WWE SmackDown Tribute to the Troops live results: CM Punk returns

For the first time in nearly a decade, CM Punk will appear on SmackDown.

Punk returned to WWE at Survivor Series two weeks ago and appeared on the next night’s Raw, but this will mark the first time Punk has been featured on the blue brand since coming back to WWE.

Also set for tonight’s special Tribute to the Troops edition of SmackDown is an appearance by Cody Rhodes. Signed to the Raw brand, Cody last appeared on SmackDown last month when he helped LA Knight fend off The Bloodline. 

Speaking of The Bloodline, Solo Sikoa & Jimmy Uso will team up to face Randy Orton & Knight tonight. Orton returned to the ring at Survivor Series after being out for nearly 18 months with an injury. Last week, he officially signed on to be part of SmackDown’s roster.

The United States title number one contender’s tournament kicks off as Bobby Lashley faces Karrion Kross and Santos Escobar steps into the ring against Dragon Lee.

Also, Asuka will go one-on-one agains Charlotte Flair. Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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– The show opened with shots of service members in the crowd chanting “USA!” This was the 21st Tribute To The Troops. The War And Treaty performed “God Bless America.” I interviewed them three days ago. It’s weird how life works. The crowd turned up the “USA!” chants after the performance as pyro shot off behind the duo. Michael Cole welcomed everyone in alongside Kevin Patrick and JBL, who sat in on commentary for the night. Patrick and Cole talked about some of the show’s card. Santos Escobar then made his entrance for the first match. 

Santos Escobar defeated Dragon Lee to advance in the United States Title Tournament [9:09]

This is a hot crowd and a stacked card, so I expected a little more from this. The finish weirdly came out of nowhere and played to the quietest the crowd had been all night to that point. Lee feels neutered on the main roster. There’s a lot of dropkicks to people in corners and a lot of head-scissor attempts, but little else. We all know he’s got it in him; I just wonder if the decision-makers are toning him down a bit, because there was potential here for both guys to have a very good match. Instead, it never managed to get into the next gear and this was ultimately just kind of there.

Before the match started, Dominik Mysterio’s music hit and Dirty Dom walked to ringside. Escobar ran at Lee to start the match, but Lee moved and clotheslined Escobar over the top rope. Back in the ring, Lee kept control as Escobar found himself on the outside again. From there, Lee landed a splash and threw Escobar back into the ring, where Lee hit a series of kicks for a two-count. Lee climbed the ropes, but Escobar pushed him off to slow things down. Escobar followed that up with a neck-breaker and a two-count. Escobar jawed at Lee and headbutted him. Escobar ran at Lee, but Lee countered and put Escobar on the apron. Lee attempted to follow that up, but Escobar caught Lee and hit a power-bomb as the show went to its first commercial break. 

Back from that break, Lee fired up and landed some punches on Escobar. Lee followed those up with some more strikes and a kick to an upside-down Escobar’s head. Lee hit a running dropkick for a two-count. Escobar eventually got in a hard-hitting super-kick for a nice near-fall. Escobar lifted Lee for his finisher, but it ultimately turned into a sit-out power-bomb for Lee for a good near-fall. Lee landed a running knee that took Escobar to the outside. With Escobar back in the ring, Lee went to the top, but Escobar cut Lee off and hit the Phantom Driver for the win.

After the match, Dominik entered the ring and stood tall over Lee. Dirty Dom left to a bunch of boos. A video recapping Randy Orton signing to SmackDown last week then aired. 

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– Nick Aldis was shown backstage and Randy Orton walked in. Orton asked Aldis why Aldis booked his tag match for later. Orton said he barely knows who LA Knight is. Aldis said all Orton needed to know was that both Orton and Knight want The Bloodline. Orton was apparently fined in storyline because of last week and Orton paid double the amount because he said he wanted to get the next fine’s payment out of the way now. 

The Cody Rhodes segment

The crowd offered some very loud “Cody!” chants, and Cody looked genuinely moved. Cody did the “What do you wanna talk about?” line and the crowd responded accordingly. Cody noted how it is WWE’s Tribute To The Troops. The crowd went nuts and that’s an understatement. Cody said on behalf of everyone at WWE, he wanted to say thanks to all the service men and women in the arena and watching around the world. Cody threw it to a video package chronicling Tribute To The Troops through the years. It focused on John Cena’s involvement. 

Back in the arena, the crowd erupted into “USA!” chants. Cody thanked everyone for their service again and then welcomed in the U.S. Army’s Drill Team. Brad Nessler was then shown at the commentary table because he’s going to call the Army vs. Navy game Saturday on CBS. Michael Cole asked Nessler if he wanted to stick around and call a match and Nessler agreed. Bobby Lashley then made his entrance.

Bobby Lashley defeated Karrion Kross to advance in the United States Title Tournament [6:47]

This was never in doubt. As if crowds need more reason to loudly cheer for Lashley these days, here was an Army veteran wrestling in front of an arena of service members on a show called Tribute To The Troops. If you thought Lashley might lose this, you probably also still think CM Punk is going to be revealed as the devil in AEW. The match was what it should have been, so it’s hard to complain about it. I continue to wonder about Kross, though. It feels like every four to six weeks, there’s some report somewhere stating that he’s ready for a “big push” or a “strong story,” but nothing ever seems to happen for the guy. He was fine here, as The Guy Designated To Lose To Bobby Lashley – and he was very good at it, to boot – but how much longer until he finds something meaningful?

Lashley cut a picture-in-picture promo during his entrance talking about how he and his father served in the armed services. Lashley ended it by saying “God bless America.” Montez Ford was also part of a video package chronicling his time in the Marine Corps before the match started. Once the match did start, Kross attacked Lashley with a series of kicks and knees. Lashley went for The Hurt Lock early, but Kross fought out of it and went back to some punches and elbows. Kross tried to throw Lashley into ring steps on the outside, but Lashley jumped over them and came right back at Kross. 

After things quickly moved back inside the ring, Lashley landed a German Suplex and then clotheslined Kross over the top to take him back outside of the ring. With Kross on the outside, the show went to a commercial break. When the show returned, Kross had the upper hand and worked some elbows and a vertical suplex. Nessler noted on commentary how he hadn’t seen Kross since “like August,” so you know that guy’s a fan. Kross went for a punch and eventually hit a kick for a two-count. Kross ran at Lashley, but Lashley caught Kross and planted him. The crowd started a loud “Bobby!” chant. Lashley hit a swinging neck-breaker and followed that up with a vertical suplex. 

Lashley ran at Kross, but Kross got a knee up. Even so, Lashley came right back and slammed Kross before setting things up for a spear, which he hit. That spear was enough to get the 1-2-3. Lashley will face Santos Escobar in the next round of the U.S. title tournament. 

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– Damage CTRL was shown backstage and Asuka hesitantly gave Bayley a high-five. Bayley said she’d stay in the back and noted how Charlotte vs. Asuka is a WrestleMania rematch. Dakota Kai stepped in and said they would accompany Asuka to the ring while Bayley stayed back. 

The CM Punk segment

Well. This was better then whatever happened on Raw a couple weeks ago. I’m not so sure the crowd got the punching-people-backstage line – or even the Kevin Owens line for that matter – as much as Punk or others would have liked, but it’ll probably mean more with the online wrestling community, which is fun in its own right. For anyone who thinks CM Punk doesn’t listen to the noise, this promo should be reason enough to know that at this point, he pays attention to everything at all times. He heard the criticisms of his Raw promo. He pulled off the gloves as much as WWE would let him, complete with vague AEW drama reference, and the crowd loved it. He’s very, very good at speaking to all sets of wrestling fans at the same time and that’s one thing I’m not sure he gets enough credit for these days. All told, this was pretty good. And it felt more like CM Punk than anything else that’s happened since he returned to WWE.

Punk looked a bit inspired as he made his way to the ring. Plus, well, he smiled. A lot. “CM Punk!” chants then echoed loud. Punk referenced how his time got cut on Raw a couple weeks ago and naturally, the crowd responded with even louder “CM Punk!” chants. Punk talked about maybe signing to Raw and said the crowd might have been louder on Raw. Punk asked the crowd if they want him to be a Raw superstar or a SmackDown superstar. When the poll got to SmackDown, the crowd cheered. Punk asked the crowd if they want him to rin the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania and boy, those CM Punk chants could be heard in downtown Boston. 

Punk referenced Cody and asked “What do you guys want to talk about?” Punk noted how some people are upset about him being in WWE. Punk actually called himself happy-go-lucky. Punk said he wanted to turn it up to 11 and be “the spicy CM Punk you all know and love.” Punk said he’s putting his feet on the couch and his feet have mud all over them. Punk said it wasn’t “what,” but “who” they want him to talk about. Punk called out Roman Reigns and the crowd went nuts. Punk congratulated Reigns and said, “Don’t forget who the OG Paul Heyman Guy is.” 

Punk said Roman wasn’t there, but his cousins were. Punk shouted out Jey Uso. Punk stumbled on Jimmy Uso’s name. Punk talked about how the Usos have tons of cousins. Punk referenced Randy Orton and wondered if they could get along. Punk said LA Knight would tag with Punk and even did the LA Knight thing, which the crowd ate up. Punk mentioned Kevin Owens. Punk wondered if they could tag together or fight each other. Punk said he and Owens are probably too much alike. Punk referenced “randomly punching people in the face backstage.” Oh boy. 

Punk mentioned JBL at the commentary table. Punk said everyone has welcomed him back except that one guy. Punk said he’s “not even The Man in his own household.” The crowd then sang Seth Rollins’s theme song. Punk encouraged the singing and the crowd obliged. Punk said they will find out where he will sign – on Raw or SmackDown – on Monday night, and he even teased signing with NXT. Punk said he is the monkey wrench in everyone’s plans and goals. Punk said he is back to finish what he started and on Monday, he will put pen to paper. Punk said finishing his story is main-eventing WrestleMania. Punk dropped the microphone and mimicked hitting a baseball out of the park as the crowd chanted his name. 

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– Punk was shown walking backstage and came across The Bloodline locker room. Punk then walked away … until Kevin Owens stepped into the frame. The two exchanged a few words and walked their separate ways. 

Asuka defeated Charlotte Flair [6:21]

Friends, I was in New Orleans to watch Asuka wrestle Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania in 2017 and I had the highest of high expectations. This match went six-and-a-half minutes, had a commercial break in the middle of it, featured some type of spot that I must have missed because the commentary team laid heavy into Charlotte perhaps being injured, ended with a distraction finish – and even then felt like it was rushing to get to the end line (and maybe that was case and maybe Charlotte is legitimately injured, and if so, here’s hoping for a speedy recovery). But damn. There’s not much to say because not much happened. And it pains me to say that. 

Before the match started, Zelina Vega and Michin ran out and fought Damage CTRL members to the back. Shotzi and Bianca Belair joined the fun and we were down to a one-on-one match between Charlotte and Asuka. Charlotte had control early and the match spilled outside, where Charlotte landed a bunch of chops, until she missed one and chopped the ring post. Asuka briefly had the upper hand until Charlotte back-dropped Asuka on the guardrail. Charlotte then went for her moonsault off the top to the outside and missed it almost entirely. Still, Charlotte stood tall as the show went to a commercial break. 

Back from break, Asuka had control with a few kicks. Charlotte came back by slamming Asuka’s head into the second rope. Charlotte was limping and went for a figure-eight, but Bayley appeared out of nowhere and pulled Charlotte away from Asuka. Charlotte elbowed Bayley, but as a result, Asuka rolled Charlotte up for the win. 

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– Backstage, Nick Aldis handed Punk a contract for SmackDown and Cody stepped into the frame. Cody said it sounds like for Punk to finish his story, he’d have to win the Royal Rumble. Cody said that’s interesting. The two shook hands and Cody walked away. 

– Randy Orton was shown backstage. LA Knight walked into the frame. CM Punk then walked into the frame. Punk wished them good luck. Orton asked Knight if he was ready for tonight. LA Knight, predictably, said, “Yeah.” To the ring, we went, for the main event. 

– Roman Reigns will return to SmackDown next week. Also next week, Grayson Waller will go up against an NXT superstar in the U.S. title tournament. Kevin Owens will wrestle Austin Theory next week, too, as part of the tournament. 

Randy Orton & LA Knight defeated Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa [12:13]

I like this tiny place LA Knight finds himself in. He’s getting all the rubs from all the stars and in the meantime, it feels like he keeps showing respect to them all, thus making him both a fan favorite and a locker room favorite? Maybe? I don’t know. I’m not there. Either way, he feels like the most famous secondary player in every situation WWE puts him in and it serves him well. As for the match, it was entertaining, if not a little expected. Orton wasn’t going to lose his first match back on SmackDown and it kind of/sort of feels like Sikoa and Jimmy are moving into “They can take loss after loss” territory, which I’m not so sure is a good thing. At the end of the day, they sent the crowd home happy, which is pro wrestling 101, so good on them for it. This was a very good television show from start to finish. The crowd was up, the wrestlers delivered and then, well, CM Punk. 

Orton and Jimmy started the match. Orton worked over Uso with a series of punches. Knight tagged in, though it looked like Orton wasn’t too thrilled with that. Knight hit an elbow, but then Orton blindly tagged himself back in. Orton and Knight had a tiny bit of words and Sikoa tagged in. Orton and Sikoa engaged in a stare down but Jimmy ran in and hit Orton from behind. From there, we went to our final commercial break of the night. 

Back from that break, Jimmy was working a chin-lock on Orton, until Orton hit a back-drop to make things even. Knight received the hot tag and Sikoa tagged in as well. Knight landed a neck-breaker on Sikoa and proceeded to stomp a mud hole in Sikoa. Knight ultimately walked into a belly-to-belly suplex from Sikoa. Jimmy got in a cheap shot on Knight, who was draped over the second rope. Sikoa landed a snap suplex on Knight for a two-count. 

Sikoa hit a hip attack on Knight, who was sitting in a corner of the ring. Jimmy tagged in and mocked Knight. Uso hit a chop and tagged Sikoa back into the match. Uso and Sikoa whipped Knight into a corner and posed a bit. Sikoa went for another hip attack, but Knight moved and landed a bulldog from the second rope. From there, Orton received the hot tag as the crowd chanted “Randy!” Orton cleaned house and hit the snap power-slam on Jimmy. 

On the outside, Orton slammed Jimmy onto the commentary table before rolling him back inside the ring. Orton hit the draping DDT on Jimmy and the Greatest Hits were in full effect. Orton set up for the RKO, but Sikoa ran in and broke that up. Sikoa teased the Samoan Spike, but Knight cut Sikoa off with a DDT. Knight went for the BFT on on Jimmy, but Orton hit the RKO on Jimmy instead for the win. Knight and Orton posed on separate corners to end the show.