The main event of tonight’s WWE SmackDown was to decide who would face LA Knight in a number 1 contender’s match, which will then decide who faces Cody Rhodes for his newly won Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Knight secured his spot in the match earlier in the night by pinning Santos Escobar in a Triple Threat match that also involved Bobby Lashley, and now it was time for the second Triple Threat match between Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, and Rey Mysterio. At one point it looked as if Owens would seal the deal after a massive German suplex, but it would be Styles taking the win after hitting Mysterio with a Styles Clash from the top rope. Styles moves on to face Knight for the chance to take on Rhodes, and that match will happen next week.
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All three exchanged strikes at the start of the match, though Styles ended up on the bad side of it, getting knocked to the floor. Mysterio went for the 619 but Styles countered and then planted Owens with a slam before going for the pin, but Owens kicked out. Styles got Owens up top but Mysterio interfered, only to end up getting slammed to the mat with a Superplex by Owens.
Owens went for the pin but Styles broke it up at the last minute. Owens caught Styles with a superkick but then got hit with a Pele kick from Styles, and then Mysterio came crashing in out of nowhere. Then Owens knocked Mysterio and Styles down with a huge German suplex that landed everyone on the mat for a minute.
Owens hit a huge Stunner and then went for the Swanton but Styles caught him and went up top. Mysterio caught Styles, but Styles hit Mysterio with the Styles Clash from the top, and that was enough to keep Mysterio down for the pin and the win. Styles moves to the next round and will face LA Knight in the match to decide who will challenge Rhodes for the Title.
This will be a rematch of Styles and Knight’s battle at WrestleMania 40, and though that rivalry is relatively new, it didn’t take long to pick up steam. The two superstars ended up even brawling outside of Styles’ house, which led to Knight getting arrested, and this all started when Styles attacked Knight shortly after his return to SmackDown.
Aside from the home brawl, there were other memorable moments along the way, including when Knight dressed up as a member of the arena’s security to surprise attack Styles during a previous episode of SmackDown. That led to a match at WrestleMania 40, and after a physical battle, it was Knight who picked up the win.ย
Now they will face each other once again, but this time a shot at the WWE Championship hangs in the balance. After Styles walked away with the win, Knight came to confront him in the ring, and it’s clearly evident that there’s still all sorts of bad blood between the two superstars. They will face each other next week, and whoever wins will earn the chance to face Rhodes for his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Backlash.
What did you think of the match, and who will move on to challenge Cody Rhodes? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
