Tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown from Denver was already slated to have several performers for whom the audience will go nuts to see live. John Cena is one, as he’s going to be a guest on “The Grayson Waller Effect,” where he hopefully will put the obnoxious host in his place and/or set up a match for Fastlane.
Another is the man of the moment in WWE — and a person to whom Cena recently gave his stamp of approval — LA Knight. The Megastar will be in a rematch with The Miz, who just can’t seem to let go of the idea that Knight is bigger than he is right now.
Those two men will get great crowd reactions, to be sure. But you know who would really make the freaking roof blow off Ball Arena (and leave my beloved Denver Nuggets homeless for the start of the upcoming NBA season, but hey)?
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, that’s who.
You might have seen that Mr. Johnson was back in WWE news thanks to his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” where he claimed a match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 was “locked” … until it wasn’t. He also left the door very wide open for having that match next year instead at WrestleMania 40.
But that’s not all. Here’s what Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp posted just before 5 p.m. ET.
A Pat McAfee Show employee outright told a Fightful Select source that The Rock and Pat McAfee would be at tonight's Smackdown.
It is important to note, Fightful has not confirmed this. pic.twitter.com/qEOG5bavh8
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) September 15, 2023
So we’re definitely not saying The Rock will be on SmackDown tonight, but it does feel like there’s a better chance of that happening than in any episode i approximately forever.
(Also worth noting: McAfee’s show was on location today in Boulder, so the logistics for getting the two of them on SmackDown are about as easy as they could be other than already being in the show’s host city.)
There are also some other intriguing matches on the card, including Asuka vs. Bayley and AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor. But let’s be real: You want to see if Cena and The Rock are going to be on the same show and bask in the nostalgia if they are.
We’ll find out together starting now.
WWE SmackDown results from Denver:
(scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)
- Pat McAfee kicks off the show, but it’s The Rock who is the big attraction
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- Finn Balor def. AJ Styles by pinfall, thanks to assistance from The Judgment Day … and Jimmy Uso
- McAfee and The Rock laugh about what they did to Theory, before The Rock turns and finds himself face to face with John Cena, who welcomes him home and hugs him
- Jimmy Uso tells Balor they’re even now, but Finn tries to recruit him to join The Judgment Day, reminding him there are no leaders in the group; Paul Heyman shows up at the end with a questioning look on his face
- The LWO is in the ring together, and when Santos Escobar asks Rey Mysterio for a title opportunity, he quickly accepts; Bobby Lashley comes out with the Street Profits to mock the LWO “lovefest,” and pretty soon we have ourselves a tag team match
- Street Profits def. Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro by pinfall in what is basically a squash
- Match Flo takes us back through the beef between The Miz and LA Knight, which leads us to …
- LA Knight def. The Miz by pinfall, insisting he’s coming for gold …
- … but backstage, Paul Heyman has to talk Solo Sikoa out of going after Knight and remind him that he needs to focus on the trouble Jimmy is stirring up; Sikoa says he already knows what he has to do and will end it tonight, leaving Heyman flabbergasted and calling Roman Reigns
- Elton Prince of Pretty Deadly says he’s a shell of the man he was before Ridge Holland injured him, and Adam Pearce wants to know why he’s in a wheelchair if his shoulder is hurt; Kit Wilson inspires Prince to do a big “YES BOY” and the duo insists they’ll be back soon
- Bayley hopes IYO SKY is ready for Asuka, but Dakota Kai asks her if she’s ready for Asuka
- Asuka def. Bayley by pinfall after another scare from Shotzi
- The Grayson Waller Effect welcomes John Cena, but things escalate when Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, and eventually, AJ Styles get involved