WWE SmackDown Review 30/08/24

Hello everyone, I am one half of your Irn Bruiserweights bringing your Smackdown Review

It’s the go home show for Bash in Berlin on this episode of WWE Smackdown. This event already happened as they’re in Germany Tonight we’re likely to get the final face off between WWE champion Cody Rhodes and challenger Kevin Owens, we’re getting a Street Fight between Nia Jax and Michin for Jax’s title, LA Knight is holding an open challenge for the US title, and we’re getting a fourth match between Carmelo Hayes and Andrade.

Hayes and Andrade have turned in some very good TV matches over the last few weeks and one assumes Hayes wins here to push them to a fifth bout at an upcoming big event of some kind. Still no word on AJ Styles or Shinsuke Nakamura, Giovanni Vinci is getting closer to a debut but isn’t advertised for this week, neither is Roman Reigns but then again the Bloodline is totally absent for the PPV tomorrow so there’s not much reason for him to have made the trip. Expect a fair amount of video packages and the like, because it’s a go home show, but I’ve got a bit of hope for the overall episode. So let’s get to the action.

LA Knight heads to the ring to a big pop and to issue his open challenge. Knight gets a mic and he wants to talk to us. It’s been 27 years since WWE had a TV event in Berlin, and now the megastar is here to kick off this one.

He’s got the US title and last week in the capitol of the USA, Washington DC he had a successful title defense and now he’s in the German capitol and might as well defend it here too. So your US champion is holding an open challenge right now, so anyone that wants to come get stomped out can answer it. Out comes German native Ludwig Kaiser to a very big pop. Kaiser has a mic with him as he walks to the ring and speaks some German to say he’s home.

Well if LA Knight is the champion he claims to be he’ll defend that title against the best, which is a pointless recap of what Knight just said, but Kaiser and Berlin can guarantee that there’s no one better on German soil than the German Ludwig Kaiser.

Kaiser has reached the ring and promises to rename the US title and change it to the European title. The crowd is very pro Kaiser. Knight says it’s impressive for Gunther’s stooge to pull that off, and says Kaiser can do anything with the title if he wins it, but he wont win because Knight wont let him. The only thing Kaiser is going to do is lay down and catch three the hard way. After this break those two will go at it.

Match 1 US Title Match: (c) LA Knight vs. Ludwig Kaiser

The match starts as we come back, and both of these men are very tan. Knight acknowledges the pro Kaiser crowd and Kaiser brushes that off. They tie up and fight into a corner but Knight gives a clean break. Another tie up, Kaiser goes for the arm of Knight then they trade arm wringers and escapes with Knight arm wringing Kaiser down.

Kaiser pops up and shoves Knight then they tie up again and Kaiser gets things in a corner and does not give a clean break. Headlock from Kaiser before Knight rolls free and lands a back elbow. Knight with stomps in the corner then jabs but Kaiser catches a kick and lands a right hand. Kaiser with stomps in the corner now, and the crowd going from chanting “yeah” to “nein” is kind of fun. Knight with a clothesline and takes Kaiser out of the ring then back drops him on the apron.

Kaiser fights back and shoves Knight into the apron then slams him against the ring steps, breaks the count then runs around the ring to dropkick the steps beside Knight’s head. We couldn’t have found a better camera angle for that one guys? Anyway that sends us to break.

Kaiser is still in control as we come back. Knight starts his comeback as the crowd is singing for Kaiser, he clotheslines Knight out of the ring and begins bouncing him off of the German announce table. Back in the ring Knight hits a neckbreaker then heads to the second rope for an elbow drop that gets a 2 count. More stomps from Knight then a running knee attack in the corner.

Manhattan drop from Knight then he runs into an enziguri that gets 2 for Kaiser. They start trading strikes now with Knight being the better brawler then landing a tilt a whirl slam. Kaiser blocks Blunt Force Trauma with a roll up for 2 then lands a clothesline. Punt kick from Kaiser then the Kaiser Roll for a near fall. Kaiser is still firing up, wants the leg lace DDT but Knight fights back with a Side Effect then Blunt Force Trauma to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: LA Knight retained the title in 11:59

Rating: 3 stars

Thoughts: Solid match, Kaiser is a wonderful technician and expressive performer while Knight remains rock solid in the ring. I wouldn’t hate more of these two but even as a one off this was good work from both men.

Gunther vs. Randy Orton hype package next.

After that Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews head to the ring. They’ll be in action against Angel and Berto after this break.

Post break we get a Nia Jax hype package.

Legado’s B team have made their way to the ring during the break.

Match 2 Tag Team Match: Los Garza (Angel and Berto) w/ Santos Escobar and Elektra Lopez vs. Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews

Apollo and Berto start, they run the ropes and show off athleticism then Apollo lands a dropkick. Delayed vertical suplex from Apollo gets a 2 count. Corbin tags in and starts punching away at Berto but Berto tags in Angel but Corbin with a double clothesline to put them both down. 10 punch in the corner from Corbin but Angel avoids the last one only to get slammed into the corner then hit with a clothesline.

Angel shoves Corbin into their corner and tags in Berto so they can double-team Corbin for a bit. Corbin shoves Berto out of the ring and tags in Apollo. Apollo handles Angel then sets to dive onto both men and connects with it. That sends us to break.

The bad guys hit the Garza Special as we return, but Apollo kicks out at 2. Angel tags in and they set for a double-team move on the top rope, but think better of it and Angel lands a knee strike. Berto tags in but Apollo fights back then Angel posts himself.

Corbin tags in and runs wild on both Angel and Berto. Release Death Valley Driver to Angel then a couple of clotheslines for Berto then a Black Crush for a 2 count as Angel breaks up the pin. Apollo tags back in and dives onto Angel then hits a German suplex as well, followed by another.

German for Berto but he flips out and hits a springboard kick. Corbin disposes of Berto but eats a superkick from Angel then Angel and Apollo run into each other to put everyone down. Angel and Corbin fight on the floor, Elektra distracts the ref so Escobar can toss Corbin into the ring steps. Apollo kicks down Berto and heads up top but Angel slows him down so Berto can hit an avalanche arm drag and then tag in Angel. The MTY hits, a pop-up knee strike, and that’ll do it.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Los Garza won in 9:08

Rating: 2.5 stars

Thoughts: Fine enough match, just kind of playing the hits but not in a bad way.

Bloodline prerecorded video. It’s about the only way Solo works these days. Next week they’ll take on the Street Profits and DIY. We also get a recap of Solo’s time in charge to sell the danger.

Solo wants them to imagine what the four of them will do to their opponents. My hunch is Tonga Loa falls over, Tama makes noises, Solo staggers around, and the real star Jacob Fatu does all the heavy lifting. Solo also promises to come after the WWE title again. Please don’t, that’s a waste of everyone’s time. That sends us to break.

Post break Nick Aldis is in the ring. He puts over the crowd then hypes up Bash in Berlin and sends us to a video package about the recent European tour. After that out comes Kevin Owens followed by Cody Rhodes for their face-to-face.

Both men have mics and Aldis wishes both of them good luck tomorrow then heads out so they can talk. Owens asks what Cody wants to talk about because that’s Cody’s line. Cody wants to talk about the title, North Star in Sports and Entertainment, and those two will square up tomorrow for it.

Owens says they could talk about that, but he’d rather ask about Cody’s knee and what happened to it during the tour. Cody says nothing happened to his knee, it’s fine, but in the spirit of honest conversation, he asks about Owens nearly hitting Cody with the belt. Now Cody isn’t accusing him, Owens has been frank about his track record on this. Owens is a little miffed, all those guys he attacked deserved it except Kofi Kingston and he again apologizes to Kofi for that.

But they’ve always been good, he would never do that to Cody. Cody then says Owens might be angry with Cody, Cody walked with a lot of people that Owens walked with after Cody left, and he says Owens doesn’t get the credit he deserves for the revolution and renaissance in wrestling right now and maybe Cody gets too much.

Owens say that’s nice but he has nothing to say to that sentiment, he’d never cheap shot Cody though because he doesn’t need to. He knows Cody is hurt, he’d get messages after all the house shows and says if Cody isn’t 100% tomorrow he shouldn’t show up. Cody says he’s fine again and asks again if Owens thinks he doesn’t deserve it, Owens interrupts to ask why Cody didn’t take a knee during his entrance? It’s just not a good idea to have Cody at less than his best, because it’s been 8 years since Owens won the Universal title.

That night he got talked down to after that and everyone giving credit to Triple H for it. Well if Cody comes in tomorrow with a bum knee then what happens when Owens beats him tomorrow? Cody interrupts, his knee is fine and this is just a smoke screen from Owens. The biggest night of Owens's career was at Mania 38 with Stone Cold Steve Austin but the next night Cody returned and they had to share the spotlight.

But Cody loves Owens, he’s one of his few friends in the business and he has to ask Owens face to face, when Cody beats him tomorrow will they still be friends? Owens thinks, tosses his mic aside whispers something to Cody then heads out. Well that was a lot of two characters talking past each other, hopefully that was deliberate because if accidental it makes everything feel weird.

In the back Corbin and Apollo fun into Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. They trash talk each other but Apollo separates Corbin and Theory. Theory and Waller then bicker about falling apart because of Waller’s mouth. Waller apologizes and says Theory is his best friend and hopes they’re good. Theory accepts but that tension is building between them.

Andrade heads to the ring, he’ll take on Carmelo Hayes after this break.

Giovanni Vinci promo as we come back, his generic wealthy European gimmick will debut next week.

To the ring and here comes Carmelo Hayes.

Match 3: Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes

We went over 30 minutes between the end of the last match and the start of this one, which I’m never really a fan of. They start trading right away, then Andrade lands a boot and tosses Hayes out of the ring then follows with a corkscrew plancha. Chop from Andrade and they head back into the ring. Hayes with a springboard clothesline then climbs the ropes but Andrade ties him up in a modified tree of woe facing the apron then follows with a sick-looking double stomp to send us to break again.

Hayes is in control as we come back, Andrade kicks Hayes away from a Figure 4 attempt then starts landing punches. Elbow from Andrade then a Dragon Screw leg whip followed by a leaping elbow strike.

Andrade heads up top for a moonsault, lands on his feet then hits the standing moonsault for a 2 count. Hayes avoids a double knee strike and hits the First 48/Codebreaker, then Hayes with his double knee strike in the corner for a 2 count.

Andrade calls on Hayes for chops then Hayes tries a suplex but Andrade counters into one of his own then Andrade tries a School Boy but winds up rolling through to hit a one-armed powerbomb for a 2-count. Nice sequence there. The pad has come off of the top turnbuckle in the corner they were in earlier, I’m sure that won't play into the finish.

Andrade sets for a corner knee strike but runs into a superkick for a 2 count. Hayes tries to springboard but Andrade meets him on the second rope and they both backflip into a face bump and we head to break.

They’re fighting on the top rope as we come back and Andrade hits a moonsault fallaway slam but only gets a near fall off of that. They start trading strikes as they fight up to their feet then Andrade with his spinning back elbow and another near fall. Andrade with a corner chop, then he sets Hayes on the top rope that’s without the pad. Shame on the ref for not putting that back on. Andrade wants an avalanche hurricanrana but Hayes slips free and Andrade goes chest first onto the steel. That allows Hayes to hit Nothing But Net and get the pin.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Carmelo Hayes won in 13:14

Rating: 3 stars

Thoughts: Not their best work but then again the commercials probably didn’t help. Still, get these two a PPV match already and let’s see what they can cook up.

We get some recaps about how we arrived at Michin vs. Nia Jax then Jax heads to the ring all by her lonesome. That title fight will be our main event, and get going after this break.

Post break we get a recap of the situation around the women’s tag team titles and how that intersects with Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi.

The commentary then runs down the Bash in Berlin card tomorrow.

Michin now walks and talks holding a kendo stick, she says you can like her or hate her but after she wins the title you cannot forget her. Michin is not who she is, it’s what she is. She then gets a shopping cart full of plunder to head to the ring with her.

Match 4 WWE Women’s Title Street Fight: (c) Nia Jax vs. Michin

Michin has a kendo stick and lays into Jax with it right away and Jax heads out of the ring. Jax takes the stick from Michin and threatens her with it but Michin shoves Jax into the ring post as the crowd already wants tables. More stick shots from Michin then she, sort of hits a rana from the apron into the ring.

That was better in idea than execution. Michin tosses sticks and a chair into the ring, then she finds a table to a big pop but here’s Jax with a kendo stick to attack her. Jax shoves Michin into the ring then shoves the table back under the ring to get some heat. Michin with a diving dropkick then a kick from the apron and Michin gets the table back out and sends it into the ring as we head to break.

More kendo stick shots from Michin as we come back, and then Jax fights back and slams her on the apron with a Uranage. Jax now sets up a table in a corner. Michin with some fire extinguisher emanations to cut off Jax then a top rope dropkick connects.

Jax avoids a tornado DDT and tosses Michin onto a garbage can but Michin has the lid now and whacks Jax with them for a bit. Michin then with a tornado DDT onto a couple of trashcan lids but that only gets 2. Now Michin sets up a second table and then sends another trashcan into the ring before finishing setting up the table.

Jax attacks after all that recovery time and lays into Michin with a chair then sets Michin on the table before climbing up the ropes Michin attacks her on the second rope and powerbombs Jax through the table but she can’t follow up with a cover. Instead here comes Tiffany Stratton with her MITB briefcase, she lays into Michin with the case then considers cashing in, looks like she says yes but she sees Jax partially sitting up and instead just whacks Michin again then drags Jax over Michin for a near fall.

Tiffany wants the Prettiest Moonsault Ever but here’s Bayley to get involved and she takes out Tiffany and the two of them brawl through the crowd to the back. Meanwhile, Michin with a School Boy for 2 then kicks to Jax but Jax hits Michin with a Samoan Drop through the corner table, then follows with an Annihilator while Michin is in a trashcan to get the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Nia Jax retained the title in 10:53

Rating: 2.5 stars

Thoughts: Decent enough plunder filled match, but the foregone nature of the bout hurt things just a bit.

Post match Jax continues abusing Michin for a bit then poses with her belt to end the episode.

Overall thoughts

I know we kind of have to grade go home shows on a curve which helps this episode a bit. There were some pacing issues and a bit more recaps and promo packages than usual but that's to be expected for this kind of show.

Andrade and Carmelo Hayes continue to do good work in the ring, Knight and Kaiser was solid stuff as well. Jax and Michin was fine as kind of a filler program for Jax, but the Cody and Owens face to face was a little weird.

I'm assuming that was by design but that might be a bit generous on my end. All in all I'm going with Good but I can't get much higher than that, because by go home show standards I think it snuck into that based on the strength of Hayes and Andrade's match.