The final build to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series will include a confrontation segment on tomorrow’s SmackDown.
WWE has announced that Bryan will summon Wyatt to the ring for a confrontation on SmackDown tomorrow. It comes in advance of Bryan challenging for The Fiend’s Universal Championship at Sunday’s pay-per-view.
The Fiend vs. Bryan was made official for Survivor Series last Friday. Bryan appeared on Miz TV and addressed being attacked by The Fiend the previous week. Wyatt interrupted Bryan on the video screen. The segment led to Bryan challenging Wyatt to a Universal Championship match, with Wyatt accepting by doing the “Yes” chant.
Roman Reigns, Mustafa Ali & Shorty G vs. King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode is also set for tomorrow’s SmackDown. It will be the first of four straight nights at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois for WWE. The venue will also host NXT TakeOver: WarGames on Saturday, Survivor Series on Sunday, and Raw on Monday.
Daniel Bryan is officially set to challenge for the Universal Championship at Survivor Series.
During the main event segment of tonight’s SmackDown, it was confirmed that Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt will defend his title against Bryan at the pay-per-view. It’s taking place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Sunday, November 24.
Bryan’s feud with The Fiend began when The Fiend attacked Bryan during a backstage segment last week and put him in the Mandible Claw.
Tonight, Bryan appeared on a Miz TV segment on SmackDown. Bryan said Wyatt/The Fiend is mentally unstable — but so is he. As Bryan was going to say that there’s no one better to face The Fiend than him, Wyatt appeared on the video screen and interrupted Bryan. The segment led to Bryan issuing the challenge for a Universal title match and Wyatt accepting by doing the “Yes” chant.
WWE also debuted a new version of the Universal Championship with a blue strap on SmackDown. The Fiend won the title from Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel, with WWE Champion Brock Lesnar then moving over to Raw.
Here’s the updated card for Survivor Series:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Rey Mysterio
Universal Champion The Fiend defending against Daniel Bryan
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler in a non-title match
United States Champion AJ Styles vs. Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong in a non-title match
Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders (Ivar & Erik) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) vs. NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) in a non-title match
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown vs. Team NXT five-on-five-on-five men’s elimination tag match
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown vs. Team NXT five-on-five-on-five women’s elimination tag match
Survivor Series spots will be on the line in two matches that have been added to this week’s SmackDown.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley will face Nikki Cross in a non-title match on Friday’s show. If Cross wins, she’ll get the final spot on SmackDown’s women’s division team for their triple threat elimination tag match against Team Raw and Team NXT at Survivor Series.
Mustafa Ali & Shorty G vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode is also set for this week’s SmackDown. If Ziggler & Roode win, they’ll take Ali & Shorty G’s spots in the men’s triple threat elimination tag match.
The Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois is hosting Survivor Series on November 24.
Roman Reigns, King Corbin, Braun Strowman, Ali & Shorty G have been announced as SmackDown’s team for the men’s elimination match. Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, Ricochet & Drew McIntyre will be on Team Raw. NXT’s team has yet to be revealed.
Sasha Banks, Dana Brooke, Carmella & Lacey Evans have been announced for SmackDown’s women’s team. WWE hasn’t revealed any of the members of Team Raw or Team NXT.
Banks is the captain of Team SmackDown.
This week’s SmackDown is taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) will defend their titles against The Revival on the show, and Daniel Bryan will appear on Miz TV.
After being attacked by Universal Champion The Fiend last week, Daniel Bryan will appear on Miz TV on tomorrow’s episode of SmackDown.
WWE announced the Miz TV segment today, teasing that — in addition to responding to The Fiend’s attack — Bryan may also give an answer to Sami Zayn after Zayn has tried to recruit Bryan to join him and Shinsuke Nakamura.
WWE kicked off the build to The Fiend vs. Bryan last week by having The Fiend attack Bryan and put him in the Mandible Claw.
The Bryan/Zayn storyline also continued last Friday. Zayn asked Bryan to come to ringside and watch Nakamura & Cesaro’s match against Mustafa Ali & Shorty G. Bryan watched the match from the ramp but didn’t come to the ring when Zayn invited him to after. Zayn was talking to Bryan backstage when The Fiend interrupted them and attacked Bryan.
Tomorrow’s SmackDown is taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It will also feature a Tag Team title rematch, with new SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) defending their titles against former champions The Revival.
After being taped in Manchester, England earlier in the day, SmackDown aired on FOX last night and was headlined by Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin.
Corbin cut a promo mocking Reigns in the opening segment. In the main event, Corbin defeated Reigns after getting help from Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.
The episode included a segment that wasn’t shown to those in the arena at the tapings. As Sami Zayn was talking to Daniel Bryan backstage, Universal Champion The Fiend appeared and put Bryan in the Mandible Claw.
The New Day’s seventh Tag Team title reign in WWE began as they defeated The Revival, Shayna Baszler attacked Bayley for the second straight week, and NXT UK’s Imperium stable made an appearance.
An Intercontinental title match in the opener of last night’s SmackDown set up Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan facing Baron Corbin & Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event.
Reigns challenged for Nakamura’s Intercontinental title, but the match ended in a disqualification when Corbin attacked Reigns as he was about to win. When Bryan made the save, he was laid out by Nakamura after Sami Zayn stopped Bryan from hitting a dive.
Bryan pinned Nakamura in the tag team main event.
One week after fully turning heel, Bayley appeared on Miz TV last night and explained her actions. There was also a six-pack challenge on the show, with Nikki Cross winning it and becoming the number one contender to Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Raw is tonight in Bakersfield. Tyson Fury will be there, plus Natalya vs. Lacey Evans in a last woman standing match, a non-title match with Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch, Randy Orton vs. Rusev, and Miz TV with Flair and Lynch.
AEW WEDNESDAY FROM THE AGANNIS ARENA IN BOSTON ON TNT
Jimmy Havoc vs. Darby Allin – winner gets a title shot at Chris Jericho
Young Bucks vs. Private Party in the tag team title tournament.
Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevera vs. Dustin Rhodes & Hangman Page
Jon Moxley vs. Shawn Spears
NXT WEDNESDAY FROM FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY ON USA
Kushida vs. Walter
Drew Gulak vs. Lio Rush for cruiserweight title
F4W NEWSLETTER: Looking at SmackDown’s move to FOX Joseph Currier looks ahead to SmackDown’s FOX premiere and what the move will mean. Plus, Bryan Rose’s Japan notes and Vinny V’s TV reviews.
While much of the focus has been on the AEW vs. NXT Wednesday Night War, WWE main roster television materially changes this week with SmackDown’s FOX premiere.
The magnitude of WWE airing live on network television every week has been apparent since news of the FOX move broke, but it didn’t fully set in until FOX started promoting the show. WWE personalities have been featured on FOX’s most valuable sports properties, with them appearing on NFL, college football, and MLB coverage. The promotion WWE would get on FOX was said to be one of the selling points of the deal, and FOX has already been as great of a partner as WWE could have hoped for. The promotional opportunities that FOX affords have the potential to make a real difference for WWE. Not every appearance will go perfectly (FOX’s Mark Schlereth saying Rey Mysterio was “like Nacho Libre” was pretty lame), but wrestlers being positioned as on the same level as other professional sports stars in FOX’s portfolio is gigantic for WWE.
WWE is also officially being given its own studio show on FS1. Renee Young and Booker T will host WWE Backstage, which premieres at 11 p.m. Eastern time/8 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday, November 5. There will also be a preview show after game three of Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series on October 15. Young and Booker T will “weigh in on the biggest stories in WWE, and are joined by a rotating cast of guests and personalities, including current and former WWE Superstars.” The show is a FOX production, and it was reported last week that CM Punk has tried out for it.
WWE and FOX have worked in unison to make SmackDown’s FOX premiere as big as it could possibly be. Brock Lesnar will have his first match on either Raw or SmackDown since 2004 as he challenges for Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will also make his first televised WWE appearance in over three years.
The Wednesday night war has started, and there’s no more detailed rundown than in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer.
We’ve got every aspect of the business covered, including:
How every match on both shows did when it comes to viewers, head-to-head, and how different demos fared.
What things WWE tried that worked, what didn’t work, and what failed.
The money demo, baseball competition, analyze where NXT gained and lost and what it says about AEW and competition, who had the advantage when it came to replays, was it a TNT nostalgia wrestling rating, average age for WWE and AEW shows, what audiences AEW beats WWE shows in, what AEW’s success under 35 showed, comments from key people about the ratings, and we also look at Canada ratings, the UK deal and what time slot is actually the key one for AEW in the UK.
Also:
Different tricks both companies took, who did the best job of hype, what comes next week and the non-wrestling aspects of the show.
Match-by-match coverage for both shows with star ratings.
Turmoil in CMLL, the departure of Rush and Dragon Lee, how Lee found out, the future of Mistico, Rush talks his future, as does Dragon Lee, the changes in CMLL that led to this, and all kinds of new policies that changes the world’s oldest wrestling promotion.
C.M. Punk, noting his lawsuit with Colt Cabana being settled, his screen test for a new WWE show, the latest on if he will wrestle, while Cody talks his thoughts about Punk in AEW.
Cain Velasquez in pro wrestling. We look at the Forum card being postponed, WWE’s meeting with him, what angles on Raw this week related to him, update on who has signed the most key guys of late and why Velasquez’s situation is so unique.
Smackdown premier on FOX and ticket interest, Hell in a Cell, the next Saudi Arabia show, Steve Austin, Ric Flair’s title reigns, update on a WWE Hall of Famer who may get cleared, Fourth generation McMahon may become a wrestler, how much Cena affected business, Dana White exchanges words with Matt Riddle, Braun Strowman’s new deal, Upcoming Evolve bouts with WWE stars, WWE market value declines and why, most-watched shows on the WWE Network plus a look at all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week with results, highlights and business notes.
Coverage of CMLL’s biggest show of the year, the anniversary card, with match-by-match coverage and star ratings.
Coverage of ROH Death Before Dishonor, with match-by-match coverage, business notes, star ratings PPV numbers and more on Matt Taven’s new landmark ROH deal.
Coverage on this past weekend’s UFC show in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The death of Rick Bogner, look at his days as Big Tytan in Japan, the story behind the fake Razor Ramon in WWF, why his career ended, who got him into WWF but some of the guys he started out with talk about him.
Coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week, in-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos for the WWE shows and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, Wednesday night wars as well as taking questions that you can send to [email protected]. We’re looking for your thoughts on both UFC 243 and WWE Hell in a Cell, you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]. We’re also looking for reports from Raw tonight in Bakersfield with dark matches, Main Event matches and anything else not on the show to [email protected]
As far as injuries last night, Daniel Bryan was fine, but Sasha Banks and Bray Wyatt were not medically cleared for tonight. Banks took stitches in her lip. Luke Harper was also fine.
Hell in a Cell was the ninth most searched term yesterday on Google with 200,000 searches, putting it behind Friday’s Smackdown overall and only one-fifth of what the UFC show from Melbourne did the night before. In actuality, I figured the horrible ending of the show would lead to more searches, but it was actually in the usual range of what a B show does.
Mike Tyson has inked a deal with the PFL. He will host a new PFL television show called “Mike Tyson’s New Fight Game: The PFL” which will air on the PFL YouTube channel and other digital platforms before their playoffs on Friday. ESPN 2 was heavily advertising the PFL playoffs, which take place Friday night in Las Vegas (head-to-head with Smackdown which also takes place Friday night in Las Vegas), during the UFC show on Saturday. The PFL playoffs will have some fights on ESPN 2 and some on ESPN+. Sarah Kaufman and Kayla Harrison are the headliners with women’s 155 and men’s 170 tournament fights.
For those not familiar with Tyson Fury, and it may not translate if they script him, but Fury is a better promo than just about anyone in boxing, all but a few in pro wrestling and MMA as well. He’s probably at the level of Chael Sonnen. So he may surprise people and will if left to his own devices.
Also regarding Raw, tough competition tonight with the undefeated San Francisco 49ers vs. Cleveland Browns game plus a Yankees vs. Twins baseball playoff game. If they weren’t coming off a PPV, it would be a tough night for ratings.
WWE
205 Live is scheduled to be on at 10pm this Friday from Vegas.
WWE has hired James Rosenstock as the new Executive Vice President for International Business. He will be overseeing the region specific General Mangers and report directly to co-President Michelle Wilson. Rosenstock was co-CFO and Chief Strategy Office for business for ezCater, a catering company. Before that, he was President of Viceland International, where he oversaw Vice’s efforts to launch in a number of foreign markets (original report by Deadline)
NBC announced today that they are merging their television and digital content businesses under one umbrella with Bonnie Hammer put in charge.
The band “Crossfyre” has done a cover to the 1983 song “Badstreet USA” that Michael Hayes performed. They have a new video of it out.
UFC
Brok Weaver is out of what was scheduled to be his UFC debut on Saturday’s show in Tampa. Weaver got into UFC based on a strong performance both in the cage and on promos while competing of the Dana White Contenders series. They are looking for a new opponent for Thomas Gifford on short notice.
Veronica Macedo is cutting to strawweight to face Amanda Lemos on the 12/21 show in Busan, South Korea.
Dhiego Lima won his fight with Luke Jumeau and is still protesting that one whacked out judge gave the fight to his opponent. Media scores were 95% 30-27 for Lima and 5% 29-28 for Lima. None of the three judges had it 30-27 for Lima and one had Jumeau winning.
MISCELLANEOUS
There will be a celebration of life for Rick Bogner on 10/24 at 7 p.m. Mountain time. It takes place at the Cardel Theatre at 180 Quarry Park Blvd., in Calgary.
IWA East Cost on 10/19 in Nitro,WV at the King’s Way Christian Church with Jason Kincaid vs. Shawn Spears as the main event.
WOW owner Jennie Buss, founder David McLane plus wrestlers Tessa Blanchard and The Beast will be at the LA Comic Con this weekend. On Friday, there will be autograph signings from 1-8 p.m. at Booth 103 with a number of WOW wrestlers. Saturday there will be wrestlers appearing 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Booth 103. At 3 p.m. there will be a match with The Beast vs The Lioness. At 3:30 p.m., Bus, McLane and Blanchard will be signing. There will be more signings 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
PWP on Wednesday night in Omaha, NE at the Waiting Room Lounge.
Defy on 10/19 in Seattle at Washington Hall features Amazing Red and Matt Sydal. They also have shows on 11/30 and 12/1 at Washington Hall. The 12/1 show will be open to all ages with a 5 p.m. start.
Combate Americas runs 11/1 in Garland, TX at the Curtis Culwell Center and 11/8 in San Antonio at the Freeman Coliseum. Both events air live at midnight Eastern and Pacific on Galavision and at midnight Eastern and 9 p.m. Pacific on Galavision Deportes.
A new local pro wrestling television show in Houston called Championship Wrestling” Houston, will air on ABC Ch 13 on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. The show will be presented by the Arena Theater in Houston.
Pro Wrestling Eve on Saturday in London at the Resistance Gallery with Kris Wolf returning, not wrestling, but doing a segment. Rhia O’Reilly & Livvii Grace vs. Mercedes Martinez & Laura Di Matteo, Debbie Keitel & Valkyrie vs. Jinny & ? are both semifinals in a tournament for the vacant tag titles and the finals will also be on the show. Also Roxxy vs Kasey in a She-1 tournament qualifier and Nightshade vs. Angel Hazye in a She-1 tournament qualifier.
Lloyd’s Rumble on Saturday in Hot Springs, AR at the Convention Center features a preshow meet and greet with Arn Anderson, Bob Orton Jr., Buff Bagwell, Elijah Burke, Tim Storm and Matt Riviera.
Here is the 20 year retrospective story on Heroes of Wrestling with broadcaster Randy Rosenbloom. It appears today in GV Wire, a daily digital newspaper in Fresno. While Rosenbloom admits his flaws, he says the show had its good points. Plus, he reveals his thoughts on Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ performance on that show.
A tag team match has been added to Hell in a Cell next month.
Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns will team up to take on the team of Luke Harper and Erik Rowan. After Harper helped Rowan defeated Bryan on tonight’s SmackDown, Reigns came out to help Bryan from a two-on-one assault. After clearing house, Bryan asked if the crowd wanted to see him and Roman kick Harper and Rowan’s ass, which led to a “yes” chant.
The ongoing story centers around Erik Rowan, who was responsible for the series of incidents that took place during the summer to Roman Reigns, who narrowly avoided injury following a car crash and being trapped under stage equipment. Rowan and Reigns would have a match at Clash of Champions, where Rowan won after a returning Luke Harper took out Roman prior to the finish.
Hell in a Cell will take place on October 6 at the Golden One Center in Sacramento, California.
SmackDown takes place from the Chase Center in San Francisco, California tonight. It’s the final episode before SmackDown moves to Friday nights on FOX on October 4 and celebrates its 20th anniversary.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston will defend his title against Brock Lesnar on SmackDown’s FOX debut. Lesnar challenged Kingston last week and gave him the F-5 after Kingston accepted. Kingston addresses Lesnar and their upcoming match tonight.
Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan will also meet face-to-face to clear the air. Initially, Reigns accused Bryan of masterminding the attacks against him, but it ended up being Erick Rowan. Rowan and Luke Harper attacked Bryan last week and Reigns attempted to make the save.
SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley & Sasha Banks take on Charlotte Flair & Carmella. Bayley and Banks beat down Flair in a two-on-one attack after a match last week until Carmella made the save.
Shane McMahon has invited Kevin Owens to SmackDown tonight to settle the wrongful termination lawsuit. Owens filed the lawsuit after McMahon fired him the previous week.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
They recapped Erick Rowan and Luke Harper attacking Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns last week.
Rowan made his way down to the ring. He pointed out that the attack on Bryan and Reigns was art. The fans disrespected him and saw him as less than human. He changed that with destruction. He proved that he’s right.
Daniel Bryan interrupted and charged to the ring. He noted that Rowan wants respect, so he wants a fight.
Erick Rowan defeated Daniel Bryan
Rowan dominated the early moments of the match. He rocked Bryan with a clothesline and sent him to the floor. Rowan charged at Bryan and took him out with a crossbody. The fans broke into a loud “Daniel Bryan” chant.
Rowan slowed the pace down and worked the neck. Bryan fought back with uppercuts and kicks, but Rowan fired back with a spinning heel kick. Back from the break, Rowan continued to dominate Bryan and gave him a powerbomb against the ring post on the floor.
Rowan hit a running splash in the corner. He attempted a second one, but Bryan hit a dropkick to the knee. Bryan followed up with a chop block and attacked the knee. Bryan sent Rowan’s leg into the ring post several times. He jumped on the apron and hit a running dropkick to the knee against the post.
Bryan hit the running dropkicks in the corner, but Rowan caught Bryan with a massive slam for a near fall. Rowan slowed the pace down again and locked in a bear hug. Bryan broke the hold, but Rowan hit a powerbomb for another near fall.
Bryan hit a missile dropkick and the Yes Kicks for a one count. The fans loudly chanted, “Yes.” Bryan went to the top, but Rowan caught him. Bryan applied the guillotine submission and transited into the Labell lock.
Luke Harper interfered, but Bryan hit a suicide dive. Harper jumped back to his feet. Bryan backed up, and Rowan pulled Bryan on the apron. Rowan gave Bryan the Iron Claw from the apron into the ring, but Bryan’s leg inadvertently got caught up in the ropes. Rowan and the referee tried to untangled Bryan. It took a few minutes before the referee broke him free. Rowan then hit the Iron Claw again for the win.
Rowan and Harper continued to beat down Bryan. Roman Reigns ran out for the save, but Rowan and Harper took over. Bryan got back to his feet and made the save for Reigns. Rowan attempted the Iron Claw on Bryan, but Reigns hit a spear.
Reigns attempted to help up Bryan, but he pushed him away. Bryan then challenged Rowan & Harper to face Bryan & Reigns. He asked the fans for a one-word answer, and they broke into a “Yes” chant.
They aired a video package on Brock Lesnar and his dominance. Michael Cole interviewed Kofi Kingston in a sit-down interview. Cole asked why Kingston accepted Lesnar’s challenge. Kingston noted he’s a fighting champion and it’s impossible to prepare for Lesnar.
Kingston ran down a list of all the superstars he overcame. Cole asked if Kingston’s feeling the pressure of defending the title on the FOX debut. Kingston talked about FOX and noted he’s not ready to give up that title. He promised to walk out of the FOX premiere still the WWE Champion. Byron Saxton pointed out this is Lesnar’s first match on SmackDown in 15 years and his first time on FOX.
Chad Gable made his way down to the ring. They recapped Baron Corbin beating down Gable last night. Gable pointed out that Corbin likes to make short jokes. Gable noted he had a great run in the King of the Ring and nearly beat Corbin last night.
Mike Kanellis interrupted and made his way to the ring. Kanellis made short jokes and promised to prove to his pregnant wife that size does matter.
Chad Gable defeated Mike Kanellis
Gable completely dominated the match. He hit a belly-to-belly suplex and followed up with a German suplex. Gable then applied the ankle lock for the win.
After the match, Elias interrupted on the big screen. He sang a song about Gable and mocked his height.
In the back, Charlotte Flair approached R-Truth and is looking for 24/7 Champion Carmella. Truth pretended he didn’t know where she is. Carmella approached and discussed Bayley. Carmella thought Bayley was her friend.
The commentators discussed the FOX debut next week and the Raw season premiere. Tom Philips thanked the USA Network and called it an end of an era.
Banks sent Carmella to the floor and tagged in Bayley. She teased helping Carmella but viciously attacked her. The heels isolated Carmella on their side of the ring. Flair got the hot tag and ran wild. She knocked Banks off the apron with a big boot and rocked Bayley with chops.
Flair caught Bayley with a boot and applied the figure four, but Banks hit the Meteora on Flair.
Carmella made the blind tag and hit a superkick on Banks, but Bayley broke up the pin. Carmella took out Bayley with a superkick, but Banks applied the Bank Statement for the win.
Truth grabbed Carmella and ran into the crowd. A bunch of women came out and chased Truth and Carmella.
After the match, Banks and Bayley attacked Flair, but Becky Lynch ran out for the save. The fans broke into a “Becky” chant.
In the back, Shane McMahon spoke with his legal team about the Kevin Owens lawsuit.
Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (w/Sami Zayn) defeated Ali
Ali had the early advantage and sent Nakamura to the floor. Hit a suicide dive and followed up with a crossbody in the ring for a near fall. Zayn distracted Ali and Nakamura sent him into the ring post.
Back from the break, Nakamura missed a charge in the corner and Ali hit the rolling X factor. He attempted a hurricanrana, but Nakamura pushed him off. Ali landed on his feet and caught Nakamura with a dropkick in mid-air.
Nakamura regained control and hit a sliding German suplex. He attempted the Kinshasa, but Ali hit a superkick for a close near fall. Ali hit a tornado DDT and went for the 450 splash, but Zayn pulled Nakamura out of the ring. Ali hit a dive over the referee onto Nakamura.
Ali chased Zayn into the ring and Nakamura hit the Kinshasa for the win.
They recapped the Shane McMahon/Kevin Owens $25 million wrongful termination lawsuit angle.
The New Day defeated The B-Team
During the match, the commentators discussed the draft and that both teams could be split up.
The B-Team gained control by isolating Xavier Woods on their side of the ring. Curtis Axel used a chin lock to slow the pace down. Bo Dallas and Axel did the B Train around the ring, and Big E followed. Big E sent Axel into the barricade and The New Day hit the midnight hour on Dallas for the win.
In the back, Mandy Rose handed out copies of Maxim Australia magazine with Rose on the cover. Sonya Deville noted they have a match. Otis approached and wanted a selfie.
The Kabuki Warriors defeated Fire & Desire
The Kabuki Warriors had the early advantage, but the heels took over. Deville tossed Kairi Sane to the floor. Rose grabbed her Maxim magazine, but Sane kicked the magazine out of her hands. She missed the first time but hit the second.
Sane gained control, but Deville interfered, and the heels took back over. Asuka got the hot tag and ran wild. She hit a hip attack in the corner and running kick. The finish came when Asuka hit the codebreaker, and Sane hit the Insane Elbow on Rose for the win.
Shane McMahon and his legal team made their way to the ring. McMahon wasted no time and called out Kevin Owens. Owens walked out through the crowd. McMahon threatened to keep Owens tied up in court for years. The other option, Owens drops the lawsuit and McMahon reinstates him and drops the fine.
Owens teased accepting but called McMahon an idiot instead. He admitted that the lawyers and courtroom make him sick. The only thing that makes him sicker is McMahon in the locker room.
Owens noted this lawsuit isn’t about money. It’s about getting under his skin and wants to see McMahon fired. Owens challenged McMahon to one final match. If McMahon wins, Owens drops the lawsuit and stays fired. If Owens wins, McMahon gets fired. McMahon wanted to know the catch. Owens challenged McMahon to a ladder match with the legal documents hanging above the ring.
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed Becky Lynch when Sasha Banks attacked her from behind. Banks viciously beat down Lynch until officials pulled her away.
Next Week: Friday Night SmackDown debuts on FOX on October 4th. It’s the 20th-anniversary celebration and features WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Brock Lesnar. Plus, Raw Woman’s Champion Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair takes on SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley & Sasha Banks.
WWE has made their first match and segment announcements for tomorrow’s SmackDown.
Charlotte Flair & Carmella will team up against SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley & Sasha Banks on the episode. WWE is also hyping that Daniel Bryan has agreed to meet with Roman Reigns to “clear the air” between them, and there will be a sit-down interview with WWE Champion Kofi Kingston ahead of his title defense against Brock Lesnar on SmackDown’s FOX premiere.
Carmella saved Charlotte from a two-on-one attack by Bayley and Banks on SmackDown last week. Charlotte had defeated Banks by disqualification prior to that, with Bayley attacking Charlotte as she had Banks in the figure four.
Bryan and Reigns were both laid out by Erick Rowan and Luke Harper last week. Bryan & Reigns are expected to face Rowan & Harper in a tag match at Hell in a Cell on October 6.
Lesnar appeared on SmackDown last Tuesday, challenged Kingston to a title match on the SmackDown on FOX debut, and laid Kingston out with an F-5. The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California is hosting SmackDown’s FOX premiere on Friday, October 4. The theme of the show is SmackDown’s 20th anniversary celebration.
Tomorrow’s SmackDown is the show’s final episode on USA Network.
Image: Adam Pearce. Report submitted by Sean Tomlinson from Sunday’s SmackDown house show in Honolulu, Hawaii.
– Kevin Owens defeated Andrade
Owens won with a stunner. Andrade tried to sneak attack Owens after the match but ended up on the receiving end of a second stunner.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) defeated The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) to retain their titles
New Day hit the Midnight Hour on Dawson after the match.
– Carmella defeated Sonya Deville (w/ Mandy Rose)
Carmella won via submission with the Cone of Silence.
– Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (w/ Sami Zayn) defeated Ali to retain his title
Nakamura retained with the Kinshasa.
After Nakamura won, Zayn taunted the crowd and mentioned that he felt so good he would issue an open challenge. Roman Reigns answered the challenge.
– Roman Reigns defeated Sami Zayn
This wasn’t a squash match. Reigns won after hitting a spear. He had arguably the loudest pop of the night.
– Chad Gable defeated EC3
R-Truth was the special guest ring announcer. Gable won by submission with the ankle lock.
When R-Truth and Gable were celebrating, EC3 rolled up Truth for the three count to win the 24/7 Championship. They both ran to the back and then EC3 ran back out to the ring. Truth followed and was able to regain the 24/7 title with some help from Gable.
– SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair in a Honolulu Street Fight to retain her title
Solid match that saw a kendo stick, a chair, and a table used. Charlotte went for a spear, but Bayley sidestepped and sent Charlotte head-first into the turnbuckle. Bayley quickly covered Charlotte for the win.
Charlotte put Bayley through a table after the match with a senton from the top rope.
– WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan to retain his title
Kingston retained by hitting Trouble in Paradise. Bryan was doing his trademark running corner dropkicks when Kingston was able to hit the move as Bryan was attempting a third dropkick.
Most everything that you would expect coming out of the pay-per-view is the planned direction.
For Hell in a Cell, the plan right now is two matches in a cell, one male, one female with Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend (Bray Wyatt) and Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks. Hell in a Cell is taking place at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California on October 6.
After Rollins retained the Universal title against Braun Strowman last night, there was an angle where The Fiend appeared and attacked Rollins.
Lynch vs. Banks ended in a disqualification last night when Lynch went to hit Banks with a steel chair but accidentally struck the referee. Lynch and Banks brawled in a post-match angle, with Lynch putting Banks in the Dis-Arm-Her inside of a chair.
The return of Luke Harper, which was a late decision, was because Erick Rowan needed a tag team partner for a planned match, at least at this moment, against Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan. Harper helped Rowan defeat Reigns in a no DQ match last night.
Last night’s SmackDown saw Erick Rowan admit to being behind the attacks on Roman Reigns.
Daniel Bryan demanded an apology from Reigns in the main event segment of last night’s show. As Reigns was coming out to the ring, he was blindsided by Rowan. Rowan admitted to being solely responsible for the attacks and said he’s no one’s puppet. He laid out Reigns with the steel steps and put Bryan through the announce table to close the show.
Reigns will face Rowan at Clash of Champions on September 15.
After reuniting with Sasha Banks on Raw, Bayley explained her actions on SmackDown. Bayley claimed she was trying to be a role model by showing what it means to be loyal. Bayley said she couldn’t turn her back on Banks just because things got rough. She told the crowd that they deserve the kind of champion that gets the same type of recognition as Becky Lynch.
Bayley called Charlotte Flair the most selfish person on the roster, which led to Charlotte coming out to the ring. Charlotte tried to strike first by attacking Bayley after Banks’ music hit, but Bayley and Banks ended up getting the upper hand by using a steel chair and repeatedly striking Charlotte.
SmackDown’s quarterfinal matches in the King of the Ring tournament took place last night. Elias defeated Ali, while Chad Gable defeated Andrade.
The latest turn in the Roman Reigns mystery attacker angle took place last night as Reigns showed new footage from the first attack.
The footage appeared to confirm Rowan as being the culprit. Daniel Bryan slapped Rowan and said he didn’t know anything about Rowan being involved. Bryan said someone told Rowan to do this — and it wasn’t him.
Reigns gave Bryan a spear to close the episode.
Earlier in the night, the final two matches in the first round of the King of the Ring tournament took place. Ali defeated Buddy Murphy, while Chad Gable defeated Shelton Benjamin.
Randy Orton taunted Kofi Kingston and laid him out at the end of a brawl. Orton later defeated Big E, with Orton and The Revival hitting a Shatter Machine/RKO combo on Big E after the match.
Bayley defeated Lacey Evans as Charlotte Flair watched on, The Miz issued a challenge to Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura for Clash of Champions, and Drake Maverick won the 24/7 title from Elias.
WWE is hyping that Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan are “demanding an apology” from Roman Reigns on tonight’s SmackDown.
The segment comes after last week’s show ended with a cliffhanger. Bryan & Rowan said they had been conducting their own investigation into the attacks on Reigns and would reveal the “real culprit” last Tuesday. At the end of the episode, they revealed the culprit to be someone who looks like Rowan.
Reigns tweeted after last week’s reveal: “Y’all call that an answer? This whole situation is getting out of control and I don’t know what to think….but I know what I need to do.”
Tonight’s SmackDown is taking place at the Raising Cane’s River Center Arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It will also feature the two remaining first-round matches in the King of the Ring tournament. Ali is facing Buddy Murphy, and Chad Gable is taking on Shelton Benjamin.
The winner of Ali vs. Murphy will face Elias in the quarterfinals. The winner of Gable vs. Benjamin will face Andrade.
