 Paul Heyman Confronted LA Knight Before Knight Fended Off Bron Breakker and Bronson ReedKnight starting SmackDown for a change was an encouraging sign for his future. I know there's been rumors recently of him moving to Raw (which should absolutely happen if the WWE Championship isn't in his future) and this segment will further fuel speculation if him and Seth Rollins are going to continue feuding beyond Night of Champions. This was really good stuff as it saw Knight stand tall and set up him to face Reed later in the night. Asuka def. Alexa Bliss in a Queen of the Ring Semifinal MatchI completely forgot these two were WWE Women's Tag Team Champions together until the commentators mentioned it (then again, the reign lasted all of five days, so you can't blame me). At any rate, this was an enjoyable outing from these two. Bliss has been super over since returning, but Asuka advancing was the right call. Regardless of who goes over on the other side of the bracket on Monday's Raw, I'd still have Asuka win the whole thing. Give me her against IYO SKY at SummerSlam. Aleister Black vs. Kit Wilson Never Got UnderwayI suspect Elton Prince wasn't out there with Wilson because he might still be injured from whatever happened to him in that match with Fraxiom last month. Nonetheless, Black vs. Wilson didn't get underway due to R-Truth coming out and attacking Wilson. I'm all for switching things up, but I wish someone else was in Black's spot so he wasn't overshadowed. Thankfully, he took exception to it in a backstage segment with Truth afterward, so there might be more to come between the two. Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and Randy Orton Interrupted Each OtherInterestingly, Rhodes was the only one who didn't get a chance to speak here. Uso, Zayn and Orton all discussed why they need to win King of the Ring, making the semifinals even more unpredictable than they already were. I'm glad we got this segment and it segued seamlessly into Orton vs. Zayn. A ton of television time was wasted on the lengthy entrances, but the crowd sure loved singing all of their songs. Randy Orton def. Sami Zayn in a King of the Ring Semifinal MatchI'm genuinely shocked Zayn didn't win here. Perhaps I shouldn't be, but as Zayn alluded to in his promo, he was the only non-former world champion in the King of the Ring semifinals, so there was a legitimate chance of him beating Rhodes (yes, there's no doubt in my mind he's winning against Uso on Raw this Monday) more so on Orton, who is guaranteed to not be getting a rematch with John Cena or Gunther at SummerSlam. On the bright side, this was an excellent match. The only upside to Zayn losing is that maybe this means we're finally going to get him feuding with Karrion Kross going forward. Nia Jax Thwarted Naomi's Money in the Bank Cash-In Attempt on WWE Women's Champion Tiffany StrattonThe latest verbal exchange between Jax and Stratton was fine albeit nothing new. They've been feuding on and off all year, so I'm just ready for the rivalry to be over so they can both move on. Naomi's attempted cash-in wasn't very exciting either because it was obvious she wouldn't actually be cashing in with Jax at ringside. It was announced that Stratton vs. Jax next week on SmackDown for the WWE Women's Championship will be a Last Woman Standing match. Charlotte Flair def. Chelsea GreenI wouldn't automatically consider Flair a face again just because she faced Green here, but it's possible we're headed in that direction, especially now that there's been teasing for her teaming with Bliss. Speaking of whom, she saved Flair from Green and The Secret Hervice afterward. The match itself was solid and I appreciated Green being made to look as competitive as she was before eating the loss. Jimmy Uso Saved United States Champion Jacob Fatu from Solo Sikoa and JC MateoI can't imagine a single person bought into the idea of Fatu reuniting with Sikoa here, but I suppose Sikoa shouldn't be faulted for trying. Once Uso made the save for Fatu, I thought we might see Hikuleo (who signed with WWE last year and worked a dark match last week) would debut and align with Sikoa and Mateo, but no such luck. What we got instead was acceptable. Fatu vs. Sikoa for the United States Championship was confirmed for Night of Champions a little later on. LA Knight def. Bronson Reed by DisqualificationKnight and Reed worked well together here and Knight having to overcome the odds with Breakker and Heyman at ringside made for a nice story. This didn't last too long, but it accomplished what it needed to with the heels leaving Knight laying. I didn't mind the disqualification finish as it protected both Knight and Reed. I figured we'd get Rollins vs. Knight at Night of Champions, but it feels like they're going to hold off on that one since Knight hasn't interacted with Rollins himself since Money in the Bank. R-Truth def. Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena by Disqualification (Non-Title)I've been referring to Truth as Ron "The Truth" Killings in my reviews since he returned because that's what I thought he was going by, but apparently he's just R-Truth still. That's disappointing, along with how he's using the same entrance theme, too. Truth vs. Cena was whatever and the disqualification finish was lame, but WWE immediately made up for it by having Cena put CM Punk through a table and proceed to cut his own version of a "pipebomb" promo. Yes, Punk laying motionless in the ring for several minutes was ridiculous, and no, Cena's "pipebomb" wasn't nearly as edgy as Punk's was in 2011, but it was great regardless and easily the best thing Cena has done since turning heel earlier this year. It was a clever twist on an all-time promo and an effective sell for their Night of Champions match next weekend. Overall ShowThey saved the best for last with that Cena promo, but the rest of the episode was entertaining overall. There were a lot of moving parts and the two tournament matches were meaningful. The Night of Champions build has largely been strong and they have one more week to add another match to complete the card, unless they intend to go with just five again. The go-home edition of SmackDown is looking stacked with three title matches, including the aforementioned Last Woman Standing match between Stratton and Jax.
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