Friday Night SmackDown aired this week from inside the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, two days away from Sunday Night’s Main Event in Atlanta, Georgia.
Our first female sighting was in the form of Candice LeRae, who has not appeared on SmackDown in almost a month. When WWE Champion CM Punk was backstage talking to Nick Aldis, he turned his attention to Johnny Gargano, who is lying on a box like always with Candice. Punk gave Gargano a pep talk, but LeRae was unconvinced.
Punk, however, believes that “Johnny Wrestling”, born and raised in Cleveland, lurks within him somewhere and offers him a WWE Championship match. Punk seemingly has his answer as Gargano remains motionless, but The Poison Pixie is surprised and excited to know that her husband actually got up from the box and accepted the offer.
The first match of the night was underway as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid of Fatal Influence, made their entrance with Women’s United States Champion Jacy Jayne by their side.
We cut to Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss in Gorilla position, with Flair wondering why Bliss was not in her ring gear as she reminded Blisster that if they win their match, they will earn a shot at the Women’s Tag Team Championship. Bliss briefly mentions a change of plans before Tatum Paxley walks in, revealing that she will be teaming with Charlotte tonight instead of Alexa. Charlotte is surprised, but Bliss justifies the decision considering that she proved herself by winning against Michin last week. The two are still warming up to each other, and what better way to bond than to tag together?
Tatum gets excited at the idea of her and Charlotte tagging each other in. While Charlotte still tries to protest, Alexa thought she would be a bit more understanding considering the championship implications of the match. The Queen simply tells Tatum to take notes and do what she says, and to not disappoint.
The match began with the heels taking control of Tatum, but upon returning from commercials, Charlotte was tagged in and brought the fight to both Lainey and Fallon. Tagging in Tatum, who hit a crossbody to both women onto the floor, she was nearly distracted by Jayne before Bliss fought the champion off. A kick from Flair to Reid helped Paxley execute the Cemetery Drive for the win.
As a replay of the moment aired, the show cut back to The Baddies (Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab) attacking the babyface trio in the ring, with Fatal Influence joining in. Soon leaving the ring, The Baddies continued their assault, topping it off by hitting Charlotte with Jaded.
After a recap of Nikki Bella’s post-match sneak attack on Paige last week, The Fearless One is interviewed by Cathy Kelley, who wonders what her response is to people who said she took it too far. Nikki says that she took her trust in Paige too far, claiming that she failed the Bella brand and called her nothing but a “D-grade skank”. People think Paige has passion for the business, but she has more passion behind closed doors. Paige is the reason why Brie is hurt, and is also the reason why her big return was ruined.
Paige walks in and stops Nikki mid-sentence, mentioning that she must make Nikki so uneasy and has realized that Nikki has never liked her since day one – not just at WrestleMania, but during her first run as well, because she built her career on hustle, loyalty, and respect, a pointed reference to John Cena, whom Nikki has not been in a relationship with in almost a decade. Paige promises to see her next week in Mexico City, and says that she will end her career quicker than her last relationship, angering Nikki.
SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis appeared in the ring with Dr. Woodruff to discuss the injury situation regarding the interim WWE Women’s Champion, Chelsea Green. After she made her way to the ring, Green cut a promo saying that she didn’t care what the doctor has to say, reminding Aldis that they have already discussed this.
She’s not going to beg, plead, or cry, and additionally reminds him that he said she could be a fighting champion, telling him in an angry, almost threatening manner, to not take the title away from her. She realizes she has a bullseye on her face for every single woman in that locker room, but she has waited 13 years for her title. If those women in the locker room think it’s that easy to take it off of her, let them try, because she doesn’t need protecting. She is not concerned about her safety; she is concerned about her legacy.
Aldis understands and respects her feelings, but he is concerned about his safety because it is his job to be. It really boils down to the fact that it is not up to him, so he lets Dr. Woodruff speak. He says that as has been discussed, Green has a fractured orbital bone that has not fully healed, but it is healing, and it is his medical opinion that as long as she wears a protective face mask at all times, she is cleared to compete.
Green is happy to hear this news, but The Irresistible Forces, Nia Jax and Lash Legend, come out. Jax says “Finally!”, as she was hoping to hear that Chelsea was cleared. She thought Chelsea would never shut up, and said that it’s time for them to stop playing games, because Green knows that she wants the WWE Women’s Championship, so either she gives her a match right now, or she breaks her other orbital bone, because everyone knows she’s made of glass.
As Nia and Lash began to corner Chelsea, Tiffany Stratton ran out to the ring. Aldis says Jax can have her title match with Green next week in Mexico City, but since Stratton is ready to compete, her and Jax will have a match right now.
Stratton wasted no time before commercials to hit Legend with a baseball slide, but she would get a clothesline from Jax in the return. Back from the break, Green watched on as Stratton and Jax traded blows, but the Buff Barbie ultimately lost via the Annihilator from Jax. Afterwards, Jax grabbed Green by the hair from the outside and stole her necessary face mask. Green got in the ring, but the two continued to mock her before they exited the ring, with Green consoling Stratton in the ring as they left.
Blake Monroe was being interviewed by Cathy Kelley in preparation for her match against Giulia. The Glamour told Kelley that this in-ring debut still wasn’t suitable for her, stating that she deserves a grander opponent and grander entrance, but if Giulia thinks she can slap her in the face… then Blake’s got another thing coming.
Giulia attacked Monroe out of nowhere and the brawl quickly shifted to the stage, with The Beautiful Madness throwing her into the LED board. Despite officials trying to intervene, the two continued to brawl with one another, leading to Giulia kicking Monroe in the face. Officials tried to tend to her on the floor as she covered her nose and mouth.
Candice appeared yet again, holding a mirror as Johnny Gargano had his gear back on, telling him he looked good when someone knocked on the window: Sami Zayn, who gave him some advice. The Poison Pixie also accompanied Gargano in the main event for his WWE Championship opportunity against CM Punk.
As the match began to descend into chaos with the involvement of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Gunther, and Finn Balor, LeRae got up on the ring apron so that the referee wouldn’t be able to count Punk’s pin of Gargano. Zayn tried to interfere and help Johnny win, but after he tried to whisper something in her ear, Nick Aldis came out to escort him to the back, with referee Daphanie LaShaunn seen arguing with Candice. Punk retained the title, much to her disappointment.
Next week, the Divas of Team Blue are headed south of the border as Friday Night SmackDown is set to air from inside Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico during WWE’s tour of the country. Below is what’s in store for SmackDown:
- Women’s Championship: Chelsea Green (c) vs. Nia Jax
- Paige vs. Nikki Bella
Sunday Night’s Main Event airs from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, this Sunday, September 6th at 8 p.m. Eastern Time / 5 p.m. Pacific on Peacock in the United States and Netflix internationally. One women’s match will take place:
- Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and Tatum Paxley vs. The Baddies (Jade Cargill, B-Fab, and Michin)
As always, make sure to share your thoughts on this week’s episode in the comments below.
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