Smackdown Results: Reigns Attacks Bloodline, Matches Set for Berlin

August 9, 2024 John Kleinchester NEWS, Show Reports
Photo Courtesy: WWE

August 9, 2024
BOK Center – Tulsa, OK

By: John Kleinchester

Results

  • Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match #1: Street Profits over A-Town Down Under via Super Blockbuster in 7:13 (Recommended)
  • Jade Cargill over Alba Fyre via Jaded in 2:03
  • United States Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Santos Escobar over Andrade via Roll-Up in 12:21 (estimated – match began in ad break) 
  • Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match #2: #DIY over Pretty Deadly via Meet Me in the Middle in 7:08

 

Cody’s Next Opponent

Smackdown kicked off with Cody Rhodes coming out to the ring, all smiles after retaining his Undisputed WWE Championship against Solo Sikoa with major help from a returning “Original Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns. Rhodes said he had been considering who he’d like to defend his title against at Bash in Berlin. Before Cody could continue, Solo Sikoa interrupted flanked by Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga. Sikoa said that without Roman Reigns, he would have been champion, and because of that, he demanded a rematch. 

Rhodes responded by saying that Solo caused Jacob Fatu to get hurt and to set Roman Reigns on a warpath against him and called Solo “delusional” if he thought he had a claim to a rematch. The Bloodline then approached the ring when suddenly Kevin Owens appeared with two chairs and backed the heels off. Solo said he’d deal with Cody later after he found Reigns and with that Solo retreated. 

Cody’s music played and it seemed the segment was over when Cody got on the mic saying he wanted to talk to Owens about something. Rhodes then revealed that Owens was the man he wanted to face in Berlin. Owens said that he appreciated it but he hadn’t earned a title shot. Cody said that he hadn’t forgotten the sacrifices he’d made for him and he was going to go to Nick Aldis now and tell him his reasoning. 

Later backstage, Cody and Kevin argued in front of Nick Aldis as Rhodes noted that Randy Orton was wrestling for the Heavyweight Championship on Raw. Aldis said he was considering giving a rematch to Roman Reigns. This upset Owens who said that the rematch clause hadn’t been invoked in years and pointed out that he never got a rematch after losing his Universal Championship. This convinced Aldis and he made Kevin Owens vs. Cody Rhodes official for Bash in Berlin.

Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match #1

The first match of the evening was one of multiple qualifying matches to determine the #1 Contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championships. First up was A-Town Down Under taking on The Street Profits. Backstage at Gorilla, Byron Saxton interviewed The Profits and B-Fab who said that it had been three long years since they had gold and A-Town Down Under were just standing in their way. As the match began, the announce team reminded us that Austin Theory and Grayson Waller haven’t exactly been on the same page lately and wondered if a win tonight would fix their issues. The Profits went on to win with a “Super Blockbuster” to a huge pop. 

One noteworthy thing about this match was that there was a point with an interesting directorial choice with them staying with one camera shot for a prolonged period as the action continued, giving a unique perspective and further continuing the advancements in WWE’s presentation. 

Tiffy & Chelsea Time

Backstage, Tiffany Stratton was making demands for Nia Jax’s Championship Celebration next week when Pretty Deadly interrupted asking Stratton if she would be in their musical. Stratton walked off when Chelsea Green and Piper Niven interrupted, insulting Stratton’s outfit. Green said that it was all a ploy and Stratton was going to cash in on Nia. Stratton called Green arrogant and stormed off. 

Jade vs. Alba

Next up was Jade Cargill accompanied by Bianca Belair taking on Alba Fyre with Isla Dawn. Fyre got some shots in early but ultimately fell to Cargill in just over two minutes. After the match, Blair Davenport ran down as the three heels beat down Belair and Cargill. This brought out Naomi who ran down to even the odds, clearing the ring. 

 

Same Knight, New Theme

The next segment brought out the new United States Champion LA Knight, complete with new theme music (that sounded like a knockoff of the already existing theme). Lou Ferrigno was shown in the crowd as Corey Graves joked that he was going to run over and get a photo with him. Knight was talking up his big win at Summerslam when he was interrupted by Santos Escobar with Berto, Angel, and Elektra Lopez. Escobar said he didn’t buy LA Knight as a champion and his time in the moment was fleeting. Santos said he deserved to be US Champion with everyone saying “Ess-Co-Bar, Si!”. Knight reminded Escobar that he would have to qualify first as Andrade was out next to transition right into their qualifying match.

Giovanni Vinci Promo

A promo package was aired with Giovanni Vinci in Las Vegas, saying he was coming to Smackdown with style. This was the first sighting of Vinci since he was drafted to Smackdown back in April.

 

United States Championship #1 Contender’s Match

After the Vinci promo package, we returned to live action with the #1 Contender’s Match between Andrade and Santos Escobar already underway. Shortly thereafter, Baron Corbin & Apollo Crews appeared, attacking Berto & Angel as the four brawled their way to the back.

This match had several well-executed high spots as one might expect, leading to a few nearfalls the crowd bit on. Carmelo Hayes then appeared on the ring apron, distracting Andrade and then pulling Andrade out of the way of the double knees. Escobar then rolled Andrade up with a handful of tights for the win. 

Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match #2 (and tribute to Kevin Sullivan)

The final match of the evening was the second of two Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifying matches with #DIY taking on Pretty Deadly. DIY did a walking promo from the back with Gargano mentioning that The Bloodline took their titles in front of his two-year-old son last week. The cameras followed DIY to the ring when suddenly in a somewhat awkward moment, their music stopped and Corey Graves threw to a tribute video to the late Kevin Sullivan. 

Then after the break, A-Town Down Under approached Nick Aldis saying that complaining seems to get anyone a match. Austin Theory then threw out the “crazy idea” of Grayson Waller vs. Kevin Owens. Aldis liked that idea and made the match for next week on Smackdown.

Finally, we got back to the ring as #DIY must have been waiting for at least ten minutes. Gargano & Ciampa gained an early advantage over Pretty Deadly as the show went right back to commercial. As we returned, Pretty Deadly got back into the match although that was short-lived as DIY hit the Shatter Machine and Meet Me in the Middle for the victory. 

The Return of the Chief

Backstage, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga informed Solo Sikoa that Roman Reigns was nowhere to be found and Solo responded “Don’t worry, he’ll be here” as The Bloodline made their way back down to the ring.

After the commercial, Sikoa asked Tulsa to acknowledge him as the crowd chanted “We Want Roman”. Solo continued “Roman Reigns, in case you haven’t noticed I’m the Tribal Chief now and if you call yourself the Tribal Chief, if you want these (referring to the ulaphala) then come and get it”. With that, Roman Reigns’ new music hit complete with OTC or Original Tribal Chief graphics on the TitanTron. Reigns charged down to the ring as Solo sent Loa and Tonga down to attempt to stop him. Reigns nailed both men with the steel steps and then turned his sights to Sikoa in the ring as the crowd chanted “OTC”. 

Reigns and Sikoa started brawling with Reigns quickly hitting the Superman Punch and going for the spear before Tanga Loa pulled Sikoa to safety. Reigns then found the ulaphala lying in the ring and was about to pick it up when Loa & Tonga intercepted and beat him down, handing the ulaphala safely back to Sikoa.

Reigns then hit Superman Punches on both men followed by a spear on Tanga Loa and a spear through the barricade on Tama Tonga. Reigns then grabbed a chair and hit Tanga Loa with it at least fifteen times. Solo Sikoa with the ulaphala yelled from a safe distance that he was the man now as the show went off the air.

Announced for Smackdown Next Week in Orlando, FL:

  • Nia Jax’s WWE Women’s Championship Celebration 
  • Naomi vs. Blair Davenport
  • Grayson Waller vs. Kevin Owens

 

Final Thoughts

This was certainly an important show in the sense that it set up many new directions for champions heading towards Bash in Berlin, but it felt a bit rushed as there are still three weeks left and some of these could have been built a little more methodically. It seems as though there’s little else to do storyline-wise but we’ll see how the build continues. That said, the crowd was very hot for Roman Reigns’ return as expected and that story will continue to develop, perhaps seeing the return of Paul Heyman and maybe The Usos as well. 

About John Kleinchester 204 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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