Nikki & Brie Bella are returning to WWE television on this week’s episode of SmackDown.
WWE has announced that The Bellas will be Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross’ guests for a Moment of Bliss segment on this Friday’s SmackDown. Dave Meltzer confirmed last week that The Bellas are scheduled to be part of this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class, though the official announcement of that has yet to be made.
Nikki & Brie revealed last month that they’re both pregnant and expecting babies later this year.
Season five of Total Bellas will premiere on E! at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, April 9.
An eight-man tag match has also been added to this week’s SmackDown. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) will team with The Usos against The Miz, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode.
New Day are defending their SmackDown Tag Team titles against Miz & Morrison at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia next Thursday (February 27).
This week’s SmackDown is taking place at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Goldberg will appear on the episode to continue the build to him challenging “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship at Super ShowDown.
Carmella and Naomi will face off on SmackDown to determine who will challenge for Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at Super ShowDown. There will also be a sit-down interview with Lacey Evans on the episode.
It was revealed today that season five of Total Bellas will premiere on E! at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, April 9. Thursdays is a new night for the show. It aired on Sundays for the past two seasons and aired on Wednesdays prior to that.
E! wrote about the new season:
Nikki and Brie finally act on an ever growing need to reconnect with their father while working on their memoir. While they want to learn more about him, his family and their Mexican American roots, the sisters worry about how it will affect their mother.
When Artem is surprised and confused to find out he won’t be returning to ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ Nikki helps him explore new career goals.
After nearly six years of matrimony, Brie and Bryan are working hard to find compromise in their relationship as they nurture their daughter Birdie, their careers, and find out they’re expecting their second child.
Despite the relatable, real life challenges in their lives, Nikki and Artem’s love only grows stronger. Artem proposes during a romantic getaway to Paris, and soon after the couple experiences another life changing moment when Nikki finds out she’s pregnant.
While the sisters are excited to embark on their childbearing journey together, Brie is initially shocked to realize they are pregnant at the same time.
Total Bellas season four finished airing in March 2019, and it was announced in June that the show had been renewed for a fifth season. The series is produced by Bunim/Murray Productions and WWE. Nikki and Brie Bella are two of the executive producers for the show.
The trailer for season five is available to watch below:
Both Bella Twins are expecting babies later this year.
It was revealed via People Magazine today that Nikki Bella (Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace) & BrIe Bella (Brianna Danielson) are both pregnant. Their due dates are a week and a half apart.
This will be Brie and Daniel Bryan’s (Bryan Danielson) second child.
Nikki revealed at the start of the year that she and Artem Chigvintsev had gotten engaged in France back in November. This will be their first child.
Chigvintsev was Nikki’s partner on Dancing with the Stars.
“My husband and I were trying for seven or eight months, but then I felt in my heart it was a sign from God, like, ‘You guys are good with one,’ so we stopped trying,” Brie told People. “When we were in France meeting Artem’s family, I felt a little off. I was irritated and uncomfortable in my body. When we got home, I took a test two days before Thanksgiving, and when I saw the positive sign, I was like, ‘Oh, sh*t!’ “
“I was in yoga, and I kept getting this feeling that you need to take a pregnancy test, but I wasn’t even late yet,” Nikki said. “And so I’m like, ‘Why do I keep having this feeling? Am I getting twin vibes from her? Because she just told me she’s pregnant?’ “
“I didn’t tell Artem at this point,” Nikki said. “I just want to do this by myself. When I came back in, and it said pregnant, I had to sit down for a second.”
It was announced during season four of Total Bellas that both Nikki & Brie are retired from in-ring competition. Season five of Total Bellas will premiere on E! this spring.
While appearing on last night’s episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Nikki Bella discussed the injuries that forced her to retire from professional wrestling.
“I really wanted to go back and fight for the [Women’s] tag titles,” Nikki said. “You know, I’ve always had my neck issues. And after neck surgery, like, it hasn’t been okay.
“I felt like I needed to get that check-up before we went back for the tag titles. And then it came back — I herniated the disc above where I had surgery. I have all this inflammation around the metal, and then I have a cyst on my brain. So they were like, ‘You’re done, no more, you’re out.’ So, I didn’t get a choice.”
Nikki & Brie Bella both announced their retirements from in-ring competition on season four of Total Bellas. They confirmed on The Tonight Show that Total Bellas will be returning for season five.
Video from Nikki & Brie’s Tonight Show appearance is available to watch below:
On last night’s Raw, WWE followed up on the angle where The Bellas attacked Ronda Rousey.
Rousey demanded an explanation from Nikki & Brie, and they said that Rousey disrespected them and everything they’ve done for the business. Rousey told them that everything the diva’s era stood for made her sick to her stomach, called them “do nothing Bellas,” and referenced Nikki’s relationship with John Cena. She said the only door Nikki has broken down is the door to Cena’s bedroom — and Cena eventually threw her out of it.
The segment ended with Rousey attacking The Bellas’ personal security team.
Last night’s episode ended with Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre’s team imploding. After more dissension between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns was teased, The Shield stayed united and defeated Strowman, Ziggler & McIntyre in the main event. Strowman laid out Ziggler after the match, then McIntyre gave Strowman a Claymore Kick.
Also on Raw, Rollins and Ziggler qualified for WWE’s World Cup tournament, Baron Corbin tried to put Kurt Angle in a handicap match against AOP, and Sasha Banks, Tamina, and Samir Singh returned.
Two rematches from Super Show-Down are scheduled for tonight’s Raw.
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre and Ronda Rousey & The Bellas vs. The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) have been announced for tonight’s show. When the six-person tags took place in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday, The Shield and Rousey & The Bellas won their respective matches.
Ambrose pinned Ziggler at Super Show-Down, with The Shield staying united after the storyline where dissension between Ambrose and Reigns & Rollins was teased.
Reigns will defend his Universal Championship against Strowman and Brock Lesnar in a triple threat match at Crown Jewel on November 2.
Rousey submitted Morgan and Logan with a double armbar at Super Show-Down. There was a moment where Rousey and Nikki Bella both wanted to start for their teams, seemingly teasing Rousey vs. Nikki for this month’s Evolution pay-per-view.
Tonight’s Raw is taking place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Trish Stratus are all advertised for the show.
What should have been a fairly innocuous six-woman tag match on last Monday’s Raw ended with Liv Morgan having suffered a concussion and with a social media controversy that has yet to fully die down.
The Riott Squad faced The Bellas & Natalya on last week’s Raw as part of the build to Ruby Riott, Morgan & Sarah Logan vs. Ronda Rousey & The Bellas at Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia. The Riott Squad got a win in a feud that had been pretty one-sided up until that point, and Natalya took the fall to further the storyline that seems like it will lead to Rousey vs. Nikki Bella at Evolution.
But less than two minutes into the match, Morgan was knocked out when Brie Bella accidentally kicked her during a “Yes Kicks” spot. One of the kicks caught her in the face, and Morgan being stunned by it caused her to get hit with the next one before Brie could fully realize what was happening and react to it.
Daniel Bryan is defending his wife Brie Bella after she accidently injured Liv Morgan during last week’s Raw.
Bryan posted a number of Twitter messages showing support for Brie, who gave Morgan a concussion after a errant Yes Kick to the head knocked her out.
“I am proud of how strong my wife is,” he wrote. “After accidentally injuring Liv Morgan last week, the first time Bri’s ever hurt another performer, she’s been subject to a constant barrage of social media attacks. Almost every wrestler has accidentally hurt someone but rarely do you see this kind of hate when it happens.”
He gave several examples where he himself has accidentally injured an opponent, citing a match between him and Randy Orton from 2012 and a match against Nigel McGuinness back in 2009. In regards to the Yes Kicks, he noted that even as of a few weeks ago there was miscommunication in a match where he struck Andrade Cien Almas in the head by accident.
“Despite all of that, never did I receive the backlash Bri did this week,” he concluded. “With all the negative things said about my wife, nobody was harder on her than she was on herself. Thank you to the many people who reached out to support her, both publicly and privately. We all wish Liv Morgan a speedy recovery.”
Morgan hasn’t wrestled since suffering the concussion. She posted a picture on Twitter this afternoon, making her return to social media. She is scheduled to be part of the Super Show-Down card this weekend, teaming with the rest of the Riott Squad to take on the team of The Bella Twins and Ronda Rousey.
Liv Morgan was injured during a match on tonight’s episode of Raw.
During a six woman tag match featuring The Riott Squad against The Bella Twins and Natalya, A Yes Kick from Brie Bella connected right in Morgan’s face. She fell immediately as Brie went for the cover. Morgan managed to kick out and lasted long enough to complete a triple suplex spot. She was then taken out of the match by WWE officials and was attended to backstage. PWInsider reported that a number of tests are currently being done to determine if she may have a concussion as a result of the kick.
Brie Bella took to Twitter to comment on the injury. “Every match on #Raw is an opportunity for us to entertain our fans. Our intentions as @WWE Superstars is to win the match, never injure our opponents. Thinking about @YaOnlyLivvOnce tonight.”
The Riott Squad are currently scheduled to face Ronda Rousey and The Bella Twins at WWE Super Show-Down on October 6.
Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre will be defending their Raw Tag Team titles against The Revival on the episode. Bobby Lashley vs. Elias and Brie Bella vs. Ruby Riott are also scheduled.
The Revival were set to challenge The B-Team for the Tag Team titles on the September 3 edition of Raw, but there was a storyline where Ziggler & McIntyre attacked Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder before the match. Ziggler & McIntyre instead faced Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas and won the titles.
Lashley faced Elias on this Monday’s Raw. Lio Rush and Kevin Owens both got involved, with the match ending in a disqualification when Rush kicked Elias.
The Bellas made the save for Ronda Rousey when The Riott Squad attacked her on Monday. Nikki Bella defeated Riott and Nikki & Brie defeated Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan in matches earlier this month. Rousey & The Bellas will be facing Riott, Morgan & Logan at Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia on October 6.
Monday’s Raw will be taking place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Chad Gable vs. Konnor is also being teased for the episode after Gable defeated Viktor last week. Konnor pushed Gable into Bobby Roode following the match.
Ahead of their mixed tag match at Hell in a Cell, Brie Bella will be facing Maryse in the main event of this week’s go-home show. Brie is set to team with Daniel Bryan against Maryse & The Miz at Hell in a Cell on September 16.
Maryse hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 33, where she teamed with Miz against Nikki Bella & John Cena.
R-Truth vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas has also been announced for Tuesday’s SmackDown. Truth (who was accompanied by Carmella) defeated Miz in last week’s main event due to a distraction from Bryan. Bryan and Brie attacked Miz and Maryse after the match, Almas and Zelina Vega interrupted them, and Bryan and Brie ended the show by putting Almas and Vega in the Yes Lock.
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Rusev & Aiden English for a shot at The New Day’s Tag Team titles at Hell in a Cell and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Sonya Deville in a non-title match have also been confirmed for Tuesday’s go-home show.
After a rough week of travel for the roster, the Labor Day edition of Raw takes place at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio tonight.
Since the August 26 house show in Rochester, New York, the Raw wrestlers have been in Toronto, London, Osaka, and Shanghai for events over the past week before flying home for TV. Tonight’s show will feature Nikki & Brie Bella’s return to televised in-ring action, a Tag Team title match, and an appearance by Shawn Michaels.
Nikki & Brie will be teaming up against two members of The Riott Squad. In the Raw Tag Team Championship match, The B-Team will defend against The Revival after Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder defeated them in non-title action last week.
Michaels’ appearance will be to build up Triple H vs. The Undertaker at Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia on October 6.
Plus, the build to Hell in a Cell will continue after Braun Strowman aligned with Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre last week.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Cole welcomes us to Raw on Labor Day before Braun Strowman comes down with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler. Renee Young returns to commentary with Corey and Cole. Bruan is mid-ring with a big grin on his face and demands that they air a replay of his beating of Roman last week. We see that alongside the proper context of it being a response to the Shield powerbomb Braun through the announce table two weeks ago.
Braun tells us that he gave Roman a chance to just face him for the title, but he had to get his friends involved – and that just showed him how weak Roman was. Dolph and Drew are his pack and this is now his yard.
Drew talks about how great they are before Dolph says this group will be more dominant than the Nation of Domination, DX, and especially The Shield. The Shield comes down, but Corbin sends mid-carders down to stop them. The Shield topple them before surrounding the ring, so Baron calls out more goons who get beaten up, so even more come down and then with several dozen folks out, they separate them. The fans chant “let them fight” and Seth breaks out and he and Roman run backstage.
The return of Shawn Michaels and the Bella Twins are hyped, before we get a recap of the opening segment.
Backstage, Baron has the Shield arrested.
The Bella Twins defeat The Riott Squad
The Riott Squad gets a jobber intro. The Bellas come back with Jojo essentially giving them a press release as a ring introduction. After that, the announcers talk about how they’re two of the busiest people in all of Hollywood. Renee is non-plussed at her husband’s recent arrest, but is excited to see the Bellas return. Liv runs from Nikki before Sarah overpowers her. Nikki is trying to gain the advantage with her chain wrestling skill. I sense a flaw in her plan. Logan grinds away on the arm of Nikki, but Nikki gets a tornado divorce court for 2.
Brie tags in and hammerlocks her mid-ring. Sarah reaches out for a tag and gets it, leading to a long Liv chinlock. Logan comes in while Cole talks about her being a viking and Corey talking about Logan actually making her own belt. Brie hits the yes kicks before nailing two Brie Mode knees. Sarah attacks Brie on the floor. After a break, Logan armlocks her. Nikki comes in and sends Logan out, leading to Brie faceplanting off a tope and Nikki beating Liv with the Rack Attack 2.0.
Nikki and Brie team with Ronda to face the Riott Squad at Super Show-Down.
The B-Team vs. The Revival is hyped up alongside HBK’s return. Corbin tells Stephanie that Raw is back on track. Finn Balor meets with him and demands a rematch. Baron gets his manhood insulted, so he grants him his rematch in the main event spot. .
Bobby Roode and Chad Gable defeat The Ascension
Chad shines more than he has in two years on the main roster by German suplexing everyone and looking impressive while doing so. Roode comes in for chops and gets 2 off a suplex. Viktor gets a long chinlock on Roode and a slick Hawk-esque fistdrop for 2 before Konnor gets a long chinlock and then tags Viktor in for a long modified chinlock.
Gable blind tags in and runs wild with crossbodies and hits a cannonball off the apron before landing a missile dropkick. He hits Chaos Theory and wins it. Elias is backstage with a guy showing his album off on iTunes.
Elias comes out and says he’s done dealing with crazy chicks and if Christopher Columbus knew his name would be used for his city, he’d have turned his ship around. He also can’t stand the buckeye, and it’s far inferior to Michigan’s wolverines.
Alexa, Mickie, and Alicia come down while Alexa gets a ton of cheers being in her hometown. Alexa says she graduated high school in the very building they’re in and does her high school chant before insulting the fans for doing it and being overjoyed that she got out of this place when she did. Alexa gets in a fantastic “hi zombies!” line at the crowd. Alexa hits on Elias before Ronda Rousey’s theme hits and Nattie comes out to face Alexa.
Alexa Bliss defeats Natalya
Alexa stalls to start before Nattie flips around and outwrestles her on the mat. Basement dropkick gets 2 for Nattie. Alexa slugs her before she distracts the ref so Foxy and Mickie can choke Nattie on the rope. Alexa DDTs her and gets an armbar and Nattie taps out. After the match, Ronda goes for a Karalen lift to Alexa, but Foxy jumps in and gets thrown around before Alexa chopblocks Ronda and throws her into the steps. Ronda slugs away and sends Alexa packing. Ronda helps Nattie up and helps her out of the ring.
A recap airs of the Shield being arrested earlier. Renee strangely says that the Shield’s arrest was justified, even with that involving her husband. We get an update that the Shield has been fingerpinted. Corbin tells a stagehand to get his Rolex cleaned. Braun tells Baron to find he and his friends some competition.
Drew and Dolph want a tag title match and threaten that the Revival will be taken out. Braun tells Baron he wants competitoin tonight too. The Revival are interviewed by Charly about The B-Team and they call them a mockery. Drew and Dolph attack them. The Revival could’ve prevented this beating if they just watched the show at a 90 degree angle like everyone else.
The B-Team comes out, but The Revival doesn’t. Instead, Drew and Dolph take their place.
Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre defeat The B-Team
Axel gets a backslide for 2 after Bo low-bridges Drew. The heels regroup on the floor for an ad break. Drew dominates Axel for a while, but Bo gets a desperation tornado DDT. Axel comes in with Dolph, who eats 2 off a Perfectplex. Dolph superkicks him before they win with the Claymore/Zig Zag combo.
After the loss, Cole talks about how good the B-Team were while Drew and Dolph celebrate with their belts amid blue lighting. They did a good job presenting both men as bigger stars with the revamped lighting.
The Authors of Pain walk backstage with Drake Maverick in AOP garb.
Authors of Pain defeat Jobbers
AOP walks out with Drake Maverick, who Cole and Corey talk about as the 205 Live GM. Drake talks about being the GM of 205 Live and now being the manager of AOP and he’ll make them the tag team champions. Rezar hits the corner death valley bomb before they hit the super collider and win.
Corey says that with AOP, Drake Maverick may just be the most dangerous person in all of WWE. There’s putting people over and there’s saying ridiculous stuff like that. HHH vs. Taker is hyped up. Last week’s hall of famer-filled video airs for their match at Super Show-Down.
Ronda and Nattie chat backstage before the Bellas come in and Nattie leaves because she doesn’t feel good. The Bellas call Ronda the greatest women’s champion ever and the only reason they came back was for her. In a comedy highlight for the ages, they offer to train Ronda Rousey, and the Olympic medalist and former UFC World Champion accepts the offer.
HBK comes out and says that HHH has more in the tank than Undertaker does and still picks him to win. Undertaker comes down and says that over the last 20 years, he’s taken the best both HHH and HBK had and put them both down. He took a part of them, but their egos can’t accept and he chose HHH because he took his career from him
HBK says that he stayed retired to keep his integrity and out of respect for Undertaker. He always hears the chant for one more match, but can’t do it. He hears the fans want it, and half the roster wants it – and it’s been nearly a decade with him turning down millions of dollars for one match.
Taker asks if it’s respect or fear that keeps him retired. Taker tells him that if he came back, it would be for a match against him – and HBK knows just like the fans do, that he would put HBK down again. He’ll put HHH down in Melbourne too, and they did an outstanding job building up both the HHH vs. Taker match and especially a Taker vs. HBK match if they ever do one.
Sasha Banks and Bayley defeat Dana Brooke and Ember Moon
Mike Rome sends a tweet out on The Shield – they have been charged with inciting a riot and already met with a judge. Sasha Banks comes down with Bayley for a tag match. Dana Brooke comes out with Titus and Apollo to team with Ember Moon. Odd to have two babyface agaisnt a babyface and a heel. Sasha and Bayley dominate Dana in the corner before an ad break.
Ember tags in and hits a springboard crossbody on the face before tagging Dana in. She goes for a kick, but Sasha catches her foot and boots her in the face. Take 2 works better for Dana and she lands an enzuiguri. Sasha gets a victory roll out of hte corner to win. Dana is tired of losing and leaves Titus Worldwide.
Jinder comes down to medidate with Bobby Lashley, but before things can truly begin, Kevin Owens jumps Lashley. He hits the apron powerbomb while the fans chant “one more time!”
The Purge presents a recap of John Cena defeating Batista at Extreme Rules with a roll of duct tape.
A recap of the HBK-Taker segment airs and we’re told that HHH will be on Raw live next week as will Mick Foley. Corey updates us on The Shield being released from jail. Finn Balor comes down before Braun does with his guys. Drew and Dolph do Braun’s roar now – which is great.
Braun Strowman defeats Finn Balor
Braun headbutts and boots Balor, but Finn gets a brief edge off a sleeper. He stomps Braun and sends him to the floor for an ad break. Braun cranks the neck before clubbing his chest. Braun goes to steamroll him on the floor, but Balor counters with a slingblade. Braun goes for a corner charge, but eats a boot before landing it the second time.
Braun eats a shotgun dropkick and is locked in another sleeper before Bruan throws him in the corner. Braun misses his corner charge and his shoulder hits the post, sending Braun outside. Balor hits a flip dive onto everyone. Finn Balor locks on a triangle choke, but Braun hits a Rampage bomb and the powerslam to win.
Dolph and Drew send Balor in for another powerslam. They go to keep beating up Balor, but the Shield returns in the police van. We get a staredown between these groups before KO and more mid-carders come down to attack the Shield. Braun hits Roman with the steps twice. Dean is set up for a big boot by Drew on the ramp while Dolph superkicks Seth after he goes into glass and comes up bloody – covering one of the Ascension guys in blood.
Braun powerslams Roman on the floor before the heels roar to close the show.
A Tag Team title match and Nikki & Brie Bella’s return to televised in-ring action are set for next week’s Raw.
After Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder defeated them in a non-title match tonight, The B -Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) will defend their Raw Tag Team titles against The Revival next week. Nikki & Brie facing The Riott Squad in a tag match has also been announced for the episode.
The B-Team retained against The Revival on the SummerSlam pre-show when Dawson tried to pin Axel with a cradle and Dallas getting knocked backwards reversed it. The Revival got the better of them on Raw the past two weeks, with Dawson defeating Dallas and Wilder defeating Axel last Monday and The Revival winning tonight’s non-title match.
The Bellas were in action at Sunday night’s Raw-brand house show in Rochester, New York and made an appearance during a backstage segment where they celebrated with Ronda Rousey, Natalya, and Trish Stratus on tonight’s show. They teamed with Ember Moon to defeat The Riott Squad in Rochester. Brie is set to team with Daniel Bryan against Maryse & The Miz at Hell in a Cell next month, and Dave Meltzer reported last week that Rousey vs. Nikki is the working idea for October’s Evolution pay-per-view.
The Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio is hosting next Monday’s Raw. Shawn Michaels is also set to appear on the episode to promote Triple H vs. The Undertaker at WWE Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia.
Banks and Bayley won via roll-up. The crowd gave them the big star reaction.
– Finn Balor defeated Baron Corbin
After Balor won with a roll-up, Corbin jumped him and demanded that the match be restarted.
– Baron Corbin defeated Finn Balor
Corbin pinned him with the End of Days.
– An Elias segment with Bobby Lashley led to Elias eventually jumping Lashley, but Lashley fought back and left him laying with a stalling vertical suplex.
– Raw Tag Team Champions The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) defeated Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt and The Revival in a triple threat match to retain their titles
They had a very good match that had the crowd whipped into a frenzy by the end.
– No Way Jose, Heath Slater, Rhyno & Zack Ryder defeated Mike Kanellis, The Ascension & Curt Hawkins
– Bobby Roode defeated Jinder Mahal
Roode revealed that he was wearing a Rochester Americans hockey jersey under his robe, which was a big hit with the audience.
– Nikki Bella, Brie Bella & Ember Moon defeated The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan)
The Bellas received a massive pop. This was Nikki’s first match since a Madison Square Garden house show in March where she teamed with John Cena to defeat Sonya Deville & Elias and Brie’s first match since the women’s Royal Rumble this January.
Nikki hit the Rack Attack 2.0 on Morgan for the win.
– Universal Champion Roman Reigns went to a double countout with Braun Strowman
Both wrestlers battled back to the ring after the match, with Reigns eventually closing the show by spearing Strowman through a table to a huge pop. Reigns and Strowman both got the main event babyface reaction throughout the match. Very little in the way of jeers for Reigns.
The show clocked in at just under three hours including intermission. It was a fun night out.
A mixed tag match is the first thing to be officially announced for WWE’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella will be teaming against The Miz & Maryse at Hell in a Cell, which is taking place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on September 16. WWE began building to the match at SummerSlam before it was confirmed during the opening segment of tonight’s SmackDown.
The Miz and Maryse started tonight’s episode by mocking Bryan’s retirement speech from 2016, with Miz saying he’s retiring from ever facing Bryan again after defeating him at SummerSlam. Bryan ended up interrupting them and calling Miz a coward. Maryse said Bryan should change his name to “Daniel Bella,” and the storyline led to Brie coming out and punching Miz in the face. Bryan then announced the mixed tag match between the real-life married couples for Hell in a Cell.
Miz defeated Bryan at SummerSlam when Maryse, who was sitting in the front row, gave him brass knuckles to use as a weapon. A segment with Brie encouraging Bryan backstage aired later in the show.
This will be Maryse’s first match since her and Miz faced Nikki Bella & John Cena at WrestleMania 33 in 2017. Brie last wrestled in the women’s Royal Rumble match this January.
