Cody Rhodes on the Grayson Waller Effect.
WWE SmackDown in the Capital One Arena from Washington, D.C. advertised Cody Rhodes on the Grayson Waller Effect, LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar for the United States Championship, The Bloodline vs. The Street Profits for the WWE Tag Team Championships and Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Naomi vs. The Unholy Union and Blair Davenport.
Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown garnered 2.252 million viewers.
WWE SmackDown Results On August 16, 2024
- LA Knight def. Santos Escobar | United States Championship
- Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Naomi def. The Unholy Union and Blair Davenport
- The Bloodline def. The Street Profits
WWE SmackDown Ratings
- August 16, 2024 | 2.252 million
- August 9, 2024 | 2.269 million
- August 2, 2024 | 2.179 million
- July 26, 2024 | 2.058 million
- July 19, 2024 | 2.313 million
WWE SmackDown Ticket Sales
- WWE SmackDown Venue: Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)
- WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 13,869
- WWE SmackDown Tickets Available: 13,869
WWE SmackDown Winners And Grades
Cody Rhodes On The Grayson Waller Effect
Grayson Waller stepped all over Cody’s “Woah” and his “What do you wanna talk about” catchphrase. Cody was massively over in front of a sold-out D.C. crowd. Waller then said he was going to expose the real Cody Rhodes, however Rhodes flipped it on Waller by predicting the inevitable Waller turn on “Magic Mike” Austin Theory.
Waller and Theory aired a video package filled with exhibits showing Owens turning on his friends. This tells me that Owens will not be turning on Cody Rhodes during this feud as may predicted. One of the exhibits was Owens’ infamous turn on AEW’s Chris Jericho.
Owens came out to confront Waller and Theory, and this led to a brawl where Owens accidentally struck Cody Rhodes. Let the storyline paranoia begin.
WWE SmackDown Opening Segment Grade: A
LA Knight Def. Santos Escobar
LA Knight was attacked by Legado del Fantasma during his ring entrance, and LDF was tossed from the ring.
LA Knight hit a Side Effect (made famous by Matt Hardy), which of course, was reminiscent of The Rock Bottom.
This was a great LA Knight showcase as he continues to be one of the most over babyfaces in the entire company. The finish came when Knight prompted the crowd to say “LA Knight,” followed by a double-jump elbow drop and a BFT.
It was suggested that the winner of the Best of 7 series between Carmelo Hayes and Andrade would be the No. 1 Contender for the United States Championship. This was followed by a vignette between Melo and Andrade from Melo’s famed barbershop.
LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar Grade: B+
The Big 3 Def. The Unholy Union And Blair Davenport
The Unholy Union and Blair Davenport coordinated impeccably, however The Big 3 were all wearing different outfits, including Bianca Belair who was wearing an Olympic-themed outfit two weeks too late.
Wade Barrett described Isla Dawn as “a nightmare dressed like a daydream.”
Jade Cargill hit the hot tag, and when I say this crowd went crazy, that’s an understatement.
During a wild finishing sequence, Naomi scored the win for her team with a split-legged moonsault on Davenport.
Big 3 vs. Unholy Union and Blair Davenport Grade: B+
The Bloodline Def. The Street Profits
Solo Sikoa demanded Jacob Fatu to give up his tag team championship belt to Tonga Loa as fans chanted “you can’t wrestle.” Sikoa said Jacob had to give up the title so he could be Solo’s personal enforcer. Fatu happily gave up the belt before telling Solo “I love you.”
As if the WWE Tag Team Championships weren’t buried enough, Corey Graves noted Jacob Fatu was “promoted” from tag team champion to a bodyguard.
Angelo Dawkins impressively took out both Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa.
Just as it seemed like The Street Profits were closing in on a win, Jacob Fatu interfered with a super kick (with his walking-boot leg) as The Bloodline stole the win.
DIY attacked The Bloodline after the match, but once again, Fatu served as a one-man equalizer and destroyed DIY almost by himself.
By the end of the segment, Graves had the gall to ask “will we ever see Roman Reigns again?”
During a backstage update, B-Fab described The Street Profits as “fine, they’re just pissed.”
The Bloodline vs. The Street Profits Grade: B
Cody Rhodes And Kevin Owens Vs. A-Town Down Under
Before the match, KO reminded Rhodes that all the people he turned on (except Kofi) deserved it. Owens said he wasn’t that guy anymore, and Cody took him at his word.
There’s an outside chance this match ends with Owens accidentally hitting Rhodes once again, or even vice versa, and the heels winning.
The whole match was built around whether or not KO would turn on Cody, but the two worked fantastically together.
Owens won the match for the babyfaces with a Pop-Up Power Bomb. Rhodes and Owens celebrated as SmackDown went off the air.