SmackDown airs tonight (June 19) with a live show emanating from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. This is the third episode of SmackDown during the four week build to Night of Champions, which takes place on June 27.
GUNTHER chose the wrong stipulation for his WWE title rematch against Cody Rhodes
SmackDown is a loaded show tonight, capped off with WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defending his belt in a rematch against GUNTHER. The match will air commercial free during the broadcast.
Their first match at Clash In Italy had a controversial finish where the referee didn’t see GUNTHER’s
foot under the ropes at the start of the three count that led to GUNTHER’s loss. As a result, the Ring General was allowed to choose the stipulation for this rematch, and he decided to go with “The Last Real Good Guy” Sami Zayn as the special referee. Once again, GUNTHER has proven to be a poor strategic thinker by choosing a stipulation that doesn’t actually solve his problem.
First, Zayn is an objectively worse referee than any of the regular ones on WWE’s roster. GUNTHER is actually introducing more chaos, uncertainty, and bad refereeing into the mix by putting Zayn in this spot. It would be like an NFL kicker who missed a game winning field goal being replaced by a linebacker on the next field goal attempt. Just because the qualified guy messed up in a big spot doesn’t mean an unqualified guy elsewhere on the roster has a better chance of getting it right the next time.
It’s much more likely that GUNTHER didn’t actually choose Sami in the hopes of getting a more competent referee for this rematch. He saw Sami and Cody have a big blow-up in the ring last week that resulted in face slaps and Zayn grabbing a steel chair, and now the Ring General is looking to capitalize on their animosity towards each other.
If GUNTHER was confident that he could beat Cody in a fair match, he would have instead gone with a stipulation that plays more to his own strengths like a Submissions match, or adding instant replay to any pin falls so that the referee’s ruling isn’t necessarily final. The ultimate boss move would have been demanding that Cody puts his WWE career on the line, so that GUNTHER can add his name to the list of careers killed alongside Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles.
GUNTHER didn’t go down any of those routes, because he knows he needs an unfair advantage to beat Rhodes for the title. But there isn’t evidence that Sami likes GUNTHER any more than he likes Cody right now. Sami’s emotions are all over the place, where some weeks he does the right thing, and other weeks he takes a more selfish approach. We don’t know which Zayn we’re getting tonight.
Perhaps GUNTHER thinks he can manipulate Zayn into favoring him over Rhodes during the match, but why even take that chance? If GUNTHER wanted a crooked ref, all he had to was cut a deal with one of the more obvious assholes on the WWE roster who would gladly screw over Rhodes if they were guaranteed a title shot or some other incentive on the other side.
Instead, Sami Zayn is now the big wild card that neither Rhodes nor GUNTHER can control, who will determine the fate of the WWE championship as the special referee for their rematch. Will Sami do the right thing and call the match down the middle, or will he cement his heel turn by screwing Cody out of the championship that Rhodes said Sami will never win? Tune into SmackDown tonight to find out.
The rest of the card
The semifinal round of the Queen of the Ring tournament wraps up tonight with Charlotte Flair vs. Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan. The winner advances to the tournament final at Night of Champions against IYO SKY. Will Alexa Bliss be able to neutralize any potential interference from the rest of the Judgment Day?
Jey Uso vs. Je’Von Evans in the King of the Ring tournament is also booked on tonight’s show. The winner gets to be annihilated by Oba Femi in the final match of the tourney at Night of Champions. Jey is a very technically skilled former world champion wrestler and major favorite to win a clean match over Evans. But what happens if one of Jey’s enemies like Solo Sikoa or LA Knight shows up to stop his latest world title push dead in its tracks?
Damian Priest and R-Truth’s run as WWE tag team champions is in danger tonight when they put the belts on the line against MFT’s Talla and Tama Tonga. The winner may come down to whether Royce Keys prefers to attack Damian Priest or MFT. And what about SmackDown newcomer Finn Balor? He crossed paths with Tama Tonga last week, and has bad blood with Priest going back to their breakup in the Judgment Day. Will he choose to put his thumb on the scale here?
Finally, Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints is scheduled for tonight, and the winner will be the new number one contender for United States Champion Trick Williams. Will this match have a screwy finish where both stars can somehow claim the number one contendership?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Is there a new update on WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley’s injury? How much longer will WWE wait before possibly vacating the belt? Liv Morgan has defended the women’s world title zero times since winning it over 60 days ago, so Rhea should theoretically be able to hold onto the belt until after SummerSlam, even if she can’t wrestle until then.
– Jade Cargill took out her frustrations on Chelsea Green and Women’s United States Champion Tiffany Stratton last week after being eliminated from the Queen of the Ring tournament. Is Jade about to get a title shot against Tiffy Time?
– Will World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns send his lap dog Jacob Fatu over to SmackDown again to deliver a more violent message to Solo Sikoa, or does the Samoan Werewolf have other matters to deal with first?
– What does Fatal Influence need to do to earn a future shot at WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Paige and Brie Bella after losing a non-title match against them last week?
– Giulia demonstrated her mastery of the English language last week by slapping Kiana James in the face. When will GM Nick Aldis book these former allies to fight each other for the first time?
– Is Blake Monroe ready to show up live in a SmackDown ring yet, or does she need a few more weeks of talking trash about all the SmackDown women in pre-taped videos?
– Is Danhausen going to reveal who is under that sheet in his science laboratory now that the New York Knicks drama is over? Has The Miz recovered yet from being electrocuted back to 2010? Is Matt Cardona willing to put on a headband and sunglasses so that his cursed WWE booking can be reversed with a simple “Woo woo woo, you know it!”?
– Will WWE once again ignore Juneteenth National Independence Day? WWE’s silence spoke volumes last year as the other major wrestling promotions in the USA all acknowledged and celebrated the holiday.
– Where the f*** is Ilja Dragunov? He hasn’t wrestled a match since the night before WrestleMania 42 in April. Who knows, maybe he’s hiding out on one of Drew McIntyre’s many movie sets.
What will you be looking for on SmackDown?
