WWE SmackDown live results: Two championship matches

After picking up a series of high-profile wins in recent weeks, Naomi will get her shot at Nia Jax’s WWE Women’s Championship on tonight’s SmackDown from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Naomi defeated Jax on the October 11 edition of SmackDown and also picked up a win over Tiffany Stratton the week prior.

In other championship action, WWE Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) will defend their belts against The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins). This will be the first time the two teams have ever faced each other.

Also slated for tonight is the beginning of the inaugural Women’s United States title tournament. First up will be a triple threat between Bayley, Candice LeRae, and B-Fab.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes is slated to kick off the episode. He was last seen riding in an ambulance with Randy Orton last week after Kevin Owens landed a much-discussed piledriver on Orton.

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– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as footage of Nia Jax, Naomi, the Motor City Machine Guns and the Street Profits entering the building from earlier in the day aired. The show went to the ring, where Cody’s music hit.

The Cody Rhodes segment

Cody showed good fire here and it was nice to see Aldis get some significant live television time in front of the crowd. Because Code-Man (I still can’t believe Cody referenced Orton calling him Code-Man out loud here) appeared in fighting clothes, I sort of thought we’d either get a match or a brawl of some sort, but maybe he’s already on his way to Georgia for College Gameday by the time these words even hit the internet. Either way, it was good logic for why he’s so fired up about Owens doing what he did to Orton and I still commend everyone involved, including the company, for selling the piledriver’s danger as a move. This wasn’t special, but it moved the story forward and sometimes, that’s all you need.

Cody made his entrance not in a suit, and instead in sweat pants and a t-shirt. Cody looked angry and focused as footage from last week’s piledriver angle was shown. Cody said, “Kevin Owens, you have crossed quite the line,” and then called for Owens to come to the ring. Nothing happened, so Cody yelled for Owens to appear. Nick Aldis, instead, walked to the ring with a microphone. Aldis said he knew Cody was angry and Aldis noted how Orton has severe cervical trauma.

Aldis explained how and why the piledriver has been banned in WWE for so many years. Aldis said Owens crossed a line last week and until things are figured out, Aldis cannot have Owens at the shows. Cody said Aldis was giving Owens what he wanted and instead, Aldis should let Cody handle things. Cody kept going on and Aldis stopped Cody from talking. Aldis asked Cody if he thought it was about money because he knew it wasn’t about money. Aldis said if he gives the roster an inch, they take a mile. Aldis said Owens cannot be at the shows until the situation is resolved internally.

Cody questioned “internally?” Cody asked Aldis to “be real,” and said he knows Aldis is a wrestler and a good man. Cody asked Aldis if he was the one in the ambulance with Orton and how Aldis would react. Cody referenced his celebration at WrestleMania 40 and how Orton told Cody he was proud of him and it was a moment he’d cherish forever. Cody noted how it bothers him Owens is saying Orton’s injury is because of Cody, so Cody said if he can’t handle his business in a WWE ring, he wondered what Aldis expected Cody to do. Cody told Aldis the ball is in Aldis’s court and Cody won’t be waiting long. Cody dropped the mic and Cody’s music hit to end the segment.

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– Backstage, Jimmy Uso was walking and ran into Jey Uso and Sami Zayn. Jimmy said Roman Reigns was on the way and he wants everyone to meet in the same room together later. Zayn said there was someone he could ask when it came to who the fifth member of their team could be at War Games. Zayn told the Usos he’d catch them later.

Bayley defeated Candice LeRae & B-Fab to advance in the Women’s United States Championship tournament [9:54]

This was clearly designed to get B-Fab over as a wrestler – as opposed to her usual gig as a manager – and it mostly worked. B-Fab, for her part, did a great job showing up when she was called upon and LeRae and Bayley seemed more than happy to give her the spotlight as much as they could. As such, good work all around. I had my guard up for a LeRae upset because she seems to be getting a mini-push, but there’s only one first women’s U.S. champion, so Bayley going far in this tournament – and potentially winning it – would make sense if that’s what the creative minds choose to do. On the way, though, both Bayley and LeRae were able to elevate B-Fab, and that was a good thing.

LeRae dropkicked Bayley’s knee and that took Bayley outside. B-Fab then slammed and clotheslined LeRae for a two-count. B-Fab kicked LeRae and Bayley got back into the mix. B-Fab then double-clotheslined Bayley and LeRae right before the show went to a commercial break. The show returned and Bayley was working over B-Fab, complete with an elbow to the back of B-Fab’s neck from the second rope. That was good enough to get Bayley a two-count, but LeRae broke up the pin attempt.

The women traded blows as they fought on their knees. B-Fab and Bayley teamed up on LeRae until LeRae clotheslined the babyfaces and the match reset. LeRae went to the top and B-Fab cut her off. LeRae fought B-Fab off, but Bayley was able to get the upper hand on LeRae. B-Fab got up and involved and the sequence ended with LeRae hitting a cross-body on Bayley for a two-count. B-Fab slammed LeRae for a two-count and Bayley returned to the mix, where she ran into an inverted neck-breaker from B-Fab, which earned B-Fab a two-count.

Bayley came back with a Bayley-To-Belly on B-Fab, but LeRae reappeared and almost stole a win. LeRae went for a moonsault, but B-Fab moved. Before long, B-Fab slammed Bayley and kicked LeRae to the outside. B-Fab went for another kick on Bayley, but Bayley rolled B-Fab up and got the win.

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– Sami Zayn was shown talking to LA Knight backstage, but we couldn’t hear what they were saying. Knight then walked to the ring for his U.S. title open challenge.

– Footage of The Rock on The Tonight Show from earlier this week aired. Turns out, The Rock is GW’s Entertainer Of The Year.

– B-Fab was shown backstage and Chelsea Green and Piper Niven walked up to her. Green said when her and Niven because the first-ever U.S. women’s champion, maybe they’d let B-Fab hold it someday. B-Fab said the two of them couldn’t hold the title at the same time and Michin walked into the frame with a kendo stick. Green and Niven left quickly.

– LA Knight made his entrance and had a microphone. The crowd cheered “LA Knight!” Knight said “Let me talk to ya!” and the crowd loved it. Knight said everyone is looking for his U.S. title. Knight said Zayn asked him to join the Bloodline Civil War. Knight said it wasn’t his fight and he doesn’t need it or want it. Knight said if the Bloodline just destroyed each other, he’d be fine with that. Knight said he wasn’t going to defend his belt two times a year like Logan Paul did, and instead called to action the U.S. Championship open challenge. Santos Escobar walked out flanked by the rest of Legado Del Fantasma.

Escobar grabbed a microphone and asked Knight why he couldn’t say something cool and interesting. Escobar told the crowd it sounded like they were from a different planet. Escobar said it should be, “Es. Co. Bar. Si!” Escobar said it’s time for someone to shut Knight up. Escobar since Elektra Lopez is going to bring the women’s U.S. title to LDF, Escobar wants to do the same for the men. Knight said he already beat Escobar, so he could give Berto a shot. Berto attacked Knight and the show went to break, so it looks like we’ll join the match in progress soon.

LA Knight defeated Berto to retain the United States Championship [4:00 of TV time]

The match was fine for what it was, but, man I liked the post-match stuff with a retooled Nakamura. That was great. First, it’s good to see him back, and second, it’s even better to see him with a new, more ominous coat of paint. I’m very, very interested to see how Knight and Nakamura work together moving forward. Here I was, wondering if Knight was going to keep spinning his wheels as a champion with no real challengers, but Nakamura changed that instantly. Good stuff.

The show returned and Berto had control over Knight. Knight went for his leap-to-the-top rope spot and in a rare turn of events, hit it. The development didn’t matter, though, because Berto pushed Knight off the top and eventually worked an abdominal stretch. Knight fought his way out of it and clotheslined Berto over the top and to the floor. Knight repeatedly slammed Berto off the commentary table. Knight rolled Berto back into the ring and landed a DDT for a two-count.

Berto came back with a roll-up and a kick and dragged Knight to a corner. Berto went for a moonsault, but Knight got a leg up. Knight followed up with a pop-up slammed, but Berto moved when Knight went for an elbow. Berto perched Knight on the top rope and set up for a super-plex, but Knight fought Berto off and landed the top rope elbow drop. Knight hit the BFT after that and got the win.

After the match, Nakamura appeared out of nowhere, wearing facepaint and looking kind of cooler than he’s looked in a long time in WWE. Nakamura laid Knight out and walked away.

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– The Usos were talking backstage and Zayn approached them saying it wasn’t looking good for finding a partner. The three then walked into Roman Reigns’s dressing room and the show went to a break.

– A video hyping the Royal Rumble in Indianapolis aired.

– The Usos and Zayn were standing in Reigns’s locker room and Reigns finally walked in. Zayn said they had been to Raw and SmackDown and there is nobody who wants to work with the Bloodline. Jey asked Roman if he “made that call.” Solo Sikoa’s music hit and Sikoa and his Bloodline made their entrance ringside. Roman stood up and left his dressing room. Zayn and the Usos followed him.

The Bloodline segment

I’m still not a fan of Seth Rollins being the fifth man for Roman’s team – there’s just too much history to ignore for this viewer and to shoehorn Rollins in based solely on the idea that he hates Bronson Reed with the passion of a thousand red hot suns doesn’t do it for me for more reasons than I have the space to type tonight. Still, this was a good brawl segment and a good beatdown from the heels. WWE has done good by Reed since he came back over from New Japan and this furthered that winning streak. Michael Cole sounded like he wondered if this meant Reed would join Solo’s Bloodline for good after all this resolves itself at War Games, but that won’t be the case … right?

Solo told Milwaukee to acknowledge him. The crowd booed heavily. Roman’s music hit instantly and Reigns walked out with Jimmy, Jey and Sami. The teams stared each other down as Roman’s group hopped onto the apron. The teams brawled and Jey hit a dive onto most of Solo’s Bloodline. Fatu took back control for the heels and Sikoa set up for a Samoan Spike on Zayn, but Roman speared Sikoa. Zayn then landed a dive onto everyone except Fatu. Alone in the ring were Fatu and Roman and boy, the crowd was there for it.

Fatu distracted Roman and Bronson Reed showed up to take down Roman. Reed and Fatu stared at each other and Reed landed a splash on Roman. Fatu followed that up with a hip attack on Roman. Jey, Jimmy and Zayn tried to fight back against Reed and Fatu, but the heels were too much. Fatu landed a moonsault on Zayn and Reed hit a Tsunami on Jimmy. Roman, on the outside of the ring, took out Tonga Loa. Reigns hit a series of Superman Punches on everyone … until Sikoa hit a Samoan Spike on Reigns … and Fatu followed that up with a moonsault … and Reed followed that up with a Tsunami. Finally, WWE officials ran out to break things up. The heels stood tall to end the segment.

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– Kevin Owens posted a video on social media and Michael Cole threw to it. Owens said he got to the arena, but he was turned away for what he did to Orton last week. Owens said it was messed up because all he did was show up when Orton told him to show up. Owens said he got a call from Aldis asking Owens to be at next week’s SmackDown in Salt Lake City. Owens said he shouldn’t show up, but he will and he will do so for himself. Owens said when he shows up, he will just be doing his job.

Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) defeated The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) via DQ [7:58]

Lots of (misguided?) male aggression in the SmackDown tag team division these days. The Profits are pissed. Ciampa is looking to murder people. The Machine Guns, meanwhile, are simply just the peaceful new guys. They didn’t ask for any of this. Anyway, I’m not a fan of these types of finishes, but I actually prefer this over the Profits taking another loss. Both teams looked good and I like the chippiness of Montez Ford these days. MCMG continue to struggle to elicit a meaningful response from the live crowds and that’s concerning, but maybe a program like this, where everyone around them is just angry as hell (and aren’t going to take it anymore), can help get the champs some reactionary momentum.

Ford and Sabin started the match. Ford looked series and worked kind of/sort of like a heel. Sabin hit a pair of arm-drags and Shelley tagged in. The two hit a series of double-team moves, but they were good enough for only a couple one-counts. Ford fired up and hit a strong clothesline. Shelley rolled to the outside and Dawkins shoulder-blocked Shelley over the commentary table as the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Shelley continued to receive punishment. Quickly, Sabin received the hot tag, however, and Sabin took out both Profits. The action spilled outside and MCMG tried their damndest to get the crowd fired up. Back inside the ring, Shelley planted Ford after Sabin dropkicked Ford in the back of the head. Sabin tagged in, but before long, the Profits regained control and set up for their finisher. With Ford on the top rope, Ciampa showed up and attacked the Profits. Gargano showed up late and tried to pull Ciampa away from everyone. Ciampa then shoved Gargano to the ground and left the ring.

After all the commotion, MCMG tried to shake hands with the Profits and Dawkins leveled Shelley. The Profits angrily left the ring to end things.

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– Naomi was shown in the back and Bayley showed up. Naomi congratulated Bayley on her win earlier in the night. Bayley told Naomi she can’t trust IYO SKY and Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair walked in. Bianca is still unhappy with Bayley after all these months and she made it a point to remind everyone of that. Cargill told Naomi that if anyone interferes, Cargill and Belair have Naomi’s back.

– Next week, Bianca Belair, Chelsea Green and Blair Davenport will wrestle as part of the women’s U.S. title tournament. Plus, Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes will go face-to-face.

Nia Jax defeated Naomi to retain the WWE Women’s Championship [12:08]

This was very good – especially the last five minutes. It was one of those cases where you start the match knowing there is no chance of a title change and by the time you get to the end, you are convinced the title should have changed hands a couple times over. Those women worked super hard to get it there and boy, did it pay off. Whatever it was Naomi pulled off as a counter from the top near the end of the match was quite the visual. Even better, Naomi was kind of/sort of protected in the loss and they could run this back, no problem. The end of the show with Roman calling the Wise Man was a lot of fun. Here’s hoping we see Heyman soon. His presence in the Bloodline saga has been noticeably missed since Roman came back. This was a strong final 20 minutes of the program, so if you only have 20 minutes to spare, use the fast-forward button accordingly.

Jax had control early and sort of just toyed with Naomi, swinging her around and landing a splash in a corner. Jax went for an elbow, but Naomi moved and followed that up with a kick to the head. Naomi then hit her split leg drop. Jax clotheslined Naomi and threw Naomi to the outside. Naomi executed a sunset flip, but Jax came right back with a clothesline and a one-coun. Jax worked a chin-lock. Jax missed a strike and Naomi briefly tried to come back, but Naomi ran into an elbow from Jax, who then pounded Naomi’s head into the mat. Jax, in a wild move, lifted Naomi and hit what appeared to be a very stiff headbutt. Naomi popped up and got Jax to the outside, where Naomi hit a suicide dive. The show then went to its final commercial break of the night.

The show returned and Jax took down Naomi for a two-count. Jax landed a headbutt to Naomi’s back. Jax then worked a single-leg crab. Jax went for a powerbomb, but Naomi kind of turned it into a Destroyer for a two-count. Naomi then kicked Jax in the head and hit a cross-body from the second rope. Naomi followed that up with an enziguri. Naomi hit the Rear View out of nowhere, but it resulted on only a near-fall. Naomi ran at Jax, but that meant she ran into a pop-up Samoan Drop from Jax.

Jax set Naomi up for her finisher, but Naomi stood up and dumped Jax to the floor. Naomi then hit a cross-body block on Jax on the outside. Backstage, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were shown attacking Cargill and Belair. Back in the ring, Tiffany Stratton attacked Naomi while the referee was checking on Jax. Jax went to the second rope, but Naomi cut Jax off. It didn’t matter because Jax went for a body-slam from the top, but Naomi countered it into … something … and that earned her a near-fall.

Bayley ran out and attacked Stratton and Naomi rolled up Jax for a good near-fall. Naomi ran Jax into a ring post and hit a split-legged moonsault on Jax for a very good near-fall. Naomi went to the top and Candice LeRae attacked Bayley at ringside. As a result, Jax hit a Samoan Drop from the top and followed that up with her finisher for the win.

After the match, Stratton, LeRae and Jax stood tall in the ring. The show cut to Reigns in his dressing room. Reigns had his cellphone and said “Call … the wise man.” A response said “the number you have reached is not in service; this is a recording.” Roman dropped his phone as a dial tone rang and Roman looked all types of upset as the show went off air.