Smackdown Recap' of 29 November 2024

Hey everyone, it's Laure live from Luz' with the recap of Smackdown from November 29, 2024 !

It’s the eve of Survivor Series, and it’s time to crank up the tension to the max for tomorrow’s showdowns! We kick things off with the "good guys" faction making their entrance: Bianca Belair, Naomi, Iyo Sky, Bayley (officially part of the women’s War Games), and of course, Rhea Ripley!

All five step into the ring, and Ripley takes the mic first. She admits that in their group, they’re not exactly the best of friends. But "Mami" makes it clear that doesn’t matter—tomorrow, they’ll all be in War Games, and each of them has a target.

Ripley continues, declaring that tomorrow it all ends, and no one will stop them. Naomi chimes in, saying, “Nia Jax and her little minions will pay for everything they’ve done.” Bianca Belair takes the mic, accusing the "bad guys" of attacking Jade Cargill and promising they’ll pay for it. Ripley addresses Liv Morgan directly, telling her she’ll regret ever crossing paths with her. Finally, Iyo Sky tells the opposing team they’re going to destroy them.

Lots of talking, but it’s time for the other team to show up! And they do—Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Nia Jax, Candice LeRae, and Tiffany Stratton make their entrance. Liv starts by mocking them: “It’s so funny to see you all so confident about tomorrow!” Nia Jax adds fuel to the fire, pointing out their flaws: “Bianca, did you forget that Iyo and Bayley had a blast torturing you? And Bayley, you’re naive for trusting Iyo after she stabbed you in the back.” Jax is convinced their faction will implode before they even step into the ring.

Bayley fires back, saying that on their side, Tiffany doesn’t even realize Jax is manipulating her and that after War Games, she might find herself without any allies. Liv Morgan stirs the pot further, saying it’s interesting that Jade Cargill was attacked and now Bayley is in the match instead...

Ripley tells her to shut up, tired of her wasting everyone’s time. She warns Morgan that when they’re locked in the cage together, she won’t be able to run and will have to face her head-on. The champion shoots back, agreeing, and declares she’ll win once again. Mami retorts that she’s going to hit her so hard Dom-Dom won’t even be able to look her in the face anymore!

Liv starts getting annoyed but decides not to give in to aggression—she’ll wait for tomorrow. The "bad guys" turn to leave, but Ripley announces she doesn’t like waiting, and the "good guys" launch an attack, jumping their rivals. Officials rush in to separate everyone, and now we’re all hyped to see whether the face team will implode tomorrow or if they’ll manage to keep it together!

The first match of the evening kicks off, and it’s Shinsuke Nakamura’s return match! He faces Andrade in a relatively cool bout (I swear, I’m so happy to see Nakamura back). Also, I’m loving Nakamura’s new aesthetic!

As for the match itself, Nakamura finds himself in the corner with Andrade on the opposite side, ready to charge. Andrade rushes in, but Nakamura dodges at the last moment, simultaneously removing the turnbuckle pad. Andrade crashes headfirst into the exposed steel, leaving him completely dazed. Nakamura finishes with a Kinshasa and gets the three-count for the win.

Standing tall in the ring during his celebration, Nakamura is joined by LA Knight, seemingly there to attack him. But we’ll never find out, as Nakamura was ready and sprays his Blue Mist into Knight’s face, stopping him in his tracks. Shinsuke exits the ring like a prince, and I can’t wait to see him tomorrow at Survivor Series!

Backstage, we catch up with Solo Sikoa and the Bloodline, as the Tribal Chief hypes up his right-hand man, Jacob Fatu, who will face Jey Uso in tonight’s main event. The match will determine which team gets the advantage in War Games. Their conversation is interrupted by General Manager Nick Aldis, who informs Sikoa that Fatu must go to the match alone—no one is allowed at ringside. Perfect! No cheating; it’ll be a true 1-on-1 match, giving Fatu the chance to prove how hot he is as a solo competitor.

Still backstage, we see Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa trying to talk things out. Ciampa is furious, accusing Gargano of buddying up with the Motor City Machine Guns, even though they agreed they’d do whatever it takes to become champions. Ciampa doesn’t care that Gargano was Alex Shelley’s mentor—he feels like this friendship is more important to Gargano than their shared goal. Gargano, still clearly trying to play peacemaker, insists he just needs to talk to Shelley.

“I don’t give a damn about talking!” snaps Ciampa. He ends the conversation by giving Gargano one week to sort things out, warning that if he doesn’t, Ciampa will use "Ciampa’s methods"... and let’s just say we’ve already seen a preview of what that looks like in recent weeks!

Next, we’re shown a short video of Kevin Owens addressing the audience. Apparently, there are still people siding with Cody Rhodes (really? Who?). Owens asks us to listen to him so he can prove that Cody isn’t who we think he is. He lists all the attacks Roman Reigns has launched on him since January 2021. Then he reminds us that the person who helped the man who attacked him so many times is none other than Cody Rhodes. For that betrayal, Kevin Owens will face Cody Rhodes for the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Are we hyped yet?

Back to the ring for some action, specifically the match between Cody Rhodes and Carmelo Hayes, who had a bit of a spat last week. Hayes grabs the mic just before the match: “Kevin’s right. You betrayed him. Maybe backstabbing isn’t your thing, Cody; for you, it’s more like stabbing people in the heart.” He follows up by asking, “Who needs enemies when you’ve got friends like Cody Rhodes? Tonight, the champion’s going to find out why they call me Him!”

The match kicks off, and it’s absolutely amazing (let’s be honest, Carmelo Hayes is a masterclass all on his own). Even when he’s not on top, as in this match, he’s mesmerizing to watch—he sells his opponent’s moves so well. Unsurprisingly, the confrontation ends with a victory for Cody Rhodes, who strings together a Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes to pin Hayes for the three-count.

Then comes the big storyline moment with the highly anticipated sit-down between CM Punk and Roman Reigns. It gets off to a rocky start because Reigns and Paul Heyman are seated, waiting for Punk, who doesn’t show up right away. This annoys the Tribal Chief: “This guy’s making me wait. I don’t like that.” Ah, Roman acting like a diva again—been a while!

Punk eventually shows up but doesn’t apologize for being late, even when Reigns points it out. Punk immediately states that he isn’t there for Roman but for Paul Heyman. Reigns, trying to act unfazed as usual, responds that he doesn’t need Punk. Punk has to repeat himself: “I’m not here to help you; I’m just here for Paul.” Got it, Reigns?

The Tribal Chief starts losing his patience, sarcastically claiming he’s happy for them. He then says he doesn’t like Punk’s attitude, doesn’t like Punk at all, and has no interest in teaming with someone like him. Paul Heyman steps in, trying to reason with him: he argues that if Reigns doesn’t accept Punk’s help, it’s over for the Bloodline tomorrow. Similarly, he warns Punk that if he doesn’t help Reigns, he’ll be next on Sikoa’s hit list. Divided, they’ll fail, but united, they’ll survive.

CM Punk speaks up again, stating that it doesn’t matter if Reigns doesn’t like him. Roman wants his Ula Fala back, while Punk wants to avenge his friend. If they survive War Games, Punk says he’ll be open to talking to Roman about it and willing to listen because someone owes him a favor.

Roman looks at him, confused: “I owe you a favor?”

Punk responds that Roman doesn’t owe him anything, but Paul Heyman does. With that, Punk leaves the table and then the room, leaving Reigns and Heyman alone. The Tribal Chief turns to his Wiseman to ask what favor Punk is talking about, but Heyman dodges the question, saying they’ll talk about it after Survivor Series. So many mysteries!

The tournament for the U.S. Title continues this week, and we’re still in the quarterfinals with another Triple Threat match: Michin vs. Piper Niven (accompanied by Chelsea Green) vs. Lash Legend. Green tries to help her partner by going after Michin, but B-Fab shows up to deal with Green and drags her backstage. This distracts Niven, who eats a big kick to the face from Legend—and honestly, guys, this woman is seriously impressive! She completely owned this match!

She was so on fire that I actually started believing she was going to win! She clears the ring, grabs Piper Niven for a Lash Extension, and goes for the pin (let’s go!), but Michin leaps from the top rope to break up the pin and covers Niven for the three-count, totally stealing the victory from Legend! Well… good job, Michin… see you in the semifinals. No, no, I’m not sad… not at all…

Backstage, we see LA Knight getting patched up when he’s interrupted by Byron Saxton, who wants his thoughts on Nakamura (dude, can’t you see it’s not the time?). Knight is, unsurprisingly, not happy and makes it clear that Nakamura has come back with a big problem, but tomorrow at Survivor Series, Knight will still be the U.S. Champion. Well, see you tomorrow to find out!

Before we get to the main event, we’re back backstage with Jey Uso, joined by his brother Jimmy and Sami Zayn. Nick Aldis shows up to inform them that Jimmy and Sami are barred from ringside. Jey doesn’t seem fazed, hypes himself up, and makes his entrance for tonight’s main event!

Jacob Fatu vs. Jey Uso for the War Games advantage is up now, and listen, Jey, I love you (I own all your sunglasses, if that tells you anything!), but Fatu really needs this win. Speaking of Fatu, he cracked me up tonight—usually the silent “I love you, Solo” guy, he turns into a chatterbox in the ring, “talking” to Jey every five seconds. Well, more like barking than talking!

The match is absolutely epic. Jey looks amazing, Fatu is a total machine—it’s just so good! Toward the end of the match, Jey hits a Spear and an Uso Splash, but Fatu still kicks out. Then Jey gets hit with a Suicide Dive on the outside before Fatu takes control, slamming Jey with a Samoan Drop onto the commentary table!

Fatu drags Jey back into the ring to finish the match—Jey can’t withstand Fatu’s Moonsault, giving the advantage to Sikoa’s Bloodline.

Speaking of Sikoa, he’s waiting near the entrance ramp and embraces his right-hand man, congratulating him while mockingly taunting Jey Uso with sarcastic “YEET.”

The show ends with the victory of the Bloodline 2.0, leaving poor Jey Uso with no one to comfort him.

This was Laure with the Smackdown recap!

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