” chants. Stratus thanked Lilian Garcia for
introducing her and asked the crowd what year it was
considering how she was back, the Rock was back and Garcia
was introducing her. Stratus pointed out a little girl in
the crowd and said that her dad probably had a poster of
Stratus on his wall. The line got some laughs.
Stratus noted how Saturday night will be the first time her
kids will see her wrestle live. Stratus said she was beyond
excited to be teaming up with Tiffany Stratton and that in
mind, Stratus introduced Stratton, who then made her
entrance to a loud ovation. Stratton was wearing a Toronto
Maple Leafs jersey. Stratus set them up to say, “It’s Trishy
Time and it’s Tiffy Time!” Stratus and Stratton removed
their Maple Leafs jerseys, kissed them and threw them into
the crowd. Stratton said they were going to beat Jax and
LeRae tomorrow. Chelsea Green’s music then hit and Green
walked out.
Green said, “Nobody wants dumb and dumber hogging the air
time,” and loud “Chelsea!” chants broke out. Green said
she’s the best thing to step in the arena tonight. She also
took a shot at Auston Matthews. Green said once she left
Canada, everything got better for her because the people are
better in America. Stratton said she’s from America, and
Green doesn’t represent her as a U.S. title. Stratton
challenged Green to a match tonight, but Green said she
couldn’t because she had plans. Nick Aldis sent a referee to
the ring and the match was set to kick off.
**********
Tiffany Stratton defeated Chelsea Green via DQ [3:12 of TV
time]
Not much to this. Just an angle to further the story of
tomorrow’s tag match involving Stratus and Stratton. It’s a
shame, too, because I would have loved at least five more
minutes of Green and Stratton in a straight up singles
match. It was not to be on this night. I hope Stratton is
OK. Jax and LeRae didn’t catch her during that flip dive to
the outside and Stratton came up favoring her arm. Let’s
hope it’s nothing serious.
The match was joined in progress and Stratton quickly gained
the upper hand. Stratton landed her gymnastics flip routine
splash in a corner and went for a double stomp, but Green
moved and came back with a leaping leg drop for a two-count.
Stratton came right back with a tough double stomp and set
up for the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, but Piper Niven pulled
Green to the outside. Stratton then hit a dive onto NIven
and Green on the outside and Stratton landed hard. Nia Jax
and Candice LeRae then showed up and attacked Stratus and
Stratton to end the match.
Jax set up for her finisher on Tiffy, but Stratus interfered
and saved the day. Stratton set up for her moonsault on
LeRae, but Jax pulled LeRae out of the ring to safety. Jax
and LeRae backed up the entranceway.
**********
– Solo Sikoa was walking backstage and ran into Jacob Fatu,
who said what happened last week was an accident. Sikoa said
what happened last week made him realize his family needs to
make a statement. Sikoa said he wants Fatu to bring home the
U.S. title to their family. Sikoa said everything he’s doing
is to show Fatu how much he loves Fatu.
– Cody was shown in his fancy locker room and there was
fancy food and fancy wine and a bunch of fanciness …
including R-Truth, who popped up and said maybe Cody should
think about teaming with The Rock. Truth told Cody not to be
“shell fish,” and Cody invited Truth to eat more. Truth also
asked for Cody to ask Rock for some jelly rolls.
Jacob Fatu defeated Andrade to advance in the U.S. title No.
1 contender tournament [8:21]
This might end up being the best match of the night after
all is said and done. Andrade is so good. So, so good, and
they really don’t use him all that much, which is wild
considering how we now have 83-hour episodes of SmackDown
each week. Jacob Fatu, for his part, is Jacob Fatu, and boy,
these live crowds continue to shower him with more love each
week. You have to wonder if that type of crowd support will
alter WWE’s plans for him as a heel. Either way, this match
had a ton of energy, some really tough-hitting spots and an
outcome that might have felt predictable, but never suffered
because of it. Really good work from both guys.
Loud “Fatu!” cheers came from the crowd to begin the match.
Fatu shoulder-blocked Andrade to the canvas. Fatu went for a
splash, but Andrade moved and eventually went to the top,
where he connected with a cross-body. The action spilled to
the outside and Andrade hit a moonsault onto Fatu as the
show went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Fatu was the victim of a poison-rana
to reset the match as both guys were down. They got to their
feet and Andrade hit a series of clotheslines and a flying
forearm. Andrade set up for a double-knees, but Fatu threw
his body at Andrade and took him out. “Fatu!” chants began.
Fatu went for a hip attack, but Andrade moved and kicked
Fatu in the head. Andrade finally did connect with the
running double-knees. He followed that up with the double
moonsault spot for a nice near-fall. “This is awesome!”
chants broke out.
Andrade set up for his finisher, but Fatu countered and sat
on Andrade. Fatu followed that up with a pair of hip attacks
and an Impaler DDT. Fatu hit his jump-up moonsault after
that and got the win, much to the delight of the live crowd.
**********
– Footage from earlier today aired where the Street Profits
spoke with Nick Aldis and the Profits said they won’t stop
what they are doing until they get a tag title shot. Legado
Del Fantasma showed up and Santos Escobar wanted an apology
for falsely accusing them of attacking the Profits. Dawkins
said they won’t apologize for anything. Aldis made the
Profits vs. Los Garza match for later in the night.
– The Street Profits were making their entrance for their
match and Gargano and Ciampa ran out to attack them. Los
Garza got in on things and the Profits bounced back and
stomped mud holes in #DIY. Pretty Deadly ran out and
attacked the Profits. Gargano and Ciampa came back to life
and attacked Pretty Deadly. Motor City Machine Guns ran out
and they worked over Gargano and Ciampa. MCMG and the
Profits faced off in the ring, but Los Garza and Pretty
Deadly cut both teams off and it was bedlam. Eventually,
MCMG and the Profits got their hands on each other, but only
briefly. WWE officials weirdly stood around, not doing much
to intervene for a very long time … until they did. Even so,
various brawls continued to break out until the show cut to
Drew McIntyre walking backstage. Drew ran into Cody and said
he doesn’t know what he’d do if he was in Cody’s position
regarding the Rock. Drew told Cody that Rock will find out
that Cody actually sold his soul a long time ago. Drew then
walked away.
– A John Cena Elimination Chamber vignette aired. Drew
McIntyre interrupted the vignette while walking through the
live crowd. McIntyre made his way to the ring and called
Cena a hypocrite. McIntyre stood on the commentary table and
called out everyone for not talking about Cena over the past
handful of weeks. McIntyre sat on the table in the way CM
Punk sat during his pipe bomb promo.
The Drew McIntyre/Damian Priest/Seth Rollins/CM Punk/Logan
Paul segment
You really have to feel for the fans who you know really
wanted to see Cena pop up, but I’m a sucker for the “play
someone else’s music” heel trick and I got a kick out of it
here. It wasn’t as good as Kevin Owens punking everyone out
with Stone Cold’s theme, but Paul’s arrival here did pack a
punch. This felt needlessly long – not unlike last week’s
Cody/Rock talking segment, which landed at the same spot in
the show last week. Punk showed good fire, McIntyre did a
great job leaning into what he wants people to perceive him
as, Priest (kind of) held his own (but came off cooler than
some others out there), Rollins still hates Punk and Paul
worked an SNL Weekend Update segment with his one-liners
that didn’t come nearly as close to landing as I’m sure
whoever wrote them thought they would. It wasn’t a bad
segment; it just could have actually used Cena to distract
from its length and tie a bow on all of it.
McIntyre said Cena only returns for ego trips and he called
Cena out for Cena’s bald spot. McIntyre talked about how
Cena could politically end a career anytime he wants.
McIntyre said he will bury Cena at the Elimination Chamber.
McIntyre brought up a Toronto Screw Job and Damian Priest’s
music hit. Priest walked into the ring and told McIntyre it
was enough and McIntyre was delusional. McIntyre all he does
is tell the truth and Priest said R-Truth tells more truth
than McIntyre.
Priest talked about how because Drew had a weird obsession
with Punk, Drew lost his WWE Championship. Priest called
Drew out for looking like Punk in the way he sat and Drew
said he drops the pipe bombs now. “CM Punk!” chants broke
out. Drew stood up and Priest said he once dropped McIntyre
in the arena they were in and he would do it again if Drew
just stepped through the ropes. From there, Seth Rollins’s
music hit and Seth walked out.
The crowd sang Rollins’s song as Rollins stepped into the
ring. Rollins thanked Toronto and said he wanted to join the
party as Priest and McIntyre were talking about Elimination
Chamber. Rollins called McIntyre’s MITB cash-in the worst of
all time and said it won’t be the same Seth Rollins that
hobbled into WrestleMania last year. Rollins said nobody
stands a chance against him in the Elimination Chamber
match. Naturally, CM Punk’s music hit and out, Punk came.
Punk stood at ringside and said, “Is it great to be alive on
a Friday in Toronto or what?!” Very loud “CM Punk!” chants
broke out. Punk started with Rollins and told him he looked
like an oven mitt. Punk said he has no personal issue with
Priest, but Priest could be collateral damage in the
Chamber. Punk said Drew and Seth are obsessed with him, but
Punk is obsessed with having his WrestleMania main event.
Punk said Drew doesn’t have a soul to sell while referencing
the Rock/Cody stuff. Punk called out how Cena hasn’t shown
up for dates on his retirement tour and God bless him for
that.
Rollins said Punk will not main event Mania over his dead
body. Drew said he owes Seth one and he owes Punk and Priest
chimed in saying after the Chamber, all Drew will do is
complain on the internet. Seth said all of Punk’s chants
will die along with Punk’s Mania dreams. John Cena’s music
then hit and instead of Cena, Logan Paul walked out to
massive boos. Paul said John Cena doesn’t care about Canada
as he stood in the entranceway.
Paul turned said Cena can’t show up because he’s a “classic
celebrity wrestler,” which was kind of funny. Paul called
out Punk and then went to Rollins, calling him the peacock
of WWE. Paul said Rollins was wearing curtains. Paul went to
Drew and said he can’t win a championship just like the
Toronto Maple Leafs. Paul flat out called Priest irrelevant.
Paul went back to Punk and talked about how he slapped Punk
on Monday. Punk ran up and chased Paul away to end the
segment.
**********
– Footage from the women fighting at the Chamber kickoff
show aired to set up a six-woman tag match.
LA Knight defeated Santos Escobar to advance in the U.S.
title No. 1 contender tournament [11:14]
I enjoyed the fact that this didn’t end up being the regular
LA Knight match, which has really become a thing over the
last few months. He kind of plays the hits, does what you
expect, and hits the BFT for the win. Here, he took a top-
rope Frankensteiner and the BFT came out of nowhere (which,
all told, is something I’ve been waiting for, for a long
time now. the BFT is so similar to the RKO, I’ve been
wondering why they haven’t figured out a way to make the
move pop up in a surprising way to end a match and they
finally did it here). Escobar needs a shake up. He’s
talented, but LDF just hasn’t clicked on the main roster and
now that Elektra Lopez is gone, it might be an idea to see
how everyone does in a singles setting. He got a lot of
offense here, which was good, but he never felt like a
threat to win.
Escobar and Knight traded control for the first two minutes.
Knight went for his jump-up elbow-drop early, but Escobar
moved and eventually found his way to the outside of the
ring, where Knight went for his sliding dropkick, but
Escobar moved and threw Knight into the ring steps. The show
then went to a commercial break.
Back to the show, Escobar chopped Knight inside the ring.
Knight came back with a slap of his own. The two traded
blows until Escobar kicked Knight’s leg and followed that up
with a headbutt. Knight came back with a leaping neck-
breaker for a two-count. Escobar ran Knight’s head into the
middle turnbuckle and worked on Knight’s arm. Knight fired
up and slammed Escobar. Knight followed that up with an
elbow and set up for a BFT, but Escobar countered and
eventually tripped Knight.
Escobar placed Knight on the top and Escobar hit a
Frankensteiner from the top rope for a near-fall. Escobar
kicked Knight in the head a couple times and went to the
top, and jumped at Knight, but Knight caught him for a BFT
and got the win.
**********
The Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens segment
I want to have a lot of fire for this match, but it said a
lot that these two sort of took the lazy way out in this go-
home promo. To be fair, they both know they’ve already said
and done it all with one another, so it will forever be hard
to really get people to believe these two actually aren’t
BFFs in real life, but this just felt boilerplate. The
wrinkle that Owens spoke from the Chamber venue was a fine
touch, but it ultimately meant nothing. I have no doubt that
they’ll have a great match; there just isn’t much either
could say to the other that would move the needle at this
point.
Zayn took his time to speak and soaked in some cheers. Zayn
said that it’d be an understatement to say he and Kevin
Owens has been through a lot together. Zayn said he knows
for a fact that Owens is in Toronto tonight and as such, he
wanted to invite Owens into the ring to stand in front of
all their countrymen and say his final peace. Owens’s voice
popped up, but Owens was in the Rogers Centre, where the
Chamber will be on Saturday.
Owens said tomorrow night will be the biggest match they
have ever had against each other. Owens said he is not the
bad guy and everything that happens to Zayn on Saturday will
be something Zayn deserves. Owens said after Saturday, when
Zayn is stuck to a wheelchair, Zayn needs to know Owens will
not help Zayn’s family and Owens will watch Zayn’s family
suffer. Zayn said he’s been nervous all week – but not about
what might happen to him, but what he’s going to do to
Owens. Zayn said he’s nervous that Owens’s parents and wife
and kids won’t be able to forgive him after their match.
Zayn said if they don’t forgive him, he can live with that
because he’s prepared to end Owens. Owens said he’d see Zayn
tomorrow night and ended the segment.
**********
– The Miz and Melo were talking backstage and Melo told Miz
to stay back for his match. Melo left and Cody walked into
the frame. Miz asked Cody what he was going to do. Miz said
Rock runs Hollywood. Miz said the audience doesn’t get it
because they see Cody as the face of the company, but they
both know that there is so much more Cody can accomplish.
Miz said the only way Cody can get it is if he takes Rock’s
offer. Miz introduced the idea that someone else could take
the Rock’s offer if Cody doesn’t.
Carmelo Hayes defeated Braun Strowman via DQ to advance in
the U.S. title No. 1 contender tournament [1:28]
Eh. All right, then.
Strowman threw Melo around to start things out. Melo rolled
to the outside, where Strowman hit his running shoulder-
block and tore off his shirt. Tama Tonga ran to ringside and
Solo Sikoa hit Strowman in the back with a chair. Strowman
took the chair and hit Sikoa. Strowman then threw Tonga over
the commentary table. Back in the ring, Melo had the chair
and did the Eddie Guerrero spot, throwing the chair so
Strowman would hold it as Melo fell down. The ref called for
the bell and DQ’d Strowman. After the match, Strowman
powerbombed Tonga in the middle of the ring.
**********
– Bayley, Bianca Belair and Naomi were shown talking in the
locker room. Belair said may the best woman win at the
Chamber. The three walked towards the ring for the next
match.
Roxanne Perez, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez defeated
Bayley, Bianca Belair and Naomi [8:53]
I’m a big fan of Perez getting the pin over Bayley. It makes
me wonder if the blow-off for Bayley and Perez will be at
Stand & Deliver or WreslteMania. Or, maybe, neither. Either
way, I’ve really grown to like their program and kudos to
Bayley for clearly going out of her way to elevate Perez.
The Bliss appearance after the match was fun because I, for
once, really was not planning on seeing her tonight, so the
surprise made it a worthwhile layer for this viewer. The
match itself was lost a little to the commercial break,
though that is expected anymore with a lot of these
SmackDown bouts (they’ve just become way too formulaic). At
the end of the day, good work from everyone involved.
Morgan and Naomi brawled to start things. Naomi dropkicked
Morgan in the corner and Morgan rolled to the outside.
Ultimately, all six women got into the ring and a fight
broke out. Morgan and Naomi were still the legal women and
Morgan rolled to the outside and Bayley tagged in to hit a
splash on Morgan on the outside. Bayley did the same to
Perez on the outside and Rodriguez on the outside. Bayley
pointed to the WrestleMania sign and the show went to a
commercial break.
The show returned and Rodriguez was working Bayley, who
ultimately got the tag to Belair, who flew into the ring
from the top and worked over Rodriguez. Belair suplexed
Rodriguez and fired the crowd up with a handspring moonsault
for a two-count. Naomi tagged in and Belair hit some type of
odd back-breaker on Morgan, who ran in. Rodriguez lifted
Naomi and slammed Naomi on the top rope. Perez tagged
herself in and threw Naomi into a corner, where Naomi kicked
Perez in the head.
Bayley tagged in and landed an elbow drop from the top on
Perez, but Morgan broke up a pin attempt. Things broke down
and Rodriguez and Naomi fought to the outside. Perez and
Bayley were alone in the ring and Perez hit Pop Rocks on
Bayley for the win. After the match, Perez pointed at the
Mania sign and Alex a Bliss popped up out of nowhere to give
Perez the Sister Abigail DDT.
**********
– Byron Saxton interviewed Charlotte Flair backstage. Saxton
asked about Tiffy’s tag match at Chamber and Charlotte said
her team is cute, but once the smoke clears, Tiffy will have
a bigger problem to deal with, and that problem will be
Charlotte. We got a “Woooo!!!” to end the brief segment.
– A Nakamura vignette aired with subtitles. He said he will
humiliate whomever his next challenger ends up being. “The
other dogs will see what happens when you bit my hand,” was
a line he used. It was menacing.
– Jacob Fatu cut a promo while walking towards the ring and
said the U.S. title is coming to him. Fatu yelled “Hit my
music!” as he made his way through guerilla. Fatu made his
entrance – alone – for the final match of the night.
LA Knight defeated Carmelo Hayes and Jacob Fatu to become
the No. 1 contender for the U.S. title [12:23]
Knight winning felt obvious, but the surprise came (to me,
at least) in the form of Fatu not coming away the winner and
Solo Sikoa not having anything to do with that loss somehow,
even if it would have been by mistake. Melo was always going
to take the pin – there’s nothing wrong with that – but
Knight winning by pulling Fatu out of the ring and Fatu
selling that like he was actually hurt after no-selling
everything else in the match felt curious. So it goes. This
was a fine-enough way to get Knight his U.S. title shot if
they weren’t going to do it this week. I know it hasn’t been
all that long, but Fatu already feels like he needs a push-
through moment, where he gets a big win in one of these
situations. Mania, maybe?
Knight hit Fatu into Melo near the beginning of the match.
Knight hit a Bulldog on Fatu from the second rope, but Fatu
popped right back up. Knight threw Fatu to the outside and
slammed Melo. Knight then hit the jump-up elbow on Melo.
Fatu got involved again and threw Knight to the outside,
where Fatu headbutted Knight and slammed Melo against the
apron. Melo fought back against Fatu until Fatu punched the
hell out of Melo. Knight reinserted himself into the
proceedings and was ultimately thrown into the crowd barrier
via Fatu. Fatu then tried to tackle Knight and Melo through
the crowd barrier, but they both moved and Fatu went flying.
The show went to a commercial break after that.
Back to the action, Fatu had complete control over both Melo
and Knight. Fatu threw Melo everywhere and draped Knight
across the top rope. Knight ran into a stiff flying elbow
from Fatu and Fatu then super-kicked Melo. The crowd cheered
him … and then he missed a Senton on Melo, who followed up
with a DDT. It didn’t matter because Fatu popped right up
and hit a pop-up Samoan Drop on Melo. Knight came at Fatu
and hit a neck-breaker for a two-count.
Knight and Melo teamed up on Fatu, but Fatu wasn’t having
that. Knight hit a BFT on Fatu, but at the same time, Melo
landed a First 48 on Knight for a nice near-fall on Knight.
Melo went to the top, but Knight pushed Melo onto Fatu, who
was on the outside. All of this resulted in Knight hitting a
springboard splash on Fatu into the commentary table. Melo
rolled Knight back into the ring and went to the top. Melo
hit Nothing But Net on Knight and should have won, but Fatu
broke it up late. From there, Fatu hit his moonsault on Melo
and was going to win, but Knight pulled Fatu out of the ring
and covered Melo to steal the win.
**********
– Cody was walking backstage and ran into CM Punk, who asked
Cody what Rock wanting Cody’s soul actually meant. Punk said
if he was younger, he would have taken it, but now, he’s
happy that offer didn’t come to him. Punk told Cody to take
Rock’s offer … shine it up real good, turn it sideways, and
shove it up Rock’s ass. Punk then told Cody he will win the
Chamber and see Cody in the main event at Mania.
The Cody Rhodes segment
My favorite part of this was WWE constantly promoting how
SmackDown would feature Cody’s “final words before
Elimination Chamber” or something of the sort … only to have
Cody almost literally say nothing during this segment
between Michael Cole interrupting him and The Rock sending
in a loud video from a tarmac. I’m probably in the minority,
but I actually believe that Cody has done a very good job
being a Capital-A Actor in these segments, both last week
and this week. He does a good “I’m conflicted” face and I’m
not so sure he could have done that, say, five years ago.
Or, for that matter, at any point in his AEW run. The Rock
gets a lot of criticism for being The Rock these days, but
you’d be lying if you said you think this whole pop-up angle
for Elimination Chamber isn’t making the event more
interesting. On to Saturday, I suppose.
Michael Cole stood in the ring and introduced Cody. Cody
shook Cole’s hand and hugged him. By the time the talking
began, it was 10:53 p.m. EST. Cole said there was a lot to
talk about. “Cody!” chants broke out. Cole said Cody will
have to make a decision on if he will sell out to The Rock.
Cole said the Cody Rhodes he knew would never take the offer
and talked about how Cody finished his story last year. Cole
said Cody was living up to the legacy of his father. Cody
started to talk and Cole said Cody was trying to deflect.
Cole said Cody could be the Corporate Champion and Rock
could give Cody a seat on the TKO board. Cole said “no more
live events in small towns,” and Cody could get rid of his
bus and be home with his wife and daughter.
Cole stopped himself from talking and said he was being told
there was a special gift for Cody. A Ford truck tricked out
in Cody Rhodes insignia drove its way into the entranceway.
A video of The Rock in his similar truck aired on the big
screen. The Rock, in the video, told Cody he will make the
decision of a lifetime. Rock said Cody will do the right
thing. Rock told Cody should enjoy his gift because he knows
Cody likes driving in the open, dangerous, beautiful and
dusty road. Rock said he’s been talking to Cody’s daddy all
week and he referenced Sturgill Simpson, which was most
definitely not on my BINGO card for anything Rock or WWE
ever in the history of ever.
Rock said he and Cody will embrace as brothers and Cody will
give Rock his soul at the Chamber. Rock reiterated that all
of Cody’s dreams can come true. Rock revealed a weight belt
that had “Cody’s Soul” written on it with the date of
Dusty’s death written on it as well. Rock said he wants Cody
to make Rock embrace him as his champion. Rock said, “I love
you brother.” and Rock’s video ended. Cody looked conflicted
and the credits ran to end the show.