The John Report: WWE SmackDown 08/09/24 Review

This is WWE Smackdown featuring the return of Roman Reigns, new champions celebrating, and matches to determine title contenders.

The WWE SummerSlam PLE last Saturday night was an eventful show for the Smackdown brand. I thought it was a great PLE. LA Knight defeated Logan Paul to become the United States Champion while Nia Jax beat Bayley to win the WWE Women’s Title. There was also the return of Roman Reigns after four months away. Reigns returned to deliver a Superman Punch and Spear to his cousin Solo Sikoa, who was pinned by Cody Rhodes in the Undisputed WWE Championship match. The “Original Tribal Chief” Reigns is back in a babyface role and his return headlines this week’s Smackdown show.

Also, the wrestling world lost the legendary wrestler, booker and writer Kevin Sullivan, who passed away at the age of 74 years old. Rest in peace, Kevin.

From the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this is Smackdown for episode #1303. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

There was a video package about what happened at SummerSlam regarding the Smackdown talent. It ended with Cody Rhodes beating Solo Sikoa thanks to the return of Roman Reigns, who got a massive ovation from the crowd.

Let’s Hear from Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes made his entrance as the Undisputed WWE Champion wearing dress clothes (without a jacket) as usual. The fans were singing the Kingdom song and chanting for the “WHOA OH” part as usual. There were loud “Cody” chants before he said a word.

Cody: “So Tulsa…what do we want to talk about?” Cody said he wanted to do something unexpected at this moment. Cody said that as grand as SummerSlam was, all eyes are on what happens next. Cody said this is the Undisputed WWE Champion and he has been thinking about who he would like to defend his championship against at Bash In Berlin. Cody said “this guy” and here’s the interruption.

Solo Sikoa made his entrance joined by Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa who had the WWE Tag Team Titles in their hands. It’s Tama and Jacob Fatu who are the WWE Tag Team Champions, but no sign of Jacob. Solo said he didn’t care what Cody wanted to talk about. Solo said he wanted to talk about SummerSlam saying if it wasn’t for Roman Reigns, Solo would have been champion. Solo said before Cody says or does anything else, Cody will give him his rematch.

Cody said he didn’t want to talk about the past, but if you want to talk about SummerSlam, Solo didn’t get the job done and Solo caused Jacob Fatu to get hurt. Cody said that Solo was cosplaying as the Tribal Chief. Cody told Solo that he beat him right here in this ring so Solo is delusional if he thinks he has a claim for a rematch.

Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa stood on the apron, so Kevin Owens showed up in the ring with a pair of steel chairs. Owens handed Cody a chair while Owens had a chair. Solo and the Tonga boys left. Solo said he’ll deal with Cody later after he finds Roman Reigns. Cody said he’ll be right here waiting on him. Solo and The Bloodline left.

Analysis: It was a quick follow up to the Cody-Solo story from SummerSlam while also teasing more to come later in the show. I guess Jacob Fatu will be off for a few weeks due to the worked foot injury from SummerSlam, so he’ll be missed until he comes back.

Cody said he wanted to talk to Owens about something. Cody said that this would be awkward and uncomfortable while saying if he knows Owens like he does, Owens might say no. Cody mentioned he was talking about who he wanted to face for the WWE Championship. Cody told Kevin he would like to face him. The fans cheered. Owens said he didn’t deserve a title match. Owens said he didn’t deserve it considering his win-loss record over the last year. The fans chanted “you deserve it” so Cody told Owens that. Cody said that he hasn’t forgotten and the fans haven’t forgotten how Owens has been there in the trenches to help Cody. Cody said that Owens is still the Prizefighter, Owens is still in the prime of his career and he is one of Cody’s best friends. Cody said that he’s going to talk to Smackdown GM Nick Aldis about why Owens deserves a title. Cody said that after that conversation, all he will have to say to Owens is he’ll see him at Bash in Berlin. Cody left to cheers while Owens looked unsure about it.

Analysis: Cody Rhodes was right saying that Kevin Owens has been there for him many times during Cody’s WWE Title reign and Cody wants to reward his friend, who does deserve it. I doubt Owens will beat Cody at Bash in Berlin, but it should be a very good match.

It was Corey Graves and Wade Barrett on commentary for this week’s show since they have been the Smackdown team and will be for a few more weeks. They did a rundown of what’s coming up this week.

The A-Town Down Under duo of Austin Theory & Grayson Waller entered for tag team action.

This Monday on Raw: Randy Orton is there, plus Bron Breakker defends the Intercontinental Title against Sami Zayn in a 2/3 Falls Match and Rhea Ripley kicks off the show.

(Commercial)

The Street Profits with B-Fab were interviewed backstage by Byron Saxton. They were focused on the match while Angelo Dawkins mentioned it’s been three years since they have been Tag Team Champions. They reminded us that they want the smoke, which led to their entrance.

A-Town Down Under – Austin Theory & Grayson Waller vs. The Street Profits – Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins (w/B-Fab)

The winners will receive a WWE Tag Team Championship match.

Theory and Waller used a distraction to take control with Waller splashing Dawkins. Waller sent Ford into the barricade. Dawkins punched Theory a few times followed by a spinning splash. Theory sent a charging Dawkins shoulder-first into the ring post. Waller tagged in leading to a clothesline on Dawkins on the floor. Ford hit a somersault dive on Theory & Waller on the floor while Ford landed on his feet. That was impressive as usual by Ford.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Theory sending Dawkins face first into the middle turnbuckle followed by a dropkick. Waller tagged himself in, Dawkins punched him and Dawkins suplexed Theory across the ring. Ford tagged in with a top rope cross body block and a running clothesline. Ford with a flapjack on Theory and Ford hit a belly-to-back suplex on Waller. Ford hit a standing moonsault for two. Ford went up top, jumped off with a Frog Splash attempt, but Waller avoided it. Theory tagged in for a double clothesline on Ford for two. Waller pulled Ford out of the ring, but Ford superkicked Waller on the floor. Dawkins hit a Pounce on Waller on the floor over the barricade. Ford kicked Theory in the ring, Dawkins got the tag and Dawkins put Theory on his shoulders, so Ford hit a Super Blockbuster leading to the win after about eight minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The Street Profits – Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins

Analysis: *** A good tag team match as expected from two talented teams. They didn’t get that much time, but it was full of action. I’m all for The Street Profits getting a push leading to a title match because they are such a good team that is popular. It’s weird that they haven’t been champions in three years considering how good they are.

The Street Profits face the winner of DIY-Pretty Deadly to see who gets a Tag Team Title match.

Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens were backstage talking to Smackdown GM Nick Aldis. Owens said he didn’t deserve a title match. Aldis said he was going to talk to Roman Reigns about a title match. Owens didn’t like that. Aldis said that Reigns held the title for over 1300 days. Owens said that he had Reigns beat so many times. Owens didn’t like the idea of Reigns getting a title shot so he kept on ranting about it while also mentioning there’s no rematch clause like when Owens lost the Universal Title and never got a rematch. Owens told Aldis to look into the locker room and find somebody who deserves it. Aldis said he didn’t have to do that because he found somebody right here. Aldis told Owens he’s getting the WWE Title shot against Cody Rhodes at Bash in Berlin because Cody sees it, the fans sees it and Aldis sees it. Owens said I guess he will see Cody in Berlin. Cody was happy about it.

Analysis: I really like how Kevin Owens got wound up and angry when Roman Reigns was mentioned because Owens wrestled him so many times, so he should complain about Reigns. Anyway, I liked this as a segment to have Aldis make it official that Owens will face Cody at Bash in Berlin.

(Commercial)

They showed highlights of Roman Reigns at SummerSlam and all the media coverage. Roman is back tonight.

A video aired about Nia Jax beating Bayley at SummerSlam to become the WWE Women’s Champion.

Tiffany Stratton was talking to some random guy backstage about needing balloons for Nia Jax’s championship celebration next week. Stratton said she’ll handle it. Pretty Deadly walked in saying that maybe Stratton can plan their party when they win the Tag Team Titles. They wondered if Stratton wanted to apply for their musical. Stratton left so Chelsea Green and Piper Niven interrupted. Green mocked Stratton for her outfit while saying Jax doesn’t like pink. Green thinks this is all a ploy for Stratton to cash in Money in the Bank on Jax. Stratton told Green she was delusional and left. Toodles.

Analysis: That means there is a Nia Jax championship celebration next week. Thrilling. Toodles.

A Progressive Match Flo video recapped last week’s Smackdown when Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill nearly won the Women’s Tag Team Titles, but Blair Davenport attacked Cargill for the DQ because Blair was helping her friends Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn.

Jade Cargill made her entrance for singles action joined by Bianca Belair. Big pop for them.

(Commercial)

A graphic was shown to make it official: Cody Rhodes will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Kevin Owens at Bash in Berlin on August 31st.

Jade Cargill (w/Bianca Belair) vs. Alba Fyre (w/Isla Dawn)

Fyre is one half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions with Dawn. Fyre tried a sunset flip, but Jade stopped that with a punch. Fyre connected with a superkick along with a Tornado DDT off the ropes for two. Fyre jumped on Jade’s back leading to a submission hold pulling back on the arm. Jade came back with a gutwrench powerslam, corner splash and a kick to the face. Jade hit the Jaded slam for the pinfall win after two minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Jade Cargill

Analysis: *1/2 An easy win for Jade Cargill. Fyre was on offense for the first part of the match, but then Jade hit a few moves and that was it.

After the match, Blair Davenport went to the ring and helped Fyre & Dawn attack Jade & Belair. Naomi made the save for the faces. Cargill hit a jumping kick, Belair hit a spinebuster and Naomi hit a dropkick along with a clothesline out of the ring.

Analysis: The trio of Belair, Cargill & Naomi are a lot of fun to watch. They won together at WrestleMania so it made sense to see Naomi making the save in this spot.

There’s an LA Knight US Championship celebration up next.

(Commercial)

A video aired about LA Knight beating Logan Paul to win the US Title at SummerSlam. The fans loved it.

LA Knight US Title Celebration

LA Knight made his entrance as the new WWE United States Champion and he got a loud ovation as usual. They showed actor Lou Ferrigno aka The Incredible Hulk sitting in the front row at the show. There were loud “LA Knight” chants from the crowd. Yeah.

Knight: “Let me talk to ya.” Knight said that SummerSlam has come and gone. Knight asked the question if it felt extra sweet to beat Logan Paul in his hometown and the fans said “yeah” while doing a ‘you deserve it” chant. Knight said that all that he cared about was that he stood there months ago saying that one day you will call him champ and he has arrived. Knight said he’s the US Champion because he made it that way. Knight knows he is a marked man as the US Champion, but he knows he has been a marked man when he came to Smackdown. Knight said he’s going to hit it and quit it referring to his challengers. Knight said that he can’t stop being the United States Champion with everybody saying…LA Knight…yeah.

Santos Escobar made his entrance joined by Legado Del Fantasma group members Angel, Berto & Elektra Lopez. Escobar and Legado got into the ring as the fans chanted “you suck” at Escobar. Santos said not every day you get a guy like Knight finally gets a taste of gold. Escobar said that he doesn’t buy Knight as a champion. Escobar told Knight that his glory will be nothing but an opening act to Escobar’s reign. Escobar said that he’s the one who truly deserves to be the United States Champion with everybody saying “Escobar…si.” Get it? Well played.

Knight said that he didn’t hear Escobar because all he heard was Tulsa telling Escobar that he sucks. Knight said that Escobar must be sick about getting beat by Knight repeatedly. Knight told Escobar he had to earn a shot at this title. Knight said you can’t take this title because Knight won’t let him do it.

Analysis: It was a strong promo from LA Knight as usual. He is a very good talker, he has the catchphrases that the fans love and he does things in his promos that remind me of great talkers from the past as well. Escobar did a nice job with his heel promo too.

Andrade made his entrance for his match with Santos Escobar.

(Commercial)

A video package aired about Giovanni Vinci speaking in Italian talking about how he’s going to bring his relentless drive to Smackdown.

Santos Escobar (w/Angel, Berto & Elektra Lopez) vs. Andrade

The winner gets a shot at the US Title held by LA Knight.

Andrade ran the ropes, jumped over the back and hit a clothesline. Escobar bailed to the floor, so Andrade did a slingshot dive over the top onto Escobar. After Escobar went into the ring, Berto & Angel got involved, so Andrade was sent into the ring and Escobar knocked him down. Baron Corbin & Apollo Crews brawled with Angel & Berto, so those four guys went fighting into the crowd. Andrade was on the top and he got knocked down. Escobar was in control of Andrade by sending him back first into the ring post. Escobar hit a backbreaker on Andrade followed by Escobar pulling back on Andrade’s arm. Escobar charged into Andrade, who hit him with a boot to the face. They fought by the turnbuckle where Andrade fought out of a superplex attempt and Andrade hit a sunset flip Powerbomb as the show went to break.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Andrade knocking down Escobar with an elbow smash, leg whip and a jumping forearm to the face. Andrade went for a charging attack, so Escobar rolled out of the ring to the floor. Andrade hit a moonsault off the middle turnbuckle onto Escobar on the floor. Back in the ring, Andrade went up top leading to a cross body block for two. Andrade hit the Three Amigos vertical suplexes for a two count. Andrade went to the ropes, Escobar fought him off and Escobar hit a Poison Rana off the top rope for two. That’s a reverse hurricanrana off the top rope! That’s wild. They did it perfectly. The fans chanted “you still suck” at Escobar even though he did a good move. Andrade charged and Escobar kicked him in the head. Andrade hit a dropkick. Andrade went up top and jumped off the top leading to his double moonsault spot for a two count. Carmelo Hayes was on the apron, so Andrade punched him down. Escobar went for a Phantom Driver on Andrade, but Andrade got out of that and Andrade hit a spinning back elbow to the head for two. Lopez was on the apron, so the referee was distracted, Andrade charged and Hayes pulled Escobar out of the way so Andrade hit the turnbuckle. Escobar did a ROLLUP OF DEATH~! on Andrade for the pinfall win. It went 12 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Santos Escobar

Analysis: ***1/4 I liked the match. Carmelo Hayes lost to Andrade twice, so that’s why he showed up at ringside to cost Andrade the match. Andrade was very impressive throughout the match with a lot of cool moves for nearfalls. Since Andrade seemed to get most of the offense, I figured Escobar would win. Plus, Escobar is a heel so it made sense to have him face off against LA Knight. That top rope reverse hurricanrana by Escobar was so impressive. These guys are great wrestlers that can do it all in the ring.

The win by Santos Escobar means he has earned a shot at the US Title held by LA Knight.

A replay was shown from last week’s Smackdown when Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga beat #DIY to become WWE Tag Team Champions.

The #DIY duo of Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano were walking backstage ahead of their match. Ciampa said that The Bloodline stole their titles. Gargano said that he’ll never forget The Bloodline taking the titles in their hometown. Gargano spoke about how they would get the Tag Team Titles back and Ciampa said that this is their redemption. They made their entrance.

A video aired about Kevin Sullivan passing away. The video put over Sullivan as an innovative mind and he was a tough wrestler. It also focused on his WCW run as The Taskmaster while mentioning his rivalries with Sting, Road Warriors, Dusty Rhodes and Hulk Hogan. They also mentioned that he was a family man while showing photos with his family. Kevin Sullivan was 74 years old. Rest in peace, Kevin.

Analysis: That was very well done. Kevin Sullivan had a long run in pro wrestling and influenced a lot of people especially because of his work behind the scenes as one of the most creative minds in wrestling history.

(Commercial)

Next week on Smackdown:

* Nia Jax gets a WWE Women’s Championship celebration hosted by her friend Tiffany Stratton.

* Naomi vs. Blair Davenport

Austin Theory & Grayson Waller walked into Nick Aldis’ office to complain about things. Waller said that they went to Raw to save that show and said if you complain about things here, you get a match. Theory suggested a match between Waller and Kevin Owens. Waller wondered what he was doing. Theory said that he’s got his back like Waller always has his back. Waller was frustrated about it.

Analysis: There have been issues between Grayson Waller and Austin Theory of late, so now we have Theory suggesting Waller in a match, which Waller didn’t like. Perhaps their split is coming soon.

#DIY – Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano vs. Pretty Deadly – Kit Wilson & Elton Prince

The #DIY guys were aggressive right away and sent both opponents out of the ring. #DIY tried suicide dives, but PD hit them with forearms. Pretty Deadly celebrated on the apron, so DIY knocked them down. Ciampa & Gargano each hit slingshot dives over the top onto their opponents on the floor. Ciampa & Gargano did their self clapping bit on the apron leading to a break.

(Commercial)

Gargano broke free with an enziguri kick and brought in Ciampa. That led to Ciampa hitting many running clotheslines on both opponents. Ciampa hit a running double clothesline followed by an inverted DDT on Wilson. Gargano tagged in for a double team Powebromb-style move for two. Prince hit Gargano with a knee to the ribs. Wilson tackled Gargano to prevent a double team move and Prince got a rollup for two. Wilson hit a bulldog off the top while Prince was holding Ciampa and that got a two count because Gargano made the save. Gargano superkicked Prince and Wilson clotheslined Gargano. Wilson with an uppercut on Ciampa. Gargano stopped a double team move by using a slingshot Spear. Ciampa hit Kit with a knee. The #DIY boys hit the Shatter Machine. #DIY hit the Meet in the Middle superkick/knee on Prince for the pinfall win. The match went about eight minutes.

Winners by pinfall: #DIY – Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano

Analysis: *** A good match between two talented teams like the first tag team match earlier in the show. I thought Pretty Deadly might win since the winners would go against The Street Profits, but I don’t mind #DIY winning since they are better in the ring. That’s not a knock on PD because I like them too. I just think in-ring #DIY is a special team in terms of match quality. Anyway, I like how this was booked.

That win means #DIY will face The Street Profits next week. The winners get a WWE Tag Team Title match.

Solo Sikoa was shown backstage with Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa. Tama & Loa were holding the WWE Tag Team Titles. Tama said that they have looked for Roman Reigns and said he wasn’t there. Solo said he’ll be there. Solo walked out to the ring with his version of The Bloodline for a segment up next.

(Commercial)

Solo Sikoa Calls Out Roman Reigns

There were less than ten minutes until the top of the hour. Solo Sikoa was in the ring with Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa. Solo told Tulsa to acknowledge him, so the fans booed. Solo Sikoa said Roman Reigns should notice that Solo is The Tribal Chief now. Solo said if you call yourself The Tribal Chief and you want these back (the red lei Solo was wearing) then come and get it from him.

Roman Reigns made his entrance to a new, modified theme song. The graphic on the video screen said “OTC” for Original Tribal Chief just like the shirt that Roman Reigns was wearing. Reigns made his entrance and there was an impressive pyro display as well. Reigns walked to the ring alone.

Reigns nailed Tama Tonga with a clothesline. Tonga Loa attacked Reigns, but Reigns threw Loa into the steel steps. Reigns hit Tama and Loa with the steel steps to put them down and keep them down. The fans chanted “OTC” for Reigns.

Reigns got into the ring to confront his younger cousin Solo so the fans chanted “Roman” for Reigns. That led to a fight with Reigns punching Solo followed by Reigns hitting a Superman Punch. Reigns set up for a Spear, but Tonga Loa pulled Solo out of the ring to save him. Reigns spotted the red lei in the ring. Reigns picked it up, but Tama hit Reigns from behind. Tama and Loa worked over Reigns while Solo got the red lei back. Referee Jessika Carr was at ringside giving them time cues most likely. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Loa and a Superman Punch on Tama as well. Reigns hit Loa with a Spear. The fans chanted “OTC” for Reigns. Roman ran around the ring and gave Tama a Spear through the barricade at ringside. Reigns brought a steel chair into the ring. Reigns hit Tonga Loa in the back with the steel chair about six or eight. Solo put the red lei around his neck saying that he was the Tribal Chief now. Reigns beat up Loa with the chair again. The fans chanted “OTC” for Reigns. Roman was soaking up the cheers from the fans as the show ended there.

Analysis: It was a good way to end the show because it was Roman Reigns destroying The Bloodline by himself. Since Jacob Fatu is out of action, Reigns had no problem beating up Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa while Solo Sikoa retreated like a heel should. I think the next step is to have Jacob Fatu come back and then The Bloodline will get the advantage over Reigns. After that, we could see Jimmy Uso return to help Reigns and eventually Jey Uso joining in too. They have plenty of time until WarGames at Survivor Series in three months, which I assume is the plan. It was cool to see Reigns in action again. I imagine they didn’t have him speak so that they could save it for next week, which is a smart move to get the audience tuning in next week. Those “OTC” chants were loud for the Original Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Good segment overall.

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Three Stars of the Show

1. Roman Reigns
2. The Street Profits
3. Santos Escobar, Andrade & #DIY

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The Scoreboard

7.5 out of 10

Last week: 7.75

2024 Average: 7.35

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Final Thoughts on WWE Smackdown

It was more of the same for Smackdown this week except the return of Roman Reigns added a lot of star power. Reigns didn’t appear until the final segment where he kicked The Bloodline’s ass. It was Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa taking most of the bating while Solo Sikoa escaped. Jacob Fatu wasn’t on the show to sell a foot injury, which is WWE’s way of saving the Jacob/Roman confrontation. Reigns was cheered heavily. There was no promo from Reigns, so I think that’s probably coming next week.

The matches were solid for most of the night. The lone women’s match was kept short, but the three men’s matches were fun. I liked that win by The Street Profits and #DIY picked up a big win too, so these teams are set for a big match. Santos Escobar and Andrade had a very good match that ended controversially due to Carmelo Hayes costing Andrade. Escobar is fine as a first opponent for LA Knight’s US Title.

Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens facing off at Bash in Berlin is cool with me. Owens refused it at first due to not having an impressive win-loss record over the last year, but then he warmed up to the idea. I think Owens is a good, credible opponent for Cody to beat at that Bash show. Raw remains a better show than Smackdown although now that Reigns is back, that will help Smackdown a lot.

The next WWE PLE is Bash in Berlin on Saturday, August 31st in Berlin, Germany. The lineup looks like this so far.

* WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Randy Orton

* Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens

You can watch WWE Bash in Berline, streaming live on Saturday, August 31, at 1 PM ET/9 AM PT on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.

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Thanks for reading. Go Los Angeles Rams. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @johnreport