Layin' da SmackDown - SmackDown recap for October 25, 2024

Randy Orton heads to the ring to start tonight's show, but before he does, he has a short chat with Triple H. Orton says he has done everything he can to get his hands on Kevin Owens at Crown Jewel, but for some reason, Owens is off-limits, then calls WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque out, saying he wants to know if he is protecting Owens from him. Triple H shows up and says he does not prefer to do things this way, but since Orton does not want to show up to work on time - which they will deal with later - they can do this now. Orton accuses Triple H of protecting Owens, but Triple H says he is just doing his job. Orton says he knows Triple H has a soft spot for Owens, but Triple H says the match will not happen, and Orton takes this as proof that Triple H is protecting Orton. Triple H says he is not protecting Owens; instead, he is protecting Orton, as he has known both men since they walked into WWE. He says Owens has never had a friend in his business and took down anyone who got in his way. He then says that for the first time ever, Owens let his guard down and trusted both Orton and "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes, probably because he sees himself in both men, only to feel turned on. He says that there is something disconnected in Owens' mind and that Owens is not the same man, and he does not want to put him in the same ring as Orton. He reminds Orton that he came back after eighteen months on the shelf with steel rods in his back, and that he does not want to see him go back on the shelf, especially permanently. Orton says he did not ask Paul Levesque to come to the ring; he wanted "The Cerebral Assassin," and that he is not the old Randy Orton being impulsive and that he knows the risks, and that he knows Triple H would handle his business as he knew how. Orton then demands Owens at Crown Jewel again, and as the fans chant "Let them fight!", Triple H says he hopes the fans know what they are asking for before making the match official. He then tells Orton to protect himself at all times before leaving the ring.

We see a video package for the seventh match between Carmelo Hayes and Andrade.

Match 7 between Carmelo Hayes and Andrade ends in a no-contest when special guest referee hits both men with the BFT. Knight then rings the bell himself, and says "To hell with Game 7!" He then says there is only one man who is still United States Champion who wins tonight.

In backstage footage from earlier today, Nia Jax meets with Tiffany Stratton and says that Naomi is giving her a hard time, and Tiffany says she will face her. Nia then says she found somebody who has stepped up lately: Candice LeRae. Candice and Indi Hartwell show up, and Candice says she will take care of Naomi while Tiffany relaxes.

Backstage, General Manager Nick Aldis confronts LA Knight for his actions earlier, then tells him that he has both Carmelo Hayes and Andrade in a Triple Threat Match at Crown Jewel.

Naomi beats Candice LeRae when Bayley shows up and fights Indi Hartwell for sending Naomi into the ring post on the outside behind the referee's back.

We look back on John Cena's WWE debut, courtesy of WWE Main Event Series.

Three-time Tony Award winner and creator of "Hamilton" Lin-Manuel Miranda is seen in the front row.

"The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes heads to the ring. The men's Crown Jewel Championship is on a podium in the ring. Cody's introduction is soon interrupted by Gunther. Gunther mockingly asks Cody what he wants to talk about, and Cody says it is obvious, and asks Gunther why he wants to leave Crown Jewel as champion. Gunther says he wants to know more about Cody, then says their match has nothing to do with his daughter and all about who the better champion between them is. He then says he does not understand why Cody drags the people closest to him into his business, and says that he lives to other's standards and does things to make them look more dramatic than they really are. As for why he wants to be Crown Jewel Champion, he says it is all for himself, as he is the most dominant champion in WWE right now and he wants to live up to his own standards. He then asks Cody to give that honesty back and to give him his reason to be champion, if there is any. Cody calls this the dumbest question ever asked to him in a wrestling ring, and says nothing exists without the fans. After giving the fans a chance to do a second "Whoa!", he then admits that he is dramatic and proud of it, as are his fans, then asks Gunther where he was yesterday or the day before, then says he made the media rounds when Gunther could not bother to get out of bed. When Cody says that Gunther has neglected the responsibility of being champion, Gunther says he is the workhorse of the company and knows everything about responsibility, then says the only different between them is that he has "the guts to say no." He says he has the guts to say no to charities, the boss and even the fans, and says the only reason Cody does not put himself first is that because if he stops being everybody's servant, his story is over. Gunther then decrees that this makes Cody "a gutless champion," and that a gutless champion will always be second to him. Cody says Gunther is only a "ring general" because of his size and because he has terrorized the world, yet he only cares about himself. He says his whole career is made of guts and that it takes guts to stop a civil conversation and take the first shot. Cody attacks Gunther, but the numbers game takes over when Cody is attacked from behind by Ludwig Kaiser. It is not long before Randy Orton shows up, and Gunther and Kaiser retreat.

Backstage, the three General Managers of NXT, Raw and SmackDown introduce Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair and announce to members of the women's division in the room - Damage CTRL (Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane), Meta-Four (Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson) and the team of Chelsea Green and Piper Niven - that they will all face Bianca and Jade for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships at the same time in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match. Bianca says that they stay ready so they do not have to get ready, and Jade tells all the teams in the room to shoot their shot and not waste it.

The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) beat #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) in a WWE Tag Team Championship #1 Contender's Match after Gargano inadvertently superkicks Ciampa off the ring apron. After the match, The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, Jacob Fatu) shows up and heads to the ring. After the commercial break, General Manager Nick Aldis says nothing is going down tonight. Solo says there is no problem here, and says he just wanted to introduce The Motor City Machine Guns to The Bloodline. Solo does just that, and declares that he is their Tribal Chief. Sabin reciprocates the favor, then tells The Bloodline that whenever they are ready to hand over the WWE tag titles, they can name the place and time. Solo says that since the Machine Guns want to make an impact for themselves, they can have a tag team title match right now. Aldis makes it clear that he knows about how much the Machine Guns have gone through to get to this point and that they will have a fair title shot, but Shelley stops him, saying that if they want to do it right here, right now, then they can have their match right now. After Aldis is ensured that this is what everyone, including the fans, want, he makes the tag team title match official for tonight.

The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) beat The Bloodline (Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) to become the WWE Tag Team Champions in their third match in WWE and just one week after debut after Jimmy Uso shows up to fight Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa and has Roman Reigns back him up. After this, Tama Tonga uses the referee as a shield, and the referee goes down. Tama Tonga grabs a metal folding chair to use as a weapon, but "Main Event' Jey Uso shows up in a hoody and takes out Loa before doing the same to Tama in the ring. Jey revives the ref, then The Motor City Machine Guns hit Skull and Bones on Tama to win the match and the titles. After the match, Jimmy Uso comes out from the back and approaches Jey Uso, who is now in the ring. Both men hug as Roman watches from the stage.

This week on The SmackDown LowDown: LA Knight! The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford) and B-Fab (and Pretty Deadly [Kit Wilson and Elton Prince])! The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley)!

Here are the highlights from tonight's show!

Here are the top ten moments from tonight's show!