Posted on 4/05/125 by Bob Magee
– Following the WWE signature open, we opened with shots of
the Chicago skyline, Allegiant Stadium (WrestleMania 41 in
15 days), and subsequent clips of Braun Strowman, Jacob
Fatu, LA Knight, #DIY, The Motor City Machine Guns, B-Fab,
and Naomi at the arena.
– As always, the dynamic duo of Joe Tessitore & Wade Barrett
welcomed us to SmackDown, as we got a recap of last week’s
CM Punk/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns contract signing.
Following that, it was back live to the arena as CM Punk
himself arrived to a great ovation from his hometown Chicago
crowd.
CM Punk opens SmackDown
Punk started by putting over the Chicago crowd for being
loud as he took a TV camera to let the fans cheer as loud as
they can for the whole world to see. He said that his goal
was to make new fans, but tonight, he was here to thank the
16,000 strong hometown crowd that was here to see him
tonight. Punk pointed towards the WrestleMania sign as he
reminded everyone that he was in the main event of
WrestleMania 41 (one of them, at the very least). Punk said
that he earned that opportunity and that through all his
life, he was told “you were not supposed to be here” and
that he had to work hard to be here. He said that now, the
hard work begins.
Punk thanked everyone, starting with his wife April and his
puppy Larry first. He said that he would not be who he was
without the city of Chicago as he once again thanked
everyone. Punk promised that he would whoop Seth Rollins’
ass, put a beating to Roman Reigns at the main event of
WrestleMania.
Paul Heyman interrupted proceedings with his trademark
“ladies and gentlemen” spiel. Heyman apologized for being
late and that there was not disrespect intended to his “best
friend” Punk by interrupting him. Punk welcomed Heyman into
the ring, stating that he was just getting to him. Heyman
said, “ask not what Chicago can do for you, but what your
Wiseman can do for you.” He said that Punk belonged in the
ring and in the main event of WrestleMania.
Heyman reminisced about the time he begged Punk to take him
the last time both were in Chicago as he then talked about
the WarGames offer to Punk. He thanked Punk for helping save
the Bloodline before he said that he had one more favor to
ask of Punk. Heyman asked Punk to tell him what the favor
that he owed him.
Punk found out from Heyman that Roman Reigns wasn’t in the
building yet, as he then told Heyman that he was going to
talk about this favor once Reigns arrived in the arena at
some point in the evening, and it was one that would have a
direct effect on Reigns himself.
A fine opening salvo from Punk to help set up what’s sure to
be an interesting payoff for the favor that Heyman owes him.
**********
Rey Fenix def. Nathan Frazer
Frazer was already in the ring ahead of Fenix’s entrance, as
the newest arrival to WWE got a great ovation from the
Chicago crowd.
Fenix and Frazer opened with dueling flips as we got an
early standoff amidst the chain wrestling action. Fenix hit
an impressive dodge between the ropes before he hit Frazer
with a side kick. Frazer sent Fenix to the outside as he
tried for a dive between the ropes, but he clipped the
middle rope and didn’t get all of it. Fenix went up top and
soared for a dive onto Frazer at ringside as the action went
to a commercial break.
SmackDown returned with Frazer and Fenix battling it out on
the top rope. Frazer leapt up from the canvas up top for a
springboard superplex and a Final Cut neckbreaker for the
two. Frazer went up top and looked for a Phoenix Splash on
Fenix, but couldn’t get it.
Fenix had Frazer trapped across the top rope and ran across
it for an impressive leaping kick. Fire Driver by Fenix on
Frazer got an incredibly close two-count. Frazer nailed
Fenix with an enzuigiri to the head, but found himself hit
with a superkick. Fenix hit Frazer with the Goodbye Amigo
kick, as he then hoisted him on his shoulders to finish this
off with the Mexican Muscle Buster for the 1, 2, 3 and the
win in his WWE debut.
After the match, Byron Saxton interviewed the victorious
Fenix in the ring. Fenix said he had a lot of history in
Chicago (he competed in a trios match with Rey Mysterio and
Bandido against the Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi at the
original All In event in 2018) and that tonight was the
rebirth of Rey Fenix. He said he was reborn with rage and
animo, as he concluded with “I am WWE! Animo!”
A fun debut match for Fenix, and seeing Nathan Frazer from
NXT be his first opponent was a pleasant surprise,
especially as someone who watches a lot of NXT for the
purpose of keeping abreast for their PLEs. I enjoyed Fenix’s
time in AEW, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for him
in his WWE career.
**********
– Backstage, Legado Del Fantasma were seen watching Fenix,
as Berto said that he was better than Fenix. Santos Escobar
told Berto that he was going to talk to Nick Aldis to make
that match between Berto and Fenix happen.
– An eyepatch-wearing Drew McIntyre addressed Damian Priest,
stating that nobody cared about him unless he was “feasting
upon his scraps”. McIntyre talked about how Priest lurked in
the shadows last week to ambush him. He said that he was
going to pray, as “whenever Drew McIntyre prays, bad things
happen.”
– Saxton interviewed Braun Strowman ahead of his Last Man
Standing against Jacob Fatu before Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga
interrupted. LA Knight barged in and told Strowman to save
his energy for Fatu, which led to him trashing Tama as his
match against him was up next.
LA Knight def. Tama Tonga (w/ Solo Sikoa)
Knight started off strong with strikes against Tonga, who
answered with a dropkick. That wasn’t enough to deter
Knight, who dropped Tonga with a suplex. Tonga responded by
tripping Knight up, which allowed him to seize advantage,
but it didn’t last long. Knight had Tonga trapped in the
corner for a series of stomps, followed by a running knee to
the face. Knight sent Tonga out of the ring and threw his
head repeatedly against the announce table. Solo Sikoa got
on the apron to briefly distract the referee, which allowed
Tonga to send Knight crasing to the floor below. That took
us to a break in the action.
SmackDown returned from break with Knight fighting out of a
Tonga resthold as he regained momentum with a victory roll
and a two-count. Tonga maintained command with a fierce
clothesline that nearly took Knight’s head off, much to the
approval of Sikoa at ringside. Tonga got up on the middle
turnbuckle and attempted a diving elbow after mocking
Knight’s taunt, but he missed big time. Knight fought back
and got his second wind with multiple strikes and a
neckbreaker. After he slammed Tonga in the middle of the
ring, he dropped his signature elbow on Tonga.
Knight had Tonga in position for the BFT, but couldn’t
connect. Sikoa tried to hit Knight with the Samoan Spike
with the ref distracted. Knight managed to dodge it,
however. Rollup by Tonga is reversed as Knight finished this
match off with the BFT and the win.
Pretty much a standard match for the U.S. Champion, though
Tama Tonga continues to be an entertaining presence.
**********
– Paul Heyman was interviewed as he addressed the camera
that whatever the favor was that he owed CM Punk, the answer
was “yes”. A car slowly pulled up behind Heyman, which he
assumed was Roman Reigns. Unfortunately for Heyman, it was
Seth Rollins, who said that he had a plan for Punk and that
he also wanted to be present for when the favor would be
revealed later.
– Another smoke-filled teaser aired, giving us a glimpse of
someone, as well as a symbol of some sort. Is this Aleister
Black? Stay tuned…
Charlotte Flair & Tiffany Stratton Face-Off
Wade Barrett was in the ring to moderate this face-off
between challenger Flair and Women’s Champion Stratton.
Flair responded to the fans booing her by saying it was
“power” before Barrett asked her why she chose Stratton as
her WrestleMania opponent. Flair maintained her claim that
Stratton was desperate and that her choice was to show the
“smartest fans in the world” that there was no comparison.
Stratton said Flair’s biggest battle wasn’t in the ring, but
with the crowd, and it was a battle that Flair would never
win. She said that no matter how many titles Flair wins,
she’d always come second to her dad Ric Flair, and at
WrestleMania, she’d come second to Tiffany Stratton.
The crowd booed Flair loudly, which prompted Stratton to
respond by throwing back “it’s power” to her face. Flair
tried to talk, but couldn’t get in a complete sentence as
the Chicago crowd continued to jeer loudly. Stratton mocked
Flair for not being able to say anything, with the fans
continuing to boo her. Flair conceded and said that Stratton
could have the last word.
Stratton said that at age 25, Flair was failing to get into
volleyball and “drinking in daddy’s basement”, while at this
age, she was heading into WrestleMania as the World
Champion. Stratton said that outside the ring, Flair was the
Queen of Shit. Stratton capped off her promo by stating that
at WrestleMania, Flair would end up alone, just like outside
the ring, as she brought up Flair’s previous failed
relationships (“0 for 3”). Stratton walked off and headed up
the ramp with her WWE Women’s Title held high above her
head.
For better or worse, that segment was memorable. That being
said, I wasn’t a fan of it at all. The Stratton vs. Flair
WrestleMania feud has felt kind of weak, and I’m not sure if
Stratton throwing out zingers about Flair’s failed
relationships is the way to heat things up.
**********
– Nick Aldis was backstage and announced a Women’s Tag Team
Gauntlet would happen next week on SmackDown, with the
winners going on to face Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez for
the Women’s Tag Titles at WrestleMania.
WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender’s Match: Motor
City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) def. #DIY
(Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa)
Sabin & Gargano started things off in the ring with chain
wrestling. Sabin got the upper hand with arm drags as Ciampa
tagged in. Shelley entered the match and hit a nice double
team move on Ciampa with Sabin’s help. The Machine Guns’
took advantage as they teed off on both Ciampa & Gargano. As
a chase took place at ringside, Gargano got the blind tag
and hit Shelley with a slingshot spear, which led to a
picture-in-picture break.
We returned to live action with Sabin naling a double
crossbody on #DIY as he held his own impressively. Shelley
re-entered the fray while Sabin hit a suicide dive on
Gargano & Ciampa. The MCMGs had Ciampa isolated and hit him
with their array of double team moves for a near-fall. As
Ciampa had the referee distracted, Gargano caused Sabin to
drop down, which allowed for the top rope turnbuckle to be
exposed.
Back in the ring, Ciampa got the near fall on Project
Ciampa, as #DIY went to work on Sabin. Shelley made the save
and got thrown out for his troubles. Ciampa and Gargano had
Sabin in their sights for Meet in the Middle, but Sabin
avoided calamity.
Another Skull & Bones attempt is foiled by Gargano as Ciampa
tried to use a leverage pin to take advantage, but the
referee caught Ciampa in the act. In the end, Sabin sent
Ciampa into the exposed turnbuckle, which led to the roll up
and the victory for the Machine Guns. Sabin and Shelley are
now the number one contenders to the Street Profits’ WWE Tag
Team Titles.
The SmackDown tag division is entertaining ring-wise, yes,
but I think the biggest flaw plaguing them is the lack of
promo time or anything substantial to get us to care about
most of these teams. It was mentioned on commentary that the
MCMGs and DIY had some shared history, but it would’ve been
better if we got that history laid out in promos or
segments. That said, I did enjoy this match regardless.
**********
– The Miz & Carmelo Hayes confronted Pretty Deadly
backstage, as they insulted the two for being losers. Elton
Prince & Kit Wilson responded by mocking Miz’s role in The
Marine movies, as they called him the “Leonardo DiCaprio of
tag team wrestling”. They said that Hayes was wasting his
time being Miz’s partner, to which Miz replied by citing his
past as a nine-time champion.
Naomi def. B-Fab
As Naomi made her entrance, Jade Cargill ambushed her from
behind and got in some good shots before security broke it
up. Naomi stumbled her way to the ring as the match proper
then got underway.
B-Fab held the advantage on Naomi as she was still left
shell-shocked by Cargill’s surprise attack. B-Fab hit a nice
slam on Naomi that got a count of two. Naomi managed to
regain some semblance of control as she dodged a kick from
B-Fab and hung her in a tree-of-woe position. Naomi then got
the victory with a modified kneeling lungblower on B-Fab.
After the match, Naomi tried to call out Cargill, but was
met with a pump kick from the target of her enmity. Cargill
tried to hit Naomi with Jaded, but security separated the
two. Nick Aldis appeared on stage and announced that Cargill
and Naomi would face each other at WrestleMania.
The match itself was what it was, a short affair and meant
more to set up the Naomi vs. Jade match at WrestleMania. In
that regard, job well done. The match itself should be great
and it’s always nice to see a women’s feud culminate at
WrestleMania and not revolve around a title.
**********
– Damian Priest addressed Drew McIntyre and his failures to
remain focused on his goals, as he claimed McIntyre
repeatedly screwed himself. He called McIntyre a hypocrite
and a “junkie” that gets a high from making cheap-ass jokes
every week. Priest challenged McIntyre to face him next week
in the ring, as he promised to make McIntyre his victim for
WrestleMania.
– Kevin Owens was seen walking backstage in casual clothes
and a forlorn expression on his face. We’d hear from him
coming up next.
Kevin Owens announces injury
Nick Aldis was in the ring and talked about how that this
was the part of his job that he didn’t like, and that there
was a fine line of being fine and never coming back again.
He introduced Kevin Owens as he wanted the fans to hear from
the man himself.
Owens entered without his usual pomp and circumstance and
took the microphone. He talked about how in the 25 years
he’s spent in the ring, he’s gotten to do amazing things and
take care of his family as his result. He said that there
was a toll that everyone in the locker room had to pay and
that it was time for him to pay that toll. Owens said that
he’s been wrestling for the past four months with a severe
neck injury, to a point that he needs to take time off for
surgery.
Owens said that it was an unfortunate timing as he was
looking forward to facing Randy Orton at WrestleMania. Owens
sincerely said that he was sorry and that he didn’t know
when he’d ever return to the ring.
Randy Orton’s music interrupted as the Viper walked out just
as Owens was getting ready to leave. Owens left the ring
afterwards. Aldis broke the bad news to Orton that with
Owens’ injury, he no longer has a match for WrestleMania.
Orton looked devastated as he hit an RKO on Aldis in
response to this news.
It’s been reported that Kevin Owens’ neck injury is indeed a
legitimate one and obviously, it’s terrible news. We wish KO
a speedy recovery and we can’t wait to see him return fully
healthy in the future.
**********
Last Man Standing: Jacob Fatu def. Braun Strowman (Winner
Faces LA Knight for the U.S. Championship at WrestleMania)
These two monsters didn’t waste any time as Fatu went after
Strowman outside the ring to start us off. In the ring, Fatu
dropped Strowman with a running neckbreaker and looked to
head up top. Strowman intercepted and tried for a Running
Powerslam. Fatu fought out of it and hit running elbow. He
went up top once again and hit consecutive jumping
moonsaults on Strowman. The referee began her count as
Strowman was forced to roll out from the ring just to stay
on his feet, which led to a commercial break.
We returned to the match with Fatu in firm control as
Strowman responded with a spinebuster that sent Fatu
crashing to the canvas. As Fatu tried to roll himself back
up, Strowman pulled out a table from under the ring.
Strowman set the table against a corner of the ring.
Strowman tried to run towards Fatu, but got sent outside the
ring. Fatu charged from inside the ring right into Strowman,
which sent him over the commentary table.
Fatu sent Strowman into the ringpost and had him in position
for a charge into the barricade. Instead, he was met with a
chair to the face courtesy of Strowman. With a full head of
speed, Strowman ran all around ringside and barreled right
into Fatu for a trainwreck-like crash through the barricade.
Both men struggled as they barely got themselves back up on
their feet. We then went to yet another break in the action.
Things picked up from the break with Strowman and Fatu
fighting in the production area within the crowd. Strowman
lifted Fatu and hit a mighty suplex onto a set of tables.
Both Fatu and Strowman once again struggled to stand up, but
they made it before the count of ten. As both Fatu and
Strowman made their way back to ringside, both of them could
barely remain standing. Strowman got himself back in the
ring, but was right in the line of fire for a Fatu running
hip attack through the table set up in the ring. Fatu
managed to get himself to a vertical base as Strowman failed
to stand up, which brought this Last Man Standing match to
an end.
Just a fun little Last Man Standing match between two big
men. With the victory, we now get Jacob Fatu versus LA
Knight for the U.S. Championship at WrestleMania, and it
should be a good one. With Fatu getting increasingly over
with fans, could this match be the time to give him a title?
We’ll soon find out in two weeks.
**********
– We got a recap of Cody Rhodes & John Cena’s confrontation
from Raw this past Monday.
– Next Week on SmackDown: Cody Rhodes returns to SmackDown;
Women’s Tag Team Gauntlet Match (Winners earn Women’s Tag
Title Match at WrestleMania 41); Rey Fenix vs. Berto; Damian
Priest & Drew McIntyre Face-to-Face
– Paul Heyman was seen waiting for Roman Reigns in the
parking lot, and we’re told that Reigns is arriving at “any
minute”. After the break, Reigns arrived in his truck and
made his way down to the ring without the usual grandeur.
Paul Heyman’s Favor to CM Punk Revealed
Reigns started things off, as per usual, by asking the
Chicago crowd to acknowledge him. He asked his Wise Man if
CM Punk was in the building. He asked Heyman if Punk was
still asking for the favor, and if he should share a secret
with Chicago. Reigns said that Punk wouldn’t be back in WWE
if it weren’t for him. He took credit for Punk being in the
WrestleMania main event, as he called the Chicago crowd
“good people, but not very smart.” Reigns said that Punk may
have wrestled everywhere, but he wouldn’t have a sniff at
the WrestleMania main event if it weren’t for the Tribal
Chief. Reigns then called out Punk so that we could finally
hear what the favor was.
Instead of the static of “Cult of Personality”, the cry of
“BURN IT DOWN!” from Seth Rollins’ theme played, which
brought Rollins himself out to these proceedings. Rollins
was his usual trollish self as he made his way into the ring
with a mic in his hand. After Rollins did his opening spiel,
he said that he wasn’t going to miss this for the world as
he might’ve not known what the favor was, but he knew it was
going to knock Reigns’ socks off. Rollins said that reality
has a history of biting Reigns’ in the ass, bringing up The
Heist of the Century from WrestleMania 31 and Cody Rhodes
beating Reigns last year at WrestleMania 40.
Rollins said that you cannot underestimate or ignore CM
Punk, and the reality is that we now have to live with Punk
in the main event of WrestleMania 40 as a result. Rollins
noted that he took a break and it gave him perspective on
two options: you either get left behind or you adapt and
control reality.
Reigns responded by calling Rollins untrustworthy and that
he was a man of his word, because he made a promise to CM
Punk. Rollins said that there was only thing missing: CM
Punk himself. That, of course brought out the Chicago Made
Punk himself to complete this trifecta.
With a mic already in his hand, Punk said that this was
about friendship, legacy, promises made and promises kept.
This was about loyalty. He addressed Heyman and that this
goes way back to when he took a chance on Punk when nobody
did. Punk brought up the time Heyman left the company and
how he mistakenly made it about himself, and he asked what
he could do for him. Heyman said at the time that when Punk
main evented WrestleMania “force them to deal with us”. Punk
said that he was going to force Reigns to leave his comfort
zone, as he revealed that the favor was that Paul Heyman
would be in Punk’s corner at WrestleMania.
Reigns laughed at the idea of Punk’s favor because Heyman
would never turn against Heyman because he loves him and is
loyal to his Tribal Chief. Reigns asked Heyman to “let this
fool down easy”, to which Heyman apparently refused.
Heyman continued to refuse Reigns’ demand, much to the
Tribal Chief’s protestations. Reigns threatened Heyman to
tell Punk “no”, but Heyman said “no, my Tribal Chief, I
can’t do that. As Heyman was being intimidated by Reigns in
the corner, Punk got the jump on Reigns and hit a GTS on
him. With Reigns out cold, Punk and Rollins stared one
another down briefly, as Rollins made his exit. SmackDown
closed out with Punk standing tall.
**********
Well, the favor didn’t turn out to be something like a
future title match as many were expecting, but I don’t hate
the idea of it being Paul Heyman managing CM Punk,
especially since this whole thing was kickstarted by Punk
doing Heyman a solid by joining the Bloodline WarGames team.
In any case, this triple threat match at WrestleMania should
be a good one and the intrigue of Heyman cornering Punk
should make things interesting.