The John Report: WWE Smackdown Live 12/11/18 Review

Live from Las Vegas, Nevada (my kind of town), this is Smackdown Live for episode #1008. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. If you want to support us at TJRWrestling, here’s a Donate Link for our Paypal where anything you send will go towards building the site. Thanks to Melo Man for the banner up top.

The opening video package promoted what was coming up on Smackdown featuring Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka and the “new” Daniel Bryan faces Mustafa Ali.

Let’s Hear from Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan, the WWE Champion, made his entrance in his wrestling gear with no “yes” chants on his way to the ring. Bryan had the WWE Championship around his waist the way a championship should be worn. A clip aired from last week showing Bryan’s attack on AJ Styles’ left leg last week. Bryan faces AJ Styles for the WWE Title at TLC this Sunday in San Jose, California.
The announce team for Smackdown is Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves as usual. The ring was surrounded by tables, ladders and chairs just like on Raw.

Bryan stood in the ring as the fans booed him and chanted “no” at him. Bryan said last week he called the fans “sheep,” which led to boos. Bryan said the first thing he wanted to do is apologize to the sheep that don’t deserve to be compared to the idiots (the fans). Bryan said that the sheep are not the one mindlessly destroying the Earth with their endless consumption and there’s no such thing as the carbon hoofprint – he said that the fans are more like parasites. Bryan busted out his new favorite word “fickle” as he said that fans are like parasites that take and give nothing in return especially here in Las Vegas.
Bryan said that the people latched onto the old Bryan and he reminded us that the old Daniel Bryan is dead while the “Yes Movement” is also dead. Bryan said that just like any parasite, they have moved on to the next fickle field and now they all reside on the couch in the house that AJ Styles built. Bryan reminded us that he is the WWE Champion, not AJ Styles. Bryan added that at TLC this Sunday, he will crush AJ’s dream of becoming the WWE Champion again and at the end of the match, the WWE Champion will be the new Daniel Bryan. The fans booed, so Bryan asked: “You don’t believe me?” Bryan said he debates this with his friend William Gattis all the time – they don’t know if the fans are stupid or they deliberately pull the wool over their years. Bryan said that Gattis says, “stupidity is the deliberate cultivation of ignorance” and Bryan added that was pretty much Las Vegas.
Mustafa Ali showed up to face Bryan. Ali said his name, Bryan said that he knows who he is and Bryan invited him into the ring. Bryan noted that Ali is the heart of 205 Live that’s an incredible performer. Bryan said that he saw a lot of himself in Ali. Bryan told Ali they don’t need to have this match tonight. Bryan noted that after this match, these people won’t care because they are too self absorbed, too xenophobic, too consumed with their mindless consumption and Bryan said that these fickle people do not deserve this match. Bryan yelled “fickle” at the fans.

Ali what asked what happened to Bryan? Ali said that Bryan inspired him and all the guys on 205 Live look up to him. Ali noted that Bryan was the underdog that proved that he could hang because he had heart. Ali noted that the old Daniel Bryan would want to fight and Ali wants a fight. The fans chanted “fight” for them. Bryan asked Ali what kind of car he drives. Ali asked what that has to do with this and Ali said he drives a SUV. Bryan told Ali he’s a small little man and asked why he needs to ride in a SUV. Ali said he’s got a family with a wife and two children, so Bryan slapped him in the face twice while calling him ignorant. Ali fought back with punches, Ali with a headscissors and a dropkick that knocked Bryan out of the ring. Ali went up top and hit a flip dive onto Bryan on the floor. A referee showed up in the ring, so the match is next. The fans were really into this.
Analysis: That was a hot start to the show. Bryan was incredible as the heel champion that loves to rip on the crowd for everything. I love the way he finds a way to rile up the crowd every time he’s out there. As for Ali, he did well to stand up to Bryan, wonder what has changed in Bryan and when Bryan was a jerk to him, Ali stood up for himself. It took about 12 minutes to get through it all. It was a smart way to get fans behind Ali before the match began.

(Commercial)
The match started during the break.
Daniel Bryan vs. Mustafa Ali
This was not for Bryan’s WWE Championship.
Bryan was in control with a knee to the ribs followed by kicks to the chest. Bryan whipped Ali into the corner followed by more kicks to the chest as well as a knee drop. Bryan with an uppercut to the chest of Ali. Bryan trapped the legs of Ali and pulled back on his face to torture Ali on the ground a bit. Bryan worked over Ali with kicks to the chest, Ali got back with two kicks to the chest and a kick to the back for a two count. Ali with a baseball slide dropkick that sent Bryan into the barricade. Bryan avoided an attack and sent Ali face first into the steel ring post, which led to a break.
(Commercial)

The match returned with Bryan slapping on the Yes Lock submission, but Ali got to the ropes. They showed a replay of Ali hitting the Spanish Fly off the top during the break. Based on people commenting to me on Twitter, that was on the split screen, but we don’t get the split screen commercials here in Canada. Anyway, Bryan set up Ali against the turnbuckle and hit a running dropkick to the face. Bryan set up Ali on the top rope, Bryan tried a slam, Ali landed on his feet, Bryan missed a charge and Ali hit three chops to the chest. Alia avoided another Bryan attack and hit a Tornado DDT off the ropes for a two count. Ali went up, he went for the 054 splash and Bryan moved, so Ali hit the mat hard. Bryan drove the left leg of Ali into the steel ring post three times. Back in the ring, Bryan with a chop block to the back of the leg of Ali. Bryan slapped on the heel hook submission and Ali tapped out to give Bryan the win after about ten minutes.
Winner by submission: Daniel Bryan

Analysis: *** It was a pretty good match as expected. It would have been nice if they got a few more minutes, but I’m fine with how it went because Bryan giving Ali too much offense would make Bryan look weak. If Ali had a few more spots where it looked like he might win then it would have helped a bit, but that’s only a minor complaint. They did this match to give Bryan some positive momentum going into his match at TLC, so that’s what he has. I like Bryan using the heel hook submission as a finisher. It needs an official name (Fickle Lock?), but I like that he’s using it as another way to beat people.

The announcers went over the WWE TLC lineup on Sunday. As they were doing that, Bryan went after Ali on the ramp. Bryan tripped up Ali and stomped on him on the face. Bryan slapped on the heel hook on the left knee again. Referees showed up to break it up as Bryan celebrated his heelish actions.
Analysis: It’s just another example of Bryan being an over the top heel with the cheap attacks. I thought AJ Styles might show up to break it up, but there is no sign of him probably because he’s selling the attack from last week.

The announcers went back to going over the TLC matches. I have the full lineup at the bottom of this post. Our preview will go up on Friday.
The New Day entered in suits as the hosts of the rap battle. They had pancakes with them, of course.
(Commercial)
The Rap Battle Hosted by The New Day
The Bar duo of Sheamus and Cesaro were in the ring in red jumpsuits along with white hats. The Usos were in the ring for the rap battle as well.
The New Day welcomed us to the rap battle. Kofi Kingston did a good job setting things up. Xavier Woods reminded them there will be a triple threat Tag Team Title match at TLC on Sunday. Big E said that the rules were to keep it clean and no funny business. They told The Bar to go first.

Sheamus and Cesaro hummed along to “Ice Ice Baby” and said, “Ice Ice Sheamy” along with some weak raps. Sheamus said “we shut it down, dog” and Cesaro did the “word to your mother” line followed by a celebration. Big E held up a trash can.

The Usos said that the last rap battle they had they got cheated and they said like Matt Hardy said, they delete it. Jimmy had a good line saying that they beat the Ninja Turtles and Beebop and Rocksteady. They ripped on Sheamus for his role in the Ninja Turtles followed by telling Sheamus that he looks stupid. That led to the fans chanting “you look stupid” at Sheamus. They mocked the no tan of Sheamus and his mohawk. Jey wondered how you knock out Cesaro’s teeth with no knuckles, so they introduced us to Mr. Turnbuckle. Jimmy and Jey talked about how they were ten years in the game with Jimmy having no injuries and he said he’s earned the Ironman nickname. Jey called him “Tony Stark” so that was cool. They welcomed us to the Uso penitentiary.
Sheamus and Cesaro tried a cheap attack, but The Usos were ready for them, so they knocked The Bar out of the ring. Sheamus got back in the ring, he hit a Brogue Kick on Big E, The Bar sent everybody else out of the ring and Sheamus/Cesaro hit a double team White Noise attack on Jimmy while everybody else was out on the floor.
Analysis: Fun rap battle by The Usos and Sheamus/Cesaro with The Usos “winning” in terms of quality. I enjoyed the cheesiness of Sheamus/Cesaro too. Some great lines in there by the Usos with the turnbuckle bit standing out the most. Sheamus and Cesaro standing tall was a fine way to end it. I think it’s time to get those titles back on The Usos at TLC although really, it doesn’t matter between these three teams because they are all great.

Asuka did a promo backstage saying that she thought nobody was ready for Asuka. She said that at WrestleMania, she made one mistake. She noted that at TLC, she will kick, strike, climb, grab the title and win. Asuka noted that tonight, Charlotte will not be ready for Asuka and she yelled in Japanese.
Still to come: Rusev and Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura. That’s cool.
(Commercial)
PLUG TIME: The month of December means the 10th Annual WWE Johnny Awards are coming later this month, so please check out our polls for the awards with categories like Best Talker (Promos), Best Babyface, and Best Heel among others. There will be new polls up every day, all month long. The winners of the polls don’t win the awards. The winners are my picks and will be announced in a column on December 27…The WWF in 2000 reviews are back. I just posted the March 9, 2000 edition of Smackdown on Saturday. The next Raw and Smackdown should go up this week as well, so check out our WWF in 2000 section to stay updated every week.

The Miz was in the ring with the WWE World Cup trophy in his hands. The Miz said that he knows it is Shane’s week for custody of the World Cup trophy, but Miz isn’t giving it up and Miz called out Shane to listen to what he has to say. Miz said that these people didn’t want to see him beg. There was no Shane, so Miz went down on one knee and told Shane to listen to what he has to say. Miz asked Shane to please come out there.
Shane McMahon made his entrance as he greeted fans on the way to the ring like the babyface Commissioner of Smackdown that he is. The fans chanted “Shane-o-Mac” for the rich guy.
Shane asked Miz what he’s doing and asked him why he’s out there with the trophy. Miz said that they can be so good together if Shane just gives them a chance. Miz said there was a deal last week that if Miz interviews Daniel Bryan then Shane owes him one. Shane said that he never said that. Miz said that they could be the best tag team in the world. Shane said that it wasn’t really a tag team match the last time they had a match. Shane said it’s getting weird with the trophy. Miz said this is about so much more. Miz said this will be something he’s never told anybody in his entire life and he’s going to say it. Miz said he’ll show Shane, so he called out a referee to the ring. Shane said he’s a little confused. Miz said that they will be in a tag team match against Chip and Chad – the Vegas Boys!

That led to Chip and Chad to run out to the ring to begin this match. The announcers wondered why is anybody listening to Miz right now and why can he book a match? One of the guys is a short black guy, so Graves joked that Kevin Hart is here since he can’t host the Oscars.

The Miz and Shane McMahon vs. Chip and Chad aka The Vegas Boys
Shane was attacked from behind by Chip and Chad, so Shane punched the dudes. The short black guy was sent out of the ring easily. Shane hit a very sloppy looking DDT on the taller white guy on the team. Shane slapped on the Triangle Choke submission on the guy and the guy tapped out to give Shane the win after about two minutes.
Winners by submission: The Miz and Shane McMahon
Analysis: 1/4* That was awkward. The DDT by Shane looked brutal because it didn’t come close to connecting. The Miz never tagged in and held the trophy in his hands during the entire match.

The Miz celebrated the win while Shane didn’t know how to react.
Still to come: Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka.
(Commercial)
Paige was in her office and she asked the referee Jason Ayers of the previous match what he was thinking. The referee said that Miz said that Paige sanctioned the match. The Vegas Boys showed up with sheets of paper and they said it was their invoice. They claimed that Miz said that they would get $5,000 each. She ripped up the papers and kicked everybody out of the office.

Analysis: That was a proper follow up to a ridiculous match that the GM had no idea was coming, at least in the storyline. Sometimes WWE ignores logic, but by doing that segment, at least they realize some fans think about this stuff and it’s smart to have Paige question what happened out there. It gives her credibility as a GM.

Let’s Hear from Randy Orton
Randy Orton made his entrance. He grabbed a steel chair and walked into the ring with it. He’s facing Rey Mysterio in a Chairs Match at TLC on Sunday. Orton said one of the uses of a steel chair is to send a message. Orton told them to roll the tape, so a clip aired of Orton attacking Rey Mysterio with a Chairs match three weeks ago, which set up their match at TLC. Orton asked for the second tape with highlights of two weeks ago with Orton attacking Mysterio with a chair again.
Orton said that Rey Mysterio knows he has a Chairs Match with Orton at TLC and he’s okay with that? Orton said that Mysterio knows of what Orton can do in the ring, yet he’s still okay with it? Randy thinks that Rey must think that he’s going to get his revenge. Randy said that once a victim, always a victim. Orton said that this Sunday, the boys in the locker room will worry about the three letters TLC, but all Mysterio has to worry about are the three destructive letters R…K…and here’s Mysterio with a steel chair to the back. Mysterio with another chair to the back. Mysterio kicked a chair into Orton’s chest and Mysterio hit a 619. Orton bailed and went up the ramp while Mysterio stood tall.
Analysis: The story of the feud has been about Orton dominating Mysterio, so it made sense to have Mysterio get some revenge on him. I don’t think the winner of their Chairs Match that much since both guys are going to be pushed to a certain level whether they win or lose. I thought Mysterio might win because maybe he’ll step up as a WWE Title challenger, but seeing him stand tall here makes me think Orton will win. I don’t know, though. My official prediction will be in our TLC preview on Friday.

Becky Lynch was shown walking backstage with Kayla Braxton there for an interview. Lynch talked about her big TLC match on Sunday. Lynch had a good line when she said: “I can’t wait to remind the world just how much chaos can happen when The Man comes around.” Lynch said she has to face Asuka and Charlotte in a TLC match on Sunday, so tonight she’s going to be at ringside to watch their match.

It’s Hardy and Rusev vs. Nakamura and Joe up next.
(Commercial)
The entrances took place for the four men in the tag team match. Hardy has had a rivalry with Joe while Nakamura and Rusev have had issues, so it’s a tag team match between rivals.
Analysis: On the preview for the show, they said that Jeff Hardy will address Samoa Joe’s comments from last week, but apparently it’s just going to be a tag team match instead. Plans change in WWE, my friends.

When the bell was about to begin, R-Truth and Carmella showed up on the stage. They did a dance break. Truth told them to proceed.

Jeff Hardy and Rusev (w/Lana) vs. Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura
Nakamura hit Hardy with a kick to the back while Hardy was looking at Truth on the ramp. Joe tagged in, Hardy went after him with punches, Joe pulled Hardy out of the ring and Joe whipped Hardy into the barricade at ringside as the show went to break.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Joe hitting a back elbow and a jumping kick to the head of Hardy. Nakamura tagged in, he worked over Hardy with kicks and Joe went back into the ring. Hardy came back with the Whisper in the Wind attack off the ropes. The fans chanted “Rusev Day” as Rusev got the hot tag against Nakamura. Rusev with a clothesline that led to a spin bump by Nakamura. Rusev with a running splash, knee to the ribs of Nakamura and a fallaway slam by Rusev on Nakamura. Rusev with a running attack against the turnbuckle followed by a spin kick to the head of Nakamura. Two back elbows by Nakamura, Rusev avoided two kicks and Rusev with a kick to the head for two with Joe breaking up the pin. Hardy with a Twist of Fate that sent Joe out of the ring. Hardy with a clothesline off the apron to take down Joe. Rusev went for the Accolade, Nakamura slipped out of it, forearm to the face by Nakamura and Rusev hit a Machka Kick on Nakamura for the pinfall win after eight minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Jeff Hardy and Rusev
Analysis: **1/2 The match was pretty basic with Jeff getting isolated by the heels, Rusev was on fire and got the job done with the win over Nakamura. That should set up Rusev for a US Title shot against Nakamura at some point in the near future. I liked the clothesline to the floor by Hardy. Rusev’s Machka Kick on Nakamura looked good with Nakamura selling it very well.

Shane McMahon was shown walking backstage where he caught up to The Miz. Shane yelled at Miz for paying wrestlers and a referee leading to the wrestlers attacking Shane. Miz said that even though he’s accomplished a lot in his career like being a WWE Champion, WrestleMania main eventer, movies, TV shows, but he’s never been considered best in the world until Shane came along. Miz wanted a handshake, but Shane just left. Miz seemed sad about that.
Analysis: I don’t know if there’s going to be a turn by Shane or what the plan is. The most likely scenario is that Miz attacks Shane for disrespecting to set up a match between them possibly at Royal Rumble, but more likely for WrestleMania. Shane could turn heel, though. I think that would be more interesting.
(Commercial)
A video aired about Lars Sullivan coming to the main roster. It said, “Lars Sullivan is Lurking” and it was the same video that was on Raw.

There was a video package about Daniel Bryan’s heel turn that led to his low blow and running knee that beat AJ Styles for the WWE Title. The video set up Bryan vs. Styles at TLC on Sunday.

AJ Styles was interviewed by Kayla Braxton backstage. Styles said he’s biding his time, so he’s counting down the days, hours and minutes until TLC. Styles said this isn’t’ the new Daniel Bryan, it’s the real Daniel Bryan. Styles said he’ll be an aggressive, do whatever it takes to get back the WWE Title…AJ Styles.

Asuka made her entrance for the main event. Good ovation for her.
Analysis: That means there is no Naomi vs. Mandy Rose match that was advertised earlier in the day because WWE is opting to give Asuka vs. Flair a lot of time with over 20 minutes left in the show. That’s fine with me, but I always want to see Mandy…and Naomi is cool too. They tried to cover it in a post-show Youtube video with Paige saying it was Miz’s fault for having a match.
(Commercial)
Charlotte Flair was behind the curtain with Kayla Braxton there for an interview with her. Flair said that the Queen doesn’t break, she breaks undefeated streaks. Flair said she’ll give The Empress and The Man a preview of what happens when they bow down to The Queen.

Charlotte Flair made her entrance in a robe like always. The match at TLC is Becky Lynch defending the Smackdown Women’s Title in a TLC match against Charlotte Flair and Asuka in the first ever women’s TLC match in WWE.

Becky Lynch, the Smackdown Women’s Champion, made her entrance to a big ovation. She was wearing her t-shirt that said “The Man” on it. Lynch sat down on a leather chair at ringside, but she was not on commentary.

Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
The match began with around 17 minutes left in the show. Asuka went for a leg lock submission early in the match, but Flair managed to get out of it and hit a belly to back suplex. Asuka came back with a German Suplex leading to a rough bump on the back of the neck of Flair. They replayed it and it looked nasty. Asuka went for a running hip attack, Flair moved, Asuka hit the ropes and Flair kicked Asuka down. Flair went up top, she jumped off with the moonsault, Asuka got the knees up and Asuka tried to apply the Asuka Lock, but Flair powered out of it. Flair dropped to her back to get Asuka off her. Asuka slapped on an attempted Asuka Lock again, but Flair got to the ropes and the show went to break there.
(Commercial)
The match returned with the women on their knees exchanging forearm strikes. Flair wanted a neckbreaker, but Asuka transitioned to a submission hold that focused on the right arm/shoulder on Flair. Asuka got a two count of that. Asuka slapped on an armbar on the left arm of Flair. When Flair tried to fight out of it, Asuka went for a triangle choke. Flair came back with a sitout Powerbomb for a two count. Flair trash talked Asuka telling her that she will never break Flair and Flair slapped on the Figure Four submission hold. Flair did not turn it into the Figure Eight, so Asuka reversed it and then they went into the ropes. Lynch was smiling at the sight of both women in pain. Flair wrenched the left leg of Asuka followed by forearms to the face by Flair. Flair pulled Asuka out of the ring and sent Asuka’s left leg into the ring post. Flair trash talked Lynch at ringside as she sent Asuka’s left leg into the ring post again. Flair got another two count out of that. Asuka with an inside cradle for two. Flair with chops to the chest, Asuka came back with a fireman’s carry, a kick to the back and when Flair went for a Spear, Asuka got the double knees up to counter for a two count. That was a great spot that was like a Codebreaker. Nice move for a nearfall. Asuka worked over Flair with kicks to the big chest of Flair, elbows to the head by Asuka, more kicks from Asuka, Asuka ran the ropes and Flair bounced off the ropes with a Spear for a two count. That was another good nearfall. Flair set up for a moonsault and jumped off the top, but Asuka got the knees up again. Asuka managed to slap on the Asuka Lock submission. Flair got back to her feet and they went tumbling out of the ring and onto the floor in front of Lynch. Flair grabbed a kendo stick from under the ring. Flair attacked Asuka with kendo stick shots to the back leading to a disqualification finish after 15 minutes.
Winner by disqualification: Asuka
Analysis: ***1/4 It was a good match that was very competitive although it was not at the level of their match at WrestleMania, which was a four star match. This was evenly booked with each woman getting in an equal amount of offense with plenty of submission hold, some good nearfalls by each woman and then Flair resorted to the DQ finish just like she did against Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania. I’m not surprised that neither woman was pinned or submitted because it would weaken them. Doing a DQ finish makes sense even though it does hurt the quality of the match. From a story perspective, I have no problem with it.

After the match, Lynch just looked at Flair with a smile as if she was impressed. When Lynch tried to leave, Flair hit Lynch in the knee with a kendo stick. Flair attacked Asuka with the kendo stick. Lynch got back into it and hit Flair with the kendo stick. Asuka got back up, she kicked Lynch and sent Lynch over the announce table. Asuka got the kendo stick and attacked Flair with the kendo stick. Asuka hit Lynch and Flair with kendo stick shots to the back. Asuka stood tall on the announce table while the other women were down. That’s how Smackdown ended.
The camera shaking when Asuka was hitting the kendo stick shots on both women was very annoying, but that’s what WWE instructs their cameramen to do. I f’n hate it.
Analysis: That was a bit of a heelish attack by Flair although I don’t think WWE is going to portray her as a heel. It was cheap just because Lynch was walking away when Flair attacked. I think the point is to show how aggressive Flair has become. This was the first time Lynch has bumped on TV since Nia Jax punched her face last month, so it’s nice to see Lynch getting involved again. Asuka standing tall was good to see because it shows she’s worthy of being in the match and putting up a fight against these two women.

As for who wins on Sunday at TLC, I think it might be Flair due to the popular theory of Lynch losing the title and then winning the Royal Rumble to face Ronda Rousey. I’d rather see Asuka win the title, but I’m not sure if she will after she stood tall here. I’ll come up with an official prediction in our preview on Friday.

The match will be awesome at TLC. I’m excited about it and I have high expectations for it. Crush it, ladies.

Three Stars of the Show
1. Daniel Bryan
2. Charlotte Flair
3. (tie) Asuka
3. (tie) Mustafa Ali

The Scoreboard
7 out of 10
Last week: 8
2018 Average: 6.61
Last 5 Weeks: 8, 7, 4.5, 7.5, 8
2018 High: 8.5 (July 31)
2018 Low: 4.5 (January 2, January 9, November 20)

Final Thoughts
I give this week’s Smackdown a 7 out of 10.

It’s a 7 for Smackdown this week thanks to some pretty good in-ring work. I thought that Bryan/Ali and Flair/Asuka were both enjoyable matches, but I also had higher expectations that they didn’t live up to. Maybe that’s wrong of me to expect even better matches. I don’t know. I just felt like both of them could have been better. Perhaps they could have shaved off a few minutes of Bryan’s promo and given more time to the match. What they did was still fun, though. As for Flair/Asuka, with the DQ ending that tarnished it a bit. I liked the post match angle, so that helped.

The rest of the show was okay. I don’t think anything was that bad. The Rap Battle was mildly entertaining, the Mysterio/Orton segment was just kind of there without anything standing out and the guys tag team match was standard stuff for a tag team match. That Miz/Shane segment fell flat with a brutal looking DDT attempt by Shane. Ouch.

The next WWE pay-per-view is Tables, Ladders & Chairs (TLC) this Sunday, December 16. Here’s what we know so far.

WWE Championship: Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles
Smackdown Women’s Championship TLC Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka
Intercontinental Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match: Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin (If Strowman wins, he challenges Lesnar for the Universal Title at Royal Rumble. If Corbin wins, he is full-time GM of Raw.) – Strowman is questionable to make the match due to elbow surgery, so it’s unknown if it will take place.
Raw Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Nia Jax
Smackdown Tag Team Championships: The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods) vs. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso)
Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre
Chairs Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton
Ladder Match With a Guitar Above the Ring: Elias vs. Bobby Lashley
Tables Match: Natalya vs. Ruby Riott
Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander
Finals of Mixed Match Challenge: Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox vs. R-Truth and Carmella

That’s 12 matches with no clarification for what is going to take place on the Kickoff Show. Maybe WWE will tell us by the end of the week.
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John Canton
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