With just over one week until the return of Saturday Night's Main Event, WWE continued the build with a focus on the upcoming undisputed WWE championship match between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens. The pair were not in the building together until the final moment of the show, but once they occupied the same space, a wild brawl broke out.
Prior to Owens' attack, Rhodes was otherwise occupied with Chad Gable, who showed up from Raw, and after trading words with Rhodes, found himself lined up across from the champion in the night's main event.
Rhodes was able to survive a stiff challenge from Gable, but that gave Owens a chance to strike, leading to a brawl between the two as the show went off the air.
Rhodes and Owens brawl to close the show
The show opened with American Made interrupting a show-opening promo by Cody Rhodes. Chad Gable said Nick Aldis had called to inquire about bringing them to SmackDown as "the transfer window is about to open." After some back-and-forth between the two about seeing various disappointments in each other, Rhodes told Gable to go talk to Aldis and lace up his boots for a match later in the night.
Rhodes' Saturday Night's Main Event opponent, Kevin Owens, was set to take part in a sit-down interview with Michael Cole. Owens instead sent in a cell phone video while sitting in his car in the parking lot. He said he was refusing to enter the building and Cole could come interview him in the parking lot. Cole did eventually do so and Owens claimed Cole would not have been unbiased before briefly arguing with the play-by-play man, kicking him out of the car and driving off.
Cody Rhodes def. Chad Gable via pinfall after hitting Cross Rhodes. Gable had removed Rhodes' boot and attacked his ankle throughout the match but ultimately couldn't get the win. After the match, Owens stormed the ring before delivering his own shots to Rhodes' ankle. Rhodes eventually fought back and the pair continued to brawl as security and WWE officials attempted to separate them as the show went off the air.
Overall, this was a very good episode of SmackDown with good story beats and some strong in-ring action. Rhodes and Owens delivered what they needed to, even if the past few months of WWE programming have felt like we're seeing one or two pull-apart brawls a week. Despite that, the build to Saturday Night's Main Event continued and Owens got across his anger well both with Cole and with his attack on Rhodes. Grade: B+
What else happened on WWE SmackDown?
- Solo Sikoa and the New Bloodline were shown arriving before the show, taking out Apollo Crews and several others backstage in a fit of rage.
- Tiffany Stratton def. Naomi and Elektra Lopez via pinfall after hitting a Prettiest Moonsault Ever on Lopez. With the win, Stratton advanced in the women's United States championship tournament.
- Bianca Belair def. Piper Niven via pinfall after hitting Niven with a Kiss of Death onto Chelsea Green. Earlier in the show, Niven and Green had attacked Belair backstage.
- Shinsuke Nakamura was in the ring with his new United States championship when he was interrupted by LA Knight, who demanded an opportunity to regain the title from Nakamura. Those two were then interrupted by Andrade, who said he had his own unfinished business with Nakamura. It was at that point that Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu hit the ring to attack Knight and Andrade before Nakamura made his escape. Sikoa got on the mic and said he was tired of not being taken seriously and dared anyone to step up and take a shot.
- WWE Tag Team Championship -- #DIY def. Motor City Machine Guns (c) via pinfall to win the titles. Motor City Machine Guns were supposed to defend the titles against the Street Profits, but the Profits had been attacked backstage, leading to Johnny Gargano asking Nick Aldis to take their place in the match. Gargano would go on to land a low blow to set up the win, effectively completing a heel turn for #DIY as they won the belts.
