Join the Starman as he recaps WWE Smackdown live from the EnMarket Arena in Savannah, GA.
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Wrestlers are seen arriving to the arena, including the Street Profits, Fraxiom, the Bloodline. Drew McIntyre also arrives and immediately gets attacked backstage by Damian Priest until security rushes in to break them up.
Tiffany Stratton’s music hits as the WWE Women’s Champion makes her way to the ring as a recap is shown where Tiffany defeated Nia Jax last week on Smackdown. Tiffany says that just over a year, she has won Money in the Bank and defeated the likes of Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax. She then begins to issue a warning to the next Money in the Bank winner, however, she is cut off by Alexa Bliss’ music.
Alexa says that she also cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase on Nia Jax, and Nia was her friend. Tiffany, however, is not and warns her that if she thinks her rise to the top was quick, that she better wait for her downfall. Charlotte Flair’s music hits and says she knows about humility and is the most humble 14-time Women’s Champion of all time. Charlotte says she has done everything, except win Money in the Bank, and when she finally does, she will take her title, and the spotlight, back.
Tiffany questions Charlotte’s plan as cashing in the Money in the Bank contract is taking the easy way out. Tiffany then says the two are a little vintage for her and that she is the upgrade. Tiffany then leaves the two in the ring but Giulia’s music hits and the two share a look on the entrance ramp and we head into the first match of the night.
Match 1: Charlotte Flair vs. Giulia vs. Zelina Vega (Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match)
The match starts and Charlotte and Giulia double team Zelina for a moment before turning their attention on each other. Giulia gets the early upper hand until they take each other out with clotheslines. Zelina comes back in and takes them both down with a double DDT to pick up near falls on both. The fight goes out to the floor, where Zelina takes both Charlotte and Giulia out with a top rope moonsault and we head into a commercial break.
We return to the match where Giulia takes both Charlotte and Zelina out with a dropkick from the top rope. The three begin trading strikes and kicks with Charlotte gaining the momentum with a flying cross body block. Charlotte then follows it up with a moonsault on top of both of them to pick up a near fall over both. Giulia then locks Charlotte into the Rings of Saturn and turns it into a pin attempt before Zelina dropkicks both of them onto the middle rope and tries for the 619, but on connects with Charlotte.
Charlotte then dumps Zelina out to the floor and locks Giulia in a figure four, but Zelina breaks it up with a Metora. Zelina follows up with a Code Red on Giulia, but Charlotte breaks up the pin attempt. Charlotte then takes Zelina down with a boot to the face and locks in the Figure Eight, but Giulia breaks it up with a stimp off the top rope. Giulia then hits Zelina with a Northern Lights Bomb to pick up the pin fall and qualify for the Women’s Money in the Bank match.
Winner: Giulia defeats Zelina Vega and Charlotte Flair by pin fall to qualify for the Women’s Money in the Bank Match
DIY are backstage who says they turned the tag team division what it is today, They run down the Motor City Machine Guns and Fraxiom and says they are conspiraring against them. Tommaso Ciampa says it changes tonight when he takes on Chris Sabin in a one-on-one match. Chris Sabin makes his way to the ring along with Alex Shelley as we head into a commercial break.
Zelina is walking backstage and is confronted by Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice. Green says it’s amazing that Zelina is a champion and a loser at the same time. Zelina goes after Chelsea as B-Fab and Michin join in. Security and Nick Aldis breaks it up, as Michin says she wants to get their hands on the Secret Hervice. Aldis agrees and that match will happen tonight.
Match 2: Chris Sabin vs. Tommaso Ciampa
The match starts and the two go back and forth until Ciampa gets the early advantage and stomps down on Sabin in the corner. Sabin is able to comeback with a head scissor takedown and a hip toss, but Ciampa rolls out to the floor. Ciampa is able to counter with a DDT and sends Sabin into the guard railing as we head into a commercial break.
The match continues with Sabin taking Ciampa down with a bulldog and a series of strikes to pick up a near fall. Ciampa rolls out to the floor once again and the two begin to trade chops on the ring apron until Ciampa takes Sabin down with a slam onto the apron for a near fall. Ciampa goes for the Fairytale Ending, but Sabin counters with a Dragon Screw and a Tornado DDT for another near fall.
Johnny Gargano jumps onto the apron and is met by Alex Shelley, however, Ciampa knocks Shelley down with a boot. Ciampa is then sent out to the floor and Sabin takes out both members of DIY with a cross body block out to the floor. Sabin rolls Ciampa back into the ring and starts to head to the top rope, but he is met by Ciampa. Sabin sends Ciampa crashing down to the mat, who appears to have a knee injury, but Candice LaRae hangs Sabin on the top rope while the referee is distracted. Ciampa then connects with a knee to Sabin’s head and picks up the pin fall.
Winner: Tommaso Ciampa defeated Chris Sabin by pin fall.
Byron Saxton is backstage with Fraxiom and asks what kind of pressure they are feeling going into the biggest match of their career. Nathan Frazer says it is the biggest night of their lives, while Axiom says the Street Profits is nothing but a step on their path to greatness.
Shinsuke Nakamura is seen backstage as the Men’s Money in the Bank Qualfiying match is coming up after the commercial break.
The announce team hypes tomorrow night’s Saturday Night’s Main Event card. A video package on John Cena’s heel turn and his quest to ruin wrestling is aired. John Cena will take on R-Truth tomorrow night.
Damian Priest’s music hits but Drew McIntyre attacks him on the entrance ramp. Security rushes out to break the two up and Priest grabs a microphone and says he will send McIntyre’s ass to the hospital tomorrow, but tonight he will get his pound of flesh, and rushes out to attack McIntyre once again.
Solo Sikoa, JC Mateo and Jacob Fatu are standing backstage. Fatu says he wants to talk to Solo in private, but Solo says anything he has to say can be said in front of JC. Fatu tells JC that he doesn’t like him and he doesn’t trust him as he isn’t family. The two stare each other down as Solo tries to play peacemaker and tells them to use their agression in the match tonight against Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix.
The Secret Hervice make their way to the ring with Chelsea Green as we head into a commercial break.
Charlotte walks up on Alexa Bliss talking to herself. Charlotte asks what she said and Alexa shows that she is talking to Lilly.
Match 3: The Secret Hervice vs. Michin & B-Fab
The Secret Hervice start out fast against B-Fab with quick tags and double team moves. Niven locks B-Fab into a Cobra Clutch before slamming her down to the mat for a near fall. B-Fab is finally able to make a hot tag, as Fyre is also tagged in and Michin takes down both Niven and Fyre. Chelsea gets involved but Zelina Vega pulls her off the apron. Back in the ring, B-Fab makes the blind tag as Michin connects with the Eat Defeat on Fyre and B-Fab drops Fyre with a Fabulous Neckbreaker to pick up the pin fall.
Winner: Michin & B-Fab defeated The Secret Hervice by pin fall.
Byron Saxton is backstage with the Street Profits and says all of the pressure is on them as Fraxiom has already beaten them once. The Street Profits says they are going to walk out of Savanna the same way they walked in until they are interrupted by the Bloodline, who walk past them for their tag team match. The three make their way to the ring as we head into a commercial break.
Legado del Fantasma are seen together where Santos Escobar tries to get Berto and Angel back on the same page. He tells them that the three of them will come together at Worlds Collide to show everyone what they are all about in front of their people. Escobar and Angel stand up to toast, but Berto refuses to stand. Escobar tells Berto to trust him as Berto finally stands, drinks the wine, and walks away. In two weeks, Legado del Fantasma will take on El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., Psycho Clown and Pagano from AAA.
Match 4: JC Mateo & Jacob Fatu vs. Jimmy Uso & Rey Fenix
A recap of last week’s Money in the Bank Qualifying match is shown where Solo Sikoa defeated Rey Fenix and Jimmy Uso to earn a spot in the match. Jacob Fatu and Jimmy Uso begin this match as Solo tries to talk Jimmy into joining them once again. Before any action can start, JC Mateo tags himself in and quickly powers Uso down as Fatu tags himself back into the match. Uso connects with an enziguri on Fatu and Fenix is tagged in as the two begin to double team Fatu and send him out to the floor. Mateo comes in and gets the same and Fenix takes them both out with a corkscrew plancha on the floor. Solo tries to regroup the team as we head into a commercial break.
Back to the action, Mateo levels Uso with a clothesline and then lands a standing moonsault before staring down Fatu. Fatu is tagged into the match and continues on the attack as Solo tells Uso that he still loves him and that he can come home. Fatu then connects with a hip attack in the corner and Mateo is tagged back in. Mateo tries to go for a overhead suplex from the middle rope, but Uso fights out and hits a corkscrew dive before tagging in Fenix. Fatu is tagged in as Fenix connects with a series of kicks and strikes before taking Fatu down with a hurricanrana. Fenix then connects with a Poisonrana for a close near fall on Fatu.
Fatu is quick to recover and takes Fenix down with a Samoan Drop, but Fatu misses with another Hip Attack. Mateo is tagged in as Fenix manages to make it to his corner and tags in Uso, who takes Mateo down with a cross body block, but the pin is broken up by Fatu. Fenix connects with a missile dropkick, that sends Fatu out to the floor. Fenix dives out to the floor, but Fatu catches him and tosses him into the announce table. Meanwhile, Uso connects with superkicks on Mateo and Fatu. Uso then takes Mateo down with a spear and heads to the top rope, as Solo tries talking with Uso once again. This gives Mateo a chance to recover and hit Uso with the Taste of the Islands for the pin fall. Solo comes in and raises the arms on Mateo and Fatu, but the two still look suspicious of each other.
Winner: JC Mateo & Jacob Fatu defeat Jimmy Uso & Rey Fenix by pin fall.
Byron Saxton is in the locker room with LA Knight and says Solo Sikoa has a first class seat of seeing him grabbing the Money in the Bank briefcase. Before that, though, LA Knight will go through Aleister Black and Shinsuke Nakamura tonight and he will be hitting them with BFT’s on his way to Money in the Bank. R-Truth is seen walking backstage and he will be coming up next after the commercial break.
The announce team talk about R-Truth will face John Cena for the first time since 2011 tomorrow night, however, tonight the Street Profits will defend the WWE Tag Team Championship against Fraxiom.
R-Truth makes his way out to the ring and says everyone has been asking him how he is going to fight against his childhood hero, John Cena. R-Truth says he doesn’t recognize Cena anymore and doesn’t know where things went wrong. However, he realized the problem, which is power. Truth says the more power and fame Cena got, the more disconnected he felt. Truth says he thought he did something to annoy or get on Cena’s nerve, but said others were feeling the same way. R-Truth compares Cena to the goblin from the Lord of the Rings and says he doesn’t like what Cena has become. Truth says Cena is the greatest of all time and he is going to save wrestling by saving John Cena and by beating the hustle, loyalty and respect back into his ass.
A video package highlighting the end of last Monday’s Raw is aired, and we will see Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker take on CM Punk & Sami Zayn tomorrow night at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Aleister Black makes his ring entrance for the Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match as we head into a commercial break.
A video package on the ongoing rivalry between Noami, Jade Cargill and Nia Jax is aired. Next week the three will face off against each other in a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match.
Match 5: Aleister Black vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight (Money in the Bank Qualifying Match)
The match begins as Aleister Black and LA Knight work together to take out Shinsuke Nakamura and send him out to the floor. Black and Knight then go at it, with Knight taking Black down with a neckbreaker and stomping on him in the corner. Nakamura is able to take out Knight as Black and Nakamura begin going at it in the ring with a series of kicks and counters. Black looks to dive off the top rope onto Nakamura, but Knight comes back and sends him crashing to the mat with a superplex. Nakamura then connects with a knee from the second rope that takes out Knight and we head into a commercial break.
We return to the match and Black picks up a near fall on Nakamura, but it is broken up by Knight. Knight then takes Black down and tries for a cover of his own, but it is broken up by Nakamura, who sends Knight out to the floor and into the steel steps. Nakamura and Black then begin trading blows until they take each other down. Knight then returns to the ring and sends Nakamura out to the floor but catches a knee from Black and also goes out to the floor. Black then takes out both Nakamura and Knight with two dives out to the floor.
Back in the ring, Knight counters Black’s attack with a DDT, but takes a little too much time as Nakamura takes him out with a knee, but Knight is able to grab the rope to break the pin attempt. Black then connects with Black Mass on Nakamura, but Knight tosses Black out to the floor and picks up the pin fall on Nakamura to qualify for the Money in the Bank match.
Winner: LA Knight defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Aleister Black by pin fall to qualify for Money in the Bank.
Carmelo Hayes and The Miz are backstage as Carmelo says he earned a qualifying match next week. The Miz takes credit as Nick Aldis gave him the opportunity to pick between the two of them. The Miz talks about the importance of the match and says he wouldn’t be where he was today without winning that match earlier in his career. The Miz says Carmelo needs to run the play exactly as he designed it.
A video package highlighting the upcoming match between Jay Uso and Logan Paul for the World Heavyweight Championship is aired. The two will face off tomorrow night at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Also on the card, Zelina Vega will defend the Women’s US Championship against Chelsea Green, and Damian Priest will take on Drew McIntyre inside a steel cage.
Solo Sikoa is telling Jacob Fatu and JC Mateo their win is what happens when they stick to the plan. Nick Aldis comes up to them congratulate them on their victory and says Fatu will be in the final Money in the Bank Qualifying Match next week. Solo says they’re both going to win with the two of them in the match. Fatu then says “I love you Solo” and walks away smiling. Solo says Fatu hasn’t said that in about six months as we head into a commercial break.
A video package featuring Bianca Belair is aired where she talks about having a challenging six months of her career. Losing friendships, losing championships, and getting injured has taken its toll on her, but she will get through it and her best is yet to come. Bianca will return next week to Smackdown, which will also have a qualifying matches with Andrade, Jacob Fatu, and Carmelo Hayes in the men’s match, and Naomi, Nia Jax, and Jade Cargill facing each other in the women’s match. Plus, John Cena will return to Smackdown next week in Knoxville, TN.
Match 6: Fraxiom vs. The Street Profits (WWE Tag Team Championship)
This is the first title defense for the Street Profits. The bell rings as Axiom faces off against Angelo Dawkins, who quickly takes down his much smaller opponent. Axiom backs up into his corner as Nathan Frazer makes the blind tag and ends up eating a hard shoulder block for a near fall. The Street Profits continue wearing down Frazer with quick tags until Frazer connects with an enziguri and makes the tag to Axiom. Fraxiom begen to work together with their quick tandem offense and sends both of the Street Profits out to the floor and begin to hit them with a series of dives out to the floor and we go into a commercial break.
We return to the match, where the Street Profits have slowed things down as Dawkins has Axiom in a head lock. Axiom is able to take Dawkins down with a leaping DDT from the middle rope and makes the tag to Frazer as Ford is also tagged in. Frazer runs the ropes and takes Ford down with a dropkick before hitting a running Shooting Star Press for a near fall. Frazer then hits a missile dropkick for another near fall. Ford is able to tag in Dawkins as the Street Profits is able to regain control with some double team moves and we head into another commercial break.
The match continues with Axiom regaining contrl of the match as he puts Ford in a rear naked choke. Dawkins tries to break it up, but he is met by Frazer with a choke of his own. Dawkins is able to toss Frazer onto Axiom to break up the rear naked choke on Ford. Frazer is tagged in and tries for a superplex three times on Ford before actually getting it done. Axiom makes a blind tag and hits the Golden Ratio on Ford, but he is able to kick out. Frazer then tries to dive out onto Dawkins, but he is taken out. The Street Profits then hit the Blockbuster but Frazer jumps off the top rope to break up the pin fall.
This gets a “this is awesome!” chant from the fans in Savannah, as Axiom hits the Spanish Fly and a Phoenix Splash but Ford breaks it up at the last moment, but gets taken out by Axiom in the process. All four are laid out in the ring as DIY and Candice LaRae run out to the ring and the Motor City Machine Guns run out after them. The two teams begin to brawl around the ringside area and Ford jumps over the ring post to take them all out. In the ring, Dawkins his Frazer with a spinebuster and tags in Ford, who climbs to the top rope, however, the lights go out.
The lights come back on as the Wyatt Sicks are seen in the ring. The Wyatts attack everyone in their way, which causes a disqualification. Uncle Howdy takes out Johnny Gargano with the Sister Abigail and the Wyatt Sicks pose in the ring with a black cake that has a single candle in it. Howdy says “My life for you!” and blows out the candle as Smackdown comes to a close.
The Street Profits and Fraxiom fought to a no contest.
Quick Results
– Giulia defeats Zelina Vega and Charlotte Flair by pin fall to qualify for the Women’s Money in the Bank Match
– Tommaso Ciampa defeated Chris Sabin by pin fall.
– Michin & B-Fab defeated The Secret Hervice by pin fall.
– JC Mateo & Jacob Fatu defeat Jimmy Uso & Rey Fenix by pin fall.
– LA Knight defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Aleister Black by pin fall to qualify for Money in the Bank.
– The Street Profits and Fraxiom fought to a no contest.