Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly WWE SmackDown hits and misses series.
SmackDown aired live from Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center in California. The show featured a United States Championship defense between LA Knight and Andrade. Roman Reigns popped up in a pre-taped vignette.
Here’s what went down on 9/20 Friday Night SmackDown.
Hit – LA Knight vs. Andrade
Andrade earned the opportunity to face LA Knight for his United States Championship by beating Carmelo Hayes last week on WWE SmackDown. The champion and the challenger kicked off 9/20 SmackDown. Andrade brought the fight to Knight but the champion more than held his own against the challenger. Knight picked up the win with a BFT. Both men showed respect to each other after the match.
It was a great match to kick off Friday Night SmackDown. Andrade doesn’t know how to give a bad match. Knight had to pull off some big moves to slow down the challenger. The Megastar botched the top rope jump twice but, thankfully, both men came out safe. Andrade’s spinning elbow is a thing of beauty. Knight doesn’t seem to be a fan of handshakes but Andrade forced one out of him.
Miss – Another loss for Giovanni Vinci on WWE SmackDown
Giovanni Vinci ran it back with Apollo Crews after getting embarrassed by him previously on the blue brand. Vinci delivered some offense, but Apollo picked up the win with a sneak pinfall attempt. A livid Vinci attacked Crews after the match for embarrassing him yet again. The Italian superstar sealed his assault with a vicious brain buster.
I’m starting to think Vinci’s gimmick is him losing in quick fashion. Both men got less than two minutes last night on WWE TV. Vinci’s disassociation with Imperium is only hurting whatever credibility he has left. They should let him run roughshod on SmackDown or, at the very least, put him in a credible feud against a veteran as they did with Ludwig Kaiser against Sheamus.
Hit – Bayley & Naomi vs. Nia Jax & Tiffany Stratton
Bayley and Naomi took on Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton in tag team action on WWE SmackDown. Tiffany and Nia showed they could work together. Bayley and Naomi, however, struggled to co-exist because both women wanted to pin Nia to get a title shot at WWE Bad Blood. Both ladies did pin Nia at the same time to set up a number one contender’s match for next week.
This was a really fun tag team match to watch. Stratton and Nia pulled off some creative tag team moves. Tiffany is going to become the WWE Women’s Champion sooner or later. She’s superstar written all over her. Nia has been a dominant champion thus far. The double-pin spot was good. As for the match next week, I think Bayley walks out as the winner.
Miss – Screwy ending to a great main event on WWE SmackDown
The Street Profits tagged with Kevin Owens against The Bloodline in the main event. Both teams went back and forth. Jacob Fatu and Kevin Owens had some hard-hitting exchanges. Montez Ford and Tama Tonga tried to put away each other. The referee called for the bell after Tana Loa dragged KO and slammed him into the steel steps.
A great multi-man main event ruined by the no-contest ending. Both teams spent nearly 15 minutes trying to kill each other only for the referee to call for the bell because someone got sent crashing into the steel steps. I guess they wanted to protect The Bloodline hence the screwy finish.
Honorable Mentions
- Roman Reigns pulled up to the Georgia Tech Stadium with seven cars as his entourage. Cody Rhodes drove all by himself. The American Nightmare asked the Tribal Chief if he’d have his back at Bad Blood. Reigns replied in affirmative but said Cody was in his way in life. This was a brilliant package. Cody continues to tease a heel turn. Roman dropping the “you’re in my way in life” line was cold.
- Tama Tonga actually got to cut a lengthy promo on WWE SmackDown this week. Those who watched him in New Japan know Tama’s got some solid mic skills. For those who haven’t, check out his promo from G1 Climax 27 featuring Kenny Omega and Tomohiro Ishii in the background.
READ MORE: Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes Announced For 9/27 WWE SmackDown
