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Add FightsATW on GoogleWWE Friday Night SmackDown was live from Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island, with the King and Queen of the Ring qualifiers wrapping up on tonight’s episode. Aside from the final men’s and women’s fatal four-way matches, Gunther‘s stipulation for his title challenge against Cody Rhodes will be a rematch of their Clash in Italy.
We learned last week that Cody would face Gunther again, but it was revealed that he would not reveal the stipulation for the match—the former HW champ earned the right to call the match following his controversial loss in Italy. While Gunther made everyone wait for the stipulation announcement, fans will not have to wait long for the match itself, which is planned for next week.
CODY RHODES AND GUNTHER STAKES… SAMI SITS IN WAIT
The show opened with Cody Rhodes walking into the arena, his world title in hand, a week ahead of his title match with Gunther. The match will decide the world champion, but the SD roster was acting like Cody was the foregone winner. Jey and Jimmy sidled up to Cody long enough for Jey to claim he would face Cody for the title after he won the KOTR tourney.
Cody left The USOs with the same roasting that everyone else has offered Jey, referencing that he is controlled by Roman. The final four participants left in the KOTR qualifier were seen in the camera frame just off to the side while GM Aldis informed Cody of Gunther’s decision to stall.
Later in the back, Gunther informed Aldis that he wanted to pick the referee for his match with Cody, since he could not trust the GM’s judgment on officials. Though he once again punted an announcement down the line.
SAMI ZAYN CLEARS THE AIR
Cody’s longest-running feud continues to be with Sami Zayn and their passive-aggressive attitudes toward one another, and that continued tonight after last week’s dive from Cody, intended for Gunther, accidentally hit Sami. Sami refused Cody’s handshake of apology after each man took turns ‘making the save’ for each other from Gunther.
Sami asked for honesty tonight, and Cody went in on him, telling him he’s ‘whiny’ and ‘not the Sami’ that the fans fell in love with before calling him “desperate.” Cody claimed that Sami holds a grudge against him for holding the WWE title, but then went so far as to claim that his holding the title means Sami never will.
Sami responded by slapping Cody across the face, hard, and it was easily the best and most interesting work done between the two in a really long time.
Cody slapped Sami back, and with a huge red mark on his face from Cody’s hand, Sami walked out of the ring, holding back tears, it seemed, but returned to the apron with a chair in his hand. He stood on the apron staring at Cody before throwing the chair and walking away to end the segment.
SAMI IS THE STIPULATION
This was an excellent storyline throughout the night as it was told in various segments leading up to the major reveal. Gunther approached Aldis to inform him that Sami Zayn would be the referee for next week’s title match. This is a terrific addition to the story and helps to bring Zayn into the program in a way that satisfies all narratives.
QUEEN OF THE RING QUALIFER: CHARLOTTE FLAIR VS SOL RUCA VS JADE CARGILL VS LYRA—Fatal Four Way
This was an amazing match that kept the trend going for banger four-way matches on both sides of the bracket. Sol Ruca appeared very strong in the match while Jade made the most of her offense in the ring.
In the end, Charlotte Flair won the match with the help of Tiffany Stratton, who neutralized Michin and B-Fab. Flair will now face Liv Morgan in the semi-finals, with the winner facing the finalist who comes out of Raquel Rodriguez and Iyo Sky.
KING OF THE RING QUALIFIER: JEY USO VS ROYCE KEYS VS FINN BALOR VS LA KNIGHT
This match was well-booked and well-told, though it fell short of the other qualifiers’ amazing physical contests. LA Knight appeared very strong in the match, as did Royce, but it was Solo’s position out at ringside that did the most in terms of plot.
Solo seems to be trying to re-establish his own faction after half of the MFTs were released, so he has been trying to recruit Royce—this could ultimately send Solo back into Roman’s arms.
Jey Uso came away with the win and advanced to the semi-finals of the KOTR by pinning Royce Keys (he has been pinned a lot already) to Solo’s surprise, though it could be argued that Solo’s place in the match ended up being a distraction for Royce. Jey will now face Je’Von Evans in the semis.
OTC SEGMENT W/NO OTC
Jacob Fatu told The USOs that he had business with Solo tonight, while Jimmy insisted that Roman called ‘the play’ for Jey’s match, saying that he would do it on his own without interference. Fatu admitted he was not there for Jey, and instead, he was at SD to speak with Solo. The USOs seemed confused as the beef between Fatu and Jey continues to amplify.
Fatu had a message from OTC to Solo, telling him that Roman says, ‘it’s time to come home.’ Solo did not handle that well and asked ‘what happened’ to Jacob—a question that WWE fans have been asking since his feud with Reigns ended.
OTHER TIDBITS
– Brie Bella and Paige defended their tag titles against Fatal Influence as the tag champs continue ‘spinning the block’ on actual feuds by bouncing from program to program.
– Rey Fenix defeated Axiom in defense of his AAA Cruiserweight title. This was the first time that AAA’s cruiserweight championship was defended on a major American TV network. Fenix is having an amazing run, but a real back-and-forth program would go a long way.
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