Smackdown – 09.11.26

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Last week on Smackdown – CM Punk chooses Sad John Wrestling for a title match!

Smackdown IS LIVE on the USA and Netflix airwaves for a HUGE show from Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. The announcing team for tonight’s show consists of Michael Cole and Wade Barrett on play-by-play and analysis, Mark Nash on ring introductions, and Cathy Kelley on news and interviews. There are three major title defenses and a grudge match on tonight’s card, so let’s watch some wrestling!

Who arrived to work today? Let’s see. Here’s a stone-faced Sami Zayn and the man he will face tonight, WWE Men’s Undisputed Champion CM Punk.

Cole and Barrett welcome us to CDMX, and throw to their Spanish-announcing counterparts, Marcelo Rodriguez and Jerry Soto. Here’s Randy Orton out to a sizeable pop, and we take a look back at his ongoing feud with Cody Rhodes and how he begged for mercy during their last confrontation at Sunday Night’s Main Event, causing Rhodes to pause as he was about to deliver a reciprocal punt from Wrestlemania. Orton asks the CDMX crowd what they want to talk about and tells them that Cody is not a killer, he’s a good man. Orton says it takes a lot to put down a legend and tells the crowd that Rhodes’s soul is not for sale. Orton says Rhodes isn’t a killer, as he mentioned, but Orton definitely is. Orton tells the crowd that anyone that comes between him and his fifteenth world championship is a target, and mentions tonight’s title match winner being the next victim. “Voices” hits and Orton makes an exit back up the aisle.

Here’s Smackdown GM Nick Aldis with WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green with Aldis letting Green know that if she gets hurt again (or worse), he’s going to have to strip her of the title. Green understands and tells Aldis that she appreciates him allowing her to wrestle. Aldis wishes Green good luck and tells Green she’s earned the trust. Green runs into Tiffany Stratton who tells Green she was just coming to let her know that she’ll be in Green’s corner to help fend off potential Lash Legend shenanigans as Green is facing Legend’s partner, Nia Jax.

Here’s AAA Cruiserweight Champion Rey Fenix heading out for his title defense against Ricky Saints. Back at the desk, Cole talks about the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Paul Levesque narrates a voice-over piece showing the aftermath and how WWE responded as America recovered. We go to commercials.

The new official theme song of Smackdown is T.I.’s “Let’em Know“.

AAA Cruiserweight Championship: Rey Fenix (C) vs Ricky Saints

There’s some rope-running to start and Fenix snaps off a rana. Fenix hits his rope-jumping/walking armdrag and nails Saints with a dropkick. Saints takes control and hits a rope-assisted armdrag of his own before posing. Fenix hits a standing rana and wraps Saints up for two. Saints fires Fenix into the ropes and kicks him in the mid-section as Fenix is trying to swing around. Fenix ends up on the floor and Saints fires off a between-the-ropes Revolution DDT. We go to commercials.

Saints is in control when the show returns and decides to strut while rope-walking before delivering his sledge to Fenix’s head. Saints mounts Fenix on a top turnbuckle and hits a jumping rana to send Saints flying. Fenix gets dumped to the apron and after slugging it out he fires off a moonsault that gets two. Fenix ascends and blasts Saints with a running kick before hitting a second moonsault to Saints on the floor. Fenix runs Saints back in and crushes him with a frog-splash-style cross body that gets two. Fenix ascends but Saints catches his leap and powerbombs Fenix for two. Saints fires off the Revolution DDT and gets two. Fenix grabs a roll up for two and fires off a reverse roundhouse. Saints tries to push Fenix into the ref and when Fenix turns he eats a Saints roundhouse. Saints tries for Roshambo but runs right into a Fenix handspring stunner that gets two. Fenix and Saints exchange kicks, and Fenix yanks Saints into the Mexican Muscle Buster which ends things.

They clearly weren’t given a lot of time to build to anything so the whole thing felt rushed from the get-go, but this was fine for what it was. Most pre-match thoughts were that Fenix would retain here ahead of his four-way title defense at TripleMania on Sunday, but Saints was game and did most of his greatest hits before succumbing to what’s quickly becoming an MDK finisher in the form of the MMB. Nothing too offensive here, it was just too short to get to a major level. 2.5*

Winner AND STILL AAA Cruiserweight Champion – Rey Fenix (Mexican Muscle Buster)

Post-match sees Fenix offer a handshake, which Saints has no interest in.

Here’s Cathy Kelley with Sami Zayn, who promises that his quest is about justice. Zayn says he was happy if Kevin Owens would have beaten CM Punk with Zayn’s help, but Owens didn’t want it. Zayn tried to help Johnny Gargano defeat Punk, and that didn’t work either. Zayn says it came down to it needing to be him to be the one to take back the title that Punk stole from him. Here’s Johnny Gargano and Candace LeRae in and Gargano wants assurances that he’s next should Zayn win the title. Zayn tries to politely brush it off, but an insistent Gargano wants an answer, so Zayn tells him that’s what will happen.

Nikki Bella makes an entrance as we go to commercials.

Los Perros del Mal (Daga, Los Garza, and Karmen Petrovic) have arrived in Las Vegas ahead of their shot at the AAA Trios titles, which are held by Los Psycho Circus (Dave the Clown, Murder Clown, and Panic Clown).

Nikki Bella vs Paige

They both charge at the bell and Paige’s Thesz Press leads to some quick ground-and-pound. Paige tosses Bella over by her hair a couple of times and then nails Bella with a superkick that sends her to the floor. Paige stalks out and they slug it out on the floor before Paige rams Bella into the barricade. Paige stands on Bella’s chest and then rams her into the Spanish announce desk. Paige nails Bella with a kick to the head and then runs her back in. Paige fires off a bunch of knees as Bella is trapped between the ropes, but Bella takes a beat before tripping Paige up when she advances. Paige fires up immediately and whips Bella into the barricade again before mocking her dance. Bella gets run into the ring steps and Paige again fires her back into the ring. Bella yanks referee Daphanie LeShaunn in front of her to ward off Paige’s advance before hitting a stack pin (with her feet on the ropes) that ends things.

We are not messing around with these early matches, that’s for sure. Bella steals one here after Paige dominated the entire time they were out there. I would presume there will be longer matches out there at some point but a lot of starch was taken out of this feud when Brie got hurt just after Nikki had returned. This felt like a placeholder, honestly, and not anything resembling a feud-ender. 1.5*

Winner – Nikki Bella (feet on the ropes stack pin)

Here’s Cathy Kelley with Nia Jax and Lash Legend backstage. Kelley asks about Jax’s approach for tonight, and Jax and Legend say a bunch of derogatory stuff about Green and her pal Tiffany Stratton. We go to commercials.

You can vote for the WWE SUPERSTAR who will adorn the next 2K game cover but you have to be a member of Club WWE to do so.

Here’s WWE Men’s US Champion Trick Williams out by himself. Trick gets handed a futbol and takes it into the ring with him as highlights are shown of Trick reclaiming the title after his pal Yachty survived five minutes with ex-champ Baron Corbin on SNME. Trick wants the world-wide audience to know that the crowd is chanting “Quinones” at him as that’s the best current soccer player from Mexico City. (They’re referring to Julian Quinones, if you’re interested.) Trick talks about regaining the title before booting the ball into the crowd. Trick mentions possibly being known as “Tricky Two-Titles” in the near future, but decides to table that for now before introducing his pal Lil Yachty. Yachty doesn’t emerge, so Trick asks for a drumroll from the crowd and does the intro over. Here’s Baron Corbin dragging a helpless Yachty out by his collar before exiting when Trick charges up the aisle. Trick tends to Yachty briefly before Corbin re-emerges with Yachty’s white kendo stick to blast Trick in the back with it. Corbin poses over the fallen duo and gets a loud “culero” chant from the crowd.

Here’s Finn Balor in Nick Aldis’s office lamenting the current state of Smackdown. Balor wants to remain in the hunt for the Undisputed title and while Aldis starts to speak, Danhausen comes in from behind to wipe down the video screen behind Aldis and Balor. Aldis mentions that Balor should be concentrating on the Money in the Bank show, and Danhausen wants to know all about the HUMAN MONIES in the Bank. Aldis tells Danhausen he’ll explain that later, so Danhausen exits. Here’s GUNTHER in as Aldis fires up about him interrupting another private conversation. GUNTHER tells Balor he peaked ten years ago and should have hung it up, so perhaps GUNTHER will have to beat that knowledge into him. Balor calls GUNTHER a “whiny little bitch” and when GUNTHER returns, Balor pops him with a right cross. (I LOVE YOU FINN BALOR) Aldis and Balor exit as GUNTHER whines about getting Balor while clutching his jaw. Here’s Danhausen back in but he decides to just let GUNTHER stew.

Nia Jax and Lash Legend make their entrance as we go to commercials.

Here’s a look at the Latin American title match happening at TripleMania with looks at Laredo Kid, Mr. Iguana, and the champion La Parka making their various entrances.

WWE Women’s Championship: Chelsea Green (C) vs Nia Jax

Lash Legend remains at ringside, while Tiffany Stratton is out with Green. Green has worked in Mexico before and was one half of the AAA Mixed Tag Team champions at one point with Ethan Page as her partner, so the crowd is fully behind her in this one. Green charges and snaps off a dropkick before firing a bunch of rights at Jax. Jax’s charge leads to her getting dumped to the floor. Green tries a tope but Jax catches her and rams Green back-first into the ring apron. Jax blasts Green over the Spanish announce table (Those dudes are getting a workout tonight.) and there’s a brief interlude as Jax chants “USA, USA”. (Green is wearing the tricolores look tonight, while Jax is in stars and stripes gear.) Green fires up so Jax cuts it off by tossing her into a corner. Jax misses a charge and Green nails her with an enziguri. Green ascends and crushes Jax with a missile dropkick that sends Jax to the floor. Green gets dumped on the apron and then rammed hard into the barricade. Jax fires Green back into the ring and runs her face-first into some top turnbuckles before Green rises up with a slap. Jax cuts that off with a uranage and a running senton that gets two.

Jax torques on Green’s neck and then yanks her down hard. Jax ascends to pull off a Hangman’s choke on Green while ripping at her mask. Green has another flurry before heaving Jax over onto her back. Green snaps off a rana and mashes Jax with a double knee strike to the back. Jax has had enough of that and fires Green over with a Samoan Drop that gets two. Jax yanks the protective mask off and sends her to the floor. Jax occupies the referee as Legend lines up Green, but Stratton flies around to push Green out of the way before eating a monstrous right hand from Legend. Green pushes Legend into a ring post before eating a Jax lariat when she returns to the ring. Jax lines up Green but she rolls out of the way of the Annihilator attempt. Green retrieves her mask and puts it back on before ascending. They exchange headbutts, and Green grabs an awkward looking Unpretty-her that ends things.

Everything feels very rushed tonight which maybe indicates a longer Punk-Zayn thing? It’s hard to say, but this is another one segment match on a show that doesn’t usually do that too often. The chemistry was fine here but Green kind of finished things awkwardly with a spot that I bet looked better in her head than it came off on television. Regardless, they got through it and Green retains with Stratton once again taking a bullet for Green’s ongoing cause. Nia did her bit and played the hoss role very well, as she’s been doing lately, but you could tell they both knew there was a clock ticking and they needed to get a bunch of stuff in before the finish. 2.5*

Winner AND STILL WWE Women’s Champion – Chelsea Green (Unpretty-Her)

Here’s Cathy Kelley with CM Punk, and Punk answers the “Why give Sami Zayn a title shot?” question by saying that sometimes bad behavior needs to be rewarded with an ass-kicking. Punk says he didn’t come to Mexico City to lose to a guy whose broken hand is due to him “jerking it to his nine-day title reign”. Punk says the air is rare in Mexico City and promises to shatter Zayn’s face with a GTS.

Damian Priest and a sombrero-wearing R-Truth make their entrance as we go to commercials.

AAA Tag Team Championship: The War Raiders (Erik and Ivar) vs Damian Priest and R-Truth

Priest has been dipping his toe into the AAA waters lately and I expect he will continue to do so, so we’ll see what happens here. Your referee is Charles Robinson. The Raiders attack at the bell and Erik yanks Ivar up to drive him butt-first into a prone Truth’s face. Erik crushes Priest with a leaping right hand before Ivar destroys Truth with a top-rope splash that gets two. Erik gets a tag and he and Ivar smash Trick around before Ivar comes back in. Ivar blasts Trick with a right and covers him for two. There’s a series of tags and Truth ends up escaping from the Raiders corner and tagging in Priest. Priest clubbers away on Ivar and then drops Erik with a leaping elbow. Priest drops both Raiders with rolling kicks and flying splashes. Priest plants Ivar with a facebreaker and covers him for two. Priest wants a lariat but Erik drags Ivar to the floor to prevent it. Priest goes out and charges over to hit both Raiders with a leaping splash from the ring steps. We go to commercials.

Truth and Erik get tags when the show returns. Truth trucks Erik a couple of times and goes into the Cena routine. Truth hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Erik springs up to tag in Ivar. Truth tries to yank Ivar up and does succeed eventually, hitting an AA for two as Erik flies in with a knee to break it up. Priest charges in and gets dropped by the Raiders. Truth and Ivar slug it out and Ivar ends the skirmish with a roundhouse. Erik and Ivar drop Truth with the Ragnarok to finish things.

The Raiders have been fairly dominant since winning these titles at Noche de los Grandes, and nothing changed tonight. I think you’ll see in the post-match that this was indeed the ending for Truth and Priest as a viable team, and there’s been some speculation that Priest might be joining his real-life partner Lola Vice on Raw soon, so we’ll see what happens there. This was functionally fine and had some fun spots, but again, like everything else, it felt a bit rushed and under-baked. 2.75*

Winners AND STILL AAA Tag Team Champions – The War Raiders (Ragnarok on Truth)

Post-match sees a frustrated Priest come back in to help Truth up for a hug. Priest grabs the sombrero and then wallops Truth with a lariat after a short chant from the crowd. Priest drops the straps and yanks Truth up for the South of Heaven chokeslam before icily staring down the crowd. Priest makes his exit and that ends that partnership.

Here’s Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair running into Fatal Influence (WWE Women’s US Champion Jacy Jayne and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid). Words are exchanged and Flair is not in the mood for any nonsense. Tatum Paxley scares the crap out of the Fatal crew by sneaking up on them and warns Henley and Reid to hold onto the titles closely. The Fatal crew exit and Flair tells Paxley that while she knows she can trust Bliss, she hopes that what happened at SNME was a rookie mistake. Flair leaves and Bliss holds Paxley back from chasing her down.

Here’s highlights of CM Punk taking the title from Sami Zayn and the subsequent path of destruction that Zayn has undertaken since. The main event will happen after we sell some products!

Michael Cole will have a sit-down interview with Cody Rhodes next week, and there will be more MITB qualifying matches. Here’s Rey Fenix with Cathy Kelley to talk about Penta’s shot at Roman Reigns title. Here’s Ricky Saints in to apologize and offer up a handshake, so Fenix obliges. Saints attacks Fenix from behind and drives him head-first into a door before putting the bad-mouth on Fenix.

WWE Men’s Undisputed Championship: CM Punk (C) vs Sami Zayn

Cole describes Punk’s ring jacket as having the legacy of lucha in WWE, which is a very cool touch. Mark Nash does in-ring intros for this, and the referee will be Dan Engler. Punk fires off a bunch of rights and Zayn bails. Punk hits a tope suicida and we go to commercials after 15 seconds of match time.

Punk had landed awkwardly on his knee during the first segment and now appears to be selling it as the show returns. They’re slugging it out mid-ring and Punk gets caught awkwardly by a Zayn rolling tackle. Zayn realizes that Punk might be dragging the leg around a bit and is backed off as Engler checks on Punk. Zayn clips Punk’s knee from behind and starts ramming it into a ring post. Zayn stomps on Punk’s knee and then yanks his knee pad down to pound on the knee with right hands. Zayn barks at Engler for a bit before walking into a couple of kicks from Punk. They slug it out and Punk drops Zayn with some rights. Punk snaps off a swinging neckbreaker and smashes Zayn’s injured wrist into the mat a few times before stomping on it. Punk yanks Zayn’s protective hand cover off and and signals for the GTS. Zayn catches it mid-move and sinks in a Figure Four. Punk rolls to the ropes to break it up and we go to another break.

Zayn nails Punk with a superplex when the show returns. Zayn gets pushed to a corner and Punk wants a bulldog. Punk can’t nail it, and Zayn wants a Blue Thunder Bomb but can’t pull it off due to his hand. Zayn finally yanks Punk up for the Blue Thunder Bomb and gets two. Zayn pulls Punk in for an Exploder and lines up a Helluva Kick. Punk charges out with a lariat and pulls Zayn into a GTS that gets two after Punk takes an age to cover. Here’s Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae charging down to ringside. Gargano distracts Punk and Zayn uses it to roll up Punk for two. Zayn goes back to the Figure Four and Punk grabs Zayn’s injured hand to break it up. LeRae climbs on to the apron to yell at Engler while Punk puts the Anaconda Vice on Zayn who immediately taps out. LeRae’s continued chattering prevents Engler from seeing the tap and Gargano charges in to the ring with the title belt. Punk yanks Gargano up for a GTS and Engler sees the aftermath. Engler rolls Gargano out of the ring and here’s Kevin Owens in to yank the title belt away from Zayn’s reach. Owens tries a belt shot, Zayn ducks, and Owens nails Punk in the head with the title belt. Zayn goes low on Owens and tosses the belt out to the floor. Zayn blasts Punk with a Helluva Kick and three seconds later we have a NEW CHAMPION.

Well then. I don’t think too many close watchers of this show saw that result coming but here we are. The expectation of an overbooked finish was spot on, and I think it was fairly clever in just keeping it to Owens and Gargano in terms of who got involved. Zayn claims his second title and I will be VERY interested to see where this leads Punk with MITB coming up. This was your match of the night, but it was a television main event in every sense of the word. 3.5*

Winner AND NEW WWE Men’s Undisputed Champion – Sami Zayn (Helluva Kick)

Post-match sees Zayn celebrate on the ring steps before heading back up the aisle. The credits roll and we’re out.

An impactful and important show, to be sure. They gave the CDMX crowd a major title change main event and I suspect the crowd will remember this night even though the mega-babyface Punk lost his title to shenanigans. The rest of the show was functionally fine but as I mentioned, a lot of it felt rushed and under-developed in terms of match stuff. They packed a LOT into two hours here, and got their highlights for socials, so mission accomplished in that regard. This reset at the top of the Men’s division feels like it will have tentacles extending in a lot of directions, so creatively I get the choice. We’ll see what it all leads to.

Thanks for reading.