WWE Smackdown 10/25/2024

WWE Smackdown 10/25/2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/10/wwe-smackdown-10182024.html

We see the Crown Jewel Title arrive in a box with guards. We also see various wrestlers arrive.

Randy Orton comes out to talk. He says he's been doing everything to get his hands on Kevin Owens. He says Nick Aldis can't help him so he calls out Triple H. HHH comes out. Orton says HHH has a soft spot for KO and says he is protecting KO. HHH says he's trying to protect Orton.

HHH said KO let his guard down and said he liked and trusted Orton and Cody. HHH says KO feels Orton and Cody turned on him. HHH says he's disconnected and says he's not the same guy. He says he doesn't want to put him in the ring with KO. HHH says Orton just came back from injury and he doesn't want to see him go back on the shelf.

Orton says he didn't ask Paul Levesque or a COO to come out. He said he wanted The Game and The Cerebral Assassin. The guy who threw him out of his own dining room window. Orton says HHH knows what its like and says HHH wouldn't sit back and let this slide if he were in his shoes. He said he'd handle business in the ring.

Orton asks for HHH to give him a match with KO at Crown Jewel. The fans cheer for it. HHH makes the match and says he hopes the fans know what they are asking for. HHH tells Orton from now on to protect himself at all times. 

Thoughts: I didn't buy any of this. I find it hard to believe HHH thinks Orton needs protection.

Carmelo Hayes and Andrade talk about their match tonight and their series.

Special Ref: LA Knight - Andrade vs Carmelo Hayes

This is their 7th match together. Andrade botches a spinning back elbow to start. LA is wearing his title and sunglasses as does his ref duties here. Andrade is thrown into the rails. Melo takes chops and boots in the corner. Melo uses LA as a shield and boots Andrade in the corner. Melo gets pushed over the top. Andrade goes to dive and LA stops him. Andrade then dives over LA outside onto Melo.

We go to PiP break and return. Andrade misses a meteora in the corner. Andrade hits a 2nd rope flipping russian legsweep. They trade shots on their knees then get up. Melo la mistica drops him for 2. Andrade hits a canadian destroyer.

Andrade corner meteora's him and Melo pushes Andrade onto LA during the pin attempt. Melo rolls up Andrade but LA is mad about what happened and doesn't see it. Melo superkicks LA when Andrade moves. Andrade hits 2 suplexes then Melo hits a suplex lift into a cutter. La pulls Melo out and throws him over the commentary table. Andrade goes after LA then LA hits a BFT on Andrade. LA hits a BFT on Melo. LA then rings the bell himself and says to hell with Game 7.

LA says we have a pile of losers in the ring and says he's the winner of it.

Thoughts: I didn't like the match as it was indy crap. LA beating up both and ending the match himself was kind of funny but was a bad payoff to this series.

Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton talk in the back. Nia says she needs to get Naomi off of her back. Tiff offers. Nia says Candice LeRae offered and is someone who actually beat Bayley, unlike Tiff. LeRae and Indi walk in. LeRae says she will take care of Naomi and says Tiffy can just relax. Nia repeats it and Tiff doesn't look thrilled.

Nick Aldis and LA Knight talk in the back. Nick asks what that was. Nick says he's made himself the center of attention and has both Andrade and Melo in a triple threat Crown Jewel.

Naomi vs Candace LeRae

CL gets a 2 count to start. CL yanks on the arm. CL crossbodies her. Naomi slides out of a lariat and double upkicks her. Naomi hits a fameasser for 2. CL flatliners Naomi on the apron.

We go to break and return. CL snapmares her then steps on her back and hits a senton for 2. Naomi hits a bad kick in the corner and is pulled down by the hair. CL cranks Naomi's head. Naomi hits a heatseeker piledriver.

Naomi hits dropkicks. Naomi tiger feint bulldogs her. Naomi springboard kicks her for 2. CL neckbreakers her over the 2nd rope. 

Indi Hartwell pushes Naomi into the post outside. Bayley then runs down. Bayley hits shots on Indi and sends her into the rails. CL is distracted and takes a waistlock bomb. Naomi then pins CL.

Thoughts: The match wasn't much. The crowd wasn't in it, it didn't get off to a hot start and Bayley's run-in didn't help things out either.

Gunther and Cody come out to talk. Gunther takes Cody's "what do you wanna talk about?" line. Cody says he wants to know why Gunther will leave Crown Jewel as champ. Gunther says it was unnecessary for Cody to bring up his daughter and this only involves the champion vs champion match. Gunther says let's see who the best champ is.

Gunther says Cody wants to be the quarterback of this place and says he asks for the John Cena schedule to try to live up to someone else's standards. Gunther says Cody is making things more dramatic than they are. Gunther says his reason why is himself. He says he's the greatest wrestler in the company and just wants to live up to himself.

Cody says none of this would exist without the fans and gives the fans a "whoa-oh" from his song, saying Gunther tried to take it away. Cody says he is dramatic and says they don't call them "Cody crybabies" for nothing. Cody asks where Gunther was yesterday and the day before. Cody says he was making the media rounds but Gunther couldn't be bothered to get out of bed. Cody says Gunther is missing the responsibility that comes with being champ. 

Gunther says he's the workhorse champ of the company and says he knows everything about responsibility. Gunther says he gets the same requests Cody does but just says no. He says Cody doesn't say no as his story is over if he does and says Cody will always be secondary to him.

Cody says he doesn't see a ring general in Gunther and says he only leads himself. Cody said all he did in his career was built on guts. He says guts is ending a discussion like this and taking the first shot. He then beats up on Gunther. Ludwig Kaiser comes to help out and Cody hits him. Cody is then held for shots. Randy Orton then comes out to help Orton.

Thoughts: Cody and Gunther are not my favorite promo guys and I didn't think this was a good segment. They just didn't get the story of this one down right or really put over how big of a match this should be with the two champs going at it.

We get a long package on The Bloodline stuff from last week's SD and Raw.

Ava, Pearce, Aldis, Piper, Green, Damage Ctrl, Jakara and Lash, Jade and Bianca all argue in the back. Nick announces that Jade and Bianca will defend the tag titles against the 3 other teams in a match at Crown Jewel. Jade says since they want to shoot their shot, now's the chance and they better get with it. 

WWE Tag Titles #1 Contenders Match - DIY vs The Motor City Machine Guns

There's still been no real intro or explanation of MCMG for people who don't know them. JG and Alex go at it. lex wristlocks him, JG reverses it. JG headscissors him, rolls him up and Alex rolls him up. They stand off.

Ciampa knocks Alex down. Ciampa takes a double team sequence ending in a baseball slide. Sabin takes a chinbreaker and a lariat from Ciampa. JG baseball slides Sabin. JG takes a double lariat. Ciampa's head is banged off the apron. Ciampa then takes a sandwich kick from the apron.

JG hits a slingshot double spear then Alex is sent into the post. Ciampa stomps on Alex against the rails. DIY pat themselves on the back and we go to break. We return and Ciampa knees Alex. Alex hiptosses him. Sabin hits a top rope double crossbody on DIY.

Sabin hits shots on both. Sabin then hits a tornado ddt. The Guns put DIY on top of each other and hit a top rope dropkick + flatliner. JG rolls up Sabin then rolls into a kick on him. Sabin takes a superkick + angles wings. JG topes Alex outside. Ciampa pumping knees Sabin for 2.

Sabin and JG trade pin attempts. Sabin jawbreakers him. JG superkicks Ciampa on accident and Sabin rolls up JG for 2. JG takes a double kick in the corner then takes a top rope splash + neckbreaker and is pinned.

Thoughts: It was what you would expect - a lot of double teams here and fast paced action with a lot of cute spots. I thought it went long and suffered because there was a lack of heels and faces. The crowd also wasn't super into it.   

The Bloodline them come out before MCMG leave.

We go to break and return. Nick Aldis comes out and says it's not going down here tonight. Solo says there's no problem here. Solo tells everyone to shut their mouth and says to acknowledge him. Solo welcomes MCMG to SD and says he's their tribal chief. Sabin introduces the team and says let them know when they are ready to hand the tag titles over - anyplace, anytime. Solo says how about a tag title match right now. The Guns agree and say to give them their title shot right now. Nick says let's do it right now.

WWE Tag Titles - The Bloodline (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) vs The Motor City Machine Guns

Tama and Loa attack to start then are thrown out. They take baseball slides then Tama and Loa hit a lariat and dropkick. We go to PiP break and return. Alex is choked on the ropes. Loa powerslams Alex. Loa and Tama then miss stereo moves off the top rope.

Solo gets on the apron. Someone in a hood pulls him off and it's Jimmy Uso. Solo hits Jimmy from behind and sends him int othe post. Fatu headbutts Jimmy. Roman Reigns' music hits and he comes out. Roman superman punches Fatu and Jimmy hits Solo. They fight to the back.

Sabin hits shots on Loa then top rope dropkicks him. Sabin running back bellows the ref on accident. Loa spinebusters Sabin. Another hooded person appears and it's Jey Uso. He superkicks Loa and throws him over the commentary table. Jey superkicks Tama then chairs him in the gut and back. Jey hits a big spear. Tama takes a top rope splash + neckbreaker combo and is pinned. The Guns win the tag titles.

Thoughts: There was a ton of shenanigans here that took away from the match. I don't like The Guns winning the title this way. They just haven't been introduced enough and any kind of chase story they might have had here is done. My guess is that they want to move forward with this Bloodline civil war and wanted to get the tag titles out of the picture for it. Why they even bothered putting the titles on them though in the first place is unknown. The match wasn't anything too special.

Jey stands in the ring alone after. Jimmy Uso comes back out. The Uso's hug. Roman then watches from the entrance area and they look at him. 

Thoughts: I didn't like Jimmy screwing Jey out of the title when they did it as I knew someday they would get paired up again and they'd have to try to explain it. That day is probably coming next week.I know I could never forgive someone if they cost me the title the way Jimmy did.

Overall thoughts:It was an unusual show with The Motor City Machine Guns wrestling twice in one night and winning the tag titles within a few weeks of debuting. Jey and Jimmy reunited after the main and LA Knight beat up Andrade and Melo in a match where he was the ref. I didn't like the Gunther/Cody talk or the opening Triple H and Orton segment. I didn't really like this show at all and thought almost every segment was a miss.