The September 17th, 2019 episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA. It was the first episode of SmackDown following WWE Clash of Champions 2019. Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Brock Lesnar Will Face Kofi Kingston For The WWE Championship On October 4th
New Day battled The Revival and Randy Orton to begin the show. Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston dominated early and knocked Wilder and Dawson out of the ring. Kofi went for Trouble in Paradise but Orton ducked under it and rolled out of the ring as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Woods was isolated in the ring and Dawson focused his attack on Xavier’s injured knee. Orton tagged in and poked Woods in the eye to prevent him from tagging out. Wilder tagged in and Woods rolled him up for a two count.
Xavier went for a DDT but Wilder blocked it and launched him to the outside. Orton then slammed Woods on the announce table as SmackDown went to another break. When SmackDown returned, Woods was finally able to get to the corner and tagged in Kofi Kingston.
Kingston leveled Orton with a Clothesline and followed it up with a Dropkick that sent Wilder out of the ring. Kofi planted Orton with the SOS and went for the cover but Dawson broke it up at the last second. Wilder took out Big E with a DDT outside the ring and then slammed Woods’ knee off the ring apron.
Orton capitalized on the distraction and hit Kingston with a DDT while he was hung up in the ropes. Randy geared up for the RKO and started pounding on the canvas. He stopped short and opted to tag in Dawson.
The Revival tried to set up Kingston for an RKO but Big E dragged Orton out of the ring. Kingston hit The Revival with a double DDT as Woods climbed up to the top rope. Xavier connected with an Elbow Drop to Wilder and both superstars fell out of the ring. Kingston hit Dawson with Trouble in Paradise for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came down to the ring. Kingston told Woods and Big E to get out of the ring as Heyman and Lesnar stepped inside. Heyman told Kingston that Lesnar wants to challenge him to a match on the October 4th SmackDown premiere on Fox. The crowd chanted “Kofi!” as Kingston said that he made a promise to the WWE Universe that he will be a fighting champion. Kingston accepted the challenge and Brock clapped and then hit Kofi with the F5.
It makes sense from a marketing perspective to have Lesnar get a title shot on the debut episode of SmackDown on Fox. However, from an entertainment perspective, I have zero interest in seeing Brock Lesnar become champion again. Kingston and Lesnar can put on a great match on October 4th but the result seems pretty obvious.
Kevin Owens Filed A Lawsuit Against Shane McMahon
Kevin Owens showed up in the crowd after Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn beatdown Ali tonight. Shane McMahon was shown backstage watching on the monitor and was served with legal documents.
Shane came down to the ring with a security team and demanded to be introduced as the best in the world. McMahon invited Owens to the ring and said that Owens filed a wrongful termination lawsuit for $25 million.
Owens called Shane a dumbass and stated that he has ruined SmackDown by making it his personal playground. Kevin pointed out that Shane fined Owens for laying his hands on an official (Elias), but attacked Owens last week when he was the special referee.
Kevin claimed that he tried to help Shane beat Gable last week but Shane still couldn’t do it. Owens started a “you tapped out!” chant towards Shane. Owens said that he just wants to hurt McMahon now and the best way to do that is to go after his money. Owens added that there is also a clause in the lawsuit that will allow him to fire Shane McMahon somehow.
Carmella Saved Charlotte
Offset came down to the ring in Ric Flair’s robe and introduced Charlotte Flair. Charlotte then battled Sasha Banks and Bayley was ringside for the match.
Flair started off the match in control and stomped on Banks in the corner of the ring. Bayley started taking off the turnbuckle pad but Charlotte caught her. Flair launched Banks to the outside and followed her out there. Charlotte started trash-talking with Bayley and Sasha capitalized by shoving Flair into the ring post as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Flair was back in control and hit Banks with a Fallaway Slam. Charlotte sent Banks out of the ring and Bayley helped her up. Flair connected with a Moonsault onto both of them and posed for the crowd. Back in the ring, Flair locked in the Figure Four but Bayley attacked her and the match ended in a DQ. After the match, Bayley and Banks went to attack Flair but Carmella rushed the ring for the save.
The crowd was expecting Becky Lynch to make the save so they had no reaction for Carmella. Ember Moon would have made more sense than Carmella, given the fact that she criticized Bayley’s actions on a recent episode of SmackDown.
Gable Ruined Corbin’s Coronation
King of the Ring winner Baron Corbin stated that he was the King that the WWE Universe needed. Corbin said that he is dominant and strong but is also generous and fair. He demanded to be shown the respect and adoration that he deserves.
Corbin defeated Gable last night on RAW to win the tournament and tonight he called him down to the ring. Baron made a bunch of height jokes and told Gable that no matter how big he dreams he will always come up short.
Gable slammed Corbin onto the throne and beat the hell out of him. Corbin retreated up the entrance ramp as Gable ripped up the robe and stomped on the crown.
Harper & Rowan Attacked Bryan & Reigns
Daniel Bryan marched down to the ring at the end of this week’s episode of SmackDown. The crowd greeted him with “Daniel Bryan!” chants and he claimed that a lot of people chanting his name right now are the same people that accused him of attacking Roman Reigns.
Bryan stated that he understands now why they thought that and added that he has never lied to anyone. Daniel said that he saw Erick Rowan’s potential and how special he was. He claimed that he treated Rowan as his equal because he is his friend.
Erick Rowan interrupted and told Bryan that he never let him talk and was too busy trying to make him into his puppet. Rowan got in the ring and got in Bryan’s face. Erick told Bryan that he will not be disrespected and Bryan went on a rant. Bryan told Rowan that there is nothing that he can do to him physically that would be worse than him ruining their friendship and betraying him.
Luke Harper attacked Bryan from behind and Roman Reigns interrupted. Reigns leveled Rowan with a Superman Punch and followed it up with the Drive-By. Harper hit Reigns with a big boot and sent him into the steel steps. Rowan then Powerbombed Reigns into the steel post.
Harper and Rowan tore up the padding outside the ring and exposed the concrete floor. WWE security rushed the ring but Harper and Rowan took them out. Rowan took a piece of the barricade and smashed Reigns in the face with it. They then cleared off the announce table and planted Bryan through it with a Crucifix Bomb.
Overall, this week’s episode of SmackDown was a forgettable show. There was only a couple of wrestling matches the entire night. Harper and Rowan looked strong tonight and hopefully, that continues in the weeks ahead. The lawsuit storyline with Owens and Shane McMahon doesn’t interest me at all and I don’t need to see yet another match between them at Hell in a Cell. I think the best segment of the night was Gable and Corbin.