#WWEPeoria
Monday, April 24, 2017
By: Josiah Williams – @JDeanWilliams, rajah.com reader
WWE Champion Randy Orton retained over AJ Styles and Baron Corbin in a Triple Threat
– Baron Corbin gathered lots of heat during this match, and really got the crowd engaged early. Randy Orton’s RKO made everyone lose their mind.
Breezango defeated The Ascension
– A good amount of love for Breezango in Peoria, IL! Both team members did a great job of drawing fans into the match.
Mojo Rawley defeated Aiden English
– One of the evening’s highlights. Aiden English confronted a fan who held up a “BUM” sign, which naturally led to “BUM!” and “YOU’RE A BUM” chants. Great energy in the arena during this moment.
(Promo by Jinder Mahal)
– Mojo Rawley was attacked by Jinder Mahal after the match. Jinder delivered a promo against the WWE Universe, the fans in Peoria, and the entire United States of America. Keep your eye on Jinder Mahal! He’s looking really impressive these days.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos retained over American Alpha
– Both teams received love from the crowd. The Usos showed lots of charisma in their heel tactics, and the fans really got behind them.
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Dolph Ziggler
– Although both superstars received great ovations during their entrances, the match was painfully slow toward the middle. It actually gathered a small round of boos, due to Shinsuke & Dolph laying center in the ring, and the referee didn’t count at all. Afterwards, the intensity came back, and Shinsuke’s Kinshasa brought much needed energy to the arena.
(Intermission)
Luke Harper defeated Erick Rowan
– Erick Rowan entered the ring and revealed a few balloons. He appeared to give them to a child, then immediately popped the balloons, receiving tons of heat. Luke Harper embraced the fan before and after the match. The fans in Peoria seemed to be very impressed with Luke!
Smackdown Women’s Champion Naomi retained over Becky Lynch, Tamina Snuka, Natalya, Carmella & Charlotte Flair in a Six-Pack Challenge
– Biggest moment of the night: Naomi knocking out James Ellsworth after multiple interferences. Easily a crowd favorite of the night. Great reactions for all women! Peoria really enjoyed this match.
Main Event: United States Champion Kevin Owens retained over Sami Zayn
– Following the match, KO grabbed the mic, telling fans that “The Kevin Owens Show” was not over yet. He praised his victory, bashed the fans, and asked them to stand and embrace him as the United States Champion. Sami Zayn hits Kevin Owens with a Helluva kick, and sends the fans home happy! Zayn took his time returning to the stage, and embraced many fans before bowing and ending the show.
Biggest Pops:
Randy Orton, Naomi, Shinsuke Nakamura
Most Heat:
James Ellsworth, Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal
Results by: Nicholas Cannella, rajah.com reader
4/24/ WWE SmackDown Live House Show Results from Peoria, IL
– The advertised card was originally Orton vs AJ vs Wyatt for the WWE Title but with the recent “Superstar Shakeup”, the card was changed last week to Orton vs AJ vs Corbin because of Wyatt being drafted to the Raw Brand now. Owens vs Zayn for the U.S Title replaced The Original IC Title Match between Ambrose and Corbin due to Dean being on Raw as well. Charlotte And Shinsuke Nakamura were also added to the advertised card before the show.
Main Event #1 Match 1) Randy Orton defeated Baron Corbin and AJ Styles in a Triple Threat Match to retain the WWE Championship. Styles controlled a lot of the match and had a few points where you thought he might actually pull it off, but of course it’s a house show so that wasn’t going to happen. At the end, Corbin knocked AJ out of the ring then Orton got the win with an RKO out of nowhere on Corbin to retain his title. It was surprising to see the World Title Main Event open up the show but it isn’t the first time this has happened at a live event.
Match 2) Breezeango defeated The Ascension. Fandango pinned Viktor after a Guillotine Leg Drop. Good solid tag team Action here and The Fashion Police received a decent pop from the ladies while Ascension had heat.
Match 3) Mojo Rawley defeated Aiden English following the Running Forearm Smash. Afterward, Jinder Mahal came out and beat down Mojo then cut a promo about how America will Have to accept him when he beats Orton to become the next WWE Champion.
Match 4) The Usos defeated American Alpha to retain the SmackDown Tag Titles. There were some near falls and false finishes, pretty much exactly like their match two weeks ago on Smackdown Live, and the Usos got the win with a superkick into a top rope splash on Chad Gable.
Match 5) Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Dolph Ziggler. Shinsuke Nakamura got a huge reaction for his entrance, and people were singing along with his theme music after it ended too. This was likely the first time many in the building got to see Nakamura live, and he got one of the biggest pops of the night. The two put on an excellent pay-per-view level match, with Ziggler in full heel mode, and Shinsuke won with the Bomaye knee strike.
Match 6) Luke Harper defeated Erick Rowan. Harper got a bit more of a babyface reaction than Rowan, but overall the crowd didn’t really seem to know who to get behind. Harper got the win with a huge discus lariat.
Match 7) Naomi defeated Natalya, Carmella, Becky Lynch, Tamina Snuka and Charlotte in a Six Pack Challenge to retain the SmackDown Woman’s Title. The Smackdown Live Woman’s division got a face-lift as Charlotte Flair and Tamina Snuka added their talents to a chaotic six-pack challenge match. Naomi’s entrance is really something to see live and Charlotte got a great reaction as well, along with Becky Lynch. Some really great work, with Tamina playing the big, strong role, similar to Nia Jax on Monday Night Raw. Naomi picked up the win by pinning Natalya to retain her title.
Main Event # 2 Match 8) Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn to retain the United States Championship. With both stars now calling SmackDown Live home, the two long-time rivals went at it once again with lots of back and fourth action and near falls. Zayn almost won but at the end Owens hit the Pop Up Powerbomb out of nowhere for the win. This was something of a test run for the champ, who will step into the ring against Chris Jericho this Sunday to defend his title at WWE Payback. Afterward, Owens told the crowd that the ” Kevin Owens Show” was not over and tried to get the crowd to embrace him with the Pledge of Allegiance but Sami hit him with a Helluva Kick to send the crowd home happy.
– The Civic Center was about half full with a hot crowd all night. It was very cool to see the World Title match open the show then the U.S Title defended as the second main event to close out the show, the reason for this was probably Owens or Zayn had a prior commitment earlier so they had to work later or Orton, Styles or Corbin had a commitment early and had to leave. It simply could’ve been that WWE just wanted to change it up.