1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:16,000 Welcome to the ring, it's Rich and Adam 2 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:22,000 Breaking down the fights with flair and passion 3 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:28,000 Tag teams grappling, belts are clashing 4 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Finishers and factions catching action 5 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:41,000 And welcome to this week's episode of Finishers and Factions does Friday Night Smackdown 6 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:48,000 And thank you to everybody that's come in to catch some action with me, Adam 7 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:55,000 Ordinarily we would have myself and my normal co-host Rich, as I have said on the previous few episodes 8 00:00:55,000 --> 00:01:01,000 My main man Rich is out with an illness at the moment 9 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:06,000 He will be returning to us hopefully very shortly 10 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:11,000 And we'll resume our normal format for now however 11 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:17,000 Let us dive in to the February 7th edition of Friday Night Smackdown 12 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:22,000 Which comes to us from Memphis, Tennessee 13 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:29,000 Out of the FedEx Forum Arena, easier for me to say 14 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:36,000 And I mean, Memphis is a huge wrestling city 15 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:43,000 Used to be the base of the Memphis wrestling territory 16 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:48,000 Which I've not done the appropriate research to be able to state this 17 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:53,000 Without being completely sure of the facts that I am spouting forth 18 00:01:53,000 --> 00:02:05,000 But I believe the Memphis wrestling territory was run by one Jerry the King Lawler 19 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:11,000 But we're going to dive in and see how far we get 20 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:16,000 So we started off this episode of Smackdown with a Royal Rumble recap 21 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:23,000 Pretty standard fare, I'm pretty sure they used the same VT that they did on Monday Night Raw 22 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:31,000 And then similar to Monday Night Raw, we started off Friday Night Smackdown with an appearance 23 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:38,000 Promo being cut in ring, but our action didn't start in ring 24 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:48,000 Started in the foyer of the FedEx Forum where we saw WrestleMania main event Jey Uso 25 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:59,000 Coming in through the crowd to another, oh my days, another Popacious Pop 26 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:08,000 And like Raw, the Memphis crowd chanting one more time 27 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:18,000 And again, WWE being the company of the fans that it is 28 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:26,000 Wasted no time in giving another round of yeet to Memphis 29 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:36,000 Now, main event Jey Uso was out after he'd finished his yeeting and his entrance 30 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:43,000 He'd come out to acknowledge all of the support that he'd got 31 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:51,000 Not just from his family, his friends, the boys in the back 32 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:56,000 But also the fans as well 33 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:01,000 He has come to Smackdown for one reason and one reason only 34 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:10,000 And that is to go face to face with Cody, the American Nightmare, Rhodes 35 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:17,000 Considering that Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes are famous friends 36 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:25,000 He gives him a fantastic entrance and we see Cody come out to the ring 37 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:30,000 Now, Cody and Jey start chatting about what would happen 38 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:37,000 Or if we got sort of Cody versus Jey at Mania 39 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,000 I mean, if we got that match, who would we be chanting for? 40 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:49,000 These are two of the most over superstars in the WWE today 41 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:53,000 And yeah, it's a case that... 42 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:59,000 I don't genuinely know who I'd be rooting for because I am a Cody Rhodes fan 43 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:05,000 Haven't always been when he was the dashing Cody Rhodes, yeah, no 44 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:10,000 But since he's come back from AEW and made his grand return 45 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:16,000 I am a Cody Rhodes fan, but I'm also a Jey Uso fan 46 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:22,000 Who would you be chanting for for that match, realistically? 47 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,000 I don't know, but I'd love to hear it from you guys 48 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,000 The email address, as it always has been, is 49 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,000 finishesandfactions.gmail.com 50 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,000 Drop us an email, let me know 51 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:44,000 In the eventuality that we get, Jey Uso versus Cody Rhodes 52 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,000 at WrestleMania in Las Vegas 53 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:54,000 Who are we chanting for? Who are we cheering for in that match, realistically? 54 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,000 I'd love to take a poll on that and see who comes out where 55 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:05,000 But as Cody comes out, he hugs Jey in the ring 56 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,000 Obviously giving him big props for winning the men's Royal Rumble 57 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:16,000 Something that Cody Rhodes has done twice consecutively, if I remember correctly 58 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:23,000 And they theorise about standing opposite one another as opponents 59 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,000 Or shoulder to shoulder as champions 60 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,000 What an image that would be, I mean 61 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:38,000 It's a case that, oh yeah, so much to unpack with this promo, realistically 62 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,000 But Cody is obviously still banged up after his match 63 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,000 He's got fluid on his elbow, he's got a tilted pelvis 64 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:51,000 And all the rest of it, it's just a case that 65 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:56,000 That match out with Kevin Owens at Royal Rumble was an absolute war 66 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:02,000 And he has his war wounds to heal before he can do anything else 67 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:08,000 But Cody is quite obviously beaming with pride for Jey 68 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:15,000 And they talk about their shared history when they were tag team champions 69 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:22,000 Sharing libations on the bus before press conferences 70 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:28,000 Something that I am almost positive my co-host Rich would have absolutely adored 71 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:33,000 To be talking about as it's something that we bring up in conversation 72 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:39,000 On a number of occasions and we reference to each other almost all the time 73 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:47,000 And yeah, I mean Cody talked about if Jey sets his sights on the WWE Championship 74 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:51,000 Their friendship might not survive it 75 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:57,000 It's a case that when two friends go to war over a championship 76 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:03,000 It changes the dynamic of how that friendship sort of continues on 77 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,000 Some friendships will survive it and others won't 78 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:12,000 And I think Cody is genuinely worried that if they go to war over that championship 79 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:18,000 It is a case that they may not come out on the other side as they went in 80 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:30,000 And then we are interrupted by Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu 81 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:38,000 The cross-eyed halfwits if I remember correctly from our friend LA Knight 82 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:49,000 Fatu talks about how his family needs that WWE Championship back 83 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:56,000 And it's important to reference at this point that Jey Uso is Jacob Fatu's family 84 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:00,000 They are all part of the same Samoan dynasty 85 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:13,000 But Fatu is determined that Jey is not going to be the one that will bring the WWE Championship back to the family 86 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:19,000 And Jey doesn't need to hear anything more after that 87 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:24,000 He doesn't want to hear any more after that as he delivers a superkick to Tama Tonga 88 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,000 And Cody goes after Jacob Fatu 89 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:31,000 Tonga isn't really the bigger threat here 90 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:35,000 It is most definitely Jacob Fatu 91 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:45,000 And it goes to show at the end of this promo we've got Fatu being really cut down to size with a superkick and Cody Cutter 92 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:53,000 And we are shortly treated after that as Nick Aldis wastes no time as SmackDown General Manager 93 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:59,000 Announcing the main event of tonight's card will be a tag team match 94 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:09,000 It's starting to sound like Teddy Long has come back in the form of Nick Aldis because player we're going to have a tag team match 95 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:13,000 And it's Cody and Jey vs Tonga and Fatu 96 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:18,000 So that will be one hell of a match to look forward to later on in the evening 97 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:27,000 But first, our first Elimination Chamber Qualifier is a women's singles match 98 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:38,000 Which sees Piper Niven who comes to the ring with the current women's US Champion Chelsea Green 99 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:48,000 Versus Bianca Belair, one half of the current women's tag team champions 100 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:58,000 Who comes accompanied with the other half of the WWE World Tag Team Championships for the women, Naomi 101 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:11,000 Now, this match I didn't get a massive amount of notes for, I find sort of, as much as I want to really like Piper Niven as she's from the UK 102 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:22,000 And really want to sort of encourage that homegrown talent which we in years gone by have not seen a massive amount of in the WWE 103 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:37,000 I find Piper Niven to be sort of, she's either never really given a good opportunity to get going or it's a case that she's sort of very one dimensional in her wrestling 104 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:47,000 I mean she's obviously talented enough to have made it to the upper echelons within professional wrestling and I ain't going to fight her because she'll flatten me 105 00:11:47,000 --> 00:12:01,000 But it's a case that I'm just not a huge fan of watching Piper Niven wrestle as what I've seen of what she's done so far it just isn't inspiring to me 106 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:12,000 So I do find it really difficult and Bianca Belair I've always said I have a problem with the braid, I really do, it really bugs me, it really sort of sticks in my, it puts a bee in my bonnet 107 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:23,000 And yeah, it's a case that, so neither one of these I'm a huge fan of but can really get behind some of the work that they've put in 108 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:32,000 But Bianca Belair starts strong in the ring, Piper Niven makes a strong combat outside of the ring 109 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:45,000 Belair hits a huge spear to Piper Niven but ultimately Belair pulls off a huge KOD for a pinfall win over Piper Niven 110 00:12:45,000 --> 00:13:04,000 And Bianca Belair becomes the, I believe Bianca Belair becomes the second woman to qualify for an elimination, in the Elimination Chamber match Liv Morgan from Monday night became the first 111 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:17,000 And yeah, we went from there to a GM Office promo with Nick Aldis talking originally to Kayden Carter and Katana Chance 112 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:29,000 A couple of female superstars who we haven't seen a lot of recently but, and we don't see a lot of them here, they make an onscreen appearance and then bagger off 113 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:41,000 As Carmelo Hayes comes in as the ladies are leaving, Aldis mentions about being in touch with Adam Pearce from Raw 114 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:50,000 And they've been discussing a Raw superstar for Hayes to face and Hayes just ain't happy about it 115 00:13:50,000 --> 00:14:01,000 I mean Hayes has been, he's got a bit of a spotty record recently, he's had a couple of big matches, he had one last week on Smackdown vs Damian Priest 116 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:06,000 Which he didn't come out on the winning end of but had a really competitive match 117 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:15,000 And previously he's had matches with other superstars which he's not come out smelling of roses from 118 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:28,000 But this time a match is announced for Carmelo Hayes to face Akira Tozawa from Monday Night Raw 119 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:34,000 Part of the Alpha Academy or the Alpha Babes or whatever it is that they're currently going by 120 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:47,000 Akira Tozawa we may remember was previously, he was originally bought in I believe, where he was chasing the 24-7 championship 121 00:14:47,000 --> 00:15:01,000 Which was one of good old man McMahon's final ideas that was taken apart pretty quickly by Hunter when he came into power 122 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:09,000 Which was a championship which spent a majority of its time being held by R-Truth and being pursued by R-Truth 123 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:17,000 Who was normally chased around by Akira Tozawa and a bunch of ninja, which was odd 124 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:27,000 It wasn't a fantastic, it was more comic relief, it wasn't a serious championship although in some cases it was shown as that 125 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:35,000 But the reason it was called the 24-7 is because it could be defended anywhere, anytime as long as there was a ref in tow 126 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:44,000 And that was where the comedy factor came in, it was defended in all areas of an arena, there were times where the champion was hiding 127 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:52,000 Famously R-Truth has been known to hide under the ring on top of tables and be revealed during matches that he's not even involved in 128 00:15:52,000 --> 00:16:03,000 And things like that, but it was quickly scrapped because it lost its comic value very quickly and just wasn't worth carrying on with 129 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:13,000 But the reason that this match was hyped up to such a degree on Friday Night SmackDown is as we will all remember 130 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:18,000 I'm sure everybody's had a chance to watch the Royal Rumble by now, if not spoiler alert! 131 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:27,000 It's a case that Akira Tozawa was due to enter the match, the Men's Royal Rumble match, he was on his way down to the ring 132 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:33,000 Carmelo Hayes, shortly before that him entering had been eliminated, he was making his way to the back 133 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:42,000 He was obviously upset, frustrated and took all of that frustration out on Akira Tozawa with a back of the head shot 134 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:48,000 Akira Tozawa then lost his place in the Royal Rumble being replaced by I Show Speed 135 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:57,000 And yeah, Akira's just not that happy, he was, I mean understandably so 136 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:08,000 Hayes could, Hayes cost Akira Tozawa the potential, the potential of being able to go on and main event WrestleMania 137 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:23,000 Now, we know from our experience watching WWE television that it was incredibly unlikely that Akira Tozawa was ever going to be 138 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:32,000 Was ever going to make the, was ever going to make it to WrestleMania 139 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:39,000 It just wasn't going to happen, but he's costed, the potential went away when Carmelo Hayes took him out 140 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:46,000 But Akira Tozawa versus Carmelo Hayes comes later in the card, we'll dive into that when it comes to it 141 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:57,000 We go from there to an in-ring promo by the reigning defending tag team champions DIY 142 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:05,000 Who basically come out to brag about their win from the Royal Rumble in their 2 out of 3 falls match with Motor City Machine Guns 143 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:16,000 Which we covered in our Finishes and Factions Royal Rumble 2025 rest of the card episode 144 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,000 Which is currently on all of our platforms so far 145 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:26,000 So please, if you didn't see it, go back, I did the coverage myself, I know what I've said 146 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,000 So I'm not going to revisit it too heavily 147 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:37,000 And basically DIY come out pretty proud of themselves, not sure why, but they're pretty proud of themselves 148 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,000 They're still champions, so that's something to say 149 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:52,000 And they're basically trying to initiate a minute silence for Motor City Machine Guns chances of a future tag team title shot against them going away 150 00:18:52,000 --> 00:19:01,000 When they try and get everybody to fall silent for this, they are pretty swiftly interrupted by Pretty Deadly 151 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:11,000 Who come out to interrupt for, to basically try and gourd for their perceived title shot 152 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:23,000 And DIY are more focused on the fact that they've just been dicks and interrupted the minute silence for Motor City Machine Guns 153 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:33,000 And Nick Aldis, after all of this exchange, is not too happy about the way DIY defended it 154 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:38,000 They're not happy about DIY making demands for it 155 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:48,000 And comes out to announce a non-title tag team match between the pair, so between Pretty Deadly and DIY 156 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:59,000 And if Pretty Deadly win, they will get a shot at the tag team title belts that DIY defend so adamantly 157 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:07,000 And the other stipulation to this, now this is to bear in mind, that DIY came out dressed for a promo 158 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:15,000 They didn't come out dressed for a match, they were still in their civvies, they were not dressed in their ring gear or anything along those lines 159 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:22,000 So Nick Aldis says that this match is actually for right now 160 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:31,000 And that brings us into match two, which was a men's tag team non-title defense match with Pretty Deadly versus DIY 161 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:37,000 Pretty Deadly come in with this aggressive style they've been toting about for the last few weeks 162 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:42,000 And I'm not going to lie, I'm here for it, go and get it lads 163 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:50,000 As it stands, again I believe Pretty Deadly are both British wrestlers, so they'll always get loads of support from us here 164 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,000 As much as we possibly can on finishes and factions 165 00:20:54,000 --> 00:21:06,000 And yeah, but it's a case that we join the match in progress after an advert break 166 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:22,000 As we have to remember that while Raw is almost entirely upon Netflix now, SmackDown is still being shown in the US under a cable affiliate I believe 167 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:34,000 So we do get regular advert breaks, we join the match in progress where DIY as I said before are in their civvies, they're in their street clothes 168 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,000 And DIY are trying every dirty trick in the book 169 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:43,000 They don't want Pretty Deadly to have this title shot 170 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:52,000 Which makes you wonder why are Pretty Deadly so adamant about not defending this title against a team like Pretty Deadly 171 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:57,000 Who for all that I've been able to see are not that much of a threat 172 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:05,000 They're not traditionally a team to go, oh here comes Pretty Deadly, we'd better watch out 173 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:09,000 Oh there's Pretty Deadly, big whoop 174 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:19,000 So yeah, I'm not really seeing what DIY are so very concerned about 175 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:27,000 But DIY try a stacked pin holding onto the rope which was broken up 176 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:37,000 Pretty Deadly go into their own stacked pin again while holding onto the rope but this time nobody interrupts this stacked pin 177 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:44,000 Pretty Deadly pick up the win and a future Tag Team Championship opportunity for this match 178 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:52,000 Again I didn't get many notes on it, I'm not, as much as I'm going to say that I like to support homegrown talent 179 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:56,000 I'm not a huge fan of Pretty Deadly as you've probably gathered 180 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:04,000 So it gets really difficult for me to be able to comment on what's going on and everything along those lines 181 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:11,000 It was a solid match, don't get me wrong and I'm really enjoying the aggressive nature that Pretty Deadly are bringing to the table 182 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:17,000 Just not a huge fan of them as a pair 183 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:25,000 It just doesn't resonate with me which I think we can all sort of appreciate at the very least 184 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:34,000 And then we go from that Men's Tag Team match into a backstage promo between Andrade and The Miz 185 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:39,000 As I've pointed out previously, Andrade recently divorced from Charlotte Flair 186 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:47,000 I think more of a relief for him than for her I would imagine 187 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:57,000 He doesn't have to wake up looking at Charlotte Flair every morning 188 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:03,000 The biggest loss to that is having Ric Flair as your father-in-law 189 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:08,000 But without knowing the detail around their divorce I couldn't possibly say 190 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:13,000 Again that is all born from my dislike of Charlotte Flair and all the rest of it 191 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:19,000 But The Miz still trying as best as The Miz ever can to make friends 192 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,000 It's just a shame he's such a colossal douche 193 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:27,000 He seems incapable of making any friends 194 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:35,000 As he still seems to think that despite the age difference between The Miz and Andrade 195 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:41,000 He still seems to think that there is a lot that Andrade could learn from The Miz 196 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,000 And Andrade just comes back to him and says 197 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:47,000 Yeah I did, I'd learnt a lot from our match the last time we faced 198 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,000 I learnt how to kick your ass 199 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:56,000 Which you know what, we're not going to deny here on Finishes and Factions 200 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,000 Not one little bit 201 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:04,000 Andrade basically says that yeah I learnt how to beat you 202 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,000 Mic drop, off you go, bye bye 203 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:12,000 And we see Cody Rhodes walking from the back to be greeted by The Miz 204 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,000 I'm sure a highlight of his day 205 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:23,000 And yeah, The Miz basically painting him out to be some older, wiser sage of a superstar 206 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,000 Which I suppose to some degree probably is 207 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:35,000 But yeah, The Miz basically saying I don't know what this new crop of kids is all on about 208 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:40,000 They seem to respect us as veterans or anything like that 209 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:45,000 The Miz saying to Cody, you don't need to worry about the fact that none of these guys are going to have you back 210 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,000 I'll always have you back because we're old school 211 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:53,000 Cody goes, no you're alright thanks, I'd rather you didn't watch my back 212 00:25:53,000 --> 00:26:00,000 And then Cody starts showing signs of his affiliation with Karrion Cross when he was on Monday Night Raw 213 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:05,000 As he starts sowing some seeds of doubt in Cody and Jay's friendship 214 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:18,000 Basically pointing out that he's not really, what's the word, that friendships don't really survive title bouts and things like that 215 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:24,000 I mean none of The Miz's friendships because they were never friendships, they were conveniences 216 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:35,000 But we also see Shinsuke Nakamura in the background of this promo 217 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,000 He seems to be hanging around a lot in the background of promos 218 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:44,000 And considering he's the current US title holder, I would expect him to be in the forefront 219 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:50,000 I'm not really sure where the creative is going for Shinsuke Nakamura and that US title 220 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:54,000 But I think they need to start bringing it more to the forefront 221 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:58,000 The women's US title is getting more airtime than the men's 222 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,000 And I'm not saying this in any sexist rant or anything like that 223 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:07,000 But they should at least be getting equal airtime to be able to move forward 224 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,000 And we're just not getting that at the moment 225 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,000 So I would like to see that in future 226 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:18,000 I'm sure a lot of us would because it's a title that is very quickly being forgotten about 227 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,000 I feel 228 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,000 We're also treated to the Cena post-show interview recap 229 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:30,000 Where he says, as we mentioned on the Monday Night Raw episode, just gone 230 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:35,000 That he has basically inserted himself into the elimination chamber 231 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,000 Without having to fight an elimination chamber qualifier match 232 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:44,000 Mostly because of filming discrepancies with his schedule 233 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,000 But it all comes down to, yeah, I've been here a long time 234 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:53,000 I've sustained multiple injuries and fought while hurt 235 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,000 Blood, sweat and tears for this company 236 00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:00,000 The least you can do is just let me in basically 237 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,000 Which they've done and fair enough 238 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:08,000 He has, he held the company in the palm of his hand 239 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:13,000 He held it up on its shoulders, he was there when other people left and came back 240 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:21,000 And he was there week in, week out, defending championships and defending the WWE's honor 241 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:27,000 Going out, doing the press junkets and all the rest of it and did really well 242 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:33,000 Now he's taking some time for himself to go and pursue a career after the WWE 243 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:38,000 And yeah, I do think he's owed at least that much 244 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:43,000 Now, speaking of the elimination chamber 245 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:49,000 We come to our, I believe our first elimination chamber 246 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:53,000 No, it's not the first elimination chamber match qualifier 247 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,000 It's the second elimination chamber match qualifier 248 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:07,000 Which was a men's triple threat match between Drew McIntyre, LA Knight and Jimmy Big Jim Uso 249 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:12,000 Now Drew is the first to come out in this match 250 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:25,000 Now this was straight off the back of the news that Drew McIntyre has recently been drafted as a last ditch action in the transfer window 251 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:30,000 Over to Friday Night SmackDown where we will now see him for the foreseeable future 252 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:38,000 And he basically goes on a bit of a rant saying I'm glad to be back on Friday Night 253 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:45,000 It's so much better here, Nick Aldis listens to me, wah wah wah wah wah 254 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:50,000 Calling Raw a toxic work environment and all the rest of it 255 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:54,000 Still cashed his checks, he could have gone somewhere else 256 00:29:54,000 --> 00:30:00,000 As you can tell, not really here for Drew McIntyre's crybaby attitude 257 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:15,000 And it would appear that Jimmy Uso shares my dislike of this sort of crybaby attitude 258 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:22,000 As he compares him to a bit of an ex-girlfriend and says that oh it doesn't work for me, oh no 259 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:34,000 And Drew tries hitting back, being a bit petty, showing off this new more positive attitude that Drew seems to have come to SmackDown with 260 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:40,000 By getting Jimmy's name wrong, purposefully accidentally calling him J 261 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:51,000 And then tries to get under Jimmy's skin by saying how differently things could have been if only Jimmy had said yeet first 262 00:30:51,000 --> 00:31:01,000 And I can sort of see where Drew's going with it, it's not outside the realms of possibility to sort of theorise that 263 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:11,000 If Jimmy had said yeet first, would we be saying main event, WrestleMania main event Jimmy Uso instead of J 264 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:17,000 But nothing stops Jimmy from saying yeet, as he proves in the ring almost immediately 265 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:24,000 He's like yeah I can say yeet and gets a bit of a delayed response from the crowd 266 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:29,000 Which is understandable because they weren't expecting him to go that far 267 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,000 So I can fully understand a late response from the crowd on that one 268 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:41,000 Jimmy is really very unfazed by anything that Drew McIntyre has said 269 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:48,000 Laid out how proud he is of J and all of the obstacles that Drew would now have to overcome 270 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:53,000 Starting with Big Jim Uso 271 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:57,000 And this is where we see the entrance of LA Knight 272 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:02,000 Now LA Knight can cut one hell of a promo, he really can 273 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:13,000 And basically says, he comes out, immediately addresses Big Jim and says look you've cost me title opportunities in the past 274 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:16,000 There's no love lost between us, we're not friends 275 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:32,000 And this is where LA Knight goes on a bit of a, what almost seems at first like a bit of a, what's the word I'm looking for 276 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:36,000 Bit of a tangent, bit of a side note 277 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:44,000 He goes on a bit of a side note and starts talking about the fact that he sends a message 278 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:54,000 And this isn't a message to anybody in the ring, this is a message to every man and boy watching in the arena at home 279 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,000 Listening to this podcast even 280 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:04,000 LA Knight has told us that it is okay to cry and it doesn't make you any less of a man 281 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:10,000 And for somebody like myself that suffers with their mental health sometimes 282 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:18,000 And yeah, I agree with everything that he says in this promo because it is important that we realise 283 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:26,000 That while society as a whole does not really sort of accept that men crying is an acceptable thing to do 284 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:33,000 That it is an emotional release, that we need to be able to break that stigma around it 285 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:42,000 As there is not enough said about men's mental health that in on big stages like this 286 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:48,000 So big props to LA Knight for talking about it and everything along those lines 287 00:33:48,000 --> 00:34:00,000 It's important that we know as men that it is okay to have an emotional response, it is okay to cry, it's good for your mental health 288 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:10,000 Whether you do it in private or anything like that, just don't feel like it makes you any less of a man to do 289 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:20,000 Having said that, LA Knight immediately brings this round to, brings this round and aims it directly at Drew McIntyre 290 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:25,000 Almost sort of going back on what he says to a degree 291 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:30,000 He doesn't diminish the message he's given but he does say there is a limit 292 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:35,000 It's okay to cry without being a big old crybaby 293 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:46,000 And points it at, and this will be the new name that Drew goes by in my head for as long as I can remember 294 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:51,000 Drew McIntyre, fucking love it 295 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:57,000 In fact to the point that whenever I watch one of these shows I hand write all of my notes 296 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:05,000 And throughout majority of all of this I think I changed his name throughout the entire thing to Drew McIntyre 297 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:09,000 Because that is how he's going to go now 298 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:13,000 So by this point LA Knight is down in the ring 299 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:19,000 And yeah, I mean this match starts off as you would expect it to 300 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:27,000 Big Jim, LA Knight ganging up on McIntyre to try and take him out of the running 301 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:33,000 As soon as that team play sort of boils out 302 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:36,000 Big Jim comes out looking strong, not going to lie 303 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:41,000 He comes out looking dominant against both LA Knight and McIntyre 304 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:45,000 And we've got the crowd chanting McIntyre as well 305 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:50,000 Which again just cements this in my head all the more 306 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:58,000 LA Knight slamming Jim's and Drew's faces into that reinforced announce desk 307 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:01,000 Which I mean even if it's not a reinforced announce desk 308 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:08,000 Your nose bouncing off something nice and solid is going to fucking hurt 309 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:13,000 But yeah, we progress later on in the match 310 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:16,000 McIntyre in the tree of woe in the corner 311 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:21,000 Jay sat on the top turnbuckle of that same corner 312 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,000 And Knight goes up top to deliver a superplex 313 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:29,000 And this was one thing I'm going to switch up a little bit and say that 314 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:33,000 Drew McIntyre really impressed me with this 315 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:40,000 As he uses a hell of a lot of core strength to go from a tree of woe position 316 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:46,000 Sitting all the way up and being able to essentially powerbomb LA Knight down 317 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:53,000 Which also brings down Jimmy Uso into sort of like a powerbomb superplex 318 00:36:53,000 --> 00:37:01,000 Multi-move domino effect which was one of the highlights of this match for me 319 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:07,000 It was just yeah, the physical strength it takes to be able to sit from 320 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:12,000 Sit up from a vertical position is untrue 321 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:17,000 I mean I have trouble sitting up getting out of bed in the morning to be quite honest 322 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:21,000 But that might have more to do with mental health than anything else 323 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:29,000 Anywho, McIntyre starts looking dominant mid-point through the match 324 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,000 As we would sort of expect him to 325 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:39,000 He goes for a claymore kick which is sort of intercepted by Jimmy Uso with a superkick 326 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:43,000 Which takes McIntyre out of the ring 327 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:51,000 Big Jim gets Knight down for a pin attempt for the count to be interrupted by McIntyre pulling the ref from the ring 328 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:56,000 Which quite honestly was a smart move on Drew's behalf in my opinion 329 00:37:56,000 --> 00:38:03,000 LA Knight with a near fall on Uso after a countered top rope dive 330 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,000 Was also a bit of a highlight 331 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:18,000 And Drew ends up picking up a pinfall win over LA Knight after a double claymore interrupting a blunt force trauma attempt from LA Knight to Uso 332 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:24,000 And McIntyre takes the third spot in the men's elimination chamber match 333 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:31,000 Joining John Cena and CM Punk in Toronto on March 1st 334 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:36,000 And yeah, I mean what an absolute match that was 335 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,000 I mean real contender for match of the night 336 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:43,000 I'd love to hear your thoughts, is there anything that I missed? 337 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:50,000 And we will do mop up sessions and things like that for bits and pieces that you guys email in about 338 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:58,000 Once we've got our social medias up and running we'll start doing short form content replying to these emails 339 00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:04,000 And giving shout outs to any and all of our listeners which we would absolutely love to hear from you 340 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:07,000 At finishesandfactions.gmail.com 341 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:12,000 Get your email in and we'll have a look, we'll have a listen, we'll go through from there 342 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:15,000 And yeah, we'd love to hear from you 343 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:24,000 Moving swiftly on from there we go to a backstage promo where we see Byron Saxton interviewing Damian Priest 344 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:28,000 Who has recently made appearances on Friday nights 345 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:32,000 Where Priest is asked about his reaction to that last match 346 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:37,000 Priest starts talking almost like he's already in the chamber match 347 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:43,000 Even though we know he has yet to fight a qualifying match to make his way in 348 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:47,000 I mean Priest is good but he's no John Cena let's face it 349 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:55,000 And this is where we are interrupted by that one big SOB, Braun Strowman 350 00:39:55,000 --> 00:40:01,000 And basically Strowman strolls in to correct Priest and say 351 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:06,000 Mate you haven't qualified yet and your match is next week 352 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:14,000 Where you will face me as well as the Samoan Werewolf Jacob Fatu 353 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:18,000 In a triple threat elimination chamber qualifying match 354 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:25,000 And I'm here for that, that is going to be one hell of a brutal match 355 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:32,000 To be able to look and find out what's going on with that 356 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:37,000 So yeah we'll have to tune in next week to find out how that all goes 357 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:46,000 But moving on from there we went to a VT recap of the aftermath attack 358 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:50,000 From Kevin Owens to Sami Zayn from Monday night 359 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:59,000 And this is where we're also treated to an uploaded VT from Kevin Owens' car that he posted to X 360 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:09,000 Basically shooting a bit of a promo explaining that he's showing his scars from his match with Cody 361 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:16,000 Theorises that Cody may have been trying to end not only KO's career during that match 362 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:23,000 But realistically I don't know what Kevin Owens was expecting after everything that transpired between the two 363 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:34,000 Kevin Owens obviously emotional recounts how Sami Zayn just stood at ringside and did nothing to help in his match with Cody 364 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:41,000 But ran directly to Roman Reigns' aid in the Rumble match which seemed to really hurt Kevin Owens' feelings 365 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:49,000 Kevin Owens calls Sami Zayn a bad friend, a disgusting human being and vows to never forgive him 366 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:56,000 And we're confirmed at this point that Sami Zayn is out indefinitely due to that attack from Monday night 367 00:41:56,000 --> 00:42:02,000 Where he suffered a package pile driver from Kevin Owens and already injured Kevin Owens 368 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:15,000 So it's acceptable to theorise that we will not see Sami Zayn before Elimination Chamber and may well see him afterwards 369 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:23,000 We go on to match 4 which was a men's singles match Akira Tozawa vs Carmelo Hayes which we were told about earlier on in the evening 370 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:38,000 And Hayes seems to have gotten into a little bit of a habit on his ring entrance to come out and go on these conceited little rants that he likes to go on 371 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:47,000 I mean Akira comes well and truly comes after Hayes before the bell even starts, he is pissed 372 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:56,000 And again this comes down to Tozawa being denied an opportunity to even put his name forward for the main event of WrestleMania 373 00:42:56,000 --> 00:43:06,000 Again we know it would have never happened but it's the loss of the opportunity for Tozawa that sort of really seems to stick in his bonnet a little bit 374 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:09,000 Which I think we can all appreciate 375 00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:21,000 And yeah we see Tozawa pull off some... do you know what I actually really enjoyed this outing from Tozawa 376 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:28,000 He proved to us that he was... he's not just comic relief he is actually able to go in a match 377 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:43,000 And it may be interesting to see in the future Tozawa maybe go on for a singles run not just for a 24-7 title but for an actual legitimate title 378 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:54,000 Even if it's the case that he goes back to NXT and goes and dominates in NXT I'd love to see Akira Tozawa show off a little bit more of his repertoire 379 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:58,000 Because there's more there to see and it would be lovely to see it 380 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:07,000 Now we've come to the section of the podcast where... or the section of the episode where WWE give us a brief history of WWE in Memphis 381 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:12,000 This is the 16th SmackDown to take part in Memphis, Tennessee 382 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:17,000 There have been three PLEs that have been hosted in Memphis as well 383 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:24,000 And it is the home of Hall of Fame stars Jerry The King Lawler and Jimmy Hart 384 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:28,000 And Lawler himself is in attendance in Memphis 385 00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:35,000 I'm a little bit disappointed that they couldn't talk Lawler into coming and doing some commentary 386 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:46,000 Because my all time favorite commentary duo will always be good old JR and Jerry The King Lawler 387 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:53,000 Those pair bounced off one another so well and were such a good team for so many years 388 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:58,000 They were the voice of Monday nights during the Attitude era 389 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:02,000 And in my view there's just nobody that's ever going to be able to beat them 390 00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:07,000 There's no disrespect to any of the current commentators within WWE 391 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:10,000 It's just my opinion, it really is 392 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:19,000 And we go from that little bit of history over to a backstage promo where we see Akira Tozawa being helped to the back 393 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:24,000 By the ref from his match as well as Mr. R-Truth 394 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:32,000 R-Truth telling Tozawa to never give up as his hero John Cena always says 395 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:39,000 But Truth drops him like a sack of shit as soon as he spots Jey Uso 396 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:45,000 Goes up to Jey Uso congratulating him on winning the King of the Ring 397 00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:52,000 We obviously know Truth is off in a separate dimension somewhere, he's not of this world, bless him 398 00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:57,000 Jey corrects him and tells him that he won the Royal Rumble 399 00:45:57,000 --> 00:46:00,000 And Truth responds with, oh you won that too? 400 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:06,000 And Jey Uso basically says, dude you dropped your mate 401 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:10,000 You dropped him on the floor, what are you doing with yourself? 402 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:18,000 And Truth just simply responds to Jey saying, oh he just yeeted on himself 403 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:23,000 Which, I mean Truth is hilariously funny, I love that 404 00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:31,000 And we see at the end of this promo Cody Rhodes comes to find out about if Jey has made his WrestleMania decision 405 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:36,000 And we know that Jey Uso is remaining undecided at this point 406 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:45,000 We go from there to an in-ring promo with the Women's Royal Rumble winner for 2025, Charlotte Flair 407 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:53,000 And the first thing that I thought when I saw her walk out into Memphis, Tennessee 408 00:46:53,000 --> 00:47:01,000 Was what the fuck is that woman wearing or not wearing or whatever the fuck was going on with that outfit 409 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:08,000 Because my god it looked awful, absolutely awful 410 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:16,000 I mean I'm sure on somebody else that may have looked like a really nice outfit, it just did not suit Charlotte Flair at all 411 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:29,000 And yeah, we saw obviously after Charlotte Flair's entrance that Memphis, Tennessee is a bit split over Charlotte Flair 412 00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:33,000 They're not sure whether they hate her or whether they love her 413 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:42,000 But we see Charlotte Flair really sort of showing her true colours here where she cuts quite an on-brand conceited promo about herself 414 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:53,000 Genuinely asked the question, did you think after a 14, 15 month absence that she would do anything but win the Rumble? 415 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:59,000 I said, well, did we think that she would do anything but? Probably not 416 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:03,000 Do we hope that she would do something different? Yes! 417 00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:13,000 And this is where Tiffany Stratton, our current Smackdown Women's Champion, comes out to confront Flair 418 00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:23,000 Tiffany congratulating Flair, showing a lot of respect saying how she sort of modelled herself after Charlotte Flair and all the rest of it 419 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:35,000 Manages to point out that Flair was, everybody was so concerned after Flair left because she went out on injury, supposedly 420 00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:45,000 And that everybody was concerned for about a day, which is about right, realistically 421 00:48:45,000 --> 00:49:00,000 This is where Tiffany showed up, she started main eventing and got to the very tippy top of Friday Night Smackdown's Women's Division 422 00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:09,000 Which, yeah, I mean, love her or hate her, you can't really deny her that she has done phenomenal work in such a short period of time 423 00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:19,000 Despite that, Flair showing zero respect to Tiffany, really sort of belittling, bullying 424 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:30,000 I felt a bit uncomfortable for Tiffany at this point because this wasn't just sort of rivalry banter 425 00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:38,000 This was Flair really going after Tiffany, I felt like there was some real disdain there between the two 426 00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:51,000 And Flair mentions on Monday night she compared Rhea Ripley to a kid, she went one step further and said, Tiffany you're basically a child 427 00:49:51,000 --> 00:50:00,000 And Stratton, unfazed by it, credit to her, just wants to beat Flair to get out of her shadow 428 00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:09,000 Speaking of shadows, or before that happens, we have Flair demand that if Tiffany really wants the match 429 00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:13,000 She needs to get down on her hands and knees and beg Flair for it 430 00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:24,000 And I'm sort of glad we didn't degrade to that point because that might have been the end of me watching anything to do with Charlotte Flair in it 431 00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:30,000 Because that would have been a step too far in my view, but we were thankfully saved from that happening 432 00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:46,000 By Nia Jax and Candice LeRae coming down to the ring and announcing that Tiffany will be defending her women's title against Jax next week 433 00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:59,000 So it's a case that all of this could be for naught as Tiffany Stratton may not even be the women's champion by this time next week 434 00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:07,000 We could have Nia Jax, in which case it could be Charlotte Flair facing Nia Jax at WrestleMania 435 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:13,000 Which I wouldn't be against seeing, especially if Nia Jax is just going to flatten the bitch 436 00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:25,000 Charlotte Flair announcing that she will be back next week to observe who wins that match so that she can make an informed decision 437 00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:29,000 So Charlotte Flair is really going to milk this decision for as much as it's worth 438 00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:36,000 As we're not going to get an answer from her on Monday night or anything like that, although we were likely to see her on Monday night 439 00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:49,000 Regardless, Alexa Bliss, one of the surprise re-emergences of the women's Royal Rumble, comes out to her match 440 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:52,000 And yeah, we go from there 441 00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:55,000 So we move on 442 00:51:55,000 --> 00:52:03,000 The reason Alexa Bliss came out to the ring was that she was coming out for a match against Candice LeRae 443 00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:07,000 In an Elimination Chamber qualifying match 444 00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:10,000 So this was match five on the card 445 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:18,000 And this was Alexa Bliss's first singles competition in two years 446 00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:21,000 Now I didn't realise she'd been gone that long 447 00:52:21,000 --> 00:52:24,000 I mean, she was gone for all of the right reasons 448 00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:32,000 She went off to start a family and credit to her, considering she's had a kid, she looks phenomenal for it 449 00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:35,000 I mean, Alexa Bliss is one of my favourite female competitors 450 00:52:35,000 --> 00:52:38,000 And I'm so glad that she's back 451 00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:45,000 And honestly, during this match, it didn't seem like she'd missed a beat 452 00:52:45,000 --> 00:52:49,000 She didn't show any real signs of ring rust 453 00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:53,000 There were a couple of moments where I thought, do you know what, actually 454 00:52:53,000 --> 00:53:00,000 It's not going to be as cut and dry as I thought it could be 455 00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:03,000 But yeah, I mean, having said that 456 00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:08,000 LeRae came out with some fantastic manoeuvres in this as well 457 00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:14,000 With a big face buster off the apron to Alexa Bliss 458 00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:19,000 And really started to push Bliss's buttons 459 00:53:19,000 --> 00:53:23,000 Which anybody that's watched Alexa Bliss wrestle in the past will know 460 00:53:23,000 --> 00:53:26,000 You do not push that woman's buttons 461 00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:33,000 This woman was the right hand woman of the late great Bray Wyatt for a reason 462 00:53:33,000 --> 00:53:37,000 You don't mess with this woman 463 00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:42,000 But Bliss ends up picking up the win via pinfall 464 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:49,000 And this was followed by what looked like a sister Abigail DDT 465 00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:55,000 I'm not sure that WWE will refer to that out of obviously reverence to Bray Wyatt 466 00:53:55,000 --> 00:54:00,000 I think they're just going to refer to it as an Abigail DDT rather than a sister Abigail 467 00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:03,000 But I think we're all sort of talking the same language here 468 00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:06,000 So yeah, it's important to realise 469 00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:08,000 But we go from that match 470 00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:16,000 So that means that Alexa Bliss is now the third woman in the Elimination Chamber match in Toronto 471 00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:21,000 Joining Liv Morgan and Bianca Belair as well 472 00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:28,000 So we've got three more slots to fill in the women's, three more slots to fill in the men's 473 00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:36,000 And still a few more weeks before we are close enough to the Elimination Chamber to see that match take place 474 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:41,000 But already shaping up to be some phenomenal matches there 475 00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:49,000 We went from the Bliss match to a backstage promo with Byron Saxton 476 00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:54,000 Interviewing Chelsea Green and Piper Niven 477 00:54:54,000 --> 00:55:00,000 Byron points out that while Alexa Bliss has been successful in her Elimination Chamber qualifier 478 00:55:00,000 --> 00:55:04,000 Piper Niven most certainly was not 479 00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:15,000 But also announces that Chelsea Green has got an Elimination Chamber qualifying match next week versus Naomi 480 00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:21,000 And we're then interrupted by Mishin and BFab 481 00:55:21,000 --> 00:55:28,000 Who come to ensure that Green doesn't forget that Mishin is still chasing her title 482 00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:35,000 And we're also reminded that Zelina Vega is currently searching for the title that she wants to focus on as well 483 00:55:35,000 --> 00:55:41,000 As she comes out, takes one look at the belt around Chelsea Green's waist and says 484 00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:43,000 Yeah, do you know what? That'd fit me 485 00:55:43,000 --> 00:55:45,000 I'd be alright with that 486 00:55:45,000 --> 00:55:52,000 And yeah, I'm hoping we see Zelina Vega in some kind of title chase soon 487 00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:55,000 I'd love to see that 488 00:55:55,000 --> 00:56:00,000 We're then treated to a VT promo of the Street Profits 489 00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:03,000 This has been circulated on social media as well 490 00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:06,000 And basically saying that they are back 491 00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:12,000 They are coming after the Tag Team titles in the most violent fashion they can possibly manage 492 00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:23,000 And yeah, I mean, it's not difficult to find this Street Profits promo if you want to go and find it 493 00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:32,000 We're then treated to a backstage promo where the Motor City Machine Guns are allowed to react to that Street Profits promo 494 00:56:32,000 --> 00:56:36,000 Basically Motor City Machine Guns saying they ain't going anywhere 495 00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:40,000 We're still here, we're still going for it 496 00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:44,000 And there ain't nothing that nobody can do about it 497 00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:51,000 And this is when Los Garza come in to tell them to get over the loss 498 00:56:51,000 --> 00:57:04,000 They've got bigger things to worry about as Motor City Machine Guns are going to be facing Los Garza next week on Friday Night SmackDown 499 00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:15,000 We then go into one more VT promo where it's basically promoting the Elimination Chamber Qualifier match 500 00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:23,000 Between Damien Priest, Braun Strowman and Jacob Fatu for next week 501 00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:28,000 And then we come to the main event match, the one that we've all been waiting for 502 00:57:28,000 --> 00:57:32,000 This is a men's Tag Team match 503 00:57:32,000 --> 00:57:43,000 Again, we're channeling Theodore Long, who is a Tag Team match player 504 00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:49,000 Between Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes versus Tamatanga and Jacob Fatu 505 00:57:49,000 --> 00:57:58,000 And again, it's important to mention Cody Rhodes has already admitted to being pretty badly banged up 506 00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:02,000 After his match with Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble 507 00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:09,000 Having said that, Cody starts off the match against Tamatanga 508 00:58:09,000 --> 00:58:16,000 And Cody, despite being injured, behaving like the champion we all know and love 509 00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:19,000 Comes out and manhandles Tamatanga 510 00:58:19,000 --> 00:58:26,000 And yeah, it doesn't last long as Cody gets in trouble early doors 511 00:58:26,000 --> 00:58:35,000 Rhodes ducks a running attack from Tonga, which sees him go careening into Fatu at one stage during this match 512 00:58:35,000 --> 00:58:41,000 A massive Cody Cutter to Fatu, but only earns a one count 513 00:58:41,000 --> 00:58:48,000 Which has seriously devalued that move from Cody in my opinion 514 00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:52,000 And I'm hoping they feel like they've done that for all the right reasons 515 00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:58,000 Because otherwise we're not looking good here 516 00:58:58,000 --> 00:59:01,000 Cody fails to secure a crossroads 517 00:59:01,000 --> 00:59:06,000 Fatu drives Cody to their corner, Tonga tags himself in 518 00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:10,000 And Fatu continues his attack, which Cody dodges 519 00:59:10,000 --> 00:59:15,000 But Tonga sneaks in behind for two lots of two counts 520 00:59:15,000 --> 00:59:22,000 That was really, again, we've seen Tonga and Fatu do this before 521 00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:29,000 Where they've behaved, they've actually behaved really in a very cerebral way 522 00:59:29,000 --> 00:59:33,000 To try and win the match rather than just relying on pure brute force 523 00:59:33,000 --> 00:59:36,000 And I think this is where Tamatanga's influence comes in 524 00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:40,000 Because we've seen Jacob Fatu on his own, he doesn't behave in a cerebral way 525 00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:46,000 It's a very visceral, very primal way, he just tries to overpower his opponents 526 00:59:46,000 --> 00:59:51,000 Which doesn't always work 527 00:59:51,000 --> 01:00:00,000 At this point, Fatu has immobilised Jey Uso, or at least it appears that way 528 01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:05,000 So Tonga and Fatu start to attempt to play the numbers game on Cody 529 01:00:05,000 --> 01:00:11,000 For Fatu to be dragged from the ring by Uso, who sends Fatu flying over the announce desk 530 01:00:11,000 --> 01:00:17,000 With a superkick followed closely by a suicide dive from the ring 531 01:00:17,000 --> 01:00:24,000 Cody treats Tonga to a crossroads and a three count 532 01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:28,000 This is where we see the big... 533 01:00:28,000 --> 01:00:33,000 Obviously we have to leave everything on a cliffhanger moving forward 534 01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:40,000 This is where we see a mysterious run in after the match with Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso 535 01:00:40,000 --> 01:00:45,000 And this mysterious run in lays out Cody Rhodes in the middle of the ring 536 01:00:45,000 --> 01:00:52,000 It turns out we have seen the return of one solo Sikoa 537 01:00:52,000 --> 01:00:56,000 Who we previously haven't seen for a number of weeks 538 01:00:56,000 --> 01:01:02,000 Since he last tried to come out, cut a promo, got booed out of the building 539 01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:05,000 And seemingly took his toys and went home 540 01:01:05,000 --> 01:01:09,000 And there's been lots of speculation around solo Sikoa 541 01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:12,000 Whether he's going to continue on in the company 542 01:01:12,000 --> 01:01:15,000 Or whether he's going to go elsewhere or give up wrestling altogether 543 01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:17,000 I think we got our answer 544 01:01:17,000 --> 01:01:25,000 Solo Sikoa is back and he is gunning for Cody Rhodes, it would appear 545 01:01:25,000 --> 01:01:31,000 And that was the end of Friday Night SmackDown 546 01:01:31,000 --> 01:01:39,000 It also means that it's the end of Finisher's and Faction's Does Friday Night SmackDown 547 01:01:39,000 --> 01:01:46,000 And this has been me, Adam, giving you as much insight as I can 548 01:01:46,000 --> 01:01:50,000 Into the world of WWE's Friday Night SmackDown programming 549 01:01:50,000 --> 01:01:54,000 And I hope that you've enjoyed listening to us 550 01:01:54,000 --> 01:01:58,000 We're hoping by next week, or by the next episode 551 01:01:58,000 --> 01:02:01,000 We will be back to our normal form 552 01:02:01,000 --> 01:02:04,000 Which is a two person discussion 553 01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:07,000 But I hope you've enjoyed these episodes 554 01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:10,000 If there's any feedback to be given 555 01:02:10,000 --> 01:02:14,000 Make sure to email us in on finishersandfaction.gmail.com 556 01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:18,000 And I will get back to you, I will take all feedback on board 557 01:02:18,000 --> 01:02:26,000 But thank you for catching some action with Finisher's and Faction's Does Friday Night SmackDown 558 01:02:26,000 --> 01:02:32,000 You will hear from us again after Monday Night Raw 559 01:02:32,000 --> 01:03:00,000 Have a good one