Many men, many, many, many men (as 50 Cent once said back in the day) have tried to put an end to The Bloodline. None have completely succeeded. But until Roman Reigns and company completely fall apart, it’s an effort worth making, and two more superstars will attempt to weaken the group’s grip on the blue brand tonight on WWE SmackDown from Providence.
In this case, it will be LA Knight and Randy Orton. The former has already had one shot at Reigns and come close to knocking him off, while the latter seems likely to get a chance at the Royal Rumble. Before that can happen, though, the two fan favorites will tag up against Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa on SmackDown. A win could incur Reigns’ wrath … but that’s kind of the point.
Other big names will also be on hand. We’re talking CM Punk, for one, who may or may not be calling SmackDown home. Then there’s Cody Rhodes, who has successfully set up shop on Raw. What does the American Nightmare want to talk about with the Friday night crowd?
Throw in two United States Title Tournament matches and an intriguing collision between Asuka and Charlotte Flair and we’d say this is a pretty loaded edition of SmackDown, perfect for the Tribute to the Troops branding (though we do miss when that was its own separate broadcast). Let’s dive in.
WWE SmackDown Tribute to the Troops results from Providence:
(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)
- The War and Treaty kick off the broadcast by singing “God Bless America”
- JBL is on guest commentary tonight with Kevin Patrick and Michael Cole
- Santos Escobar def. Dragon Lee by pinfall in a United States Title Tournament first round match; after the match, Dominik Mysterio takes a moment to mock Lee before they meet at NXT Deadline
- Last week’s signing of Randy Orton to SmackDown is shown again for those who missed it
- Orton wants to know why he’s being paired with LA Knight tonight, but Nick Aldis tells him all he needs to know is that both of them want to get at The Bloodline; Orton has also paid twice the fine he needed to pay, saying “that’s for next time”
- Cody Rhodes is here to thank all the U.S. military servicemen and servicewomen, with a special appearance by the United States Army Drill Team
- Bobby Lashley def. Karrion Kross by pinfall in a United States Title Tournament first round match, with special guest commentary from Brad Nessler — yes, that Brad Nessler
- Bayley tries to give Asuka a pep talk but is told by the rest of Damage CTRL to “hang back” tonight
- CM Punk delivers a spicier promo than his first one back, making a veiled joke about his firing, taking a shot at Seth Rollins and saying he’ll make his decision about which brand he’s signing for on Monday night
- Walking backstage, Punk runs into Kevin Owens, who doesn’t seem thrilled to see him and won’t direct him to Nick Aldis’ locker room
- Asuka def. Charlotte Flair by pinfall, getting some effective help from Bayley for once
- Punk is seen talking to Aldis, and Rhodes stops by and notes that to finish his own story, Punk would have to win the Royal Rumble … which Cody finds “interesting”; he does say it’s good to have CM back
- Punk wishes Randy Orton and LA Knight good luck before Orton asks Knight if he’s ready: “Yeah”
- LA Knight and Randy Orton def. Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa by pinfall
Santos Escobar advances in the United States Title Tournament, defeating Dragon Lee
Right before the match is about to start in earnest, Dominik Mysterio decides to come down and get a closer look. He hears it from the crowd about how he sucks as the match gets going, and Lee wastes zero time in flying to the floor.
More fancy moves lead to a superkick that puts Escobar on the mat for a near fall. Santos offers a painful response with a neckbreaker back through the ropes, covering for his own two count.
Escobar has some Spanish language taunts for his foe as he works in the corner, and he stops Lee from a hurricanrana to powerbomb him on the apron.
Lee is back in control with a near fall coming out of a commercial break, and he delivers a German suplex before taking a nasty superkick that forces him to kick out again.
A Phantom Driver looks like it’s in the offing, but Lee counters with a rollup, then hits a sitout powerbomb, but neither can bring this match to a conclusion. Lee has some words with Mysterio, who he’ll face Saturday night at NXT Deadline, but Escobar catches him right afterward with a Phantom Driver that ends it.
Cody Rhodes pays his own Tribute to the Troops, with some special guests
Despite this not being his usual stomping grounds, Rhodes receives a warm welcome from the SmackDown fans. What does Providence want to talk about? Cody says he asked to be here because it’s Tribute to the Troops, and he talks about how proud he is to carry on this tradition, giving thanks to the servicepeople in attendance and watching at home.
He introduces a highlight video of Tribute to the Troops through its 21 years, heavily focused on John Cena. A “USA” chant breaks out in response.
Rhodes then welcomes the United States Army Drill Team, which shows off its typically incredible skill and precision on the stage.
Bobby Lashley buries Karrion Kross, advances in the tourney
Legendary sports announcer Brad Nessler sits in with the commentators for this one as he’s calling the Army-Navy football game on Saturday. No way that Lashley, a former Army sergeant, is losing this one on Tribute to the Troops night, right?
He certainly looks fine in the early going, tossing Kross around with ease and posing for the fans. Michael Cole is impressed Nessler knew JBL once played football, but jokes aside, he seems pretty comfortable trading lines with the actual WWE announcers.
Lashley pretty much cruises anyway, finishing Kross with a spear and advancing to face Escobar in the next round.
CM Punk is back on SmackDown, but is it for good?
The fans start a big chant for Punk, who says that since he’s not at the end of the show tonight, he’s not going to have his time cut, so they can go ahead and chant. Punk notes that Adam Pearce is trying to sign him to Raw and suggests he’ll partly leave it up to the fans.
Where do they want him to sign? Well these folks want him to sign for SmackDown, obviously, and they are fond of the idea that he’ll be in the Royal Rumble match too.
Even though he’s famous for talking, Punk says he’s been listening too, and there are some people who don’t like the happy go lucky version of him. So let’s make this spicier: Who do you want Punk to talk about?
He could tell stories about Cody Rhodes, or he could talk about somebody who’s not here, who’s never here: Roman Reigns. “Don’t forget who the OG Paul Heyman guy is.”
Punk says he isn’t familiar with Solo Sikoa, and if he messes with Jimmy Uso on SmackDown, he’s going to need backup. Would Randy Orton tag with him? He’s not sure. Punk thinks LA Knight would tag with him. Would Kevin Owens? Maybe they are too much alike, and he also makes a crack about his firing from AEW in not so many words.
Moving on, Punk says the one guy who wasn’t happy to see him back “isn’t even The Man in his own house,” referring to Seth Rollins. He claims he’ll reveal where he’ll sign on Monday night, even teasing that he’ll consider NXT, and where other people are talking about finishing their stories, he’s back to finish what he started.
Bayley actually comes through, helps Asuka beat Charlotte Flair
Before the bell rings, Zelina Vega and Michin attack Asuka’s Damage CTRL teammates, and they soon get reinforcements from Bianca Belair and Shotzi too. The announcers discuss the history that Flair and Asuka have together, including some of the best women’s matches in WWE history.
Flair gets an early edge that the Empress quickly reverses on the outside. Charlotte takes it back with a moonsault that almost overshoots and runs her into the announce table, but fortunately she comes out just fine.
After commercials, referee Charles Robinson is checking on Flair, but despite limping a bit, she wants a Figure Four. Can she bridge into the Figure Eight? Nope, because Bayley breaks the hold.
Flair ends up hammering Bayley with a forearm shot, giving Asuka a chance to roll up Charlotte for the pinfall. “I did that,” yells Bayley.
LA Knight and Randy Orton prove too much for Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa
The crowd is definitely feeling the team of the Megastar and the Viper, no question. The announcers, and especially JBL, put over how Orton looks better than ever and what a scary thought that is.
Knight only reluctantly looks like he’s willing to let Orton tag in, and Randy looks set to face Sikoa but gets jumped from behind by Uso.
After commercial breaks, Knight is on a roll, crushing Sikoa in the corner. But he stops to deal with Uso on the apron and gets viciously powerslammed by Solo.
Jimmy sneaks in another cheap shot or two from the floor, setting up a Sikoa vertical suplex for two. Solo follows with headbutts, then trades right hands with Knight, coming out on top.
Uso is now the legal man and looks very confident, making a quick tag back to Solo to whip Knight hard into the turnbuckles. Knight fires back with a bulldog off the second rope, and the fans come even more alive as Orton gets the hot tag. The Viper sends Sikoa to the floor and hits a powerslam on Uso before bouncing his face off the table and dropping him on it for good measure.
The vintage elevated DDT is next, and Orton signals for an RKO. But Sikoa attacks from behind before being taken out in turn by Knight. LA wants the Blunt Force Trauma, but Randy beats him to an RKO, pinning Uso afterward. LA and Randy seem on food enough terms as they pose following their victory.