WWE kicked off its European tour on the road to Clash in Paris with this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown as the men and women of Team Blue made their way to the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.
Of course, such an event would not be complete without a special guest and hometown star from Monday Night Raw – Becky Lynch. The reigning Women’s Intercontinental Champion kicked off the show to a raucous crowd reception. The Man took the mic to mention it was WWE’s first televised show from Dublin and remembering that she attended house shows as a fan, mentioning an instance where Randy Orton made eye contact with her.
Lynch had always dreamed of a TV event in the area, but now that it’s happening, she’s here to say that the fans don’t deserve it, resulting in boos. Having petitioned in the back to get the show cancelled, Lynch went on a tirade as she mocked the fans for not appreciating her and not having “TV-ready” faces, going on to say that they wouldn’t get Lyra Valkyria (who the fans chanted for) because she beat her, and that she was aghast at the lack of media coverage she has received considering she is a hometown hero. Lynch then proceeded to list her accomplishments – being the first woman to win the main event of WrestleMania, a New York Times best-selling author, and having a hot American husband in Seth Rollins.
Starting to mention celebrities, Lynch would be interrupted by the WWE Women’s Champion, Tiffany Stratton, who says that she doesn’t know how she could be so ungrateful to the fans, adding that she’s on the wrong show. Stratton has enjoyed her time in Dublin so far and believes everyone knows what time it is, so “Rebecca” can either leave, or she’ll make her leave.
Nia Jax then makes her way out, asking the Buff Barbie why she’s so concerned about Becky, who Jax agrees with on the subject of Dublin, believing it sucks. Stratton has way bigger problems as Jax and Lynch gang up on her before Jade Cargill comes to the rescue, sending the Irresistible Force out of the ring while Lynch wouldn’t lay a hand, instead choosing to exit the ring. This would bring out Nick Aldis, who felt Big Time Becks was causing “big time trouble” and booked a tag team match between Lynch and Jax against Stratton and Cargill in the main event.
The match between Charlotte Flair and Piper Niven took place later on. Flair arrived without her partner Alexa Bliss, whose absence was due to not being medically cleared following last week’s beatdown at the hands of The Secret Hervice. The two locked up to begin as Flair mocked Niven’s salute, hitting a crossbody and some kicks to Slaygent P as Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre watched on. Green herself would soon get involved in the match, creating an opportunity for Niven to take control and hit her signature slam, but failing to put Flair away. Niven continued to dominate, holding the Women’s Tag Team Champion down in a headlock and hitting her with a cannonball, once again being just a second short of victory. Flair would get back on her feet and hit a series of chops, followed by a walk-over clothesline and a big boot, showing her ability to turn things around.
With Flair executing a moonsault, Niven would kick out at 2, and an attempt by Flair to win with a spear also backfired at 2. Using the Figure Eight as a last resort, Green would rake the eyes of The Queen while Fyre would distract the referee on the other side of the ring. Niven would hit a Michinoku Driver to win the match.
After the match, Kiana James was seen backstage speaking to her client, Giulia, with James telling the Women’s United States Champion that she has several negotiations in motion; one is a done deal just waiting for a signature. Michin walked in to confront the two, stating that in case her secretary didn’t know, she would like to tell Giulia to her face that she would like an appointment with the champ. James would interrupt, rudely stating that she made it crystal clear that any inquiries for Giulia go through her. Michin, however, is sick and tired of all the missed calls and missed appointments, so she is going directly to The Beautiful Madness. When James reiterates that Michin must go through her first, Michin takes that as a sign to have a future match with James; once she runs through her, she’s going straight to Giulia where she’s going to have to defend her title against her. Giulia says she’s not worried as her and James walk away.
Just like last week, Nikki Cross was in the background, creepily watching what went down from a flight of stairs.
Elsewhere, Jade Cargill was stretching when Tiffany Stratton came up to her to say that she didn’t need her help against Becky and Nia earlier, but Cargill stops her right there, reminding Stratton that she said she needs Cargill at 100 percent, so when she beats her, there will be no excuses. The two can work together for tonight, but after they beat Becky and Nia, The Storm is coming for her title.
Nia Jax and Becky Lynch had a segment of their own, with Jax mentioning that Tiffany and Jade need to realize they can’t step to her the way they did at the start of the show, and to get on the same page together. Lynch says she must make one thing perfectly clear: they are still mortal enemies, and the fans need to know that she is their hero, so she has to win.
The tag team main event was underway with Stratton and Lynch starting things off. The Center of the Universe quickly went up top, hitting a Swanton bomb onto Lynch and Jax on the floor. The heel team then took advantage as Stratton threw Jax into the ring, but Lynch held her feet down in order to allow Jax to hit a leg drop. Jax’s assault continued as she ran Stratton head-first into the turnbuckles, giving her a headbutt, and holding her in a headlock. The Buff Barbie fought back, being able to reverse a Samoan drop into an unsuccessful schoolboy pin.
Now tagging in Jade Cargill, The Storm went toe-to-toe with The Man, with Cargill hitting clotheslines in the direction of Lynch and gaining momentum as she hit a fallaway slam, but a sitout powerbomb could not get a loss out of Lynch just yet. Jax would be tagged in, but Cargill made quick work of her by kicking her out of the ring and onto the floor. As Lynch exited the ring, Jax attacked Cargill, but an attempt at the Annihilator was stopped in its tracks by a powerbomb from Cargill, who then tagged in Stratton. The Women’s Champion executed the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, followed by a splash for Cargill to win the match.
Friday Night SmackDown airs next week from inside the LDLC Arena in Lyon, France. Here’s what is set to take place:
- Women’s Tag Team Championship: Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair (c) vs. The Secret Hervice (Alba Fyre and Piper Niven, with Chelsea Green)
As always, make sure to share your thoughts on this week’s episode of SmackDown in the comments below.
