wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 10.09.26
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Alright people, time for WWE Smackdown. This is the go home show for Money In The Bank so expect the usual hard sell job. To that end everyone involved in those ladder matches will be here tonight. For the men that’s Penta, Je’Von Evans, Bron Breakker, Kevin Owens, CM Punk, and Trick Williams. On the women’s side of things is Lash Legend, Lola Vice, Sol Ruca, Roxanne Perez, Tiffany Stratton, and Jacy Jayne. Both solid fields, though expect separate revolving door promo segments to just kill the pacing. We’ve got women’s tag team title action as Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid defend against Charlotte Flair and Tatum Paxley, you know this is the first calendar year that Charlotte has been active and never held gold? Well let’s see if the odd couple of Charlotte and Paxley can end that drought before it hits a full year in November. Blake Monroe defeated Giulia last week after Giulia took a bad fall off the turnbuckles, so we’ll see if Blake has another match soon or if she’s waiting another six months. MFT and Bakusai have been chirping in digital exclusives for weeks, because WWE doesn’t care about the tag team division. Gunther laid out Finn Balor and WWE champion Sami Zayn last week, expect responses from those men and the presumptive triple threat to get made at some point. Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton are still looking to blow off their feud, Randy cost Cody his MITB spot last week so expect more violence between those two. Still no sign of Carmelo Hayes and Jordynne Grace, Drew McIntyre is now in the MIA conversation too. But MITB is generally a fun enough event, hopefully tonight reminds us of that and shows off the potential this year has.
Michael Cole and Corey Graves welcome us to Lafayette, Louisiana for the episode.
We see wrestlers arriving at the venue, per usual.
Nick Aldis is in the back and talks with Adam Pearce. The two GMs bicker a bit about brand supremacy then here’s Trick Williams and Lil Yachty. Trick wants to talk about winning MITB, Bron Breakker shows up as well. Bron isn’t happy about being here, Trick whines at him and Bron offers a fight. Pearce likes that idea, Aldis is amenable and that’ll be our main event.
To the ring, here’s CM Punk. The ladders are set up in the ring along with the hanging briefcases so it’s promo time. Commentary brings up that Punk won back to back MITB ladder matches many years ago, now he could be the first three time briefcase holder. Punk gets a mic and plays with the crowd a bit then reminds us about MITB, you know in case you forgot. At this stage of his career Punk being in that kind of physical match is a bit of a question mark, he climbs the ladder while talking about his history with MITB. He might be 47 and crazy but why not him in this match? This is a chance to make history, and that’s what Punk is all about. The match wont be a cakewalk and he puts over his opponents as tougher than the current champion. He goes through them one by one so we can hear the pops for each guy, the crowd like Je’Von Evans and Penta of course. Trick gets a more sedated response because we already saw him, Bron gets barked for. Kevin Owens gets a decent pop, and his name brings out Owens with his music. Punk doesn’t sweat Owens and talks over Owens’ music by mentioning beating Owens in Toronto in front of Owens’ mom. Owens has a mic and talks to the ring, and Phil thank you for the introduction. You can downplay Owens now as much as you want, but you can’t do that tomorrow. The contract is the priority for Owens, but almost as important is making sure Punk doesn’t win. Because no one needs to see Punk as WWE champion ever again. As long as Punk loses Owens will consider it a win. Punk says that’s just Owens’s built in excuse. We all know Owens wont win, and now he’s building his excuses. Punk believes in himself while Owens doesn’t believe in himself. Owens calls him a delusional prick then climbs an opposing ladder so they can be eye to eye. Somewhat comically they take turns stepping just a little higher. Owens sees a man who’s not taking the briefcase, and he’s going to make sure Punk doesn’t walk out of MITB at all. Owens will win, then beat that bitch Sami Zayn for the title. That brings out WWE champion Sami Zayn, Punk and Owens keep bickering over his music. The human stain that is Sami Zayn sloughs his way to the ring then climbs the third ladder in the ring, which is significantly shorter. Owens brings up his diminutive stature. Sami asks for heat, which is doesn’t really get. He says this is disappointing, even as champion he’s on the short ladder while Owens and Punk are placed above him. Punk reminds us that it’s not the size that matters, it’s how you use it. Sami brings up that everyone from last week had the same thought, that winning the briefcase means you’re WWE champion already. Punk and Owens should know better, they both know Sami is a survivor. He found a way to beat Punk, Punk points at Owens being the reason, Sami retained against Owens and Owens points to Punk as the reason. Sami is the smart one here, Punk and Owens are exactly alike and knows they both hate it. But at least Owens is honest about hating Punk while Punk tries to pretend he’s above it all. Sami warns that neither of them will get the briefcase, neither of them are in the wrong headspace and will walk away empty handed and Sami will still be WWE champion. Better than last weeks promo, in no small part because it was about 5 minutes shorter and Punk and Owens work better in this situation than Penta, Trick, or Evans did. That sends us to break.
We come back to the three women from Smackdown in MITB tomorrow in the ring, they’ll take on the RAW women in six woman action.
Match #1 – Trios Match: Jacy Jayne, Tiffany Stratton, and Lash Legend vs. Roxanne Perez, Sol Ruca, and Lola Vice
Ruca and Jayne start us off, Jayne grabs a side headlock then hits a shoulder block. Ruca hits the ropes and hits an X-Factor but Perez blind tagged and covers for 2. Perez gets slammed by Jayne then Lash tags in. Perez with a slap to Lash, that amuses Lash but Lash misses a pump kick then Perez tries to tag out but Vice and Ruca leave her hanging. Some running from Perez then she runs into a right hand from Lash. Vice winds up tagging in and ducks a punch from Lash, they seem to mistime some things then Vice unloads body blows on Lash and hits a tornado back kick to the body. Lash powders, Vice then hits a diving hurricanrana, Ruca misses a moonsault but everyone sells anyway. That sets up several dives, punctuated by Runa with an Orihara moonsault to the pile of bodies to send us to break.
Back in the ring Vice stomps at Lash then tags Ruca so Vice and Ruca can double team Lash for a bit. Jayne tries up Ruca then hits a punt kick from the apron. Elbow from Lash to keep control. Jayne tags in and Ruca gets isolated in the Smackdown corner. Senton from Jayne. Tiffany tags in now, she and Jayne bicker a bit before Tiffany ties up Ruca in the ropes for a hip attack. Lash tags back in and kicks away at Ruca. Running splash from Lash gets 2. Ruca with a roll up for 2, Jayne tags back in and resumes attacking the ribs of Ruca. Jayne with a chin lock as we rejoin the broadcast. Crosschop from Jayne in the corner, then she hits a cheap shot kick to Vice. Ruca avoids a cannonball senton and crawls to Perez but Perez hops down to leave her hanging. Neckbreaker from Jayne gets a 2 count. Ruca fights out of the heel corner, the flips out of a back suplex and tags in Vice. Vice unloads with kicks for everyone. Sort of a wheel kick to drop Lash, didn’t land but Lash sold anyway. Hip attacks form Vice to Lash and Jayne but Perez tags in as does Tiffany. Tiffany knocks Perez into Vice, then hits a handspring Stunner, Finlay Roll, but Lash tags in to break up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Lash tosses Perez around, but Perez hits a gamen giri then Ruca tags in for a springboard dropkick. Lash catches a leaping Ruca but Ruca follows up with a sort of DDT. Time for Everyone to Get Their Stuff In. Ultimately Ruca with a Soul Snatcher to Vice on accident, Lash hits Ruca with the Lash Extension to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Lash Legend, Jacy Jayne, and Tiffany Stratton won in 11:14
Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: This was getting cooking at times but also felt disjointed and a little sloppy at others. Hopefully things tighten up for tomorrow because if they’re this loose with all the hardware things could get ugly, but the group also showed bits of how they can play off each other in good ways too.
Post match Lash also takes out Jayne and Tiffany to stand tall.
In the back Cathy talks with WWE women’s champion Chelsea Green. Green wants to stay positive today and is manifesting a Tiffany win. Nikki Bella comes over to do her usual whining. Green knows Nikki is jealous of her and mocks her age. Nikki calls Green a failure and bootleg version of herself. Before anything comes of that we hear fighting and in the back Jade Cargill and her goofy goons are attacking Charlotte Flair. I was really hoping we were done with this interaction but I guess not. Anyway Charlotte is down and in pain as we head to break.
Post break Aldis talks with Charlotte about being injured, he’s booted Jade and company from the building. Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley are here as well, and Charlotte tells Bliss to take her spot so Jade doesn’t ruin things. Aldis has also banned everyone from ringside. Paxley and Bliss check on Charlotte a little more.
To the ring, here’s My Flatulent Tongans to make things less interesting. It remains a tragedy what’s happened to the Smackdown tag team scene over the last two years or so, it used to be a highlight of the brand and now it’s just this. The War Raiders follow.
Match #2 – Tag Team Match: MFT (Tama and Talla Tonga) w/ Haku vs. War Raiders (Erik and Ivar)
Erik and Talla start, Erik with some body blows then he runs into a clothesline. Man the crowd just do not care. Tama tags in and goes after Erik, Talla tags back in, but Ivar tags in as well and all four men brawl to crickets. They all brawl to the floor then Ivar with cannonball senton from the apron to the pile to send us to break.
Tama and Talla isolate and beat down Erik for a while. Corner splashes from Tama and Talla then a side slam from Talla leads to a 2 count from Tama. Erik fights back with a right hand as we rejoin the broadcast with both men now down. Both men pull themselves up and trade some punches, then Ivar tags in and runs over Tama. Side slam from Ivar then a low crossbody. Ivar might be waking the crowd up a bit and he wipes out Tama with a wheel kick. Talla blocks Ivar going up top, Ivar fights him off but Tama recovers and crotches Ivar. Tama with a hanging neckbreaker for a 2 count. Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki head down to ringside, that lets Ivar hit a seated senton and tag out. Erik knees Talla then unloads punches on Tama until Tama catches him with a Flatliner. Tama with a dropkick to Ivar. Kyoki distracts Tama and he gets caught with a Viking Experience but Tama then rolls to the apron so Haku can knock Erik in the throat with his stick. Talla then clotheslines Ivar. Erik takes the Brothers Keeper, apparently they finally just renamed their high low version that.
OFFICIAL RESULT: MFT won in 7:55
Rating: 1.5 stars
Thoughts: A heatless affair, the tag division on Smackdown is somewhere between an afterthought and a joke right now so that’s to be expected though. These two teams should have had a bit of a hoss fight but the intensity never dialed up, and the obvious outcome didn’t help matters.
Post match Nakamura and Kyoki attack to get the Tongans to retreat. Ivar then attacks Koyki, so Kyoki hits his reverse Stunner leading to Nakamura laying out Ivar with a Kinshasa.
In the back Danhausen looks for evil around Pearce and Aldis, then Finn Balor shows up. Balor wants to fight Gunther tonight, but Danhausen detects evil in Balor. Gunther has requested a match tonight with Danhausen. Balor is annoyed, but Danhausen has been annoying Gunther so it makes sense. Danhausen is depressed and heads out as we head to break.
Post break we get a recap of the main event from last week when Randy Orton cost Cody Rhodes a spot in the MITB ladder match.
Earlier today Miz and Kit Wilson whined at Nick Aldis about life, the universe, and everything until Aldis walks away. Aldis finds Randy and says he crossed a line last week. Randy says he’ll just head back home now, but he’s not the problem as Cody’s the problem. Last week Randy just kept his word, and warns Aldis to deal with Cody. Randy will see Aldis in Sacramento.
Back to the ring here’s Miz and Kit with mics. Miz says he’s put 20 years into WWE and he deserved a birthday party. Kit calls the fans toxic, which isn’t nearly as over as it used to be. Kit tries to get the crowd to sing to Miz but Cody Rhodes interrupts things. Cody is in his athletic gear so expect some physicality. Miz demands the music be cut and resumes whining as the fans would sing for Cody but not for Miz. Cody stalks to the ring, ejects Kit then kills Miz with a Cross Rhodes. Cody grabs a mic and has things he wants to talk about. Aldis comes out with his own mic and says he was trying to avoid this, and he sent Randy home. He knows Cody and Randy want to kill each other, but if that happens anywhere other than in a match it doesn’t do anything for Aldis or the fans. This is about business, and his job is getting matches to the ring. He knows Cody and Randy aren’t done with each other, but come talk with Aldis about how they can make it happen. Cody doesn’t need to handle this in Aldis’ office, let’s stay in Cody’s office. He beat Randy at Mania, then Randy Punted him. In the aftermath of that his daughter saw Cody’s face and cried. Well Cody felt his daughter’s fear after that and now Cody is taking that fear to everything until he ends the Legend Killer. Randy is standing because Cody felt mercy, and Cody would still be champion if not for Randy skulking in the shadows. Cody wants Randy face to face again. He’s not above flying to St. Louis and doing it himself. This isn’t about which road Cody walks, or who owns his moral compass, this is about what he’s going to do to that over the hill, Michael Myers walking, tramp stamp wearing, fragile bitch. I still like Cody’s fire in these spots but if he doesn’t actually pull the trigger when it matters it’s going to all be for naught.
Commentary run down the MITB card.
In the back Cathy talks with newly heeled Damian Priest. Priest again yells about wasting time with R-Truth. He explained why he made that change and anyone too stubborn to understand that isn’t worth his time. Nathan Frazer and Axiom are nearby and Priest comes over to bully them. Frazer and Axiom tell him he should apologize, Priest just warns they wont like what happens next. The Priest jumps them and tosses both men around the back for a while. Truth then attacks Priest and we get a brief brawl between them before officials pull them apart.
Back to the ring here comes Danhausen for his match with Gunther, which will be up after this break.
We come back to Danhausen being nervous in the ring and here comes Gunther. Gunther boots Danhausen then powerbombs him. No bell yet and Gunther chops down Danhausen a couple of times. Another release powerbomb to Danhausen. Gunther corners Danhausen, hangs him across the top and chops the lungs out of him a few times. Balor’s music hits and he runs down to fight and double legs Gunther then lands punches. Balor avoids a powerbomb and stomps at Gunther. Chops and kicks from Balor, then an Eye of the Hurricane. Gunther powders, Balor chases him and hits a Sling Blade on the floor. Gunther runs through the crowd to escape the fury of Balor. Balor gets into the ring with Danhausen, Gunther runs back down though and yanks Balor out of the ring then rams him into the barricade. Balor avoids a powerbomb on the floor and stomps Gunther from the apron, then Gunther snaps him down onto the apron and rams him into the ring post. Back suplex into the barricade, Gunther’s on a rampage, release back suplex onto the apron then a powerbomb onto the announce desk which does not break. Gunther walks back up the ramp with his carnage having been accomplished.
In the back Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae complain about their losses. Sami wanders in, preceded by his odor, and complains about Punk and Owens. Johnny and Candice call some BS about Sami not helping them last week but Sami misdirects. Candice seems less convinced by Sami’s sales pitch than Johnny is. Bron wanders over to quiet talk at Sami, warning that he’ll see him soon.
Fatal Influence head to the ring and we head to break.
We come back to Bliss and Paxley in the ring.
Match #3 – Women’s Tag Team Title Match: (c) Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid) vs. Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley
37 minutes between matches. Reid and Bliss start, things break down a bit but Bliss fights off Reid only for Henley to take her down. Bliss tags out, Paxley with some elbows to Henley then a dropkick for Reid. German suplex to Henley, then Reid tags in but Paxley fights Henley until Reid lands a superkick to send us to break again. Some really odd layout choices, I wonder who ran long.
We come back to Henley kicking away at Paxley. Reid tags in but Paxley uppercuts Henley out of the ring then avoid an elbow from Reid. Bliss gets the hot tag and unloads on Reid. Walk over Blockbuster from Bliss gets a 2 count. Reid tags out and Henley breaks up a Bliss finisher. Flapjack to Bliss then Reid with a follow up knee and Paxley has to break up the pin. Reid knocks Paxley to the floor again, Bliss then sets Reid up for a kick from Paxley. Thrust kick to Henley, Paxley tags in and misses a 450 Splash, but leaps over a charging Henley. Henley with knees in the corner, tries a dirty O’Connor Roll but the ref sees it and then Bliss kills Reid with Sister Abigail on the floor. Paxley with Cemetery Drive to Henley to get the win and the belts.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley won the titles in 8:15
Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: The commercial break, which even played on Netflix, gutted this completely. The women’s tag belts still don’t have a ton of prestige, Fatal Influence weren’t booked to do much with them so we’ll see if that changes for Bliss and Paxley. The inevitable Charlotte betrayal is looming at this point too, but that should lead to good drama.
In the back Trick walks with his diminutive watercraft and we head to break.
We come back to news about next week. We’ll get Cody and Randy face to face, Paige vs. Nikki Bella again, also Priest vs. Truth. Not a terrible line up at all.
Bron heads to the ring followed by Trick and his chant.
Match #4: Trick Williams w/ Lil Yachty vs. Bron Breakker
Immediate lock up, Trick corners Bron then lands a right hand. Bron hits the ropes but runs into a dropkick. Both men fight to the floor, but Bron rams Trick into the announce table a few times then hops the apron and then leaps at Trick to send them both over the table as we head picture in picture.
Bron sends Trick back into the ring then corners him with shoulder strikes. Trick is set up top, Bron climbs up with him but Trick shoves him down then hits a leaping clothesline. German suplex from Bron gets a 2 count. Bron turns orange as he trash talks Trick then slams him down. Chin lock from Bron, Trick fights back as we rejoin the broadcast. Trick with some rights, but Bron lands a German suplex to cut him off. Bron lines up a Spear, Trick counters with a kick, then lands a clothesline as both men just sprinted at each other. They trade punches as they stand then Trick fires up with side kicks and a Flapjack. Backhand from Trick then some corner stomps. Bron runs into a tornado kick, then counters a Trick Shot with an F5 style gutbuster for a 2 count. Some more yelling from Bron then he takes down the straps, hits the ropes but just runs into a Trick Shot. Austin Theory shows up to make everything worse and get the match thrown out.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Trick Williams won via disqualification in 6:48
Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Hard to get a real read on it, these two have done better work than this together. This was just meant to be a bit of a primer for tomorrow, and the general physicality these two are comfortable with could play well into that. The finish was a big letdown of course, but you had to know it was coming.
Logan Paul punches down Yachty, and now it’s time for everyone to run down and get their stuff in. Penta runs down next with kicks for everyone, then a dive onto Bron and Theory but Bronson Reed runs him over. The crowd want Oba Femi, Bron Spears down Trick and Reed follows with a Tsunami. The Vision is standing tall as the episode ends.
