Show kicks off with an in-ring segment with your new, 5-time W-W-E Tag Team Champions, The New Day! They get interrupted by a special appearance by Mr. Five-Time, himself, Booker T in his King Booker persona. He congratulates them and anoints them, Xavier the Wise, Kofi the Brave, and… Big E. Big E feels slighted and it looks like everything is going to break down after Big E tells Booker that he went “full Saxton.” Booker goes on to tell them that they are now a part of the prestigious 5-time champion club and is urged into a spinaroonies, followed by two-and-a-half spinaroonies by New Day. A special three man announce table is set up at ringside for New Day to guest commentate on the opening match:
A triple threat tag team match between The Bar, The Club, and The Colons (meaning that we can take their pictures off of milk cartons now, I guess.)
The Bar vs The Club vs The Colons (winner advances towards title shot)
The Good Brothers are up early against both opponents until Anderson is knocked off the top turnbuckle to the outside by Primo. Sheamus tags himself in and he and Cesaro take turns on Anderson. The Bar channel classic Demolition with a Decapitation but Anderson survives to tag in Luke Gallows and he starts to clean house including a kick to flying Primo. Anderson helps out with a spinebuster on Sheamus. Backdrop neckbreaker combo to Cesaro. Magic Killer to Primo interrupted by a backstabber courtesy of Epico. Colons hit a double backstabber on Gallows but it’s Cesaro who sneaks in to make the pin on the former Festus. The Bar go over to the pancake buffet to smack talk the champs.
Winners: Sheamus and Cesaro advance via pinfall
Backstage, SmackDown general manager, Paige, is telling Rusev (who apparently did not separate his laundry earlier, judging by his T-shirt) that they are going to be in next week’s triple threat tag team match against The Usos and Sanity with the winners facing the Bar for a title shot. Rusev praises his wife and manager for making it happen but she reveals that it was Aiden English that lobbied for them. Good times on Rusev Day.
Jeff Hardy is in-ring with “RKO” incorporated into his face paint. He recaps his DQ loss and post-match punishing of Randy Orton, saying that he feels reborn and is back to being the way he is supposed to be. Randy’s music hits and he comes out to the ramp to say that he was glad that Jeff feels good, that he was happy to help make it happen, and that he wasn’t done yet; that he wasn’t finished with Jeff Hardy’s journey until he broke him. Jeff tells him that he’s ready for Hell in a Cell and Randy bows out.
Backstage, Carmella tells Renee Young that the Women’s Evolution and the blow up between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair are just side notes to her story. She mentions that Charlotte didn’t beat her for the title and that she and Becky were “chump change and ‘Mella. Is. Money.” As soon as she walks off screen, R-Truth comes in looking for her. Tye Dillinger tries to reason with him regarding his delusional insistence at a title shot against a woman without a title. R-Truth agrees that he should be more strategic as an exasperated Dillinger tells him that he’s missing the point.
Naomi vs Billie Kaye (w/Peyton Royce)
During Billie’s entrance, she and Peyton mock the Toronto Raptors and Naomi’s loss last week to Peyton. Naomi has Billie down early but some extensive hair pulling by Billie causes some of Naomi’s green hair coloring to shake out in a mist that prompts Corey Graves to reference The Great Muta. A high kick from Peyton Royce on a roped Naomi gives Billie Kaye the win and makes The IIconics 2-and-0 over the glow.
Winner: Billie Kaye via pinfall
Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella come down to the ring to address their scuffle with Miz and Maryse a week prior. Specifically regarding Brie’s punching of The Miz, they are completely unashamed. D-Bry goes on to say that he found it especially hot. Andrade “Cien” Almas crashes the party with Zelina Vega who says that El Idolo is better than The Yes Man. After a slight delay and a prompting by Daniel Bryan, an exhausted GM Paige comes out to explain that, when Daniel Bryan was GM, he didn’t have come from across the arena in heels to make matches on the fly. She makes it so and it’s the former La Sombra vs the former American Dragon right then and there.
Daniel Bryan (w/Brie Bella) vs Andrade “Cien” Almas (w/ Zelina Vega)
Daniel Bryan in Seattle colors trunks is in top form and putting on a show with another top shelf worker. Throughout the match, “The It Couple” are watching on a monitor backstage in their new retro softball jersey merch. The two take turns trading holds and loud chops and kicks. D-Bry does the corner dropkicks but Almas cuts them short with a running high knee. He tries to follow up but Bryan dodges and he ends up tumbling over the corner and down to the floor. Once back in the ring, Daniel Bryan comes off the top, Cien Almas dodges, attempts a running knee that Bryan bats away but uses the momentum to crack Bryan with a spinning back elbow. Daniel recovers to hit standing Yes kicks in the corner but gets caught in a rope hang armber when goes to toss Almas out. Daniel Bryan hits a butterfly suplex off the top and Miz and Maryse come down. Almas shoots D-Bry into the ropes but he just uses it to suicide dive onto The Miz. As he gets to his feet, though, he gets hit with a rebounding corkscrew plancha by Andrade. When Bryan kicks out after a tornado reverse DDT, Almas goes to the top and hits a moonsault but Daniel gets his knees up. Yes Lock is applied but Vega distracts the ref. Briee take out Vega but Maryse takes out Brie. Miz causes a DQ when he attacks Daniel Bryan. Cien Almas thanks Miz for the save in the form of a hammerlock DDT on Bryan. Miz and Maryse mock their rivals making Brie watch as Miz hold Bryan in the Yes Lock before he has to watch her eat a DDT from Maryse. Daniel is pulled to his feet for a Skullcrushing Finale and we’re out.
Winner: Daniel Bryan via disqualification
Renee Young is at the dressing room door of the SmackDown Women’s Champion. Charlotte says that she is disappointed in Becky Lynch but that she doesn’t deserve the title like she says she does if she doesn’t win it. She says that she won’t apologize for her success and hard work or because Becky can’t win “the big one.”
WWE World Champion, AJ Styles has the mic. He said that Samoa Joe is not a man after the tactics that he’s used in their feud but that he came out to the ring to end the mind games. He calls Joe out the ring saying that “your champion demands it.” Samoa Joe is up on the big screen in what looks like the parking garage. He makes a phone call to AJ’s wife, Wendy. He tells her that he’s sorry AJ can’t be there for the family but that he’ll come by himself to barbecue with them next Tuesday while AJ is busy. AJ gets out of the ring to head to the back.
Carmella moonwalks and trash talks her way down to the ring. Between her entrance and Charlotte’s we get a CarMax commercial featuring The Fashion Police (good for them) and a frustrated AJ Styles looking for Samoa Joe in the parking lot. Charlotte comes out and our main event is on.
Carmella vs Charlotte Flair (champion) for the SmackDown Women’s title
Carmella gets ahead in the match, repeatedly countering Charlotte’s throws and holds and following up with kicks. She hits a cross body off the top. Charlotte rolls her through but Carmella kicks out and hits a Flatliner. Charlotte kicks out and a frustrated ‘Mella starts smacking her about the head and back. She throws Charlotte into the corner and charges into a back elbow. Charlotte gets to the second tunbuckle when Carmella goes for a StratusFear. Charlotte blocks it but Carmella crunches up to turn it into a Frankensteiner for two! Again with the frustrated smacking and Charlotte attempts the figure four. Carmella kicks her off and she rebounds off the ropes to get a superkick that sends her back into ropes for another one. After three covers and three kickouts by Charlotte, Carmella is beside herself and that’s all the opening that The Queen needs. Spear. Natural Selection. Figure Four into the Figure Eight and ‘Mella tries to hold on but taps out to the champ.
Winner and still champion: Charlotte Flair via submission
Immediately after the match, Becky Lynch attacks Charlotte from behind, beats on her, and demands a microphone. The crowd is doing the hockey chant of “Let’s go, Becky!” *clap clap clapclapclap* She stands over a motionless Charlotte and tells her, “At Hell in a Cell, I’m taking back my title, you bitch!”
Altogether, it was a very solid show for the Toronto crowd who was very into it. Highlights of the night were definitely the appearance of Booker T and the matches involving Cien Almas vs Daniel Bryan and the noticeably improving Carmella vs Charlotte Flair. Both matches delivered on technical prowess but also helped to advance existing storylines (both of which seem too good to waste going into a minor PPV.)
Rating: 8.5/10
-Matthew Widdis
