WWE taped this week's SmackDown on Friday from the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany, the site of Saturday’s Bash in Berlin PLE. SEScoops correspondent Thomas Lowson attended live and provided these results:
Open Challenge: LA Knight comes out to a huge pop to open the show. He cuts a promo asking who will answer his open challenge. It's answered by Ludwig Kaiser, who comes out to a huge pop. The crowd was so loud during this segment it was difficult to hear everything they were saying. Kaiser says when he wins, he'll re-brand the US Championship as the European Championship.
US Title Match: LA Knight defeats Ludwig Kaiser. Kaiser was in control for much of the match. Knight got mixed responses and was being booed by the end.
Promo Video: Hype for Randy Orton's World Heavyweight title match against Gunther at Bash in Berlin.
Tag Match: LDF (Angel and Berto) defeat Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin. Loud "er ist scheiße" ("he is sh*"t) chants when either Angel or Berto were on offense.
Video Package: Solo Sikoa runs down everyone The Bloodline has beaten down. The Tribal Chief says he's coming for the Undisputed WWE title after Bash in Berlin and doesn't care who is the champion.
In-Ring Segment: SmackDown GM Nick Aldis is out next. He shows a highlight video package of this week's WWE live events tour of Europe, and introduces Bash in Berlin opponents Kevin Owens and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Owens says Rhodes injured his knee this week during a match, but the champion insists he's fine. Owens expressed bitterness about his first Universal title win, saying it's tainted because of Triple H's assistance. Cody knows Owens is angry. but he loves him, and after he beats him tomorrow night, they'll still be friends.
Backstage Segment: Grayson Waller and Theory tease a breakup, but Waller apologies and Theory forgives him.
Promo Video: Hype for Sunday's NXT No Mercy premium live event on Peacock. Big chants for Joe Hendry, who challenges Ethabn Page for the NXT title in the main event.
Next Week: Giovanni Vinci debuts next week on WWE SmackDown, September 6, 2024.
Singles Match: Carmelo Hayes defeats Andrade. This was given a good amount of time and received justified ‘This is Awesome’ chants.
Street Fight: Nia Jax defeats Michin to retain the WWE Women's Championship.Plenty of weapons used, including chairs, kendo sticks, trash cans and tables. Tiffany Stratton did a run-in during the match and the place exploded expecting a Money in the Bank cash-in. Stratton seemed ready to cash in, until Jax saw her. As Stratton was attacking Michin, Bayley returned (first appearance since SummerSlam) and ran off Tiffany Stratton. Jax puts Minchin in a trash can and hits her with a bonzai drop for the win.
Dark Matches
After the WWE SmackDown tapings concluded, fans witnessed two additional non-televised matches.
Singles Match: Damian Priest made short work of Dominik Mysterio and scored the victory after hitting a choke-slam.
Main Event: Gunther retains the World Heavyweight Championship against Ilja Dragunov. Fans got distracted with various chants and the wave, but Gunther and Dragunov eventually won them back and received "This is awesome" and "Fight forever" chants.
