SmackDown.WWE
SmackDown opened with a video recap of Kevin Owens attacking Cody Rhodes after their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event followed by an announcement from Nick Aldis. He confirmed KO still has the Winged Eagle belt but is not the WWE champion. He gave Owens until the end of the night to return the belt or face consequences.
The first match of the night was a six-woman tag match with Bayley, Naomi and Bianca Belair taking on Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton and Candice LeRae.
The EST and Tiffy started for their teams with an energetic exchange. We went to the break with the babyfaces in control, and that was still the case when we returned.
This was a decent match that was hindered by repetitiveness and a lack of stakes. We’ve seen all of these women fight in various combinations for months, so it almost felt like a rerun.
The good news is they were given enough time so that this match included two commercial breaks, so at least it didn’t feel rushed or like anyone was left out.
Tiffy saw a potential opportunity to cash in on Jax when she was down, but LeRae stopped her. The argument allowed Naomi to pin LeRae for the win.
Result: Naomi, Bayley and Belair defeated Jax, LeRae and Stratton
Notable Moments and Observations
- Watching it back in slow motion you can really see how well Rhodes sold the package piledriver.Â
- Nia Jax gave a pre-match promo and implied Belair was the one responsible for Jade Cargill’s attack.Â
- It didn’t look like Bayley, Naomi and Belair planned their three-person attack when the other team was outside the ring, so all three of them did something different. It looked very awkward.Â
- The way LeRae swung Bayley so her head hit the ring post looked great from the angle it was shot from.Â