WWE SmackDown aired live from the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, PA. King Nakamura put the Intercontinental Championship on the line against Apollo Crews tonight. Universal Champion faced Montez Ford in a non-title match in this week’s main event and will defend the title against The Demon Finn Balor this Sunday at Extreme Rules.
SmackDown Results (9/24)
- King Nakamura def. Apollo Crews via submission to retain the Intercontinental Championship
- Zelina Vega def. Liv Morgan
- Nikki A.S.H. def. Natalya
- Roman Reigns def. Montez Ford
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Bianca Belair Sent A Message To The Man Ahead Of Extreme Rules
SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch began the show and made her way to the ring. Lynch will defend the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair this Sunday at Extreme Rules.
Becky joked that the only reason Knoxville had such a celebration for Bianca Belair last week was because she made it out of there and did something with her life. Lynch claimed that she had no choice but to attack Belair after she wouldn’t let go of her hand during the hand shake.
Lynch said she didn’t want to embarrass Belair in front of her hometown, family, and friends but had no choice. Belair interrupted and told Lynch to keep her parents’ names out of her mouth. Bianca noted how it took her 1/4th of the time to main event WrestleMania than it did for Becky and vowed to take the title back this Sunday. A brawl broke out and Belair got the better of the exchange. Bianca connected with the KOD to end the segment.
King Nakamura Retained
King Nakamura put the Intercontinental Championship on the line against Apollo Crews. Boogs and Commander Azeez were ringside for the title match. Apollo launched Nakamura out of the ring and posed as SmackDown went to a break.
When SmackDown returned, Nakamura battled back and connected with a knee to the face for a near fall. Nakamura went for the Kinshasa but Crews dodged it. Apollo hit a Samoan Drop and went for the cover but Nakamura was able to kick out at two.
Crews connected with a Powerbomb but Nakamura responded with an Enziguri. Crews rolled to the apron and talked with Commander Azeez. Nakamura hit Azeez with a kick and then Boogs planted Azeez with a Suplex. Back in the ring, Nakamura applied an Armbar for the submission victory. Nakamura is still the Intercontinental Champion.
Reigns Wants A Match Against Montez Ford
Montez interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton tonight. Montez Ford said that the Street Profits will defeat The Usos at Extreme Rules and tag back the tag team titles. Ford added that Roman Reigns has been treating The Usos like his “Bloodline Bitches”.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman were then shown in the locker room. Reigns asked Heyman what Montez just said and Paul noted that he had the balls to call the greatest tag team ever “Bloodline Bitches”. Roman demanded a match tonight and Heyman tried to talk Reigns out of it because he is defending the title against The Demon Finn Balor in a couple days.
Reigns started at Heyman and he said he will make the match happen tonight. The Head of the Table wondered why Heyman was still in the room and Paul excused himself. Heyman approached Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville backstage and the match was made official for the main event.
Rollins Warned Edge
Seth Rollins cut a backstage promo and said he has been patiently waiting for a response from Edge but he hasn’t heard anything. Seth claimed that the silence is deafening because it means that Edge is hurt, and ashamed to admit that Seth is the reason that he will never compete in a WWE ring again.
Rollins said that wasn’t good enough and demanded an answer. Seth demanded that Edge come to the ring next week and tell him that he is not Edge Lite, and is superior to Edge in every way. Rollins claimed that he will find Edge and beat those words out of him in front of his family if Edge doesn’t show up next week.
Zelina Vega def. Liv Morgan
Liv Morgan faced Zelina Vega tonight on SmackDown. Liv hit a Dropkick to start off the action as Carmella joined commentary. Vega applied a submission but Liv quickly escaped. Morgan hit a Backstabber against the turnbuckle and Carmella complained about how that was the move that busted her nose. Liv got distracted by Carmella and Vega capitalized with a Destroyer for the pinfall victory. Liv Morgan will face Carmella at Extreme Rules this Sunday.
Happy Corbin & Riddick Moss Attacked Kevin Owens
Corbin came to the ring for a new talk show segment called Happy Talk. Corbin spoke about how happy he is and how good his life is. Corbin announced himself as the first guest of the show and bragged about his Rolex, his private jet, etc. The crowd chanted “we don’t care!” and Corbin rolled highlights of him attacking Kevin Owens last week.
Happy Corbin claimed he took out Owens with ease and Kevin Owens interrupted. Riddick Moss attacked Owens from behind as Corbin laughed. They Chokeslammed Owens on top of the steel steps as the crowd booed.
Nikki A.S.H. def. Natalya
Nikki A.S.H. faced Natalya tonight on SmackDown. Tamina and Rhea Ripley were ringside for the match. Nikki connected with a Dropkick and went for the cover early but Natalya kicked out at two. Natalya battled back with a Suplex for a near fall.
Tamina hopped on the apron for a distraction but Rhea broke it up. Natalya rolled up Nikki but the referee was distracted. Nikki countered into a roll-up of her own for the pinfall victory.After the match, Shotzi and Nox drove the tank down the ramp and fired toy missiles at Women’s Tag Team Champions Nikki A.S.H. & Rhea Ripley.
Naomi Challenged Sonya Deville
Rey Mysterio told Dominik that he will give him his space after his son complained about him always being on his back. Mysterio walked away and Sami Zayn showed up. Zayn told Dominik that he should start listening to his dad less and his instincts more.
Naomi cut a promo in the ring and demanded that Sonya Deville finally put her in a match. Naomi complained about being disrespected, fined, and ignored. She added that she is not playing games anymore and wants a match tonight. Deville interrupted and told Naomi that she wasn’t getting a match tonight. Naomi suggested a match against Sonya Deville. Sonya claimed that she would “slap the glow off of Naomi” but is no longer a competitor, she is Naomi’s boss.
Naomi started a “make the match!” chant and Deville demanded that Naomi’s mic get turned off. Deville said that WWE has given Naomi chance after chance but she always drops the ball. Sonya suggested that Naomi go backstage and TikTok dance her way into obscurity and had security escort her backstage.
The Demon Attacked Reigns
Universal Champion Roman Reigns faced Montez Ford tonight on SmackDown. Before the match, SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was interviewed backstage. The Man was pissed and vowed to break Bianca Belair at Extreme Rules.
Montez hit a Dropkick but Reigns wouldn’t go down. Ford followed it up with another Dropkick and the Universal Champion fell out of the ring as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Reigns was in control and choked Montez against the ropes. Ford broke free and hit the Universal Champion with an Enziguri. Montez followed it up with a Clothesline that sent Reigns to the outside. Ford hopped onto the announce table and went for a move but the table broke in an unfortunate sequence.
Montez stayed on the attack until the action returned to the ring. Roman leveled Ford with a Clothesline as SmackDown went to a commercial. When SmackDown returned, Ford hit a Crossbody for a two count. Ford followed it up with a Blockbuster for a two count. Reigns battled back and tapped out Ford with the Guillotine Choke.
After the match, The Usos made their way to the ring and beat down Montez Ford some more. Ford got planted with a Uranage through a table before the lights went out. The Demon arrived on the ring post and leaped onto The Bloodline. The Demon grabbed a kendo stick and got in some shots as SmackDown went off the air. Roman Reigns will defend the Universal Championship against The Demon Finn Balor at Extreme Rules.