Our WWE SmackDown results for tonight include Roman Reigns returning to the ring following he and Cody Rhodes’ victory over Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill will also defend their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend, and LA Knight puts his WWE United States Championship on the line against Carmelo Hayes, amongst other matches.
WWE SmackDown Card:
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair (c) vs. Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend
- WWE United States Championship: LA Knight (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes
- Jimmy Uso vs. Solo Sikoa
- Roman Reigns appears
WWE SmackDown Results:
Family Business
Things get underway immediately with the hottest story in wrestling, as Jimmy Uso comes down to the SmackDown ring for the first time in six months. He introduces himself and the show, and amidst a loud chant of “welcome back,” reflects on his time away. He blames his little brother, Solo Sikoa, for doing it, and not even being man enough to do it in front of him, either.
As he’s talking, though, out comes none other than the “Original Tribal Chief,” Roman Reigns. The man wasted little time in demanding the microphone from Uso, and let the crowd rain down chants of “OTC” before talking. Reigns said he usually likes to run things systematically, but is going to change things up tonight. He then asked the crowd in acknowledging…Jimmy Uso. Reigns said he doesn’t understand the revenge Uso is looking for, and isn’t a wise man, so he doesn’t know how to come up creative/manipulative plans.
Instead, Reigns said, he’s a tribal chief, and that means he takes what’s his. For four years, that’s been what they’ve done. They had everything, including money, titles, respect, and more. However, Reigns doesn’t like where he’s at right now, and doesn’t like his position of being out of control. When they step in the arena, Reigns wants everyone to know the GOATs are here, and that they are still the “ones.”
Jimmy Uso doesn’t think they’re the ones, though. Instead, he sees a chief with no tribe, with no ula fala. Uso says he returned to Reigns at Bad Blood because he needed help, and now they do as well, and Uso knows one person who can do so. Despite the crowd chanting “Yeet,” though, Reigns was quick to squash it with a “no yeet.” Jimmy says Reigns will forever be his tribal chief, but he’s the “only one” in the family that still acknowledges him, before leaving Reigns standing in the ring confused.
Grade: B+
It’s no surprise that the years-long storyline of The Bloodline is one of the most captivating in recent wrestling history, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that this segment was also good. Jimmy’s return completes one part of the puzzle for what fans hope will be an epic clash down the line, but Reigns’ hesitancy to call upon Jey might cause some issues down the line. For now, though, I’m just ready to see more.
WWE U.S. Title on the Line – LA Knight vs. Carmelo Hayes
It’s United States Championship time here, as Knight looks to continue his winning ways and keep his title against Hayes, who won a controversial match last week to earn a shot at the belt. With Andrade watching from ringside, things start hot off, with both superstars taking things outside of the ring almost immediately. Hayes drops Knight with a heavy clothesline before posing on the steel steps, then takes thing into the ring for a leg drop and a quick near fall.
Hayes is in surprisingly great control of the match midway through, and is not shy about letting Knight know it. After dropping him with another big punch, Hayes began taunting the crowd with Knight’s signature pointing gesture, but Knight woke up, and got in a few punches to reset momentum. Another near fall from Hayes sends the crowd going, and they began chanting for Knight to get up, which he did to deliver a series of punches before hitting an inverted atomic drop into a clothesline.
Hayes looked prime to come out on top and set up his finisher, but Knight flipped it and hit an inverted neckbreaker. He then climbed up to the top rope for a high-flying elbow drop, but Hayes kicked out. Knight looked for the BFT, but Hayes countered it into a scissor kick into a big DDT, but Knight kicked out at the very last second. As Hayes went to the top rope, he and Andrade shared a stare for a moment before Knight countered Hayes’ attack, and Hayes traded it with a BFT counter.
The two then began countering moves off the ropes, but eventually Knight landed a hit on Hayes and hit his BFT on him, which was enough to win the match and retain his title. After the match, a distraught Hayes was mocked by Andrade.
Winner and still WWE United States Champion – LA Knight
Grade: B
This was a solid match here, and it’s pretty clear Hayes is ready for bigger moments in his young WWE career. The brief “interference” from Andrade was a nice touch and sets them up for a good run. As for LA Knight, his title reign continues to be a great one, and it’s clear the fans are still very much in on him.
