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LA Knight Retains the United States Championship on SmackDown

Andrade nearly captured the gold on several occasions before he ran into a BFT
Rick Ucchino|
LA Knight and Andrade kicked off the 9/20 episode of SmackDown with a United States Championship Match
LA Knight and Andrade kicked off the 9/20 episode of SmackDown with a United States Championship Match | wwe.com

It had been over four years since Andrade last held the United States Championship and he pulled out all the stops in an attempt to end that streak when he challenged LA Knight for the gold on SmackDown.

A sold out Sacramento crowd chanted "this is awesome" just as Andrade connected on a double moonsault for a very close two-count on the Megastar.

Andrade later hit a big back elbow, but Knight was just able to get the shoulder up before the ref's hand hit the mat for the three count.

Knight slipped twice when attempting his leaping suplex off the top rope, but he was able to recover by ducking a missile drop kick and then he hit Andrade with a BFT out of nowhere to retain the United States Championship.

Back from commercial break, we see Andrade walking backstage when he runs into Carmelo Hayes. Hayes says Andrade choked like the Kings against the Lakers, which unsurprisingly got a negative reaction from the audience, and sparked a brawl between both men.

Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes VI has been booked for next week. Andrade currently leads the series 3-2.

Full SmackDown 9/20 Results:

  • LA Knight def. Andrade to retain the United States Championship. Knight dodged a missile drop kick and hit the BFT for the win.
  • Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns meet on the field at Georgia Tech. The OTC promises to have Rhodes' back at Bad Blood, but then he's coming for the WWE Championship
  • Apollo Crews def. Giovanni Vinci in another quick match. Vinci snaps after the loss and hits Crews with a Brainbuster.
  • Bayley and Naomi pin Nia Jax in a Tag Team Tornado Match. They'll face each other next week to determine the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Women's Championship.
  • Chelsea Green trains for her Dumpster Match against Michin. The match will take place in Nashville in two weeks.
  • Kevin Owens & Street Profits vs. The Bloodline ends in a no contest.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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