After squashing John Cena at WrestleMania 34, The Undertaker already has his next match scheduled.
WWE announced today that Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match is set for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on Friday, April 27th.. The show is taking place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah and will air live on the WWE Network at noon Eastern time.
Despite seemingly retiring last year, The Undertaker pinned Cena in under three minutes on Sunday. Part of the story for the match was that it wasn’t officially announced in advance, with Cena repeatedly calling Undertaker out in the build to WrestleMania.
The Greatest Royal Rumble is the first event in WWE’s ten-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority. The updated card is listed below:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
John Cena vs. Triple H
The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. either Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt or The Revival for the vacant Raw Tag Team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
WWE, United States, and Cruiserweight Championship matches that have yet to be revealed
The triple threat match for the United States title at WrestleMania has now been turned into a fatal four way.
Rusev was added to the United States title match tonight on SmackDown after he pinned champion Randy Orton during a tag team match pitting Rusev (who subbed for a apparently injured Sunil Singh) and Jinder Mahal against Bobby Roode and Orton. After the match, Mahal met Rusev backstage and thanked him for picking up the win. Rusev mentioned since that he just pinned the United States champion, he should be in the title match at WrestleMania. Jinder Mahal said he’d get him tickets instead.
Announcers later said that SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan added Rusev to the match at WrestleMania.
Roode, Mahal and Orton have been feuding with one another for the last couple of months, with Roode pinning Mahal in the finals of a tournament to win the title. Orton defeated Roode last month at Fastlane to win the championship for the first time.
Two more matches have been added to the card for Sunday’s Fastlane pay-per-view.
Before he challenges for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, Shinsuke Nakamura will be in action against Rusev on Sunday night. That was announced after Nakamura accepted a challenge from Rusev during a backstage interview on SmackDown tonight. Rusev interrupted him and wanted revenge after Nakamura defeated Aiden English last Tuesday, with the story being that English getting hit with a knee to the throat made him unable to sing this week.
AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and John Cena in a six-pack challenge at Fastlane, and the winner will go on to face Nakamura at WrestleMania on April 8th.
Naomi & Becky Lynch vs. Natalya & Carmella was also made official for Sunday later in the show. Naomi proposed the idea to Natalya after Lynch tapped out Carmella in a singles match.
With the two additions, the card for Fastlane is up to six matches. Here’s the updated lineup:
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and John Cena in a six-pack challenge
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defending against Ruby Riott
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev
United States Champion Bobby Roode defending against Randy Orton
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defending against The New Day
Happy Rusev Day on the fifth week of Mixed Match Challenge as the team of Lana & Rusev advanced in the tournament.
Rusev & Lana will wrestle again on week nine against either Bobby Roode & Charlotte Flair or Apollo Crews & Nia Jax. Next week is the last first round match before the quarterfinals in two weeks time.
Rusev & Lana became the second married couple to move on into the next round of the tournament. Jimmy Uso & Naomi were the first husband-and-wife duo to advance when they won their match last week.
On commentary, Michael Cole claimed the win by Lana was her first in-ring victory in WWE. She certainly celebrated like it was a monumental win. The post-match celebration looked as if someone medaled in an Olympic event. Much like the Olympics, there was also an opening ceremony with music and ballyhoo.
The show opened with a concert by Bayley & Elias. They strummed their guitars as the announcers ran through their opening notes.
Screenshots showed highlights of the angle from Raw last night where Braun Strowman attacked Elias with what Michael Cole called a bass guitar. Others have called it a cello. Regardless, it is now in pieces. Selling the attack, Elias had his ribs bandaged.
After an instrumental intro, Elias & Bayley paused their strumming as they introduced themselves to the audience. They each were only able to say hello before the entrance of Rusev interrupted them.
Rusev waited so his wife Lana could join him on the stage. They wore matching gear and looked cute as a basket full of puppies. Video clips showed Rusev helping to train Lana for the tournament by having her break wooden boards and shout “Lana is number one!”
Lana & Rusev defeated Bayley & Elias
Lana pinned Bayley for the married couple to advance in the tournament. Much like other matches in the tournament, there was plenty of gaga. The story of the match revolved around Lana’s quest for victory.
The match began with Rusev leading a chant proclaiming Lana is the best and she is number one. Overconfident, Lana proceeded to beg off when Bayley started out-wrestling her on the mat. Rusev gave Lana some advice, and she hulked up. Moments later, she found herself backpedling again.
Taking a powder on the outside, Lana grabbed Elias’ guitar. She threatened to use it as a weapon, but Rusev stopped her. Rusev then dropped the guitar on the floor, and it landed with a thud. Elias was not happy. He retrieved the guitar, and anxiously strummed a chord. Relieved it still sounded good, he gently sit the guitar back down.
Back in the ring, Rusev wanted a test of strength. Elias did a classic heel cheapshot — acting as if he as going for the knuckle lock only to kick Rusev in the gut. Elias began to work over Rusev. Bayley taunted from the apron as she mocked the “number one” chants from earlier. Rusev made a comeback — and Rusev crush. Despite the crushing, Elias esacped the Accolade to tag out.
Lana ran wild, leading to an X-factor for a near fall. Bayley soon fired up. Perched on the turnbuckles, Bayley went to set up a high risk move only for Lana to trip her. Bayley smacked into the top turnbuckle, and Lana covered for the pinfall. Happy Rusev Day.
Lana celebrated like she won gold at the Olympics. She gave an impassioned victory speech in a foreign language during a post-match interview. Rusev closed the promo by declaring that today was offically “Ravishing Rusev Day” in honor of his wife. And they all lived happily ever after.
Next week on Mixed Match Challenge, Nia Jax & Apollo Crews meet Charlotte & Bobby Roode in the last first round match.
A match with WWE Championship implications and a United States title match are set for SmackDown next week.
In a backstage segment with Daniel Bryan tonight, it was announced that Kevin Owens would be facing Sami Zayn in a number one contender’s match next Tuesday. The winner will go on to challenge for AJ Styles’ title at Fastlane on March 11th.
Styles retained against Owens & Zayn in a handicap match at the Royal Rumble, but the storyline coming out of it was that Styles pinned Owens when Owens wasn’t the legal man. Owens and Zayn lobbied for a rematch, but Bryan made them face each other instead.
There was dissension between Owens & Zayn as they took on Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event this week. Zayn closed the show by doing an interview were he said their friendship isn’t over, but Owens has gotten his own opportunities and now is Zayn’s time.
Fastlane is SmackDown’s final pay-per-view before WrestleMania and will take place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Before Nakamura won the Royal Rumble, the venue had been advertising that Styles would be defending against Nakamura, Owens, Zayn, and Randy Orton in a fatal five-way. Fastlane will likely be the last time the WWE title is on the line before WrestleMania.
Also on next week’s show, Bobby Roode will be defending his United States Championship against Rusev. That was set up when Rusev defeated Kofi Kingston, Jinder Mahal, and Zack Ryder in a fatal four-way match tonight.
WWE has confirmed two more teams for the Mixed Match Challenge tournament.
It was first announced today that Sasha Banks would be teaming with Finn Balor, with Kurt Angle referring to them as a “dream team.” It was then revealed that Lana and Rusev, who have been kept apart on SmackDown despite being a real-life married couple, would be paired together.
Naomi and Jimmy Uso, who are also married, will be in the tournament but it hasn’t been confirmed if they’ll be a team.
Banks & Balor and Lana & Rusev join Alexa Bliss & Braun Strowman and Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode as the first four teams to be announced for Mixed Match Challenge, which is a 12-episode series that will debut on Facebook Watch at 10 p.m. Eastern time after SmackDown on January 16th. It will feature wrestlers from both Raw and SmackDown in a single-elimination mixed tag team tournament, with each episode scheduled to be 20 minutes long.
Here’s the remaining list of wrestlers who still need a partner for the tournament:
Raw —
Alicia Fox
Asuka
Bayley
A male wrestler to be announced (replacement for Enzo Amore)
Goldust
Nia Jax
The Miz
A male wrestler who will be selected by fan vote
SmackDown —
Becky Lynch
Carmella
Jimmy Uso
Naomi
Natalya
Sami Zayn
Shinsuke Nakamura
A member of The New Day (to be determined by fan vote)
WWE made changes to two already announced title matches for Clash of Champions on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.
After Rusev & Aiden English defeated The New Day earlier in the night, it was announced that Rusev & English had been added to the tag title match for the pay-per-view. It will be The Usos defending against New Day, Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, and Rusev & English in a fatal four-way match. The rules for the fatal four-way are that a member from each team will be in the ring at the same time and they can only tag their partner in.
Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya for the SmackDown Women’s Championship is still scheduled, but it will now be a lumberjack match. That was set up in a backstage segment where Carmella, Lana, and Tamina were complaining about Charlotte vs. Natalya until they ended up arguing with The Riott Squad when Ruby Riott said she should be in the Women’s title picture.
Randy Orton will be facing Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a tag team match at the PPV, with the storyline being that Orton will be teaming with a partner of his choosing.
Baron Corbin defending his United States Championship against Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler in a triple threat match and Jinder Mahal challenging for AJ Styles’ WWE title are also set for Clash of Champions, which will take place in Boston on December 17th.
This was a slow match with Owens taunting the crowd a lot. Nakamura picked up the win with the Kinshasa.
– The Ascension defeated The Colons
The Ascension played face, high-fiving everyone around the ring. There was a funny moment where Primo didn’t let Epico tag him in to face Konnor. Konnor pinned Epico after The Ascension hit their Fall of Man finisher.
– Triple H defeated Rusev (w/ Aiden English)
Both Rusev and Triple H got huge pops and there were chants for both. Triple H hit the Pedigree on Rusev to get the win, then gave English one after.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated Breezango and Luke Harper & Erick Rowan to retain their titles
Breezango did a lot of comedy and fun stuff, with Tyler Breeze being the punching bag for the other teams to beat on. All of the teams got involved in shenanigans in the ring at the end, then Jey Uso rolled up Fandango to retain.
– Charlotte Flair, Naomi & Becky Lynch defeated SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya, Carmella, Tamina & Lana
The heels did the usual spots with one distracting the referee while the others would attack Lynch. She made the hot tag to Charlotte, who submitted Lana with the Figure Eight after everyone else was out of the ring.
– United States Champion Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Roode, and Sami Zayn to retain his title
All of the heels (including Zayn) ganged up on Roode until Corbin accidentally hit Ziggler with a lariat. The heels split from there and Roode gave Ziggler the Glorious DDT following a series of finishers, but Corbin pushed Roode out of the ring and pinned Ziggler to retain.
The crowd was chanting “Where’s your briefcase?” at Corbin at one point, so Ziggler came into the crowd and picked up a replica Money in the Bank briefcase to give to him.
– AJ Styles defeated WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) in a non-title match
This was previously scheduled to be a title match, but Mahal said he didn’t have to defend his championship here because of the announcement of their match on SmackDown this week. Styles won with the Phenomenal Forearm and then gave Samir Singh the Styles Clash after the match.
Two matches are set for next week’s episode of SmackDown and a Cruiserweight title match has been confirmed for Survivor Series.
WWE announced on last night’s SmackDown that Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable would be challenging for The Usos’ Tag Team titles and Rusev would be facing AJ Styles in a Survivor Series qualifying match next Tuesday.
Benjamin & Gable became number one contenders when they defeated Breezango, The Hype Bros, and The Ascension in a fatal four-way match last month. The winner of Rusev vs. Styles will become the final member of SmackDown’s men’s division Survivor Series team, joining Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode & Shinsuke Nakamura.
Whichever team holds the SmackDown tag titles will face Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose in a non-title match at Survivor Series on November 19th.
On 205 Live last night, it was also announced that Enzo Amore would be defending his Cruiserweight Championship against Kalisto at the pay-per-view. That will be Survivor Series’ only title match since all of Raw’s champions are facing SmackDown’s champions in non-title bouts at the show.
– The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) & Randy Orton defeated The Usos & Sami Zayn
This was a fun match and was longer than the six-man tag from the first show in Santiago. They played to the crowd and the chants they were doing. The finish was Orton hitting an RKO on Zayn, who was coming off of the top rope.
After the match, New Day made Orton dance as they did typical fun house show stuff.
– Sin Cara defeated Aiden English
English came out to the same chants as he did the first night (the audience chanted a local singer’s name) but said he now understands them and the crowd laughed really hard. English also spoke a little Spanish, which the audience appreciated.
The match was okay, with Sin Cara getting a good reaction for his moves. He hit a frog splash from the top to win.
– SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya defeated Naomi to retain her title
Natalya retained after submitting Naomi with the Sharpshooter.
– Triple H defeated Rusev
Rusev came out and started speaking in Bulgarian, then Triple H’s music hit and the place went nuts. There were huge chants for Triple H, with him staring out into the crowd and pointing at the people. Rusev did his job as a heel as no one cheered him at all. Triple H got constant chants, including an “NXT” one that he nodded at.
Rusev got most of the offense during the match and Triple H did a lot of good selling. Triple H eventually hit his signature moves and did a crotch chop, then got the pin after hitting the Pedigree. This was good stuff.
When it was over, The New Day came out and made Triple H dance. He danced for a bit before hitting Kingston with a Pedigree.
– Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch defeated Carmella & Tamina
Lynch got the biggest pop and Carmella was pretty funny with her screams and shenanigans. Charlotte ended up submitting Carmella with the Figure Eight to win it for her team.
– United States Champion Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger and Bobby Roode in a triple threat match to retain his title
Roode and Dillinger got big reactions. Corbin received a lot of boos at first but then got some chants during the match. There was one chant in Spanish about how his stomach looks like a sad face. The crowd also did “NXT,” “10,” and “Glorious” chants. Roode really liked the reaction he got.
The match was a standard triple threat but it was good and very fluid. Corbin pinned Roode with an opportunistic roll-up after he had hit the Glorious DDT on Dillinger.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his title
Mahal came out and asked us if we understood what he was saying in English. When the crowd said yes, he started speaking in Punjabi. His shoulder was taped up with kinesio tape both nights in Chile.
The match was better than the one they had at Hell in a Cell due to more interference from the Singhs. After Mahal retained, Nakamura was beaten down until he made a comeback and ended up hitting the Kinshasa on Mahal to close the show.
– The SmackDown roster (plus John Cena) concluded their international tour with a stop in China yesterday before flying home for this week’s television. There was only one merch stand with a Cena shirt, a Shinsuke Nakamura shirt, an AJ Styles shirt, an event shirt, and a few accessories/trinkets.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated Dolph Ziggler & Baron Corbin to retain their titles
New Day were really over, getting lots of “New Day Rocks” chants. They dominated early with comedy spots, then Big E got the pin on Ziggler after they hit the Midnight Hour.
– Luke Harper defeated Erick Rowan
Harper got a solid reaction and a few chants. He went for a superplex but lost his footing on the ropes and they both collapsed. They went to the finish right after that, which was Harper winning with the discus lariat.
– A Tian Bing video package was shown. He cut a promo in Mandarin and introduced Boa, a Chinese wrestler who is signed with WWE and trains at the Performance Center.
– Boa defeated Aiden English
English sang and got lots of heat before losing to a roll-up.
– John Cena defeated Rusev
Cena got lots of chants throughout and won with the Attitude Adjustment. He didn’t do a promo in Mandarin.
– Naomi, Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch (w/ Asuka) defeated SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya, Tamina, Lana & Carmella (w/ James Ellsworth)
Charlotte said hello in Mandarin and cut a promo introducing Asuka. Everyone did their spots and Asuka chased off Ellsworth after he interfered. For the finish, Charlotte submitted Lana with the Figure Eight.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his title
Everyone got huge reactions, with the crowd singing Nakamura’s theme and then Zayn’s theme. The match went about 12 minutes. The fans popped for Nakamura/Zayn and Nakamura/Styles staredowns. Styles retained after hitting the Phenomenal Forearm on Owens and pinning him.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) defeated Randy Orton in a last man standing match to retain his title
The Singh Brothers introduced Mahal, then he cut his regular promo before the match. Orton got a lot of RKO chants. There were spots with the stairs, a cane, and chairs. Orton put Mahal through a table, but the Singhs low blowed Orton and helped Mahal up so that he would win. Orton dished out RKOs after to send the crowd home happy.
– Tye Dillinger & Sin Cara defeated Erick Rowan & Aiden English
The Fort Wayne crowd was on fire for Dillinger. After the match, Rowan refused to leave the ring and challenged anyone in the back. That led to the next match.
– Luke Harper defeated Erik Rowan
Harper answered the challenge and immediately hit his discus lariat for the win.
– Randy Orton & AJ Styles defeated WWE Champion Jinder Mahal & United States Champion Kevin Owens
This match was really entertaining. It had a lot of interference from the Singh Brothers, but a Phenomenal Forearm and an RKO on Owens sealed the deal for the faces.
Carmella was hilarious with her antics. Some good spots led to Naomi hitting the Rear View on Natalya to pick up the victory.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated The Usos and Breezango to retain their titles
This was a short match, but it was pretty good.
– John Cena defeated Rusev
The crowd was hot for the entire time. Rusev did a lot with the Bulgarian flag and Cena avoided a chair shot before countering with the Attitude Adjustment for the win.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens to retain his title
Styles and Owens were both very over with the crowd. There were dueling chants, but the fans were especially hot for Styles.
– Baron Corbin defeated Sami Zayn
Corbin naturally generated heat without having to cut a promo.
– Luke Harper & Sin Cara defeated Erik Rowan & Aiden English
The faces got a nice pop, especially Harper. English got lots of heat for his singing.
– Samoa Joe defeated Tye Dillinger
Joe working this show was unexpected, but his match against Brock Lesnar at the last WWE show at the Joe Louis Arena was on the SmackDown tour the night before. The crowd was pretty quiet for Dillinger’s entrance, but they exploded for Joe. Joe won via submission.
– Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura defeated WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) & Dolph Ziggler
Mahal generated a lot of heat for his promo in Punjabi. Orton and Nakamura got big pops, with the crowd being into the match the entire way.
Tamina was the only one who didn’t receive a good reaction here.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated The Usos and Breezango to retain their titles
Big E and Xavier Woods were in the match and Kofi Kingston was at ringside. All of the teams were really over, with The Usos even getting some loud chants over New Day.
– John Cena defeated Rusev
The arena went crazy for Cena when he made his entrance.
This was the final WWE show at the Joe Louis Arena and was built up as one of the biggest house shows of the year.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens to retain his title
Styles retained in the opener after hitting the Phenomenal Forearm.
– Tye Dillinger & Sin Cara defeated Aiden English & Erik Rowan
English came out singing a song about Detroit. Dillinger got the pin on Rowan, then Rowan issued an open challenge after the match.
– Luke Harper defeated Erik Rowan
Harper won with his discus lariat.
– Baron Corbin defeated Sami Zayn
Zayn was super over with the crowd, but Corbin beat him with the End of Days.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated The Usos and Breezango to retain their titles
Big E and Kofi Kingston represented New Day in the match, with Big E and Fandango doing some twerk-off dance moves. Kingston pinned Jey Uso to retain after hitting the Midnight Hour.
– WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defeated Samoa Joe to retain his title
This was positioned in the middle of the card. The match seemed a little longer than their one on pay-per-view, but it wasn’t by much if it was. Lesnar hit the F-5 to win after almost getting choked out.
Charlotte got a huge pop and worked most of the match, then Naomi got the pin on Carmella after hitting the Rear View.
– Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura defeated WWE Champion Jinder Mahal & Dolph Ziggler
The Singh Brothers came out all bandaged up and selling their injuries from Battleground. Mahal cut his usual heel promo and got major heat. Ziggler, who hasn’t been on TV much lately, got virtually no reaction. The faces got some of the biggest pops of the night.
Orton hit the RKO on Ziggler for the victory. Orton did the double DDT on both Singh Brothers during it, with Nakamura also using the Kinshasa on Mahal at the finish.
– It was announced that Hell in a Cell will take place at the new Little Caesars Arena on October 8th.
– John Cena defeated Rusev in a Detroit street fight
Cena won after an Attitude Adjustment through a table. There were microphones, chairs, steps, guardrails, and tables all used as weapons.
After the match, Cena cut a promo saying his first PPV match was at The Joe and it was an honor to close out the arena.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated Breezango & The Usos to retain their titles
This was a fun opening match that really got the crowd into it from the start, with Breezango and New Day doing a lot of comedy. Big E and Xavier Woods were the New Day team in the match.
The Usos got the heat on Tyler Breeze until Fandango made the hot tag, then it broke down into a six-way and Woods pinned an Uso after the Midnight Hour.
– Baron Corbin defeated Sami Zayn
Another pretty good match. The crowd booed Corbin a lot. He continued his heat from Battleground, using a bearhug on Zayn for a while. Zayn made a big comeback, but Corbin cut him off and hit the End of Days for the win.
– Tye Dillinger, Chad Gable & The Hype Bros defeated Aiden English, Erick Rowan & The Ascension
English came to the ring and sang his whole introduction while being booed heavily. Dillinger and The Hype Bros got big reactions as well. Rowan was doing the monster shtick in this match, having all of the babyfaces try individually to take him out and nobody could.
Dillinger and English continued having problems stemming from their match at Battleground. The heels cut off Gable, then Zack Ryder got the hot tag to run wild. Ryder focused on Rowan until everyone ran in the ring and hit a big move. Rowan was eventually hit with the Broski Boot from Ryder and a running punch from Mojo Rawley for the finish.
Viktor complained about competition and demanded a singles match, leading to Luke Harper coming out.
– Luke Harper defeated Viktor
Viktor turned around to put away the microphone, with Harper hitting a discus lariat for the win in one move.
– Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura defeated WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) & Dolph Ziggler
Mahal came to the ring and cut his normal promo where he spoke in Punjabi. Ziggler, Orton, and Nakamura all got big reactions. There wasn’t much to the match. Mahal avoided Orton and they isolated Nakamura and got the heat on him for a very long time.
Orton eventually got the hot tag and cleaned house, doing the draping DDT on Ziggler and a double draping DDT on both Singh Brothers when they tried interfering. Nakamura hit Mahal with a Kinshasa and then Orton hit Ziggler with an RKO for the win. The crowd was really into the finish.
– SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi, Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch defeated Natalya, Carmella & Lana (w/ Tamina)
They had a basic six-woman tag match. Lynch and Carmella went back and forth with a bunch of covers and Lynch teasing the armbar. It eventually came down to Lana and Charlotte, then Tamina interfered and helped cut Charlotte off.
Naomi got the hot tag and ran wild on Lana. She got Lana in her submission finisher, but Natalya broke it up. It broke down again into a six-way with everyone hitting a big move and ended with Naomi hitting Lana with the Rearview for the win.
– United States Champion Kevin Owens defeated AJ Styles to retain his title
They had what was probably the best match on the show, but it wasn’t anything close to what these two could do. Owens took a while stalling at the beginning, then took the mic and started heckling fans at ringside. Styles ran out and attacked him, but Owens sent him flying over the guardrail.
Styles made it back in and we got a ton of chinlocks for the heat. Styles made his comeback and it picked back up with both guys hitting a bunch of big moves for near falls. Styles started gearing up for his finisher when Owens rolled outside, grabbed his title, and walked out.
Styles chased him down and threw him back in the ring. Owens distracted the referee, thumbed Styles in the eye, and then hit the pop-up powerbomb for the win.
Owens grabbed the mic after the match and cut a promo berating the fans. Styles recovered and hit him with the Phenomenal Forearm, then posed with the US title.
– John Cena defeated Rusev
This was the first time in many years that Cena was in Newark, and he got a mega reaction. It was the loudest of the night.
They worked a standard house show main event. Rusev feigned a knee injury, the trainer came out to check on him, Cena turned his back, and Rusev jumped him and beat on him for the longest time. Cena made his usual comeback and went for the Attitude Adjustment, but he hit the referee.
Cena put Rusev in the STF and he tapped out, but there was no ref. Rusev low blowed Cena and got a chair, but Cena cut him off, hit the AA, and won to send the fans home happy.
