Smackdown Recap' of 15 November 2024

Hey everyone, it's Laure live from Luz' with the recap of Smackdown from November 15, 2024 !

We barely (if at all) saw him last week, but our champion Cody Rhodes came to open the show. But let me stop you right there: he’s not in a good mood. Yeah, I know, we’re not starting on a cheerful note, but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere, right?

Anyway, Cody Rhodes grabs the mic to directly address Kevin Owens (sorry, audience!): he says Owens has crossed the line and orders him to come to the ring. Nothing happens, so the champion repeats, “I said come out here!!!”

Instead of Kevin Owens, Nick Aldis makes his way to the ring, trying to calm things down. He understands Cody is angry—everyone is, really. Last week, Owens used a Piledriver, and there’s a reason that move is banned in WWE: the risks for wrestlers are way too high. With that, Kevin Owens has crossed a line, and he won’t be allowed back until this is sorted out.

The champion counters by saying Aldis, by banning Owens from the company, is playing right into his hands—making him a martyr. He wants the General Manager to let him handle it, but Aldis isn’t budging. The matter needs to be resolved internally first.

Cody doesn’t give up and keeps pushing: “Put yourself in my shoes for a second. You’ve been a wrestler; you know how this feels.” He tugs at our heartstrings, bringing up his friend Randy Orton, who told him at WrestleMania how proud he was, but now it’s heartbreaking because Orton’s sidelined. Does Aldis want Cody to go straight to Owens and finish it himself? That’s not what the company expects from a champion. So Aldis better get moving because Rhodes won’t be patient for long. Is Cody done with his tantrum now so we can move on?

On to something lighter: we find the Usos and Sami Zayn backstage. It’s announced that the OTC will be here tonight and arriving soon, but they still need to find a fifth person for War Games. It seems Sami has another idea!

Last week, Nick Aldis unveiled that awesome new championship belt for the women’s division, and now it’s time to answer the big question: “Who will be the first Women’s US Champion?” What better way to find out than with a tournament? The first match of the evening is a Triple Threat between Candice LeRae, B-Fab, and Bayley in the first round of this tournament.

First off, B-Fab, who almost never wrestles, actually gave us something pretty entertaining. Then, LeRae tried to steal a pin from Bayley. I don’t know who she thinks she is, but whatever—it didn’t even work.

And yes, Bayley won! What a great evening: I (we) get to see Bayley, and she wins too. Do I dream of Bayley as the first Women’s US Champion? Maybe...

Backstage, we catch Sami Zayn chatting with the champion LA Knight (YEAH!), but we don’t hear their conversation. Still, you don’t need a Ph.D. to guess what it’s about.

The Street Profits are with B-Fab, congratulating her on her performance despite the loss. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven then show up like, “Did you really think you could win?” Green adds that being a champion isn’t for everyone, but she and Niven have what it takes: they’ll become US Champion. B-Fab has to bring them down a notch: “Uh, okay, but you do know there can only be one champion, and there are two of you, right?” Michin shows up with a Kendo Stick, chasing the two clowns away.

LA Knight heads to the ring and takes the mic to announce that Sami Zayn asked him to join their team for War Games. But Knight couldn’t care less about the Bloodline tearing each other apart—he’s got other business to handle. After all, he’s not like Logan Paul, defending the title twice a year. So, it’s time for an open challenge! A stray shot fired!

The entire Legado del Fantasma group comes to the ring, with Santos Escobar taking the mic: “Man, can’t you say something cooler or more interesting, like Es-co-bar, SI?” Santos is tired of hearing Knight talk and figured someone needed to shut him up. Elektra Lopez has a shot at becoming the new Women’s US Champion, and Santos thinks it would be great to bring the title to their crew.

Knight doesn’t like the way Berto has been looking at him, so he offers the open challenge to him. Berto doesn’t speak—or rather, he speaks the language of violence—attacking Knight, and the match begins!

It’s worth noting that despite Legado del Fantasma’s presence, Escobar’s crew doesn’t interfere in the match, leaving Berto to handle it himself. Though “handle” is a big word because, despite some cool moves, LA Knight finishes the bout with his BFT, retaining the title.

The champion is celebrating, but wait a second—there’s a guy dressed in black in the ring. What’s he doing? LA Knight notices him as he comes down from the turnbuckle and takes a blow straight to the face—it’s Shinsuke Nakamura! He’s back! Oh no, I’m actually so hyped; I can already hear his music echoing in the distance... Aaaahhh... In any case, he’s back with a clear message: “Knight, I’m coming for you!”

Back to the Usos and Zayn: Sami admits his idea didn’t pan out, and now everyone’s wondering—where’s Roman Reigns? The guys head to his locker room to wait for him, but they don’t have to wait long. He arrives, sits in his chair, and stays silent. Sami explains that nobody wants to join them, and things are starting to look dicey for Survivor Series.

On the locker room TV, we see Solo Sikoa making his entrance with his version of the Bloodline. Reigns still says nothing (I’m telling you, we’ll never get anywhere with this guy!). So Jey nudges his cousin to make a call. A call? Who are you gonna call, Roman? Don’t act like we don’t all know who you mean!

Switching to the ring, Solo Sikoa stands with all his lackeys. He takes the mic and demands the city acknowledge him. But before the crowd can even boo him properly, Roman Reigns’ music hits. The original Bloodline enters, and now they’re face-to-face with Sikoa’s faction in the ring. And what happens next? Of course, they start beating the hell out of each other!

First, Jacob Fatu cleans house at ringside. Then Reigns saves Zayn from Sikoa with a Spear. Then we get a staredown between Reigns and Fatu. And then... wait, what did I just say? Bronson Reed?!

Yep, Bronson Reed shows up to help Sikoa’s Bloodline. With the numbers advantage, they take control until officials step in to break it up. It’s now clear that Sikoa has found his fifth member, though honestly, a little explanation from Reed wouldn’t hurt. Maybe on Raw?

Once again, Reigns is left looking like a victim in the ring, and Jey urges him again to make that call. Come on, man—what have you got to lose? You’re already at rock bottom!

We then see a video of Kevin Owens explaining that WWE banned him from attending tonight because of what he did to Randy Orton. Owens doesn’t get it; he was just doing what he was told—it’s his job, after all. Orton asked him to come, so he did, and now there’s trouble because Orton’s injured. (Okay, Kevin, I like you, but you did hit a Piledriver—that’s not exactly trivial.)

Nick Aldis asked him to come next week, and you can tell this doesn’t sit well with Owens. Of course—he’s being summoned just because Cody demanded it! Ugh. Anyway, Kevin will be there next week—not for Rhodes or WWE, but for himself, to do his job.

Next up, we have the tag team title match: Motor City Machine Guns vs. the Street Profits. The match was really cool but unfortunately cut short when an enraged Tommaso Ciampa stormed in to attack the challengers, causing a disqualification. Then Johnny Gargano rushed out to try to calm everyone down, especially Ciampa, who... didn’t care at all. Instead, Ciampa shoved his partner to the ground before storming off.

Afterward, the MCMG helped the Street Profits back to their feet, but the Profits were understandably frustrated. Even the champions seemed at a loss for words, which didn’t sit well with Angelo Dawkins, who threw a punch at Alex Shelley. Uh, excuse me, Dawkins, were you watching the same match as us? The MCMG would’ve given you another shot—you didn’t need to act like a jerk!

Backstage, Bayley finds Naomi to cheer her on for tonight’s match. Naomi returns the favor, congratulating Bayley on her win. Bayley then shifts the conversation to last week’s Raw, particularly about Iyo Sky, warning Naomi to stay cautious given their history...

But the Women’s Tag Team Champions, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, join the scene, silencing Bayley in the process. Belair pulls the classic “I’m too good” act, saying, “Oh, we’re talking about trust, huh... You know what? I’m not even going to get into this with you because tonight isn’t about us—it’s about Naomi". Honestly, I can’t stand people talking to my girl Bayley like that—seriously, get off her back!

Anyway, the champions make it clear to Bayley that they don’t need her because they’ll have Naomi’s back themselves. So The Role Model backs off reluctantly, accepting this with a heavy heart.

And now, it’s time for the main event: Nia Jax vs. Naomi for the title! We’re shown that, backstage, Tiffany Stratton and the Women’s Tag Team Champions are keeping an eye on the match. The confrontation starts as a proper one-on-one, balanced and fair. Well, that’s until Tiffy decides it’s her moment and sneaks in a few hits on Naomi behind the referee’s back.

Meanwhile, those Tag Team Champions who earlier were like, “Don’t worry, Bayley, we’ve got this tonight", are getting absolutely destroyed backstage by Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Honestly, they totally deserve it for the way they talked to Bayley. Yes, I’m overreacting, but so what?

Back to the ring, Tiffany Stratton is still causing trouble. So who comes to the rescue? None other than the one they dismissed earlier—the absolute queen, the GOAT, Bayley herself! She decks Stratton with a punch before smashing her into the barricade. Unfortunately for her (and it’s not her fault), Candice LeRae shows up too and throws Bayley into the ring post.

Meanwhile, in the ring, Jax regains control. She delivers a Samoan Drop from the corner (ouch) followed by her Annihilator (double ouch!), pinning Naomi for the three count to retain her title. Afterward, we see Jax, Stratton, and LeRae celebrating in the ring.

But the show isn’t over yet. We cut to Roman Reigns backstage, looking worse, as he pulls out his phone. Is he finally going to do it?! He brings the phone to his face and says, “Call the Wiseman.” We hear a ringtone—but not the kind that says the call is connecting. No, it’s the kind that tells you, “This number is no longer in service.” The show ends with Roman Reigns looking completely stunned, probably wondering how on earth he’s going to handle this mess.

Honestly, dude, just check the phone book or something, right?

This was Laure with the Smackdown recap!

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