'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
We got the return of The Rock on SmackDown tonight and Pat McAfee. Asuka beat Bayley in an upset finish, while The Bloodline attacked John Cena.
- Finn Balor def. AJ Styles
- The Street Profits def. LWO
- LA Knight def. The Miz
- Asuka def. Bayley
Pat McAfee returned to SmackDown and got a massive reaction from the fans. He welcomed us to the show before getting interrupted by Austin Theory. The latter said he had unfinished business with Pat and threatened to take him out.
McAfee retorted that no one cared about Austin Theory before The Rock made a surprise return to a deafening crowd! The Rock got in the ring, and Theory stepped up to tell him that it was his ring and that The Rock had gone a long time.
The Rock took his jacket off and said his catchphrase before Theory mocked him and interrupted him with, "It doesn't matter what the Rock says."
The Rock told him people care about his words and called him an 'a**hole.' He then made the crowd chant 'You're an a**hole' at Austin, and production kept cutting out the SmackDown audio for the cuss words.
Theory got visibly angry and yelled back before he attacked The Rock. The Rock came back with the spinebuster before hitting the People's Elbow. He then called McAfee to hit the move, and Pat hit his own People's Elbow before the SmackDown moved on.
WWE SmackDown Results (September 15, 2023): AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor
AJ was in control early on, but a distraction from Priest allowed Balor to take control with a big dropkick. The two took each other out with double crossbodies before AJ missed a top rope rana before Balor reversed the Styles Clash and rolled outside.
Styles hit a big dive to the outside before taking Dominik out with a clothesline at ringside. Priest got caught interfering, and Judgment Day was ejected from ringside. AJ was about to hit the Phenomenal Forearm, but an unexpected distraction from Jimmy Uso allowed Balor to get the pin.
Result: Finn Balor def. AJ Styles
Grade: B
John Cena and The Rock met backstage, shook hands, and hugged. We then saw Jimmy Uso pacing around. Balor came in and thanked him for the assist, and Jimmy said he was returning the favor from last week.
Balor told Jimmy that both Usos should join the Judgment Day and reminded him they had no leaders in the group, especially not Roman.
Rey Mysterio was out next and celebrated his title win before Santos Escobar challenged him to a title match. Rey accepted the challenge before Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits showed up.
The trio made fun of the LWO before Wilde and Del Toro challenged the Profits to a match.
The Street Profits vs. LWO on SmackDown
The Profits wasted no time hitting their new finisher, the Revelation, before picking up the easy win.
Result: The Street Profits def. LWO
After the match, Lashley told the Profits to attack Wilde and Del Toro, and they did. Escobar and Rey came in to help, but Lashley took them out before walking away with the Profits.
Grade: C
LA Knight vs. The Miz on SmackDown
Knight started strong and hit a Neckbreaker, followed by a powerslam for a near fall. The Miz came back with the Skull Crushing Finale in the corner, but Knight kicked out of it.
Back after a break on SmackDown, Miz got a running knee, but Knight dodged the next move and came back with a big clothesline, leg sweep, and DDT. They traded rollups before Miz got a rope-assisted codebreaker. Knight came back with the Blunt Force Trauma and picked up the win.
Result: LA Knight def. The Miz
After the match, Knight cut a promo saying that he could beat anyone on the roster, even Roman Reigns.
Grade: B
Solo heard Knight's promo backstage and wanted to take him down, but Heyman told him he shouldn't do anything until Roman told him to. Solo said that he already knew what to do, and he would do it tonight, hinting at a possible match or attack.
The Pretty Deadly hinted at their return to the ring soon before we saw Bayley and Dakota arguing if IYO challenging Asuka was a good idea.
Asuka vs. Bayley on SmackDown
Asuka got a big dropkick early on before Bayley sent her face-first into the ring post. Asuka got the double knees from the top rope before the match went outside, and Bayley dropped her on the apron and sent her into the barricades.
Bayley was about to hit a move on the barricades when Shotzi showed up from the crowd. The Role Model was spooked and ran back into the ring before Asuka came in from behind and pinned her with the backslide.
Result: Asuka def. Bayley
Grade: B
The Grayson Waller Effect was next, and John Cena joined Waller in the ring. The Aussie mocked him for wearing a hat before saying that Cena needed help staying in the spotlight.
He mocked Cena some more before the latter took his shirt off. Waller reminded Cena that this was a talk show and there was no need for violence before Jimmy Uso came out to tell him that no one wanted Cena there.
Solo Sikoa joined them in the ring before almost hitting Jimmy with the Samoan Spike but then hit a superkick on Cena instead.
Jimmy and Solo beat Cena in the corner before AJ Styles came in to help.
AJ and Cena fought back, and the latter hit a Five Knuckle Shuffle before Solo saved Jimmy from the Attitude Adjustment. The Bloodline ran off backstage before SmackDown went off the air.
