Drew McIntyre's suspension from WWE is already over thanks to a loop hole in the contract for Survivor Series WarGames. Per the the rules of the contest, Paul Heyman had the ability to bring on any talent, from any brand and it didn't matter one bit if said talent was on leave from the company.
The Scottish Warrior resurfaced again Friday night in Albany, New York to help Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker and Logan Paul take out Cody Rhodes and The Usos. And all General Manager Nick Aldis could do was look on in disgust.
It will now be CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and The Usos versus Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre inside of WarGames on Saturday, November 29, with one more spot open on each team.
The Women's WarGames Match appeared to be nearly set, but that was before Charlotte Flair got cold feet Friday Night on SmackDown and now Rhea Ripley needs to find two more teammates.
Meanwhile, the field for The 'Last Time is Now' Tournament is now set and two more men were able to advance to the quarterfinals. Was The Miz able to keep his dream of facing John Cena alive? Was LA Knight able to knock off the returning Zack Ryder? Here's everything you may have missed from Friday's show in Albany, New York.
Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY made a surprise appearance to kick off the show. Michael Cole mentioned on commentary that Raw superstars would likely frequent Friday nights ahead of Survivor Series at the end of the month. Ripley and SKY hyped up their upcoming WarGames Match against the Kabuki Warriors, Nia Jax and Lash Legend before introducing their partners, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair.
After Jax and Legend cost them the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships this past Monday on Raw, Alexa Bliss was more than ready to get some revenge inside the double cage. Charlotte Flair, however, felt differently. The Queen said there was too much history between herself and Rhea for them to work together. She doesn't like Ripley, she doesn't trust her, and she can't be on her WarGames team. Flair then walked away, leaving Bliss in a state of disbelief.Â
Jey Uso defeated The Miz to advance to the quarterfinals of The 'Last Time is Now' Tournament. The Miz had the former World Heavyweight Champion on the ropes after hitting Cena's five moves of doom, including a five knuckle shuffle. He would then hit a Skull Crushing Finale, but Jey stunned the A-lister by kicking out at two. The Miz would take Uso to the top rope to attempt an avalanche Skull Crushing Finale, but he was dropped face first onto the top turnbuckle. Jey would immediately connect with a spear and a top rope splash to pick up the win.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis was shown chatting backstage with Ilja Dragunov, when they were approached by #DIY. Tommaso Ciampa wanted to know why he's repeatedly been denied a shot at answering the Men's United States Championship Open Challenge. Dragunov said it's because he's a dishonorable jackass, and introduced the man who would be facing him next in Axiom.
Paul Heyman and Bronson Reed then appeared and said they needed to talk to Nick Aldis. They stepped into his office, where the Smackdown GM immediately called for security. The Oracle reminded Aldis that via the terms of a Survivor Series agreement, he had the right to bring his clients to any brand as they recruit members of their WarGames team.
Cody Rhodes then stepped into frame and asked Paul Heyman what he came to SmackDown to talk about. Heyman wanted to know why The American Nightmare decided to stick his nose in Vision business this past Monday. Rhodes said they had backed his friends into a corner and Heyman already knew that Cody would get involved when that happened. The WWE Champion then issued a challenge to Bronson Reed for later in the night. Heyman suggested it should be for the title and Rhodes agreed to those terms.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Axiom to retain the Men's United States Championship. The Mad Dragon has yet to miss with his open challenge matches. Just like his partner Nathan Frazer a couple of weeks back, Axiom had a spectacular showing in singles action. He had Dragunov set up for the Golden Ratio after connecting with a top rope Spanish Fly, but Ilja caught him with a Torpedo Moscow instead. He immediately followed that up with an H-Bomb to claim victory. Tommaso Ciampa attacked Axiom after the match was over before he was run off by Nathan Frazer.Â
Back in the office of Nick Aldis, he was greeted the new Women's United States Champion. Chelsea Green requested, and was granted, a championship celebration with pyro next Friday night.
Sami Zayn made his way to the ring and said he was done sitting on the sidelines and watching the MFT's continuously attack his friends and colleagues. He called out Solo Sikoa and told him that he was 100 percent medically cleared and ready for a fight. He didn't come alone either.
Shinuke Nakamura, Rey Fenix, and the Motor City Machine Guns attacked the MFT's from behind and an all out brawl broke out. A pissed off Solo Sikoa later approached Nick Aldis about getting a piece of Sami Zayn. Aldis instead booked a five-on-five elimination tag team match for the SmackDown before Survivor Series. Uncle Howdy was hiding in the shadows during their conversation.
Cody Rhodes approached Jey Uso backstage and congratulated him on his victory over The Miz. Jey offered to have Cody's back later in the night against Bronson Reed. Jimmy Uso then stepped into frame and offered his assistance as well. He also said he spoke to CM Punk over the phone and that he's officially in for WarGames.
LA Knight defeated Zack Ryder to advance to the quarterfinals of The 'Last Time is Now' Tournament. WWE promised some surprises in this tournament and they delivered with the return of Matt Cardona, once again wrestling as the Long Island Iced-Z. Ryder pulled out all the stops in an effort to beat the Megastar in his first match on WWE main roster TV in over five years, but Knight caught him with a mid-air powerbomb after he jumped off the top rope. He quickly followed up with the BFT for the 1-2-3 to move on to the next round.
Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY and Alexa Bliss were backstage discussing what to do about Charlotte Flair and the now empty spot on their WarGames team, when they were attacked and laid out by Nia Jax, Lash Legend and the Kabuki Warriors.
WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill dominated B-Fap. The Storm carried over her momentum from Saturday Night's Main Event earlier in the month. She didn't even break a sweat as she very quickly defeated B-Fap with Jaded. Cargill would shove Michin down to the ground as she came to the ring to check on her friend.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis announced Carmelo Hayes, Bronson Reed, Penta and Finn Balor as the final four competitors in The 'Last Time is Now' Tournament. Carmelo Hayes and Bronson Reed had a brief exchange with each other backstage as the big man made his way to the ring for the main event.
WWE aired a vignette of Aleister Black and Zelina Vega as the delivered yet another ominous message for Damian Priest.
WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Bronson Reed fought to a no contest. Outside interference from Bron Breakker and Logan Paul forced the referee to call for the bell. All three men swarmed the American Nightmare and had him stretched out for a Tsunami, when The Usos ran down to make the save.
Drew McIntyre, who was suspended just a week ago, would then appear to give the upper hand back to The Vision. A very angry Nick Aldis ran down to the ring to get in the face of Paul Heyman, who reminded him that he had the right to chose anyone for WarGames, on any brand.
Jey Uso ended up getting speared through a table, Jimmy Uso ate a Claymore Kick and Cody Rhodes finally took that Tsunami from Bronson Reed as Paul Heyman handed McIntyre the WarGames contract to sign.
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