Smackdown 10/16/2020: Reigns Defends Against Strowman; Daniel Bryan Returns; New Day Farewell!
Here's what's on tap for tonight's premiere:
Six Man Tag Team Match: The New Day vs. Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, & Sheamus
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode vs. The Street Profits (champs)
Jeff Hardy vs. Lars Sullivan
Daniel Bryan returns!!!
WWE Universal Championship Match: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns (champ) w/ Paul Heyman
We're in the ThunderDome for the premiere of Smackdown. A new opening video shows all the Smackdown talent following the draft. We kick off the show with the whole locker room on the stage. TRIPLE H AND STEPHANIE MCMAHON ARE IN THE RING. Stephanie welcomes us to the premiere. HHH says premiere's are exciting and tonight there will something for everyone. HHH and Steph run down what's going down tonight. They introduce the new faces of Smackdown. ZIGGLER AND ROODE ATTACK THE STREET PROFITS!! A BRAWL BREAKS OUT WITH THE WHOLE LOCKER ROOM!! Kevin Owens takes out a handful of them with a huge cannonball. LARS SULLIVAN COMES OUT AND DESTROYS EVERYONE WHO IS LEFT STANDING. Sami Zayn bails and retreats. JEFF HARDY ATTACKS SULLIVAN FROM BEHIND AND HARDY IS LEFT STANDING. Hardy vs. Sullivan is next to kick off Smackdown.
Jeff Hardy vs. Lars Sullivan
Hardy tries some kicks and punches early on and knocks Sullivan to the corner. Sullivan comes out of the corner with a clothesline and begins overpowering Hardy. Cross faces by Sullivan. Sullivan pounds on Hardy in the corner before tossing him across the ring. A sliding clothesline gets a near fall for Sullivan. Sullivan goes up to the top turnbuckle but misses a headbutt!! Punches by Hardy and follows with a jaw breaker. Inverted atomic drop by Hardy but he can't lift him. WHISPER IN THE WIND TAKES SULLIVAN DOWN! SULLIVAN KICKS OUT AT 1!! Sullivan blocks the Twist of Fate and shoves Hardy to the outside. Hardy jumps off the steps but Sullivan catches him and slams Hardy on the apron! Back in the ring, HARDY HITS THE TWIST OF FATE!! Hardy climbs to the top but Sullivan is up!! SULLIVAN PULLS HARDY OFF THE TOP AND HITS THE FREAK ACCIDENT FOR THE WIN @ 4:16!! Poor Hardy as this was pretty much a squash with Sullivan no selling Hardy's offense. Hardy will hopefully be better on Raw. Jeff Jarrett is in the crowd and can't believe what he just saw haha.
A vignette hypes Bianca Belair.
The New Day is in the ring ready for their match and they got mics. They say after 6 years, the one thing power than power of positivity is the damn draft. So, for the first time ever they will be split. It's been a roller coaster week of emotions but Kofi is smiling because we reminded him of all their special moments. They talk about all those moments. Woods get emotional and says he was trusted with an idea and it was the greatest 6 years of his life. Kofi talks about Woods and Big E approaching him in 2012 to start something special and talks about how he considers Woods and Big E brothers. Woods says they are here to whoop that tail one more time and you know why?? Because NEW DAY ROCKS!!
Kayla Braxton is backstage with Sheamus, Cesaro, & Shinsuke Nakamura. Sheamus can't wait to give the New Day the send off they deserve. Cesaro wants to ruin their moment. Nakamura says this is good bye to the New Day forever.
Six Man Tag Team Match
The New Day (Kofi & Xavier are the WWE Raw Tag Team Champs) vs. Sheamus, Cesaro, & Shinsuke Nakamura
Woods and Nakamura start it off. This is the first time the New Day have all three competed together in over a year! Woods gets the better of Nakamura early on. Woods turns things around and Kofi makes a blind tag. Kofi takes over on Nakamura but Nakamura catches him with a knee and a kick before tagging Cesaro. Good double team by Cesaro and Nakamura. Commentary hypes the New Day/Bar rivalry. Kofi takes Cesaro down with a drop kick and tags Big E. Woods tags in and lifts Big E so he can splash Cesaro for a near fall. Woods and Cesaro trade chops and uppercuts. Cesaro tags Sheamus and they double team Woods while doing the Bar taunt. Woods fights back against Sheamus and tags Big E. Big E power bombs Woods onto Sheamus!! KOFI SPLASHES SHEAMUS FROM THE TOP!! 1...2...NO!! Kofi goes off the ropes but Nakamura low bridges him and Kofi falls to the floor. Cesaro tags Nakamura. Cesaro, Nakamura, and Sheamus triple team Kofi on the outside. Back in the ring, near fall for Nakamura. They isolate Kofi in the corner. Frequent tags by the heels. Cesaro beats on Kofi and gets a near fall. More quick tags from the heels. Kofi battles back but they keep him from tagging. Kofi gets dumped out to the floor by Sheamus as we go to a commercial.
We're back and Sheamus is still isolating Kofi. Kofi gets a roll up near fall before hitting the SOS. Big E and Cesaro tag in! Big E dishes out suplexes. Splash to Cesaro from Big E! Big E goes for the Big Ending but Cesaro counters with a gutwrench suplex. Big uppercut by Cesaro. Cesaro runs into an elbow from Big E. Big E and Woods hit a Uranage/Back Stabber combo for a near fall! Woods and Cesaro are legal and Woods eats an uppercut. Nakamura tags in and delivers a knee to the back of Woods' neck. Near fall there. Kofi makes a blind tag. KOFI FLIES OVER THE TOP TO TAKE OUT CESARO AND NAKAMURA! Sheamus takes out Big E with a kick and Kofi does the same to him. Back in the ring, Nakamura catches Kofi coming off the top. Cesaro swings Kofi!! Sheamus tags in and hits White Noise!! 1...2...NO!! Big E breaks it up and hits a Big Ending. Kofi and Sheamus are left alone. Sheamus hits the ring post shoulder first. BIG E AND WOODS HIT SHEAMUS WITH THE MIDNIGHT HOUR AND BIG E PINS SHEAMUS FOR THE WIN @ 14:47!! Good overall match but predictable that the New Day would win their farewell. The New Day embrace and hug each other in the ring afterward.
Still to come is a contract signing for the Bayley vs. Sasha Banks hell in a cell match.
Kayla Braxton is backstage with Otis. Braxton asks what Otis will do about Money in the Bank. SAMI ZAYN INTERUPPTS! Zayn says Otis lost Tucker and Mandy so he'll probably lose the briefcase too. Sami says in life there are winners and Otis. Otis shoves down Zayn.
DANIEL BRYAN MAKES HIS WAY TO THE RING!! The "Yes Movement" is virtual!! Daniel will speak after a commercial. We're back and Bryan has a mic. Brie and Bridie are watching virtually. Bryan says "Wow" as he impressed with the ThunderDome. Bryan is happy to be back. He hypes Reigns vs. Strowman tonight. Bryan talks about the new people on Smackdown who he can't wait to face. HERE SOME SETH ROLLINS!! Rollins says it's great to see Bryan. He's happy Brie let him come to work. Rollins says baby brain has gotten to Bryan because he didn't mention the most important draft pick which is the "Savior of Smackdown" Seth Rollins. Rollins has an important question. Which side of history would Bryan like to be on? When it comes to the greater good, you're either with Rollins or against him. Bryan says he is all for make the future better but he says Rollins vision is short sighted, self centered, and just dumb. They argue about whether it's dumb and ROLLINS ATTACKS BRYAN!! BRYAN FIGHTS BACK WITH KICKS AND ROLLINS BAILS!! HERE COMES REY AND DOMINIK MYSTERIO!! Rollins begs Bryan for help against the Mysterios but Bryan bails. HERE COMES MURPHY!! Murphy stands next to Rollins but then MURPHY ATTACKS ROLLINS!! Rollins bails up the ramp. MURPHY OFFERS A HAND SHAKE TO THE MYSTERIOS. THEY REFUSE AND WALK AWAY.
More hype for the Universal Championship match.
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match
The Street Profits (champs) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
Flair is watching virtually!! Dawkins and Ziggler start off. Dawkins with an early knock down but Ziggler avoids him in the corner and tags Roode. Near fall for Roode after a suplex. Roode knocks Ford off the apron. Front face suplex by Roode to Dawkins and Roode tags Ziggler. Leg drop by Ziggler gets a near fall when Ford breaks it up. FORD GOES CRAZY AND EVERY ONE BRAWLS!! THE REF CALLS FOR A DQ @ 1:30!! The brawling continues. ROODE AND ZIGGLER HIT A SPINE BUSTER ZIG ZAG COMBO ON DAWKINS!! FORD TAKES OUT BOTH ROODE AND ZIGGLER WITH A CROSS BODY OFF THE TOP!! The Profits celebrate and dance.
Highlights of the WWE Smackdown Women's Championship match last week between Bayley and Sasha Banks that ended in a DQ.
Sasha Banks makes her way to the ring. The contract signing is next as we go to a commercial. We're back from the commercial and WWE Smackdown Women's Champion, Bayley, makes her way to the ring with chair in hand. Adam Pearce is moderating this thing. No way they don't brawl here. Pearce says Banks will sign first since she's the challenger and she waste no time signing. Banks says she's waiting forever for this. Bayley claims she can't wait to get rid of the baggage and continue her historic reign. Bayley claims Banks is so upset because Bayley beat Banks to the punch. Banks says if she wanted to turn on Bayley, she would of done it years ago. Banks talks about helping Bayley get to the main roster. Banks says she has helped Bayley every single time along the way. Bayley tried to end her career and she'll end Bayley's reign at Hell in a Cell. Bayley doesn't sign and runs away. Banks calls her a coward. Banks says Bayley will have no where to run in the cell and Banks will make Bayley sign.
Braun Strowman is warming up backstage. His match against Roman Reigns is next.
WWE Universal Championship Match
Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns (champ) w/ Paul Heyman
Jey Uso is backstage watching on a monitor. Strowman backs Reigns into a corner as they jockey for position. Reigns sends Strowman out of the ring. STROWMAN GETS ON THE APRON AND REIGNS HITS HIM WITH A SUPERMAN PUNCH!! Reigns goes to the outside and hits a drive by. In the ring, Reigns gets a near fall. Reigns delivers punches and kicks to Strowman in the corner. Strowman tries to fight back but Reigns takes him down. Near fall for Reigns. They battle to the outside and it's all Reigns. Strowman turns the tide and sends Reigns flying across the announce table. Strowman breaks the count. Strowman goes back outside and STROWMAN EXPRESS KNOCKS REIGNS INTO THE BARRICADE AS WE GO TO A COMMERCIAL.
We're back and in the ring now. Strowman is in control tossing Reigns from one side of the ring to the other. Goldberg is watching virtually. Near fall for Strowman. Reigns tries a Superman punch but Strowman catches him. Strowman slams Reigns and then CHOKE SLAMS HIM!! 1...2...NO!! REIGNS LOW BLOWS STROWMAN ON THE KICK OUT!! REIGNS SPEARS STROWMAN!! 1...2...NO!! Strowman tries a running power slam but Reigns avoids it. REIGNS LOCKS IN A GUILLOTINE!! Strowman tries to escape but he starts fading! STROWMAN TAPS @ 10:39!!! HERE COMES JEY USO!!! They stare each other down. REIGNS SPEARS STROWMAN AGAIN!! Reigns calls Uso to the ring. Heyman hands Reigns a chair. Uso stares at a fallen Strowman. USO WATCHES ON AS REIGNS DESTROYS STROWMAN WITH THE CHAIR!! Referees and officials come out to stop Reigns. REIGNS DELIVERS MORE CHAIR SHOTS TO STROWMAN!! USO GETS IN THE RING. Reigns tells Uso he loves him. Reigns kicks Uso the chair as Uso stares at a fallen Strowman. USO PICKS UP THE CHAIR BUT THEN SLAMS IT DOWN. USO PUNCHES REIGNS AND SUPER KICKS HIM! NOW USO HITS REIGNS WITH THE CHAIR!! The refs and officials pull Uso back. REIGNS HITS A SUPERMAN PUNCH TO USO!! End Show.
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