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Add FightsATW on GoogleWWE Friday Night SmackDown was in Indianapolis tonight at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where qualifiers for ‘Money in the Bank’ continued, while the program between U.S. champion Trick Williams and former champ Baron Corbin saw its finale fought in a steel cage.
We learned during the show that the live crowd got a special pre-show promo from Randy Orton. “The Viper” hijacked the pre-SD particulars by grabbing a mic and demanding Michael Cole interview him before the night was over, claiming that he had ‘no say’ in the matter.
THINGS GET A LITTLE RANDY
Cole seemed noticeably uncomfortable sitting next to Orton, and Orton could smell the fear—leaning into it from the onset of the interview. Orton controlled the ‘interview’ while Cole just sat back and let it happen to him. It turned out, Randy was mostly upset by some off-air comments that Cody Rhodes made on a ‘hot mic.’ Those off-air comments became on-air fodder for commentary on tonight’s show, and they played the soundbite of Cody telling Cole that he would not hesitate to ‘kick Randy’s head off.’
Orton explained that Cody is ashamed to admit he’s been compromised before, then ran down ‘The American Nightmare’s’ history of gimmicks and persona changes. He glossed over Cody’s out-of-company rebranding, but he acknowledged it all the same. Orton brought up Cody’s timeline to compare it to himself—a guy who has always been “The Viper,” even if we started to love him for it.
He asked Cole at the end of the interview whether he believed Cody’s words, and if he could envision Cody kicking Orton in the head. Cole refused initially, but when Orton pressed him for an answer, he admitted, ‘No,’ he could not see Cody doing it. Randy ended the interview at that moment, and Cole looked relieved, but the fans gave Orton a round of applause for the segment. It was a terrific showing from Randy, but it is starting to feel like he is the face in this program, with Cody as the heel.
CODY came out later to deliver his promo for the night, and he simply doubled down on his willingness to go to that dark place. However, the more interesting moment happened as Punk’s music played as Cody’s promo was ending—giving the feel of one cutting off the other. There was a brief stare-down as the two crossed paths.
TRICK WILLIAMS(c) VS BARON CORBIN—Steel Cage Match; U.S. Title
Many questioned WWE‘s decision to bring back Baron Corbin, and they were far more critical after Corbin defeated upstart Trick Williams for his U.S. title. Now, with the ability to play ‘Monday morning quarterback,’ it is easy to argue that the move was good and led to a terrific program that elevated 2x U.S. champion Trick. Corbin was the perfect type of player for this position, and he performed at a level that exceeded expectations.
A gimmick match works best when it escalates a feud, especially at the end, but it should make sense. Utilizing the cage is rational from a wrestling standpoint, but from a story perspective, it works best when it prevents the heel from utilizing outside interference. In this case, Yachty has been the only ‘outside’ factor.
Still, both men put on a terrific match that included some big spots like Corbin suplexing Trick off the top of the cage before kicking out of Trick’s finisher, the Trick Shot—commentary put Corbin over as ‘the first’ to kick out of the move. There were some near exits, but the match’s stipulation allowed for pinfall/submission stipulations to go along with the typical ‘exit the cage’ means of winning.
So, it should not have been surprising when Trick won by pinfall, but it does sort of undermine the use of the cage. In the end, if this is indeed the end of this program, both did a terrific job with what they were given—Lil Yachty deserves a lot of credit in this program as well.
MITB QUALIFIERS
Men’s
CM Punk vs Finn Balor vs Gunther—Triple Threat Match
This was the most stacked triple threat match of all the MITB qualifiers, with all three being former champions, and it could also be argued that Punk and Balor have unfinished business at the top of the title tilt. Gunther has continued to be on the wrong side of decisions and pinfalls due to uncontrollable obstacles.
This had the feel of a big-time match, but it felt like Punk was the clear favorite before the bell rang. That said, Balor made the crowd believers before it was all over, and while Gunther was very much in the match, it felt like the fairytale ending was possible for Finn. He hit his ‘Coup de Grais’ finisher in a moment where it looked like he could win by pinning Punk, but Gunther managed to break the count up just in time.
Punk went on to win the match after eating a stack up power bomb from Gunther—Punk actually kicked out—but it was Balor’s second ‘Coup de Grais’ of the match on Gunther that allowed Punk to capitalize. It could be argued that Balor’s effort secured Punk’s spot at MITB, and this feud feels far from over if the ending of SD is any indicator.
Women’s
Charlotte Flair vs Lash Legend vs Giulia—Triple Threat Match
The women’s qualifiers have been really good, either in quality or in story, and these triple threat matches have been used to put over the sometimes unexpected. Tonight’s match was maybe the best of them, with all three performers representing a specialty—Giulia the speed, Lash the power, and Flair the hybrid. The athleticism between these three competitors was put on full display, especially when they hit the big corner spot where Lash powerbombed Flair, who hit Giulia with a Samoan Drop.
Lash Legend was able to pick up the win, securing her spot in the MITB ladder match alongside Sol Ruca, Lola Vice, Roxxane Perez, and Jacy Jane, with one more entry to go—it was announced that Tatum Paxley, Tiffany Stratton, and Candice LeRae will face off in the final qualifier next Friday.
In the backstage area following the match, Giulia and Blake Monroe got into a heated exchange that turned physical, and that is when GM Aldis booked them for a match next week. These two were supposed to face each other in Monroe’s debut before the entire thing turned into a beatdown angle.
OTHER TIDBITS
– Fatal Influence defeated Paige, Chelsea Green, and Tiffany Stratton in a six-woman tag match. Nikki Bella showed up to cost Paige the match in a spot that furthered their feud.
– CM Punk sported a Pete Crow-Armstrong jersey as he threw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field and even sang ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ during the Cubs’ 7th-inning stretch. PCA made history this week by becoming the 7th player to hit the 40/40 mark—that’s 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases.
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