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WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER
JANUARY 1, 2021
TAMPA, FL. IN THE THUNDERDOME AT TROPICANA FIELD
AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Michael Cole and Corey Graves

Remembering Jon Huber (Luke Harper/Brodie Lee)

I typically include some words when a wrestler or wrestling personality passes away. Out of respect to Wade Keller, I held off posting anything this past Monday in my Raw primer because of an article posted that put PWTorch.com in a situation that had to be handled. I’m not here to weigh in on that. I want to at least say something about Jon Huber, whom we lost last Saturday.

In WWE, his Luke Harper character was one that I had hoped would be pushed higher on the card and given more than he was given. That said, I thought he knocked whatever he did out of the park. The Wyatt Family was a significant part of the card from the moment they arrived in the summer of 2013 until they disbanded. They would come back from time to time, including a period in 2015 that saw the introduction of Braun Strowman. Personally, I will never forget the ladder match he had with Dolph Ziggler at TLC 2014 for the Intercontinental Championship. Also, who could forget the match the Wyatts had with the Shield at Elimination Chamber earlier that year. I wish there were more of an extended program between the Shield and the Wyatt Family, but later that year both factions broke up.

He arrived in AEW this year as Brodie Lee and was revealed as the Exalted One of the Dark Order. He went on to become the TNT Champion defeating Cody Rhodes in dominant fashion. He would lose it back to Cody in a dog collar match on Dynamite with Greg “The Hammer” Valentine in attendance (Greg lost in the first match of its type at Starrcade 1983 to Roddy Piper). He unsuccessfully challenged Jon Moxley for the AEW Championship at this year’s Double or Nothing.

Above everything else, Jon was a father of two boys (Brodie and Nolan) and married to his wife Amanda. So much testimonial has come out about the family man he was, and on Dynamite this week Jon Moxley said they came first to Jon despite his love for professional wrestling. It reminded me of Owen Hart’s and Eddie Guerrero’s passing to be honest, since both men were active wrestlers and lauded as family men. Jon was beloved by his peers, and if you saw the tribute show AEW did on this week’s Dynamite episode, you could see the genuine love and emotional everyone expressed. I was in tears throughout the episode, and especially seeing members of the Dark Order getting emotional and the pictures they revealed.

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Rest in peace Mr. Huber. May your family find the strength to pull ahead in life and have the love and support they need. It’s time for me to write my Smackdown primer because well, it’s Friday. You know what that means.

Match Results and Segments from Last Week

• Roman Reigns defeated Kevin Owens in a Steel Cage match with the help of his cousin, Jey Uso, to retain the Universal Championship.
• Raw Women’s Champion Asuka & Charlotte Flair defeated Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks and Bayley & Carmella to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championship.
• Daniel Bryan defeated Jey Uso. Later, he entered himself into the Royal Rumble and expressed his desire to win it, something he’s never done (he should have won it in 2015 but … who am I to question).
• Big E defeated Sami Zayn in a Lumberjack match to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time in his career. (Did anybody notice Raw’s Angel Garza and Drew Gulak were lumberjacks?)

Here is a WWE exclusive with Big E before and after his big win:

Items Advertised by WWE

We kick off 2021 with an edition of Smackdown coming off a Christmas episode with saw more than three million viewers watch the program. We head towards the Royal Rumble where U.S. Champion Bobby Lashley from Raw has declared entry along with Bryan in the men’s rumble. Nia Jax has done the same for the women. I’m sure we’ll get more entries as we roll along. Here’s the hype video WWE has used for tonight’s show:

Two matches and a non-wrestling segment have been announced for tonight:

• Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair battle Bayley & Carmella.
• Intercontinental Champion Big E goes head-to-head with King Corbin.
• Roman Reigns makes special request of WWE Management in the wake of his Universal Title win over Kevin Owens.

Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair vs. Bayley & Carmella

Coming out of last week’s triple threat elimination match for the Women’s Tag Team Championship, the two teams that challenged Charlotte Flair & Asuka unsuccessfully for the titles will go at it in a tag team match tonight.

Sasha eliminated the team of Bayley & Carmella by pinning Bayley after a Frog Splash, just like her idol the late WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero. Charlotte would later eliminate the team of Bianca & Sasha by hitting Natural Selection on Bianca. Bayley distracted Bianca earlier by returning after her elimination and jumping on the apron.

There are a lot of entanglements in this tag team match. Sasha & Bayley have a long history and recently feuded over the Smackdown Women’s Championship following their break-up. Bayley recently defeated Bianca in a one-on-one match. Sasha retained the Smackdown title over Carmella in two matches including one at TLC.

Frank’s Analysis: This is a way to set up feuds moving forward. I’m sure we’ll see more of Bianca vs. Bayley, and I’m sure Bayley vs. Sasha hasn’t seen its last chapter. I would imagine there’s another match in the offing with Sasha and Carmella, and I could see a mini feud between Carmella and Bianca. This is perfectly fine way to keep everyone occupied as we head towards the Royal Rumble.

Non-Title Match: Intercontinental Champion Big E vs. King Corbin

Big E finally capitalized on his singles run last week when he defeated Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship in a lumberjack match. It is his second reign after having been a multiple time tag team champion with New Day and holding the IC title from late 2013-mid 2014.

Tonight, Big E takes on King Corbin in a non-title match, and without question the Knights of the Lone Wolf (Steven Cutler & Wesley Blake) are expected to accompany Corbin. They last helped him defeat Murphy. Regarding championships Corbin has only held the U.S. Championship since coming to the main roster in 2016. Big E and Corbin have faced each other in various tag team matches. Their last encounter was when Big E gave him the Big Ending after Corbin disrespected the Undertaker on Smackdown:

Frank’s Analysis: I don’t have much to say here, as it looks like Corbin will be the first challenger for Big E. I’m sure a rematch with Sami Zayn could happen at some point as well, and he could even get involved in the match tonight. Either way, Big E has a few challengers to keep him occupied as his reign starts.

Universal Champion Roman Reigns’ Special Request

Roman Reigns has made a “special request of WWE management” according to their preview after defeating Kevin Owens in a Steel Cage match with the help of his cousin Jey Uso to retain the Universal Championship.

The nature of the request is not clear. Jey handcuffed Kevin to allow Roman to leave the cage. As Roman was leaving, Kevin said “you can’t keep me down, you bitch.”

Frank’s Analysis: I’m not going to speculate on how this will play out. With Daniel Bryan declaring for the Royal Rumble, I suspect there’ll be another match with Kevin and Roman at the PPV. Roman should keep the title, but it’s partially a shame that Kevin won’t get a title run out of this since he’s worked so hard in this feud. Hopefully, he’s rewarded down the line. I’m sure he’s happy with the fact he’s being featured alongside the top star.

Other Expectations and Final Thoughts

I don’t see Smackdown retaining the viewership they had last week, but with a strong show and it being New Year’s Day, I’d bet some of those viewers could tune in to see how WWE follows up on things. As I’ve said, I look forward to Smackdown these days much more than Raw. The stories are better and more intriguing.

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy and a Healthy New Year. 2020 was trying on all of us in many different ways. The calendar turning 2021 doesn’t wipe things away, but I could understand the ending of 2020 helping everyone from a psychological standpoint. We’re not out of the woods with the COVID-19 pandemic, but I do believe there is light at the end of the tunnel.

One of the positives I could extract from 2020 was my entry into the rotation of cohosts on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post Show. I enjoy joining Wade or Zack Heydorn when he “tags in” for Wade, and in particular I love talking to you the readers and listeners. I appreciate all the follows on Twitter and the interaction. Let’s keep it going in 2021. PWTorch VIP members look for the next episode of WWE Then and Now sometime late next week. I thank everyone who pushed play on episode #1. If you haven’t listened, go check it out in VIP archives!

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!

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Tracy Williams has re-signed with Ring of Honor. ROH announced on their website today that Williams has signed a new deal.

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Williams is currently part of The Foundation alongside Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, and Rhett Titus. Williams originally signed with ROH in 2018 after previously wrestling for Evolve.

 

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Though he isn’t currently prominently featured on AEW Dynamite, Jeff Hardy said in a recent interview that he’d love to work his way back to Wednesday nights.

In his brief talk with Muscle Man Malcolm, Hardy admitted that he’s been working to move from Rampage to AEW’s flagship program sooner than later.

“I think it’s a constant battle to elevate myself back to the Dynamite show,” Hardy said. “(Rampage) is kind of the B show, but we still want to go out there and give the people what they want – give them their money’s worth. Naturally, the ultimate goal for myself and Matt is the AEW World Tag Team Championships because we were so close before I got myself into the hell of a mess I got myself into. But now that I’m coming out of that, it’s within reach. We’re using the Rampage moments to hopefully, eventually create some huge Dynamite moments.”

Hardy went on to mention another thing goal he has in mind: one more match with CM Punk, someone with whom he’s had significant history in WWE. The two last wrestled each other in August of 2009 when Punk defeated Hardy in a Loser Leaves WWE steel cage match.

Referring to potentially stepping back in the ring with Punk someday, Hardy reflected on a quick moment the two shared on AEW television before realizing the time wasn’t right for the two to lock up.

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“What I’ve seen more than anything is there’s just a huge moment between me and CM Punk,” Hardy noted. “The history alone. (If we would have touched then), we’d be throwing away a huge moment for the future. Ultimately, I can see us having another match. I think it’d be bizarre in the best of ways.”

Hardy also spoke about hoping for one more World title run while speculating on when he might begin to wind things down in the wrestling business.

“I’m a big believer in something could happen before I get home tonight that could end my career,” he said. “It’s just the little things that kill sometimes. I can’t put a number on it, but I feel like I’ll be rocking until I’m 50. I’m 45 now, so sometime between now and 50, I’m going to create many more moments.”

LARCHMONT, NY — Reading about or browsing images of the upcoming installation at The Idea Kitchen just won’t do. This is definitely one of those times when seeing up close for yourself is worth the trip.

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The Idea Kitchen will be presenting “Driven To Abstraction,” an abstract exhibition curated by Lisa Post from July 1 through September 30.

A reception will take place on July 23, from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Larchmont-Mamaroneckwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Exhibiting artists include:

Post is an artist and graphic designer who lives in New Rochelle. She studied Graphic Design at the New York Institute of Technology. Post recently became Art Curator for The Idea Kitchen, with “Driven To Abstraction” being the first show she is curating there.

Find out what's happening in Larchmont-Mamaroneckwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Idea Kitchen is a coworking space located at 1940 Palmer Ave. in Larchmont. Find out more here.

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Le ministère japonais de la Défense accuse la Corée du Nord d’avoir tiré un probable missile balistique, lundi 24 juillet. Le projectile serait tombé en mer, à l’extérieur de la zone économique exclusive du Japon, a rapporté la chaîne de télévision publique NHK, qui cite des responsables gouvernementaux.

L’armée sud-coréenne a confirmé ce lancement, selon l’agence de presse japonaise Kyodo. Ce dernier survient peu avant les célébrations en Corée du Nord des 70 ans de la fin de la guerre de Corée (1950-1953).

Des relations au plus bas entre les deux Corées

Pyongyang effectue régulièrement des essais de missile. Samedi, “plusieurs missiles de croisière” avaient été lancés en mer Jaune, entre la péninsule coréenne et la Chine. A la mi-juillet, le dirigeant nord-coréen Kim Jong-un avait personnellement supervisé le tir du tout dernier missile balistique intercontinental du pays, le Hwasong-18 à combustible solide.

Les relations entre les deux Corées se trouvent au plus bas, la diplomatie étant au point mort. Kim Jong-un a même appelé à une accélération de la course aux armements, y compris les armes nucléaires tactiques. En réponse, Séoul et Washington ont mené des exercices militaires conjoints, s’attirant la colère de Pyongyang.

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Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view on Saturday night has a new main event. The promotion announced on Friday that Moose will now partner with Chris Sabin and Rich Swann to face Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. Alex Shelley will not be on the show and Impact said he’ll miss the event due to “unavoidable circumstances” which will prevent him from traveling to Nashville.

“Hard to Kill is a huge event for Impact Wrestling and a historic one for professional wrestling in general,” said Impact EVP Scott D’Amore. “Impact Wrestling needs to put our best foot forward. Moose fits that bill. He is a physical specimen, a five-tool athlete, and has proven himself to be a world-class professional wrestler.”

Hard to Kill begins at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday night and it will be available on traditional pay-per-view outlets as well as Fite.tv. The full card is below …

FULL HARD TO KILL CARD
Six-Man Tag Main Event
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Rich Swann, Chris Sabin & Moose vs. Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers

Knockouts Championship
Deonna Purrazzo (C) vs.Taya Valkyrie

Knockouts Tag Team Championship (Vacant Titles)
Havok & Nevaeh vs. Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz

X-Division Championship (Triple Threat Match)
Manik (C) vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju

Six-Man Tag Team Match (Old School Rules)
Eric Young, Deaner & Joe Doering vs. Cousin Jake, Rhino & Tommy Dreamer

Barbed Wire Massacre
Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

Singles Match
The Karate Man vs. Ethan Page

Mixed Tag-Team Match
Rosemary & Crazzy Steve s. Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb with a K

Pre-show match (on AXS TV)
Singles Match

Brian Myers vs. Josh Alexander

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Last night (1/20), AEW Dynamite drew 854,000 total viewers (live and delayed viewing), topping NXT which drew 659,000. The difference of 195,000 is 50,000 higher than the average difference since Sept. 16 (after the shows went back to being head-to-head after a four week stretch of staggered showtimes).

• AEW’s prior ten week average was 812,000, so they were up 42,000.
• NXT’s  prior ten week average was 654,000, so they were up 5,000.

In terms of the rating, NXT drew 0.55, ahead of AEW’s 0.51, a reflection of more viewers per household with AEW than NXT.

In the key 18-49 demographic, AEW drew a 0.36, more than doubling NXT’s 0.15. Both shows were up from last week.

Among 18-49 males, AEW drew 0.49, more than 2.5 times NXT’s rating of 0.18.

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Among 18-34 males, AEW more than tripled NXT by a 0.24 to 0.07 margin.

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We finally also have the seven-day viewership total for Dec. 30. AEW drew 1.200 million total seven-day viewers on Dec. 30, only third time since February 12, 2020 it hit that mark. Dec. 10 was the prior instance. That was up from the 977,000 first-night viewership total, an increase of 233,000.

NXT drew 710,000, up 124,000 from the first-night viewership total of 586,000.

AEW will hold a Dynamite event from the MVP Arena in Albany, NY, this Wednesday night. 

 

WrestleTix noted the show has sold 2,797 tickets and there are 719 left. Here is the updated card for the show:

– AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy vs. AR Fox

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– Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland

– Britt Baker vs. Taya Valkyrie

– PAC vs. Gravity

– MJF & Adam Cole promo

– Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Best Friends vs. Lucha Brothers

PLAINVIEW, NY — A two-time state senator wants to take down embattled congressman George Santos.

Anna Kaplan, a Democrat from Plainview, is running for Santos’ seat next year. Although Santos has maintained he won’t resign, Kaplan is committed to the primary regardless of his plans.

“It took me a while to make that decision. I’ve given it a lot of consideration,” Kaplan told Patch.

Find out what's happening in Plainviewwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She spoke with residents, community leaders and union members before going into full campaign mode.

“I’m determined to win this seat,” she said. “Being responsive to the residents and the constituents, that’s what I bring and this sets me apart from everybody in this race.”

Find out what's happening in Plainviewwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Santos won the 3rd congressional election in November. But the lawmaker was indicted in May on federal fraud, money laundering and making false statements to the House of Representatives.

Since his win, aspects of Santos’ personal and professional life have been fabricated, although he has only admitted to certain parts as lies.

“It is disgraceful for this district to be represented by a conman, by a liar,” Kaplan said.

While Santos remains in office, the House Ethics Committee is investigating. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has not expedited plans to expel.

“I think it’s perfectly clear. Kevin McCarthy needs his votes,” she said. “The Republican party is in disrepair.”

If Santos does ultimately step down, it likely would trigger a special election before next year’s regular election cycle.

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“I don’t have a crystal ball to look and see what would be most advantageous [for me],” Kaplan said. “I’m doing my best to show who I am [and] what I’m about.”

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The build to SummerSlam continues tonight on Raw at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Finn Balor will have a contract signing to make their title match official for SummerSlam. Rollins retained against Balor at Money in the Bank after a distraction from Balor’s Judgment Day partner Damian Priest inadvertently cost him the match.

Drew McIntyre and Intercontinental Champion Gunther will have a face-to-face confrontation which will likely lead to a title match at SummerSlam.

Logan Paul returns to Raw to confront Ricochet, also likely leading to a SummerSlam match.

Becky Lynch will have a rematch against Zoey Stark and must win to get a match against Trish Stratus at SummerSlam.

Tommaso Ciampa will face Bronson Reed and is looking for revenge after Reed cost him a match against The Miz. Ciampa attacked Reed during his match against Shinsuke Nakamura last week, resulting in a DQ loss for Nakamura.

Cody Rhodes is advertised to appear to address Brock Lesnar after Lesnar laid him out in his hometown last week.

********** 

Show Recap – 

Rhea Ripley, Finn Bálor and Damian Priest stood in the ring to start the show. Ripley said Judgment Day doesn't just run Raw, they run all of WWE. Bálor said he was the next world champion, Ripley was the unbeatable Women’s champion, and Priest was Señor Money in the Bank. Bálor cut to a video package of Dominik Mysterio winning the NXT North American title last week.

Dom entered. Corey Graves said Dom was the first person in history to main event Raw, NXT and Smackdown in the same week. Dom put over his win while the Tampa crowd loudly booed. Dom cut to another video package and this one was all about him. The crowd chanted “You suck.”

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn interrupted. Owens noted that this happened last week — Judgment Day entered and Dom spoke but nobody wanted to hear it. Owens hated people who couldn’t learn a lesson. Owens informed Dom that nobody wanted to hear him talk ever and the best thing for him was to stop talking for good.

Dom said he was a champion now and was being disrespected. Zayn said Dom was right — he was being disrespected because nobody respected him. Zayn challenged Dom to a singles match tonight. Dom had no problem with this until Zayn told him to put his title on the line. Before Dom could respond, Ripley accepted on his behalf.

******** 

Becky Lynch defeated Zoey Stark (w/Trish Stratus) (9:48)

Stark took control ahead of a break but Lynch was on offence after the break, chucking Stark repeatedly into the barricade (which is becoming a regular spot for her) and hitting a diving leg drop for two.

Stratus headbutted Lynch (using her face mask) as the referee checked on Stark. Stark followed with a roundhouse kick for a nearfall. Lynch blocked Stark’s finisher and hit an exploder suplex. Lynch hit a superplex and floated over into an armbar but Stark hoisted her up into a powerbomb for two. They traded counters and cradles until Lynch applied a Disarmer.

Stratus chucked her mask in the ring so the ref tossed it out as Lynch knocked her off the apron. Stark tried to use the distraction with a springboard move but Lynch caught her with a Man-handle Slam for the pinfall win. (Stark got to show off a bit here and the crowd was into Lynch.)

Lynch gets her match against Stratus.

******** 

Vo Williams, whose song "Greatness" is the Raw theme, was shown in the front row.

Cody Rhodes promo

This was a rare in-ring Rhodes segment that wasn’t at the top of the hour.

Rhodes said we’ve all seen the clip of Brock Lesnar beating him up with a chair and doing it in front of his mother. Rhodes wasn’t surprised. Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight Championship before having five fights, wound up on an NFL roster without ever playing football, and has been called “Mr. SummerSlam.”

Rhodes wasn’t surprised by Lesnar and was even impressed. But his mother was not impressed. She was the same lady who saw Terry Funk throw fireballs in his dad’s face and the same lady who would drink with Gordon Solie at the Columbia in nearby Ybor City.

Rhodes’ mother knew what he would tell Lesnar and that was that Lesnar made a mistake. The mistake was that Lesnar left him breathing.

Rhodes wasn’t going to SummerSlam just to win the rubber match, he wanted to embarrass Lesnar. Rhodes knew people would freak out at him poking the bear but he wasn’t doing that — he was slapping it across the face and telling it to come get it.

Rhodes said beating Lesnar at SummerSlam wasn’t just about the positives it would mean to his career or getting revenge for his broken arm. It was what Lesnar deserved.

“At SummerSlam, Brock, I end this.”

******** 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Ricochet, who appeared to be awaiting Logan Paul’s arrival. Ricochet was thrilled that Paul accepted his invitation but was confused that Paul thought he could show up late just because he was a YouTube star. Ricochet did have a lot to say about Paul but would do so to his face.

Dominik Mysterio (w/Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley) defeated Tag Team Champion Sami Zayn (w/Tag Champion Kevin Owens) to retain the NXT North American Championship (12:00)

They went to break a minute in after Zayn hit a flip dive.

[SECOND HOUR]

Ripley gave Zayn a cheap shot during the break but it didn’t matter because Zayn was on offence after the break. Ripley distracted the ref as Priest shoved Zayn off the top so Owens went after Priest. The ref initially only tossed Owens from ringside but tossed Priest and Ripley moments later after he saw them bragging.

Zayn hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Dom set up for a 619 but Zayn dropped him with a clothesline for two. Zayn tried something off the top but Dom caught him with a dropkick for two. Dom countered a Blue Thunder Bomb into a hurricanrana but Zayn avoided the 619 again and hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. (Dom didn’t exactly go up easily for the move.)

Dom dropkicked Zayn and finally did hit the 619 for two. Dom followed with the three amigos suplexes but Zayn got his knees up on a frog splash. Zayn hit an exploder into the corner and set up for the Helluva Kick.

However, Zayn became distracted upon seeing Owens getting attacked by Priest and Ripley on the stage so Dom put him in a schoolboy for the pinfall win.

— Zayn sprinted up the ramp after Judgment Day but they bailed to the back. Zayn and officials checked on Owens as Dom left through the crowd.

******** 

They plugged Gable Steveson’s “The Decision” segment on tomorrow’s NXT. (LeBron James’ “The Decision” broadcast was 13 years ago this month.)

Medical staff checked on Owens backstage as he sold an injury. He thought something was broken.

There was a Roman Reigns/Jey Uso video package. (There was a commercial plugging this match earlier, too.)

******** 

Ricochet approached Shinsuke Nakamura in the back and asked if he’d seen Paul. Nakamura said no, so Ricochet asked him to keep an eye out.

Tommaso Ciampa approached Nakamura and said his loss last week was on him and he would let it slide that Nakamura kicked him in the face. Ciampa said he was about to settle things with Bronson Reed and didn’t expect to see Nakamura out there, but if he did, then they had a problem.

********

In the back, Dom bragged about putting a whooping on Zayn. Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa were nearby so Dom told Crews to show him some respect. Ripley asked if they had a problem. Tozawa said, “Nope” and walked away. Crews was tired of Judgment Day and dared them to try something with him. Priest challenged him to a match tonight. Tozawa reappeared to wish Crews luck.

********

Bronson Reed defeated Tommaso Ciampa (12:46)

Ciampa held a sleeper hold but Reed fell backwards onto him. Reed followed with a running body block and elbow drop. Reed tried a charge off the apron but Ciampa caught him with a knee strike.

Reed was back in control after a break until Ciampa hit a reverse DDT. They traded offence for a bit until Ciampa no-sold a clothesline by popping to his feet and getting in Reed’s face. Ciampa got Reed on his shoulders and hit an air raid crash (which got the biggest reaction of the match) for two.

Nakamura sauntered out so Ciampa left the ring to… just stare at him. Reed flew off the apron to knock down Ciampa and he followed with a Tsunami back in the ring for the pinfall win.

As Graves noted on commentary, the loss was Ciampa’s own fault.

********  

Byron Saxton interviewed Liv Morgan. Morgan confirmed Raquel Rodriguez was hurt but she was tough and would be back to take care of Ripley. Tonight, however, Ripley was all Morgan’s. Morgan blamed their title loss on Ripley. She was tired of Ripley and reminded us that she was the last person to beat her. Morgan said, “Maybe I’ll get beat up but maybe I won’t.” Morgan said she wasn’t backing down and left after saying, “Watch me.”

Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green confronted Saxton about interviewing Morgan instead of them. They also started mocking Ripley until Ripley showed up and they started playing nice. They left.

Ripley told Saxton that she warned Rodriguez and Morgan to stay out of their way but they didn’t listen so she took out Rodriguez and Morgan would be next.

******** 

Non-title match: Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan

The match didn’t happen. Ripley attacked Morgan during her entrance, drove her shoulder-first onto the barricade, and Pilmanized her shoulder with a steel chair.

A medical staff member checked on Morgan as a ref backed off Ripley. Ripley told them to move out of the way and she Pilmanized Morgan’s shoulder again. (Ripley did the “suck it” thing before leaving the ring.) Ripley told Morgan to stay out of her business.

— After a break, Morgan was crying in the back as a medic checked on her shoulder.

********

[THIRD HOUR]

There was an Alpha Academy promo in the back. Chad Gable angrily congratulated Viking Raiders on their win last week but said nobody even knew what Viking Rules was. Gable wanted an Academy rules match and threatened to put their heads through a chalkboard.

Maxxine Dupri took over for Gable. She said she’s been getting the better of Valhalla every week and wasn’t going to drop off just because Valhalla got one over on her last week. Dupri challenged her to a singles match next week which would be the first of her career. Otis said, “Oh yeah!” (So Gable’s Academy Rules match is not happening.)

********

Ricochet / Logan Paul segment 

Ricochet entered. He spoke about how nobody thought Paul belonged there. He did credit Paul’s ability and training, but said Paul was a prick. Ricochet said “we” dedicate their lives to this and spend time away from their families and Paul couldn’t understand that. Ricochet challenged Paul to a match at SummerSlam.

Paul suddenly appeared and decked Ricochet from behind. Paul took a selfie video while accepting Ricochet’s challenge. Paul pointed out a fan and told him, “You need to get laid you stupid virgin.”

Ricochet popped up and superkicked Paul before hitting a standing shooting star. Paul slowly got to his feet as Ricochet stared him down from the ramp.

******** 

Redmond interviewed Shayna Baszler. Baszler was sick of hearing Ronda Rousey’s name included in everything that she does. Talking hasn’t settled this and a match wouldn’t settle it, either. At SummerSlam, Baszler wanted a fight.

******** 

Saxton approached Paul in the back. Paul called Ricochet’s actions unprofessional as hell and said he felt victimized. Paul said he would be on Raw in Houston next week and would pop Ricochet’s stupid bald head (before telling Saxton, “No offence”).

********

Damian Priest defeated Apollo Crews (3:12)

Crews got some offence but Priest won fairly decisively with a South of Heaven chokeslam.

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Redmond interviewed Lynch in the back. Lynch was pumped about getting her rematch against Stratus and said, “It ain’t over ‘til I win.”

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There was a Viking Raiders promo. Valhalla accepted Dupri’s “foolish” challenge.

Gunther / Drew McIntyre segment 

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