SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE SMACKDOWN TV REPORT
JUNE 7, 2024
LOUISVILLE, KY AT KFC YUM! CENTER
AIRED ON FOX
REPORT BY ALEX McDONALD, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
[HOUR ONE]
-The show opened with a video recap of last week’s main event segment featuring A.J. Styles “retirement”. The video focused on Styles’ speech before his turn and beatdown on Cody Rhodes. The video ended with a close-up of Styles’ face after he delivered the Styles Clash to Rhodes off the steps and to the floor.
-Cody Rhodes was shown in the back. He paced and looked angry.
-Corey Graves introduced the show as the camera panned the crowd.
-Solo Sikoa made his entrance with Paul Heyman, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa.
-Sikoa stood in the center of the ring. Heyman handed him a mic. The crowd booed. Heyman lifted the mic and introduced himself. He said he is the Wise Man to the Bloodline and he must set the record straight. Heyman said that until Roman Reigns returns, Sikoa sits at the head of the table. The crowd booed and then chanted “we want Roman”. Heyman said that Sikoa has upped the ante in the name of family honor and declared a double proclamation. Heyman turned to his right and said Tama Tonga has been anointed by Sikoa and is a member of the Bloodline. Heyman said he won’t be known as only Tama Tonga, he will be the right hand man. Heyman turned to his left and said it’s history in front of everyone’s eyes. The crowd chanted for Reigns again. Heyman said from this moment on, the story of the Bloodline will never be complete unless you include Tonga Loa. Heyman said he is a full-fledged member of the Bloodline and referred to Loa as infamous. Heyman thanked the crowd and said good night.
-Sikoa held out a hand and told Heyman to hold on. Sikoa asked if Heyman was forgetting something. Heyman repeated his previous words quickly and said he didn’t forget anything. Sikoa asked Heyman if he should thank Tama and Loa for saving him from Kevin Owens last week. Heyman thanked Tama and Loa each by name. Tama said they could have let Owens kill Heyman, but they saved him, by orders of the Tribal Chief. Heyman asked to return the favor to the family. He said he got to the arena early today to do what a wise man does. Heyman said that all he’s heard since he arrived is that Owens is looking for a piece of any member of the Bloodline.
-Kevin Owens’ music played and he made his entrance. Wade Barrett said that Owens is here to ruin the ceremony. Graves said that Owens may have a death wish. Owens rushed the ring and landed punches. He took down Tama and Loa and beat on Sikoa. Tama and Loa attacked Owens from behind and overwhelmed him.
-The Street Profits ran to the ring to make the save. The two sides brawled and the Bloodline took advantage. Owens dropped to the outside and returned to the ring with a chair. Owens helped even the odds with the chair and the Bloodline retreated to the outside of the ring. Owens and the Profits stood tall in the ring.
(McDonald’s Analysis: I don’t like that the new Bloodline is referred to as dangerous constantly but they always retreat when the babyface cavalry arrives. Shouldn’t they win one of these every once in a while, if not most of the time? It just seems like it doesn’t match the framing. The rest of this was fine. I liked Sikoa forcing Heyman to thank Tama and Loa and I like how Heyman did it. The brief moment that Tama spoke also worked.)
-Cody Rhodes was shown in the parking lot. Graves said he was standing guard and waiting for the arrival of Styles.
-Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill were shown arriving. Barrett promoted their match against Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell for after the break. [c]
Back from break, Belair delivered a backbreaker to LeRae. LeRae tagged in Hartwell. Hartwell stopped Belair from making a tag. Hartwell took Belair to the opposite corner. Belair moved towards Cargill again and made the tag. Cargill hit the ring and took down Hartwell and LeRae. Cargill hit Hartwell with a suplex. Cargill kipped up and splashed Hartwell in the corner. Cargill lifted LeRae and threw her into Hartwell. Cargill landed a superkick to Hartwell and made the cover. LeRae made the save. Belair hit the ring and sent LeRae to the outside. Belair and Cargill hit the double team DDT into a slam from Cargill. Cargill made the cover for the win.
WINNER: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill in 7:00
-Fyre, Dawn, Baszler, and Stark entered the ring and attacked Belair and Cargill. Dawn and Fyre tossed Belair into the barricade on the outside. Baszler and Stark tossed Cargill into the ring steps. Baszler and Stark held up the Women’s Tag Team titles in the ring. Fyre and Dawn entered the ring and stared them down. The two teams brawled before Belair and Cargill entered the fray and took both teams out. Belair and Cargill posed with the titles in the center of the ring.
(McDonald’s Analysis: I wonder if they didn’t trust the one on one match with Hartwell and Cargill so they went with this instead. If that is the case, then probably a good call and good that they had enough self-awareness to make the change. This was fine and the angle afterward worked. I’m glad they’re making it seem like the Women’s Tag Team titles are desirable and adding more teams for Belair and Cargill to face. Unfortunately, despite the heels getting the upper hand, no one comes off as much of a threat to Belair and Cargill. That’s fine, it will help establish Belair and Cargill as an unstoppable force that can only be stopped by their own in-fighting and miscommunication down the road. I don’t think that should happen any time soon, so this is the most logical thing to do in the mean time.)
-Cody Rhodes was shown in the parking lot again. Nick Aldis approached. He said he knew how Rhodes felt. Aldis said he got played as well. He said it isn’t in the company’s best interest to have them fight on the loading dock. Aldis said that someone is going to get hurt. Rhodes said that Aldis was right and someone would get hurt, but it wouldn’t be Rhodes. Rhodes told Aldis to stay out of it.
-DIY made their entrance. Graves and Barrett promoted Johnny Gargano’s match against Grayson Waller for after the break. [c]
-They showed a graphic for Sikoa, Tama, and Loa against the Profits and Owens. Barrett announced the match as breaking news and said it would be the main event.
-Apollo Crews was in the back. He started to speak about Angel but Legado del Fantasma attacked him. Officials made the save along with Aldis. The officials helped Crews off as Aldis called for medical.
-L.A. Knight appeared and asked Aldis where Logan Paul was. Aldis said that Paul is playing tetris. Knight said he could play tetris with Paul and shove his foot up Paul’s ass. Carmelo Hayes appeared and said he’s been cooking Knight the last three weeks. Knight said that Aldis said he needed a match. Knight said that they have two guys for it right there. Aldis made the match between Knight and Hayes official for tonight. Hayes walked off as Knight looked smug. Aldis said that Hayes has a lot to learn. Knight agreed with a “yeah” before he walked off.
-Grayson Waller made his entrance with Austin Theory at his side. Graves mentioned that Theory lost to Tommaso Ciampa last week. Graves also mentioned that Waller took credit for Theory’s success, which bothered Theory and distracted him to cause the loss. Barrett said Theory and Waller told him everything was smoothed over.
(2) JOHNNY GARGANO (w/ Tommaso Ciampa) vs. GRAYSON WALLER (w/ Austin Theory)
Gargano landed shots but Waller took him down with a big right. Gargano took control again and landed a kick. Gargano chopped at Waller in the corner. Waller collapsed in the corner. Gargano came off the ropes and went for a hurricanrana but Waller blocked and delivered a backbreaker. Gargano countered a Waller slam and hit the hurricanrana. Gargano knocked Waller to the outside. Gargano went for a dive but Waller moved out of the way. Waller hit a slide clothesline on the outside. Gargano recovered and hit Sliced Bread off the apron. Gargano landed hard and sold his back. Ciampa checked on Gargano as both men were down at ringside. [c]
Waller had Gargano in a single leg crab as they came back from break. Gargano landed kicks to get free. Waller went for an elbow drop but Gargano moved. Gargano came off the ropes and took Waller down with a big clothesline. Gargano followed up with another clothesline and a kick. Gargano delivered a slingshot spear and made the cover for a two count. Gargano went for a suplex but Gargano sold the back and couldn’t lift Waller. Waller bit a modified back suplex. Waller followed up with a fireman’s carry slam into a cover for a two count. The two traded blows in the center of the ring. Gargano landed a superkick. Waller returned the favor with a big knee. Waller charged Gargano in the corner. Gargano moved. Gargano countered Waller and hit a modified Canadian Destroyer. Waller rolled to the outside. Theory helped Waller up. Gargano went for a dive but hit Theory instead of Waller. Barrett said that Waller pulled Theory in front of Gargano to save himself. Waller floated over Gargano into a facebuster for the win.
WINNER: Grayson Waller in 9:00
-They showed a replay of the closing moments where Waller did, in fact, pull Theory in front of him.
(McDonald’s Analysis: I said it last week, but I still don’t feel like this is the time to break up Theory and Waller. Anything ambiguous that they could have ignored last week went out the window tonight. They doubled down on Waller pulling Theory in the way and the announcers talked about it to go with the replay. It appears they will split relatively soon and we will see some form of Theory as a babyface. I hope it works out well for Theory in the long run, but I’m worried he could flounder after the inevitable feud with Waller, that he should win. This could be a way to get to a Theory and Hayes feud. If you had told me six months ago that was the direction, I thought for sure Hayes would be the face and Theory would be the heel. WWE doesn’t see it that way. Let’s see where this goes.)
-Aldis and security approached Rhodes in the parking lot. Aldis said Styles just let him know he is arriving and this is just a precaution. [c]
-They showed a graphic for the six man tag match as Barrett promoted the match for later in the show.
-Styles arrived and yelled at Rhodes as security stood in between them. Rhodes walked off angrily towards the arena. Barrett called Rhodes the most professional man in the industry. Rhodes entered the arena without his entrance music and ran to the ring. Rhodes got a mic and stood in the middle of the ring. Rhodes told Styles to get his ass to the ring right now. Rhodes said they didn’t need security.
-Styles made his entrance with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Security ran past Styles and onto the ramp. Aldis appeared as well.
-Styles had a mic. He smirked. Styles asked if Rhodes thought that Styles cared about what Rhodes wants. Styles said that Rhodes wants to fight Styles so bad. Styles told Rhodes to give him what he wants. The crowd chanted “A.J. sucks”. Styles said he wanted the WWE Championship at Clash at the Castle.
[HOUR TWO]
-Rhodes accepted Styles’ challenge. Rhodes said it isn’t going to be a regular match. Rhodes said he’s going to make Styles say what he should have said last week, I quit. Rhodes emphasized the words. Aldis appeared to make the match official. Rhodes dropped to the outside and attacked the security guards. Security pushed Rhodes back. Rhodes tried to push past them to get at Styles but they restrained him. Styles ran down the ramp and hit Rhodes while he was held by security. Styles ran back up the ramp to join Gallows and Anderson. Rhodes seethed as the show cut to commercial break. [c]
(McDonald’s Analysis: So we’re adding an I Quit match to Clash at the Castle? This is going to be interesting to see the match placement on this card. Drew McIntyre is going to be a hard act to follow, but Rhodes is the top guy. Who do you put on last? In most circumstances, you would leave Rhodes off the show and give the night to the other title. Unfortunately, Rhodes has made such a big deal out of being a fighting champion, you can’t do that. Something to look out for.)
-They showed a replay of the previous segment with Rhodes and Styles. After the footage, they showed a graphic for Rhodes against Styles in an I Quit Match at Clash at the Castle.
-Belair and Cargill left Aldis’ office. Byron Saxton asked what they discussed. Belair and Cargill said they agreed to a Women’s Tag Team title Triple Threat match with them facing the teams of Baszler and Stark as well as Fyre and Dawn.
-L.A. Knight made his entrance.
-Carmelo Hayes made his entrance.
(3) L.A. KNIGHT vs. CARMELO HAYES
The bell rang ten minutes into the second hour. Hayes ducked under Knight and hammered away at him with knees. The ref pulled Hayes away. Knight fought back with punches. Hayes landed a low kick. Hayes whipped Knight into the corner but Knight came out with a big clothesline. Knight knocked Hayes to the outside. Hayes dragged Knight out. Knight took control and slammed Hayes into the announce table repeatedly. Hayes drove Knight into the ring apron. Hayes tossed Knight toward the announce table but Knight stopped himself. Hayes broke the count and charged Knight. Knight backdropped Hayes onto the announce table. Knight celebrated as the show cut to commercial break. [c]
Hayes hit a springboard forearm and made the cover for a two count. Hayes climbed to the top rope. Knight crotched Hayes. Knight landed punches as Hayes was on the top turnbuckle. Knight followed Hayes up and set up for a superplex. Hayes knocked Knight off. Knight charged but Hayes dropped down. Knight took down Hayes with a clothesline followed by a flapjack. Knight stomped away at Hayes in the corner. Knight backed off and then charged to hit a running knee. Knight went for a slam but Hayes landed on his feet. Hayes landed a superkick and then spun into a facebuster. Hayes made the cover for a two count. Hayes kicked at Knight and sent him to the corner. Hayes landed punches and chops but Knight took Hayes down with a chop. Knight slammed Hayes and then went for an elbow drop but Hayes moved. Hayes rolled up Knight for a two count. Hayes landed a punch and Knight answered. They traded shots with Knight getting the upper hand. Knight delivered a powerslam followed by an elbow drop. Knight went for the BFT but Hayes pushed Knight off. Hayes rolled Knight up but Knight countered and rolled Hayes up for the win.
WINNER: L.A. Knight in 9:00
-Knight took the headset from the announcers. Knight called out Logan Paul and said if Paul doesn’t want to come to Smackdown, Knight will bring Smackdown to him.
(McDonald’s Analysis: So Hayes is a jobber right? Knight just beat him and then immediately moved on to Logan Paul. If that doesn’t show you how they think the Hayes experiment is going, I don’t know what does. He got in some offense, but Knight still got the win and again, moved on right away to something more important. I still think the eventual plan is for a heel Hayes against a babyface Theory, but at this point, I don’t know if people would even buy that. This could be a case of it just isn’t Hayes’ time yet, but then why call him up? Why make him such a high draft pick if the plan is for him to lose every week to guys they see more in? Something feels off about the whole situation.)
-Tiffany Stratton was in the back. She bumped into Nia Jax. Stratton said she was rooting for Jax to win Queen of the Ring. Stratton said she has Jax’s back. She said it could be the Queen and Princess of the Ring. Stratton told her to think about it and walked off. Jax bumped into Michin. Jax asked if it was her again. Jax told Michin to take a page out of Styles’ book and retire. Michin threw a drink at Jax. Jax went after Michin but officials arrived to stop the fight from starting. Michin yelled after Jax as an official held her back.
-Graves and Barrett were shown ringside. Graves threw to a video package on Bayley and her issues with Chelsea Green and Piper Niven over the past two weeks on Smackdown.
-Bayley made her entrance. Graves promoted her appearance for after the break. [c]
-Bayley was in the middle of the ring. They showed a graphic for Bayley against Piper Niven at Clash at the Castle. Bayley said she steps into unfamiliar territory next week. She said it’s the first time she will face Niven.
-Niven made her entrance with Chelsea Green. Green said that Bayley talks a big game for being a big loser. Green said the only reason the crowd boos her is because they are losers as well. Green said Bayley was a loser in Saudi Arabia and she was a loser last week. She said that Bayley will be a loser again when Niven beats her and becomes the new WWE Women’s Champion. Bayley said she beat Green in Saudi, but Green must of forgot. Bayley said that Green wants to stand behind Niven, but Niven doesn’t need Green. Bayley said she respects Niven and has watched her for a long time. Bayley said she immediately appreciated what Niven could do in the ring after seeing her in the Mae Young Classic. Bayley said she knows it means a lot to Niven to wrestle Bayley in her home country. Bayley said she’s been there before and she’s lost in front of everyone she loved. Bayley said Niven could have asked for a title match, but she decided to attack her from behind. Bayley said she’s going to have fun beating Niven in her home country. Niven said she beat up Bayley enough last week and is saving the next beating for her home country. Niven said she appreciates that Bayley has respect for her and her journey, but Bayley doesn’t know anything about Niven’s journey. Niven said the Mae Young Classic was in 2017 and she’s been carving out the wrestling scene in Scotland since 2008. She said that Bayley walked into a perfect situation. Niven said she won titles all over the UK and was already a World Champion before she got to WWE. Niven said that if Bayley respected her enough, she wouldn’t stand as close to her. Niven said that she hopes the respect Bayley has for her makes it a little less painful when Bayley looks up and sees that Niven beat her for the title.
(McDonald’s Analysis: Really good from Bayley and Niven here. Bayley got to her point and Niven did an excellent job of throwing it right back to her. I really hope this isn’t a one off to kill time for Niven. The move to Smackdown has been really good for her and she’s being framed as important for, maybe, the very first time on the main roster. I think she’s come off really well in the role and tonight, she had an opportunity on the mic and she delivered in a big way. I really liked this and it was effective in making the viewer more excited for their title match at the PLE. Really well done on all fronts.)
-Graves threw to a message from Logan Paul. Paul said he can’t believe he has to waste his time talking about this. Paul told Knight to take off his Temu sunglasses and look around because Paul isn’t there. Paul said he’s competing in the World Tetris Championship tomorrow. Paul said he competes against real champions and Knight has done nothing to earn a match against him. Paul told Knight to go back to the mid-card with everyone saying, Logan Paul.
-Kevin Owens made his entrance.
-The Street Profits made their entrance. Graves and Barrett hyped the main event for after the break. [c]
-Niven and Green were in the back. Green discussed their celebration. They bumped into Naomi. Naomi told Green to keep her name out of her mouth. Green said “ew” to Naomi. Naomi said that’s what they’re going to say when they pull her off Green. Aldis appeared and asked if they wouldn’t fight now if they had a match next week. The two women agreed.
-Graves and Barrett announced matches and segments for next week including The Grayson Waller Effect with DIY and Nia Jax against Michin.
-The Profits and Owens were in the ring.
-The Bloodline made their entrance.
(4) KEVIN OWENS & STREET PROFITS (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) vs. THE BLOODLINE (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, & Tonga Loa w/ Paul Heyman)
Dawkins started with Tama. Dawkins took Tama down with a shoulder tackle. Ford tagged in. Ford landed a knee to the gut of Tama. Ford took Tama to the corner and drove his shoulder into the gut of Tama. Tama countered and punched away at Ford. Tama tagged in Loa. They double teamed Ford and then Loa beat on Ford in the corner. Loa slammed Ford and then tagged in Tama. Tama landed an elbow drop. Tama beat on Ford in the corner. Ford flipped out of the opposite corner and then clotheslined Tama down. Ford swung at Loa and Sikoa. He missed. Ford sent Tama to the outside. Sikoa pulled Ford to the outside and tossed him into the ring steps. Sikoa stood tall and celebrated as the show cut to commercial break. [c]
Ford tried to make a tag and Sikoa held him back. Sikoa pulled Ford back into a Samoan Drop. Sikoa made the cover for a two count. Owens fired up the crowd as Sikoa choked Ford in the corner. Sikoa backed off and charged to hit the running butt bump to Ford. Tama tagged in and slammed Ford down. Tama came off the ropes and delivered a sliding clothesline. Tama backed off and hit another sliding clothesline. Tama put Ford in a headlock. Ford fought to his feet but Tama clubbed him on the back. Tama ran the ropes and went for another sliding clothesline but Ford moved and Tama fell to the outside. Tama ran back into the ring and attacked Dawkins and Owens on the apron. Ford took Tama down and both men crawled towards their corners. Sikoa and Owens tagged in. Owens knocked Loa off the apron and went after Sikoa. Owens kicked away at Sikoa in the corner. Owens backed off and charged to deliver a cannonball. Owens climbed to the top rope and came off with a Swanton Bomb. Owens made the cover for a two count. Owens stalked Sikoa and went for a Stunner. Sikoa shoved Owens off. They traded superkicks and then Sikoa took Owens down with a clothesline. Sikoa went for a Samoan Spike but Owens countered with a Stunner. Owens made the cover but Tama and Loa pulled Owens to the outside and beat on him. Ford and Dawkins joined the fray. Ford landed a dive. Sikoa hit Ford in the back with a chair and the ref called for the bell.
WINNER: No Contest in 10:00
Loa beat on Dawkins in the ring. Sikoa landed a Samoan Spike. Tama beat on Dawkins some more. The crowd chanted for Randy Orton. Tama and Loa held up Ford and Sikoa motioned for the Spike but instead, he backed off and hit a spear. Owens pulled Tama and Loa to the outside and landed rights but they overwhelmed him. Sikoa joined Tama and Loa and directed traffic. Owens tried to fight back but he was overwhelmed again. The Bloodline hit the triple powerbomb on Owens through the announce table.
-The Bloodline posed with their fingers to the air over Owens. Heyman held his head in his hands before he reluctantly posed with the rest of the Bloodline.
(McDonald’s Analysis: That was the show closing angle the Bloodline needed after all the retreating recently. That was powerful and the way they worked the match got over their aggressive nature much more than what they did last week. They handled the Profits pretty well and dominated Ford before Owens made the comeback. Owens was basically a one man team who wouldn’t stop fighting even when the odds were against him. That’s good for his character as well. If they hadn’t spent so much time defining Owens down he would come off as a much bigger star. Either way, he’s in a good place right now and has booked well over the past couple of months or so. Nothing match, and I’m sure there will be complaints about the non-finish. Normally, it would bother me, but Sikoa wanted the match so he could get revenge for what happened earlier in the night. Winning the actual contest didn’t fit into the larger plan of hurting Owens and the Profits and making them pay for ruining the ceremony. I’m not saying they should do this every week, but in this particular case, it worked just fine. Heyman’s reaction at the end was perfect as he warned Owens about this last week and Owens refused to listen. Loa catching Heyman with his head in his hands and Heyman realizing it to reluctantly raise his finger was another nice little touch that you would miss if you weren’t looking for it. I’m excited to see where this goes in the long run. I’d like to see the Bloodline keep racking up some wins and the team of Tama and Loa getting the Tag titles seems like the next logical step. Eventually, Sikoa will have to set his sights on Rhodes, but WWE, and perhaps Sikoa himself, aren’t ready for that yet. Ultimately, this chapter of the Bloodline will be about what happens with Heyman and what Roman Reigns is thinking about all of this when he makes his return. Is all of this a way to set up Heyman turning on Reigns and embracing the new violent Bloodline? Will Reigns come back and side with Sikoa, if only for a little while? Will Reigns return and rescue Heyman to fight against this new monster he created? It could be one of those or it could be all of them and that’s why this is so intriguing right now. Despite criticisms from some, I think Sikoa has done a good job in this role and he’ll get even better with time. With that said, he needs some help from Paul Levesque and WWE. Sikoa needs to have some feuds and win them and beat formidable opponents if he’s going to be viewed as a credible, main event, Undisputed WWE Champion level talent.)
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