Michin and B-Fab Win Tag Titles, Rhodes vs. Orton Set for Crown Jewel

Michin and B-Fab captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, and a Last Man Standing match between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton was officially booked for Crown Jewel during Friday night’s broadcast of WWE SmackDown from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. The live event aired on USA Network and internationally on Netflix, setting the final rankings two weeks before the November 7 premium live event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The broadcast opened with a video recap of Monday’s Raw, featuring a confrontation between World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn. Reigns questioned Zayn’s motivations ahead of their champion versus champion match at Crown Jewel, asking if he was there out of greed or love. Zayn responded that he is now the head of his own table, telling Reigns that out of eight billion people on the planet, he is the sole WWE champion. Reigns countered that Zayn might not even hold the title by the time they reach Riyadh.

Sami Zayn then walked to the ring accompanied by Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae, addressing the roster's current standings before Rey Fenix and Trick Williams interrupted. Williams demanded an Undisputed WWE Championship match, calling Zayn Timon while referring to himself as Simba. Aldis booked a tag team match pitting Sami Zayn and Johnny Gargano against Trick Williams and Rey Fenix.

In championship action, Chelsea Green successfully defended the WWE Women’s Championship against Roxanne Perez. Perez earned the title opportunity by pinning Green on the October 12 episode of Raw following interference from The Judgment Day. During Friday’s match, outside interference from Raquel Rodriguez and Iyo Sky disrupted the pacing, but Green countered Perez’s attempt at Pop Rocks into the Unprettier to retain the title.

Following the match, Women’s Money in the Bank winner Tiffany Stratton cleared the ring and attempted to cash in her briefcase, but struck Liv Morgan with it first before Rodriguez and Perez pulled Morgan away from the official cash-in attempt. Commentary also noted during the broadcast that Street Fighter, starring Cody Rhodes as Guile and Reigns as Akuma, finished its opening weekend as the No. 1 movie at the box office worldwide.

Blake Monroe Defeats Giulia in a Street Fight

Giulia and Blake Monroe collided in the first Street Fight on SmackDown in over six months, marking the first such match of Giulia’s career. The physical brawl spilled outside the ring, up the ramp, and backstage, featuring kendo sticks, a trash can, hairspray, and a mirror before Monroe sprayed a fire extinguisher, suplexed Giulia off the ring steps onto a pile of chairs on the floor, and executed the Neutralizer in the ring for the victory.

Later in the evening, Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley made their first defense of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against B-Fab and Michin, with Jade Cargill standing in the challengers’ corner. Interference from Cargill on the floor allowed Michin to hit a Styles Clash on Paxley while the referee was occupied.

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton Finalize Crown Jewel

Randy Orton addressed the crowd regarding Cody Rhodes punt kicking Baron Corbin on the previous week’s episode. Orton claimed Rhodes would hesitate if given the opportunity to strike him.

Rhodes confronted Orton in the ring despite attempts by Nick Aldis and producers to intervene. Rhodes accused Orton of rewriting their history, pointing to past incidents involving Triple H. When Orton suggested the match was not guaranteed, Aldis proposed the bout for Crown Jewel, and Rhodes demanded a Last Man Standing stipulation, which Orton accepted for November 7 in Riyadh.

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