Smackdown Results and Recap: Brood Day Rocks
After WWE’s first-all women’s pay-per-view Evolution and before Friday’s Crown Jewel event, this week’s SmackDown Live included a surprise WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch’s response to her upcoming match against Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series, and a Halloween-themed Trick or Street Fight.
AJ Styles entered the ring to confront Daniel Bryan to open the episode. Bryan said that he respected Styles as a man, but when he looked at him he only saw his dream, the WWE Championship. Styles admitted that he had Pele kicked Bryan on purpose during their tag match the previous week, and Bryan revealed this confirmed his suspicions. Styles challenged Bryan to have their championship match right then and there rather than on Friday at Crown Jewel, and Shane McMahon entered to quickly make the match official.
Styles and Bryan both looked
Back in the ring, Bryan continued to dominate the match, even countering Styles’ attempt at a powerbomb off the top turnbuckle into a super
Both men, emotional, hugged after the match, and Styles raised Bryan’s hand. The moment of respect was violently ended by a surprise attack by Samoa Joe. Joe managed to choke out both men and raised the WWE Championship above his head.
Later in the show, AJ Styles asked General Manager Paige for a match against Joe at Crown Jewel, and his request was granted.
After this exciting match, we saw pre-taped backstage promos from first round WWE World Cup opponents Jeff Hardy and the Miz.
After we returned from a commercial break, we saw Paige praising Charlotte Flair backstage for her match with Becky Lynch at Evolution. Paige offered Flair the captain’s position for the SmackDown Live women’s team at Survivor Series, but Flair didn’t accept the offer right away. Paige gave her some time to think about it.
We heard Big E’s voice begin the signature New Day team entrance for the Trick or Street Fight, but Attitude Era stable The Brood’s music hit. Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E entered dressed as Edge, Christian, and Gangrel, respectively. The Bar and Big Show’s entrance was less festive and more focused on intimidating their opponents.
After we returned from a commercial break, Big E and Cesaro faced off in the ring. The wrestlers at ringside soon started brawling. The Big Show forced Kingston to bob for apples and Kingston later spat red mist in his face. The seasonal stipulation match ended when Big E defeated Cesaro after a Big Ending onto some jack o’ lanterns.
Backstage, we saw the competitors in the show’s pre-World Cup tag team match, Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz and Randy Orton, cut promos on each other. Shane McMahon told these wrestlers that if one of them makes it to the finals and loses to a RAW superstar, they “will no longer have a home on SmackDown LIVE.”
Shinsuke Nakamura entered the arena for a United States Championship match against R-Truth. Truth entered the ring accompanied by his Mixed Match Challenge partner, Carmella, who rapped a lot more of his theme song than usual. While Nakamura was knocked out of the ring, Truth and Carmella found time for a dance break. However, Nakamura, looking a lot more serious and focused than his opponent, quickly began to dominate the match. He won by pinfall after hitting Truth with a Kinshasa.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, set to face Ronda Rousey in a Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series, entered the ring and cut a promo about her victory against Charlotte Flair in the Last Woman Standing match at Evolution. Lynch said she would be walking into the match against Rousey to simply “rip [her] arm off.”
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In the show’s main event tag team match, The Miz and Randy Orton worked well together against Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio, focusing their efforts on Hardy. After Mysterio softened up the A-Lister, Hardy pinned him for the win, but Orton hit all the other men in the match with RKOs as soon as the match was over. It’s clear the voices in the Viper’s head are telling him to do whatever it takes to win the WWE World Cup to be called “the best in the world” at Crown Jewel.