Friday Night SmackDown invaded the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinatti, Ohio for a new night of action as we inch closer to Crown Jewel.
Earlier today, Nick Aldis spoke to NXT superstars Sol Ruca and Zaria, who showed up last week to confront the Women’s Tag Team Champions, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair. Aldis tells them that they have been impressive and is sure that there are a lot of big things on the horizon on SmackDown. Chelsea Green yells out for Nicholas, with her and Alba Fyre entering the scene through a curtain.
Green says that she was thinking of something, but Aldis reminds her that he was in the middle of discussing an opportunity, which Green thinks is perfect timing because she and Fyre want to give them the opportunity of a lifetime: become a Slaygent for the Secret Hervice, but they’ll have to prove themselves in the ring to do so. Fyre hands over the job listing paper to Ruca and Zaria, to which the dual Women’s Speed/Women’s North American Champion says they’re not interested, and last time they checked, they beat the Secret Hervice down in NXT. Zaria adds that they’re not looking to join the group, they’re looking to prove themselves as contenders for the tag team titles.
Green tells Aldis to tell the two that they would be so lucky to join the Secret Hervice, but the boss of Team Blue isn’t going to do that. Ruca and Zaria decide that since they’re already, why not turn this chance of a lifetime into a match. Aldis is receptive to the idea and approves, frustrating Green and Fyre, who complain that he ruins everything.
That tag team match was up next, with Zaria and Fyre starting things off. Things would turn in the favor of the babyface team as Zaria, kicking the redheaded Slaygent and putting her in a headlock whilst standing on the turnbuckles, finishing her off with a flying clothesline. Now tagging in Green, the former Women’s United States Champion quickly found herself overpowered by the Australian native. With Zaria now tagging in Ruca, the resident surfette of NXT hit an X Factor on Green. Fyre was tagged in again and this time, she took out Ruca by grabbing her hair, allowing Green to trip her, and Fyre jumped over the top rope to deliver a dropkick to the face. Sending Ruca out of the ring, the champ ate another kick from Green while Fyre hit Zaria with a suicide dive.
Green threw Ruca back into the ring, pounding on her briefly before tagging in Fyre, who hit what looked like an underhook suplex while they continued to deliver more kicks to Ruca. The double team could not yield a win as Ruca kicked out at 2. Zaria soon took out Fyre from the ring apron and threw her into the barricade. Ruca, meanwhile, reversed an attempt at the Un-Pretty Her by Green into the always-impressive Sol Snatcher to get the victory.
Immediately following the match, Bliss and Flair stood beside Cathy Kelley, who commended the performance and chemistry of Ruca and Zaria but asked them what they thought from their perspective as champions. Flair thought they looked impressive while Bliss said the two came for a win, which can be difficult when you’re not always on the same page, considering she has a partner who thinks she’s a queen, which Flair responds to by saying she carries a spooky doll. While saying that the team of Ruca and Zaria have come so far, they get why they would want to face them, and Bliss says that when that time comes, they better be ready.
Flair encourages Bliss to do her signature “Woooo!!!”, but Bliss doesn’t appear interested. Kelley does it, which makes all three women laugh, but Bliss soon walks away, ending the interview.
Nearing the start of the show’s second hour, Tiffany Stratton and Stephanie Vaquer had their contract signing for their Crown Jewel Championship match at Crown Jewel on Saturday, October 11th from Perth, Australia. With Nick Aldis overseeing the affairs, Vaquer said that she respects Stratton and believes she is a great champion. Even though she has only been Women’s World Champion for two weeks, she will show Stratton who she is, remarking to her in Spanish, “te voy a llevar al infierno” (“I am going to take you to hell”), because she won’t be losing any match, so next week, may the best woman win.
It’s now the Buff Barbie’s turn to talk and she goes on to say that since the moment Vaquer signed with WWE, she could not wait to step foot in a ring with her. They are some of the best and they proved that when they won their titles. However, in Perth, Australia, there will only be one woman walking out of Crown Jewel, and it will be her, because it doesn’t matter where they are, it is and always will be Tiffy Time. With the two having officially signed their contracts, it appeared that the signing was done quickly and amicably.
Stratton walked out of the ring and raised her Women’s Championship up high, but she was struck from behind by the Women’s United States Champion, Giulia, with Kiana James in tow. James took a microphone and told Aldis not to notarize that contract just yet because her and The Beautiful Madness have a business proposal for Vaquer.
Telling La Primera that she worked very hard to become a champion, she reminds Vaquer that she’s a star, but she’s just not a superstar yet. Advising her not to listen to the booing fans, James tells Vaquer that she can make her a superstar if she accepts her services. Her rates may be high, but the level of prestige Vaquer will reach is priceless. She’s in the middle of cornering the market and taking Giulia to the top of the women’s division, and she outshines Stratton as the best women’s champion on SmackDown. Vaquer can choose between this proposal, or she can end up like Tiffany, who has finally gotten up and attacks James. Giulia tries to attack Stephanie and nearly gets caught in the SVB – the Stephanie Vaquer Bomb – but at last, escapes the ring with James.
Cathy Kelley was at it again, this time interviewing The Street Profits and B-Fab about their upcoming Tag Team Championship match the following week against The Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis). Asking Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford if they were on the same page, B-Fab answered the question and told Kelley that she can assure her that “Tez” and “Dawks” are on the same page.
As the interview continued, the monitor that was behind them started to play a vignette from the Sicks. As Lumis said the Profits would “choke on the smoke they claim to desire”, Nikki Cross said that they would be “nothing more than a pile of ashes”. B-Fab and Kelley watched the vignette, with The Fab Female appearing exhausted while Kelley looked fearful. The vignette ended with the Sicks laughing, as the vignette glitched, which ended the segment.
Friday Night SmackDown airs next week from the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, with the following set to take place:
- Tiffany Stratton and Stephanie Vaquer vs. Giulia and Kiana James
Also in the same building will be Crown Jewel, which airs Saturday, October 11th on ESPN in the United States and Netflix internationally. Two women’s matches are currently scheduled, which are:
- Women’s Crown Jewel Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (Women’s World Champion) vs. Tiffany Stratton (Women’s Champion)
- IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley vs. The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane)
As always, make sure to share your thoughts on this week’s edition of SmackDown in the comments below.