LA Knight isn’t afraid of anyone, which is why he had no problem issuing an open challenge for his WWE United States Championship. We didn’t know who would answer that challenge until tonight’s SmackDown, but Knight opened the show and called out his would-be opponent. That turned out to be Ludwig Kaiser, who was set on grabbing another piece of Championship gold for Imperium. Kaiser took control of the match after avoiding a slam into the announce desk, and got a few near falls on the Champion. Knight proved to be a hard opponent to keep down though, and would ultimately hit the BFT for the win to retain his Title.
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Open Challenge Thriller
Knight and Kaiser locked up and Knight backed up Kaiser to the corner, but Kaiser looked unfazed. They locked up again and then traded holds, and they would continue to trade counters and reversals for a while. Kaiser looked to gain some momentum and stomped on Knight several times in the corner, though Knight hit right back and knocked the challenger to the floor before slamming him on the ring apron.
Knight tried to follow that up with a slam into the announce table, but Kaiser shoved Knight into the ring apron and then slammed Knight into the steel steps. Kaiser then made his way to the other side of the ring and then built some speed as he ran around the ring and slammed Knight into the steps once again. Knight got back on his feet though and had Kaiser on his heels, at least until Kaiser hit a monster kick to the head, flooring the Champion.
Knight then got back to business and slammed down Kaiser, but then Kaiser surprised the Champ with a roll up, though Knight kicked out. Kaiser knocked Knight down to the mat and went for the pin, but Knight kicked out. Kaiser then had Knight set up for the finisher, but Knight hit a big slam out of nowhere. Knight then hit the BFT on Kaiser and got the pin and the win, retaining his United States Championship.
We’ll have to wait and see who Knight’s next opponent will be, though he could continue to do the open challenge style and have any number of superstars jump in for a shot at the Title. There are also some superstars who will soon be returning to the ring like AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, so we could see them take advantage of one of those opportunities as well.
WWE Bash in Berlin (Current Card)
Undisputed WWE Championship Match: Cody Rhodes (C) vs. Kevin Owens
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Gunther (C) vs. Randy Orton
Women’s Tag Team Match: The Unholy Union (C) vs. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill
United States Championship Open Challenge: LA Knight (C) vs. TBD
Strap Match: CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre
Mixed Tag Team Match: Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley vs. Dominik Mysterio & Liv Morgan
Who do you want to see Knight face next? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
