Written by
John Canton• Published 20th April 2024
This week’s WWE SmackDown featured LA Knight vs. AJ Styles, plus Bayley defending the Women’s Title against Naomi.
It was SmackDown at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh with Corey Graves & Wade Barrett on commentary.
Match #1:AJ Styles defeated LA Knight by pinfall. Styles did an eye poke that the referee didn’t see followed by a Phenomenal Forearm for the pinfall win.
The win by Styles means he’ll challenge Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at Backlash on May 4th.
Solo Sikoa arrived in a car. Solo had a jacket on and Paul Heyman was there saying nice threads by Solo. Tama Tonga was there, so Solo introduced him as the newest member of The Bloodline. Heyman tried to say something, but Solo asked if Kevin Owens was and Heyman said he thinks he was in the locker room. They walked into the building.
There was a presentation of the new WWE Tag Team Titles to Grayson Waller & Austin Theory. Triple H and Nick Aldis were on hand to present the titles. When Triple H wanted a handshake, Waller & Theory refused that and instead shook the hands of each other.
Match #2: The Street Profits – Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins defeated Legado Del Fantasma – Angel & Berto, New Catch Republic – Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne and Authors of Pain – Akam & Rezar by pinfall. It was a long match that went about 20 minutes. The Street Profits hitting their Revelation (spinebuster/neckbreaker) combo move on Angel and Dawkins covered to win.
The win means that The Street Profits will get to challenge Austin Theory & Grayson Waller for the WWE Tag Team Titles.
Solo Sikoa was shown standing backstage with Paul Heyman. Heyman said he’s sorry that they can’t find Kevin Owens. Solo walked out toward the ring. Heyman said he’s not trying to piss him off. Heyman said that Solo is making decisions that are not his decisions to be made yet. Heyman said that these decisions can only be made by…so Solo stopped him and asked if he was done yet. That led to a promo in the ring after the break.
Paul Heyman started the promo talking about backstage politics within The Bloodline, which is the premier act in WWE history. The fans chanted “We Want Roman” at that point. Heyman tried to respond to that, but Solo took the microphone from Heyman. Solo Sikoa said last week he had to lose a brother in order for him to find a new one. Solo introduced his MFT…Tama Tonga.
Tama Tonga made his entrance by beating up Kevin Owens, who was on his knees and trying to fight back. Owens was bleeding from the left side of his head, but they never showed closeups of the blood. Tama Tonga went into the ring and raised his hand. Solo and Heyman did it too.
Kevin Owens tried to fight back. Solo went into the ring and hit Owens with a Samoan Spike to the chest. Tama attacked Owens with punches while beating up security guys as well. Tama brought a steel chair into the ring, but SD GM Nick Aldis was there along with other WWE Officials. Solo got Tama to back off. Solo, Tama & Heyman held their fingers up in the air for The Bloodline to end it. After that, Heyman put his hand on his face as if he was shocked by it all.
After a break, there was a parking lot scene where we saw a car crash in the parking lot, so Tama Tonga did that to Kevin Owens. Nick Aldis told Paul Heyman that they can’t tolerate this kind of behavior especially with the WWE Draft being next week and top brass has their eyes on this show. Aldis told Heyman that losing isn’t the only thing that has consequences. Heyman acted like he was shocked by the whole thing.
Match #3: Santos Escobar (w/Elektra Lopez) defeated Carlito (w/Zelina Vega) by pinfall. Escobar won with the Phantom Driver. The women got involved on the floor, Escobar kicked the ropes for a low blow and Escobar hit the Phantom Driver to win.
Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai, IYO SKY, Asuka & Kairi Sane were in a skybox to watch the main event. Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair were in the skybox beside them.
Cody Rhodes was shown backstage at The O2 in London during a WWE Live event. Cody did a promo saying he is bringing the WWE Title everywhere he goes. Cody said that AJ Styles is the number one contender and he’s the modern day Excellence of Execution. Cody said that at Lyon, France at Backlash, he looks forward to this match.
Match #4:Bayley vs. Naomi for the WWE Women’s Title was a disqualification win for Bayley after Tiffany Stratton attacked Bayley at ringside. Stratton also beat up Naomi. They went into the ring where Stratton hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever on both women. Stratton celebrated to end the show.
Next Week On WWE SmackDown
Here is what WWE has advertised for the April 26th episode of Smackdown.
* Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles contract signing.
* WWE Draft 2024 begins.
That’s all for this week.
