John Cena Saved LA Knight From Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso
Knight didn't speak for long before being interrupted by Uso, Sikoa and Paul Heyman (I refuse to acknowledge Uso as a member of The Bloodline because it was never made official). I liked how Heyman praised Knight as one of WWE's fastest-rising stars and I'm curious if Roman Reigns will eventually take exception to that. This was a fine opening to the episode that set up the night's main event of Knight vs. Uso one-on-one.
Charlotte Flair and Asuka def. Damage CTRL (Bayley and WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY)
Man, Bayley sure does lose a lot. I realize she's the only one not in the WWE Women's Championship match at Fastlane and thus it made sense for her to take the loss here, but I honestly can't remember the last match she won. She's basically bulletproof at this point from a booking standpoint, but the occasional win would be nice. The match was decent enough and told the story of Flair and Asuka teasing tension ahead of Saturday's Triple Threat.
Bobby Lashley def. United States Champion Rey Mysterio (Non-Title)
It's amazing that Lashley and Mysterio were around in WWE in the mid-2000s and they're still around delivering at a high level. This was a quality contest from them and a solid preview of the six-man tag team match at Fastlane. Lashley winning was interesting as it should earn him an opportunity at the United States Championship, potentially as early as next week's episode. Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde being decimated at ringside means Mysterio and Escobar are getting a mystery partner at Fastlane, which backs up my longshot prediction from last week that it will be the returning Carlito.
Dragon Lee def. Austin Theory
This marked Lee's in-ring debut on the blue brand. I thought this existed so Mysterio and Escobar could recruit him to be their partner, but apparently not. Instead, it looks like Lee is a permanent member of the main roster and that's terrific news. He's a tremendous talent and this was a great start for him, having an enjoyable outing with Theory and winning. Cameron Grimes thwarted Grayson Waller's interference at ringside, so a tag team match is obviously on the horizon.
LA Knight def. Jimmy Uso by Disqualification
There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about this main event, but there didn't need to be because the crowd ate up everything Knight did and that alone made this fun. The non-finish was logical as neither guy should be losing right now and the focus was on the post-match angle, anyway. Cena, Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes making the save for Knight and fending off The Bloodline and The Judgment Day made for an excellent close to the show, but could there end up being more to it with a rumored WarGames match happening soon?
Overall Show
If next week's SmackDown is the "season premiere," that must have made this the season finale, and it was a pretty lame season finale if so. I kid, I kid. On the whole, this was a good show with everything serving a purpose, not to mention they went off the air on a super high note. The build for Fastlane has been underwhelming, but I'm sure the show will be worthwhile. Next week's "season premiere" of SmackDown will feature an appearance from Triple H, Roman Reigns returning and Pretty Deadly back in action, so there's plenty to look forward to on that front.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
July 2025
|
RSS Feed