WWE SmackDown results 03/22/24: Cody Rhodes comes prepared for Bloodline hijinks

Turns out that neither Roman Reigns nor Cody Rhodes really kept their word on WWE SmackDown in Milwaukee.

Promises are a funny thing. Even villains, when they have a code of honor, can keep them, and there’s a big one that is at the heart of tonight’s WWE SmackDown from Milwaukee.

This week on Raw, Roman Reigns gave his word via Paul Heyman that he wanted to talk to Cody Rhodes on SmackDown and that he’d show up alone — no other Bloodline except for Heyman. In return, he asked that Rhodes also bring no backup, and Cody agreed.

It was somewhat reminiscent of the kind of agreement you’d see in movies, like a hostage exchange or drop of some sort. Meet me at this place, at this time, no cops.

Whether Reigns actually follows through will tell us a lot about how he’s feeling on the Road to WrestleMania. Does it make sense, at this point in his tale, that he’d be confident enough to stand across from Cody with no contingency plan? He did defeat Rhodes last year at WrestleMania, after all.

Or is Roman now paranoid and willing to go back on his word, a sign he’d do anything to keep the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from even possibly slipping through his grasp?

It’ll also be nice to see Reigns take center stage on the Bloodline portion of things, as he’s been somewhat upstaged by The Rock the last few weeks. Pretty sure that’s never going to come up again somewhere down the road. Yep, probably never. Wink, wink.

There are important tag team matches in store as well, which will help shape the Tag Team Ladder match at WrestleMania. Buckle up and prepare, Milwaukee, because here we go.

WWE SmackDown results from Milwaukee:

(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)

  • Cody Rhodes and Damage CTRL are shown entering the arena
  • Santos Escobar def. Rey Mysterio by pinfall, in large part due to a distraction from Dominik Mysterio
  • Bayley thanks Naomi for helping her last week, but Bianca Belair hasn’t forgiven the Role Model for what she did as leader of Damage CTRL, and Naomi ends up having to step between them as they bicker
  • Backstage, Bianca and Naomi continue to have a conversation, to which Naomi says she can’t change what’s happened in the past and won’t back down when Damage CTRL is picking them off one by one
  • Austin Theory and Grayson Waller def. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows by pinfall in a Tag Team Championship Qualifying Match, with Theory using the ropes for leverage to aid in his pinfall
  • A hype video pushes Bron Breakker as a superior athlete
  • Highlights are shown from Roman Reigns’ appearance on “The  Pat McAfee Show”
  • IYO SKY def. Naomi by pinfall thanks to aid from Damage CTRL; after the match, Naomi gets a dose of the poison mist from Asuka before Bianca Belair hits the ring with a vengeance, and is able to do pretty well against the whole group until numbers wear her down
  • Jade Cargill will make her first official appearance as a SmackDown superstar next week
  • Tiffany Stratton mocks Naomi as she’s trying to get the mist rinsed out of her eyes
  • Nick Aldis is talking to Kevin Owens when they’re interrupted by Pretty Deadly, and KO ends up challenging them to a tag team match alongside Randy Orton; K.O. ends up punching both members of Pretty Deadly in the face at once, as he does
  • Footage is shown of LA Knight rolling up at the house of AJ Styles and starting a fight with him, then dashcam video shows Knight getting arrested

  • Street Profits def. Authors of Pain by pinfall in a Tag Team Championship Qualifying Match
  • Paul Heyman is on the phone telling Roman Reigns that Cody Rhodes is here alone, and that his public awaits
  • Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes go face to face, and when it turns out Reigns actually did bring The Bloodline with him, Cody has backup too in the form of Jey Uso and Seth Rollins

Naomi learns going it alone against IYO SKY isn’t really a great idea

Is IYO even going to make it out to the ring? Cameras find her backstage scrapping with Bayley, but she gets the better of it and refs finally tell the WWE Women’s Champion to get to the ring.

SKY has to weather an early storm, and the crowd gets behind Naomi as she rallies to hit a springboard bulldog of sorts for a near fall that leads to a commercial break.

Yes Corey Graves, Milwaukee is starting to feel the glow after the break. She splashes into a split but gets only another two count.

You feel like Damage CTRL is going to interfere at some point, and perhaps others may get involved too. Maybe soon after Naomi hits a superplex and rolls through to produce another near fall.

Ah here come the Kabuki Warriors and Dakota Kai, perfectly timed to set their leader up for an Over the Moonsault to win it.


Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes exchange insults, and neither came alone

So far so good for Reigns sticking to his word, as Roman comes to the ring accompanied only by Paul Heyman. The Tribal Chief asks for and is handed a mic, talking about how he kept his word and showed up without the Bloodline. He asks everyone to acknowledge him while Cody is shown walking toward the entrance.

After commercials, Rhodes makes his way out to join Reigns in the ring. Cody says he’s as much a man of his word and also came alone, to which Roman calls him a fool.

From Reigns’ perspective, Rhodes is unfit for the position of face of the company. He scoffs at Cody aligning himself with Seth Rollins, reminding Rhodes that Rollins eventually stabbed him in the back.

Cody of course remembers The Shield, but asks if Roman remembers the first team that defeated them. He also says he has his “bullet cufflinks” on so he knows all about factions and betrayals, and he’s banking on Rollins hating Reigns more than he hates Cody.

There’s also a good question: Can Roman trust The Rock? Who’s really in charge of The Bloodline anyway, the Tribal Chief or the Final Boss? A “Roman sucks” chant breaks out in response.

Reigns retorts that Rhodes said the same thing to The Rock in reverse, then ridicules him for promising things and failing to deliver like a politician. All Cody will ever be is No. 2, while he’s No. 1 … forever.

Talking about how Reigns grew up in the business like he did, Rhodes says he’s accepted the idea that the next generation of youngsters will grow up wanting to be the next Roman. Cody disagrees about being No. 2, though, saying he’s the one and offering a handshake and good luck at WrestleMania.

Reigns shakes Heyman’s hand instead and they leave the ring. But Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa are approaching the ring through the crowd, and the American Nightmare looks surrounded.

Cody cracks a smile, though, as Jey Uso and Seth Rollins are also out in the crowd. It’s a big standoff to end the show, like something out of a movie.

WWE SmackDown results: Bad Bunny unites with the LWO

Bad Bunny and Cody Rhodes are looking to make a final point or two ahead of their respective Backlash matches.

WWE Backlash is almost ready to ignite the fans of San Juan, Puerto Rico, but they’ll get a chance to see some of their favorite wrestlers — and the biggest recording artist in the world — a night ahead of time tonight on WWE SmackDown.

Bad Bunny was announced some time ago as the host of Backlash, which made all the sense in the world. But he’s been embroiled in some drama involving The Judgment Day since WrestleMania, and it all boiled over once Damian Priest put him through an announce table.

As tends to happen in WWE, Bad Bunny came looking for Priest with a kendo stick, and the two men ended up getting booked for a San Juan Street Fight for Saturday night. Before that takes place, we’ll see if Bad Bunny gets the final word on SmackDown.

Another superstar who figures to want to say his piece ahead of a big Backlash match is Cody Rhodes. What will the American Nightmare want to talk about ahead of his showdown with Brock Lesnar?

Matches? Yep, there have been a couple of those promoted for SmackDown as well. Shinsuke Nakamura will take on Karrion Kross in singles action, while the Viking Raiders take on Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows of The O.C. in a tag team match.

Neither of those jumps out as a main event, so figure we’ll get another prominent match added to the card during the show that will fill that spot and whip the crowd into a proper pre-Backlash frenzy.

WWE SmackDown results from San Juan:

  • Rey Mysterio and the LWO hit the ring but are quickly joined by The Judgment Day, and San Juan hates Dominik Mysterio as much as any U.S. audience, and they end up agreeing to a mixed tag match before Dom gets in a cheap shot on his dad
  • The O.C. def. The Viking Raiders by pinfall
  • Michael Cole and Wade Barrett promote the World Heavyweight Championship tournament taking place next week
  • Bianca Belair talks about how important SmackDown is to her before she’s interrupted by Damage CTRL; Bayley calls her conceited, and Belair gets assistance from Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez when it inevitably turns into a fight

  • Karrion Kross delivers one last warning to Shinsuke Nakamura
  • The Usos are getting psyched for their Backlash match, but Solo Sikoa just silently wraps his thumb before finally telling his brothers they better do their part

  • Street Profits def. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) by pinfall
  • A lengthy hype video for the Cody Rhodes-Brock Lesnar match is shown
  • “I don’t have any time to be scared of Brock Lesnar.” Rhodes hits the ring for his mic time, some of it in Spanish, and makes his case for calling Lesnar a gatekeeper while vowing to get back on track to finishing his story

  • Nakamura has just one thing to say to Kross: Come on!
  • Matt Riddle thinks he, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have the Bloodline right where they want them for Backlash
  • Shinsuke Nakamura def. Karrion Kross by pinfall
  • A video package provides a closer look at the NXT talent drafted to SmackDown, including Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, Cameron Grimes, Pretty Deadly and Grayson Waller
  • Adam Pearce welcomes Cameron Grimes to SmackDown but their discussion is interrupted by the non-drafted Baron Corbin, and they end up agreeing to a match next week
  • Zelina Vega and Rey Mysterio def. Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio by pinfall, only to be attacked by The Judgment Day right after the bell, but …
  • … Bad Bunny leads the LWO to the rescue, though his kendo stick shots intended for Damian Priest are intercepted by Dom; Bad Bunny accepts and puts on an LWO shirt to end the show

Opening Bell: AEW gold on the line on Tuesday, Brock returns to Raw

Get set for the week in WWE and AEW with Opening Bell: quick previews of Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage.

Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week we’ve just begun.

WWE Raw preview – Monday, October 17, Paycom Center, Oklahoma City

What does Brock Lesnar want? That’s a valid question after the Beast Incarnate showed up unexpectedly on Raw last week and destroyed Bobby Lashley. We should get more insight into what he’s got his sights set on now when he appears live this week in OKC.

The beneficiary of Lesnar’s attack was Seth Rollins, who defeated an injured Lashley to become the new United States Champion. He’ll get little time to enjoy it, however, as he has to defend it against heated rival Matt Riddle on Raw.

Dexter Lumis has popped up more than once without warning to torment The Miz, despite not having a WWE contract. That could change after Raw, as the two men will finally go head to head in an official match, with Lumis earning a deal if he wins.

Also scheduled for this week’s episode of Raw:

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AEW Dynamite preview – Tuesday, October 18, Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati

The MLB Playoffs have claimed TBS for this Wednesday evening, so Dynamite is taking over Tuesday night instead. And it’s from the hometown of AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, but he’s not going to have a restful stay at home considering he’s defending his title against Hangman Adam Page.

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But wait, that’s only the first of four, yes four, championship matches scheduled for Dynamite. In what should be a respectful yet fierce encounter, Toni Storm puts her AEW Women’s World Championship on the line against Hikaru Shida. The Ocho, Chris Jericho, will try to fend off a ROH World Championship challenge from Dalton Castle. And the Trios titles will also be up for grabs as Death Triangle defends against Best Friends and Orange Cassidy.

Phew. That is a loaded card, and we’ll also hear from MJF. Fans definitely won’t want to forget Dynamite is on a different night this week.

WWE SmackDown preview – Friday, October 21, Huntington Center, Toledo, OH

Maybe Ohio is the pro wrestling center of the world for this week, as SmackDown heads to Toledo. We already know there will be a championship match on the card, as the Damage CTRL duo of Dakota Kai and IYO SKY tries to retain their titles against Shotzi and Raquel Rodriguez.

A former champion will also be in action, as Liv Morgan faces off with Sonya Deville. Liv’s Extreme Rules confrontation with Ronda Rousey seems to have changed her for good, but is it a change for the better?

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Logan Paul is also scheduled to appear on SmackDown, plus it would be strange if Bray Wyatt didn’t show up as well.

AEW Rampage preview – Friday, October 21, Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, FL

Rampage is back in the spiritual home of AEW, Daily’s Place, with a couple of matches already announced. Hook is a man of few words, but he’ll try to let his actions speak for themselves as he defends his FTW Championship against Ari Daivari following Daivari’s unsuccessful attempt to simply buy the title from its holder.

And 10 of the Dark Order has been the subject of numerous recruiting efforts from Jose The Assistant. He’ll try to end them for good by battling Rush, because if 10 wins, Jose must leave him alone going forward.

Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson could still appear at Wrestle Kingdom despite signing with WWE

The Machine Gun could still defend his NJPW title even after signing with WWE.

AEW is known for working closely with NJPW (hence, Forbidden Door this summer). WWE? Not as much. But that might be changing ever so slightly, as two recent WWE returnees may not be completely finished working for Japan’s top promotion.

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson appeared on a WWE program for the first time in more than two years on the most recent episode of Raw, backing AJ Styles in his ongoing battle against The Judgment Day. The duo had most recently worked in Impact Wrestling, along with making some appearances in NJPW.

The Good Brothers are finished with Impact but might not be with NJPW. According to Fightful Select, Gallows and Anderson “were only under a verbal commitment in Japan, and those duties are being allowed to be fulfilled.”

It was confirmed to us that New Japan Pro Wrestling were very aware that Gallows and Anderson were headed to WWE, and future NJPW dates are still happening. We’ve even heard from one side that there are hopes that the January 4 Tokyo Dome show is still on the table, but a lot can happen between now and then.

There’s some extra significance to Anderson, especially, being able to continue to appear in NJPW, because he’s the current NEVER Openweight Champion. He could simply be stripped of the title as happens fairly often in pro wrestling, but considering he’s defended it only once since defeating Tama Tonga to win it in June, that wouldn’t be all that satisfying.

Wrestle Kingdom is NJOW’s biggest show of the year, one where the expectation is that almost every championship is defended. It would be very intriguing if a wrestler under contract to WWE would appear on that card, perhaps even paving the way ever so slightly for a Forbidden Door-type show between the two companies somewhere down the road. On top of that, there’s already an expectation that some AEW wrestlers may end up on the card, so there could be history in the making if AEW, NJPW and WWE wrestlers are all on one show together.

We should find out soon enough what the deal is with Anderson (and Gallows), as the first few matches for Wrestle Kingdom 17 have already been announced ahead of its Jan. 4, 2023 date at the Tokyo Dome.

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AJ Styles may be getting some ‘Good’ friends back in WWE soon

AJ Styles could be getting some much needed assistance to keep him from getting continuously beaten down by The Judgment Day.

Poor AJ Styles. Ever since he and Omos broke up, he hasn’t really had any friends on WWE programming, having to go it alone except for temporary alliances against The Judgment Day. But that could be changing soon, if reports about two men who have fought alongside him plenty of times in the past returning to WWE turn out to be on the money.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that “Luke/Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson are believed to be WWE-bound,” according to his sources within WWE. Johnson adds that “Gallows, Anderson and Styles were all spotted together yesterday in Washington, DC, likely to film something for WWE” and that they are expected to reunite as a unit, potentially before the end of October.

Gallows and Anderson were last seen in WWE from 2016 to 2020, almost always wrestling as a duo and generally as buddies with Styles. They were heels for most of their run as well, with one notable exception when they aligned with another friend from their NJPW Bullet Club days, Finn Balor.

Along with providing much needed backup for Styles, Gallows and Anderson could help reinvigorate WWE’s men’s tag team division, which has been barren as of late. They have held the Raw Tag Team Championship on two occasions in the past, as well as winning the WWE Tag Team World Cup in 2019.

Johnson notes that Gallows and Anderson have essentially been free agents since their Impact Wrestling contracts expired in July. Their immediate plan future appeared to be in NJPW, with Anderson potentially having “a high profile singles bout” at Wrestle Kingdom in January.

That obviously won’t be the case if the WWE reports are correct. It’s interesting to consider that WWE seemed to have a difference in opinion with Gallows and Anderson about what they were worth financially during their last run, with money widely reported to be the reason the two sides drifted apart. But many things old are new again with a new regime in charge of the company, and certainly Styles, for one, will be happy to see them again.