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Add FightsATW on GoogleWith Labor Day Weekend being celebrated along with the start of college football season, tonight’s WWE programming went from Saturday to Sunday Night’s Main Event as much of America enjoys their well-deserved Monday off. The special night edition of SNME took place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, with the card featuring all sorts of hometown stars.
Aside from Grammy-nominated rapper Lil Yachty making his in-ring debut in front of his fellow Georgians, Cody Rhodes faced off with Randy Orton in the evening’s main event. Cody is considered Georgia’s adopted son, though he was born in North Carolina, and with Bron Breakker also on the card, the card leaned heavily on the hometown advantages.
CODY RHODES VS RANDY ORTON
There was no title on the line or #1 contender spots to fight over; instead, Rhodes and Orton put on a terrific blend of the ‘old school’ and uber-violent. The crowd ate up everything these two veterans threw at them, and they changed up the pace in the match to tell a terrific story.
Orton was nasty on the mic in his SmackDown promo, calling out Cody’s mom and wife, and before the match, Randy stalked the ringside area where Brandi Rhodes was sitting—messing with his friend’s wife as mind games played out.
The ref bump spot played out as it did at their Mania match earlier this year, but things certainly played out differently when a second ref attempted to stop the match to check on the bleeding Orton. In that moment, Randy threw a low blow that hit both Cody and the ref before he hit the RKO for the win.
It was a PLE main event-level type match, and they did it for the love of the game and the hate of each other as Brandi Rhodes looked into the ring disappointedly at Orton. There is no question this one is heating up and will continue on Friday’s SmackDown—possibly ending with Brandi getting involved and both her and Cody going to a “dark place” (The Nightmare Family faction?).
TRICK WILLIAMS def BARON CORBIN—WWE U.S. Championship; LIL YACHTY Survives 5-Min w/Corbin
The show kicked off with one of the better angles on the show as Baron Corbin vowed to put up his title if Lil Yachty survived for five minutes in the ring with the champ. Yachty has been a regular on WWE weekly programming ever since he was paired with Trick Williams on the ‘road to WrestleMania.’ Yachty, a self-described lifelong WWE fan, has pulled off the occasional spot in a match before, but tonight was his first time in front of a crowd without a safety net.
Corbin came out on a motorcycle with the ‘furry’ U.S. Title around his waist, and his heat was instant. WWE confused some when they brought back Corbin, but he showed up with the exact heat that he was paid to obtain. The champ gave Yachty one last opportunity to backdown, and the “Broccoli” rapper instead took the opportunity to get the jump on Corbin.
Yachty mostly pulled off a compilation of his previous spots in matches, but it was his ability to sell and slow down that was most impressive. Credit must be given to Corbin, who performed like the established veteran as Yachty hit a low blow to beat the clock.
CORBIN (c) VS TRICK WILLIAMS
By the time Trick was out ringside, Yachty’s match had preheated the crowd, who were ready to pop at the sight of a Trick Williams title win. Trick lost his title to Corbin, and in the subsequent rematch, after the U.S. title was used as a foreign object, Trick kicked out on this night after Corbin tried his typical tactic.
Trick pulled out the win as the crowd popped huge for the upstart’s 2nd U.S. title reign.
OBA FEMI vs. BRON BREAKKER
We were not sure how far these two would be allowed to go in a match that could foreshadow a future WrestleMania main event. They were both given big-time entrances, Oba’s part of the usual script while Paul Heyman announced Bron Breakker out to the ring—giving Rick Steiner’s kid a special kind of pre-match feel usually reserved for the likes of Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, respectively.
The match was awesome and physical, with these two bulls locking horns immediately after the bell, and neither superstar had a dominant performance. They went back and forth trading big spots like a heavyweight fight between two young fighters—Oba actually landed a chop on the outside of the ring that echoed as loud as the pyro in the State Farm Arena.
They were given the freedom to work around the ring, and the spots were brutal, but it was the in-ring work that really amplified the match. Seeing Oba land a massive chokeslam in the ring before landing an earthshattering shoulder tackle on the outside are the little things that make the Nigerian native feel so big.
Breakker was nearly perfect as the sadistic and jealous heel, willing to stoop to using outside help from his ‘Vision’ goons. Austin Theory was first out, though Oba took care of him like nothing. Logan Paul was out next, but he had a plan as he distracted the ref long enough to allow Maxxine Dupri to pass Breakker the brass knucks.
Even with all of that, it was not enough to keep Oba down, and he was in position to win the match before Bronson Reed —fresh off an injury and having lost significant weight (he looked great) — brought the match to a DQ finish.
Oba won the match by DQ, but he lost the battle as Reed dropped multiple Tsunamis from the top turnbuckle while Breakker speared his opponent, held up by The Vision. It was a big moment as The Vision are back at “full sight.”
FLAIR, BLISS, TATUM vs. JADE, B-FAB, MICHIN—Six-Woman Tag Match
The former women’s champ Jade Cargill and her faction looked amazing in their entrance, like a Destiny’s Child cover band that makes more money than the former Beyoncé-led ‘girl group.’ On a card that was so much better than expectations, this match over-delivered on its spot on the card.
It was the fun of a six-woman house match and a feud built on real-world egos and the lack of room for both to exist on one show. Flair and Cargill did their best in-ring work together, maybe ever on WWE programming. Cargill won the match for her squad by pinning Flair after Tatum was shoved into her partner’s skull.
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