Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 8.02.24

We’ve arrived at the go home episode of WWE Smackdown with SummerSlam happening tomorrow. To that end we’ve got some stuff to get through tonight, two tag team title matches in particular are on the card. Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair try to regain the belts from the Unholy Union of Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, then the new Bloodline wants a first taste of gold with Tama Tonga and the star of the new group Jacob Fatu taking on DIY of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. DIY won the belts just a few weeks back, so we’ll see if they’re going to be relegated to transitional status or not. Sticking with Bloodline adjacent stuff Solo Sikoa will go face to face with WWE champion Cody Rhodes, Cody’s allies of Randy Orton and Kevin Owens have been taken out over the last few weeks so if anyone’s going to stage a surprise return it might happen during that segment. Logan Paul will be on hand to hype up his match with LA Knight tomorrow, Nia Jax and Bayley will probably interact somehow, we are getting another match between Andrade and Carmelo Hayes, and there’s an open question if AJ Styles or Shinsuke Nakamura will show up or just wait until after SummerSlam to return to action. Smackdown has been in a bit of a rut the last few weeks, let’s see if they can buck that trend tonight.

We see Logan Paul arrive in a garish truck.

Commentary runs down our two title matches, then Cody Rhodes heads to the ring. Cody gets a mic and wants to know what we want to talk about. Maybe better, who do we want to talk to? Naturally he brings up Solo Sikoa, and Solo then heads to the ring. The Temu Tribal Chief is alone at the moment. Loud “We want Roman” chant as Solo gets into the ring. Solo asks Cleveland to acknowledge him, and I’m left to ponder how useful reflected heat actually is. Cody says he can see that Solo is a little brother, like Cody is, and he can see everything Solo’s had to do to try and get here. But once the “cinema” is over there’s still the old expression in wrestling, the bell is going to ring. And when it rings Solo is going to find out- Solo interrupts and accuses Cody of wasting his time. Well Cody isn’t done, Solo is self appointed while Cody is the real undisputed WWE champion, the man sitting on the throne in gratitude to everyone who made this all possible. Men like Randy Orton, or Kevin Owens, and if Cody loses he’ll never be able to repay them, and he’ll pay them back with blood. Cody brings up beating Roman again, and Solo claims Roman was weak at that point while Solo is not weak. In fact he’s dangerous and tomorrow he’ll show Cody just how dangerous he is. The crowd starts giving Solo the “what” treatment as Solo asks Cody for a stipulation, he wants Bloodline Rules tomorrow as Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga begin circling the ring. Oh, Tonga Loa is here too for whatever reason. Cody knows what Solo is all about, and he addresses the other Bloodline members. He’s not scared of Tonga Loa, he and Tama have history and he’s not afraid of him. And he’s not scared of Jacob Fatu either, you dumb son of a bitch. Cody says if Solo wants Bloodline Rules, well it might not be smart but Cody accepts those terms. Solo says that means he can get everyone in here to attack Cody right now, but he wont. The tag team titles are more important tonight, and tomorrow the WWE title returns to the Bloodline. Cody gets it, they all hate Cody Rhodes, but Cody doesn’t have to fight the whole family, all he has to do is beat the Tribal Chief. And since the Tribal Chief’s not here he’ll settle for the wannabe. No physical violence and the Bloodline head out with Solo. Nice enough promo, but Cody’s becoming a tad formulaic and Solo isn’t that guy on the mic.

Carmelo Hayes hype video.

To the ring here comes Andrade for our first match, which will be up after this break.

Post break here comes Carmelo Hayes.

Match #1: Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes

Some early shoving from both men, Andrade grabs a side headlock but Hayes switches into one of his own. Andrade lands a chop but Hayes returns it and we’ve got some brawling now. They hit the ropes and Hayes lands a dropkick but Andrade replies with one of his own. They fight over a suplex spot ultimately Hayes counters into a Small Package for 2. They trade a few roll ups, then Hayes avoids The Message and takes a powder as we get another break.

We come back to Hayes throwing Andrade into the ring steps. They head back into the ring with Hayes still in control. Hayes tries to start working the arm, his limb work leaves a fair bit to be desired, and Andrade rights up to his feet and lands punches. Dragon Screw from Andrade then a flying forearm and he kips up similar to Shawn Michaels. Hayes avoids a double knees in the corner though, then he misses Nothing But Net and has to trip up Andrade on the top rope then hit a needlessly convoluted suplex spot. Hayes up top, but Andrade chops him up there. They start fighting on the ropes, Andrade wants a superplex and hits it. That sends us back to break, oddly timed out segments for this match.

They’re trading strikes as we come back, Andrade seems to have an edge in the striking area though. Andrade sends Hayes out of the ring then climbs the ropes for a moonsault to the floor, well done. Back in the ring Andrade tries a double knee strike in the corner but Hayes intercepts with La Mistica facebuster for a 2 count. Hayes wants the double knee strike in the corner, he misses but avoids an elbow from Andrade only to then run into the spinning back elbow from Andrade for a 2 count. Andrade up top, lands on his feet then hits the standing moonsault for a near fall. Hayes tries a Code Breaker but Andrade counters into a Figure 4. It takes a second or two but Hayes pulls himself to the ropes to break the hold. Superkick from Hayes, then another one because why sell leg work. Hayes up top, misses Nothing But Net and they trade roll ups with Andrade getting one for the 3 count.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Andrade won in 16:05

Rating: 3.5 stars
Thoughts: These two are pretty darn good together and this was another example of that. The commercial breaks hurt the flow here but it’s pretty clear these two could hit 4 star territory without too much difficulty given time interruptions.

At gorilla Santos Escobar rallies Legado del Fantasma, they fell short last week but their potential is much higher. Tonight Escobar begins turning things around by taking care of Apollo Crews right now. They all head to the ring and we head to break.

Post break we see Apollo Crews in the ring.

Match #2: Santos Escobar w/ Elektra Lopez, Angel, and Berto vs. Apollo Crews w/ Baron Corbin

Quick kick from Escobar and he starts attacking in the corner. Knees from Escobar then a few shots to the lower back. Escobar with a shoulder block to the back then a kick to the face and a hilo from the apron to the ring for a 1 count. Apollo with punches but Escobar rakes the eyes then trips him down and drops an elbow on the back. Again Apollo tries to fight back but runs into a tilt a whirl backbreaker for a 2 count. Belly to belly throw from Apollo and he starts his comeback. A few clotheslines from Apollo then a pump kick and a jumping clothesline. Angel on the apron, Corbin then punches his lights out. Apollo with a military press then drops Escobar and hits a standing moonsault after knocking Berto off the apron. Next Apollo goes up top, but someone grabs Corbin from under the ring and that distraction allows Escobar to grab the Phantom Driver and win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Santos Escobar won in 3:32

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Mostly acceptable if truncated match.

No reveal of who grabbed Corbin.

In the back Byron talks with Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, they’re very confident and remind us that Fyre and Dawn didn’t pin them to win those belts. They’re going to step on Fyre and Dawn then walk out with the belts.

We head to break, after which Logan Paul will get some kind of homecoming celebration.

Post break Nick Aldis brings out Cleveland’s own Logan Paul. The crowd does not like Logan at all. Logan has the US title and gets a mic, and plays with the crowd. He gets to business and says LA Knight is the most eager man he’s been around to take off his belt, given some recent revelations about his Youtube scene I find that hard to believe. Well he’s not losing this belt in his hometown. He inspires the great city of Cleveland, represents it, and he is Cleveland. Next he plays with the crowd for a bit, then tries to run down Knight as well with mixed results. Logan brings up only having 2 title defenses in over 200 days but that’s 2 more than Knight will ever have. Honestly he can’t relate to Cleveland, he’s great and made it. Today we’re recognizing his greatness. Nick Aldis questions the legitimacy of the “dignitaries” that Logan brought with him. Logan ignores that more or less, then unveils a banner that will hang from this arena and remind everyone that Logan is Cleveland’s finest. The falling banner of course has a “Yeah” scrawled across it. Knight then does make his entrance, but he hangs out on the entrance stage at first and wants to talk to us. He plays with the crowd for a bit, then tells Logan to get serious. In 24 hours Logan loses that US title, and considering last week he’s lucky that’s all that’s going to happen to him. Knight brings up that Logan isn’t from Cleveland, he’s from a suburb. While Logan can pretend to be from here Knight will do him a solid tonight, with tomorrow being the worst night of his life he’s got something new for Logan. Knight has another banner to display, he heads to the back and begins looking for something real ugly. He finds Pretty Deadly and asks if they have a banner, they don’t but offer a sneak peek at their musical and Knight just walks off. Knight is still looking around, he’s got something and finds Logan’s Prime truck. How about this ugly thing. Logan starts running towards the back, Knight says Logan’s head is so empty they’re going to open a Spirit Halloween in there soon, then counts down Logan’s appearance and drives off just before Logan could do anything to him. That segment stuck around a little too long, or took a bit too long to get going.

We get a video recap centered around the Unholy Union of Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn. The champs then head to the ring as we head to break.

Post break Logan Paul demands Nick Aldis fix this, Aldis promises to take this up with Logan’s dignitaries.

Back to the ring here come Jade and Belair.

Match #3 – Women’s Tag Team Title Match: (c) Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) vs. Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair

25 minutes or so as we start, the champions try a cheap shot but eat stereo fall away slams. Jade and Dawn start us off, but Jade shoulder blocks her down. Corner splash from Jade then a backbreaker. Dawn fights back but gets clubbed and then Belair tags in. Belair stomps away at Dawn, Fyre breaks up a suplex and we fight over a double suplex spot with Jade and Belair getting the better of things. Double military presses and the challengers stand tall as we head to break.

We come back to Fyre and Dawn working over Jade. Fyre tries to prevent a tag, she can’t but Dawn pulls Belair off of the apron. Some body kicks from Fyre then she tags in Dawn. Backstabber then Fyre with a Swanton Bomb onto Jade but that only gets a 2 count. Fyre tags back in but Jade blocks a double suplex and hits a double suplex of her own then tags in Belair. Belair gets to run wild with a double cross body then strikes to both women. Suplex from Belair to Fyre then a corner spear to Dawn and a 10 punch, that’s interrupted by Fyre but Belair stacks them up and unloads on both of them with a 10 punch. Fyre slips free and pulls Belair down by the hair but Belair slings her into Dawn in the corner then hits a spinebuster and handspring moonsault but Dawn breaks up the pin. Jade grabs Dawn and they brawl on the floor, Jade hits a superkick. Belair with a right hand but here’s Blair Davenport to attack Jade and cause the DQ.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill won via disqualification in 7:53

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Fine enough match, the ending was a little odd but if they’re going to try and do something with Blair this is an OK enough route to go.

Post match we get a bit of a brawl but the numbers are against Jade and Belair and the heels ultimately stand tall.

We head to break after that.

Post break we get commentary running down the SummerSlam card.

We get a Nia Jax video package.

In the back Nia Jax has a new MITB briefcase for Tiffany Stratton, and she reminds Tiffany not to cash in on her. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven come over, Green makes fun of the new briefcase and then complains about Tiffany costing her that briefcase. Tiffany says Green is not her color and wanders off. OK then.

To the ring here comes Jacob Fatu with Tama Tonga in tow. The whole Bloodline actually is here and head to the ring as we head to break.

In the back Tommaso Ciampa walks and introduces himself as well as Johnny Gargano, Johnny has his wife and kid with him. Johnny runs down his history in Cleveland, 28 years after his first show as a fan in this building he’s back as half of the tag team champions. The new Bloodline talks family, but they’re in Cleveland, Johnny’s city, with his people and tonight the Bloodline is outnumbered. DIY head to the ring.

Match #4 – WWE Tag Team Title Match: (c) DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs. Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga w/ Solo Sikoa and Tonga Loa

Ciampa and Tama start us off, Tama with a flurry of strikes to take control right away. Ciampa fights back with strikes of his own then hits the ropes but runs into a knee strike. Tama with a suplex then he posts Ciampa. Ciampa falls to the floor but Johnny makes sure there’s no cheap shots as we head to break.

Fatu misses a corner splash as we come back and he’s down with Ciampa. Ciampa and Fatu both tag out and Johnny begins working over Tama, he kicks Fatu as well for good measure. Fatu gets low bridged, then Johnny lands a gamen giri and a slingshot Spear to Tama for a 2 count. Ciampa tags back in and they double team Tama, Johnny then dives onto Fatu on the floor while Ciampa hits an avalanche Air Raid Crash for only a near fall. Some chops from Ciampa but Tama fights back only to eat a kick but Fat with a the blind tag and he wipes out Ciampa with a running elbow. Fatu with a hip attack then he tags Tama back in. Tama with a Splash but Johnny breaks up the pin. Fatu with a cross chop to Johnny then they head out of the ring. Some headbutts from Fatu put Johnny against the ring steps but Johnny avoids a hip attack against the steps and Fatu crashes and burns. Ciampa with a roll up on Tama then Johnny with a blind tag. Shatter Machine to Tama, DIY set for Meet Me In The Middle but Loa distracts the ref so Solo hits Ciampa with a Samoan Spike. Tama with a Whirling Dervish to Johnny but again only a near fall. Fatu tags in and they stomp on Johnny for a bit. Johnny tries to make his own save with superkicks to everyone including Loa, he dives onto Tama then hits a sick Poisoned Rana on Fatu but Fatu just fires up! Fatu with a superkick, pop up Samoan Drop, then double jump moonsault connect. Implant DDT from Fatu does it and we’ve got new champions.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga won the titles in 9:14

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Pity this wasn’t longer but it’s not surprising these teams had a good match. Fatu is rapidly outshining everyone else in the Bloodline 2.0 and it’s not especially close.

Solo holds the tag team belts as the Bloodline pose and the episode ends.

7.6

The final score: review Good

The 411

Pretty solid go home show this week, good enough opening segment, and a couple of good matches to boot. It was hurt by a bit of the early pacing, and the middle of the show was kind of a dead zone but a title change at the end and the new Bloodline standing tall brought things back around. Good and trending upwards, one of the better Smackdown offerings in the last few weeks, which is odd for a go home show but that's where we are.