United States Champion LA Knight to defend against Andrade on 9/20 Smackdown

Photo Courtesy: All Elite Wrestling

Just one week after wrapping up his lengthy rivalry with Carmelo Hayes, Andrade will look to claim a title.

Andrade is set to face WWE United States Champion LA Knight on the September 20 episode of Friday Night Smackdown from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, as announced recently.

Knight declared Andrade the next contender in line for a title shot after he won his series against Hayes three matches to two.

Knight will be attempting to defend his United States Championship for the third time since gaining it at Summerslam with a win over Logan Paul. He has overcome Santos Escobar and Ludwig Kaiser in recent weeks to cross his title reign past the 40-day mark.

For Hayes, the upcoming match is a chance for him to earn his first WWE title since moving up to the main roster. He had a decorated NXT campaign, capturing four different titles and wrapping up his time on the roster with a stint as the promotion’s top name.

Next week’s Smackdown will also feature a tag match with title implications for the main women’s title. WWE Women’s World Champion Nia Jax will team with Mrs. Money In The Bank Tiffany Stratton to face Naomi and Bayley.

As explained on Friday, Jax will give a title shot to the wrestler who scores a pinfall or submission in the tag match. It’s worth nothing that it wasn’t made clear whether that rule applies to Stratton along with Naomi and Bayley. The losing team of the match will be banned from Smackdown “permanently.”

The special tag match was set up after both Naomi and Bayley called for a shot against Jax on this week’s episode of Smackdown. The wrestler who earns their title shot will face Jax at Bad Blood early next month.

Here’s what we know about next week’s Smackdown so far:

  • LA Knight vs. Carmelo Hayes (WWE United States Championship)
  • Nia Jax & Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi & Bayley
About Jack Wannan 398 Articles
Jack Wannan is a journalist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He writes and reports on professional wrestling, along with other topics like MMA, boxing, music, local news, and more. He graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He can be reached at [email protected]