Tonight’s episode of SmackDown LIVE opens up from The Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska as Tom Phillips welcomes us to the show. He is joined by Corey Graves & Byron Saxton.
We go right to the ring and out comes Shane McMahon.
He starts by saying that he doesn’t have a lot of time and isn’t in the best of moods and orders Greg Hamilton to get his big intro right on the first try today. Shane then says that he is there to talk about what Roman Reigns did to his father last week and he rolls the footage of WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon getting Superman Punched. Shane then says that was horrific to watch and asks what kind of man hits another man’s father like that.
Shane then says that it is disgusting, like disgracing The American flag or defacing Mount Rushmore. But it’s not just a great man he hit, it’s The Chairman & CEO Of WWE and more than that, it’s his dad and there’ll be repercussions. Shane then says should he levy a fine? Maybe suspend Roman Reigns or even fire him? No, they are gonna settle it in the ring and he orders Reigns to come down to the ring.
Reigns comes out and steps in the ring with a microphone. Reigns & Shane come face to face and they both drop their microphones. Elias ambushes Reigns from behind, then Shane attacks him and stomps on Reigns in the corner. Reigns comes back with a big boot and some punches. Elias runs back over and double teams Reigns with Shane now. Elias hits The Drift Away on Reigns and then they leave. Elias’ music hits as Reigns recovers in the ring and we go to a commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get a recap of what we just saw.
We head backstage where Shane McMahon & Elias talks about how great they felt about teaching Roman Reigns a lesson and how there is more to come.
Kofi Kingston is then interviewed backstage.
He talks about how the love of The WWE Universe is growing inside of him and everything is okay because he is WWE Champion, which gets Xavier Woods to join him and they celebrate together. Kingston then says that they made one big change happen and Big E is gonna be back soon, but in the meantime they have got an honorary member. Kingston then says that we know him as Kevin Owens, but they call him Big O and Owens leaps into frame. He says that tonight is a big night and asks Kofi if he is ready before saying that he knows he is gonna win. And why? Because New Day rocks.
Finn Balor makes his entrance.
Zelina Vega & Andrade get a promo where Vega says that Balor couldn’t run away with The Shake-Up and Andrade says that he wants to destroy the myth of Finn Balor.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor vs. Andrade (Non-Title Match): The opening bell sounds and this one spills out to ringside early on. Andrade leaps from the turnbuckle for a corkscrew moonsault down onto Balor at ringside. Back in the ring, Andrade continues the offense and controls the pace of the match after hitting a flying knee to the face of Balor. Balor finally fights back and then hits a double stomp on Andrade. They fight into the turnbuckle and Andrade goes for a Frankensteiner, but Balor rolls through and dumps Andrade out to ringside. Balor hits a big suicide dive on Andrade, then takes him back in the ring. Andrade fights back with a spinning elbow, then the running knee strike in the corner for a two count. Balor comes back with an inverted DDT and both men are down. Zelina climbs to the top rope and tries to leap down onto Balor, but Balor moves and she lands in Andrade’s arms. Andrade puts her down, then Balor hits a dropkick on Andrade. Balor follows up with the Coup De Grace on Andrade for the three count. Winner: WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor
After the match, Balor stands tall as his music hits. We go to replays. Balor hits the corners to pose with the title around his waist.
Elias is shown playing a song backstage about how SmackDown LIVE is his and how he’s got a proposition for Roman Reigns for a match at Money In The Bank. Shane McMahon rolls up to tell him how great he is and make the challenge official before they leave together.
Kairi Sane makes her entrance flanked by Asuka & Paige to send us to a commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get an “earlier today” clip from Fire & Desire berating Paige for not picking right back up where they left off together as Absolution.
The IIconics make their entrance with a promo as always. Billie Kay jokes about confusing Paige & Nick Fury and Peyton Royce compares Asuka & Kairi Sane unfavorably to The Avengers. The IIconics then blame last week on Peyton being dehydrated, but she says that this week she drank a whole gallon of water and she is ready to hand Kairi her first loss on SmackDown LIVE.
Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce: Peyton starts off strong against Kairi and chokes her up against the ropes then stomps on her. Kairi fights back and hits an axe kick, then a neckbreaker. Kairi hits a running elbow on Peyton in the corner, then she goes up to the top rope. Kairi hits the flying elbow drop for the three count after a short match. Winner: Kairi Sane
After the match, Sane stands tall with Asuka & Paige as we go to replays. The music interrupts their celebration as Mandy Rose comes out with Sonya Deville, mocking Sane & Asuka. Deville & Rose stare down the babyfaces from the stage.
Jinder Mahal & The Singh Brothers then interrupt and it looks like Jinder will be having a match against Chad Gable right after the commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and Aleister Black takes a seat in a dark room.
He says that we know who he is, but do we know what he is? Aleister then says that the name and the persona are not the same thing, nor should the aesthetic of the persona evoke any judgmental reactions. But it does, doesn’t it? In the few seconds they have he can’t explain the complexities of his tragic character, but give it time and he’s sure the world we grew up in will have him condemned.
Chad Gable heads out for his match against Jinder Mahal, but on the ramp Lars Sullivan ambushes him from behind. Lars beats down Gable at ringside and slams him into the ring post. Lars then turns his attention to Jinder and he slides in the ring. Jinder & The Singh Brothers start to flee the ring. Lars grabs one Singh brother and suplexes him down and then he powerbombs the other Singh brother while Jinder escapes. R-Truth comes out to interrupt and he charges Lars. Truth hits the ring and starts trading punches with Lars now. They brawl all over the ring until Sullivan hits a suplex and then The Freak Accident. Lars slams Truth a second time before leaving.
Commentary hypes up WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and the face-to-face between RAW & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair to send us to a commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get a recap of the opening segment once again.
Roman Reigns is interviewed backstage.
He says that he hopes it was worth it for Elias, because at Money In The Bank he is gonna break Elias’ jaw and make sure he never sings again. And yeah, that means he accepts the challenge.
Charlotte Flair then makes her entrance.
She gets on the mic and says that in the main event of WrestleMania 35, three of the very best, not just women, but very best in this business, went head-to-head. Ronda Rousey, The Baddest Woman on The Planet. Becky Lynch, The Man. And The Queen. So Becky pinned Ronda to win both The RAW & SmackDown Women’s Title, but she pinned Rousey. Flair then said that she didn’t tap out or get pinned, so you know what that means?
Ronda Rousey lost her championship, so Lynch did not beat her for her title and that means she wants Becky Two Belts to come out and explain why she’s the rightful champion when she didn’t beat her.
RAW & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch makes her entrance.
She points out that it was a Winner Takes All Match and yes, Charlotte’s right, she didn’t get pinned, but that is because Lynch was concerned with beating the woman that Flair couldn’t beat. Lynch then says that she has beaten Charlotte more times than she can count so she needed to beat Ronda to prove that she could and when it was over she walked out with both titles and there wasn’t a damn thing either could do about it.
Flair then says that the only injustice here is that she wasn’t beaten for the title and she actually thinks she is the one in Lynch’s head, because whenever ol’ what’s-her-name knocks her out, all she sees is Charlotte Flair. It’s all over her Twitter and all she talks about. Lynch scoffs, saying that she has owned Flair countless times and constantly comes out on top and Flair is on her worst losing streak ever, so who’s in who’s head?
Flair then concedes the point about the streak but says that Lynch has got everything to lose and so after she beats Lacey Evans, she is next in line to take it back. They bicker and Lynch says that she wants Flair to clear the way for the likes of Bayley, Mickie James & Ember Moon, because she wants new opponents but management won’t untangle them.
So after Money in the Bank, if Flair would like to climb her way up. Flair says that she has done it eight times so she can do it nine.
Bayley interrupts and makes her entrance.
She gets on the mic and says that The Superstar Shakeup is about fresh starts but all she sees is a rerun. And while Lynch has lost count of how many times she has beaten Flair, Bayley can count how many times she has beaten Flair – zero. Flair then tells Bayley to get to the back of the line and pats her on the shoulder as she tells her to get to the back of the line.
Bayley then swats her hand away and says that she should start earning her opportunities, so why not see who deserves one right now? Flair then says that Bayley is not worth her time but Bayley swats the mic away and we go to a commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get a hype reel for WWE’s partnership with Make-A-Wish.
Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley (#1 Contenders Match For The SmackDown Women’s Title): Charlotte starts off strong and backs Bayley into the corner off the opening bell. Charlotte shoves Bayley and Bayley shoves her back and knocks her down. Charlotte misses a spear and Bayley comes back with a neckbreaker. Charlotte fights back and slams Bayley into the corner. They trade slaps to the face now and Charlotte gets the upper hand and drops Bayley. Bayley rolls up Charlotte for a two count, then hits a springboard cross body for another two count. Bayley hits some strikes in the corner, but Charlotte ducks one and takes out Bayley’s knee. Charlotte starts focusing her offense on Bayley’s knee now and Bayley rolls out to the apron for a breather. Charlotte looks for the Figure Four, but Bayley fights out and drops her. Both women are down now and Bayley is selling the knee. Charlotte escapes a suplex attempt, then she drops Bayley with a big boot for a two count. Charlotte goes for a moonsault off the top, but Bayley rolls out of the way. Bayley follows up with a German suplex. Bayley hits a sunset flip into the turnbuckle, then pins for a two count. Bayley misses a shot and Charlotte answers with a spear. Charlotte immediately pins for the three count. Winner: Charlotte Flair
After the match, Flair stands tall as her music hits. We see Becky Lynch backstage watching. Kayla Braxton asks her why she is accepting the challenge when she already has a match at Money In The Bank. Becky says that holding both titles means double duty. Lynch then says that she figures she will have Lacey Evans tapping quickly and everyone knows she can defeat Flair. Becky then says that she is not underestimating her competition, she is just betting on herself. Becky then says that she will defend both titles at Money In The Bank.
The New Day are backstage getting ready for Kofi Kingston’s match, which will take place right after the commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get the bizarre Bray Wyatt “Firefly Fun House” segment that aired on RAW.
Commentary then runs down the currently scheduled card for Money In The Bank.
Kevin “Big O” Owens then does the usual introduction that Big E would normally do.
We then get the entrances for the main event, but the match itself will have to wait until after the commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and the main event is underway.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Non-Title Match): The opening bell sounds and Kofi & Nakamura trade strikes evenly in the opening moments. Kofi fires up and hits a cross body off the top on a standing Nakamura for a two count. Kofi connects with a kick, but then he misses a spear and Nakamura answers with a knee drop. Nakamura follows up with kicks and he sends Kofi out to the apron. They fight out to ringside where Nakamura connects with more kicks to the head and upper body. Back in the ring, Nakamura tries to toss Kofi but Kofi lands on his feet. Kofi taunts Nakamura and then clotheslines him. Kofi hits a dropkick, but then he misses a shot in the corner. Nakamura boots Kofi in the head then slams him down on the mat. Nakamura misses a shot and Kofi comes back with a double stomp on Nakamura. Kofi & Nakamura trade kick attempts now but miss all of them. Kofi latches on to Nakamura and hits the SOS. Kofi pins, but then Rusev runs in to break it up and the referee calls for the DQ. Winner via DQ: WWE Champion Kofi Kingston
After the match, Woods & Owens hit the ring to make the save. They send Rusev to the floor. Owens launches Woods out onto Rusev. Nakamura drops Woods on the floor with a Kinshasa. Kofi ends up dropping Nakamura back in the ring with a Trouble In Paradise. Owens suddenly levels Kofi with a superkick out of nowhere. Fans boo Owens. Owens stands over Kofi and takes off his New Day t-shirt to reveal his own t-shirt. Owens mounts Kofi and beats on him as the boos continue. Owens tosses Kofi out of the ring. Owens follows and launches Kofi into the barrier. Owens sends Kofi head-first into the ring post next. Woods is still laid out. Owens brings Kofi back into the ring. Owens brings The WWE Title belt into the ring and holds it over Kofi while stepping on his head. Owens grabs Kofi and yells in his face with the title. Owens says that he hopes Kofi’s kids had a good time because he is coming for the title. Kofi fights back as fans pop. Kofi unloads but Owens easily turns it back around and sends him to the corner. Owens goes to the floor for the powerbomb on the apron but Woods runs over for the save. Owens makes him pay with ease. Owens powerbombs Woods on the apron and he hits hard. Fans chant “holy s–t!” now as Kofi, the trainers and officials are out to check on Woods, who is yelling in pain. Owens backs up the ramp as we go to replays. SmackDown goes off the air with Owens looking on from the ramp.