Smackdown Results: Nia Jax wins Street Fight, LA Knight defends title

August 30, 2024 John Kleinchester NEWS, Show Reports
Photo Courtesy: WWE

August 30, 2024
Uber Arena – Berlin, Germany

By: John Kleinchester

Results

  • United States Championship: LA Knight over Ludwig Kaiser via BFT in 12:18 (Recommended)
  • Los Garza over Baron Corbin & Apollo Crews via MTY in 6:38
  • Carmelo Hayes over Andrade via Nothing But Net in 13:52 (Recommended)
  • WWE Women’s Championship Street Fight: Nia Jax over Michin via Annihilator in 11:14

(match times estimated as the show was not live)

 

LA Knight’s Open Challenge

Smackdown kicked off from Berlin with the returning Michael Cole noting it was the first time in twenty-seven years that WWE Television was emanating from Germany. With that said, LA Knight came out for his open challenge to a huge pop from the Berlin capacity crowd. Knight got on the microphone and noted that he defended his United States Championship in the capital of the US so it made sense to him to defend it in the capital of Germany and joked that they could rename his title the “Capital Championship” and he could continue to defend it in capital cities all around the world. 

This brought out Germany’s own Ludwig Kaiser to a huge pop as he officially accepted Knight’s challenge to huge “Ludwig Kaiser” chants. Kaiser said he would rename the title the “European Championship” (do all international titles in wrestling now have ever-changing names?) and Knight responded by calling Kaiser “Gunther’s Stooge”.

After the break, the bell rang and the crowd continued with their “Ludwig Kaiser” chant and Michael Cole noted that Kaiser was a crowd favorite tonight much like he expected Gunther to be tomorrow night at Bash in Berlin. Kaiser took control of the match and nailed Knight with a running kick into the ring steps to the crowd’s delight.

After the ad break, Knight took control back ramming Kaiser’s head into the announce table. Kaiser countered with an enzuigiri and German Suplex for a near fall. Kaiser then countered the BFT with a roll-up for another near fall followed by another BFT counter with a DVD as the crowd continued to bite on each close call. Knight then seemingly botched a slam and the crowd fell near-silent which was followed by booing. Knight then finally hit the BFT for the win.

 

Gunther / Orton Hype Video

A promo package was shown with the story of Gunther and Randy Orton’s World Heavyweight Championship match tomorrow night at Bash in Berlin. 

 

Legado del Fantasma vs. Corbin & Crews

The second match of the evening was Legado del Fantasma’s Angel & Berto taking on Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews. Berto and Angel were announced as “Los Garza” which WWE trademarked not too long ago and the team had “V” armbands (honoring the late Villano V) as well as claw mark paint designs on each of the pectorals. As the match began, the crowd chanted for Baron Corbin and cheered his every successful offensive maneuver. The crowd continued to be firmly behind the face team as Corbin threw Crews onto the heels on the outside.

Corbin & Crews then took over the momentum until Elektra Lopez got up onto the apron distracting Crews. Crews managed to kick out after the interference but was then hit with an arm drag off the top rope and was pinned after Los Garza hit the “MTY” (named after Monterrey, where they’re both from) which was essentially a pop-up kick to the midsection. 

 

Bloodline Promo 

A backstage promo was shown with Solo Sikoa saying that DIY and The Street Profits will acknowledge him next week. Sikoa went through his history as Tribal Chief noting that he took out Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman, and Roman Reigns. He continued that he did all of this to his family, so imagine what they’ll do to them. He then turned his attention to Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens saying he didn’t care who won because the Tribal Chief was coming for them. 

Rhodes & Owens, Face to Face

Nick Aldis was in the ring for the face-to-face between Champion Cody Rhodes and Challenger Kevin Owens. But first, Aldis threw to footage of WWE’s European tour from the Netherlands, Belgium, and of course multiple stops in Germany. Afterward, Owens and Rhodes were introduced each to a big reception. Aldis then left the ring as Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes pumped up their match tomorrow night there in Berlin. Owens then asked Cody Rhodes if he wanted to talk about what happened to his knee during this European tour. Cody said his knee was fine and he’d rather talk about them together defeating A-Town Down Under last week. Rhodes then brought up that Owens looked like he was going to hit him with the title last week. Owens responded by saying that everyone he’s turned on deserved it, except for Kofi to whom he apologized again. Owens went on to say that he would never do that to Cody. 

Rhodes posited that maybe Owens was angry with him because Owens doesn’t get enough credit for the renaissance happening in the industry right now. Owens then went back to Cody’s knee saying he knew that he was hurt and that people were texting him telling him that Cody was in the trainer’s room for hours at a time. Owens then retorted by asking why Rhodes hadn’t taken a knee during his entrance and went on to say yesterday was the eight-year anniversary of his winning the Universal Championship. Rhodes then stomped his foot on the ground to show his knee was fine and said Owens was angry because he’s had to share the spotlight with him. Rhodes went on to say he loved Kevin Owens and asked if they would still be friends when he beats him tomorrow night. Owens then threw the mic down and whispered something into his ear and walked off. Michael Cole then said, “remember what happened when someone tried to have a friendship celebration with Kevin Owens”.

 

A-Town Down in the Dumps

Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews were walking backstage lamenting their loss when they ran into A-Town Down Under. Grayson Waller said that Austin Theory was just talking trash about them and Corbin got into Theory’s face. Crews backed Corbin off and Austin Theory admonished Waller for constantly getting him in trouble. Theory said he thinks they’re falling apart and Waller apologized saying that Theory was his best mate. The pair shook hands and all was seemingly well for now. 

Giovanni Vinci Promo

Another Giovanni Vinci promo aired saying that it was not his return, it was his arrival and it was happening next week. 

 

Andrade vs Carmelo Hayes Part IV

Next up was Andrade taking on Carmelo Hayes for the fourth time with the lower third graphics noting that Andrade was up in their series 2-1. This match kicked off quickly with Hayes charging the ring and the two exchanging blows and Andrade gaining control after a corkscrew plancha to the outside followed by a tree of woe onto the ring apron. Hayes then shifted the momentum by hitting The First 48 and double knees into the corner. The turnbuckle then got pulled off during a sequence of maneuvers and made Andrade pause before running into the corner, giving Hayes the advantage. Andrade then hit a springboard reverse Spanish Fly which was unique in the sense that both men executed a backflip whereas in a normal Spanish Fly, one man would normally front flip.

Wade Barrett noted that this crowd is loving this match and called them “sickos” as Hayes was able to slip out of a corner mount by Andrade and slam his head directly into the exposed turnbuckle, following that up with his Nothing But Net leg drop from the top for the win, evening the series at two a piece. 

Women’s Championship Street Fight

The main event of the evening was a Street Fight between Champion Nia Jax and Michin for the WWE Women’s Championship. Jax was out first notably without Tiffany Stratton and Michin got the walk-and-talk promo to the ring saying her whole life was leading to this moment. Michin then proceeded to wheel a shopping cart full of weapons down to the ring. The match began and the two competitors started trading Kendo Stick shots as the crowd immediately started chanting for tables. Michin attempted to appease the crowd but Jax intercepted her and put the table back underneath the ring. Michin fought off Jax and brought the table back into the ring.

After the break, Jax attempted a backhand on Michin which made for a scary-looking spot with Michin getting caught on the top rope. Michin recovered, hitting Jax with a fire extinguisher. Michin then powerbombed Jax off the second rope and through a table when Tiffany Stratton’s music hit to a huge pop. Stratton ran down and nailed Michin with her pink briefcase. Stratton then considered cashing in on Jax when Jax caught her and Stratton instead continued attacking Michin. This brought out the returning Bayley who chased Stratton off. Jax then hit a Samoan Drop on Michin threw a table propped in the corner and followed that up by putting a garbage can on her and hitting the Annihilator for the win. After the match, Jax continued to pummel Michin with weapons as Michael Cole wondered if she was mad at Stratton for almost cashing in. 

 

Announced for Smackdown Next Week in Edmonton, AB:

  • WWE Tag Team Championship: The Bloodline vs. DIY vs. Street Profits
  • Giovanni Vinci Returns

 

Final Thoughts

As mentioned before in this report, mediocre shows in front of pumped-up non-North American crowds are usually taken to new heights by wrestling-starved crowds and this show was no exception. That said, both the US Championship match and Andrade/Hayes were legitimately very good matches that were only further accentuated by the lively crowd. Owens and Rhodes introduced a potential knee injury and somewhat successfully built some intrigue for their match although the outcome remains predictable. 

About John Kleinchester 199 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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