The Bloodline Get Attacked, Candice LeRae VS Jade Cargill VS Tiffany Stratton: Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Friday Night SmackDown kicked off this week with The Bloodline arriving at the building, only to get attacked by Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and Randy Orton. This started a big brawl between the 6 men that included KO doing a stupid dive through a table before security arrived to try and stop all of it. This didn’t exactly work for them as they got beat up by the good guys before Cody, Kevin, and Randy all took shots at The Bloodline on the mic. Nick Aldis then returned with the NYPD before the three Babyfaces were escorted out of the building. This was totally fine, but it didn’t exactly further the storyline very much.
Grade: C+
We then headed straight into the first match of the night as Candice LeRae, Jade Cargill, and Tiffany Stratton all fought for the opportunity to head to Money in the Bank. This was a decent contest, Cargill dominated for the most part whilst Candice LeRae used her experience to keep everything running smoothly. On the outside, Nia Jax and Bianca Belair both showed up to try and support their respective friends/partners before Indi Hartwell appeared out of nowhere to throw Jade Cargill into the ring post and ultimately take her out of the equation. Unfortunately for Indi, this didn’t end up helping LeRae as it was Tiffany Stratton who scored the win courtesy of the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Pink Briefcase, please!
Grade: C+
Men’s and Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Matches: Logan Paul VS Santos Escobar VS LA Knight, Blair Davenport VS Indi Hartwell VS Naomi
Blair Davenport fired a warning shot at both Bayley and Naomi backstage before Michin asked Nick Aldis for an opportunity to get some revenge on Nia Jax. The Street Profits then arrived and said they wanted revenge of their own on The Bloodline before Pretty Deadly showed up and pitched the idea of having their own musical! This ultimately set up a Tag Team match for next week, but to be honest, I’d much rather see “Yes Boy: The Musical”! Solo Sikoa then told Paul Heyman that Jacob Fatu wasn’t at Madison Square Garden tonight before Logan Paul brought out Tyrese Haliburton because the New York crowd doesn’t like him. This led into another Money in the Bank Qualifying match as the United States Champion battled both Santos Escobar and LA Knight. This was probably the best match of the night, Logan and Santos looked particularly good whilst the crowd still absolutely love LA Knight which is great to see. At one point, LP had to break up an Escobar Phantom Driver (which always wins matches) before Knight finally got one over on Paul via roll-up.
Grade: B-
Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin were laughing over Santos Escobar failing to qualify for Money in the Bank before Carmelo Hayes walked in and made it clear that he’s leaving Toronto as “Mr. Melo in the Bank”. Melo is such a great promo! Andrade also had a pretty cool video promo before Blair Davenport arrived to take on both Indi Hartwell and Naomi in another Money in the Bank Qualifying Match. Unfortunately, this match just didn’t flow at all and it felt quite messy and sloppy at times. The ending was also odd as after Jade Cargill got revenge on Indi Hartwell for earlier in the night, Naomi just rolled Hartwell up to score the win! Given how Money in the Bank has been booked so far, Blair Davenport really should’ve won here.
Grade: C-
The Bloodline End The Show
After DIY cut a promo and Grayson Waller attacked them (Austin Theory didn’t seem like this was part of the plan), The Bloodline arrived to cut the final promo of the night. Solo Sikoa demanded acknowledgement from the crowd and all of his fellow members, with Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu all accepting. It’s worth remembering that Fatu wasn’t even supposed to be there! Solo then demanded that Paul Heyman acknowledges him as his new Tribal Chief, but The Wiseman refused so he got dropped with a Samoan Spike as a result. Jacob Fatu then nailed Paul with a diving headbutt before the show went off the air with The Bloodline sending Heyman crashing through the announce table! This was a terrific end to the show, really, really good stuff!
