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Well people it’s the last WWE Smackdown before Saturday Night’s Main Event and that means it’s the last shot they have at convincing you to watch it. To that end we’ve got the semifinals of the women’s US title tournament with Bayley vs. Chelsea Green and Michin vs. Tiffany Stratton, logic would dictate heel vs. face for the finals but that’s not guaranteed in this instance. Bayley is probably the favorite to win the new belt and try to establish it, Tiffany still has the MITB briefcase and doesn’t need the midcard hardware, but Green has been a really good character for a while now and has been gaining in crowd support so I wouldn’t count her out of this. Last week Solo’s crew beat up Apollo Crews, Andrade, and LA Knight so expect some kind of follow up to that. No word yet on Roman Reigns or his plans, and if he’s not on tomorrow’s card then at this point he’s likely waiting for the first RAW on Netflix to challenge Solo for the ula fala. Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens are still looking to brawl all over the place ahead of tomorrow, DIY went full heel and claimed the tag team titles last week but one imagines the Motor City Machine Guns will still be in the title hunt. They’ve also been teasing roster changes ahead of the Netflix debut for RAW, Gunther and Cody have both showed up on opposite shows briefly, and we’ll have to see what’s in store for that kind of a shakeup. Netflix is shelling out a lot of cash and as a platform has a lot fewer restrictions so we’ll see who might gravitate towards that environment instead of what Smackdown offers these days. Anyway that’s the preamble, let’s get to the action.

We’re in Hartford, Connecticut and see a few of the wrestlers arriving at the venue. We do get an announcement that Solo Sikoa will take on LA Knight tonight. Also a final exchange of words between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens tonight at some point.

To the ring and here comes Jimmy Uso on a crutch. As he moves to the ring we get news that we’ll hear from Roman Reigns tonight as well. Jimmy has a mic, the crowd gives him “yeet” and he tells them that’s the wrong twin. He says WarGames didn’t get him but did get his big toe, and that match meant everything. He got to be there with a bunch of family, and no matter how much you fight you can always bounce back and fight together. Now that WarGames is behind us we need to figure out what’s in front of them. For years Jimmy watched his family dominate and entertain, doing this is a dream and they get to live it every single day. He watched Roman be the most dominant champion and he’s proud of that. He watched Jey Uso become one of the hottest stars in the world and he’s proud of that. Heck he’s even proud of his little brother Solo Sikoa, he might not like what he’s doing but he’s proud of him. But now he’s in a spot where he’s trying to figure out what he’s going to do next, and right now he doesn’t know but hopes the crowd will be with him as he looks for a big 2025. Might be a Royal Rumble win, might be a US title run, and as long as he’s dreaming it might as well be the WWE title. And nothing is going to stop him from doing what he loves to do, being here week in and week out, and while no one else from the Bloodline is here he is. Drew McIntyre then flies in from the side and lays out Jimmy with a Claymore. Officials show up to pull Drew away from Jimmy. Nick Aldis berates Drew as he walks him to the back. Decent Jimmy promo overall but he’s still not Jey in terms of how he connects with the crowd or jumps through the screen.

In the back we see Tiffany Stratton warming up for her match, Nia Jax and Candice LeRae come into talk to her. Jax says after Tiffany wins the US title she wont need the briefcase anymore. They say they’ll be watching but wont be ringside with her. I’m still not sure making Tiffany this airheaded as a character is a good move, but at least they’re not trying to lean Jax face. After this break Tiffany will wrestle Michin.

Post break we see Drew still walking in the back and Nick saying he doesn’t want to deal with this kind of stuff from Drew and all he does it give him headaches. Bianca Belair and Naomi wander over and Nick sends Drew into his office so he can talk with them. Nick says the investigation into Jade Cargill’s attack is ongoing but Belair will probably have to give up the tag team titles. Naomi says she’ll sub in for Jade, Belair knows this isn’t ideal but it could solve his problem. Nick says he’ll run it up the flagpole and see what happens but if they’re serious they’ll have to be ready to defend those belts next week. Belair and Naomi seem down.

To the ring and here’s Tiffany Stratton. She got a pretty good pop. Michin follows.

Match #1: Tiffany Stratton vs. Michin

They tie up then break, then Tiffany with a slam. Michin counters with a double leg then punches and a dropkick once they’re up on their feet. Michin fights out of a corner then hits a slow motion hurricanrana. Tiffany tries to toss Michin but Michin counters and sends her out then follows with a dropkick through the ropes. Tiffany catches a kick from the apron then slams Michin down and follows with a double stomp on the apron then poses as we go picture in picture.

Some ringside brawling before they head back into the ring. Tiffany with some kicks and corner work. School Boy from Michin gets 2 then Tiffany drops her with a clothesline. Snap suplex from Tiffany but Michin counters a second into a suplex of her own. Tiffany back in control with strikes then a hip attack in the ropes. Michin rolls to the apron as we come back to broadcast, then she avoids an apron double stomp from Tiffany. Michin then with a kick from the apron then they head back into the ring with a diving tornado DDT from Michin, then a regular tornado DDT as well for a near fall. Tiffany avoids Eat Defeat and tries the cartwheel Alabama Slam but Michin counters into a Tarantula over the ropes. Michin misses a missile dropkick then Tiffany hits the cartwheel Alabama Slam for a near fall. Tiffany tries a Finlay Roll but Michin slips free and they wind up fighting on the ropes, Michin headbutts Tiffany down then Tiffany crotches her. Finlay Roll from Tiffany then she tries a Prettiest Moonsault Ever but Michin gets out of the way, well sort of but they sell it like Tiffany missed completely then Michin follows with Eat Defeat to get the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Michin won in 8:16

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Tiffany losing here mostly tracks but her losing clean felt a little odd given that Tiffany is clearly the bigger star. This got very slow during the commercial break and the mistiming of the finishing sequence hurts as well.

We get a recap of DIY winning the tag team titles last week.

We get a DIY video, Johnny talks about them losing the tag team belts in his hometown. Tommaso Ciampa talks about them getting screwed then never getting a rematch. They were embarrassed, but Johnny soldiered on and told us all he’d do whatever it took to get the belts back. Ciampa isn’t happy that that Guns jumped the line and they were two steps ahead of them by this point. They’ll do whatever it takes as two time tag team champions, they call themselves the best tag team in the world as well.

After this break we’ll hear from Roman Reigns in some form.

Post break we get a recap of Solo’s crew and their mini rampage last week.

After that a Roman video. Roman says it’s been a rough year, not too long ago they ran everything and then it fell apart between Spring and Summer. He lost his title, lost his wise man, lost the Bloodline. The entire Bloodline was gone. Most importantly he lost the ula fala. 4 years ago Solo wasn’t here, Roman didn’t take that ula fala, he earned it and his late father and uncle crowned him with that because he was the man to lead the family. This is a responsibility only he can handle. Well January 6th he wants Tribal Combat. They’re 1-1, so let’s leave the tribes at home and on January 6th on Netflix Roman reclaims his Bloodline, his ula fala, and his respect. Once he’s got that back the whole world will acknowledge him. They’re going out of their way to stack that first Netflix show, Roman and Solo in an all out war to culminate this chapter of the saga is a big deal.

In the back Legado del Fantasma talk with Nick Aldis, Santos Escobar is sick of Nick playing favorites and the lack of safety. Jade and the Street Profits got taken out back stage, and they’re thinking about moving to RAW. Nick wishes them well. Carmelo Hayes walks up to Nick and says he’ll make light work of his opponent tonight. Nick wishes him well against his mystery opponent, that’ll be up after this break.

Post break here comes Carmelo Hayes. And his mystery opponent is the newest Smackdown member, transferring in is. . . Braun Strowman.

Match #2: Carmelo Hayes vs. Braun Strowman

Hayes looks appropriately unsettled by this, and Braun had kind of done all he was going to do on RAW. Hayes tries to shove Braun, that goes poorly. Hayes into the ropes but his flying clothesline just bounces off the body of Braun. Braun misses some stomps and Hayes tries strikes then avoids a corner charge so Braun posts himself. Dropkick to the knee from Hayes then the fade away DDT but Braun kicks at 1. Braun catches a jumping Hayes and crushes him with the running powerslam to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Braun Strowman won in 1:30

Rating: Winterhorn squash
Thoughts: Braun on Smackdown at this point tracks, and Hayes as a character can actually absorb this rather easily then either swap brands or just whine about it for a few weeks.

In the back Byron talks with LA Knight, Knight wants to talk to us and says it doesn’t matter where he is he always handles his business. He stayed out of Bloodline business at WarGames, he doesn’t care about them and their nonsense, he cares about gold. He has no love for any of that family on either side of it, he only cares for Jey Uso a little bit. But now Solo got between Knight and gold, so Knight’s fist will get in the way of Solo’s face and his boot will meet Solo’s big fat ass. This is still Knight’s game. . . yeah. That match will be up after this break.

After the break Solo comes down to the ring with Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu in tow. There’s a “Put Jacob Fatu in Fortnite” sign in the crowd. Get that man away from Solo’s charisma vacuum as soon as possible please. Anyway Solo gets a mic and wants acknowledgement. The boos at least feel less sweetened these days. Solo tries to talk to Roman but LA Knight’s music cuts him off.

Match #3: LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa w/ Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga

They stare off and then start trading punches. Knight wins the punches but Solo then rams him into the corner and lands a right hand to take over. Headbutts from Solo but Knight rebounds with a clothesline then is able to clothesline Solo out of the ring. Solo pulls Knight out of the ring and rams him into the apron then bounces him into the announce table. Knight gets run into the barricade but they both wind up back in the ring. Another headbutt from Solo and they fight back to the floor where Knight launches Solo into the ring steps then Knight bounces Solo into the announce table then follows with punches. Back into the ring again and Knight keeps throwing punches but then Solo catches him with a Samoan Drop to take back over. Knight fights out of the corner with a boot then hits a jumping bulldog. Knight low bridges Solo to send him out of the ring then wipes out Tama with a diving kick through the ropes, Solo then takes over with a Spinning Solo into the announce table which does not break and we go picture in picture.

Back in the ring Solo with another headbutt to set up a hip attack which connects. Some corner work from Solo, his control stuff is still very slow paced and not exactly compelling. Knight avoids a corner rush and starts landing punches then follows up with a DDT for a 2 count. Solo cuts him off with a Stun Gun though then follows with a clothesline for a 2 count. Eventually Solo hits a very awkward looking version of Roman’s drive by kick on the apron, he might want to leave that one in the bag going forward. We come back to broadcast as Solo sets for a Superman punch but Knight counters into a back suplex to put both men down. Punches from Knight then he hits the ropes for a jumping clothesline. Mounted punches from Knight then he stomps away on Solo in the corner and hits a running knee as well. Solo avoids Blunt Force Trauma and rolls out of the ring, Knight then follows him but hits a jumping double clothesline to drop Tama and Fatu. Fatu charges but gets sent over the announce table by Knight. Back in the ring Solo hits a superkick then wants the Samoan Spike but Knight counters into a Side Effect. Knight up to the second rope, then jumps up top for the Megastar Elbow but only a near fall. Fatu is pissed and comes from behind Knight to drag him out of the ring and cause the DQ

OFFICIAL RESULT: LA Knight won via disqualification in 11:19

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: These two have had good matches in the past and this was no exception, Knight works well with Solo’s style and I’d like to see them square up again down the line when both have ascended further in the pecking order.

Fatu crushes Knight into the barricade with a hip attack because he’s a monster, then he and Tama send Knight into the ring so Solo can deliver a perfunctory Spike. Andrade and Apollo Crews run out to try and help but the numbers catch up to them and Solo takes them both down with Spikes. Solo and company stand tall then head out.

Braun walks in the back and Pretty Deadly find him. Pretty Deadly have been looking for a monster for their musical. Braun takes the script from them, then hands it back and walks off. Next Braun finds Byron but Austin Theory and Grayson Waller interrupt and eject Byron. They invite Braun onto the Grayson Waller Effect, Braun says he’ll see them next week. OK then.

Back to the ring and Bayley heads down for her match. After this break she’ll take on Chelsea Green.

Match #4:

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Rating:
Thoughts: