WWE SmackDown September 1st, 2023 (Hershey- Pennsylvania/ USA)

Full house at WWE SmackDown at the GIANT Center!

Over 8,600 Fans in Hershey (Pennsylvania) did not want to miss the return of John Cena.

The night before “Payback” also saw the final decisions before the September Premium Live Event.

John Cena clashes with Jimmy Uso on WWE SmackDown

Great enthusiasm right at the start of WWE SmackDown! John Cena came out to the ring – and he was full of gratitude to be able to do this job for over 20 years, “Thanks to you guys, I get to do my first match in India next week. And thanks to you guys, I get to host ‘Payback’ tomorrow.”

Suddenly John Cena was interrupted at this point by Jimmy Uso.

Jimmy again said he helped his brother at “SummerSlam”.

Uso to Cena: “You’re just like Roman Reigns – you take and take and take. The only difference: you have a smile on your face while you do it.”

John: “You made rash decisions. Now you want it to make sense. What I’ve been trying to tell you for three years: Fake Uso has thrown in the towel!”

Jimmy was about to leave the ring, but then turned around and went for the Superkick. Cena intercepted Jimmy’s foot, loaded him on his shoulders and finished the Uso with his Attitude Adjustment.

Knee injury stops Latino World Order again

Austin Theory and Grayson Waller could only laugh about the return of John Cena in the backstage interview. “I beat him at WrestleMania,” Theory said. “The greatest team of all time” now wanted to get a joint victory.

•Austin Theory & Grayson Waller def. Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar); Waller pinned Escobar with the Slingshot Rolling Cutter•

Santos Escobar’s knee injury was his undoing again in his first match on WWE SmackDown since sustaining the injury.

When Austin Theory rushed in, Escobar pulled his partner,Rey Mysterio, out of the way. As a result, Grayson threw himself against Santos’ knee and took him off his feet ungently.

Shortly thereafter, Rey and Theory clashed and Mysterio went over the ring ropes to the outside with a headscissors.

Now Escobar was caught off guard by Waller, who came flying through the ropes with his Slingshot Cutter and hit the move for the win.

On “Payback” tomorrow, Rey Mysterio’s United States title is on the line against Austin Theory.

Lashley’s Alliance Along With Declaration of War

Bobby Lashley came to the ring to talk about his new alliance with Street Profits. Real, great people would recognize each other, the “All-Mighty” explained the cooperation with Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford.

The Street Profits joined in, noting, “We’re charismatic, athletic and now more aggressive than ever.” They thanked Lashley, with whom they have became friends.

Then Bobby made the fight statement, “We’re going for power, control and title gold – we’re going for it all!”

There was a possible foreshadowing of the future, when Lashley and the Street Profits met the reigning tag team champions as they were leaving, and they were now set to have a match.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are ready for “Payback”

The night before their title match against Judgment Day, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had an easy time with the Latino World Order.

Cruz Del Toro cashed in Owens’ pop-up powerbomb. Zayn then picked up Joaquin Wilde from the edge of the ring, and followed it up with the Helluva Kick on Del Toro. Owens followed with the Stunner for the win.

Afterwards, there was a fight announcement from Sami to Judgment Day: “Bring everything you’ve got. You’re in for the fight of your lives tomorrow!”

LA Knight and The Miz clash on WWE SmackDown

Before their match at “Payback”, there was a verbal showdown between LA Knight and The Miz. Again, it was about how The Miz managed his rise within a few years, while LA Knight has had a much harder time.

Miz said people would recognize themselves in Knight’s mediocrity, “You’re going up against someone who crushes hopes and dreams. When I’m done with you, it’s back to 2003 for you, standing in front of the mirror in a roach-infested apartment with a brush in your hand doing your promos.”

Knight countered that Miz was living in the past: “Your present is garbage – and your future looks even worse.” LA said, he will show at “Payback” that the present belongs to him

Miz now surprised Knight with a Clothesline and pulled off his Skull-Crushing Finale. But on his way out of the arena, Knight lunged at Miz. Officials rushed in to separate the two men.

Shotzi gets her revenge

•Shotzi def. Bayley via Pinfall after a DDT•

On June 30, Bayley surprisingly cut off part of Shotzi’s hair at WWE SmackDown. Shotzi reacted by shaving her head completely right away.

Since then, Bayley had taken flight from Shotzi a few times, but now the one-on-one match had finally come.

When Bayley saw no way out in this duel, she wanted to get Iyo Sky’s title belt and strike Shotzi with it.

This called Charlotte Flair to the scene. Iyo ran towards her but was taken off her feet with a Big Boot.

Dakota Kai, meanwhile, tried to make an impact on the match. Charlotte took the opportunity to hit Bayley. Now the path was clear for Shotzi to pull off her modified DDT against Bayley and win the match.

Charlotte presented the winner afterwards. Later we learned that both women will team up for a tag team match next week against Damage CTRL.

AJ Styles messes with the Bloodline

After his encounter with John Cena, Jimmy Uso was frustrated walking through the backstage area. He burst into a conversation between WWE official Adam Pearce and Mia Yim.

Mia felt disrespected and told that to her colleagues at The O.C. AJ Styles said he would take care of it. The Phenomenal One confronted Jimmy backstage when suddenly Solo Sikoa was on hand. Solo sent AJ to the floor.

Sikoa told Jimmy, “You’re not out of Bloodline until we say so!” Uso countered that neither he nor Roman Reigns could tell him anything.

Jimmy then removed himself from the arena – and AJ Styles wanted a match against Sikoa.

Does Jimmy Uso wants to get back into the Bloodline?

•Solo Sikoa def. AJ Styles via Pinfall after the Samoan Spike•

In the Main Event of WWE SmackDown, Paul Heyman came to the ring after a while.

Heyman saw with his own eyes how determined Solo was when he hit a Samoan Drop on Styles. AJ came back, though, and nailed a Springboard Moonsault off the second ring rope. Now the Styles Clash was to follow, but Sikoa braced himself against the action.

AJ landed on the edge of the ring. From there there should be the Phenomenal Forearm. While the referee was busy with Solo, Jimmy Uso came back into the arena at this point.

Uso delivered a hit on Styles, which then earned Sikoa the chance to defeat AJ with the Samoan Spike.

Jimmy hugged his brother. Solo reacted indignantly and was already about to deliver the Samoan Spike against his brother. Paul Heyman waved him off and Solo backed away.

Jimmy followed up with a Superkick and the Uso Splash against Styles.

Does Jimmy Uso want to stay part of the Bloodline? At the end of WWE SmackDown everything showed signs that he wanted to stay.

-Lenny Wrestling

*Photo courtesy of Wrestlezone