Following several twists and turns, Daniel Bryan prevailed in a Triple Threat Match against both The Miz and King Corbin to earn another opportunity at "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt's Universal Title at Royal Rumble next month. Following Bryan’s victory, however, Wyatt immediately appeared with an ominous question for his next challenger.
On a special holiday edition of Friday Night SmackDown, the unlikely team of Daniel Bryan & The Miz teamed up against King Corbin & Dolph Ziggler, Heavy Machinery overcame The Revival in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight, Sasha Banks drew the ire of Lacey Evans when she taunted her daughter at ringside, and much more.
During an appearance on “Miz TV,” Daniel Bryan’s verbal altercation with Bray Wyatt and the Firefly Fun House leads to a Universal Championship showdown at Survivor Series. Plus, as the battle for brand superiority at Survivor Series draws closer, NXT continued to knock at the door of the blue brand.
Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin collided in Manchester, England, but The Big Dog would ultimately have to deal with a lot more than just The King of the Ring by match’s end. Also, Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman came face-to-face yet again in a WWE ring, this time with a potentially even more shocking conclusion.
Bayley arrived on Friday Night SmackDown with a new look and new demeanor, but she left Las Vegas as the new SmackDown Women’s Champion after withstanding Charlotte Flair’s best to regain the coveted title. The WWE Draft also got underway with Raw and Friday Night SmackDown both bolstering their rosters with major talent acquisitions.
In the wake of WWE Clash of Champions, the reunited Erick Rowan & Luke Harper took out Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns in an all-out destructive assault. Plus, Brock Lesnar made a surprise return to challenge WWE Champion Kofi Kingston to a title match at the FOX Friday Night SmackDown premiere on Oct. 4, and Chad Gable left King Corbin’s coronation in shambles.
Shane McMahon thought he had it all figured out when he inserted himself into the King of the Ring Tournament Semifinals against Chad Gable and appointed Kevin Owens as the special guest referee with promises of lifting Owens’ $100,000 fine. However, Gable wouldn’t quit in the face of Shane-O-Mac, prompting Shane to fire KO.
Roman Reigns finally got the answer he was looking for when he confirmed that Erick Rowan was indeed responsible for attacking him. The reveal set “The New” Daniel Bryan into a frenzy, exploding on Rowan and attempting to explain to The Big Dog that he had no knowledge of Erick’s motives … but Reigns wasn’t exactly having it.
”The New” Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowan reveal who they believed to be the culprit behind the series of attacks on Roman Reigns – a man with almost identical facial features to Erick Rowan. Elsewhere, the WWE Champion Kofi Kingston proved he would not back down in the face of Randy Orton’s onslaught towards him and his New Day brothers.
The New Day engaged in a drag-out battle with Randy Orton & The Revival in a major Six-Man Tag Team main event on SmackDown LIVE, but the makeshift trio’s victory over the WWE Champion and SmackDown Tag Team Champions was only half the story. Also, the mystery surrounding who is responsible for the recent attacks on Roman Reigns took several more twists and turns.
Tonight on SmackDown LIVE, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston overcame United States Champion AJ Styles in a non-title Champion vs. Champion Match with the members of The O.C. and The New Day at ringside. Plus, Roman Reigns was denied the opportunity to make a SummerSlam challenge when a pile of scaffold and metal fell down upon him, and Charlotte Flair emerged to challenge Trish Stratus to a match at The Biggest Event of the Summer.
Shane McMahon thought he had backed Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns into a corner when he pitted the two in a match against one another, as Drew McIntyre, Elias and Shane were all present for it. However, the tides quickly turned on “The Best in the World” when Owens and Reigns made it clear that they were more interested in tussling with Shane-O-Mac and company than each other.
The beef between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon continued, first with Shane-O-Mac’s Town Hall Meeting quickly going south when KO abruptly arrived and then again in the main event when Owens tussled with Dolph Ziggler, but the conclusion would be altered when Shane hit the scene with some backup clearly aiming to take KO out.
After a chaotic set of circumstances, Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler collided with Heavy Machinery, and the winning team would earn their way into the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match at WWE Extreme Rules. Elsewhere, Samoa Joe made a chilling proposition to Kofi Kingston, but the WWE Champion would not blink in the face of The Samoan Submission Machine.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler amazed the WWE Universe with an incredible 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, wherein The Showoff could earn his way into the WWE Title Match at Extreme Rules with a win. Elsewhere, another 2-out-of-3 Falls bout took centerstage as The Miz squared off against Elias.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston & Universal Champion Seth Rollins teamed up to take on Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a blockbuster 2-out-of-3 Falls Match main event on SmackDown LIVE. Elsewhere, the growing tension between SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and Alexa Bliss finally boiled over in a tumultuous “Moment of Bliss” that would see fists fly.
Goldberg’s first-ever appearance on SmackDown LIVE brought the WWE Universe even more than they bargained for when his WWE Super ShowDown opponent The Undertaker arrived to create a one-of-a-kind moment. Elsewhere, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler mixed it up prior to their title match in Jeddah.
R-Truth’s journey as 24/7 Champion took another interesting turn when he accidentally interrupted Shane McMahon Appreciation Night. The mishap briefly cost him the 24/7 Title, but Truth’s fortunes changed when he teamed with Roman Reigns to take on Elias & Drew McIntyre in the blue brand main event.
Roman Reigns took on Elias in a Money in the Bank rematch, with it clear that Shane McMahon would be doing everything in his power to slow The Big Dog down prior to WWE Super ShowDown … including using the Wild Card Rule to his advantage. Elsewhere, Big E returned to SmackDown LIVE … but so did Dolph Ziggler, and he made it clear he is coming for WWE Champion Kofi Kingston.
With WWE Champion Kofi Kingston as the scheduled guest on “The Kevin Owens Show,” it seemed likely that the two WWE Money in the Bank opponents would trade blows only five nights before their WWE Title Match … which they did, but no one could have predicted how it materialized, thanks to Mr. McMahon’s Wild Card Rule.
The “Wild Card Rule” brought Raw’s AJ Styles and Sami Zayn to SmackDown LIVE, but WWE Champion Kofi Kingston upped the ante when he challenged both Superstars to a Triple Threat Match with WWE’s most prestigious prize on the line. Elsewhere, new SmackDown Tag Team Champions were crowned, but not in the way Shane McMahon intended when the “Wild Card Rule” struck again.
Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship celebration was cut short when The Bar & Drew McIntyre crashed the party, challenging The New Day to a Six-Man Tag Team Match in the main event of SmackDown LIVE. Elsewhere, The Usos and The Hardy Boyz battled for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles, but the winners would not be able to enjoy the victory, as Lars Sullivan emerged to wreak havoc.
After New Day threatened to quit WWE, Mr. McMahon gave Kofi Kingston one last chance to challenge for the WWE Title at WrestleMania … except his fate wouldn’t be in his hands. The Chairman decreed that if Kofi’s New Day brethren could prevail in a Tag Team Gauntlet Match, then The Dreadlocked Dynamo would get his WWE Championship Match on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship opportunity future was decided when Mr. McMahon made a major announcement regarding what The Dreadlocked Dynamo would have to do to face off against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. Elsewhere, Shane McMahon held nothing back in his explanation of why he betrayed The Miz at WWE Fastlane.
Mr. McMahon dropped a bombshell when he announced that Kevin Owens would replace Kofi Kingston as “The New” Daniel Bryan’s challenger for the WWE Championship at WWE Fastlane. However, matters complicated even more when the returning Owens suggested that he and Kingston team up against Bryan & Rowan in the main event of SmackDown LIVE.
A highly competitive Gauntlet Match determined who would be last to enter the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match this Sunday, a bout that now also has a new entrant. Elsewhere, Charlotte Flair spoke with elation on being chosen to replace Becky Lynch against Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35.
”The New” Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy squared off in the main event of SmackDown LIVE, but all six WWE Title Elimination Chamber Match participants couldn’t help but get involved by the end of the bout. Elsewhere, Becky Lynch confronted a McMahon Family member for the second consecutive night, going face-to-face with Triple H.
Rey Mysterio and Andrade brought the house down in another instant classic, this time a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, but Samoa Joe and Randy Orton stole some headlines by match’s end. Elsewhere, the issues between SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair intensified as all three look to dominate at the Royal Rumble event this Sunday.
On a monumental New Year’s Day SmackDown LIVE, AJ Styles unleashed the newfound aggression he showed Mr. McMahon last week on four other Superstars en route to earning a WWE Championship Match against “The New” Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble. Plus, John Cena came face to face with The Man in his return to Team Blue.