Sheamus is getting the chance to earn another shot at Gunther’s Intercontinental title.
WWE has announced that a fatal four-way match for a future shot at the Intercontinental title will take place on SmackDown tonight. Sheamus, Ricochet, Karrion Kross, and Solo Sikoa are the four participants who will be competing in the match.
On last week’s SmackDown season premiere, Gunther and Sheamus faced off in a rematch from their classic at Clash at the Castle. Gunther again retained the Intercontinental title, but he only got the win after hitting Sheamus with a Shillelagh while the referee’s attention was turned away. There was also a moment during the match where it appeared that Gunther had tapped out, but the referee waved it off and said Gunther didn’t give up.
Sheamus got some revenge when The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland & Butch) defeated Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci) in a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook at Extreme Rules last Saturday. Sheamus put Gunther through the announce table before pinning Vinci to get the victory.
Kross was also victorious at Extreme Rules, defeating Drew McIntyre in a strap match.
Gunther won the Intercontinental title by defeating Ricochet on SmackDown this June.
Tonight’s SmackDown is being held at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Here’s what’s been announced for the episode:
Bray Wyatt returns to SmackDown
Fatal four-way Intercontinental title number one contender’s match: Sheamus vs. Ricochet vs. Karrion Kross vs. Solo Sikoa
On the first episode of his radio show since SummerSlam, Pat McAfee reflected on his performance against Happy Corbin.
McAfee defeated Corbin at SummerSlam after hitting a low blow and then a Code Red where he jumped from the second rope. After defeating Theory and losing to Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 38, SummerSlam was the third match that McAfee has had on the WWE main roster.
McAfee said on his radio show that SummerSlam was different than WrestleMania because it didn’t take place indoors. McAfee said he should have trained differently by planning for the humidity.
I did do the Swantone Bombini. I will say, I did not expect the ring posts to look the way they looked while I was climbing up there. There were some moments in that match that were really like, ‘Should have prepared differently.’ For instance, just walking into the stadium, I took a nice deep breath of that humid air — and it was thick. It was sauna thick down there. Because it was supposed to rain. Projections of the weather for like two weeks, to a week out, even the morning of are like, ‘Yeah, rain’s coming.’ And whenever it’s hot and rain’s coming, that means it’s humid as f*ck. And I didn’t even think about that as I was training in my basement in air conditioning. That immediately hit me day of. I’m walking in and, ‘Oh no, this is not in an arena. This is not in an enclosed area. This is going to be hot as f*ck out here.’ And as I’m walking around I start sweating [and] I’m like, ‘I haven’t even done anything and I am drenched.’ I started to hydrate earlier. Started to hammer some waters and Gatorades. Definitely thought though, ‘Should have trained differently for this one. Should have went outside a little bit.’ We’ll learn for later. A little bush league on my part not to think about it being outside.
A lot of my offense off the ropes and with the ropes. Ropes are wet, obviously, a little slick, humid. The shoes I was wearing, had not worn them on ropes. So there was a lot of things that as they are happening I was thinking to myself, ‘F*cking idiot. Bush league. You are so dumb.’ I go up for the base jump to catch f*cking Bum Ass Corbin off guard. And I felt real good about that like as I was flying through the air. And then left foot on first, whoosh, I felt like I had nothing under me. Luckily, grab onto him like I’m a god damn koala bear. Hang onto him, bruise up the shins on the ropes. As it is happening, they say you have so much adrenaline you don’t feel anything out there, that’s a lie. As my shins were bouncing on the ropes, ‘Oh, I’ve never been hurt so bad.’ Superplex happens, I thought it was over there.
There was a moment in the match where McAfee hit a Swanton Bomb from the top rope to a standing Corbin on the outside. McAfee said it was tough to keep his balance, but he ultimately hit the move the way he wanted to.
As I’m climbing up there, I’m like, ‘Oh no, foot slipping a little bit on that second rope, shouldn’t be a problem.’ Then I get up onto that third rope and I’m like, ‘Oh no, I should have done a little bit more work maybe in these shoes on top on that thing.’ I think I was too Italian, I went too hard with the [gesturing to the crowd]. And it threw me off. I felt the gravy of the humidity running me down. Once I caught just one little brief second, boom, out of nowhere on Corbin. Hit that thing perfect. Hit that thing exactly how I wanted to hit it. Felt good about it. Some people were tweeting me, giving me way too much credit. ‘Did you see him make it appear as if he was off balance so he could keep us all at the edge of our seat? That is what it’s all about.’ I wanted to let you know that was not the case. If you could’ve heard what was going on in-between my ears when I was up there. Immediate regret is the sound of what was talking in my brain. Happy the body was able to figure it out. If you see, left foot rebalances on the rope a little bit further down. That could have been catastrophic. If there was any on that one [his other foot], you’re talking full split, I’m down. So I’m very thankful for the ropes, making it happen up there.
McAfee clarified that it was a Code Red that he used to beat Corbin and not a Destroyer. McAfee said he’s never done the move to anyone before but this felt like the right time and place for it.
McAfee said it wasn’t the cleanest match he’s ever had, but he was happy to get out of it with a win. McAfee brought up that he and Corbin dreamed about this moment while they were both trying to make the Indianapolis Colts in 2009. McAfee played up the storyline between him and Corbin, saying that he’s willing to let bygones be bygones after SummerSlam but he doesn’t know how Corbin feels.
Wasn’t the cleanest match I’ve ever had. I certainly wasn’t prepared for the humidity, as I should have been. But I’m pumped to get out of there with a dub. And Bum Ass Corbin and I talked about that 13 years ago. Although he’s still a scumbag. We haven’t talked since the match, so I have no idea what our next encounter is going to be. I’m a bygones be bygones guy. We fought, we can move on. I don’t know how he is, especially with what he’s become with WWE.
It was announced last month that McAfee has signed a multi-year contract extension with WWE. He calls SmackDown every Friday night alongside Michael Cole.
Happy Corbin attacked Pat McAfee following WWE Money in the Bank tonight, accepting McAfee’s challenge for SummerSlam.
In the moments after Money in the Bank went off the air, Corbin attacked McAfee from behind and dragged him into the crowd, laying in punches before sending him back to ringside where he laid him out with the end of days. He then yelled that he accepted McAfee’s challenge for SummerSlam, which will take place later this month on July 31 in Nashville.
McAfee and Corbin have been feuding since Corbin lost his Last Laugh match against Madcap Moss on SmackDown last month, with McAfee berating Corbin after the loss. After McAfee issued a challenge for a match at SummerSlam, Corbin chose not to respond when asked about it on SmackDown this past Friday.
Here is the current lineup for SummerSlam:
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a last man standing match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Pat McAfee has issued a challenge to Happy Corbin to face him at WWE SummerSlam on July 30.
McAfee made the challenge on this week’s SmackDown episode, playing off an angle shot on the prior week’s episode where Corbin and McAfee had a verbal confrontation, and McAfee led the crowd in laughing Corbin out of the arena.
Michael Cole stated during SmackDown that Corbin will respond to McAfee’s challenge on next week’s episode.
McAfee has wrestled a total of four matches for WWE, including two on the same night at WrestleMania 38 this year. McAfee made his WWE in-ring debut in NXT in 2020, wrestling twice for the company that year.
McAfee’s WWE in-ring debut came in NXT with a singles match against Adam Cole at TakeOver: XXX, and he followed up by competing in the WarGames match at TakeOver: WarGames.
At WrestleMania this year, McAfee defeated Austin Theory, then lost to Vince McMahon in an impromptu match immediately after the Theory bout.
SummerSlam takes place on Saturday, July 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is the only match officially announced for the event to this point.
A new match has been added to Sunday’s Hell in a Cell event.
A no holds barred match between Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin was made following the events of tonight’s SmackDown. After being taken out by Corbin several weeks ago, Madcap returned on tonight’s SmackDown, no longer wearing suspenders. He said that the old Madcap Moss is dead and the new one wanted a fight with Corbin. The two ended up having an impromtu match, which Madcap lost by disqualification after striking Corbin with a steel chair.
After the match, Madcap covered Corbin’s head with the chair and was about to drop steel stairs on him when security and officials came in to break up the scene. In a later segment, Corbin was shown complaining to WWE official Adam Pearce, asking if Madcap would be suspended. Pearce instead made the no holds barred match for Hell in the Cell.
Here is the current line up for Sunday’s Hell in a Cell show in Chicago:
Hell in a Cell match: Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair defends against Asuka and Becky Lynch in a triple threat match
Handicap match: Bobby Lashley vs. Omos & MVP
Kevin Owens vs. Ezekiel
United States Champion Theory defends against Mustafa Ali
Six-person mixed tag team match: The Judgment Day (Edge, Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley) vs. AJ Styles, Finn Balor & Liv Morgan
Four WWE wrestlers announced selections on night two of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Miz, Titus O’Neil, Happy Corbin, and Gable Steveson all appeared on stage in Las Vegas to announce draft picks on the second night of the NFL Draft.
O’Neil announced a second round pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Corbin announced a second round choice for the Kansas City Chiefs, Steveson announced the second round selection of the Minnesota Vikings, and The Miz announced the third round pick for the Cleveland Browns.
Each wrestler has local ties to the team that they announced selections for, as The Miz is from Ohio, Corbin is from Kansas, O’Neil is from Florida, and Steveson attends the University of Minnesota.
Miz and O’Neil’s appearances were announced ahead of time in a press release by WWE last week.
The first round of the NFL Draft was held on Thursday night, while rounds two and three were held on Friday. Rounds four through seven will be held on Saturday.
Happy Corbin will take on his former sidekick at WrestleMania Backlash.
WWE has announced that Corbin vs. Madcap Moss will take place at WrestleMania Backlash on Sunday, May 8. The match was confirmed for the pay-per-view on this week’s edition of Talking Smack.
Corbin and Moss’ partnership dissolved during a Happy Talk segment on SmackDown two weeks ago, with Corbin blaming Moss for his loss to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 38. Corbin attacked Moss, but Moss got the better of their brawl.
On last night’s SmackDown, Corbin approached Moss and said he was willing to forgive him. Moss turned Corbin down, saying that there’s no chance he’ll be Corbin’s sidekick again.
Moss defeated Angel on SmackDown last night. But Corbin blindsided Moss after the match, gave him the End of Days, and stole Moss’ Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy.
WrestleMania Backlash is being held at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The updated card for the pay-per-view is listed below:
“I Quit” match: SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defends against Ronda Rousey
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins
Title unification match: Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos
A segment has been announced for tonight’s WrestleMania 38 fallout edition of SmackDown.
After his loss to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania, Happy Corbin will host a new edition of his “Happy Talk” talk show on SmackDown tonight. WWE wrote:
After his undefeated streak was stopped in its tracks by Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania, Happy Corbin returns to SmackDown to join his cackling cohort Madcap Moss for a post-Show of Shows edition of ‘Happy Talk.’
Find out if Corbin can turn his frown upside down in the wake of his devastating defeat on The Grandest Stage of Them All, tonight at 8/7 C on FOX.
McIntyre defeated Corbin at night one of WrestleMania 38 last Saturday. During the match, McIntyre became the first person to kick out of Corbin’s End of Days.
A Happy Talk segment headlined last Friday’s WrestleMania 38 go-home edition of SmackDown. McIntyre interrupted the segment and destroyed the Happy Talk set after Corbin told a joke about McIntyre’s late mother. Corbin said: “What does Drew McIntyre’s sword and his mother have in common? He lost them both.”
Tonight’s SmackDown is being held at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The episode will also feature Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns revealing what’s next for him after defeating Brock Lesnar in a winner-take-all title unification match at WrestleMania.
A new segment has been announced for tonight’s WrestleMania 38 go-home edition of SmackDown.
Happy Corbin will host another edition of his “Happy Talk” talk show on SmackDown tonight. His guest will be Drew McIntyre’s sword Angela, which Corbin stole from McIntyre on Raw earlier this week.
WWE.com wrote:
On WrestleMania Raw, Happy Corbin’s swift retreat from a Handicap Match paved the way for Drew McIntyre to get the win over him and Madcap Moss.
Immediately after the bell, however, Corbin attacked The Scottish Warrior from behind, hit End of Days and stole his beloved sword Angela!
Now, just one day before battling The Scottish Warrior on WrestleMania Saturday, the brash Corbin will welcome his special guest Angela onto another episode of ‘Happy Talk.’
In a move that is sure to draw the ire of his adversary, will Happy Corbin even make it to The Grandest Stage of Them All? Don’t miss a special WrestleMania SmackDown, this Friday at 8/7 C on FOX.
McIntyre vs. Corbin will be part of the card for WrestleMania 38 night one this Saturday.
“WrestleMania SmackDown” is the name of tonight’s SmackDown episode. The show is being held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The 2022 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is taking place at the American Airlines Center after SmackDown ends.
Here’s the updated SmackDown lineup:
The 2022 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Apollo Crews, Commander Azeez, Erik, Ivar, Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Robert Roode, Jinder Mahal, Shanky, R-Truth, Mansoor, Madcap Moss, Reggie, Drew Gulak, and Akira Tozawa have been announced for the match)
Intercontinental Champion Ricochet defends against Angel and Humberto in a triple threat match
A new match has been made official for WrestleMania 38.
WWE has confirmed that Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin will be part of the card for WrestleMania 38 night one. In storyline, the two are finally facing off after Corbin has avoided McIntyre leading into WrestleMania.
McIntyre defeated Corbin’s tag team partner Madcap Moss in matches at WWE Day 1, Elimination Chamber, and on last week’s episode of SmackDown. Corbin had Moss take his place in the match on SmackDown last Friday.
After McIntyre defeated Moss at Day 1 this January, there was an angle where McIntyre was attacked by Corbin and Moss backstage. The angle was a cover for legitimate neck issues that McIntyre was dealing with. He made his return to the ring later that month as a surprise entrant in the men’s Royal Rumble match.
WrestleMania 38 is a two-night event that’s taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3. Here’s the updated lineup for the show:
Night one (Saturday, April 2) —
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defends against Ronda Rousey
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bianca Belair
Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs. The Miz & Logan Paul
Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin
Night two (Sunday, April 3) —
Winner-take-all championship unification match: WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Night to be determined —
AJ Styles vs. Edge
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Carmella & Zelina Vega defend against Sasha Banks & Naomi
Two matches have been made official for SmackDown’s Royal Rumble go-home show.
WWE is advertising that Sonya Deville will finally make her true return to the ring against Naomi on next Friday’s SmackDown. Plus, The New Day’s Big E & Kofi Kingston will face Happy Corbin & Madcap Moss on the episode.
Deville has been feuding with Naomi for months but has refused to face her one-on-one, saying that Naomi isn’t allowed to touch her when she’s working in her role as an on-screen authority figure. Deville again abused her power on tonight’s SmackDown by making herself the referee for Naomi’s non-title match against SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. Naomi had Flair beat, but Deville refused to count the pin. When Charlotte put Naomi in the Figure Eight, Deville called for the bell before Naomi tapped out. Deville then taunted Naomi after the match.
Adam Pearce told Deville that what she did was over the line, and her issues with Naomi need to stop. Pearce said he was going to suggest to upper management that Naomi and Deville have a match next week.
Big E is a member of the Raw roster but appeared on SmackDow tonight and was in Kingston’s corner for his match against Moss. Big E sent Corbin into the steel steps at one point. After the match, Big E challenged Corbin to come into the ring. When Corbin wouldn’t, Big E gave Moss the Big Ending and said it was for Corbin.
Moss had defeated Kingston when they faced off on SmackDown last Friday.
Four new participants have been confirmed for this year’s men’s Royal Rumble match.
Happy Corbin, Madcap Moss, Sami Zayn, and Kofi Kingston have been added to the lineup for the men’s Rumble, bringing the number of announced participants up to 14. Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Austin Theory, “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville, Sheamus, Damian Priest, AJ Styles, and Big E have also been confirmed for the match.
There are still 16 open spots for the men’s Rumble.
On tonight’s SmackDown, Kingston read a proclamation from Xavier Woods announcing that Woods wouldn’t be able to be in the Royal Rumble this year due to his torn plantaris injury. Woods said the Rumble still needed royal representation, so Kingston would be in the match.
Moss defeated Kingston in a singles match on SmackDown tonight.
Zayn has been feuding with Knoxville leading into the Royal Rumble. Zayn is also the number one contender to Shinsuke Nakamura’s Intercontinental title.
The Royal Rumble is taking place at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Saturday, January 29. Here’s the updated list of entrants for the men’s and women’s Rumble matches:
A Halloween-themed tag team match is set for tonight’s SmackDown on FS1.
WWE has announced that Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs will face Happy Corbin & Madcap Moss in a Trick or Street Fight on tonight’s SmackDown. On last week’s show, Corbin defeated Nakamura in a non-title singles match.
Nakamura lost last week’s match after being distracted by an argument between Boogs and Moss. Corbin capitalized on that by throwing Nakamura into the steel steps and then hitting End of Days inside of the ring to get the win.
Nakamura defeating Corbin for his crown earlier this year was the reason that Corbin’s storyline of being down on his luck began. Things turned around for Corbin and he became Happy Corbin after winning money in Las Vegas while there for SummerSlam.
Tonight’s SmackDown is taking place at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The show is airing on FS1 due to game three of the World Series being on Fox. After tonight’s SmackDown ends, the show will replay on FS1 at both 10 p.m. Eastern time and midnight.
Riddick Moss returned to WWE television on SmackDown, aligning himself with Happy Corbin.
Corbin held the first-ever episode of Happy Talk tonight and said that the first guest would be himself. This caused Kevin Owens to come out. As Owens was walking to the ring, a hooded figure emerged and jumped Owens, soon revealing himself as Moss. Together, Moss and Corbin attacked Owens, eventually laying him out with a double chokeslam onto steel steps.
Moss has been out of action since last September, when he tore his ACL. He had been appearing at Raw since the start of that year, winning the WWE 24/7 Championship one time. He wrestled for the first time in over a year last week, defeating Odyssey Jones in a dark match prior to SmackDown.
Corbin has undergone a transformation in recent weeks, going from nearly declaring bankruptcy to winning big in Las Vegas during SummerSlam week. He has since changed his name to Happy Corbin as a result of his new fortune.
This week’s SmackDown will feature the debut of a new talk show segment.
WWE has announced that Baron Corbin will host the world premiere of “Happy Talk” on SmackDown this Friday night. Corbin has been going by the name “Happy Corbin” since the storyline of him being down on his luck turned around following his gambling winnings in Las Vegas after SummerSlam.
WWE.com wrote about the premiere of Happy Talk:
Whether he is sporting a brand-new Bentley, expounding on the virtues of Wagyu beef or just launching sneak attacks on Kevin Owens, everything has been coming up aces for Happy Corbin since he reclaimed his fortune in Las Vegas several weeks ago.
Now, prepare yourself as Corbin shares his special brand of chaotic joy with the world premiere of WWE’s newest talk show, ‘Happy Talk,’ this Friday at 8/7 C on SmackDown on FOX.
A match between Kevin Owens and Corbin was set for last week’s SmackDown, but it ended up never getting started. Corbin attacked Owens as he was making his way to the ring. He laid out Owens with a chokeslam on the apron.
Friday’s SmackDown is the go-home show for Extreme Rules. The episode is taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Here’s the updated lineup for Friday’s show:
Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defends against Apollo Crews
Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega
The world premiere of “Happy Talk” with Baron Corbin
