WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 9/24: Big Dog Wants to Talk, Kofi Talks Beast of a Challenge, A Queen & a Princess Join Forces, I Think We Can Come to an Agreement

WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER
SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
ATLANTA, GA. AT THE STATE FARM ARENA
AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Arena and Items Advertised by WWE

Tonight, it will be the final Smackdown on Tuesday before WWE moves its “blue brand” to the FOX Network beginning October 4th. As they were last night, WWE stays put in the brand-new Chase Center in San Francisco, CA. The arena is barely a month old and will be the home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

In advance of Smackdown, WWE made a few announcements in regard to shows. This Friday, Charlotte Flair and the Miz will host a “Smackdown’s Greatest Hits” one-hour special at 8 ET on Fox. On Sunday Sept. 29, John Cena will host “WWE WrestleMania’s Legendary Moments.” On Friday Oct. 4, the night of the Smackdown debut on Fox, there will be a “blue carpet” kickoff show one half hour before the show begins.

We are, of course, aware that Kofi Kingston will defend the WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar on the debut show. He surprised us last week by showing up with his advocate Paul Heyman to issue the challenge. Kofi accepted, and was given an F5 for his troubles.

Amongst everything else going on right now (NXT to USA, AEW debut on TNT two nights before Smackdown on Fox debuts), we continue to get ready for Hell in a Cell on Oct. 6. Here is what’s advertised for tonight’s show:

• Roman Reigns to clear the air with Daniel Bryan
• Kofi Kingston to discuss challenger Brock Lesnar in sit-down interview
• Charlotte Flair to team with Carmella against Bayley & Sasha Banks
• Shane McMahon invites Kevin Owens to SmackDown LIVE to settle lawsuit

Matches & Segments:

Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan

Recently, Erick Rowan revealed he was behind the attacks on Roman Reigns that started before SummerSlam. He defeated Reigns at Clash of Champions with the help of his long-time partner Luke Harper, who returned after months of not being on TV.

Daniel Bryan, who had been associated with Rowan throughout the year, was originally accused by Reigns for being behind the attacks. He has repeatedly denied it and did so last week when he reiterated to the fans that he’s never lied to them, as he has said before. He also said he recognized great potential in Rowan and considered him his friend. Rowan came out, as well as Harper who attacked Bryan from behind. Reigns came out to aid Bryan but was rammed into the ring post. Bryan was power bombed through the table.

Tonight, Reigns looks to clear the air with Bryan.

Frank’s Analysis: I’ve felt we’re going to get a feud with Reigns and Bryan when Bryan reveals he was behind the attacks after all. I still feel that’s a possibility, although Bryan has reiterated, he’s never lied. Bryan is great as a heel, although revealing that he lied could be damaging to his character. You can be a heel and not lie. They can still go to Reigns against Bryan but figure out another path to get there.

Kofi Kingston Sit-Down Interview

As I talked about earlier, Kofi Kingston will defend the WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar on the first Smackdown on FOX on October 4th. This will be, as the announcers pointed out on Raw last night, Lesnar’s first appearance wrestling on Smackdown in over 15 years. Lesnar’s first tenure in WWE was from 2002-2004. He was assigned to Smackdown in the fall of ’02 when he was the Undisputed WWE Champion, and then-G.M. Stephanie McMahon wanted him exclusively on that show.

Kofi has been WWE Champion since defeating Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. He has defeated Bryan, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, A.J. Styles, and Randy Orton. Lesnar is his toughest challenge to date. They do have history, as they faced each other in Japan on the WWE Network special Beast in the East in 2015. Here is a clip from that match and a Lesnar post-match interview:

Kofi sits down and talks Lesnar’s challenge tonight.

Frank’s Analysis: Kofi has come a long way from that match four years ago. It’s funny to hear Lesnar talk about “The Authority” and mention how he was coming for Seth Rollins. How ironic that Kofi and Rollins are the current “world champions.” At any rate, this is a big interview for Kofi. He needs to tell us, without talking about pancakes and other New Day silliness, how much being champion means to him and what he needs to do to defeat Lesnar. Despite their history, this still feels like a fresh match-up.

Charlotte Flair & 24/7 Champion Carmella vs. Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley & Sasha Banks

Last week, Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks via DQ when Bayley interfered in the match. Bayley and Sasha went to double-team Charlotte, when Carmella emerged for the save. She shoved Bayley and super kicked Sasha (everybody super kicks these days). Charlotte then gave Bayley a boot knocking her out of the ring.

Charlotte and Carmella have history. Carmella cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Charlotte to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship the night after WrestleMania in 2018 with help of the IIconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce), as they were making their main roster debut. She then successfully defended her title over Charlotte before moving on to a feud with Asuka (remember her?).

Tonight, Charlotte who is known to us as “The Queen” teams with a woman known once as “The Princess of Staten Island” in Carmella and with whom she has a complicated past. They face Bayley and Sasha, the inaugural Women’s Tag Team Champions and long-time best friends. Carmella … double crossed? … R-Truth last night and became the 24/7 Champion.

Frank’s Analysis: If Bayley or Sasha pin Carmella, does one of them become 24/7 Champion? There’s likely another match on the docket between Bayley and Charlotte, so this likely sets it up. Carmella could get involved if they want to do a triple threat or have a TV feud with Bayley.

Shane McMahon Invites Kevin Owens to Discuss Lawsuit

Last week on Smackdown, a recently fired Kevin Owens was in the arena as a customer. McMahon fired Owens two weeks ago after he didn’t help him defeat Chad Gable in the Smackdown King of the Ring final at Madison Square Garden. Shane invited him to the ring after he’d been “served” with papers. It turned out to be a wrongful termination lawsuit in which Owens would be awarded $25 million if he wins.

They discussed the lawsuit in the ring. Owens talked about how Shane fined him $100,000 for attacking Elias in a WWE official capacity, but meanwhile Shane attacked him as an official the previous week. He said he tried to help him against Gable, but he tapped out. He’s now trying to hit Shane where it hurts, and that’s in the wallet. He looks forward to winning the lawsuit as there is a clause where if he wins, it allows him to come back to Smackdown and fire Shane.

Shane has invited Owens to discuss the lawsuit tonight.

While considering a resolution to this ludicrous lawsuit, I will allow @FightOwensFight to perform on @WWE’s upcoming tour of The Philippines, China, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) September 18, 2019

This is an important time for @WWE and its Superstars. We can not afford to have distractions therefore I am inviting @FightOwensFight to #SDLive tonight so we can settle this lawsuit once and for all.

— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) September 24, 2019

Frank’s Analysis: There’ve been some bosses I wish I could have fired in the past. Can we get Owens’ lawyers’ phone number? This is still going to a place I don’t care about to be honest. The payoff is Owens beating Shane, which we’ve already seen. Watch Owens get to fire Shane, and then he gets involved with Raw.

Other Match Results and Segments from Last Week

• New Day (WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods) defeated Smackdown Tag Team Champions the Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) and Randy Orton
• Rowan had a sit-down interview with Michael Cole where he discussed being overlooked and underappreciated. He’s not anyone’s puppet and doesn’t do anyone’s bidding.
• Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura attacked Ali before their scheduled match, which never took place.
• Heavy Machinery (Otis & Tucker) defeated the B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas)

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!