 Paul "Triple H" Levesque Granted Randy Orton a Match Against Kevin Owens at Crown JewelOrton calling out Triple H and Triple H acting like he didn't want to leave the Gorilla Position was comical because it's not like he's been afraid to appear on TV since taking creative control of the company (it doesn't bother me, but it is funny). At any rate, this was a great segment with Triple H putting over Owens as dangerous, so it'll be important for Owens to live up to that when he and Orton have their match at Crown Jewel. They can make him look like a threat by having Owens viciously attack Orton and put him back on the shelf for a bit so he can shift his focus back to Cody Rhodes in time for Survivor Series. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes Ended in a No Contest (United States Champion LA Knight Served as Special Guest Referee)This was billed as "Game 7" in the series of singles matches they've been having since July, which was cool branding. While this was far from their best bout together due to the referee shenanigans, I enjoyed it for what it was. The execution of the non-finish was lame, but I honestly didn't mind it because it resulted in what I wanted: a Triple Threat for the United States Championship being announced for Crown Jewel. Naomi def. Candice LeRaeLeRae just picked up what was probably the biggest win of her career by pinning Bayley in last week's tag team match, so while it wasn't ideal for her to lose here, Naomi winning made sense because she beat Nia Jax two weeks ago and should be protected until she gets a shot at the WWE Women's Championship (which I thought would happen before Crown Jewel but apparently not). Plus, LeRae was distracted by Bayley taking out Indi Hartwell at ringside. The match itself was solid. Randy Orton Saved Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes From ImperiumAlthough we already saw these two confront each other on Raw a week or two ago, this was an even better exchange. Both guys had excellent mic work, but I think Gunther won this war of words. Ludwig Kaiser helping Gunther ambush Rhodes and Orton making the save sets up what should be an entertaining tag team match for next week's SmackDown ahead of Rhodes vs. Gunther the next day. Motor City Machine Guns def. #DIY in a WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's MatchThe Guns shined in their SmackDown debut last week, but they had an even stronger showing here because it wasn't a multi-team match. They worked as well with #DIY as you'd expect and it was super fun with the crowd getting more and more into the action as it progressed. I'm curious if Johnny Gargano accidentally kicking Tommaso Ciampa toward the end means a split is imminent or if that was just a one-off. Perhaps a heel turn is in their future? Motor City Machine Guns def. The Bloodline (Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) to Win the WWE Tag Team ChampionshipThe Bloodline confronted the Guns immediately following their victory and the Guns agreed to get their title shot right then and there. It's rare WWE does this sort of thing, so this was a refreshing change of pace. It was less of a match and more of an angle, but it was a blast from start to finish and the surprise title win was the cherry on top. Of course, it was because of Roman Reigns and The Usos, but it was an amazing moment for the Guns, nonetheless. Throw in The Usos reuniting afterward and this was one of the hottest endings to a WWE show all year. Overall ShowI've digging a lot of what SmackDown's been doing lately and this was another awesome episode. The last 30 minutes or so alone were outstanding, but the full two hours were worthwhile with Rhodes and Gunther effectively hyping their Crown Jewel match, other matches being made official for the pay-per-view and feuds being furthered. Coming out of this show, I'm significantly more excited for Crown Jewel than I was previously.
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