With simply over one week till the return of Saturday Night time’s Essential Occasion, WWE continued the construct with a concentrate on the upcoming undisputed WWE championship match between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens. The pair weren’t within the constructing collectively till the ultimate second of the present, however as soon as they occupied the identical area, a wild brawl broke out.

Previous to Owens’ assault, Rhodes was in any other case occupied with Chad Gable, who confirmed up from Uncooked, and after buying and selling phrases with Rhodes, discovered himself lined up throughout from the champion within the evening’s foremost occasion.

Rhodes was capable of survive a stiff problem from Gable, however that gave Owens an opportunity to strike, resulting in a brawl between the 2 because the present went off the air.

Rhodes and Owens brawl to shut the present

The present opened with American Made interrupting a show-opening promo by Cody Rhodes. Chad Gable stated Nick Aldis had referred to as to inquire about bringing them to SmackDown as “the switch window is about to open.” After some back-and-forth between the 2 about seeing varied disappointments in one another, Rhodes instructed Gable to go speak to Aldis and lace up his boots for a match later within the evening.

Rhodes’ Saturday Night time’s Essential Occasion opponent, Kevin Owens, was set to participate in a sit-down interview with Michael Cole. Owens as an alternative despatched in a cellular phone video whereas sitting in his automobile within the parking zone. He stated he was refusing to enter the constructing and Cole might come interview him within the parking zone. Cole did ultimately achieve this and Owens claimed Cole wouldn’t have been unbiased earlier than briefly arguing with the play-by-play man, kicking him out of the automobile and driving off.

Cody Rhodes def. Chad Gable by way of pinfall after hitting Cross Rhodes. Gable had eliminated Rhodes’ boot and attacked his ankle all through the match however in the end could not get the win. After the match, Owens stormed the ring earlier than delivering his personal photographs to Rhodes’ ankle. Rhodes ultimately fought again and the pair continued to brawl as safety and WWE officers tried to separate them because the present went off the air.

Total, this was an excellent episode of SmackDown with good story beats and a few sturdy in-ring motion. Rhodes and Owens delivered what they wanted to, even when the previous few months of WWE programming have felt like we’re seeing one or two pull-apart brawls every week. Regardless of that, the construct to Saturday Night time’s Essential Occasion continued and Owens obtained throughout his anger properly each with Cole and together with his assault on Rhodes. Grade: B+

What else occurred on WWE SmackDown?

• Solo Sikoa and the New Bloodline had been proven arriving earlier than the present, taking out Apollo Crews and a number of other others backstage in a match of rage.
• Tiffany Stratton def. Naomi and Elektra Lopez by way of pinfall after hitting a Prettiest Moonsault Ever on Lopez. With the win, Stratton superior within the girls’s United States championship match.
• Bianca Belair def. Piper Niven by way of pinfall after hitting Niven with a Kiss of Dying onto Chelsea Inexperienced. Earlier within the present, Niven and Inexperienced had attacked Belair backstage.
• Shinsuke Nakamura was within the ring together with his new United States championship when he was interrupted by LA Knight, who demanded a possibility to regain the title from Nakamura. These two had been then interrupted by Andrade, who stated he had his personal unfinished enterprise with Nakamura. It was at that time that Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu hit the ring to assault Knight and Andrade earlier than Nakamura made his escape. Sikoa obtained on the mic and stated he was bored with not being taken critically and dared anybody to step up and take a shot.
• WWE Tag Crew Championship — #DIY def. Motor Metropolis Machine Weapons (c) by way of pinfall to win the titles. Motor Metropolis Machine Weapons had been speculated to defend the titles towards the Avenue Income, however the Income had been attacked backstage, resulting in Johnny Gargano asking Nick Aldis to take their place within the match. Gargano would go on to land a low blow to arrange the win, successfully finishing a heel flip for #DIY as they gained the belts.