SmackDown Flashbacks
Last week’s SmackDown was the last on USA Network, and it featured Kofi Kingston in a sit-down interview, proclaiming that after his title defence against Brock Lesnar on this week’s show that he would still be WWE Champion. Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper was also announced for Hell In A Cell, as well as Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon in a Ladder match for the 20th anniversary of SmackDown with high stakes.
SmackDown this week was not only celebrating its 20th anniversary, but marked the premiere on FOX Network. Announced for the show were Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan, Becky Lynch & Charlotte vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks, Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon in a Ladder match where the loser leaves WWE, a special Firefly Fun House and Brock Lesnar competing on SmackDown for the first time since March 2004 for the WWE Championship against titleholder Kofi Kingston. Also announced for the show were a host of legends including Mick Foley, Trish Stratus, Kurt Angle and The Rock. SmackDown took place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.
Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon opened the show by welcoming everyone to SmackDown on FOX with a new video package created, which will be changed in two weeks after the Draft.
Becky Lynch/Baron Corbin/The Rock Segment
Now for the actual open of the show as ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch came down to the ring. The Raw Women’s Champion focused on how, on SmackDown, she “broke down glass ceilings” and referenced becoming the inaugural SmackDown Women’s Champion over three years ago. Before moving on to talk about Sunday, King Corbin would interrupt. Corbin asked Lynch “Do you really think you’re still The Man?” This brought out The Rock to a massive pop. Rock hit Baron with some typical insults before claiming that he was “back … home”. Corbin claimed that he was now The Great One, to which Rock responded by him and Becky leading a chant of “STD” (for “Super Tough Dude”, you understand). Lynch then claimed that “If I had a pair of testicles, they’d be bigger than (Baron’s).” This would all lead to Becky and Rock laying out Corbin, with Rock getting the last move in with the Rock Bottom, before ‘The Man’ and ‘The Great one’ posed.
Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley
Following a Becky segment, we got a Becky match in the rematch of a tag from three weeks ago. It was also nice to see Bayley and Sasha Banks wearing matching gear, showing that they’re a duo more clearly. Bayley and Charlotte started the match off, with Bayley gaining an advantage following a hair pull and a double team with Banks. Charlotte would create openings with Banks, but the speed of Bayley and Banks stopped any continued momentum, with Bayley throwing Charlotte off the top turnbuckle to the outside. Becky cleared house once she tagged in by hitting an Exploder Suplex on Bayley, followed by a second-rope legdrop and another exploder suplex, followed by a Natural Selection from Charlotte for a two-count. The finish saw Lynch and Charlotte take out both Banks and Bayley on the outside, which paved the way for Charlotte to lock in the Figure-8 on Bayley for the win to set up a soon-to-be-announced SmackDown Women’s Championship match for Sunday.
FOX NFL reporter Erin Andrews interviewed WWE Champion Kofi Kingston and The New Day. Kofi claimed that he is always the underdog, and that Brock was just another mountain for him to get past.
Blue carpet highlights of legends arriving for the FOX premiere of SmackDown were shown.
Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
In a rematch from Survivor Series last year with similar circumstances of Champion vs. Champion, we got Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. Before the match began, a new edition of Firefly Fun House was shown on the big screen, with Bray Wyatt introducing all of the cast before giving a little preview for Sunday in the form of Rambling Rabbit as Seth battling Mercy The Buzzard as The Fiend, where Mercy destroyed Rambling Rabbit to kill him again.
With Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan looking on from the crowd, Nakamura started the match off very quickly by applying a rolling armbar on Rollins, which Seth powered out of. The Universal Champion then took control of the match by connecting with a suicide dive, a Slingblade and a superkick before the lights started to go out. The Fiend then made an appearance by attacking Seth again, laying out the Universal Champion two nights before their Hell In A Cell clash.
Loser Leaves WWE Ladder Match
Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon
This is the end of a feud going over the whole of the summer, with Owens attacking Shane during his entrance. The two competitors brawled in and out of the ring with Owens gaining control by using the steel steps and a ladder to his advantage. McMahon attempted to climb the ladder after a side Russian legsweep, but he would be denied before both McMahon and Owens put themselves through wrestling furniture, as Shane connected with an elbow through the announce table and Owens hit a Frog Splash through a ladder. McMahon looked set to win after using a steel chair on Owens followed by a Coast To Coast, but he was stopped by Owens powerbombing McMahon off the ladder into another. This would give Owens the opportunity to climb the ladder and defeat Shane McMahon, removing him from WWE. Post-match, Owens would do the McMahon catchphrase of “You’re fired” before stunning Shane McMahon one last time.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Paul Heyman about the main event, with Heyman referring back to Lesnar’s attack on Dominic and Rey Mysterio as demonstrating the pain which Kofi would feel.
Braun Strowman, Heavy Machinery & The Miz vs. AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
In the showcase bout of the night, this was more to set up the post-match angle than what actually occurred in the contest itself, which was very reminiscent of a 2010/2011 SmackDown main event, with all the stars getting in their signature moves in a very short time. It was mainly focused on the beef outside the ring between Braun Strowman and the ‘Gypsy King’ Tyson Fury, who was sat in the front row. Braun intimated squaring off in a light manner, only for Braun to “accidentally” swing Dolph into the barricade towards Fury, knocking him back slightly. The Monster Among Men connected with a powerslam on Ziggler for the win, and afterwards, Fury (the former World Heavyweight Champion in the boxing world) jumped over the barricade, but was blocked by security to stop a confrontation with Strowman. This will be revisited in the future (hopefully).
A YouTube exclusive was shown of Marshmello winning the 24/7 Title from Carmella (though it wasn’t broadcast here, Carmella would later regain the prize).
Lumberjack Match
Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan
With Daniel Bryan on commentary, this rematch from Clash Of Champions was also a mini preview into the tag match taking place at Hell In A Cell. Rowan started the match in control, with Bryan making the point clear on commentary that “everyone thought I was the attacker”. After Rowan threw Reigns to the outside, this led to half of the lumberjacks attacking Roman and half trying to get him in. The same would happen to Rowan before all the lumberjacks brawled with each other. After a Superman Punch connected, Harper ran down the ring, attacking the lumberjacks before a massive suicide dive by Reigns would take everyone out. Rowan gained an advantage after powerbombing Ali onto Reigns and creating a two-on-one advantage against Roman until Bryan got involved. Bryan would take out Harper and create enough of a distraction to Rowan for Reigns to hit the Spear for the win. Post-match, Reigns and Bryan shook hands.
WWE Championship Match
Kofi Kingston (C) vs. Brock Lesnar
It’s main event time and this match has big-stake feelings with Lesnar looking to win the WWE Championship for a fifth time against Kofi Kingston. After both men were introduced, the match was over in a matter of seconds (ten for those being precise), as Lesnar immediately planted Kingston with an F5 for the win. Brock Lesnar is a five-time WWE Champion. Post-match, Lesnar and Heyman were celebrating before Rey Mysterio’s music hit, with the ‘Master Of The 619’ coming down with CAIN VELASQUEZ! Lesnar, looking like he’s seen a ghost (from UFC circa 2010), would be grounded by Velasquez, but was able to roll out of the ring and get up the ramp.
Overall, WWE SmackDown felt like a huge show. The new look, The Rock, Owens vs. Shane as well as a WWE Title change and appearances from Velasquez and Fury made this show a huge occasion to watch. There were two good-to-really-good matches, and despite the way in which Kofi vs. Brock went, the post-match angle was huge and will get the majority of viewers intrigued.
