The final build to Extreme Rules took place on last night’s SmackDown from Philadelphia.
Two days before his Universal Championship defense against “The Demon” Finn Balor, Roman Reigns was in action against Montez Ford in last night’s main event. After getting his knees up when Ford went for a frog splash, Reigns used a guillotine to get the submission win.
Paul Heyman then counseled Reigns to beat down Ford as a way of showing both Balor and Brock Lesnar what happens when Reigns takes it to the extreme. Reigns attacked Ford with a steel chair and slammed him through a table at ringside. Ford’s tag team partner Angelo Dawkins couldn’t make the save because it was said that Dawkins was attending a friend’s wedding and wasn’t at last night’s show.
The lights went out after Reigns put Ford through the table. When they came back on, Balor was standing on the top rope dressed as The Demon. Balor took out Reigns and The Usos with a crossbody to the outside, then started hitting both Usos with kendo sticks.
Reigns cut Balor off and threw him into the ring. But when he went to attack Balor with a steel chair, Balor hit a slingblade and used the chair himself. Balor hit Reigns and The Usos with the chair and then took out Reigns with a dive to the outside.
The build to Survivor Series continues as Friday Night SmackDown takes place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Daniel Bryan appears on Miz TV tonight. Last week, Sami Zayn continued to push for Bryan to join him and Shinsuke Nakamura. Suddenly, Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt appeared and attacked Bryan.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defend against The Revival in a rematch tonight. New Day defeated The Revival last week to win the titles.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley takes on Nikki Cross in a non-title match. If Cross is victorious, she earns the final spot on SmackDown’s Survivor Series women’s team.
Survivor Series spots will also be on the line as Mustafa Ali & Shorty G face Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode. The match was set up by King Corbin complaining on Twitter that his current Team SmackDown members aren’t as good as his buddies Ziggler & Roode.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
*********
King Corbin made his way down to the ring to start SmackDown. He was carried down the ramp on his throne and met Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler in the ring. The fans broke into a loud “You Suck” chant and booed Corbin when he tried to speak. He praised Roode and Ziggler’s ability and loyalty.
Corbin discussed beating down Roman Reigns and declared himself team captain of Team SmackDown. He even showed a graphic with Corbin as the team captain.
Corbin noted he’s not impressed with Shorty G and Ali. Ziggler and Roode promised to defeat Ali and Shorty G tonight to take their places on Team SmackDown.
Corbin challenged Roman Reigns to witness Ali and Shorty G losing. He then introduced “the big dog,” which was a guy in a dog costume wearing a Roman Reigns vest. Reigns music played but featured a dog barking.
They recapped CM Punk’s return on WWE Backstage last Tuesday and pushed his appearance this Tuesday.
Shorty G & Ali defeated Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler (w/King Corbin & “The Big Dog”)
The heels had a brief advantage, but the faces took over and worked over Ziggler’s arm. Ali caught Ziggler with a hurricanrana and hit a rolling X factor for a near fall. The heels regained control and isolated Ali on their side of the ring.
Ali fought back and ended up on the apron. Corbin distracted Ali, and Roode pushed him off the apron into the announce table. Corbin celebrated over a fallen Ali.
Suddenly, Roman Reigns music hit, and he made his way down to the ring.
Back from the commercial, Ali made a brief comeback and crawled towards Shorty G. Ziggler cut him off and scored a close near fall. He attempted a superkick, but Ali hit a superkick instead.
Shorty G got the hot tag and ran wild. He hit a neck breaker and picture-perfect moonsault for a very close two count.
The heels fought back and hit a spinebuster/zig-zag combo for a near fall. Ziggler caught Ali with a superkick. He attempted a superkick on Shorty G, but he got the leg and applied the ankle lock.
Corbin tried to interfere, but Reigns hit the drive-by and spear. Shorty G then hit a rolling German suplex on Roode, and Ali hit the 450 splash for the win.
They recapped Sami Zayn trying to get Daniel Bryan to join him. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt then attacked Bryan with the mandible claw.
Wyatt then hosted an edition of FIrefly Funhouse. He changed the color of the Universal title from red to blue. Wyatt’s excited for Miz TV and his guest Bryan. He noted that “The Fiend” will be watching too.
In the back, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler complained to King Corbin about not being on Team SmackDown and blamed Reigns. Corbin promised to do something about it and walked off with “The Big Dog” right behind him.
They recapped Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman agreeing to be a team last week and then beating down the B Team.
Strowman made his way down to the ring to meet Drew Gulak and the B Team.
Gulak showed a graphic of what would happen if he replaced Strowman on Team SmackDown. The graphic showed Gulak leading Team SmackDown to victory. He noted Storwman lasted longer with Fury than he thought. The heels tried jumping Strowman, but he fought back. Gulak ran off, and Strownman beat down The B Team.
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed The New Day. Big E mentioned the Philadephia Eagles beating the Patriots at the Superbowl in 2018. The fans popped big for that comment. The New Day promised to retain the tag titles tonight against The Revival.
In the back, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura approached Daniel Bryan. Zayn begged him to join up with him and Nakamura. He mentioned that Cesaro wants him to join them too.
Bryan wondered why Zayn ran away last week when Bray Wyatt attacked him. He turned down the offer and told them to consider Braun Strowman instead. Zayn mocked the idea of Strowman, who was standing behind him. Nakamura and Strowman had a brief staredown.
SmackDown tag team champions The New Day vs. The Revival
The Revival used double team moves to isolate Kofi Kingston. Scott Dawson used a northern light suplex for a near fall.
Kingston fought back and hit a missile dropkick. He attempted to tag Big E, but Dash Wilder caught him with a power slam for a two count.
Back from the break, Dawson prevented Kingston from making the tag and hit a neck breaker. Dawson missed an elbow off the top, and Big E got the hot tag. He attempted a splash on Wilder, but he got his knees up.
Big E fought back, but Wilder hit a tornado DDT for a near fall.
Wilder put Big E on his shoulders and tried to make the tag. Kingston got the tag and hit a missile dropkick. He followed up with a huge dive to the floor, taking out the heels. New Day attempted midnight hour, but WIlder cut off Kingston.
The Revival attempted a draping DDT, but Big E backdropped the heels to the floor. Big E launched Kingston over the top rope to the floor, but Revival caught him and then threw him into the ring post.
The Revival then gave Big E a double back suplex on the announce table. They hit the shatter machine, but Kingston flew in the ring to make the save.
Suddenly, The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) attacked both teams and beat them down. The SmackDown roster ran down for the save.
Heavy Machinery defeated Kip and Stevens
Heavy Machinery dominated the match in a total squash. Otis hit the caterpillar and the compacter for the win.
They recapped Bayley attacking Becky Lynch on Raw and Shayna Baszler on NXT.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Bayley and Sasha Banks in the back. She proved that she’s not an afterthought and is excited to beat Nikki Cross. Bayley teased joining Team SmackDown.
SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley vs. Nikki Cross
Cross tried to jump Bayley to start the match, but Bayley fought back.
Suddenly, NXT Woman’s Champion Shayna Baszler showed up, but Bayley ran off. Rhea Ripley, Tegan Knox, Mia Yim, and Dakota Kai attacked Bayley.
Sasha Banks showed up and attacked Baszler from behind. Banks then challenged the NXT women to a match right now.
Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke & Nikki Cross defeated Rhea Ripley, Tegan Knox, Mia Yim & Dakota Kai
The NXT women took over and isolated Carmella on their side of the ring. Banks got the tag and regained control for the SmackDown. Banks faced off with Ripley and slapped her in the face.
All eight women jumped in the ring and argued.
Back from the break, Cross fought off the NXT women on her own. All the women came in and hit a big move. Kai rocked Cross with a scorpion kick but Cross hit the neck breaker for the win.
After the match, the NXT women jumped Cross and the SmackDown women ran out for the save.
Michael Cole and Corey Graves ran down the Survivor Series Card.
Miz TV with Daniel Bryan
Miz brought out his guest Daniel Bryan and asked him why he thinks Bray Wyatt attacked him. However, Bryan remained silent. Miz believes Wyatt sees Bryan isn’t the same person anymore. Bryan finally spoke and noted he’s silent because Miz TV sucks.
Bryan talked about his passion but Miz interrupted him. Bryan snapped and said Miz and the people don’t understand. He’s got passion and is mentally unstable. Miz doesn’t understand but Wyatt does because he’s unstable too.
Bray Wyatt and The Firefly Funhouse interrupted. Wyatt noted The Fiend attacked Bryan just to scare him or maybe he remembers what Bryan did.
Wyatt went through his toy chest and pulled out the Universal title. He asked Bryan to say that one magical word but Bryan said no. Bryan and the Firefly Funhouse puppets went back and forth with yes and no.
Bryan noted if Wyatt wants to fight then they should fight. Of course, Bryan wants the Universal Championship on the line. Wyatt agreed and started chanting “Yes”.
Miz then announced Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan at the Survivor Series.
Next Week: Friday Night SmackDown kicks off Survivor Series weekend and features Roman Reigns, Ali & Shorty G vs. King Corbin, Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler.
The New Day became five-time WWE Tag Team Champions in the main event of this week’s SmackDown.
After Erick Rowan suffered a torn biceps at SummerSlam, Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston defeated Harper & Rowan in a no disqualification match to win the SmackDown Tag Team titles last night. The Bludgeon Brothers had retained by DQ at SummerSlam when Rowan used a mallet to attack Woods and Big E.
Also on SmackDown, Becky Lynch confirmed her heel turn in a promo before brawling with Charlotte Flair, Samoa Joe attacked AJ Styles during an interview, and Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse was announced for next month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
Two matches have been announced for the post-SummerSlam edition of SmackDown.
The Bludgeon Brothers defending their SmackDown Tag Team titles against The New Day in a no disqualification match is set for tomorrow’s show, along with Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy. The Tag Team title match was announced despite PWInsider reporting tonight that Erick Rowan suffered an arm injury at SummerSlam.
New Day defeated The Bludgeon Brothers by DQ on Sunday when Rowan attacked Xavier Woods and Big E with a mallet.
Orton and Hardy have been feuding since Orton returned at Extreme Rules last month, with Orton attacking Hardy multiple times since then. Orton came out after Hardy lost to United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam but didn’t end up attacking him this time. In a post-show video, Orton explained the storyline by saying he would deal with Hardy on his own terms.
An “exclusive interview” with AJ Styles, who got disqualified in his WWE Championship defense against Samoa Joe at SummerSlam when Joe taunted his family, is set for tomorrow. WWE is also hyping that Becky Lynch will explain why she attacked Charlotte Flair after Charlotte defeated Lynch and Carmella to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
The SmackDown Tag Team Championship match for SummerSlam is now official.
It will be The New Day challenging for The Bludgeon Brothers’ titles at the August 19 pay-per-view. New Day were confirmed as Harper & Rowan’s challengers when Big E & Kofi Kingston defeated Cesaro & Sheamus in the SmackDown tag team tournament finals tonight.
New Day defeated SAnitY in the first round of the four-team tournament, while Cesaro & Sheamus beat The Usos.
The Bludgeon Brothers were also back in action on SmackDown this week. In their first televised match since retaining against Daniel Bryan & Kane at Extreme Rules last month, Harper & Rowan squashed an enhancement team.
The updated SummerSlam card is listed below:
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending against Ronda Rousey
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Samoa Joe
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz
SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella defending against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match
Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler defending against Seth Rollins
United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defending against Jeff Hardy
Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens (If Owens wins, he gets Strowman’s Money in the Bank briefcase)
Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The New Day
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander defending against Drew Gulak
There weren’t any surprises among the announcements. It will be The New Day, SAnitY, The Usos, and Cesaro & Sheamus vying to become the team that challenges for Harper & Rowan’s SmackDown tag titles at SummerSlam.
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson and Rusev & Aiden English are the most notable teams not in the tournament.
The tournament is set to take place on SmackDown over the next three weeks. Though they’ve been in action at house shows and in dark matches, this will be the first time Cesaro & Sheamus have wrestled on television since May 29. They moved from Raw to SmackDown in April’s roster shakeup.
SummerSlam will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on August 19. AJ Styles’ WWE Championship challenger for the pay-per-view is scheduled to be revealed on Tuesday’s SmackDown, and Becky Lynch will face Carmella in a non-title match on the episode. The angle is that Lynch will challenge for Carmella’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at the PPV if she wins.
The Bludgeon Brothers’ challengers for SummerSlam will be decided on SmackDown over the next few weeks.
WWE announced tonight that a four-team tournament will be held on SmackDown during the build to SummerSlam. The matches will take place over the next three weeks of episodes, with the winners challenging Harper & Rowan for the SmackDown Tag Team titles at the August 19 pay-per-view in Brooklyn, New York.
WWE didn’t reveal the teams that will be in the tournament, but The New Day, SAnitY, The Usos, Cesaro & Sheamus, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, and Rusev & Aiden English would appear to be the most likely options. Tye Dillinger and R-Truth have also had an on-screen friendship but have yet to team with each other.
The Bludgeon Brothers’ program with Daniel Bryan & Kane finished up at Extreme Rules last week. There was an angle where they attacked Bryan and Kane earlier in the night, leading to Harper & Rowan retaining in the match. Kane had a legitimate Achilles tendon injury coming into the PPV.
The card for Extreme Rules continued to take shape on tonight’s SmackDown.
Two more title matches were announced for the July 15 pay-per-view. Daniel Bryan will team with the returning Kane to challenge for The Bludgeon Brothers’ SmackDown Tag Team titles, while Carmella will again defend her Women’s Championship against Asuka.
Kane returned to television tonight for the first time since becoming the Republican candidate for mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. He made the save and helped even the odds against The Bludgeon Brothers after Bryan defeated Harper by disqualification in this week’s main event. Bryan and Kane hugged, reuniting their Team Hell No duo. Paige then announced the title match for Extreme Rules.
Paige also made Carmella vs. Asuka for the PPV. In the lead-up to the event, Asuka will face James Ellsworth on next week’s episode of SmackDown.
Here’s the updated card for Extreme Rules:
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Rusev
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending against Nia Jax
SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella defending against Asuka
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper & Rowan) defending against Daniel Bryan & Kane
Raw Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt defending against The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas)
While the Money in the Bank card still sits at 10 matches coming out of this week’s television, one of those has been moved to the pre-show.
WWE announced on Tuesday night that SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers’ title defense against Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson is now set to take place prior to Sunday’s main card.
Gallows & Anderson defeated The Usos in a number one contender’s match on the May 22nd episode of SmackDown to become Harper & Rowan’s next challengers. The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) also won a number one contender’s battle royal in the lead-up to Money in the Bank for a shot at Raw Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt, but WWE hasn’t announced when that match will be taking place.
Money in the Bank is the first show affected by WWE’s start-time change for pay-per-views. The pre-show will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, with the main card starting at 7 p.m. and listed as ending at 10:30 p.m.
Here’s the updated Money in the Bank card:
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match (Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor vs. Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens vs. The Miz vs. Rusev vs. Samoa Joe vs. a member of The New Day)
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match (Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Lana vs. Naomi)
Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax defending against Ronda Rousey
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Shinsuke Nakamura in a last man standing match
SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella defending against Asuka
Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against Elias
Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (kickoff show)
A new tag team title match has been added to Money in the Bank.
Anderson and Gallows will be the next team to try and thwart The Bludgeon Brothers, who are currently at the top of the SmackDown tag team title division. Anderson and Gallows defeated The Usos tonight on SmackDown to get a title match at Money in the Bank. It would be their first title program since they came from Raw frp, the Superstar Shakeup.
The Bludgeon Brothers have been the SmackDown tag team champions since WrestleMania, where they defeated The Usos and The New Day in a triple threat tag team title match.
The rest of the Money in the Bank card, which takes place June 17, is as follows:
Men’s Money in the Bank: Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Rusev vs. Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens vs. A member of the New Day vs. either Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan or Jeff Hardy
Women’s Money in the Bank: Ember Moon vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Lana vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Naomi vs. to be determined
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a last man standing match for the WWE title
Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey for the Raw women’s title
Carmella vs. Asuka for the SmackDown women’s title
The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson for the SmackDown tag team titles
Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal
Money in the Bank this year will be held at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
Three matches have been added to the lineup for tonight’s SmackDown.
Shinsuke Nakamura will face Shelton Benjamin, The New Day will be at full strength for the first time since Fastlane as they take on The Bludgeon Brothers in a two-on-two tag match, and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya in another non-title match is set. Those are in addition to Randy Orton & Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal & Sunil Singh, which was announced last week.
Charlotte lost to Natalya last Tuesday when she was distracted by Carmella coming out and attempting to cash in her Money in the Bank briefcase. Charlotte hit Carmella with a big boot before she could officially cash in, then Natalya rolled up Charlotte for the pin.
The New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers should get us closer to a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match being announced for WrestleMania, which looks to be The Usos vs. New Day vs. Harper & Rowan.
With AJ Styles returning to in-ring action at this weekend’s house shows, he may play a physical role on television for the first time since he faced Rusev on the March 13th episode of SmackDown.
The focal point of tonight’s SmackDown will be the fallout from Daniel Bryan being medically cleared to return and him being attacked by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn after he “fired” them last week. Bryan was planned to team with Shane McMahon against Owens & Zayn at WrestleMania 34, but Shane has been legitimately hospitalized due to a bout with diverticulitis and will need to undergo surgery for an umbilical hernia.
Shane posted a picture with his sons from the hospital today and thanked everyone for wishing him well: “Thank you everyone for the get well wishes. It truly helps. Im healing up, and I have the best medicine in the world with me.”
Two more matches were announced for Clash of Champions on SmackDown last night.
Breezango will be facing The Bludgeon Brothers on Sunday’s main card, with Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley set for the pre-show. That brings the lineup for Clash of Champions up to seven matches coming out of last night’s go-home show.
Both new matches were set up in videos that WWE put out, though they didn’t air on SmackDown. In the latest edition of the Fashion Files, Breezango reluctantly agreed to challenge The Bludgeon Brothers after The Ascension said Harper & Rowan were the ones behind their issues over the last several months. Ryder also called out Rawley for Sunday’s pay-per-view, which stems from Rawley turning heel and attacking Ryder two weeks ago.
Here’s the updated card for Clash of Champions:
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Jinder Mahal
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura (both Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan will be special guest referees for the match, Owens and Zayn will be “fired from all of WWE” if they lose)
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defending against Natalya in a lumberjack match
United States Champion Baron Corbin defending against Bobby Roode & Dolph Ziggler in a triple threat match
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defending against The New Day, Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, and Rusev & Aiden English in a fatal four-way match
