SmackDown in Indianapolis: Williams retains the U.S. title as Punk and Legend qualify for Money in the Bank

WWE stopped in Indianapolis this week for its SmackDown episode, just ahead of this weekend’s Worlds Collide event in Chicago. The show featured a steel cage match for the United States title, two qualifying matches for Money in the Bank and a six-woman tag-team clash.

The evening’s headline results, as Bleacher Report reports, were: Trick Williams retained the United States championship by defeating Baron Corbin in a steel cage match; Lash Legend beat Giulia and Charlotte Flair to secure a spot in the MITB bouts; and Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley) defeated Chelsea Green, Tiffany Stratton and Paige, with a Nikki Bella interference allowing Jayne to hit the pin. In the main event, CM Punk beat Gunther and Finn Balor to qualify for Money in the Bank, seizing the moment after Balor landed the Coup de Grace and Punk pinned Gunther. The show also featured other segments, including a Randy Orton interview with Michael Cole and a Cody Rhodes appearance to talk about his goals.

The cage match opened the evening and delivered moments such as a superplex from the top of the cage and an episode in which the cage door hit rapper Lil Yachty at ringside, a moment that backfired on Corbin when Yachty slammed the door back in his face as he tried to leave. The women’s triple threat was marked by a fast pace and coordination among all three, while the clash with four — and dozens of individual moments — delivered several good in-ring scenes. Fatal Influence and Green’s squad put on an entertaining bout with several comedic and athletic moments, while the night’s headline clash — between Punk, Balor and Gunther — was considered the strongest of the episode, with tension and strong moments at the end.

According to Bleacher Report, the episode was rated as solid but not spectacular overall; Williams and the cage match thrilled the crowd, while the Punk–Balor–Gunther trio was the part that dominated discussion after the show. With Money in the Bank on the horizon, this week’s winners head into the event with a career-defining opportunity within reach.