Friday has come once more. That means the WWE SmackDown Recap is upon us! That’s a live written play-by-play of the show, coming to you as it airs, so watch this space!
Michael Cole is in the ring to start the show, that’s always what you wanna see. He brings out his guest tonight, Daniel Bryan. They talk about him and Edge having a tag match with Roman and Jey at Fastlane. Bryan says nobody ran this past him because everybody thinks he just goes with the flow. He understands Edge didn’t run it past him, understands Roman doesn’t want to defend his title. But he’s making a change, he doesn’t want to be the old Daniel Bryan tonight. Everybody wants to see the Attitude Era vs. The ThunderDome except him.
He shows us a video package of his efforts at Elimination Chamber. He says he’s lost a lot in his career but you’d think after winning the Chamber for the third time and fighting valiantly as he could against Roman, you’d think it wouldn’t be a big deal. But when he rolled out of the ring and watched Edge spear Roman and point at the sign, never in his life had he felt like such a failure.
Bryan mentions that he doesn’t have a ton of ambition, that’s what they say.
WWE did a test years ago on their WWE superstars, the lady told him it was the lowest ambition score he’d ever seen, how is he successful? Bryan says his only answer is that he loves this and if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. He’s been putting himself on the backburner, wanted to give other people opportunities and put others in front of himself. That’s why he felt like a failure, he felt like he failed himself.
He knows now that HE should be the one in the main event of WrestleMania. Notes that he’s wrestled more in the last three weeks than either Edge or Roman have in the last three months. He wants to show that he has more ambition than the test ever showed because knows that what he can be is the very best! Tonight he faces Jey Uso in a Steel Cage match. If he wins he gets a shot at Roman Reigns, and that may be his final chance to headline WrestleMania again.
Before he can continue, Roman Reigns interrupts. Commercial break.
Yeah they cut to break as he made his entrance. Watcha wanna bet he won’t be in the ring by the time come back? Find out when the WWE SmackDown Recap returns!
We’re back and to my surprise Reigns is in fact standing right in front of Bryan. He says that he’s looking at the same guy but he doesn’t sound like the same guy. The way he’s talking is confusing and if it confuses him, he knows it confuses his audience. Daniel Bryan’s ambitious now? He’s driven now? No. He’s the underdog, he’s the little guy. He’s a lotto winner! The guy who waits on the opportunity and sometimes it works out. He’s not driven.
Roman says Bryan doesn’t love this, he needs it. Love isn’t based off of needs, it’s based off of service, what you can do for others. Reigns says he loves this business, he doesn’t need it. He does it because everybody needs him. SmackDown needs him, the roster needs him, the crew needs him, the cameraman needs him! Paul needs him, Jey needs him, even Bryan needs him.
Reigns threatens him and steps closer but Jey gets between them. Says this is as close as Bryan gets to the Universal title. The Road to WrestleMania for him ends tonight and he’s gotta get him. He turns around but it’s a trick as he rushes him, Bryan was ready for it, hip tossing him and then throwing him from the ring whilst Roman just stands there and watches. Bryan and Reigns stare each other down.
Up next on the WWE SmackDown Recap…
Street Profits vs. King Corbin & Sami Zayn
Sami comes out with a mic. Says the two of them last week pulled off a big fluke but him and his teammate will prove that it’s exactly that! Corbin comes out and says they’re not tag partners. He goes down the ramp and says since he’s a singles wrestler, do either of them want a singles match?
Ford and Dawkins are okay with this. Make sure to note once again that Ziggler and Roode are ducking them. Montez agrees to face Corbin! Sami thinks this is a conspiracy and isn’t happy but we’re doing it anyway.
So the match is ACTUALLY…
King Corbin vs. Montez Ford
Ford with a series of dropkicks until a Spinebuster drops him. Corbin clobbers him in the corner, power whip to the opposite buckles. Thrusts him to the mat a Back Suplex toss! Ford leaps onto Corbin’s back, he bashes him into the corner, yanks him to the mat. Ford fights back, counters a pop-up with a DDT out of the air, Standing Moonsault for a nearfall! Sami with a distraction, Ford charges right into End of Days! That’s that.
Winner: King Corbin
Sami says he helped Corbin, now Corbin should help him. Corbin’s kinda blowing it off. Sami goes to the apron, Dawkins attacks him for the hell of it and sends him flying into Corbin. Corbin walks and says he’s on his own.
Up next on the WWE SmackDown Recap…
Sami Zayn vs. Angelo Dawkins
Dawkins ramming Sami’s head into the buckles as we come back. Zayn with a kick to the gut, side headlock. Dawkins shoots him off. Shoulder tackle, Sami with a leap frog, Dawkins with a dropkick! Pulls on Sami’s ankle, he rolls to the outside. Dawkins follows him, Sami bashing Dawkins’ head onto the apron. Takes him into the ring, clothesline to the back of the head, cover for a 2 count! Forearms from Sami, he drags Dawkins to the middle rope to choke him.
Pulls him to his feet, whip, clothesline for a 2 count. Subsequent covers for subsequent two counts. Tells the ref he needs a metronome. Dawkins with a series of clotheslines, Corkscrew Back Elbow. Spinning Clothesline in the corner, Bulldog for a nearfall! Butterfly Neckbreaker for a nearfall! Zayn rolls to the apron, Hot Shots Dawkins. Wants the Blue Thunder Bomb in the ring but Dawkins is a bit too big, Sami has to scramble away to the corner. Side-steps a charge, Exploder into the buckles! Sami stalking for the Helluva but he notices Ford yelling at the documentary crew and gets mad. Dawkins with the roll up for the win.
Winner: Angelo Dawkins
Sami afterwards yells at his camera crew, asks who they’re working for. Accuses one of them of working for the company. He grabs his throat and knees him in the gut!
Reginald and Carmella meet up backstage. ‘Mella says he betrayed her. He explains he does everything for her but she doesn’t want to listen, calls him a snake and spills his wine all over him.
Up next on the WWE SmackDown Recap…
Dominik Mysterio vs. Chad Gable
Dominik’s theme got the Lyrical Upgrade this week, that’s always nice. Lock-up. Gable with a waistlock takedown. And another! Front Facelock. Pulls him up, Dominik rips him to the floor. Gable rushes back in and eats a deep arm drag! Gable fights back, Dragonscrew Legwhip! Works over the knee, cover for 2. Grinding on the leg with a Spinning Toe Hold. Dominik kicks him away, Gable grabs the ankle, Dominik with an enziguri!
Wants a Monkey Flip in the corner, Gable spins him to the corner, but Dominik manages a flying rana! Big dropkick, Tornado DDT countered, Gable with a Tiger Suplex! Gable comes off the top but Dominik escapes. German Suplex attempted but Dominik victory rolls out of it, spins him into a La Magistral for the win!
Winner: Dominik Mysterio
For whatever reason, Rey immediately Otis after the bell, West Coast Pop sends him onto the announce table.
Seth Rollins backstage says the Swing seemed like forever because it WAS forever. But why? Have you personally seen Cesaro do that to any WWE Superstar, THAT many revolutions? No! He did it because he’s afraid of him and his power, he wanted to embarrass him and humiliate him. He will never forget that.
Buddy Murphy appears. Says he thinks he could assist him with the Cesaro situation. Rollins tells him to get out of his sight. Time is a flat circle, WWE SmackDown Recap to continue.
Bianca Belair vs. Shayna Baszler
Bianca with a headlock on Shayna. Sent to the corner but she flips repeatedly to escape a charge, back body drop. Dropkick but Shayna catches her, wants an ankle pick but Bianca kicks her away. Shoulderbreaker, La Magistral but Shayna rolls out of it, singles out the wrist, joint manipulation. Whips her to the corner, Bianca wants a floatover but Shayna with a kick stops her.
Running pump knee from Shayna, cover for 1. Working over the arm again. Wrenching at the wrist, there goes the hairband, armbreaker! Belair with a body slam as she fights back, forearm. Shoulder thrusts, stomping her into the corner! Pulls her out, hooks her, snap suplex! Kip up! Hoists Shayna up for the Glam Slam, Bianca escapes but gets tossed to the outside where she kinda bumps into Reginald. She facewashes him. Back into the ring, Nia also pushes Reginald, wants a shoulder tackle, he flips to avoid her but Jax nails Sasha. Meanwhile Baszler attempts the Kirifuda Clutch but it’s counted into the KOD for the win!
Winner: Bianca Belair
Reggie is trying to explain himself to Sasha, Bianca rolls out and tells her to take care of this. Reginald helps her to her feet, she says she’s okay and then slaps the hell out of him.
WWE SmackDown Recap rolls on. Roman Reigns meets up with Jey Uso backstage. Says if he loses tonight he must defend the championship, that’s fine. But more important if he loses, he embarrasses the family. Do not embarrass the family. Jey assures him that he’s got this.
Murphy vs. Cesaro
Before the bell rings, Seth comes out to ringside. Match starts, Cesaro with a waistlock takedown. Sends him flying with a big Gutwrench Suplex! Cover for 1. Murphy with an elbow to the face. Leaps at him, Cesaro catches him out of the air with a Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker! Cover for 2. Murphy low bridges him to the floor, Baseball Slide! Hits the ropes, HUGE Flip Tope wipes out Cesaro! Takes him into the ring. Goes up top. Awesome Meteora for a nearfall! Kick to the back, Cesaro whips him to the corner.
Murphy with a boot up, comes off the second rope but Cesaro nails him with an uppercut out of the air! Several more follow, he keeps whipping him to corners and uppercutting him, big boot! And here’s the Giant Swing! And it’s another long one! Right into the Sharpshooter! Murphy taps.
Winner: Cesaro
Neat little match.
Reginald knocks on Sasha Banks’ door. She yells NO at him and he leaves, dejected. Shayna and Nia mock him as he walks back, says he reeks of failure. Shayna picks a fight with him. Nia tells her to chill. Says he’s kinda cute.
Apollo Crews comes out to the ring.
He’s wielding some kinda crazy spear and is flocked by militia. Gets on the mic and says everyone is telling him how they don’t like the new Apollo. The good news is this is not the new Apollo, this is the real Apollo! This is who he is, it’s how he talks. He is a REAL African-American. Says the Elite Guard have protected his family for generations. Says his family always told him stories about them but he was too ashamed. For years kids made fun of him and he just wanted to fit in.
Says even his so-called friends would make fun of him and ask ignorant questions like “Do you live in a jungle? Did you ride lions to school?” Says the more he goes back to his root the more he realizes that history is repeating itself. Says Big E tried to humble him. But now he watches from home. Crews says he’s no longer the man to stand back. He demands a rematch, he demands a chance to take that Intercontinental Championship. Tells him that he’ll fall by his feet and be haunted by his complete and total victory.
Natalya and Tamina are complaining about not being the ones to get a title shot, they’re simply told that a different decision was made.
Jey Uso with a promo talks about being from the Uso Penitentiary and how he doesn’t sweat a cage, Bryan attacks him from behind and walks off.
Up next on the WWE SmackDown Recap…
They said the main event was next but actually Bayley’s Ding Dong Hello show is up next. She reads a buncha clearly fake tweets putting over her show until she reaches a disparaging one and she just up and ragequits. That was far more short and sweet then you’d expect from a WWE segment.
Corey Graves then stands in the cage to talk up the danger of it. Three ways to win, pinfall, submission or escape. Some escape through the cage door, others climb over the top and drop down to the floor. Says regardless of who wins, both superstars will leave a little piece of themselves inside this cage tonight.
Cage Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso
Jey and Bryan start swinging at the bell. Uce throws him into the cage. Wrenches at him, bashes him into the steel repeatedly. Grinds him against the fence and tells him to acknowledge Roman. Roman calmly says “more” and walks off. Uso throws him into the steel again. Commands the door open and he starts casually walking out but Bryan catches him. Jey with punches, uppercut drops him. Starts climbing the cage instead. Bryan climbs up there with him. They fight atop the top rope until Jey crotches him! Back to the mat, uppercut drops Bryan!
Jey pulls Bryan up and slams him into the ringpost! Grabs him and wants to throw him to the other side but Bryan blocks him, shoves him into the cage a few times, yanks him and he bumps big into the steel! Missile Dropkick! Fight back and forth, Bryan with a flip and floatover, starts climbing the cage but Jey again crotches him on the buckle. Takes him into the Tree of Woe and stomps on his knee from the top rope! Starts to climb, Bryan grabs the ankle and climbs up with him. Headbutt takes Jey to the top rope…
Uso pulls him onto his shoulders for the Avalanche Samoan Drop!!
Commercial break, WWE SmackDown Recap will conclude when we come back! As we return, they are again atop the cage but Bryan pulls Jey to the top rope. Yes Kicks from on high! But Jey with a Superkick drops him! USO SPLASH! NEARFALL! That sequence ruled. Jey crawling towards the door. Bryan drags him back but Uso with an enziguri! Superkick, nearfall! Bryan fights back, big rally, hard kicks, elbows on the mat! Jey pulls him around and nails him with hard blow after blow!
Catapult sends Bryan into the cage! Jey once again climbs and Bryan once again meets him up there. Headbutts to the back of the head, Jey slides to the top rope. Bryan trying to climb down to the floor but Jey drags him back in! Bryan slams him into the cage from on high, focusing on the arm. BUTTERFLY SUPERPLEX! And right into the Yes Lock!! Jey taps!
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Roman is pissed off watching this as Bryan celebrates, he just earned his title match. And that’s the show.