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Add FightsATW on GoogleWWE Friday Night SmackDown was prerecorded from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, this past Monday. In fact, RAW and SmackDown will be pre-taped at Cleveland, Ohio’s Rocket Arena next week, ahead of Sunday Night’s Main Event in Atlanta.
Tonight’s show continues the storyline from last week, in which Kevin Owens nearly defeated WWE Undisputed World Champion CM Punk in front of his countrymen before Sami Zayn made his presence felt. Aside from the world title narrative, WWE women’s champion Chelsea Green has been cleared from injury and made her in-ring return tonight in tag action.
KEVIN OWENS SAYS SAMI CROSSED THE LINE, NOW HE’S STUCK AT 3-WAY STOP
Owens was first out on the mic tonight, opening the show in front of his Canadian countrymen, though he was disappointed. He said he hoped to walk out tonight with the title as the hometown hero, but it was more than his own professional ambition. He reminded the crowd of his mother’s near-death medical issue two years ago, and even though she ‘kicked out,’ as he put it, she has been unable to travel as a result.
She was in the audience for his match for the first time since her health scare, and he wanted nothing more than to win in front of his mom. He blamed Sami for the missed moment, even after acknowledging their rollercoaster friendship. It is a bit hypocritical of Owens because he has tried to tempt Sami to the dark side throughout their WWE tenure.
Owens called Punk a “b***h’ which prompted the world champion to come down to ringside with Nic Aldis rushing behind him to stop the potential violence. Gunther was out next at ringside, followed by Finn Balor, and that prompted the GM to book the triple threat match to determine the number one contender.
K.O. VS GUNTHER VS FINN BALOR—Triple Threat Match
The climax of the match came when Sami Zayn tried stopping Owens from winning the title shot. Sami’s involvement prompted CM Punk to run out towards ringside and battle with Zayn. Every member of the match eventually attacked Sami, but he took them out with the belt as his weapon.
The show ended with Zayn standing above the champ and his three contenders, yelling that if he doesn’t ‘get his shot’ then they “don’t get theirs.” The unresolved nature of tonight’s main event suggests we are in store for a 4-way #1 contender’s match, and though the program is intertwined, a 5-way for the title would be too convoluted.
CHELSEA GREEN CLEARED… PINNED IN HER RING RETURN
Chelsea Green found out she was cleared for action, though Tiffany Stratton was reluctant to see her friend return so soon from the broken orbital bone she suffered at the hands of Fatal Influence’s Lainey Reid.
Unfortunately, Green’s return to the ring ended with her taking the pin for her team against the winning squad of Lash Legend and Nia Jax. That said, Green was terrific in this match after appearing to reinjure her orbital bone in the match. She was tended to by doctors, which left Stratton to take the brunt of the damage, and they eventually deemed her unfit to continue.
Green had an amazing run in the match’s climax where she refused to be taken to the back by medical staff, only to get a huge pop from the crowd by delivering a missile dropkick from the top turnbuckle on Nia—it was very ‘Mick Foley, KOTR ’98’ where he returned to the match after The Undertaker had just thrown him off the HIAC.
It was an interesting segment and match with the potential for Stratton to turn on Green. Stratton was much better as a heel, and the narrative of Stratton, who was once the WWE Universe’s ‘darling,’ striking at the champion she perceives to be vulnerable directly plays into her character’s ‘bad friend’ trait.
CODY RHODES CONSIDERS OPTIONS… ORTON WORTH THE BLOOD SPILLED?
Before Rhodes made his way to the ring, he ran into Balor ahead of his triple threat main event with title implications. He spoke to Balor, but the words almost sounded like the kind of internal dialogue that had Cody processing moments before his promo. Balor told him he could focus on his business with Orton while he pursued the title.
Cody again utilized his mic time to debunk the idea that Orton will ever get the 15th world title reign that he desperately seeks. He also doubled down on ‘killing’ the “Legend Killer” before Orton made his way to the ring. Orton came at “The American Nightmare” hard by reminding the crowd how, before he was the ‘QB1,’ Cody volunteered to be Randy’s ‘bag b***h.’
Orton brought up Cody’s late dog, the one he used to bring backstage and has since been immortalized in action figures, before calling his mother ‘trailer park trash’ along with referring to Brandy Rhodes as Cody’s “trashy ass wife.”
It was a scathing promo from Randy in an attempt to get Cody to break the ‘no physical contact’ clause prior to their match next Sunday in Atlanta. Cody accused Randy of trying to get out of their match, but he would not take the bait.
Then, Cody hit Randy with his own haymaker on the mic. He said he was counting down the days until Sunday Night’s Main Event so they can finally answer the question of Randy’s legacy.
“I’m counting down the days until Sunday Night’s Main Event where we find out if you really are a ‘once in a lifetime, generational superstar’ like my father was,” Cody said, setting up the boom.
“Or are you a first-class screw-up like yours was?” Cody fired as Orton responded, “too far,” off-mic.
The segment ended with Orton assuming he would get the best, but it was Cody with the mic drop; regardless, they both showed restraint.
JACY JAYNE(c) def PAIGE—WWE Women’s U.S. Title
Jacy Jayne successfully defended her title against the veteran Paige, though the win was anything but clean as both of her Fatal Influence faction mates were needed to get the job done. In the post-match, Brie Bella made her return to WWE TV by attacking Paige before hitting her ‘Rack Attack 2.0.’
She berated Paige in the middle of the ring, grabbing her surgically repaired neck and screaming in her former friend’s face. Paige will need backup… PAGING AJ Lee.
OTHER TIDBITS
– WWE debuted an awesome video package promoting the upcoming tournament finals between Lucha Bros, Penta and Rey Fenix. The visuals and select clips helped to amplify the anticipated showdown to decide Roman’s #1 contender for his WWE HW title.
– It was announced that Netflix will debut a new documentary on actor and WWE Hall of Famer “Mr. T.” The celebrity of ‘Mr. T.’ was a force in the 1980s and a major part of wrestling’s transition from the smoky bingo halls to the mainstream.
– Tatum Paxley won her SD debut match against Michin in singles action, though there were four other superstars at ringside with Flair and Bliss urging on the upstart.
– Blake Monroe was attacked by Guilia backstage during an interview. Monroe was asked about her ‘non-debut’ last week, and she said she would wrestle when GM Aldis booked her against a ‘quality opponent.’ Last week, Monroe was supposed to face Guilia before she beat her opponent down pre-match, leading to a no-contest.
– The WAR Raiders agreed to defend their AAA Tag Titles against R-Truth and a reluctant Damian Priest in Mexico City. Priest was in the middle of explaining to Truth that he was ready to focus on his singles run, but then he got caught up in Truth challenging for the promotion’s tag belts.
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