Smackdown Results: Rhodes & Owens Taken Out by The Bloodline

July 19, 2024 John Kleinchester NEWS, Show Reports
Photo Courtesy: WWE

July 19, 2024
CHI Health Center – Omaha, NE

By: John Kleinchester

Results

  • Andrade over Carmelo Hayes via The Message in 9:44 (Recommended) 
  • Bianca Belair over Chelsea Green via Roll-Up in :56
  • Michin over Tiffany Stratton via Roll-Up in 8:06
  • Cody Rhodes & Kevin Owens over A-Town Down Under via Cross Rhodes in 11:53

 

Across the Codyverse

SmackDown kicked off with WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes coming down to the ring and fist-bumping with boxer and Omaha native Terence Crawford as the announcers promoted his fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3rd.

Rhodes said he wouldn’t be standing there as Champion without Randy Orton and that Randy is family to him. Rhodes then mentioned that Solo Sikoa cost him the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 39. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller then interrupted and Cody immediately brought up that Waller accidentally hit him in the face last week. Waller countered by saying that Austin Theory got attacked by The Bloodline last week because of Cody. The heel team got into the ring and Cody attempted to jump them but was quickly overmatched. Rhodes was thrown out of the ring and was handed a chair by Terence Crawford which Cody used to fight off Waller and Theory.

After the commercial break, Cody asked Nick Aldis for a 2-on-1 match against A-Town Down Under but Aldis said he needed to find a partner.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Andrade

A brief promo package was shown with Carmelo Hayes addressing Andrade saying that the crowd was waiting to see who would miss first and it wouldn’t be him. Andrade was noted as the WWE Speed Champion by a lower-third graphic and by the announcers but did not carry his title to the ring. A few highlights were shown of Andrade last weekend in Mexico. At the beginning of the match, Wade Barrett said something to the effect of  “You get the feeling that both of these competitors are laying just below the main event and whoever wins this will move up into that scene”. Andrade mostly dominated the majority of the early portion of the match with the crowd ooh-ing and ahh-ing both men’s athleticism. Andrade hit several huge moves including a brutal-looking spinning elbow leading to near falls. Hayes countered Andrade by hitting The First 48 but Andrade kicked out. Andrade then picked up the win with his finisher “The Message” in what turned out to be a very good match. 

Bayley and Nia Jax Sit-Down

The next segment on the show was Corey Graves interviewing Nia Jax and Bayley via split screen. Normally these work pretty well as pretapes but this was done live with crowd noise of just chatter behind them, making it a little awkward. Jax said that she wasn’t listening to Graves and that she was going to put Bayley down like an old, sick dog. Bayley responded by saying that Jax hurt her because she was big, clumsy, and wreckless. Jax then stormed off. 

Bianca Belair vs. Chelsea Green

Footage from earlier in the day was shown where Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill ran into Chelsea Green and Piper Niven backstage. Both teams were trying to find Nick Aldis to get tag title matches. The four competitors argued until they agreed that Belair would face Green tonight to… see who would be able to talk to Nick Aldis first? That set the stage for the match which they jumped right into. The match started hot with both women slapping each other and Belair hitting a German Suplex as the announcers explained that Chelsea Green had a nightmare travel day with the tech issues going on around the world. Belair reversed a roll-up to win in under a minute. 

The Women’s Tag Team Champions then appeared on the TitanTron and said they would give them a “glimpse” of the tag titles next week and as for their title shot they said, “We’ll see”. 

 

Contract Signing: LA Knight and Logan Paul

Nick Aldis was in the ring and said it was his responsibility to deliver the best matches possible for Summerslam. Aldis had the contract in hand and noted that it was already signed by himself as well as LA Knight. Aldis made no mention of where he was last week or how Knight already had obtained his signature on the contract. Aldis then welcomed both Challenger and Champion to the ring with Logan Paul being noted as US Champion for 258 days. Logan Paul wondered aloud why he should give LA Knight a title shot and Knight responded by saying that every time they’ve been face-to-face he’s “cooked” him.

Knight then brought up pinning Paul in the Money in the Bank qualifying match and Logan Paul responded by telling “Shaun” (Knight’s shoot name) to shut up and that he actually liked his “catchphrase bodybuilder schtick” and that he was a “gym bro pretending to be The Rock”. Knight responded by saying that Jake Paul is man enough to jump in the ring with Mike Tyson but Logan didn’t have the balls to jump in the ring with him. Logan Paul then signed the contract and the two started brawling. Knight got Paul into position for the BFT but Paul escaped before he could hit it. 

 

After the break, Santos Escobar stopped LA Knight backstage and noted that he didn’t get pinned in the qualifying match. Knight challenged Escobar to a match before Summerslam and Santos scoffed at Knight risking his opportunity so close to his title match.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Michin

A promo package aired featuring Ms. Money in the Bank Tiffany Stratton. This led directly to Stratton (accompanied by Nia Jax) taking on Michin. Stratton’s entrance utilized the crowd’s phone camera lights via an app called Stadium FX which added a cool effect, taking “Fireflies” to the next level. Early in the match, Stratton ran from an attacking Michin and hid behind Nia Jax then gained the advantage and hit Michin with an Alabama Slam on the outside.

Jax then distracted Michin allowing Stratton to gain the advantage on Michin and Stratton was about to hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever when Bayley appeared at ringside and started brawling with Nia Jax. Bayely then destroyed the Money in the Bank briefcase and Michin rolled up Stratton for the win. 

Bloodline Promo

An ominously lit backstage Bloodline promo was next with Solo Sikoa warning whoever partners with Cody Rhodes tonight was their enemy. 

Cody Rhodes & Kevin Owens vs. A-Town Down Under

Cody Rhodes was walking to the ring and the returning Kevin Owens approached him and simply said “You ready?” as the camera followed Kevin Owens through the curtain.

The match began and the faces took early control. At one point, Owens was on the outside and went out of his way to knock the large Prime bottle off the display at ringside. In a funny moment, Grayson Waller ran over and put it back to a chorus of boos from the Omaha crowd. The match went on and went to commercial break. After they returned Waller had a leg up on Owens and pummeled him on the outside. Owens while selling the attack still mustered enough energy to run over and knock the big Prime bottle off again. Owens finally hot-tagged in Cody Rhodes and Rhodes teed off on Austin Theory. The heels almost nailed each other again as Waller brought Theory in the way of the Cody Cutter. This led directly into the Cross Rhodes with Cody getting the pinfall. 

 

Before Rhodes & Owens could celebrate, Solo Sikoa’s music hit and Sikoa and The Tongans came down to the ring and a brawl ensued. Noticeably absent was Jacob Fatu as Owens and Rhodes set up to powerbomb Sikoa through the announce table. Fatu then arrived and dominated Owens as the crowd chanted “Randy”. Fatu continued the assault on Kevin Owens as Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga made Cody Rhode watch.

The Bloodline then triple powerbombed Cody Rhodes through the announce table and then put a chair around Owens’ neck, ramming him into the ring post. The heels then stood tall over the fallen Rhodes much like they did over Randy Orton last week as the show went off the air. 

Announced for Smackdown Next Week (Taped Tonight) in Omaha, NE:

  • Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Gauntlet Match: Street Profits vs. Apollo Crews & Baron Corbin vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Humberto & Angel vs. Pretty Deadly vs. The OC
  • LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar
  • Bayley & Michin vs. Nia Jax & Tiffany Stratton

 

Final Thoughts

The Carmelo Hayes / Andrade match was very good and recommended if you’re looking for the best match of the night. Kevin Owens knocking the Prime bottle off the cart multiple times was good for a laugh and reminded us that he knocked that CM Punk shirt off the table some months ago. The New Bloodline angle continues to be well done despite it being all but a foregone conclusion that Rhodes wins at Summerslam, with or without a returning Roman Reigns. Next week should be interesting as the crowd in Omaha was subject to the taping after the show went off the air.

About John Kleinchester 179 Articles
New Jersey born and raised. Wrestling fan since Lex slammed Yokozuna on the deck of the USS Intrepid. Favorite Wrestler of all time is Owen "The Rocket" Hart.
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