Both semifinal matches are now set for WWE’s King of the Ring tournament.
Elias will take on Chad Gable in a semifinal match on next Tuesday’s SmackDown. Baron Corbin vs. Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe is the semifinal on the Raw side of the bracket and will take place next Monday.
Elias defeated Ali on tonight’s SmackDown to advance to the semifinals. Gable then advanced by defeating Andrade.
Corbin defeated Cedric Alexander in their quarterfinal match on last night’s Raw. Ricochet vs. Joe ended in a double pin, with it later being announced that both Ricochet and Joe are advancing to the semifinals and will face Corbin in a triple threat match.
Joe also appeared on tonight’s SmackDown. Before Gable’s match against Andrade, Joe insulted Gable and called him mentally weak.
Next week’s Raw and SmackDown are both taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The King of the Ring finals will be held at Clash of Champions. The Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina is hosting the pay-per-view on September 15.
The build to Clash of Champions continues as SmackDown takes place from the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
Daniel Bryan demands an apology from Roman Reigns for spearing him last week. Reigns had proof that Rowan was at the scene of the forklift incident. Bryan denied any involvement, but Reigns speared him anyway.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defends against Randy Orton at Clash of Champions. Last week, Orton and Kingston brawled backstage, and Orton gave Kingston a draping DDT on the floor. WWE.com is teasing that Kingston is looking for payback.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley turned against Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch last night on Raw. Bayley sided with Sasha Banks and beat down Lynch. Bayley defends her title against Charlotte Flair at Clash of Champions and is scheduled to appear tonight.
The King of the Ring continues with the quarterfinals as Ali takes on Elias and Chad Gable goes one-on-one with Andrade.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley made her way down to the ring. She got a mixed reaction. There was a good amount of boos but also some cheers. She said nothing has changed and she was siding with her best friend. She’s just trying to lift people with her heart and hugs.
She called herself a hero and role model. She’s trying to show the kids what it means to be loyal. Bayley couldn’t turn her back on her friend. She’s trying to put SmackDown on the map and wants to prove that she’s a deserving champion.
Bayley promised to beat the most selfish person on the roster, Charlotte Flair. Flair’s music hit and she made her way to the ring. Flair noted what you see is what you get. She said there is no blindsiding and no hugging. She told Bayley to hold the belt real tight because she’s coming for it.
Sasha Banks music hit, and she walked down the aisle. Flair attacked Bayley and rocked her with a boot. Banks jumped in the ring, but Flair cut her off. Bayley attacked Flair from behind with the chair.
The fans chanted “One more time.” Bayley handed the chair to Banks, and she attacked Flair. The fans broke into a loud “Becky” chant.
Elias defeated Ali in a King of The Ring Quarterfinal match
This was a good match. Ali had the early advantage and sent Elias to the floor. He attempted a dive, but Elias caught him and slammed him on the ramp. Elias threw Ali around ringside and press slammed him into the timekeeper’s area.
Back from the break, Ali rocked Elias with a dropkick. He rocked Elias with hard chops and followed up with the rolling X factor for a near fall.
Ali hit a suicide dive and sent Elias into the barricade. Elias injured his arm, but Ali injured his knee.
Ali climbed to the top, but Elias cut him off. Ali fought back and hit a 450 to Elias’s arm. Ali locked on the cross face, but Elias made the ropes. Elias fought back and hit a sit-out powerbomb for a close near fall.
Elias worked over the injured knee and hit it against the post. They fought on the top rope, but Elias pushed Ali off. Ali moonsaulted to the floor and landed on his feet. Elias attempted a dive, but Ali hit a superkick.
Ali attempted the 450, but Elias moved. Elias fought back and hit the drift away for the win. Elias advances to the semi-finals and faces the winner of Chad Gable vs. Andrade later tonight.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Samoa Joe backstage. He discussed facing Ricochet and Baron Corbin in the semi-finals. He’s here scouting the competition and promises to become king.
Fire & Desire defeated Women’s Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross in a non-title match
Cross attacked Mandy Rose with forearms to start the match. Sonya Deville distracted Cross and Rose attacked her from behind. Cross hit a cross body from the top to the floor.
Back from the break, the heels were firmly in control. Bliss got the hot tag and ran wild. Cross took out Rose with a crossbody.
Bliss caught Deville with a DDT and climbed to the top for Twisted Bliss.
Cross applied the sleeper on Rose on the floor. Rose sent Cross into the apron. Bliss was distracted and then attempted Twisted Bliss, but Deville got her knees up. Rose hit a knee on Bliss for the win.
Samoa Joe ran into Chad Gable in the back. Joe mocked Gable for being short and called him Bilbo. He told Gable he’s mentally weak. Joe walked away, but Gable seemed bothered by the comments.
Randy Orton made his way down to the ring. The fans broke into a loud “Randy” chant. Orton promised to win the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions and called Kofi Kingston a fraud. He discussed injuring Kingston last week.
The fans broke into a loud “Kofi” chant. He showed footage of Orton attacking The New Day over the last few weeks. Orton promised no more traps and challenged Kingston to come down to the ring.
Kingston’s music hit but The Revival attacked him as he came out. Big E and Xavier Woods are injured an unable to help Kingston. Kingston fought back against The Revival, but Orton jumped Kingston.
Orton repeatedly called Kingston stupid as he stomped on him. Kingston fought back again, but he couldn’t overcome the odds. Orton and The Revival then gave Kingston a super RKO.
They recapped the Roman Reigns mystery attacker angle.
Chad Gable defeated Andrade (w/Zelina Vega) in a King of the Ring Quarterfinal match
On commentary, Corey Graves continued to make short jokes throughout the match. Zelina Vega mocked Gable for being short as well.
This was another good match. Andrade attempted a moonsault, but Gable rolled out of the way. Andrade landed on his feet and tried a standing moonsault, but Gable got the knees up.
Gable hit a moonsault for a very close near fall. The fans broke into a “Gable” chant.
Andrade fought back but missed the double knees in the corner.
Gable hit a German suplex, but Vega distracted the referee. Andrade caught Gable with a back elbow and attempted the hammerlock DDT, but Gable rolled through and pinned Andrade to advance to the semi-finals. The fans popped huge for Gable’s win. Gable takes on Elias in the next round.
Aleister Black defeated Shelton Benjamin
Black had the early advantage, but Benjamin took over. Black fought back with kicks. Benjamin caught Black with a knee, but Black hit a series of strikes. Benjamin missed a kick, and Black hit Black Mass for the win.
In the back, Drake Maverick fought off The Singh Brothers and Curtis Axel to retain the 24/7 title. Bo Dallas snuck up from behind and rolled up Maverick to win the title.
Intercontinental Champions Shinsuke Nakamura defeated “Andrew Howard”
Nakamura and Sami Zayn made their way down to the ring. Zayn mocked the fans. He asked Nakamura’s opponent if his name is Andrew Howard. He shook his head no. Zayn said it doesn’t matter since he’s named The Miz tonight.
Zayn did commentary on the live mic during the match. This was a total squash and ended when Nakamura hit the Kinshasa.
Bo Dallas rolled into the ring, trying to get away from a bunch of guys. Maverick rolled up Dallas to regain the 24/7 title.
R-Truth was in a lamp disguise next to the King of the Ring throne. Truth rolled up Maverick to win the title.
Daniel Bryan made his way down to the ring. The fans broke into a loud “Daniel Bryan” chant. He said it’s nice to around people that believe him. He said he hates liars and demands an apology from Roman Reigns.
Reigns made his way down to the ring. Rowan attacked Reigns from behind and threw him into the ring steps. Bryan tried to stop Rowan, but he shoved Bryan to the floor.
Rowan gave Reigns a powerbomb into the ring post. Rowan then gave Reigns the Iron Claw in the ring. He grabbed the mic and pointed out that Reigns thinks Bryan was behind the attack, but it was Rowan. He mocked Reigns and challenged Bryan to come in the ring and slap him. Rowan is nobody’s puppet.
The fans broke into a loud “Yes” chant. Rowan admits he was behind the attacks. He hit Reigns with the steps and cleared the announce table.
Bryan got in Rowan’s face and slapped him. Rowan snapped and gave Bryan the Iron Claw through the table. Rowan yelled that nobody tells him what to do.
Three 24/7 Championship changes have taken place since the end of this week’s WWE television episodes.
WWE uploaded a video where Drake Maverick interrupted a performance by Elias at FOX Sports’ Founders Day event. While Elias was focused on Maverick, R-Truth rolled up Elias to win the 24/7 title. Maverick then unsuccessfully chased after R-Truth and got thrown in a dunk tank.
In a video filmed on the set of FOX Sports’ college football studio show, host Rob Stone pinned R-Truth to win the title after Truth fell. Elias came up from behind and rolled up Stone to regain the championship.
In storyline, the 24/7 title rules were suspended for the night on this past Tuesday’s SmackDown so that Elias could focus on his King of the Ring first-round match against Kevin Owens. Elias defeated Owens with the help of Shane McMahon.
Ali vs. Buddy Murphy is set for the first round of King of the Ring, with the winner advancing to face Elias in the quarterfinals.
Both 24/7 title change videos are available to watch below:
Both heels won their King of the Ring matches on this week’s SmackDown.
Andrade defeated Apollo Crews to advance to the quarterfinals, while Elias advanced by defeating Kevin Owens.
Both matches involved outside interference. After Zelina Vega got involved, Andrade hit a back elbow and the hammerlock DDT to defeat Crews. Shane McMahon made himself a referee for Elias vs. Owens as the match was going on. Shane did a fast count when Elias rolled up Owens.
Ali vs. Buddy Murphy and Chad Gable vs. Shelton Benjamin are the remaining first-round matches on the SmackDown side of the bracket. The winner of Ali vs. Murphy will face Elias in the quarterfinals. The winner of Gable vs. Benjamin will take on Andrade.
Samoa Joe and Cedric Alexander advanced to the quarterfinals by winning their matches on this Monday’s Raw. Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre and The Miz vs. Baron Corbin are the two first-round matches left on the Raw side of the bracket.
The rest of the first-round matches will take place next week.
The finals of King of the Ring are being held at Clash of Champions on September 15.
WWE has announced two King of the Ring first round matches for Monday’s Raw and two for Tuesday’s SmackDown.
Cesaro vs. Samoa Joe and Cedric Alexander vs. Sami Zayn are set for Raw, while Kevin Owens vs. Elias and Apollo Crews vs. Andrade will take place on SmackDown.
The bracket for King of the Ring was revealed yesterday. Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre and The Miz vs. Baron Corbin are the other first round matches on the Raw side of the bracket. The winner of Cesaro vs. Joe will face the winner of Ricochet vs. McIntyre in the second round. The winner of Alexander vs. Zayn will face the winner of Miz vs. Corbin.
Ali vs. Buddy Murphy and Chad Gable vs. Shelton Benjamin are the other first round matches on the SmackDown side. The winner of Owens vs. Elias will take on the winner of Ali vs. Murphy in the next round. The winner of Crews vs. Andrade will face the winner of Gable vs. Benjamin.
King of the Ring is a multi-week tournament that will culminate at Clash of Champions on September 15.
Monday’s Raw is taking place at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is hosting Tuesday’s SmackDown.
WWE has added two matches to the lineup for Tuesday’s SmackDown.
Finn Balor vs. Dolph Ziggler is set for the episode, along with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Drew McIntyre & Elias in what looks to be a non-title match.
WWE is hyping that Balor is “out to teach Ziggler some respect” after Ziggler superkicked Shawn Michaels during Michaels’ appearance on Miz TV this week. The New Day agreeing with Kevin Owens in his feud against Shane McMahon is the reason for Big E & Woods vs. McIntyre & Elias.
Balor issued a SummerSlam challenge to Bray Wyatt this week and will face “The Fiend” version of Wyatt at the August 11 pay-per-view in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins has been announced for Monday’s Raw.
Tuesday’s SmackDown is taking place at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. Trish Stratus will appear on a King’s Court segment with Jerry Lawler, and Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville in a non-title match has also been set up for the episode.
R-Truth lost the WWE 24/7 title tonight on SmackDown, but regained it during the closing moments of the show.
As usual, R-Truth was being chased around by many of the WWE undercard stars. He and Drake Maverick ended up being in the ring, with Truth pinning Maverick to retain the title. But he did this while Shane McMahon, Elias and Drew McIntyre were in the ring, celebrating Shane McMahon Appreciation Night. All three men attacked Truth, with Elias pinning him to win the title.
Shane McMahon then bended the rules by suspending the 24/7 stipulation so that Elias could fully prepare for the main event, where R-Truth joined forces with Roman Reigns to take on Elias and Drew McIntyre. Reigns won the match by pinning Elias.
Reigns speared Elias after the match, then motioned a recovering R-Truth to cover him. He then did just that, pinning him to win back the championship. This would make Truth the first ever two-time WWE 24/7 champion.
WWE has made a few announcements for the post-Money in the Bank episode of SmackDown.
The New Day will kick off the show with a welcome back celebration for Big E, new SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley will make an appearance and give an “exclusive interview,” and Roman Reigns will face Elias in a rematch from Sunday’s pay-per-view.
Big E underwent surgery for a torn meniscus last month and hasn’t appeared on WWE television since. In his absence, Kevin Owens was briefly an honorary member of The New Day before the storyline led to Owens turning against Kofi Kingston. Kingston retained against Owens at Money in the Bank.
Bayley won the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match on Sunday and cashed in her briefcase later in the night, defeating Charlotte Flair to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Charlotte had won the title from Becky Lynch right before that, with Bayley then saving Lynch from Charlotte and Lacey Evans.
After Elias gave him a guitar shot backstage, Reigns defeated Elias in seconds at Money in the Bank. It was announced on tonight’s Raw that Reigns will face Shane McMahon at Super ShowDown in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, June 7.
This week’s SmackDown is taking place at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
After both joined SmackDown in the Superstar Shake-up, Roman Reigns and Elias are set to face each other at Money in the Bank.
Reigns vs. Elias was announced for the pay-per-view on tonight’s SmackDown. On last week’s show, it was hyped that Vince McMahon would be revealing “the biggest acquisition in SmackDown Live history.” He introduced Elias as that person, then Reigns came out, Superman punched Vince, and laid out Elias.
Shane McMahon appeared in tonight’s opening segment and called out Reigns, saying they were going to settle things in the ring. Shane threatened to fire Reigns if he didn’t come to the ring.
Elias then tried to attack Reigns. Reigns fought back against Shane and Elias, but Elias ended up hitting Drift Away on Reigns.
In a backstage segment, Elias sang a song challenging Reigns to a match at Money in the Bank. Reigns accepted later in the show.
Money in the Bank is taking place at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut on May 19. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against AJ Styles
Raw & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending the SmackDown title against Charlotte Flair
Raw & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending the Raw title against Lacey Evans
Roman Reigns, as well as Elias, are officially on SmackDown Live.
Vince McMahon closed SmackDown tonight by presenting one of the biggest acquisitions in the show’s history, which was pushed throughout the night. He introduced Elias, who talked about how his performances were interrupted at WrestleMania and Raw in the last couple of weeks.
He was set to perform again when Roman Reigns’ music hit. He came to the ring and speared Elias, laying him out. McMahon confronted Reigns, but ended up taking a Superman punch as a result, with Elias grabbing McMahon before he fell to the floor. Reigns then posed to close out the show.
Reigns has been a part of the Raw roster since the return of the brand split in 2016. Elias has also been with the Raw brand since he was called up from NXT in 2017.
Others who joined the SmackDown roster tonight include Finn Balor, Ember Moon, Bayley, Kairi Sane, Lars Sullivan and Buddy Murphy.
Though he didn’t take part in WrestleMania 35, The Undertaker made a surprise appearance on tonight’s episode of Raw.
Undertaker was involved in an angle with Elias the night after WrestleMania. It ended with Undertaker laying Elias out with a big boot, a chokeslam, and a tombstone piledriver.
The night after he was interrupted by “Dr. of Thuganomics” John Cena, Elias cut a promo saying Cena ruined his WrestleMania for the second year in a row. Elias vowed that next year was going to be a different story and said Cena isn’t a musician or an artist.
Elias then said he was going to show everyone how easy it is to rap. He ended with: “Every superstar wants to make their name on Elias. I get it, you’re a fan. But mark my words — the next one to interrupt me is a dead man.”
That led to Undertaker’s appearance. Undertaker and Elias went face-to-face, Elias acted like he was going to leave, and Undertaker hit the big boot when Elias charged at him.
Prior to tonight, Undertaker’s most recent appearance for WWE was at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia this past November. Triple H & Shawn Michaels defeated Undertaker & Kane at that show.
Submitted by Andrew Cinalli from Saturday night’s dual-brand house show in Wheeling, West Virginia
– Elias started the show with a performance knocking “Country Roads” by John Denver, which brought out Kofi Kingston and Big E and set up Kingston vs. Elias for the main event.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev and Cesaro & Sheamus in a triple threat match to retain their titles
The Usos pinned Nakamura after a double superkick.
– WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy defeated Tony Nese to retain his title
Murphy hit a knee to the head after a referee distraction. Murphy kicked out of a 450 splash from Nese at one point.
– Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor ended in a double countout
– Elias was out again but was interrupted by Becky Lynch. She made fun of him before he left.
– SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Becky Lynch to retain her title
Charlotte won with a roll-up while using the ropes. As Charlotte left, Asuka came out and threw her back into the ring. Lynch laid out Charlotte with a stunner.
– AJ Styles defeated United States Champion Samoa Joe by DQ
Joe hit Styles with a chair to cause the disqualification. Styles then stood tall after hitting a Phenomenal Forearm.
– Asuka & Naomi defeated Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville
For the second straight year, there will be an Elias performance segment at WrestleMania.
Elias appeared on A Moment of Bliss on tonight’s Raw, and it was announced that he’ll be the “headlining musical act” at WrestleMania 35. The show is taking place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 7.
No Way Jose’s conga line (which was led by Heavy Machinery) came out during Moment of Bliss. Jose was disguised and attacked Elias, which led to Elias then defeating him in a match.
Elias interrupted John Cena at WrestleMania 34 last year, with the lights going out and it being teased that it was The Undertaker. Elias performed an anti-Cena song, Cena laid out Elias with the Attitude Adjustment, and Undertaker then defeated Cena.
Bliss has been announced as the host of WrestleMania 35. Michael Che and Colin Jost, the hosts of Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, will be the “special guest correspondents.”
WWE is advertising that Jeff Jarrett will be wrestling on Raw for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Jarrett vs. Elias has been announced for Monday’s episode of Raw. Road Dogg will be in Jarrett’s corner for the match.
Elias laid out Jarrett and Road Dogg with guitar shots on this week’s Raw. The angle took place the night after Jarrett was a surprise entrant in the men’s Royal Rumble match. Elias and Jarrett were the first two entrants in the match, and it led to Elias attacking Jarrett as they were about to perform a duet. Elias ended up eliminating Jarrett after hitting a guitar shot.
Jarrett was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018 and has now returned to the company as a producer.
Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor in a non-title match has also been announced for Monday’s Raw. Lashley and Lio Rush interrupted Balor on this week’s show, with Lashley laying Balor out.
Monday’s Raw is taking place at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Kurt Angle addressing his future in WWE is also set for the episode, along with Sasha Banks & Bayley facing Alicia Fox & Nikki Cross for Raw’s final spot in the Women’s Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match.
WWE has made another announcement for the first Raw of 2019.
Elias vs. Baron Corbin is set for Monday’s Raw, which is taking place at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. There was an angle on this week’s episode where Elias interrupted Corbin as Corbin was complaining after losing the “fresh start” battle royal for an Intercontinental title shot. Elias sang a song about Corbin, they started brawling, and Corbin bailed after Elias got the better of it.
Raw Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode & Chad Gable will defend their titles against The Revival on Monday’s episode, and WWE has announced that Roode & Gable vs. The Reviva lwill now be a lumberjack match. Monday’s show will also feature appearances by John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, and Hulk Hogan. Alexa Bliss will host a new talk show segment called “A Moment of Bliss,” with Ronda Rousey appearing as her guest.
