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Alright everyone, we’re post Backlash tonight for WWE Smackdown. Backlash was a glorified pitstop, but was at least fairly well paced and had some quality matches. Jacob Fatu is still on the blue brand technically but is feuding with Roman Reigns, so expect Fatu to talk again and the Usos to interrupt again like they’ve done the last 4 weeks. WWE champion Cody Rhodes is now going to try and get Gunther to sign a contract for a title match in Italy, so that’ll kill a week or so but that event is coming up very quickly so we can’t drag it out too long. Solo Sikoa is trying to replenish his Midcard Forever Team with Royce Keys, hopefully Keys isn’t stupid and stays as far away from that vortex as possible. Tama Tonga is getting fed up with Solo, and about once every 3 weeks Shinsuke Nakamura gets booked to show up and remind him that he’s a bitch until he can stand on his own. Nakamura was there last week, so tonight he’s either absent entirely or gets squashed by that big goof Talla Tonga. Please stop trying to make Talla a thing, he’s not good at this. Rhea Ripley along with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss got laid out by Fatal Influence last week, then Jade Cargill showed up with B-Fab and Michin in two to lay them out again. Because who doesn’t need another heel faction on weekly TV right? So expect Ripley and Jade to still have issues. Ricky Saints got a win last week, so there’s that. Sami Zayn might still be going after Trick Williams, or he might go crazy feuding with someone down the card while Trick moves on. Tiffany Stratton is still trying to breathe life into the women’s US title, so we’ll see how that goes. Blake Monroe is still inbound. Still no sign of Carmelo Hayes or Ilja Dragunov, but boy do we just need more Bloodline B-team BS to fill out the runtime right? Anyway Saturday Night’s Main Event is next week so if Smackdown is going to offer anything to that show they need to set it up tonight, so let’s see what’s in store for us.

Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett welcome us to Columbia, South Carolina. We see wrestlers walking in the back, related to this but does anyone else miss actual intros to wrestling shows anymore? I’d take those over this boring copy and paste stuff.

After that we get a recap of Backlash. Man that John Cena announcement was totally just thrown together at gorilla wasn’t it? I mean nothing about it made sense and there’s not much follow up.

US champion Trick Williams along with Yachty and the Gamecock mascot are here since Trick is the native of Columbia. Trick and Yachty have mics, Trick makes a lot of local references. He talks about being here with his family sitting ringside. Miz interrupts this along with Kit Wilson and they’ve got mics as well. Miz says Trick’s career just looks like rejected mascots, this is WWE not Sesame Street. People have trouble taking Miz seriously but here’s Trick. Yachty sticks up for Trick and brings up Miz and Kit being cursed. Miz denies being cursed, that gets a “you are cursed” chant along with a “whoop that Trick” chant. Kit wants some slam poetry. Kit promises to lyrically mess them up, and Miz wont stroke their egos. This time is filled with nasty jocks, united only by love of toxic gamecock. Yachty wants to try this, and says Kit is only known for assisting the Miz, and his tan is too yellow like the road in the Wiz. They’re just mad they had Cocky (the mascot) because Miz has little tiny balls. Nice to dust off that old chestnut. Miz puts a hand up for quiet and does not want tiny balls back, isn’t cursed, and says if he lived here he’d volunteer to relocate to Tennessee. He wants a match right now so he can beat Trick in front of his momma. They trade hands, Kit gets low bridged and Miz clotheslines out of the ring. We’ll get that match after this break I guess. The crowd was fire for this which elevated an otherwise very paint by numbers segment.

Match #1: Trick Williams w/ Lil Yachty vs. Miz w/ Kit Wilson

The bell rings as we rejoin things. They tie up, Miz breaks in the corner then gets shoved down by Trick. Miz grabs a side headlock then hits the ropes but Trick floors him with a leaping clothesline. Miz snaps Trick over the top rope then heads up top, a “tiny balls” chant distracts him so his flying nothing is countered by punches from Trick. Kitchen Sink from Miz then a running boot and he tears his shirt off. Some stomps from Miz as more “tiny balls” chants shower him. Trick avoids a boot then lands a leaping neckbreaker. Back hand from Trick then corner stomps. Miz flips out of a back suplex then avoids a Trick Shot and powders. Trick chases Miz then avoids a diving dropkick and lands a right hand before ramming Miz into the barricade a few times. Kit with a leaping uppercut behind the refs back, Miz follows with the diving dropkick. Miz and Yachty jaw jack as we go to break.

Some ringside brawling now, Miz trash talks Trick’s family so Trick rams him into the barricade and beats him down a bit. Back in the ring Trick with a chop but Miz lands a boot. Another running boot from Miz. Trick blocks a suplex and hits one of his own so both men are down as we rejoin the broadcast. They start trading punches from their knees, fight upright and trade more punches with Trick starting to fire up and dropping Miz with an uppercut. Side kicks from Trick then a scoop slam and a Uranage for a 2 count. Miz fights back with a shot to the eyes then tries a Skull Crushing Finale but Trick counters only to eat a kneeling DDT for a 2 count. Kicks from Miz but Trick avoids the last one then hits a Flapjack and kips up. Kit distracts Trick, they trade roll ups then Miz hits a Skull Crushing Finale for a near fall. Kit distracts the ref, Miz goes for a kendo stick but Yachty yanks it away from him. Yachty then whacks Kit with the stick a few times and throws him around the announce table, Trick with a Trick Shot to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Trick Williams won in 11:18

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Decent homecoming showcase for Trick, he probably should have been more dominant given what Miz has been doing lately but that’s a minor complaint. The crowd really popped this one up a few notches too.

In the back Cathy talks with Carmelo Hayes about his match with Ricky Saints tonight. Hayes objects to Trick and Sami mocking the US title, the people want him back as champion. Ricky comes over and he and Hayes trade a few barbs, and Ricky says the world is new since Hayes went on vacation. Hayes sees Ricky for what he is, and this place humbles people like both of them. Ricky doesn’t need advice from Hayes. Hayes really rushed his words there, not sure what’s up with that.

Elsewhere Rey Fenix talks with Nick Aldis, Rey has big plans and leaves. Sami Zayn comes over and says he’s ashamed of himself and how he lost the US title match with Trick. The pressure got to him, but he’s ready to go back to who he really is and wants another US title match. Aldis can’t give him a rematch after he lost a rematch, now he’s got to earn another shot. Sami tries to talk about about his career and wants preferential treatment. Aldis knows his career and says Sami’s dealing with stuff, so deal with it because right now all he’s getting from Sami is entitlement. Rey comes over to calm Sami down, Sami says everything around him is changing. Rey doesn’t even recognize Sami anymore. OK then.

After this break we’ll get Paige and Brie Bella taking on Giulia and Kiana James, because we need people to care about James and Giulia when they break up in a week or so.

We come back to Paige and Brie talking with Cathy at gorilla. They talk about the tag team scene, then Nia Jax and Lash Legend come over to say they want their belts back. The women’s tag scene needs something new soon, it’s getting stale. The champs head to the ring for our non-title match. Giulia and Kiana James follow.

Match #2 – Tag Team Match: Brie Bella and Paige vs. Giulia and Kiana James

Brie and James start us off, James shoves Brie down out of a tie up as James is a lot stronger. Another tie up, James with a knee to the body then Brie dodges a boot and hits a Russian leg sweep. Paige tags in, good grief this crowd is dead for this match. James takes a few double team moves. Giulia tags in and goes after Paige with kicks and corners her for body blows. Snap suplex from Giulia. Paige fights back with a kick then a running dropkick. Some yelling from Paige to kind of wake the crowd up, then she knees Giulia through the ropes but James yanks her face first onto the apron. Giulia shoes up to ram Paige into a ring post as we head to break.

Back in the ring Giulia throws Paige around by the hair and tags in James. James stops Paige from tagging out and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Giulia tags back in and goes after Paige in the corner. James tags in and resumes the corner work on Paige. Giulia heads up top after a tag, misses a flying nothing then Paige lands punches but Giulia cuts her off, Paige botches a transition and Giulia improvises a kimura position. The state of things as we come back is Giulia putting Paige up top and climbing up with her. Paige with headbutts then a Sunset Powerbomb and both women are down. James tags in, as does Brie. Brie misses a top rope dropkick but James sells anyway. Knees from Brie to James and Giulia, she channels a very over wrestler in her husband for kicks then hits a Bella Buster but James breaks up the pin. Brie tosses Giulia, James then kicks Brie and Giulia tags in. Giulia with the Northern Lights Bomb but Paige with an early break up. James tosses Paige and tags in again, but Paige shows up to break up the double finisher, Paige and Giulia spill to the floor and Giulia might have landed right on her head. Brie blocks a standing moonsault, Paige tags in and hits Rampage for the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Brie Bella and Paige won in 9:01

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Paige still feels like her timing is off in some respects, Brie can only play the hits, the crowd just didn’t care about this either. Giulia and James are clearly still headed for splitsville but it feels like management realized that the crowd doesn’t care about either of them so they’re doing more of this for a few more weeks.

We get a recap of the Cody and Gunther stuff from last week. We see WWE champion Cody Rhodes walking in the back, he’s still got the contract from last week and will talk to us after this break.

Post break Cathy talks with Tiffany Stratton. Tiffany fumbles things because Giula and James miss their cue to wander through the background screaming at each other. Ultimately Tiffany is happy to fight on her own but here’s Chelsea Green. Green again tries to team up with Tiffany, Tiffany doesn’t want her around but Green plays oblivious to it. Tiffany heads off and Green tries not to act hurt. I’m not sure his will work the way this same angle did for Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, but they’re trying I guess.

Back to the ring and here comes Cody. The champ is kicking off the second hour? Smackdown has been very oddly laid out for a few weeks now. Cody gets a few padded chairs and a table, he’s setting up for a contract signing by himself. Once everything is set up he gets a mic and asks what the crowd want to talk about. Cody has all the ingredients for a contract signing, a contract, a title, a table, chairs, he’s got a contract for Gunther to be on Smackdown and for the title match in Italy. That does bring out Gunther with a mic of his own. Gunther talks to the ring, he talks about how much time and effort went into the deal last week. The roster transfer of the best wrestler in WWE, and still Cody made it all about himself. Just like a typical American. Gunther shouldn’t be surprised, Cody just can’t handle not being the center of attention. Not this time though. This is his deal and his title match, and that will be his title soon. So golden boy, just be professional. Ask Gunther nicely and don’t forget to say please. Gunther is still just halfway on the ramp. Cody brings up that Gunther might have convinced Heyman to make this happen, Gunther is the one making this weird by not signing like a professional. The contract is right here, if Gunther needs a please then sure, please sign it so Gunther is guaranteed to get his ass kicked in Italy. Gunther could feel that Cody didn’t mean the please. So instead use “please Mr. Gunther” but here’s Royce Keys to interrupt. Keys has a mic and says if Gunther wont sign that contract then Keys will. Keys heads to the ring and stares down Cody, but Cody is fine if Keys wants to sign. Gunther shows up to take the pen from Keys, Keys keeps trying to sign and scuffles with Gunther a bit. Aldis shows up to calm things down, he says this should have been simple. That contract should have Gunther’s signature but it’s not there so that title shot is up for grabs. Tonight, Royce Keys vs. Gunther for the title shot in Italy. That’s a big step up for Keys. Gunther storms out of the ring, Cody tells Keys that he’s proud of him but reminds him that Cody is easy to find and hard to beat. They stare down again briefly, it’s respectfully tense before Keys heads out.

In the back Solo and his goofs talk around a TV, Solo says the tag titles can wait. He asks if Tama Tonga understand the assignment for tonight. R-Truth isn’t cleared to work tonight, and Tama needs to take out Damian Priest. Solo and Talla Tonga head out to find Keys. Shinsuke Nakamura comes over to Tama to talk, then Talla attacks him from behind and chokeslams him through a table. Man Talla sucks. That sends us to break.

Post break we find Gunther and Aldis yelling at each other in the back, Aldis warns Gunther not to play games with him and now he’s got to earn a shot he should have had by signing cleanly last week.

Carmelo Hayes heads to the ring for our next match, he’s followed by Ricky Saints.

Match #3: Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints

27 minutes between matches, not good. Ricky attacks at the bell and chops away at Hayes. Some rope running from Ricky then they trade arm drags, both men miss kicks then Hayes with a right hand and a dropkick. Corner chops from Hayes, Ricky fights back then grabs an arm wringer and does the Old School spot with a nice strut on the ropes. Ricky with a clothesline then pose. Hayes sends Ricky to the apron then hits the fade away leg drop. Ricky to the floor, and Hayes with a dive, he almost cleared Ricky there but seems to have landed safely as we head to break.

Back in the ring Ricky with a Stun Gun then drags Hayes out of the ring to drop him onto the apron. Ricky with an apron leg drop. Hayes fights back with a chop but Ricky with a boot out of the corner. Suplex from Ricky. Hayes tries to fight back but Ricky cuts him off with a clothesline. Ricky puts Hayes up top, then climbs up with him and they fight for position as we rejoin the broadcast. Hayes counters a superplex by tossing Ricky down. Minor feed issues, and Ricky blocks a First 48 then Ricky with an elbow and a sick Northern Lights Bomb for a near fall. Chin lock from Ricky as get a mid match single commercial. I just can’t with some of these presentation decisions. Ricky switches to a different hold and Hayes fights free then lands a few superkicks. Springboard clothesline from Hayes, and a lovely one at that. Dirty Diana from Hayes gets a near fall. Dueling chants from the crowd as they fight over a Small Package spot but neither man takes a 3 count. Blue Thunder Bomb from Ricky but only a 2 count again. Ricky with some stomps, he tries a Revolution DDT but Hayes slips free and hits First 48 for a near fall. Hayes now goes up top, he wants Nothing But Net but Ricky avoids it and hits the Revolution DDT but can only find a near fall. Ricky is pissed, wants Roshambo and they fight over that before Ricky just rams Hayes into the corner, tries a dirty pin with the ropes but the ref catches him. Roll up from Hayes as Ricky argues with the ref, and Hayes gets his feet on the ropes when the ref doesn’t see and that finds the 3 count.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Carmelo Hayes won in 12:44

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Not surprising to see those two work fairly well together. I’m not sure what the plan is for Ricky right now, his presentation is a little weird and I remember how hard it was for Hayes to actually get over on the main roster so hopefully we’re not destined for the same thing with Ricky.

In the back R-Truth finds Keys and has to thank him for last week. He puts over Keys as being big and invites him to join the Judgement Day. Keys says he’ll think about it. Damian Priest shows up as Keys leaves, and Truth says Keys will join Judgement Day 2000 with them. Priest asks again what’s up with Keys since Solo’s goons don’t show up around Keys. Priest doesn’t trust Keys yet and invites Truth to be careful. Truth apologizes for last week, Priest was right and Priest says Truth will be safe. That’s not ominous. After this break we’ll get Priest and Tama.

Post break in the back Danhausen stalks around. He’s in his evil lab and talks on an old time phone. He needs something bigger and better, he drags in a large man on a gurney. He plays on his computer for a bit, that was a large man but he was covered so we don’t know who it is he’s reviving.

Back to the ring and here comes Priest followed by Tama.

Match #4: Damian Priest vs. Tama Tonga

Tama attacks just before the bell, Priest is happy to meet violence with violence though and fights back. Leaping back elbow from Priest drops Tama, Tama fights back with a kick then tries a roll up but Priest responds with a head kick. Priest kicks Tama out of the ring then follows him and runs around the ring but Tama leaps off the steps and intercepts him with a strike to send us to break.

Some more ringside brawling from Tama before they head back into the ring. Priest fights back with some strikes but Tama lands a dropkick to retain control. A few sliding attacks from Tama then corner work. Tama puts Priest up top and climbs up with him, Priest punches him down but can’t get off the top rope. That’s the state of things as we come back with Tama trying a superplex, Priest headbutts him down then slips free and kicks Tama from the apron. Priest then tries a Razor’s Edge, but Tama counters into a Sleeper hold. Priest fights free but Tama with a Dragon Screw and a jumping DDT for a 2 count. Some slap from Tama, Priest fires up and wakes the crowd up a bit with punches then hits a shoulder block. Tornado kick from Priest then a Flatliner. Corner attack from Priest then a Broken Arrow for a 2 count. Priest rallies the crowd but Tama rolls out of the ring to avoid a rebound clothesline. Priest heads out of the ring now and Pounce’s Tama over the announce table. Back in the ring Priest goes up top but loses his balance, Tama hits the ropes after Priest slipped to try and save the spot. Tama with a twisting neckbreaker for a 2 count. Priest with a back body drop, then tries South of Heaven but Tama fights free only to eat the rebound clothesline. South of Heaven connects and we’re done.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Damian Priest won in 9:55

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Decent match, Tama and Priest more or less matched the hard hitting elements of each other. It just felt a little long, something in the middle just dragged, and all the Island Boys stuff just feels played out and boring in general.

Post match Talla arrives to make everything worse. Talla boots down Priest then Solo shows up to continue making things worse. Samoan Spike lands for Solo to Priest.

In the back Sami complains about things to depressed Johnny Gargano. Sami says being great at wrestling used to be what mattered. Candice LeRae comes over and says this isn’t helping Johnny, she wants a better husband and walks off. Sami says Johnny needs to not listen to the noise and remember who he is. You can’t let anyone take that away from you. I normally like Depressed Johnny stuff but I’m not sure Sami is the right foil for him.

After this break, a recap of Jade Cargill’s return from last week when she brought yet another 3 woman heel stable to bear. Not like Fatal Influence and Judgement Day weren’t already filling that niche I guess.

Post break we do get that recap of Jade’s return last week.

Jade and her job squad then head to the ring for promo time. They’re mostly dressed to work, apart from Jade’s comically large platform boots. Jade gets a mic and asks for heat which she doesn’t get. She rambles a bit and says she’s taking the title back in Italy. This is not good at all. She again asks for heat but can’t find any. Charlotte Flair interrupts things followed by Alexa Bliss, they’ll be taking on Michin and B-Fab. Charlotte and Bliss have mics and talk their way to the ring. Charlotte says no one wants to hear Jade talk, Bliss adds that this is Flair country. Last week Jade finally pissed Charlotte off so let’s play. Jade calls them the backup dancers as Rhea Ripley is the main show. Bliss says Jade’s backup dancers can’t even make Jade look good. The faces want to get the match going since everyone is sick of Jade on the mic. Jade calls for the ref and warns she’s bored of Charlotte and Bliss as we head to break. That was not a good promo segment.

Post break a reminder that Blake Monroe is coming soon.

Match #5 – Tag Team Match: Michin and B-Fab w/ Jade Cargill vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss

The bell sounds and Charlotte starts opposite Michin. Mat return from Charlotte, then Michin powders. Eventually Michin gets back in, and gets mat returned again. Michin flips out of a back suplex and lands a chop block to absolute crickets. Some corner work from Michin but Charlotte turns that around and lands a chop. Michin avoids a scoop slam and drags Charlotte backwards. Hurricanrana from Michin then a wheel kick, the crowd is still dead. Charlotte avoids a dropkick and goes for her grounded takeovers. Bliss tags in as does B-Fab. Drop toe hold from Bliss then a striking flurry. Double knees from Bliss then a knee drop but B-Fab avoids the flipping senton and takes over with terrible looking strikes. How B-Fab is the last one standing from Hit Row is absolutely beyond me. Bliss fights out of a corner but leaps into a catch from B-Fab and a sort of swinging Flatliner to send us to break.

Michin tags in and Bliss takes a double suplex. The heels keep control for a bit. Bliss tries to fight out of the corner but Michin slams her down. Bow and Arrow hold from Michin. Some quick tags from the heels as they stomp on Bliss in the corner. Michin grabs a bearhug of all things, but Bliss counters into a Sunset Flip for 2 as we come back then Michin kicks her down. Cheap shot to Charlotte. Bliss fights out of the heel corner then hits a DDT on Michin and both women are down. B-Fab tags in, as doe Charlotte who does the usual crossbody spot. Chops for Michin and B-Fab, the crowd finally woke up a bit at least. Charlotte gets confused about timing and position but lands a clothesline then an Exploder for B-Fab, and one for Michin as well. Jade hops up to distract Charlotte and B-Fab yanks her off the ropes. Michin tags in and climbs up top then hits a missile dropkick. B-Fab back in and Charlotte takes a double pump kick and Bliss has to save things. Michin with a cheap shot, Flair then counters a roll up into the worst Figure 4 I’ve seen in a minute. Charlotte avoids a Michin elbow then clotheslines her out of the ring. Bliss blind tags, B-Fab with a heel kick to Charlotte but Charlotte heads to the apron for her usual spots to set up Bliss hitting Sister Abigail’s DDT to B-Fab but Jade yanks her out of the ring to get things thrown out.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss won via DQ in 11:58

Rating: 1.5 stars
Thoughts: The crowd just did not care about anything that wasn’t Charlotte’s offense. Michin and B-Fab just don’t register to them as being there, Bliss does OK getting reactions but she’s been second fiddle to Charlotte for a bit too long to still feel like a big deal. The mostly dead crowd and 12 minute run time were just too much for this to overcome as a match.

Post match Charlotte disposes of Michin and B-Fab because they’re jobbers while the crowd chant for Rhea who isn’t here. Jade stares down Charlotte again.

In the back Fatal Influence watches TV, Cathy shows up to talk with them. Fallon Henley says they’re at the top of the food chain. Lainey Reid knows the other teams can’t stand each other while Jacy Jayne says they’ll get all the gold. I wonder how many takes that took, Fallon and Reid look very much like they’re reading lines in their head instead of sounding natural.

After this break we’ll get another recap, this time of Jacob Fatu from RAW.

Post break we find Bliss and Charlotte in the back. Charlotte is working hard to be a team player but Ripley isn’t here this week and left them high and dry. Bliss and Charlotte both mention being out numbered, and Charlotte says she doesn’t need help. Bliss reiterates they’re outnumbered and Ripley owes them.

After that we do get that recap of RAW. Man I miss Fatu, the Samoan Werewolf is just awesome.

In the back Keys gets ready and Temu Bloodline Solo is here. Solo says he can help Keys become champion. They can run Smackdown together, and he’d hate to see what happened to Nakamura happen to Keys. Keys says he’s got this. Solo said Fatu said that same thing. I mean Fatu is kicking ass while Solo is stuck in midcard purgatory so I’m not sure that line lands like Solo wanted it to.

Gunther heads to the ring for our main event, that’ll be up after this break.

Next week Nakamura will job to Talla because we’re obsessed with making that big stiff goof into a thing I guess. On SNME we’ll get Penta vs. Ethan Page and the Street Profits vs. Logan Paul and Austin Theory for the tag team belts. Just added to SNME will be Jade and company vs. Bliss, Charlotte, and Ripley. OK then.

Back to the ring here comes Keys.

Match #6: Royce Keys vs. Gunther

They tie up, Gunther has the leverage but Keys has the power, we wind up with Gunther pie facing Keys so Keys elbows him down and Gunther immediately powders. Gunther takes his time getting back into the ring, then heads back out to salt some more as they’ve got plenty of time. Side headlock from Gunther once he gets back in the ring but he can’t knock Keys over. Chop from Gunther then another side headlock. Again Gunther can’t knock Keys over, they trade shoulder blocks until Keys finally knocks Gunther down. Gunther with a chop but Keys doesn’t go down. Keys catches a chop and starts unloading elbows and punches in the corner. Gunther with a boot but then runs into a running powerslam from Keys for a 2 count. Again Gunther powders after that sequence. Keys heads out with Gunter and rams him into the barricade. Again Gunther gets sent into the barricade. Gunther gets launched over the announce table to send us to break.

Keys keeps up the pressure on the floor but Gunther turns around an Irish whip and sends Keys into the ring steps to take over. Gunther will take a count out win but Keys gets back in before the 10 count. Now Gunther starts going for the arm of Keys. Further Nelson from Gunther, Keys looks to fight out but Gunther uses a double wrist lock to stall him out then uppercuts the bad arm. Gunther tries some wrist control clotheslines as we come back, but Keys wont go down and Keys then levels Gunther with a clothesline. Chop from Gunther drops Keys. They fight over a suplex and Keys gets the better of things and hits the suplex. Keys with punches but Gunther with a few running knees to the body then a downward chop for a 2 count. Gunther tosses Keys out of the ring then heads to the apron, Keys catches a boot then grabs Gunther for a World’s Strongest Slam onto the announce table, he does that several times before tossing him back into the ring. Keys hits the ropes but runs into a boot. Keys avoids a corner boot and Gunther is tied up for a corner avalanche from Keys. Lariat from Gunther out of the corner then he heads up top but Keys is up with him, and hits a superplex. That gets Keys a 2 count. Now Keys with some clotheslines that don’t quite drop Gunther, he goes front and back but Guther dodges one and grabs a Sleeper hold. Things fall to the mat, Gunther keeps the choke locked in as Keys fades. Solo shows up to make things worse, he tries to rally Keys, Keys fights upright then counters a powerbomb. They trade clotheslines but neither goes down, Keys ducks a clothesline and hits a leaping clothesline. Again the front and back clotheslines from Keys to finally drop Gunther for a near fall. Corner avalanches from Keys then Gunther avoids a powerslam with another Sleeper. Solo calls for the crowd to rally, I’m not sure that’s helping. Keys fights upright and elbows his way free but Gunther chops him. Pounce from Keys and the ref gets bumped because that’s required from a Solo appearance. Solo sends Keys a chair, Keys picks up the chair then launches it into Solo’s face. That does let Gunther hit a sick lariat then a folding powerbomb to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Gunther won in 15:53

Rating: 3.5 stars
Thoughts: Solo and the ref bump nearly dropped this enough to avoid 3.5 stars but Gunther can do almost no wrong in the ring. Keys more than held his own and looked like he belonged with one of the more established main event guys they’ve got. They made the most of nearly 16 minutes. Kind of a shame Keys will be stuck in Temu Island Boys purgatory for a few months now because this should be an establishing performance.

Post match Gunther yells at the camera, so Cody shows up from behind to spike him with a Cross Rhodes and welcome him to Smackdown as the episode ends.