The road to WWE Night Of Champions continues tonight in “The City of Fountains.”
WWE SmackDown is live this evening at 8/7c on USA Network from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO.
‘WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.’ flashes on the screen to get things started. We then shoot outside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO., where Joe Tessitore welcomes us to the show. We then see the usual show-opening Superstar arrivals.
Undisputed WWE Championship (Special Referee: Sami Zayn)
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Gunther
We’re starting off hot. A PLE-style pre-match hype video package airs to tell the story leading up to what will be our commercial-free opening match, as Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes puts his title on-the-line against Gunther with Sami Zayn as the special guest referee.
The package wraps up, we return inside the arena and hear the theme of Sami Zayn, who comes out donning the zebra striped referee shirt. He settles in the ring and then the sounds of Gunther’s entrance tune hits. Out comes “The Career-Killer” to a ton of boos.
From there, he settles in the ring, his music dies down and the familiar sounds of the theme for “The American Nightmare” hits. Pyro explodes as the reigning, defending Undisputed WWE Champion makes his way out to a big pop from the crowd, who sing along with his catchy-tune.
The two men circle the ring before Cody looks for gain an edge on his challenger, only to be taken to the mat by Gunther. Gunther grabs the champ but is taken to the corner by Rhodes, who is forced to make a clean break by Zayn.
Gunther sees his opening and takes it, sending Cody to the ropes before raking his back. He lays some more shots into the champs, forcing him to the corner, only for Rhodes to fire back, sending him across the ring. Zayn begins a count before intervening, bringing the champ away, which allows Gunther to sneak a big boot in the process.
Crowd are not a fan of Sami’s strict officiating here as Gunther continues to beat the champ down for a near-fall. Cody crawls toward the ropes, where Gunther goes after his face before Zayn intervenes with a less forceful count for the break.
Still, he admonishes the challenger as Cody gets back to his feet, firing up to send Gunther to the corner. He charges to the opposite side but is intercepted by Gunther, who starts laying some more strikes on the champ before applying a figure four leglock.
While Zayn is focused on checking if Cody is ready to submit, he doesn’t see Gunther grab the ropes for leverage, but when he does catch it, he calls for a break. Gunther is not happy that Zayn is seemingly calling it down the middle. Cody rolls Gunther up from behind but he kicks out.
Now we see Cody start to fight back once again, landing a Cross Rhodes on the challenger before making the cover…but Gunther has his foot under the ropes much like Clash in Italy, only this time the ref sees it and stops the count.
Rhodes gives out to Zayn about the call, going so far as to shove the special guest ref…who shoves him back, and sends the champ into the arms of Gunther for a sleeper hold. Sami is shocked about what just happened, hesitant for a moment before checking on Cody.
The hesitation allows the champ to make it to the ropes for a break, with Gunther arguing with Sami once more before shoving him…and Zayn slaps him in the face in response! This incites a riot of sorts inside the Ring General, who drops his appointed special guest ref with a powerbomb.
Another referee comes out as Cody fights back, but he only gets a near-fall for his efforts. Gunther fights back, landing a hard powerbomb on the champ for a stacked pin…but the second ref’s count is stopped at two when he is pulled out of the ring by Zayn.
Sami yells at Gunther about disrespecting his authority before Cody goes for a sunset flip on the challenger…and an irate Zayn kicks Gunther off the ropes, making a fast three count to give Cody the win. Sami quickly leaves the ring, telling Gunther he lost as he escapes up the ramp. Nick Aldis comes out to have it out with Zayn.
Zayn refuses to deal with the GM as he leaves to the back. He is followed by Aldis, and both men are followed by Gunther making a beeline up the ramp as we cut to commercial. When we return, we shoot backstage, where we see Aldis arguing with all three of the men invovled in our opening contest.
Cody admitted he didn’t like how that ended either as he rushes back out to ringside. He grabs a microphone and tells Kansas City they deserve more than this, calling for a “correct” referee to come out here so we can start this match over.
The referee that came out earlier follows behind a charging Gunther, and the match is restarted. Gunther looks to catch the champ by surprise with a sleeper hold, and Cody looks like he is fading…but fights back long enough to counter with a sleeper hold of his own.
The challenger fends him off by sending him into the corner, but before anything else can happen, Sami comes running into the ring with a Helluva Kick on Gunther. The ref calls for the bell. It’s over again without a legitimate finish. Gunther wins presumably via DQ, while Cody retains. Zayn hits Cody with the title.
Winner Via DQ: Gunther
Backstage With Jade Cargill & Tiffany Stratton
Now we shoot backstage, where we see Jade Cargill and her amazing baddies talk about Rhea Ripley being re-injured, as well as Tiffany Stratton getting involved in business she shouldn’t be. They run Stratton down some more before walking off, and we get a look at the upcoming King and Queen of the Ring semifinal matches.
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