Nick Tylwalk
April 12, 2024 7:19 pm ET
It’s not cool to say as something as trite as “OK you’ve made it to the top, now the real work begins,” but … for real, it’s kind of true for Cody Rhodes. He’s been focused on finishing the story for so long that he can’t possibly have put much energy into thinking about what’s next. And sometimes you don’t get to pick what’s next anyway, which is a theme for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown from Detroit.
There isn’t likely to be an immediate rematch with Roman Reigns, so who will step up and be the first No. 1 contender of this new era? SmackDown GM Nick Aldis is giving six men that opportunity.
Specifically, there will be two Triple Threat matches tonight at Little Ceasars Arena, with the winners facing each other next week. That winner will have the chance to try to take away the title that Rhodes just won, presumably at Backlash in France.
Adding to the intrigue of these bouts is the fact that some very live feuds are spread across them. Santos Escobar and Rey Mysterio are in opposite eliminators, as are LA Knight and AJ Styles. Surely, WWE wouldn’t have one of these pairings sweep these matches to keep their beef going, right? Right?!?
Bayley will also make her first appearance on SmackDown tonight since she claimed the WWE Women’s Championship form IYO SKY. Unlike Cody and Roman, it does feel like SKY might not be done with Bayley, which is something else to watch for tonight.
In any case, we’re ready to see how this all unfolds and what SmackDown might look like going forward (at least until the WWE Draft shuffles the deck again in a few weeks).
WWE SmackDown results from Detroit:
(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)
- Cody Rhodes ponders his next challenge
- The Bloodline arrives and is shocked to see their customary locker room belongs to Rhodes; Kevin Owens says they need to go to a broom closet instead, and Paul Heyman tells Solo Sikoa that he needs to get used to how things work now that they’ve lost
- One of the WrestleMania XL packages that played on Raw is shown again for the Friday night crowd
- LA Knight def. Bobby Lashley and Santos Escobar, advancing to face the winner of the second Triple Threat match next week
- Rey Mysterio and the LWO feel good about Rey’s chances
- More WrestleMania XL highlights are shown
- Solo Sikoa introduces his change to The Bloodline: Tama Tonga
- Bron Breakker def. Cameron Grimes by pinfall
- AJ styles cuts a promo ahead of his Triple Threat match
- Bayley thanks the fans for helping her to a “special” title win at WrestleMania, but she’s soon interrupted by Tiffany Stratton and then Naomi, with the latter challenging the former to a match right now
- Kayla Braxton tries to get a word with Heyman, who says Jimmy is not OK but can’t comment further as he’s confronted by Tonga, who says he acted by order of the Tribal Chief, leaving Heyman perplexed
- Naomi def. Tiffany Stratton by pinfall
- A hype video promotes new SmackDown Tag Team Champions Austin Theory and Grayson Waller
- Both the Street Profits and New Catch Republic are shown unhappily watching that video, with GM Nick Aldis promising he’d find a contender for A-Town Down Under soon
- Logan Paul is shown in a video promo basically saying that him retaining at WrestleMania is exactly what everyone should have expected
- Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill def. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven by pinfall
- Kevin Owens gives his thoughts ahead of the Triple Threat match
- AJ Styles def. Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens
Cody Rhodes ponders what’s next
Reminding everyone of his faceoff with The Rock on Raw, Rhodes says he believed the Final Boss when he said he was going away for a while. With that being the case, he’s going to be defending his title against one of six men at upcoming events, and he runs down the six men in the Triple Threat matches tonight.
He lingers a bit on Kevin Owens, calling him a friend but noting that friends who are wrestlers always think they are better than each other. Rhodes introduces himself to anyone who doesn’t know him on the blue brand: from undesirable to undeniable to undisputed.
LA Knight shrugs off Legado interference to get a big win
There are two very interesting possibilities here that would extend feuds depending on the winner of the second match, but neither involve Lashley. So of course, he’s probably going to win just to prove I don’t know what I’m talking about.
Lashley pulls off a powerbomb/superplex combo with help from Knight and covers Escobar for a near fall. Knight tries to pin Lashley shortly after, but Escobar breaks up the pin.
Knight appears ready to finish off Escobar when the rest of Legado Del Fantasma invades the ring, and since there are no DQs here, they triple-team Knight, then Lashley. Is there help on the way?
Indeed, in the form of the Street Profits and B-Fab. That gives Lashley a chance to rally against Escobar until he ends up hitting the post in the corner hard. Knight nails the Blunt Force Trauma on Escobar to win it.
Solo Sikoa flexes his Bloodline muscle, brings in a new face
Flanked by Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman admits that Rhodes flipped the script on Roman Reigns at WrestleMania and the Tribal Chief took his eye off the ball. Reigns admits his responsibility for losing but is about to rise like a Phoenix and …
Sikoa stops Heyman and asks if there are consequences for losing, which Heyman affirms. Saying there’s a need for change and zeroing in on Jimmy, Sikoa says he loves his brother and hugs him. But a hooded figure hits the ring and reveals himself to be Tama Tonga, who beats down a surprised Jimmy.
Shrugging aside a horrified Heyman, Sikoa tells Tonga to get a chair. Though he repeats his sentiment that he loves Jimmy, he smashes his brother with a chair-aided hip attack. Jimmy is left lying in the ring as Solo and Tama leave together, and Heyman still looks like he’s seen a ghost.
AJ Styles earns another date with LA Knight
Styles would seem to have a bit of an issue here, as the two faces are more likely to want to beat him up than each other. That’s certainly how it’s playing out early on, with AJ taking a crotch chop and cannonball into the barricade from KO.
After a commercial break, Styles is fighting back despite the odds, and there are some cool spots including all three men. One of them sees Owens basically German suplex both of his opponents, leaving all three men on the mat.
The finish is also cool, with Styles hitting an Avalanche Styles Clash on Mysterio onto Owens, then pinning Rey to get the victory. That puts him back on a collision course with his recent rival Knight, who joined him in the ring for some jawing to end the show.
