The John Report: WWE SmackDown 09/20/24 Review

This is WWE Smackdown featuring LA Knight defending the US Title against Andrade, plus Nia Jax & Tiffany Stratton face Naomi & Bayley, and more.

It was reported earlier this week that Smackdown is likely going to be a three-hour show starting on January 3rd, 2025. It is based on a Wrestlevotes report and not confirmed by WWE. My initial thought is that I’m not surprised since WWE has been doing Raw on USA Network for three hours for the past 12 years and based on what NBC/USA paid for Smackdown, it makes sense that they would want it to be a three-hour show. On the one hand, writing three hours every week about Smackdown will be tiring for me, but I also think Raw has been WWE’s best show this year and that’s three hours in length. I have faith in Triple H booking a good show while I wouldn’t say the same when it was Vince McMahon calling the shots over two years ago.

I have enjoyed being done Smackdown at 10 p.m. on a Friday. Starting in January, it’s another hour of more work for me. I already write so much every week (at least 25,000 words every week all year long) so believe me when I say I’m not looking for more. However, the positive is that the shows are better, like I said. Anyway, we’ll certainly keep an eye on if WWE makes three-hour Smackdown official in the coming months.

From the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, this is Smackdown for episode #1309. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

A video package was shown from last week’s Smackdown when Cody Rhodes beat Solo Sikoa to retain the WWE Title in a great Steel Cage Match. The Bloodline attacked Cody after the match, so Roman Reigns made his return for the save. Later in the show, a tag team match was set up for Bad Blood with Cody & Roman facing The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu. It should be a great match.

Roman Reigns and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes met up at Georgia Tech’s football field, so we’ll see what they spoke about.

The Bloodline’s Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa were shown arriving earlier in the day. Jacob Fatu beat up some security guys (indy wrestlers) just for attempting to pat him down. Fatu asked if anybody else wanted to pat him down.

LA Knight was up first as the United States Champion for this opening match and the fans loved Knight as usual. Andrade was up next as the challenger. There was no mask on Andrade’s face on his way to the ring, so maybe he has stopped doing that.

United States Championship: LA Knight vs. Andrade

They are both babyfaces, but Knight is definitely more popular. Andrade tripped up Knight, who countered it into an inside cradle for two. Andrade went for The Message, Knight got out of that, Knight went for BFT, Andrade got out of that and left the ring. That led to a break just ten minutes into the show.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Knight connecting with some strikes. Andrade delivered a chop to the chest. Andrade punched Knight and went up top followed by Andrade going up top for a cross body block for two. Knight got some offense going with an elbow smash. They battled on the floor where Knight rammed Andrade’s head onto the hood of the commentary table, which is a spot where Andrade uses his hand to hit the table repeatedly to make noise. Back in the ring, Knight hit a slingshot shoulder tackle. They were using a ringside camera for several months of this action, which is cool. Andrade sent Knight to the apron and hit him with a forearm. Knight hit a punch to the body. Knight picked up Andrade, who broke free on the apron and Andrade shoved Knight into the ring post. Andrade went up top and hit a top rope moonsault onto a standing Knight on the floor. They went to a break there.

(Commercial)

Andrade connected with a forearm to the jaw. The fans booed Andrade after a kip up even though he’s a face. That’s because the fans like Knight more. Andrade went for double knees, but Knight moved and Knight hit a DDT for two. Knight stomped on Andrade repeatedly followed by a running knee smash by Knight. Andrade hit a jumping neckbreaker for two. The fans chanted “this is awesome” as Knight set up Andrade on the top rope. Andrade hit a back elbow. Andrade went up top, double jump moonsault and he landed on Knight for a two count. Andrade charged again leading to the double knees for a two count. Andrade hit a jawbreaker. Knight caught a charging Andrade and Knight hit a powerslam. Knight jumped from the middle turnbuckle to the top and hit a top rope elbow. Andrade came back wit ha rollup for two. Andrade went for a boot, but it was avoided and Andrade hit a spinning back elbow to the head for two. Andrade went to the turnbuckle, Knight slipped jumping to the top and Andrade shoved him down. Andrade with for a missile dropkick, Knight avoided it and Knight hit Blount Force Trauma (BFT) for the pinfall win after 17 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: LA Knight

Analysis: ***3/4 It was a great match that is going to elevate the US Title since it got a lot of time and they had a competitive match. Knight won the title last month, so I didn’t think he had any chance of losing it here. The spot near the end where Knight jumped up and went for a suplex was off, but they figured it out by having Andrade miss the missile dropkick. That led right into Knight hitting BFT for the win. This was a lot of fun with a hot crowd that was into the match the whole way.

After the match, Knight spoke to Andrade. Knight wanted a fist bump, Andrade wanted a handshake instead and they had an awkward handshake.

Nia Jax, the WWE Women’s Champion, and Tiffany Stratton were chatting backstage. Stratton spoke about how they were going to win their tag team match. Jax said that Bayley & Naomi are coming after her title, so maybe if Stratton loses she should leave Smackdown…toodles. Stratton didn’t say anything.

The Roman Reigns-Cody Rhodes segment was up next.

A commercial aired about Saturday Night’s Main Event taking place on December 14th on NBC in Long Island, New York. Tickets are on sale now. That should be fun.

(Commercial)

Andrade was shown walking backstage when Carmelo Hayes asked what was that? Melo said he hadn’t seen a joke like that since the Kings lost to the Lakers, which drew boos. Andrade and Melo started fighting after that. It was quickly broken up by officials.

Analysis: I wonder if that means there will be another Andrade/Hayes match. That rivalry may still not be done.

Face To Face: Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech University in Atlanta is where Reigns played college football and Cody is from Atlanta. That’s also where Bad Blood is on October 5th when Cody & Roman will team up against Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu. They showed some cars driving up to the stadium earlier this week. The cars even drove onto the field. Roman Reigns exited one of the cars and walked onto the field that he starred on as a top defensive player on Georgia Tech’s football team.

Cody Rhodes drove into the stadium in a white sports car. Cody had the WWE Title and was in dress clothes as usual. They stood at midfield to have a chat.

Roman said that everything you put your eyes on in here, that is Roman’s. Reigns said years ago he shed blood, sweat, and tears on this field many times. They showed some quick highlights of Reigns. Roman said that this is his stadium and this is his city. Reigns wondered what Cody has done for his city.

Cody mentioned Reigns needed seven cars to arrive. Cody spoke about some other buildings in the city while saying his family spilled their blood in this city. Cody said Reigns played football here, then he went to the beach and Cody said this is his home.

Roman told Cody it’s time to get down to the facts. Roman said that Cody is in a lose-lose situation while dealing with people who have nothing to lose. Reigns said that they took Jimmy from him, they took his Wise Man, they took Roman’s Bloodline and they took his Ula Fala. Roman said he had nothing to lose because there was no weight on his neck. Roman said it’s on Cody’s neck because he’s a man with no country.

Cody said he told Roman before WrestleMania the first time that he would be a chief without a tribe. Cody said they took Jimmy, they took your Wise Man, they took the Ula Fala and do you really think you have nothing to lose? Cody told Roman to look around WWE. Cody said that we already have a Tribal Chief and it’s not Reigns. Cody said we have a WWE Champion and it’s not Reigns. Cody said if you can’t even beat your own Bloodline, who is standing here right now? Cody said it’s not the biggest box office attraction in the WWE, it’s the guy they used to call Roman Reigns.

Roman asked Cody what did he want? Cody wants his word that Roman will have his back so that Cody can have Roman’s back. Roman said he’ll give him his word. Roman said he’ll have his back. Roman said when it’s all done, he’s taking back what’s mine as he stared at the WWE Championship. Roman tried to walk away, but Cody cut him off. Cody said it’s not yours to take. Roman said Cody was in his way, so Cody stepped aside and Roman said: “You’re in my way in life.” Roman left.

Analysis: This was really cool. It was shot like a movie with the way it was filmed. They mixed in some music, they used some cool camera angles and since it was shot in a private place, they were able to deliver their lines easily without interruption. If you try to do something like that in front of a crowd, the fans are going to interrupt with chants and noise, so sometimes it’s smart to do something in a setting like that where it’s a closed-off production. Reigns thinks that he’s still the top guy that will win the WWE Title back, but Cody made the point that WWE has moved on while Reigns has been away and it’s not Roman’s title because Cody has it now. The key thing is that Roman assured Cody that he has his back for their tag team match at Bad Blood, so we’ll see if that’s actually true when they have the tag team match. I liked this a lot.

Kevin Owens was shown watching on a television backstage. Byron Saxton asked Owens for his thoughts on the faceoff we just witnessed. Owens didn’t say anything and left.

Analysis: The deal here is that Owens is close friends with Cody, but he’s not just going to forget all of his battles with Reigns in the past, so Owens has a tough time accepting Reigns as this changed man.

(Commercial)

Kevin Owens was shown backstage again to think about what we just saw before the break.

Giovanni Vinci vs. Apollo Crews

Vinci wasn’t wearing a jacket this time for his match, so no delays like when they wrestled two weeks ago. Vinci chopped Crews a few times. Crews went for a kick, but Vinci blocked it and hit a clothesline. Vinci gave Crews a body slam into the ropes three times in a row so Apollo’s legs hit the ropes repeatedly. Vinci went for a slam of some kind, but Crews countered it with the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! for the pinfall win. It went about two minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Apollo Crews

Analysis: * I thought Vinci would win just like two weeks ago, but instead it’s another win for the veteran Crews. I don’t think this is helping Vinci because it will make him look like a loser, so they should book him to get some wins soon.

After the match, Vinci attacked Crews on the floor and threw Crews into the barricade. Back in the ring, Vinci gave Crews a brainbuster. Vinci smacked Crews a few times as the fans booed Vinci for his actions.

Analysis: It’s an easy way to get heat on Vinci since he was a sore loser after his loss.

Kevin Owens was approached by Byron Saxton again. Owens said if he was going to talk about then he’s going to go do it out in the ring. Cole: “What a pest Byron is!” Poor Byron.

A commercial aired for Survivor Series WarGames on November 30th in Vancouver.

(Commercial)

Let’s Hear from Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens made his entrance as the fans gave him a big ovation as usual at the top of hour two. There were “KO” chants, so the fans thanked him for that.

Owens said that he’s already aware that a lot of people want to know what he thinks about Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. Owens said people are wondering what he thinks about it after everything that has happened for several years. Before Owens could get very far, here comes The Bloodline.

The WWE Tag Team Champions Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa & Jacob Fatu interrupted. No sign of Solo Sikoa this week. Tama told the fans to let the Right Hand Man (that’s him) speak. Tama said that last week, Roman Reigns & Cody Rhodes embarrassed their Tribal Chief, which was a big mistake. Tama said they’ll get what’s coming to them at Bad Blood. Tama said that Owens will get what he has coming to him by orders of the real Tribal Chief Solo Sikoa.

Owens said that we all know how this is going to end, so get up here and Owens can punch them in their stupid faces. Owens knocked Tama and Loa off the apron. Jacob Fatu fought with Owens, so the other guys joined in. The #DIY team of Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano made the save for Owens. Owens sent Fatu out of the ring. Gargano & Ciampa sent Loa out of the ring. Gargano & Ciampa hit Shatter Machine on Tama as well.

Nick Aldis, the Smackdown, General Manager, went into the ring while security and referees were around ringside. Aldis said he noticed there were three of them on the floor along with three guys in the ring, so Aldis said you can probably see where he’s going with this. Aldis announced Owens and #DIY against The Bloodline in the main event.

Analysis: We never got to hear Kevin Owens’ true feelings about the Roman/Cody tag team, so that’s something they can get back to in the future. The attack by The Bloodline and save by #DIY is an easy way to set up a tag team match for later.

Naomi & Bayley were shown talking in the locker room. Bayley spoke about how they don’t want to leave Smackdown. Bayley said that they are in this together to get that title shot against Nia Jax. They had a friendly argument about who was going to get the win for their team.

The team of WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax made her entrance joined by Miss Money in the Bank Tiffany Stratton. Their tag team match is up next.

This Monday on Raw: Bron Breakker defends the Intercontinental Title vs. Jey Uso and Drew McIntyre returns.

(Commercial)