SmackDown on Fox Episode #59
SmackDown Episode # 1,108
Orlando, FL – The Thunderdome (Amway Center)
11/13/20
We go straight into the Thunderdome where the “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns makes his way to the ring with Paul Heyman in tow.
Reigns asks Heyman what he calls SmackDown and Heyman tells him he calls it the Island of Relevancy and Reigns says that is exactly right because everyone who steps in this ring with him he makes relevant, Reigns then says that Jey Uso is the perfect example of that as he has gone from one of the twins you can’t tell apart to being in the main where he has destroyed both Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens. Reigns says that Uso will lead Team SmackDown to victory at Survivor Series and then he will establish his dominance when he defeats Randy Orton.
Drew McIntyre then makes his way out and he has some words for Roman Reigns.
McIntyre brings up that the last time he was in the same ring as Reigns he was throwing him out of the ring at the Royal Rumble and that lead to him winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania when he kicked Heyman’s other bitch Brock Lesnar’s ass. McIntyre said he came out because he heard Reigns talking about facing Orton at Survivor Series, but that isn’t going to happen because he is going to beat Orton on Raw next Monday and win back his WWE Championship. McIntyre brings up that he took Reigns’ place this year when he decided to disappear for months, McIntyre then goes on to say the Reigns sees being champion as a right when he sees it as an honor. McIntyre says he has been looking forward to being able to look Reigns in the eyes and tell him that he is the top guy now and at Survivor Series he will prove that statement to be true.
Reigns says he respects McIntyre and he always has and everything McIntyre said about him disappearing was true but he is back now and since he has been back everyone has forgotten about McIntyre because nobody watches Raw anymore because they are all watching SmackDown in order to watch him.
McIntyre says that he will be the guy who beats Orton on Raw and then he is going to go to Survivor Series and show Reigns who the secondary champion really is. Jey Uso then comes into the ring and grabs the mic from Reigns and tells McIntyre that this is SmackDown and they run things around here and furthermore the things that McIntyre was saying to Reigns were very disrespectful and he has already had to take care of Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens for being disrespectful so now he is gonna have to do the same to McIntyre. Uso challenges McIntyre to a match and then he gets in his face, but McIntyre shoves him on his ass and then he stares down Reigns. Uso tries to get in between them but Reigns waves him off and then after some more staring Reigns walks off giving McIntyre the cold shoulder.
Why? Why? Why? Why can’t WWE resist having people show up on the show they are not drafted to it’s not that hard, I mean they are the ones that made the brand split a thing so why in the hell can’t they stick to it? I enjoyed the interaction between McIntyre and Reigns but at the same time, I would’ve enjoyed it more if I wasn’t frustrated that once again someone is showing up on the show that they were not drafted to. It’s funny to think how even though these two faced each other numerous times over on Raw (including a match last year at WrestleMania) this match still feels fresh because both men’s characters have changed so drastically since then and now this feels like a big-time match that I would want to see whereas a year ago I didn’t want these two to ever step foot in the ring together ever again. The way they built up a Reigns vs McIntyre feud throughout this show makes me wonder whether or not Orton is going to retain this Monday as there has been little to no hype for a Orton vs Reigns match.
We then go to a commercial break.
We come back to a furious Roman Reigns who is chewing Jey Uso out about getting involved without his permission and then challenging McIntyre for a match because he is the one who calls the shots and makes the matches. Uso says he will take care of it and then walks off.
Poor Uso can’t catch a break as he goes in and confronts McIntyre for disrespecting Reigns but still gets his ass chewed out just because he didn’t get Reigns’ permission before he went and did it. I like that Reigns is so drunk with power that he still loses his shit even when someone is doing something in his defense.
We go to the ring where Sami Zayn has a mic and is unhappy that he wasn’t informed until an hour prior that he had to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Apollo Crews tonight and then talks about how there is still some conspiracy against him seeing as he had to win back a title he never lost in the first place. Crews’ music eventually cuts Zayn off and that sends us to our first match of the night.
Match #1: Sami Zayn © vs Apollo Crews (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Zayn kicks Crews in the gut and then backs him into the corner where he works him over with punches, Zayn sends Crews into the ropes but Crews comes back and takes Zayn down with a couple of clotheslines. Crews lifts Zayn over his head and drops him face-first onto the top turnbuckle which sends Zayn rolling out of the ring for a breather, but Crews goes out and throws him back into the ring. Zayn catches Crews as he comes back in the ring and goes for a suplex but Crews blocks it and hits one of his own. Crews hits Zayn with a jumping enziguri and a standing moonsault for a 2 count.
Crews sends Zayn into the ropes, but Zayn stops himself from coming back and slides out of the ring and then he rips the entire ring skirt off of the ring. Crews walks over to get Zayn, but Zayn grabs Crews and sends him face-first into the frame of the ring, and then Zayn traps Crews’ leg in the ring frame and this leads to Crews being counted out.
Winner: Sami Zayn via Count Out Match Rating: *¼
Yep, that was a match. It looks like Crews brief rise to relevancy is over as he is back to jobbing once again, This match was whatever it didn’t add or take away anything from the show but it’s a shame they give these two less than two minutes when they could put on a great match if they were given more time.
We go to the back where Adam Pearce is talking with McIntyre and offers him a fight for tonight against Jey Uso which McIntyre accepts.
Rey Mysterio is interviewed about his No Holds Barred match tonight against Seth Rollins which is being called the Final Chapter to their feud. Mysterio says tonight isn’t about him it’s about his family because Rollins has done everything in his power to destroy them but Rollins doesn’t understand that they have an unbreakable bond and tonight it’s over between Rollins and himself. Mysterio says that Rollins may call himself a Messiah, but he sees him as nothing more than the devil, and tonight he’ll send Rollins back to hell.
The SmackDown Women’s Champion and star of The Mandalorian Sasha Banks makes her way to the ring and this sends us to a commercial.
Sasha is in the ring and says that everyone doubted whether she would retain her title last week, but she proved them wrong and it feels damn good that she is still champion. Sasha says that what she has been through this year would be enough to break most people, but not her as she is on the top of her game and she is hereby putting the rest of the women in the locker room on notice. Bayley comes out but before she gets to the ring Carmella attacks Sasha from behind and hits her with a superkick and an X-Factor before leaving the ring.
A nice promo from Sasha yet again and a bit more build to the growing feud between Sasha and Carmella, I wonder if this plan by Carmella and Bayley was a one-time thing or if they plan on putting them together while Carmella feuds with Sasha?
We go to the back where Otis is eating a lot of food when Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode walk up and start mocking him until he stands up and flips the table and this sends us to a commercial break.
We come back and are informed that Tribute to the Troops will air on December, 6.
We go back to the ring for our second match of the night.
Match #2: Otis vs Dolph Ziggler w/ Robert Roode
Ziggler slaps Otis which pisses him off and he drives Ziggler into the corner and then biels him across the ring. Otis fires away with punches and clubbing blows to the back while Ziggler is in the corner and then he hits Ziggler with the avalanche in the corner. Otis looks to hit Ziggler with the caterpillar, but Roode jumps up on the apron to provide a distraction and Otis knocks him off the apron and this allows Ziggler to hit Otis with the Zig Zag for a very close 2 count.
Ziggler looks to hit the superkick but Otis catches the leg and hits Ziggler with a front slam and then hits the caterpillar and elbow drop. Otis goes up looking for the Vader Bomb, but Roode gets back on the apron once again but instantly gets down once Otis threatens to hit him, Otis hits the Vader Bomb to finish off the match.
Winner: Otis via Pinfall Match Rating: *
Once again this was a match and it was even more meaningless than the Zayn vs Crews because at least Zayn has a match at Survivor Series, there was absolutely no reason for this match happening as nobody wanted to see another Ziggler vs Otis match after we got plenty of those earlier in the year.
We go to the back to see Seth Rollins and Murphy chatting backstage and that sends us to a commercial.
We come back to Otis talking about his win over Ziggler when Chad Gable walks up and tells Otis he should be doing what he did to Ziggler every week and all he needs is some disciple and a mentor to show him his inner alpha and then Gable hands Otis a flyer for Alpha Academy. Otis looks like he is all in on this as he wants to work out with Gable in the gym and then he walks off. The little segment with Gable standing there alone with an evil look on his face.
I don’t know what this Alpha Academy thing is or what this is leading to, but it can’t be worse than being called Shorty G for almost a year.
We get a video package recapping the entire Mysterio and Rollins feud that felt like it started five years ago. Rollins and Mysterio make their way to the ring and we go to commercial.
Match #3: Seth Rollins w/ Murphy vs Rey Mysterio w/ Mysterio Family (No Holds Barred Match)
Mysterio goes right at Rollins with shots to the body but Rollins easily picks him up and drives him into the corner and then he whips him into the opposite corner and charges in but Mysterio catches him with a headscissors out of the corner. Rollins recovers and kicks Mysterio in the gut and then he runs off the ropes looking for a sunset flip into a pin, but Mysterio rolls through and hits Rolins with a kick to the head. Rollins rolls out to the apron for a breather but Mysterio reaches out to grab him only to have his neck snapped against the top rope.
Rollins goes under the ring and grabs a chair and charges at Mysterio, but Mysterio catches Rollins with a dropkick to the knee which sends him into the middle rope in the perfect position for the 619, but Rollins escapes to the floor before Mysterio can hit it. Rollins jumps back on the apron but Mysterio is ready for him as he slams his head into the top turnbuckle and then he slingshots from the inside to the outside but Rollins catches him over his shoulder but doesn’t follow up fast enough and Mysterio catches him with a fantastic tornado DDT on the apron.
Mysterio sends Rollins into the barricade a couple of times but then Rollins throws Mysterio into the steps in order to catch a breather. Rollins lifts Mysterio up in an electric chair and looks to dump him on the announce table, but Mysterio reverses into a sunset flip powerbomb into the barricade which leaves both men down and out. Mysterio gets back to his feet and starts kicking Rollins before getting back into the ring where he tries for a sliding move but Rollins catches him and suplexes Mysterio onto the announce table. Rollins bounces Mysterio’s head off the announce table and then sends him into the barricade before throwing him back into the ring where he goes for a cover but only gets a 2 count.
Rollins goes to work on Mysterio as he elbow drops him in the back and hits him with a backbreaker and then he whips him hard into the turnbuckle which Mysterio hits sternum first but he still has enough to kick out when Rollins goes for a pin. Rollins grabs the chair he pulled out earlier and wedges it in between the ropes and then he goes back on the attack with kidney punches to Mysterio. Rollins then picks up Mysterio as he looks to lawn dart him into the chair, but Mysterio slides out the back and tries to shove Rollins into the chair but Rollins stops himself and then he hits Mysterio with a back elbow when he charges in. Rollins shoves Mysterio into the corner and charges toward Mysterio looking for a splash but Mysterio is able to sidestep which sends Rollins crashing head-first into the turnbuckle and then Mysterio catches him with a springboard seated senton, a flying headscissors, and a wheelbarrow bulldog but all of that is only good for a 2 count as Rollins lifts his shoulder up at the last second.
Mysterio drives his shoulder into the midsection of Rollins repeatedly until Rollins catches him with a knee and then he throws Mysterio across the ring which causes Mysterio to slide out of the ring on his stomach and crash onto the floor. Rollins joins Mysterio out on the floor and he grabs the steel steps and bashes Mysterio in the face with them and then Rollins looks over to the Mysterio family with an evil smile on his face. Rollins drags the bottom part of the steps into the middle of the floor and then he places Mysterio’s face onto them as he looks for a Curb Stomp, but he takes too much time taunting the Mysterio family which gives Mysterio time to recover and then he moves out of the way at the last second and kicks Rollins in the leg and then he grabs the leg and uses it to trip him causing Rollins to hit the steps head-first. Mysterio rolls back into the ring and then he connects with a sliding splash onto Rollins who is still laid out on the steps. Both men are down and this is the perfect time to take a commercial break.
We come back and Rollins is under the ring grabbing a table and he sets it up in the ring, Rollins grabs Mysterio and gets some cheap heat as he goes for the three amigos (on the 15th anniversary of Eddie Guerrero’s death) but on the third one Mysterio knees him in the head and escapes, Mysterio fires off some forearm shots and then slides under the table when Rollins tries to whip him into it, but Rollins would grab the table and push it causes it to make contact with the face of Mysterio. Rollins puts the boots to Mysterio before climbing up to the middle turnbuckle and he tries to pull Mysterio up with him but Mysterio fights back and lands a kick that knocks Rollins loopy, Mysterio goes out and climbs the ropes beside Rollins as he looks to hit a hurricanrana off the top, but Rollins gets his foot hung in the ropes and we almost get a really scary botch but Rollins recovers and stands on the bottom rope and powerbombs Mysterio through the table, but the fighting spirit of Mysterio can’t be put out as he kicks out yet again.
Rollins grabs the chair he wedged between the ropes earlier and pulls the rubber end off of one of the legs and attempts to stab Mysterio in the eye with it, but before he can Dominik pulls Rollins out of the ring only to be laid out with a superkick. Murphy runs over but Rollins tells him to back off and then Rollins slides back into the ring and grabs the chair but that ends up being a mistake as Mysterio dropkicks the chair into Rollins’ face, Murphy jumps in the ring and helps Rollins to his feet and then he hands Rollins the chair and just when it looks like Murphy is in fact back with Rollins he nails him with a knee to the face. Rollins is incensed as he goes after Murphy, but Murphy leaves the ring and without realizing it Rollins has put himself in the right position for Mysterio to hit him with the 619, however, Mysterio botches the move so he has to dropkick Rollins back into place and then he hits him with the 619 and then goes up top and finally ends the match with a frog splash.
Winner: Rey Mysterio via Pinfall Match Rating: ****¼
After the match the Mysterios are celebrating while Murphy is standing on the apron, Aaliyah wants to run over and hug Murphy but Rey stops her, and then he walks over to Murphy and tells him to get in the ring and face him like a man and when he does Rey extends his hand which Murphy accepts and they shake hands. Aaliyah runs over to murphy and hugs him and then Murphy shakes hands with Dominik and hugs Angie and the Mysterio family celebrates this big win along with Murphy to bring the segment to a close.
As good as McIntyre vs Uso was as the main event of this show, I think this Rollins vs Mysterio match should’ve closed out the show because as tired as I am of this feud these two put on a great match and this was the perfect way to finish out this feud that felt like it would never end. I guess this feud has now officially branched out to a Rollins vs Murphy feud which should produce some great matches as the one they had a few weeks ago was really good.
We cut to the back where Natalya walks up to Adam Pearce and she is not happy that she has to continue competing in order to earn her way onto Team SmackDown as she thinks he should just put her on the team by default since she is the B.O.A.T. Pearce tells her that she has to earn it and the match is next. We then see someone tap Pearce on the shoulder and as the camera pans over we see that it’s Chelsea Green who is making her debut on SmackDown and with that, we go to commercial.
We come back to Seth Rollins who is furious as he knocks on Pearce’s door and he tells Pearce he wants to destroy Murphy and then he walks off.
Before the next match, we are informed that the match has been changed from a triple threat to a fatal four-way.
Match #4: Natalya vs Liv Morgan vs Tamina vs Chelsea Green (Women’s SmackDown Survivor Series Team Qualifying Match)
All of the women gang up on Tamina as Liv jumps on her back but Tamina backs Liv into the corner while also kicking away Chelsea and Natalya when they try to help out. Tamina finally throws Liv off her back and then tries to kick her, but Liv catches the leg and drops down on her knees in order to hit a legbreaker and then Liv takes her down with a dropkick off the middle rope. Natalya and Chelsea pull Tamina out of the ring and send her into the barricade.
Natalya gets back on the apron only for Chelsea to pull her back down and hits her with a punch, Chelsea gets up on the apron but she is knocked back down to the floor courtesy of a dropkick from Liv. Liv looks to go out and grab Chelsea, but Natalya cuts her off and drives her into the ring apron before throwing her back into the ring. Natalya hits Liv with some punches and then Liv reverses a whip into the corner but when she charges in Natalya moves out of the way and looks to hit a slingshot atomic drop, but Liv lands on her feet and rolls through. Natalya looks to hit a discus clothesline, but Liv counters it with a wrap-around DDT for a 2 count.
Liv hits Natalya with some mounted punches, but Natalya gets back in control by hitting Liv with one good shot. Natalya looks to lock in the Sharpshooter but Liv kicks her off so Natalya locks in a chin lock, Liv eventually fights her way out and drops Natalya with a clothesline for another 2 count. Natalya takes Liv down with a double leg and once again tries to lock in the Sharpshooter but gets kicked off yet again. Natalya tries to reverse a whip into the ropes, but Liv blocks it and hits Natalya with a one knee facebreaker for a 2 count. Tamina gets back in the ring and Liv hits her with the one knee facebreaker as well and that is enough to finish off the match.
Winner: Liv Morgan via Pinfall Match Rating: **¼
This was a passable match and I liked Liv getting so much shine during the match because she deserves it as she has improved so much over the past couple of years and is set to be a future star for the company if they don’t screw things up which given WWE’s record isn’t that hopeful. It was confirmed after SmackDown went off the air that Chelsea Green had broken her wrist during the match which sucks as she has had so many setbacks in her WWE career and the fact that she is having yet another one is so sad, however, with that being said I think it was a mistake that she debuted this week instead of next week because given that Ruby had already qualified last week it was pretty obvious that Liv was going to win this week and thus Chelsea was going to have to lose her SmackDown debut match which would make no sense.
I am curious who ends up being the fifth member of the team as I am sure that Natalya will take one of the last two spots and I would assume that last spot would have been for Chelsea, but given that she now is injured that is out of play so I am guessing we will get either Bayley or Carmella taking that last spot if you ask me I would rather both Carmella and Bayley take those last two spots and leave Natalya off the team completely.
We cut to the back for an interview with Drew McIntyre who is happy to be facing Jey Uso tonight because he wants to send a message to Randy Orton through Uso. McIntyre warns Uso that he has a lot of build-up anger he is ready to unleash and he reminds Uso that it’s a lot more embarrassing to lose in your own backyard. This sends us to a commercial break.
We come back to Big E in the back having some fun with a crew member before Street Profits walk up wearing aprons and pushing a cart, Street Profits reveal three dishes shaped in the letter L which stands for the loss that New Day will have at Survivor Series. Big E says that all the Street Profits will ever be is New Day lite or Diet New Day and at Survivor Series it will be clear as day, correction it will be clear as a New Day who the best tag team in the world is. Big E and the Street Profits laugh hysterically until Big E walks off and then Street Profits get a serious look on their face.
We get the entrances of Uso and McIntyre before going to a commercial once again.
We come back and it’s main event time.
Match #5: Drew McIntyre vs Jey Uso
We get a lockup and McIntyre backs Uso into the corner and roughs him up a bit until the referee forces him to back off and then we get another lockup that leads to Uso grabbing a side headlock until McIntyre shoots him into the ropes and takes Uso down with a shoulder block. Uso tries to make a comeback with some right hands but McIntyre reverses a whip into the corner only for Uso to stop himself from crashing into the corner, but McIntyre grabs him by the throat and throws him into the corner anyway where he works him over with strikes including a big chop to the chest, McIntyre then takes Uso down with a vertical suplex for a 2 count.
McIntyre steps on Usos’s hand and then takes him down with a back elbow after sending him into the ropes. McIntyre continues his assault with another big chop to the chest and then Uso catches him out of nowhere with a jawbreaker. McIntyre reverses a whip into the ropes and when Uso tries to go up and over McIntyre catches him with a kick to the ribs. McIntyre looks to clothesline Uso out of the ring, but Uso side steps and throws McIntyre over the top instead and then looks to hit him with a tope suicida only for McIntyre to cut him off with a big right hand when Uso sticks his head through the ropes. McIntyre goes to get in the ring but as he steps through the ropes Uso kicks the rope causing it to hit McIntyre in the balls and then Uso hits McIntyre with a superkick that sends McIntyre to the floor and that sends us to a commercial.
We come back to Uso punching away at McIntyre in the mount position only for McIntyre to get a hope spot moments later when he fires away with punches and chops of his own, but when McIntyre runs off the ropes he is hit with a Samoan drop for a 2 count. McIntyre crawls over to the corner where Uso puts the boots to him, but when Uso charges in to hit the hip attack he is taken down by a clothesline from McIntyre who explodes out of the corner. McIntyre throws Uso around the ring with a couple of overhead belly to belly suplexes and a jumping neckbreaker which puts McIntyre is in full control. McIntyre looks to hit the Future Shock, but Uso counters it into a jackknife pin for a 2 count.
Uso hits McIntyre with a kick to the gut and a big right hand, but McIntyre answers that with a Glasgow kiss and then he catches Uso coming off the ropes with a Sky High powerbomb for a very close 2 count. McIntyre picks Uso up but he breaks free from McIntyre’s grasp and hits him with a superkick and then he heads up top only to be cut off by McIntyre who climbs up and looks to hit a superplex, but Uso crotches him and then hits him with a headbutt which causes McIntyre to drop down for a moment before raising back up and throwing Uso off the top with a spider style toss off the top rope. McIntyre looks ready to hit the Claymore, but before he can Uso stops on a dime and rolls out of the ring, and McIntyre follows sending Uso into the barricade a couple of times.
Roman Reigns music hits and he comes out as McIntyre throws Uso back into the ring. McIntyre is distracted by Reigns long enough for Uso to get back to his feet and he sends McIntyre into the ring post and the steps before throwing him back into the ring. Uso goes to get back into the ring, but Reigns grabs him by the foot and drags him out of the ring where he tells him that he doesn’t care if Uso wins the match or not he just needs to make McIntyre understand. Uso slides back in the ring and delivers more mounted punches to McIntyre but when he lets up and gets off of McIntyre he turns around and is hit with a Claymore and that is enough to finish the match.
Winner: Drew McIntyre via Pinfall Match Rating: ***
After the match, McIntyre gets in Reigns’ face and asks him if he understands now. Reigns says they may talk next Sunday and then walks off and that is how the show comes to a close.
While I am still upset that McIntyre is in a match on SmackDown I will say that I did enjoy the match as the streak of Uso having good matches against top-level single stars continues. Yet again I have to wonder if we could see Orton losing the title on Monday as the end of this show really makes it seem like they are heading toward a Reigns vs McIntyre match for Sunday.
If I were to recommend anything from this show it would be the opening segment and the Mysterio vs Rollins match everything else was forgettable and did little to nothing to build to Survivor Series.
That’s it for me this week, I’ll be back next week for the Survivor Series go-home show.
