Gosh, damn.
As we open up the night, Paul Heyman looks worried; although, he believes that there’s no Bloodline without the Undisputed titles. The so-called Island of Relevancy isn’t what it is without Roman Reigns’ presence. Which doesn’t speak true to Sami Zayn, the person Heyman was certain wasn’t here after what happened at the Rumble and last week.
Zayn knows that Heyman is smart enough to notice that The Bloodline’s days are coming to an end. He makes the case that the moment Roman took wind that Solo Sikoa, the Enforcer of the group, started thinking for himself, which he should have regardless, Roman yanks him back to his hip. Jey walked out because I suspect he felt disgusted by the overwhelming reactions coming from his brother and the rest of the pact, and not because Sami whacked Roman in the back. Jey Jey probably figured it out too. Probably… Zayn had Paul crapping his pants at how rattled he was. Ha! This is the second time this week after what Cody Rhodes said on RAW.
Sami the Destroyer. Or The Interceptor. Maybe The Avenging Angel. Which title suits him best?
Sheamus & Drew McIntyre vs. Hit Row – Tag Team match
Hit Row are mad that they were coerced into another fighting against Sheamus and McIntyre when they already did. Ashante makes that evident by nudging Drew’s forehead in the most disrespectful way possible. Drew shoots a headbutt as a response to the rude gesture and that begins the match.
McIntyre was about to send Ashante to Claymore Country, but Top Dolla saves him in time. Drew tags Sheamus in, and he bulldozes through Ashante on the main floor.
Top Dolla sends a cheap shot to Sheamus while the referee wasn’t looking, unfortunately for Ashante, he comes back with an Irish Curse Back Breaker then the Ten Beats to Dolla. It was epic.
Sheamus kept toying with Adonis when he delivered the White Noise move as he and McIntyre are dominating this match.
Dolla rushes into the ring to intercept Sheamus from performing the Bro Kick to Adonis, yet laughably for him, Drew ships him to Claymore Country, so Sheamus gets to finish the job.
After their win, The Viking Raiders issue an ominous challenge to Sheamus and McIntyre next week. Valhalla says it’s destiny.
Winners: Sheamus & Drew McIntyre
Karrion Kross is getting ready for his fatal 4-way match later tonight as he makes his intentions to break Rey Mysterio down even more known, so he’ll take the contender’s spot.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Uso is still trying to get a hold of his brother, but with no success. I’m starting to get more worried. His calls are going straight to voicemail and the emails are going under the radar. Jimmy was desperate enough to ask PAUL HEYMAN of all people to help him defend the SmackDown Tag titles… Whaa–?
Heyman encourages Jimmy that he’ll have to do it on his own, as if Heyman is able to defend. If Sami was still here, he could have assisted like he did with Jey weeks ago. Alas, that will go against his ideology of the present.
Lacey Evans vs. Carmen Harress
So, Evans still acts like a self-absorbed ass when she demands respect from the fans, which she clearly doesn’t get.
She makes fun of her opponent’s, a local wrestler from Connecticut, hair for wearing a scrunchy. I wasn’t a fan too, but I wouldn’t shove Carmen off like a joke.
Lacey sends harsh clotheslines to Harress’ collapsed body. They were brutally applied like she wanted to ripe this poor girl’s face. Evans had most of the control of this fight when she drives Carmen into the middle turnbuckle then continues to shake her aggressively.
After demanding the crowd once again to salute her, Lacey rolls her eyes then delivers a Women’s Right to Carmen before shouting in her face. Evans initiates the Cobra Clutch for a victory. She didn’t release the hold even after the bell rang like crazy telling her to stop. Geez…
Winner: Lacey Evans
The Usos (c) vs. Braun Strowman & Ricochet – SmackDown Tag Team Championship match
We are seconds away from this championship, and still no sign of Jey Jey, but Jimmy believes he’ll be here. We arrive inside the ring as the announcer was about to introduce the champs with just Jimmy… But hold up! Wait! Jey appears in the crowd as he makes his way to the ring to embrace his brother fondly. I almost cried. I know if I do, it won’t stop for several hours. The audience were SO ecstatic to see Jey Jey.
When you look at it, Strowman and Ricochet almost had this match beat, but never count out the Usos. Never. It will cause your defeat.
Jimmy delivers a kick to the side of Ricochet’s hand, which he retaliates with a running knee and exits to allow Braun to do his thing.
Rico is up on Braun’s shoulders, the same move they used when they beat Imperium, he leaps into a Swanton on Jimmy for a cover that Jey pulls his challenger off of.
Strowman gets taken out of the equation after he flies across the commentary table after Jey dodges him swiftly. Ricochet decides to fly and take Jey out. He climbs back inside the ring thinking he’s going to end this.
Jimmy swigs a right hand to Rico, but the high flyer fights back quickly. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice the tag Jey made with Jimmy as Ricochet hits the Shooting Star on top of Jimmy, then suddenly his twin Uso splashes on Ricochet for a retaining win. Jimmy became more emotional due to this victory and return of his brother. I’m happy.
I was worried, yes, but I also believed that Jey would come back for Jimmy. For the rest of The Bloodline… I’m not so sure. Sami did call Roman and Solo “abusive cousins”.
Winners: The Usos
Sonya Deville, if you can’t believe it, remains as annoyingly relentless as she was when she kept demanding championship opportunities versus Charlotte Flair. And kept losing them… Ha! Now she’s mad that she isn’t part of the upcoming Elimination Chamber event. So, what does she do? Whine to Adam Pearce, of course. Chelsea Green is here too with a complaint against the RAW manager, who happens to be Pearce, which he rudely thought she should have known.
This conversation goes haywire once Adam gets tired of Green and Deville’s shrieking about not being qualified for the Chamber, so he decides to have them challenge two of its qualifiers, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez tonight.
Later on, we get to see Natalya again after she won her spot for the Elimination Chamber. She recognizes that Shayna broke her nose, but she knows that Baszler is nothing more than a “cheap knockoff of Ronda Rousey”. This angers Shayna to remind the audience that she got many accomplishments long before Rousey.
She and a returning Ronda give Nattie a beating for her words. Shotzi tries to help, but I knew that wouldn’t have gone far.
Somewhere backstage, Jey was strolling on his own after he left Jimmy with Paul Heyman, who was spying, mind you after the Usos’ match. Jey Jey encounters Sami near the trucks. He didn’t seem bothered by Zayn’s presence. He listens instead.
Sami has no problems with Jey, so he warns him that he’ll find a way to bring Roman down, which is unsurprisingly something the Uso twin wouldn’t mind seeing. Jey doesn’t have to go down with the ship, Sami acknowledges him.
Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez – Tag Team match
Deville and Morgan start this fight as Sonya delivers a harsh shoulder tackle to Liv and berates in her minuscular triumph. Morgan comes back better by forcing Sonya into a corner then drives her body with uppercuts and body slams.
Morgan had Sonya pegged for a bit till she leaps off the ropes and collides with a knee to the face from Deville.
Once Rodriguez comes in, oof, she ploughs though Deville like ugly grass with clotheslines, a Fall Away Slam and a Spinning Corkscrew. But Sonya had her hand on the bottom rope for a last minute salvation maneuver.
Chelsea Green, Ha!, gets tagged in, she freaks out. She whines and cries then is forcibly brought into the ring by Raquel and lands on her back badly. Green lunges at Rodriguez, she ducks and Chelsea ends up pushing Deville off the apron.
Raquel has Chelsea up for a Tahana Bomb, Morgan tags herself in to issue the Oblivion then Rodriguez and Morgan play a double team for the win.
Green definitely wasn’t ready for Raquel. Ha!
Winners: Rodriguez & Morgan
Madcap Moss vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar vs. Karrion Kross – Fatal 4-Way match to determine Intercontinental Contender
Moss and Emma were backstage as Madcap informs us that he’ll win the opportunity to face Gunther for the championship belt. And they seem to be getting closer… hmm… I’m here for it! Yay! Emma also decided to join Moss at ringside to watch the match.
Moss had Escobar momentarily trapped for a vertical suplex, but Santos releases himself for a roll up that fails then continues with a kick to Madcap’s head.
I noticed that Emma wasn’t the only one here. Zelina Vega and Scarlett were here too. Personal cheerleaders. Got it. The only person who didn’t have a girlfriend, wife, and/or friend out here with them was Mysterio.
And speaking of the man, he stalks Santos from behind and gets caught, but he manages to roll through before being intercepted by Madcap during a cover.
Kross and Moss play a double team as Karrion tries to get rid of Rey, but the wonderful Luchador turns it into a DDT.
Santos almost had Rey beat with the Phantom Driver, fortunately for the other players, Moss stops it from granting him the victory. Gunther was somewhere in the VIP section looking on.
Kross sends Santos outside the ring as he lands on the commentary table. Rey rushes in to face Karrion. Here it comes. 619 to Kross. It was going pretty well, but all good things must end for some reason. Scarlett trips Rey on the apron, and Karrion puts him through the Kross Hammer to the back of Mysterio’s head.
Oddly, Santos comes in and yanks Karrion outside. They end up fighting on the main floor. That leaves Madcap and Rey alone.
Moss drops an elbow on Rey for a beautiful win. Yay!! Emma is also very happy. Moss faces Gunther next week for the Intercontinental Championship.
Winner: Madcap Moss
As we conclude the night, Paul Heyman informs Jimmy that the Tribal Chief requests the Usos don’t accompany him at the Elimination Chamber next week. Weird, right?
Heyman recognizes that Jey is very loyal to Jimmy, and he’s loyal in return, but that doesn’t seem to rest well with Roman. Sami did make some strong arguments when he said that Roman knows he can’t separate these twins for his benefits as if they’re Solo Sikoa. He suspects that they’ll be a distraction he doesn’t need, or a another betrayal on the table.
Jimmy found this request cold and a bit rude. But perhaps, Jimmy will also see what Sami was talking about. He doesn’t see it right now, but he might.
TOP PHOTO: Sami talking with Jey. Courtesy of WWE