Disturbed? No. Appalled? Nah… Antagonized! Yes. That’s how I felt when Damian Priest and Finn Balor became the new Undisputed Tag Team Champions at Payback. Oh, let’s not forget confused when Balor entered into a cover that I didn’t think Sami wouldn’t come out of.
The weird thing is, I lost my first bet, but I won my second one. I bet that Owens and Zayn were going to lose their Championships before the end of this year, and lo and behold, they did. I’m not exactly happy about that, but I also seem to be right. Oof.
Nevertheless, the match was INSANE!
Jey Uso has joined the red brand… sigh. This is giving me Mysterio flashbacks when Rey left RAW because of his son. Now, Jey is doing the same. This alone could make me switch.
I can’t say I didn’t see the fact that Zoey Starkz would drop Trish Stratus soon. That poor girl was being dragged for too long.
And speaking of getting dragged, Raquel Rodriguez could have won the Championship against Rhea Ripley if she didn’t let Dominik distract her. So close that it feels like a scam.
Charlotte Flair & Shotzi vs. Iyo Sky & Bayley – Tag Team match
Flair dodges an incoming attack from Bayley and drops Iyo off the apron.
Chaos starts to unfold as Iyo decides to intervene the fight, which causes Shotzi to do the same. Flair continues to go after Bayley, while Shotzi handles Sky.
Things spill onto the outside because life would be boring otherwise. Ha! Iyo intercepts Shotzi mid-air as she tried to reach Charlotte for a tag.
Shotzi is seen getting beaten down by Bayley. The aggression we’ve seen from the Ballsy Badass before hasn’t emerged during this fight yet.
Shotzi makes a tag to Charlotte, and the queen is rolling right from the start with a crossbody from the top. Followed by multiple chops to Bayley’s chest.
Flair had Bayley caught with the Figure 4, but Iyo comes out of nowhere with a Meteora to Charlotte’s face.
Bayley and Iyo had Charlotte pegged for a bit, but as Bayley was preparing to leap from the top, she notices Asuka skulking around the timekeeper’s area. She scares Dakota by grabbing Iyo’s Championship from her hands.
Because of the mess, Flair takes that opportunity to knock Bayley off the ropes, tags Shotzi then kick Iyo off the apron. Again.
Shotzi plants Bayley with a winning DDT. Following the match, Iyo confronts Asuka for taking her belt. The Empress of Tomorrow makes it clear she wants the Championship back. Asuka’s contact lenses are freaking me out in a surprisingly good way. Ha!
Winners: Shotzi & Charlotte Flair
I ask again, what was the point of this revolt within The Bloodline if Jimmy was just going to abandon his morals so quickly? He tells Heyman he’s in, but I don’t want him to be.
Why does it seem like Jimmy REALLY can’t function by himself?
Heyman says that only Roman can confirm that Jimmy is irreversibly in The Bloodline, and as usual he ain’t here. So, Jimmy will have to deal with AJ Styles alone while Heyman deals with Reigns.
Has anyone else noticed how much Heyman likes to put his hands on people’s chests? Ha! Don’t think I didn’t notice. Even Jimmy noticed.
Anyway, not too soon after, Heyman encounters AJ Styles backstage. Paul suggests to him that he might want to deal with his own problems before Styles could tangle with him. That pissed AJ off, so he lunges at Heyman by momentarily chocking and backing him up to crate.
Of course, Jimmy couldn’t simply let this man be crashed to a pulp. He disposed of Styles by shoving him over metal objects.
Meanwhile, Damage Control is fuming because people are paying attention to Asuka rather the WWE Women’s Champion Iyo Sky. So she issues a challenge for Asuka for the title.
LA Knight vs. Austin Theory
Fresh off his win at Payback versus The Miz, LA Knight is looking ready for his match against Theory.
As LA Knight rightfully continues to badmouth The Miz for his insufferable whining over his lost on Saturday, for some reason, Grayson Waller felt like interrupting just as Knight was about to accept a challenge The Miz laid out for him.
Austin Theory joins him afterwards, so they can boast about what a great potential Tag Team they can be, how Theory rumbles about beating John Cena AGAIN, that Cena helped Knight win… blah blah blah. Man, aren’t you tired??
Ha! Ha! LA Knight called them “incels”.
Anyway, on with the match. At the start of the fight, Theory already manages to knock Knight down with shoulder tackles. Knight retaliates with a massive uppercut.
Austin was waiting to pick Knight up after he bounced off the ropes, but Knight had him scouted with a beautiful neck breaker. Ha!
Later on, Knight continues to add momentum as he repeatedly bangs Theory’s head against the announcement table.
I won’t lie and say that Theory’s slam dunk using Knight’s head against the top rope wasn’t well executed. I’ll give him that.
LA Knight misses with a Step-Up Enziguri then Theory also misses with an elbow drop. Ha! Knight naturally makes up for it by delivering two clotheslines, a side Russian leg sweep plus a DDT.
Austin makes a comeback with a hellacious blow to Knight’s jaw followed by a rolling blockbuster.
On the main floor, Theory wins the power struggle to see who will German suplex the other. Suddenly, Waller decides to remove the padding on one of the turnbuckles closes to the commentary desk as he alerts Theory to use it while the referee isn’t aware.
Cheap skank. Luckily, LA Knight notices it and turns things around in his favour with a power slam.
There was a minor struggle as everyone inside the ring, including the official, almost hit the naked turnbuckle. Thanks to that, Knight was able to finish Theory off with a BFT.
Winner: LA Knight
Damian Priest & Finn Balor vs. Ridge Holland & Butch – Tag Team match
Consider this a victory lap as The Judgment Day descend on SmackDown given they can show up on both brands. Yay…
It must be raining blood because everyone doesn’t want Dominik to speak about his one year anniversary since joining The Judgment Day, and any time he does, I can hardly hear him. No joke. Ha! Ha! Life is good.
Although not being able to hear Dom’s voice correctly is a blessing, Judgment Day is trying to recruit Jey Uso into their ranks. I almost banged my head against the wall because of how nauseous I felt. Jey in the Judgment Day? Are you trying to give me nightmares?!
I’m so glad that The Brawling Brutes showed up to shut his already unwanted mouth. Butch even snaps Balor’s fingers because he arrogantly said he isn’t afraid of the rabid animal. Now a small brawl roars.
Once the match officially begins, we can already see Butch on the mat in pain at the hands of Priest. Of course, Judgment Day was rolling, yet the moment Balor enters the fight, he’s being twisted apart by Butch.
Holland spins Balor around like a human bull then plants him on his back. It was going well until Damian returned. He kept blocking Holland’s attempts at lifting him off the mat by pounding hits into his back.
Holland muscles both Balor and Priest at some point then drops their sorry asses on their butts. Dominik looks to apply some interference, long enough for Priest to deliver a thunderous clothesline to Holland.
Finn tried so hard to put Holland down by squeezing the air from his lungs, yet Ridge throws him away to create distance to tag Butch.
He destroys everybody by disposing of Priest, delivers dropping knees to Balor’s left arm plus a Shiniest Wizard move then a Moonsault.
The Brutes play a double team on Priest for a near fall as Pretty Deadly looks on from backstage.
Butch kicks out twice after to agonizing attempts from Priest to put him away. Instead, Butch swats Damian to his corner as Balor tags himself in.
Butch has Finn scouted as he delivers a German suplex. Of course, he temporarily gets distracted by Dominik, so Butch gives him the three Beats of the Bodhran since Balor grabbed him. Ha!
The Brutes had Judgment Day for a moment as they were about to apply a double team, but Finn pushed Butch off the top, which destabilized Holland to be at the mercy of a South of Heaven from Priest to both men.
A winning Coup de Grace from Balor ends this match. I’m glad it didn’t finish there though since Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits’ abrupt appearance shocked the winners. Clearly, they want gold.
Winners: The Judgment Day
Backstage, the rest of The O.C. were having a giggling time. However, AJ gets mad at them for not being there when he got jumped by Jimmy earlier this evening. Styles even slaps a phone out of Karl Anderson’s hand. Damn.
Anderson reminds Styles that he warned him not to get involved in Bloodline business, but that’s not the point since none of them had AJ’s back. In conclusion, he doesn’t want The O.C. anywhere near his match.
Next week, John Cena will be on The Grayson Waller Effect. Also, The Miz’ demand of another match with LA Knight has been granted. Even greater news, Iyo Sky will be defending her Championship against Asuka in two weeks.
Jimmy Uso vs. AJ Styles
Jimmy’s theme music sounds like a dark circus melody and Hip Hop as I’ve mentioned before. It suits him.
Jimmy lunges at Styles with a Super Kick, AJ ducks out, which causes Jim to get caught. AJ starts hammering down on his opponent.
Styles even trips Jimmy so hard that he lands on the back of his neck. Goodness gracious.
Jimmy became desperate as he uses the second rope to better cover Styles. The official caught that, it was too obvious.
Styles rocks Jimmy with a quick kick to the side of his head. The Uso twin kept being on the receiving end of AJ’s harsh blows. He does create space with a Super Kick to Styles.
And to go back to my previous comment about Jimmy always needing someone there, Solo Sikoa shows up with Paul Heyman. The so-called wise man said Sikoa wasn’t here. He lied, Jimmy Jim.
Suddenly, Jimmy’s skills come back due to Sikoa’s presence, he dribbles Styles’ head on the steel stairs. Later on, Jimmy drops Styles from a high level onto his spine.
Jimmy collides with the mat after AJ manages to muscle him up. Jimmy takes Styles out with a kick to his shoulder, and AJ responds with a pele kick. Both men are down.
Jimmy thought he had Styles with that kick to his mid-section then an uppercut, but he didn’t cover AJ quick enough.
That headbutt from Jimmy didn’t look like he was used to it like Drew McIntyre or Sheamus. He wobbled afterwards. Commentary believes he just doesn’t have the stamina.
Styles rams Jimmy into the post after multiple glances and distractions from Sikoa. AJ completes his task with a Phenomenal Forearm. It was weird, as Styles left in victory, The Judgment Day randomly attacks him.
Damian and Finn offer AJ to Solo, who’s in the ring with Jimmy. Why? What a turn of events indeed as Sikoa smacks Styles with a Samoan Spike.
Winner: AJ Styles
TOP PHOTO: Balor and Priest deliver Styles to Sikoa. Courtesy of WWE
