The time has come again for the WWE SmackDown Recap. As always I’ll be giving you the live play-by-play of the show as it airs in written form!
After a fairly lengthy recap of last week’s events, Roman Reigns opens the show. A few minutes later he’s in the ring with the mic, a piped in “You Suck” chant on a very clear loop. Roman says KO said he’d deliver a message today. But no, he’s not, you won’t see Kevin Owens tonight because Roman said so. Talk about last week, ‘card subject to change’. Real clever. Some say they got one past them, outsmarted ’em. But let’s make things clear, that way of thinking is beneath him. ‘Card subject to change’ is how losers think.
People that can’t get the job done, scared to come to work, that’s what they think. He doesn’t miss appearances, he comes up to work. Legitimately, it took… it took his health being at risk and a pandemic to keep him out of this ring. That’s why he is who he is. But what if he was like Adam Pearce, just saying his elbow hurts and shoulder hurts. Doubts anyone would doubt him with all the work he’s put in. Says his knees hurt, ankles been bad since college. His back hurts, because he’s been carrying this damn company for years now. What if he can’t make it to the Royal Rumble because his back just keeps hurting?
Adam Pearce walks down the ramp.
He says this is too much, this thing is spiraling out of control. Roman says he wants to talk about control. What’s out of control is he conspired against him. He says his favoring of Kevin Owens is out of control. He’s not even doing a favor for him, he’s Kevin Owens’ bitch! But what he really can’t stand is that he has the audacity to come out here and complain about how his body feels. Hasn’t had a match in six years!
And he complains about how his body hurts when you’re standing next to the thoroughbred. Says he’s done it five days a week, 52 weeks out of a year and it doesn’t bother him. He never stops because he busts his ass for this place, that’s why he is who he is. And yet Pearce comes out to bitch and moan, no wonder he never made it to the WWE. They get on Adam Pearce for disrespecting Roman and his family and Heyman as well. Paul says he may not be a lawyer but he’s the son of one and a formal agreement is binding.
Paul Heyman challenges Adam Pearce to a match tonight.
Uh, what? Paul looks for a handshake. Pearce will certainly take that match. Roman tells him that at the end of the night he’ll get his ass kicked.
After Roman and co. leave, Sami Zayn makes his way out with a protest sign and he handcuffs himself to the barricade. After a commercial break – and yes the WWE SmackDown Recap rolls on – Sami Zayn is on the mic, declares for the Rumble amidst a bunch of complaining about being victimized. As he complains about Apollo Crews being rewarded for injuring him, Asuka and Charlotte Flair come out. Man, can’t recall the last time the WWE Women’s Tag Champs appeared on SmackDown.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair & Asuka vs. The Riott Squad (Non-Title)
Charlotte choking Ruby in the corner, clobbering her across the back, power whip to the buckles. Swings at the interfering Billie, back elbow to Riott. Liv tags in, Charlotte deposits Ruby, grabs Billie by the hair and Liv with a drive-by style dropkick! Morgan goes up top, crossbody for a nearfall! Commercial break, WWE SmackDown Recap will continue. Charlotte stomping Liv into the corner repeatedly.
Pulls her out, scoops her up for a slam but Liv escapes. Rana, Riott tags in, clothesline ducked, Ruby with short shots. Charlotte whips her to the corner, Riott with a headscissor to drive Charlotte into the buckles. Cover for 2. Liv tags in, Riott Squad with a double STO for a 2 count. Quick tags and isolation. Double whip, Charlotte with a boot on the back body drop, chops to both of them, throws Riott into the buckles, Exploder to Morgan! Kip-Up!
Charlotte with an STO into a Turnbuckle Flatliner. Asuka tags in, blocks a Morgan kick for an Ankle Lock into the German Suplex! Asukalock, Riott tags herself in. Blocks a German, O’Connor Roll reversed as Billie Kay is distracting the ref. Asuka kicks out, Hip Attack sends Morgan into Billie, Pop-Up Knee to Ruby, hits the ropes for a Codebreaker, Flair tags in for the Natural Selection and the win!
Winners: Charlotte Flair & Asuka
Expected better from that honestly, but it was passable.
Backstage Billie Kay is apologizing to the Riott Squad but she’s stammering. Ruby says she cost her the chance at pinning Asuka and getting a shot at the women’s tag titles. Billie says she can make it up to them, she got them both spots in the women’s royal rumble. She wants to do a bit where she dresses up as other women’s wrestlers but Ruby says she doesn’t get it. The squad was better when it was just the two of them.
Daniel Bryan makes his way out as the WWE SmackDown Recap continues. Says hearing the Royal Rumble coming up makes chills go down his spine. Discusses the excitement and the unknown that comes with the Rumble. Every man for himself, of the most challenging things you can do in the WWE and it makes him feel alive. Daniel says he’s done so much but one thing he’s never done, is win the Royal Rumble match. Cesaro makes his entrance to interrupt him. Cesaro says he thought he beat some sense into him last week. As he makes his way down the ramp he waves to Sami Zayn, who remains handcuffed to the barricade.
Cesaro says as the first Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner, he has some experience with this kind of thing. Bryan says he didn’t forget that he beat him last week. How about they fight right now? Cesaro says “How about nooo”. He’s sick and tired of proving himself week after week and doing the same thing. He already beat him. Since he’s not dressed for competition, he wants to make an open challenge to anyone back there to face him.
Dolph Ziggler’s music hits?
He talks up his stamina, can go all night long ask anybody, says he wants to win the Rumble to go to WrestleMania and get paid! Accepts Cesaro’s challenge.
Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler
Dolph with a Piggyback Sleeper, Cesaro bashes him into the corner, charging uppercut drops him! Double leg into a Giant Swing already! Man, that’s a loooooooooong swing. Cover for a close nearfall! Ziggler posts Cesaro, roll up for a nearfall! Cesaro with a back body drop, several cradles reversed in a row. It’s still going, catch-as-catch-can! Superkick blocked, Uppercut dodged, backslide spun out – Ziggler with the Zig Zag for a close nearfall! Sami is still on the ramp, just in case you forgot, they keep making sure to remind us. Cesaro wants a vertical suplex, Dolph escapes for a kick, lames for a Fameasser but Cesaro counters, deadlifts him into the Neutralizer! Hot damn.
Winner: Cesaro
This “let Cesaro good matches every week and then win them” strategy is a truly bold and innovative one, let’s see if it pays off for ’em.
Next up on the WWE SmackDown Recap…
Sasha Banks vs. Reginald
Sasha blocks a slap and slaps him HARD. Leaps off the top rope with a Lucha Arm Drag but Reginald flips to his feet to escape! Carmella with a distraction, Reginald with a waistlock. Sasha slips between his legs and has the waistlock. Reginald breaks through and backflips through the ropes. On the apron, dodges a shot with a backflip to the floor! Sasha with a Baseball Slide takes him into the barricade. Tries to throw him into the steps, Reginald leaps off the steps with a wild front flip!
This dude is hella athletic. Back into the ring, Reginald with a roll past her, stares at Carmella. A few counters, wheelbarrow turned into a bulldog for Sasha. Reginald with a cartwheel to avoid a dropkick! Lucha style stuff going on with a slam reversed into an arm drag, takes him to the outside, Meteora off the apron! Back into the ring, he flips to escape a Backstabber! Monkey Flip attempted, Reginald takes her up but she turns it into another Meteora! Round-The-World-Rana into a Bank Statement!
Winner: Sasha Banks
That was surprisingly cool. I mean it’s a bit weird to have a heel fly so dang much, he’s not gonna get heat with an act like this, but it was fun to watch and I do love IG.
Backstage, Roman Reigns says he didn’t tell Paul to challenge Adam Pearce, nor did he hire a bitch as his advisor so now he has to do this. Paul is stunned.
Next up on the WWE SmackDown Recap…
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Big E (c) vs. Apollo Crews
Big E with an immediate Overhead Belly To Belly! Apron Splash! Back into the ring, Crews with a big pump kick, Standing Moonsault for a close nearfall! Crews with the Rolling Germans now. After 2, E elbows himself free. Apollo charges, E with the Corner Uranage for a nearfall! Crews slips outside. E pursues him and throws him into the ring but Crews leaps up to the apron for an Asai Moonsault!
Takes him into the ring, goes up top, E stops him. Hooks for a superplex, customary headbutts bring E to the mat. Meanwhile Sami Zayn uncuffs himself as Crews poses on the top rope, nice Missile Dropkick! Zayn into the ring with a Helluva Kick though and there’s the disqualification. And he immediately turns around to give one to Big E too!
Winner: Big E (By DQ)
Sami celebrates and his music plays as he leaves.
We’re told that Roman Reigns has left the building and KO isn’t here either but we see a video from him filmed from the parking lot. Says Roman pulled some strings to keep him from being allowed into the arena. But at the Rumble there’s nothing he can do to stop him. Roman tells him to just die but he can’t do that. Owens says his family earned him wins over him, not Roman.
Kevin says every tattoo he has means something to him, one for his wife, his kid, his parents. But the ink on his knuckles explain it the best. They’re the initials of his grandfathers. Says he always wished they could see what he’s done but they both passed away a few years before he made it to WWE. They passed away too early from illnesses but they never stopped fighting, so how can he? Says come Royal Rumble, he’ll be the Last Man Standing.
Street Profits backstage see Dolph Ziggler and Sonya Deville, surprised thye remembered that relationship. Dawkins has a fruit basket for Sonya to celebrate the new job. But don’t jump the gun. Ford says it’s been two weeks since they lost the titles to ED, Entertainment Dysfunction, which Dawkins presumes will sell a lot of shirts.
Sonya says they’d like their rematch. They held the titles for over 300 days, won two Slammy’s, they absolutely deserve a rematch. But Ford hasn’t recovered from his injury. If he gets hurt that hurts SmackDown. Says some new teams will get a chance for now but when he’s 100%, they’ll get their shot. They’re a little disappointed but they understand and they do give her the fruit basket which surprises me.
WWE SmackDown Recap continues with the obstacle course!
Michael Cole is on the stage to officiate this as he introduces Bianca Belair and Bayley. The latter takes the mic from him and shooes him away. Says American Ninja Warrior has nothing on the ultimate athlete obstacle course! It starts with a tire flipping, then we have hurdles, those things you climb over. Gable is here to assist with some kinda fireman’s carry drill. Finally we have basketball, I guess.
Bayley will go first. She struggles a bit on the tire but she gets it over, and then trots down the ramp, kinda slow on purpose. Bayley does run through the little hurdles. She hesitates before the freeclimb segment, instead just runs around them as there’s boos. Gable instructs her on the fireman’s carry, she puts him on her shoulders and sloooowly walks past the red line. Finally she goes to the basketball hoop and hilariously misses the rim on the first shot, second one is in.
Bayley then has them change the course, with bigger hurdles.
Bianca flips the tire with ease, makes it over the hurdles, destroys the freeclimb segment. Gable stops her and says her next challenge is doing the fireman’s carry with Otis! He stands on the steps so she can hoist him up and she in fact manages to take him past the line! Bayley then actively tries to defend on the basketball finish and Belair still slips by her and gets a slam dunk with 17 seconds to spare! That was great.
Afterwards Bayley acts like she’ll be an honorable sportsman for a second before tossing the ball into her gut and attacking her, throwing her into the basketball hoop.
Rey backstage is instructing Dominik on his match with King Corbin which is up next on the WWE SmackDown Recap!
King Corbin vs. Dominik Mysterio
Lock-up. Corbin throws him to the corner but Dominik slips out, body shots, dropkick to the face! Whip, reversed, Dominik with a spinning headscissor takedown! Corbin slips to the floor, blocks a tope and nails him with a lariat! Throws him into the ring. Cover for 2. Takes him into the ring, chokes Dominik on the bottom rope. Takes him into the corner, body shots. Power whip into the buckles! Looks for the End of Days, Dominik flips through and kicks him into the ropes! 619 attempted, Corbin catches him! Yanks him to his feet, huge right hand, End of Days for the win.
Winner: King Corbin
Short but sound match.
Adam Pearce in the ring now for, whatever this is gonna be in our main event, as the WWE SmackDown Recap concludes. Paul comes out to face him but before he gets in the ring he starts limping. Ref checking on him, Paul says he’s fine but the ref says he doesn’t look fine. He slumps to the floor. Paul of course says the card is subject to change and Roman Reigns’ music hits…
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Adam Pearce (Non-Title)
Roman with an immediate Superman Punch! Pearce drops to the floor. Pearce shoves Roman to the steps but Reigns just seems amused. Low blow when he ref isn’t looking, big lariat. Throws Pearce past the barricade and into the screens! He pulls him over to take him up the platform where he tossed Owens before, speaking of which, a large man in a hoodie runs in to attack Roman and it’s Owens!
They brawl and Roman sends Kev into the barricade and then into the ring. Owens with a Superkick, blocks a Superman Punch with a KICK WHAM STUNNER! Fight spills outside, he throws Roman into the barricade. Refs trying to pull Kev away, he keeps coming to stomp Reigns. He slips past the refs, another Stunner! Asks Paul if he’s watching. He takes Roman over to the announce table and sends him right through it with a Pop-Up Powerbomb! Owens stands tall as the show fades.