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Hey there people, the European tour is over so no spoilers for WWE Smackdown this week. Tonight we do get the WWE debut of Rey Fenix, no opponent has been confirmed yet but I’ve heard rumors of Nathan Frazer though Andrade could use a program as well. Fenix is generally awesome so I’m pretty excited for this. Jacob Fatu will take on Braun Strowman in a Last Man Standing match, hopefully this will let Fatu move on with a win and they can let him and US champion LA Knight cut loose at WrestleMania. Alternatively Solo Sikoa turns on Fatu tonight and that program gets a bit hot shotted into Mania. Naomi will take on B-Fab, so that’s a thing. Charlotte Flair and WWE women’s champion Tiffany Stratton will likely continue their feud, hopefully with less talking as neither woman has done a great job in that respect lately. We are in Chicago so CM Punk showing up is a real possibility, especially since the WWE champion seems more of a RAW guy these days. Zelina Vega is still trying to get a women’s US title shot, Aleister Black is all but confirmed to return at some point this month, the Street Profits will need a new challenger that is likely going to be either DIY or the Motor City Machine Guns so we’ll see what comes of the tag team scene. Alexa Bliss and the Wyatt Sicks have been absent for a bit, Shinsuke Nakamura is a bit of limbo as well and could use a Mania program. All in all the road to WrestleMania is getting shorter so let’s get to the action.

Commentary reminds us we’re 15 days away from Mania.

We see wrestlers arrive at the venue, LA Knight will take on Tama Tonga and we get confirmation of DIY vs. the MCMG.

The crowd with loud “CM Punk” chants, then we get a recap of the contract signing between Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins from last week.

After that CM Punk does head to the ring. He takes his sweet time soaking in the reaction and glad handing with the fans on the way. Eventually he gets there and gets a mic, he isn’t sure where to begin tonight but he knew Chicago would provide a better TV audience than the overseas people including getting a camera from a camera man and walking around pointing it at the audience. That’s why he doesn’t listen to outside voices, then he goes through some of his life story which is pretty well trod territory. His goal is to make new fans every night, but tonight he’s going to thank the 16,000 fans from his hometown here tonight. He might not supposed to be here but no one has made him leave and now he’s in the main event of WrestleMania. Night one but we wont talk about that yet. That gets a “you deserve it” chant, which Punk plays with where he says he’s earned it. He started in backyards, trained at the Steel Domain, singed with WWE, was part of Cena’s WrestleMania entrance and every step he was told he’s not supposed to be here. Well he’s here and now the hard work begins. He’s a product of this town but first has to thank his wife April, and admits that people might be mad at him for that but then he brings up his dog Larry. There are way too many people to thank individually who got him to this place, then he plays with the crowd again and again says the hard work begins now since he’s got a Mania date and promises he’s going to whip Seth Rollins’ ass and beat the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns. Paul Heyman then comes out to a big reaction as he walks down the aisle and introduces himself. He’s a little late and apologizes for that then gets in the ring with his best friend in the world, CM Punk. Bit of an “ECW” chant which Punk encourages and Heyman has to cut that off. Tonight is about what the Wise Man can do for you. Well firstly he can be the voice of the voiceless and say Punk belongs here. Belongs in this ring, in Chicago, and by God in the main event of WrestleMania. Last time they were in the ring together Heyman asked for help then got put through a table and was out for the longest time he’s been out apart from when he was fired. And as for Punk, that Hell in a Cell match almost took him out despite winning and Heyman begged Punk to help at War Games and Punk said he’d do it and saved the match and the Bloodline and Heyman thanks him and gives him credit. Now if you’ll indulge Heyman, he has another favor to ask of Punk. Punk seems interested, and Heyman asks Punk to tell him the favor that is owed right now. Roman is going to be here later and he’s already pissed off and that leads to bad things. Punk says the favor isn’t really Roman’s business, but it might affect him and when Roman shows up Punk will tell Heyman and Roman at the same time. Punk then heads out as Heyman is left in a rough spot.

Rey Fenix hype promo, he’ll debut after this break.

Post break Nathan Frazer is in the ring, that is a solid enough choice for Fenix’s debut. Speaking of, here comes Rey Fenix to a pretty big ovation for a debutante.

Match #1: Rey Fenix vs. Nathan Frazer

They tie up, Frazer goes for an arm wringer then Fenix flips around the ropes and they trade some athletic motion before staring off. Another tie up, then Frazer with some rope running then Fenix with his Tiger Feint wheel kick for a 2 count, then another one and a rolling hurricanrana for a 2 count as well. Fenix with a chop in the corner but then Frazer sends him out of the ring and tries a suicide dive, he gets a little hung up but Fenix did catch him. In the ring Fenix kicks Frazer then hits a double springboard corkscrew crossbody to the floor to take out Frazer and send us picture in picture.

A few more chops from Fenix before they head into the ring and he grabs a modified short arm scissor. Fenix switches to a crucifix pin for 2 then Frazer fights back with a reverse DDT and running Shooting Star Press for a 2 count of his own. They head out of the ring again and they trade chops before heading back into the ring where Frazer kicks Fenix down. Some back work from Frazer then the Mr. Perfect neck snap spot as well before he grabs a chin lock. Fenix fights up and winds up on the top rope as we come back. Frazer climbs up with him and they trade blows until Fenix pushes Frazer down then Frazer jumps up with him, flips back then jumps up again for a superplex but rolls through and hit a Final Cut neckbreaker for a 2 count. Frazer goes up top but misses a Phoenix Splash only to follow up with a running knee to Fenix but Fenix avoids a suplex and lands a dropkick then climbs up top and hits a running punt by running the ropes. Fire Driver, it’s an Emerald Flowsion, but only a near fall for Fenix. Frazer fights back with an enziguri and both men are down. Fenix kips up and lands a superkick then a springboard wheel kick in the corner. Fenix then hits a Mexica Muscle Buster, Muscle Buster position but spun into kind of a Michinoku Driver position, and that gets the pin for Fenix.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Rey Fenix won in 8:17

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: They gave Frazer a lot here, which I think was good, and Fenix looked as good as you would expect. Really good stuff from both men.

Fenix gets a post match interview and thanks the crowd, and notes that he’s won a lot in Chicago over the years and tonight is not the debut of Rey Fenix, it’s a lot more. Tonight is the rebirth of Fenix, he’s been rewarded with passion, and with animo. He’s waited his whole life to say that he’s WWE. Fenix bows to the crowd briefly.

In the back Santos Escobar says that was impressive and he expects that from Angel and Berto. Berto and Angel try to run down Fenix and Berto says he’s better than Fenix. Escobar appreciates that and will get a match between Berto and Fenix for next week. That sends us to break.

Drew McIntyre with an eyepatch video promo, he talks about how no one cares about Damian Priest unless he’s feasting on what Drew does. All he wanted was to be told how he’s wrong, but Priest could do it. Instead he attacked from the shadows after Drew beat Randy Orton, and Drew got glass in his eye from that attack. So now he’s got to pray for a miracle to help his eye, and when Drew prays bad things happen.

We get a recap of Jacob Fatu beating down Braun Strowman from last week.

In the back Byron talks with Braun, Braun says he’s had enough of Fatu being in his business and he’s going to buzz saw Fatu and then win the US title to complete his grand slam title. Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga walk up, Solo runs down Braun but LA Knight comes over to say not to waste energy on Solo but to keep his eyes on the prize. Tama tries to talk, that’s a mistake and Knight says he’s worried about him if he makes noises like that. Knight starts walking and talking to the ring. The Knight vs. Tama match will be up after this break.

Post break Tama Tonga gets an entrance.

Match #2: LA Knight vs. Tama Tonga w/ Solo Sikoa

Knight with some punches first then hits a back elbow. Bit of a dropkick from Tama but then he and Knight mistime a corner spot so Knight just hits a suplex to settle things a bit down. Tama pulls Knight into the middle buckle and follows with a headbutt then hits a back suplex. Boot from Knight to a running Tama then some corner work from Knight and he stomps away at Tama then follows with a running knee. Tama slumps to the floor, then Knight follows with the diving dropkick. Knight starts bouncing Tama into the announce table before sending him back into the ring. Solo distracts Knight so Tama can knock him off the apron and send us to break.

We come back to Knight fighting out of a side headlock then he hits a shoulder block then a Sunset Flip for 2 but Tama lands a clothesline to slow things back down. Suplex from Tama. Tama goes up to the second rope but misses a jumping elbow drop. Knight starts throwing punches to keep Tama off balance then hits a discus clothesline to start firing up. Jumping neckbreaker from Knight then a powerslam and a jumping elbow. Knight wants to finish but Tama avoids Blunt Force Trauma. Solo then misses a Samoan Spike but Tama rolls up Knight for 2. Blunt Force Trauma hits and Knight wins.

OFFICIAL RESULT: LA Knight won in 9:15

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: We’ve seen this kind of match a lot during Knight’s issues with the Bloodline, this was just a fine enough match.

In the back Paul Heyman gets interrupted by Byron and Heyman says he’s going on record that no matter what Punk’s favor is the answer is “yes” but now a card drives up, looks like a Roman ride but it’s Seth Rollins to everyone’s disappointment. Seth asks if Heyman was expecting the other Shield guy, no I don’t think anyone was expecting Moxley. Rollins says he’s gained perspective and made a plan for himself, and now Heyman is a hole with this favor thing. But that effects Rollins as well and he wants to be present to hear this whole thing as well. Man Rollins is kind of a third wheel for this.

Back to the ring, here’s Poochie. Charlotte Flair will talk to Tiffany Stratton after this break, man that all sounds awful.

Another smoky promo, still pretty sure it’s Aleister Black or whatever first name they give him.

To the ring, here comes Tiffany Stratton to a decent pop. Wade Barrett is stuck trying to moderate this face off, poor man. Both Charlotte and Tiffany have mics and Wade says he’s here to make sure they don’t get physical. The crowd boos Charlotte, which is nice for her instead of the apathy she’d been getting. Charlotte tries to emote, that goes poorly, as she says this is charity work for her to the desperate Tiffany. She’s going to show the smartest wrestling fans in the world that there is no comparison between them. Tiffany says Charlotte’s biggest opponent is the fans, and she’s never won that battle. Charlotte can pretend to not be bothered by anything but then go crying on some talk show. No matter what Charlotte does she’s always going to be in Rick Flair’s shadow and at Mania she’s coming in second to Tiffany. Charlotte says Tiffany isn’t the first person to bring that up, in fact for 10 years that’s been the line people have thrown at her. The crowd keeps cutting Charlotte off when she tries to talk, she says this is cool and Tiffany can have the last word so we can get out of his segment. Tiffany says at 25 Charlotte was a failed volleyball player drinking in her daddy’s basement while at that same age Tiffany enters Mania as champion. It seems like Tiffany has gotten to Charlotte, and outside of this business Charlotte isn’t the queen of anything. Well Charlotte can be the most hated nepo baby for another 15 days at least. When it’s all done Charlotte will be just like she is outside the ring, alone with her 0-3 marriage record. Charlotte tries a “Kaiser’s in my DMs” line but it was better when a broken legged Conor McGregor shouted it at Dustin Poirier. Tiffany heads out.

Nick Aldis says next week on Smackdown there will be a women’s tag team gauntlet match for a tag team title shot at Mania, that match will feature teams from all 3 brands.

The Street Profits head to the ring, they’ll be ringside for the tag team match after this break. I’m sure that doesn’t portend shenanigans.

The Guns are in the ring as we come back, not sure if that is a good thing for them or not. We might be a tad short on time given that the Charlotte and Tiffany segment seemed to run a bit over. DIY come out next.

Match #3: Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa)

Sabin and Johnny start us off, they trade arm wringers and escapes for a bit before Sabin hits a few arm drags and Johnny tags out. Arm drag to Ciampa then Shelley tags in and Ciampa takes a double shoulder block. Johnny tries to get involved and we get a play on the do see do spot with the Guns still in control. Shelley with a 10 punch to Ciampa then clotheslines him out of the ring and follows by faking a dive then chases Ciampa back into the ring where Johnny tags in then hits a slingshot spear to send us picture in picture.

Johnny and Ciampa work to keep Shelley isolated in their corner. Some chops to Johnny but Johnny drops Shelley with a punch then follows with a dropkick to the back of the head. Ciampa tags in and lets Johnny get in a cheap shot. Johnny tags back in and they do a Wishbone Split. Johnny up to the second rope but his flying nothing eats a punch from Shelley. Ciampa tags in but Shelley drops him with a neckbreaker as we come back. Sabin tags in and hits a double crossbody then goes to work on both members of DIY including his kick assisted tornado DDT. Shelley holds the ropes open and Sabin hits a suicide dive onto Ciampa and Johnny. Back in the ring Shelley tags in but Ciampa tries to fight back only to take a flurry of kicks and a double superkick for a 2 count. Sabin tags in but Ciampa and Johnny fight off the dropkick assisted Flatliner then Johnny crotches Sabin. The Guns buckle is exposed now and Sabin rolls up Ciampa for 2 then Ciampa with a running knee then a powerbomb backbreaker for a near fall. Johnny tags in and Sabin takes the superkick assisted Fairy Tale Ending and Shelley breaks up the pin. Ciampa tags back in and they set for Meet in the Middle but Sabin rolls away then shoves Ciampa into Johnny then Ciampa takes the Facial double team. Shelley tags in, but Johnny shoves Shelley off the top rope to avoid Skull and Bones. Roll up from Ciamap with the feet on the ropes but the ref sees it, Ciampa then charges into the exposed corner and eats it then Sabin school boys him for the pin.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Motor City Machine Guns won in 9:03

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: We’ve seen better from these two but they didn’t phone this one in at all. And the loss didn’t hurt DIY too much.

The Guns and Profits face off for a bit.

In the back Miz and Carmelo Hayes run into Pretty Deadly and they trade some insults for a bit and Pretty Deadly bring up that Miz always trades in his tag team partners for younger models. Miz says they’re a real team and they awes-him. Man, that was bad.

To the ring and here’s B-Fab along with Michin, B-Fab will take on Naomi after this break.

Post break Jade Cargill attacks Naomi during her entrance, she fights off some security goons as well but Naomi makes it to the ring.

Match #4: B-Fab w/ Michin vs. Naomi

B-Fab throws down Naomi then lands some clotheslines. Corner work from B-Fab but the crowd just doesn’t care as she lands a kick for a 2 count. Mounted punches from B-Fab then some more punches and a Uranage for a 2 count. Naomi avoids a corner kick and starts landing blows to B-Fab and puts her in the tree of woe before shoving her head into the lower buckle. Wrist clutch Codebreaker from Naomi connects and that’ll do it.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Naomi won in 2:04

Rating: Acorn. . . SQUASH
Thoughts: About what it needed to be, B-Fab is still developing and freshly heel Naomi got a good win.

Post match Naomi with some trash talk but Jade crushes her with a pump kick but security saves her from Jaded. Jade wipes out a bunch of goons then Nick Aldis walks out. He’s had enough of this, there’s only one solution for them that’s a match at WrestleMania.

Damian Priest video, he talks about beating Drew because Drew screwed himself each time. Priest stayed champion because Drew carried too much baggage. Now he’s taken out Drew fair and square, now Drew’s just a hypocrite making excuses for his failures. Drew is a junkie, he gets a high from telling stupid jokes for a cheap pop every week. Priest is now the villain for Drew if he wants, and he’ll be in the middle of the ring next week and Drew will stop playing the victim, instead he’ll become Priest’s victim at Mania.

In the back Kevin Owens walks in a Brett Hart jacket. He’ll talk after this break.

Nick Aldis is in the ring as we come back and he says this isn’t a fun part of his job. There’s a fine line between coming back next week like everything’s fine vs. finding out you might never wrestle again. He’s not going to say much more, we need to hear from the man himself and he brings out Kevin Owens. Owens gets a mic and says he’s been doing this for 25 years and can confidently say that for all that time he’s given everything each time he got into a ring. He’s lived incredible things because of all that, taken care of his family, but there’s a price to pay for all that. Everyone knows the toll this takes on your body and now it’s his turn, he’s been dealing with a neck injury for the last four months or so and now he’s got to get neck surgery. The timing couldn’t be worse because not getting to wrestle Randy Orton at WrestleMania really sucks, he’s thankful to WWE for letting him say this and he’s not sure when he’ll be back. The crowd is not buying this. Mostly the last few years he’s learned not to take anything for granted. So for now, thank you and he’s sorry. Randy Orton’s music hits before Owens can leave the ring, Randy is trying to sell this as legit as he approaches Owens who has moved to the apron facing the entrance ramp. The two men stare down on the apron and Owens then heads up the ramp as Randy steps into the ring. Aldis hates to bear bad news to Randy but that means the WrestleMania match is off and Randy doesn’t have a match for the big show. Randy then RKO’s Aldis and stares at the Mania sign for a moment before leaving the ring and ending the segment and sending us to break. I’ll give it a little longer to see how legit that was from Owens, if it was legitimate then I wish him the best in surgery and recovery.

We get some WrestleMania hype as we come back.

Time for the Last Man Standing bout, this will be the last match of the evening since we’ve still got another Punk, Rollins, and Roman segment.

Jacob Fatu comes out first and the crowd love the Samoan Werewolf.

Match #5 – Last Man Standing Match: Jacob Fatu vs. Braun Strowman

They start brawling during Braun’s entrance and Braun rams Fatu into the ring steps. They head into the ring, Fatu then lands a kick and a superkick then a running clothesline to drop Braun. Fatu up top but Braun yanks him down then hoists him up for a running powerslam but Fatu slips free and lands another superkick then a running elbow and the double jump moonsault. Another one from Fatu and he lets the count start but Braun rolls to the floor and lands on his feet at 8 to break the count and sends us picture in picture.

Some ringside brawling and Braun shoves Fatu into the steps again then gets the top steps and rams Fatu with them a couple of times. Braun throws Fatu into some detritus near the commentary table but Fatu isn’t about to stay down. Next Braun pulls the cover from the announce table and whacks Fatu with it a couple of times. Uppercut from Braun but then Fatu launches him over some ring steps. Superkick from Fatu then they head back into the ring. Fatu with some headbutts as we come back to broadcast. Braun catches Fatu with a spinebuster and both men are down, Braun rolls to the floor again to land on his feet and Fatu pulls himself up before 10 while Braun goes under the ring for a table which he sets in the ring. Right hand from Braun then he sets up the table in a corner but Fatu lands a superkick then runs into a boot from Braun when trying to tackle him through the table. Fatu low bridges Braun then follows him with a suicide dive to send Braun over the announce table. Braun does get up before 10 then Fatu rams his head into a ring post. Fatu then lines up a charge but runs into a chair shot from Braun. Braun runs around the ring and crashes with Fatu through the barricade into the time keepers area. Both men are down but both men get up before the 10 count and we head to break.

They’re fighting in the fans as we come back, up by the technical area. They set up on a crate with a few tables below them, Braun then hits a suplex and both men crash through the tables below. The ref starts counting again, but again both men get up at 9. Braun is cut on the shoulder, not sure what caused that. They both stagger back to the ringside area, Braun is limping and pulls himself into the ring where Fatu meets him with a charging hip attack to blast Braun through the table in the corner. Both men are down again and Fatu gets up 9 while Braun can’t beat the count but does get up at what would be 11.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Jacob Fatu won in 15:12

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Last Man Standing matches always have a slightly odd cadence to them but these two did a good job with it. Fatu pulling that off on his own was great and necessary for him, he looked like a monster and he’s rapidly climbing the ranks.

Fatu heads up the ramp and after this break we’ll get a recap of Cody and Cena’s promo from RAW.

Post break commentary runs down some results from tonight then we get that Cody and Cena recap package. That was, in fact, a really good promo battle between those two.

Paul Heyman is still waiting for Roman to arrive as we head to break.

Post break Roman does arrive, he just walks past Heyman though and heads right for the ring with Heyman in tow. They head to the ring, Roman just walking straight to the ring and getting right into it. Normally he’d still be on the ramp, but he’s in a hurry and gets a mic from Heyman. Roman paces back and forth then gets Chicago to acknowledge him. Next he addresses Heyman and Heyman confirms that Punk is here. Roman then asks if Punk is still talking about the favor, Heyman confirms that yes he is. Now Roman says he doesn’t know how Chicago deals with Punk. Roman asks if he should share a secret with Chicago, Heyman says yes so Roman says Punk wouldn’t be back in WWE if it weren’t for Roman. Punk wouldn’t be in a WrestleMania main event if not for Roman. He gets it, the crowd means well but isn’t smart, Punk has wrestled everyone under the sun but despite all that history he’d never been in a Mania man event until he was introduced to the Tribal Chief. The crowd is kind of on Roman’s side here, and Roman wants Punk to come out here so everyone can stop wasting time and let’s learn what this favor is. No sign of Punk but here’s Seth Rollins instead. Rollins heads to the ring and gets a mic and plays a bit with the crowd before putting himself over and says he wouldn’t miss this moment for the world. He doesn’t know what’s owed to Punk but he feels it’ll knock Roman for a loop, especially since Roman doesn’t like reality all that much. So for some history, Rollins has cost Roman a lot at Mania, the crowd just chant “what’s the favor” as Rollins is losing them. He says Roman is underestimating Punk, that in ignoring Punk Punk will just go away. Rollins tried that and it didn’t work, now Punk is in the main event of WrestleMania and Rollins has to deal with it. Now Rollins is in a better spot mentally this week, he’s going to adapt and control the reality presented. Roman says reality is that Rollins isn’t trustworthy, he has no concept of loyalty, Punk is here because Roman made a promise to the wise man and Roman’s word is always good. He didn’t call Rollins out here, he called Punk. A “Roman, Roman Reigns” song breaks out and Rollins says he’s just here to listen to Punk so let’s get him out here. The crowd want Punk and here he comes. Punk gets a mic and heads into the ring. He dances around the question and says this is about friendship, legacy, promises being kept, and loyalty. This goes to Louisville, Kentucky when everyone told Paul Heyman to fire Punk in developmental, and Heyman wouldn’t. He puts over Heyman having called all this a while ago, and says when Heyman left and they were on Big Show’s bus talking things over and Punk saying he’d be fired without Heyman to have his back. Punk asked what he could do for Heyman in that moment, and Heyman said that when Punk main events Mania to force “them” to deal with “us”. So Punk is going to force Roman to deal with Punk and Heyman. At Mania, in the main event, Paul Heyman will bein Punk’s corner, not Roman’s. Roman looks between Punk and Heyman, he thinks for a moment then says “that’s it?” He laughs, he says Heyman loves and needs him, he saved Heyman and even if he let Heyman do this he knows Heyman wouldn’t do it. Roman asks Heyman to decline the offer, Heyman has tears in his eyes as he looks at Roman. He tells Heyman to wipe his eyes and tell Punk no. Roman took Heyman in and made him relevant again, tell Punk no. Heyman wipes his eyes, Roman gives him one more chance to tell Punk no but Heyman can’t do that even for his Tribal Chief. Rollins about dies laughing while Roman menaces Heyman then Punk attacks Roman from behind and hits a Go To Sleep. Punk and Rollins stare down now, Rollins just smirks and leaves the ring to end the episode.