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Well it’s Friday so it’s time for WWE Smackdown. The Royal Rumble happened earlier this week and, well, it definitely happened. I didn’t write up a review but I didn’t care for the vast majority of it, and I wont take up too much time here going into detail. Roman Reigns, the Rumble winner, already declared he was going after CM Punk because Punk’s the better champion on the better show. Liv Morgan, women’s Rumble winner, is making a cursory stop here tonight but she’s unlikely to face Jade Cargill when it’s all said and done given that she and Stephanie Vaquer have been circling each other for quite a while now. All this really does cement Smackdown as the B-show. WWE champion Drew McIntyre helped cost Cody Rhodes the Rumble, so that feud is just gonna keep on plodding forward while Jacob Fatu hangs around it. We should be getting Elimination Chamber qualifying matches going since the Chamber will be about determining who faces Drew at Mania. Speaking of Drew, he cleanly dispatched Sami Zayn in a forgettable match at the Rumble so Sami might get desperate around the Chamber or he’ll set up a really long term story about winning the belt eventually this year but not at Mania. Randy Orton needs some direction apart from teasing possibly wrestling Cody, Trick Williams is looking to maintain his momentum, Damian Priest seems like he’ll be lining up with the Royce Keys, the former Powerhouse Hobbs. Tonight we will get Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tama Tonga, not sure if the Wyatts cost Tama that match but Nakamura hasn’t won a meaningful match in quite a long time. The tag team scene on Smackdown is dead, the Street Profits have been off TV since October and the Motor City Machine Guns since November. Carmelo Hayes and the US title remain a bright spot though, and we’ll see if Ilja Dragunov and Hayes go at it again and if Miz can stop making everything worse. Smackdown really does need some strong direction as we start heading into WrestleMania season, so hopefully tonight can get us going on the right foot.

Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett will be calling the action from Charlotte, North Carolina. And of course we open with a recap of the Rumble in case you missed it.

We’ll get Tiffany Stratton vs. Chelsea Green vs. Lash Legend in a Chamber qualifying match, plus in a similar spot Randy Orton vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Aleister Black. Well Randy winning there seems obvious.

We see WWE champion Drew McIntyre walk through gorilla and to the ring. Cody Rhodes jumps him on the ramp and starts abusing him around the ringside area. Officials show up to separate the two men as Drew scurries through the crowd and back onto the entrance stage. Cody gets in the ring and gets a mic, he warns Drew that things wont be the same for him anymore. Drew screwed Cody in the Rumble, and now this is just Drew’s self fulfilling prophecy and now Cody can’t point at the Mania sign. He watched CM Punk and Roman Reigns set the main event on RAW, and as a fan he was excited but after that moment Drew could only mention Cody. They mentioned Mania will be a dick measuring contest, so they should be glad Cody isn’t there because he didn’t get the nickname Raheem for nothing. He was born in this city but had to come back empty handed. The crowd signs for him to try and make him feel better. Cody says Drew wasn’t made that he wasn’t WWE champion, he was mad Cody was. Well Cody’s shame is going to be Drew’s downfall and Drew wont make it to WrestleMania. Good fire from Cody there, the feud is still a little burned out overall but fire from Cody helps.

In the back Cathy talks with Giulia and Kiana James about their tag team title shot tonight against Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky. James says the tag belts are just a step towards Giulia becoming a triple champion. Giulia speaks Japanese and James says they’re still on track for Giulia to win the Chamber and then the title at Mania.

Back to the ring, here come the women’s tag team champs and we head to break.

Post break we get a recap of Cody attacking Drew, in case you missed it. In the back Nick Aldis talks with Cody and tells him he has to win the Chamber by qualifying next week and if he can’t control his emotions Aldis will have to rethink things. Cody says he’ll see everyone next week in Dallas.

Back to the ring and here come the challengers, Giulia and James.

Match #1 – Women’s Tag Team Title Match: (c) Rhea Ripley and Iyo SKy vs. Giulia and Kiana James

Rhea and James start us off, they tie up and jockey for position, Rhea grabs a side headlock then there’s some rope running. James avoids a right hand and tags in Giulia who wont shy away from physicality. Giulia and Rhea shove then Giulia wants Iyo so Rhea obliges and tags out. Iyo and Giulia both avoid strikes then Giulia lands an elbow and stomps at Iyo. Giulia throws Iyo but Iyo springs out of it then hits the ropes for gymnastics before sweeping Giulia and hitting a low dropkick. Giulia yanks Iyo down by the hair but winds up running into a boot, James then cheap shots Iyo. James tags in then tosses Iyo out of the ring and rams her into the ring apron a few times. They head back into the ring and James kicks Iyo back out to the floor then holds her so Giulia can hit an apron dropkick while Rhea accidentally distracts the ref. That sends us to break but my feed seems like it’ll keep going.

Back in the ring James works to keep Iyo isolated. Giulia tags back in and stomps away at Iyo in the corner. Slap from Giulia then she ties up Iyo in the ropes and rakes at her face before hitting a running dropkick. James tags back in and prevents a tag then lays in some more corner work on Iyo. Giulia back in, Iyo tries to fight back but Giulia still wont let her tag out. Eventually Iyo almost gets there but Giulia cuts her off with a back suplex, the crowd bought that hope spot. James tags back in and resumes shoulder blocking Iyo in the corner as we come back. Giulia tags back in and Iyo takes a running boot from James then a top rope dropkick from Giulia for a 2 count. James tags back in but Iyo avoids a couple of charges then tries to tag, James tries to cut her off but runs into a Flapjack. Rhea rallies the crowd and gets the hot tag, she gets to run through her usual offense on James. Giulia pulls James away from a Razor’s Edge but Rhea boots her down then kicks James. Iyo with a suicide dive to Giulia, almost a really bad landing there. Rhea hits James with an Electric Chair drop but only a near fall. Iyo tags back in, Rhea tries Riptide but James slips free and hits a boot then powerbombs Iyo onto Rhea. Giulia tags in, Iyo takes a 401K then a Arrivederci knee from Giulia but Rhea saves the match. Rhea with a headbutt to James then Giulia sends her out of the ring. Iyo avoids a Northern Lights Bomb, blind tag from Rhea who then headbutts Giulia. Riptide into Over The Moonsault and the champs retain.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky retained the titles in 11:05

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Pretty good little match, Giulia and James had almost no shot here but turned in a good effort which is important.

In the back Ilja Dragunov walks by Miz, both men are dressed to wrestle. They trade a few barbs and Miz tries to offer advice, he went to Aldis earlier and says the open challenge is closed. Carmelo Hayes comes over to say he calls the shots around the US title, Ilja deserves the shot so his match with Miz is non-title. Miz heads to the ring and we head to break.

We come back and here comes Carmelo Hayes.

Match #2: Carmelo Hayes vs. Miz

Miz tries to attack at the bell but Hayes meets him then hits a springboard clothesline. Miz powders but then intercepts a dive with a back elbow. Corner work from Miz, Hayes then misses an enziguri but Miz sells it anyway then Hayes follows with the fade back springboard leg drop. Corner work from Hayes now including chops. Miz kicks Hayes off the middle rope and that lets him take over. That sends us to break again but again I found a feed that keeps the matches pretty much intact.

Kitchen Sink knee from Miz then a running boot for a 2 count. Miz with control work, he plays with the crowd a bit and that lets Hayes fire some strikes but Miz cuts him off with a backbreaker into a neckbreaker for another 2 count. Chin lock from Miz. Hayes fights free of that but Miz hits the kneeling DDT for another 2 count. We come back to Miz still in control but Hayes starts firing back with elbows and chops. Hayes with La Mistica for a 2 count of his own. Miz powders but Hayes fires up and hits a dive, slightly tough landing on his back though and now he’s selling it. Back in the ring Hayes goes up top but Miz blocks a Frog Splash with the knees and that gets Miz another 2 count. Kicks from Miz, Hayes avoids the final kick though then avoids a Skull Crushing Finale and hits a superkick for a 2 count. Hayes pulls himself back up top but misses a flying nothing, Miz then with a rebound powerbomb for a 2 count. Miz wants his finish, Hayes flips away though and tries the First 48, Miz counters into a Skull Crushing Finale but Hayes flips through it then hits the First 48 to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Carmelo Hayes won in 9:31

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Nice finishing sequence, Miz does good commercial work in keeping the crowd invested while Hayes did most of the actual TV wrestling. Solid stuff from both men here.

In the back Cathy talks with the recently returned Tiffany Stratton. Tiffany isn’t going to let one bad night keep her from another Mania moment. Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre come over to throw barbs, Tiffany promises to kill her Mania dreams tonight and that offends Green.

Back to the ring, here’s Lash Legend and her absolutely terrible music. Oh, Nia Jax is with her too and we head to break.

We come back to a Wyatts video, Bo Dallas tells Solo that he left them in the dark. Because Solo is scared of being left behind, standing in the dark by himself. So he holds the light hoping it keeps everyone close to him. But it wont, fear shows up when you’re alone Solo. OK then.

Back to the ring and here’s Chelsea Green with Alba Fyre. Fyre is handing out single page newspapers. Tiffany Stratton follows.

Match #3 – Triple Threat Match: Tiffany Stratton vs. Lash Legend w/ Nia Jax vs. Chelsea Green w/ Alba Fyre

Green slaps Tiffany then Lash, that seems like a bad idea as Tiffany and Lash turn Green into a ping pong ball for a bit. Lash and Tiffany wind up squaring off, Lash picks up Tiffany and uses her to whack Fyre. Tiffany avoids a chokeslam and chop blocks Lash then hits a running dropkick. Tiffany then with a suicide dive onto Lash and Jax. Back in the ring Tiffany hits a standing moonsault but Green breaks up the pin. Green and Tiffany yell at each other so Lash tries a double chokeslam, Tiffany and Green wind up clotheslining her out of the ring. Green and Tiffany trade pin attempts, then Green sweeps Tiffany’s legs on the apron, then Green climbs up top to jump onto Tiffany and Jax. Lash then pump kicks Green over the announce table and sends us to break.

Lash tosses Green into the apron then sends her back into the ring. Lash bullies Green for a bit including wrist control shoulder blocks. Green tries a Sunset Flip but can’t do it, then Tiffany flies in with a Thesz Press to Lash. Hip attack to Lash then Green and Tiffany both get caught and Lash throws them around, her strength is impressive. Lash with corner work to Green and Tiffany. Lash stacks up Tiffany and Green then squashes both of them. We come back to Lash still abusing Green with a clothesline then a Military Press to drop Tiffany on Green. The crowd try to rally Green, Green hits an enziguri then Tiffany with a dropkick off of Green to Lash. Tiffany with handspring back elbows to Green then Lash, Lash catches her then takes a pop up dropkick. Green tries Unpretty Her but Tiffany blocks, some awkward timing on the follow up though. Green climbs, Tiffany climbs up with her for a superplex then rolls through to follow with an awkward suplex and Lash breaks up the pin. Lash tries the Lash Extension, Tiffany avoids it though then dodges a pump kick, Lash stalls out the cartwheel Alabama Slam and hits a buckle bomb then a chokeslam for a near fall. Green climbs up top and leaps with a pseudo coast to coast on both women and Jax pulls Green out of the pin. Fyre comes over and gets into it with Jax, Lash shows up and slaps Green. Lash gets back dropped into the time keepers area, then Jax takes a double superkick. Green rams Tiffany into the post then back in the ring tries Unpretty Her but Tiffany counters into a Finlay Roll and Prettiest Moonsault Ever to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Tiffany Stratton won in 10:29

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: About what you’d expect, Lash looked like a beast and didn’t eat the pin while Green remains very over. Tiffany winning is expected for the most part, curious to see how she’ll do in the chamber.

In the back Cathy talks with Randy Orton, Randy isn’t happy about the Rumble but now he’s focused on entering his 10th Chamber match. That experience will be to his advantage, oh here’s Aleister Black and Zelina. Black says we just said goodbye to two of the greatest ever, but they’re blessed to still have Randy. At least part of him, see you out there.

That sends us to break.

We come back and get another Rumble recap, this time focusing on the NXT talent that showed up at that event. Oba Femi gets his own segment, if you were curious what they think of him.

Kit Wilson heads to the ring. Kit gets a mic and introduces himself, he says he was at the Rumble and was disgusted by what he saw. Not the Saudi sports washing of course, but the wrestlers and all the toxic behavior. All those men trying to prove who’s the real man, well Kit is the real man. A man who has confidence in his emotion, moisturizes, listens, now he’s getting the What? treatment. He got a little lost in the script there then starts wiggling his hips. Next he calls the crowd toxic, but it’s not about them. Anyone who was in the Rumble is welcome to come wrestle him now. That brings out Oba Femi. Kit got a little lost there and that should have been cut a bit shorter to maximize impact, he lost the crowd by the end.

Match #4: Oba Femi vs. Kit Wilson

Kit says he’s a feminist and that Oba is toxic. Oba just chops him down then hits some corner uppercuts followed by a tossing back suplex. Fall From Grace connects to end things.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Oba Femi won in :48

Rating: Butternut SQUASH
Thoughts: Delicious squash.

In the back R-Truth and Damian Priest watch TV. Truth was impressed and puts over Oba, Priest gets a little annoyed. Drew walks by and shoulder checks Truth, Truth gets perturbed but Priest steps between them. Priest says they’ve done this enough and Drew doesn’t need another problem. Drew seems to appreciate that and heads back to the ring.

Drew makes it to the ring this time as we hit the halfway point of the episode. Before Drew can talk he gets jumped by the Samoan Werewolf Jacob Fatu. Fatu beats down Drew then lands a hip attack before clotheslining Drew out of the ring and following with a suicide dive. Fatu keeps attacking Drew, then lays out all the security goons who try to separate them. Good grief, Fatu tears apart the announce table and throws more goons around, then whacks Drew in the time keepers area. Drew winds up scurrying through the crowd yet again and Fatu stands on the announce table as we head to break again. Definitely got some deja vu from that, not necessarily in the bad way though.

We come back to Aldis telling Fatu the same thing he told Cody in the back. Next week Fatu has a qualifying match, and now please go home. Fatu warns him about next week then shoves through the overmatched security to leave.

Shinsuke Nakamura heads to the ring for his match. Tama Tonga actually comes out to his own music but with only a couple of the Monumental Failure Tree’s with him.

Match #5: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tama Tonga w/ JC Mateo and Tonga Loa

Tama with quick strikes including headbutts, but Nakamura avoids a corner attack. Knee to the body from Nakamura then some kicks to the downed Tama. Good Vibrations from Nakamura, then an elbow but Tama misdirects him in the ropes then lands a Flatliner to no reaction. Nakamura rolls out of the ring but the goofs distract him so Tama can attack from behind. Tama drapes Nakamura over the announce table then jumps off the barricade to land an elbow and send us to break.

Back in the ring Tama with a sliding clothesline. Cheap shot from JC then Tama follows up with some more headbutts. Twisting neckbreaker from Tama, still no pop for him. Tama tries to get heat, not very successful. Some control work from Tama then he again tries to farm some heat to minimal success. OK finally some reaction from the crowd as Nakamura moved to the middle of the ring to sell. Neck crank from Tama, and Barrett flagrantly lies about JC not getting physically involved. We come back to Nakamura land a knee then an ax kick and sliding kick to start a comeback. Kicks from Nakamura drop Tama, then he hits an enziguri before following up with his sliding German suplex. Nakamura to the second rope for a leaping knee strike and a 2 count. Tama avoids a reverse Exploder suplex then hits a Whirling Dervish. Corner splash from Tama then an Angels Wings for a 2 count. Nakamura fights back with a snapmare then a misdirection elbow and the reverse Exploder suplex. JC pulls Tama out of the ring and Nakamura then hits him with a baseballs slide. Back in the ring Tama hits the guard pull DDT but Nakamura fights back with a back suplex. Both men pull themselves up and start trading elbows, Nakamura gets the better of that, then Tama lands headbutts but runs into a knee then a wheel kick from Nakamura. Tama tries to fire up, but runs into a Landslide for a near fall. Nakamura wants the Kinshasa, Loa grabs his leg while JC distracts the ref. Enzui Cutthroat from Tama, then a regular one to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Tama Tonga won in 10:25

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Decent match before the ending. Sadly Nakamura continues to have nothing to do, Tama isn’t really over, and this went too long considering that there’s no crowd investment in the Bloodline B-team. Solo’s squad is just taking up air time that they don’t deserve by any reasonable metric.

In the back Fraxiom walk with the Motor City Machine Guns. Candice LeRae comes over to ask if they’re happy with sending Johnny Gargano into a depressive spiral. Johnny is here looking terrible. No one has much sympathy for him. Candice asks the Guns to talk to Johnny, they talk about Johnny lying to them and costing them the titles so no they wont talk to him.

Elsewhere in the back Cathy talks with Iyo and Rhea, they’re not planning on losing their titles anytime soon. Rhea will be qualifying for the Chamber on RAW. Nia Jax and Lash Legend come over to make everything worse. They trade barbs and Jax and Lash head off to talk to Aldis about a tag team shot. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez walk by and Liv will talk at us after this break.

We get a reminder about Smackdown moving to SyFy for a couple of weeks starting next week.

In the back Kit walks and finds Matt Cardona and Apollo Crews. Kit blames Cardona for his problems. Cardona says if Kit wants to step up he’s always ready but Kit demurs and walks off.

Nick Aldis is in the ring and brings out Liv Morgan along with Raquel Rodriguez. Liv gets a mic and calls herself the greatest Rumble winner of all time. She continues putting herself over for a while before eventually getting to the point of how she can choose which champion she faces at Mania. Neither name drop gets much of a pop. She says Mania isn’t the only thing on her mind and wants to address Raquel. Raquel takes the mic from her and wants to address the elephant in the room. Before anything can come of that Jade Cargill heads to the ring. Jade gets a mic and doesn’t care about Liv winning the Rumble. She warns Liv that if she chooses her she’ll beat her ass at Mania. Oh, by the way what the hell is Raquel looking at. Liv tries to laugh this off and warns Jade to watch what she says, because she could let Raquel humble her then they could leave Mania as champions together. Jordynne Grace shows up with a mic to interrupt this even more. Grace congratulates Liv on the win but says if she could get Jade to actually defend the belt then Liv might be facing her instead. Both Grace and Jade tell Live to shut up bitch. Aldis, thankfully, has heard enough and warns her that if she’s on his show to talk she can fight. So the usual tag team match is set up. Uninteresting revolving door promo segment, nothing of interest was said or established.

Match #6 – Tag Team Match: Jordynne Grace and Jade Cargill vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

Liv and Raquel attack at the bell but that goes sideways as Grace and Jade both hit spinebusters then yell at each other as we head to break.

Grace and Raquel are working in the corner, Jade winds up blind tagging to stare down with Raquel. They tie up, neither woman has a power edge off the bat though. Jade with a knee strike then neither woman will bump for a shoulder block. Live tries a cheap shot, Jade chokes her but that allows Raquel to hit a cheap shot. Raquel with elbows in the corner then Liv tags in and they both stomp away at Jade in the corner. Jade runs over Liv with shoulder blocks then a fall away slam, because Jade is unconcerned with selling or the buzzing of flies. Corner splash from Jade then she talks at Grace but Grace tags in because Jade ain’t taking the heat segment. Liv predictably cuts off Grace. Grace with a Worlds Strongest Slam then tries a Vader Bomb but Liv yanks her down as we come back to broadcast. Raquel tags in and Grace takes some corner offense. Powerslam from Raquel. Raquel with a back suplex but misses the twisting Vader Bomb. Liv tags in and hits a suplex, she’s going for the 3 Amigos but Grace counters the third with a suplex of her own. Grace rams Liv into the corner then hits some wrist control clotheslines. Scoop slam from Grace, then another one, and a third turns into a sloppy Michinoku Driver leading to Raquel breaking up the pin. Grace disposes of Raquel then blocks ObLIVion, Liv avoids Beast Mode and hits a Codebreaker though. Raquel tags in and cheap shots Jade, that lets Grace recover enough to avoid a running powerslam but Jade superkicks Grace. Raquel then hits Liv with an accidental running boot. Jade and Raquel stare down, they circle and the crowd is actually behind Jade. Grace shoves Raquel into Jade then School Boys her to win as Grace was still legal.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Jordynne Grace and Jade Cargill won in 8:17

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Angle disguised as a match. Frankly between the flat match and pointless promo segment this whole 15 minutes or so feels like a giant waste.

We get a recap of Sami Zayn failing to beat Drew for the WWE title at the Rumble, because we just needed another recap. The show had been going so well too.

In the back sad Sami walks, faceless people try to lift his spirits. Rey Fenix then tries to rally him and tells him not to give up, if Sami can do it then anyone can do it. Trick Williams shows up to insult Sami as the guy who can never get the ring, like Charles Barkley. Rey and Trick trade barbs, Trick says it’s just about getting the job done. Rey warns Trick that if he keeps talking he’ll knock his teeth out. Trick is down then heads off. Sami is left alone now contemplating doing anything to win the title I guess.

After this break we’ll recap the bit from RAW when Roman chose Punk as his Mania opponent. Man, this episode was going so well, now this.

We come back to Jade and Grace still bickering in the back. Aldis comes over to say Grace gets a title shot next week. That will be the first title defense of Jade’s entire reign thus far.

After that, the promised recap of Roman and Punk. You know, in case you missed it.

Drew is here and standing on the announce table, he’s got a mic. He has something to say and he’s going to say it. First of all Cody and Fatu should be disqualified from participating in the Chamber. Sami thought he was going to finally win the big one but Drew crushed his dreams, just like he’ll do to anyone who gets in the ring with him. Now as for Monday, Punk and Roman, he heard what they had to say and frankly he’s disappointed. Loud OTC chant, because Roman is over. Drew says they came across as insecure, taking digs at him. Frankly he doesn’t care about that, but they tried to make this brand and title feel second rate. Well, it is man. Drew tries to stand up for the brand and belt, he says he’s been through hell to get this title. He’s been here through hell, never went part time, and was here when everything shut down. Next he appeals to the lineage of the belt, no pop as Drew says this is the number one title. As for Roman, he gets it. On one hand is a 280 pound Scottish war machine vs. fragile Phil, without Roman’s Samoan army Drew would kill him. While Roman and Punk are busy aura farming people are killing themselves to get to face him at WrestleMania. I know Drew had to respond after getting punked on RAW but they only said the truth and we all know it. Smackdown’s been on a poor trajectory for a while while RAW gets all the juice. This was OK from Drew, not great. Trick Williams interrupts as Drew is heading up the ramp. Trick says he might as well come out to watch the main event, but he warns Drew that Drew’s worried about the wrong things. He lists names to the “what” chant, and says Drew should be worried about Trick. Trick says he’ll take the belt from Drew at Mania. Drew laughs and tells Trick to walk before you run, next time he interrupts Drew Drew will shove those stupid boots up his ass.

We head to break with the main event up after this.

Commentary runs down the card next week as well as reminds us about SyFy. We’ll get Trick vs. Fenix, man Fenix needs something better to do. Also the WWE women’s title between Jade and Grace. Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky will defend the titles against Jax and Lash. Also Alexa Bliss vs. Giulia vs. Zelina in a Chamber qualifier, boy I wonder who’s winning that one. The men will have Cody vs. Fatu vs. Sami in the Chamber qualifier. Well that’s interesting at least because it’s hard to imagine any of those three out of it.

In the back Solo wanders and yells looking for his family. Cathy finds him and Solo tells them they better be out there with him, then he picks up the lantern and heads to the ring by himself. Solo tries to sell emotion like trepidation or tension since he has no back up, he’s not suited to dramatics and never has been. Aleister Black follows with Zelina by his side. Randy Orton comes out last so the crowd can sign along.

Match #7 – Triple Threat Match: Randy Orton vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Aleister Black w/ Zelina

Trick is sitting ringside, 29 minutes between matches BTW. Everyone misses their finishers early then Black kicks Solo out of the ring. Randy with uppercuts to Black then Black lands a back kick. Solo pulls Randy out of the ring and rams him into the ring post. Solo with an elbow to drop Solo from the apron then an Orihara moonsault. Black with a thrust kick to Randy then he poses as we head to break.

Black and Solo head back into the ring and Black lands a leg kick then an elbow. Body blows from Black, his striking combinations are still crisp. Solo shoves Black away then runs him over. Headbutt from Solo, Black fights back and they trade strikes for a bit. Solo attacks Randy on the apron with a headbutt then Black cleans his clock with a head kick. Some control work from Black on Solo then he goes after Randy on the floor and bounces him off the announce desk. Solo greets Black back in the ring with a right hand. Randy is a pro, just hanging out on the floor so he doesn’t have to do a whole lot. Solo knocks Randy off the apron then Black kicks Solo in the leg again. Black tries a snap suplex but Solo is too fat and hits one of his own. That’s the state of things as the broadcast resumes. Black with an Achilles lock, Randy finally gets in the ring and stomps on Black. Black holds the lock so Randy gives both men the Garvin stomp. Now Randy with a 10 punch to Solo, he gets to 5 before Black breaks it up. Randy catches a Black kick and headbutts him then starts working Black in the corner. Again Randy tries a 10 punch, again he gets 5 but this time Black slips free and trips him down. Kicks from Black then a combination in the corner. Solo trips up Black and pulls him out of the ring then rams him into the barricade. Back in the ring Solo sells his leg but stomps at Randy then lands some tomahawk chops. Solo points at the sign but Randy comes out of the corner with clotheslines then Solo avoids the snap powerslam and Black comes in with a sliding kick to Randy. Solo with a pop up Samoan Drop to Black for a 2 count, Fatu’s is better, but that sends us back to break.

Solo punches down Black and Randy in opposite corners to line up hip attacks to both men. Suplex to Black but only a 2 count. Solo puts Black on the top rope then climbs up with him for an avalanche Samoan Drop but Black fights free of that and elbows Solo down to the mat. Randy comes over and pulls Solo up then posts him. Black kicks Randy from the top rope a couple of times, Randy responds with punches then climbs up with Black. Superplex from Randy but Solo follows with a Splash to Randy for a 2 count. That’s the state of things as we come back. Black and Solo pull themselves up and start trading strikes, Solo can win a brawl but Black is the superior technician. Solo with a superkick but he misses a hip attack then Black hits a Meteora. Randy with a clothesline to Black followed by a snap powerslam. Solo avoids the draping DDT and pulls Randy to the floor but Randy drills Solo with the release back suplex onto the announce table a couple of times. Black comes over and takes an eye poke then a release suplex as well. Randy puts Solo in the ring then follows him to hit Solo with the draping DDT. Next Randy lines up the RKO on Solo, Black boots him though then Solo hits a Spinning Solo on Black for a 2 count. Solo contemplates his thumb then tries a Samoan Spike but Black avoids it and hits a knee then a bridging German suplex. Running knee from Black but again only a 2 count. Randy shows up, Black avoids an RKO though and knees Randy. Randy avoids Black Mass and hits the RKO but Black rolls out of the ring after the move. Solo comes back into frame lining up a Spike on Randy, Randy just RKO’s him though because he’s awesome to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Randy Orton won in 16:39

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Solid match, they did a good job of showing off the chaos without ever losing the flow of the match. The winner was obvious here but Black and Solo, despite being below Randy in the pecking order, ultimately looked OK. If there’s another knock on this match though it’s that the crowd really only cared about Randy, Solo’s heat was fairly minimal and Black’s been positioned as a guy who’s never breaking through.

Post match Randy poses, no Trick attack and Randy’s celebration will end the episode.