This week’s WWE Smackdown Live has advertised the returns of Becky Lynch and AJ Styles. They only missed one week of television, but that’s enough to tell people they are back this week. There’s also a non-title tag team match with The Bar facing The Usos.
Before I get to this week’s Smackdown, please check out a column I wrote for The Comeback that I called “18 things to be thankful for as a WWE fan in 2018” in the spirit of American Thanksgiving last week. It’s easy to be negative about wrestling, especially when shows are awful like last night’s Raw, so I’m trying to put a positive spin on things and shed light on what makes me happy. The column got a lot of great feedback, which is cool because I enjoyed writing it. A lot of those things come from Smackdown because it’s a better show than Raw. Here’s hoping for a good episode tonight.
Live from Minneapolis, Minnesota, this is Smackdown Live for episode #1006. 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.
This week’s Smackdown began with General Manager Paige in the ring looking great welcoming us to the show. The fans in Minneapolis were loud. Paige introduced “The Man” Becky Lynch, the Smackdown Women’s Champion.
Let’s Hear From Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch walked out with the Smackdown Women’s Championship that she proudly held up in the air. She was wearing her t-shirt that said “The Man” on it, which is her nickname similar to Ric Flair calling himself “The Man” back in the day as if she’s saying she is the best. The crowd cheered her loudly.
Lynch soaked up the cheers and said she was the hottest thing in the business, so any time away is too long (she only missed one week of TV). Lynch talked about how she fought with Raw, she won and she’s back. Lynch said that she is done watching, The Man is putting herself back in the game and the fans cheered. Lynch said that at Survivor Series, she had to watch somebody else step in for her to fight Ronda Rousey. Lynch called out Charlotte Flair.
Charlotte Flair walked out in her street clothes looking great. Images were shown from Survivor Series that showed us images of Flair’s vicious attack on Ronda Rousey when Flair realized she couldn’t beat Rousey. Flair was fined $100,000 by Paige last week.
Flair stood in the ring with Lynch and Paige as fans chanted “Becky” at them along with some “Woo” chants. Lynch said that she told Flair to give Rousey the beating that Lynch would have and Flair came pretty close. Lynch said that if it was her, Ronnie wouldn’t be standing the next night. Lynch said she didn’t know if Flair knew who she was. Flair said that she wasn’t trying to be Becky, she was just being herself – the 7-time Women’s Champion and the only woman on either roster capable of giving Ronda Rousey the beating that she deserved. Flair said she’s more capable because she’s genetically superior. Flair said she’ll do anything to get the job done. Lynch said that Flair went from copying her old man to copying The Man. Lynch said that she was glad she was able to beat the phoniness out of Flair over the last few months. Flair said that Nia must have hit her harder than she thought because Lynch went from quirky to delusional. Flair said that Lynch is copying Charlotte’s old man and riding her coattails. Flair turned to the camera saying that she stands out in the crowd, she’ll be at TLC and she was born ready.
Flair told Lynch that she fought for herself and because Becky couldn’t. Flair told Lynch she would fight her again right now. Paige calmed them down and told them to be quiet. Paige said that she hasn’t seen this much fire from her since wrestling Becky Lynch. Paige talked about how she didn’t see any woman on this roster that had that same desire. Paige said that Flair is facing Lynch for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at TLC in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match. The crowd cheered.
Mandy Rose made her entrance with Sonya Deville, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce and Zelina Vega. Mandy complained about Paige questioning their desire and how there are other women on Smackdown that can beat Becky Lynch, but they don’t get the opportunity because Paige favors her former PCB teammates.
Naomi entered with Asuka, Lana and Carmella, so they are all the remaining faces. The fans chanted for Asuka. Naomi said that they agreed with what Mandy said.
Paige complimented the women for showing such passion and announced that those women will be in a battle royal. The winner of the battle royal will be added to Lynch vs. Flair in the TLC match to make it a triple threat. The fans cheered while the women liked that.
Analysis: That was a good promo with a hot crowd that loved everything that Lynch said. Flair did a nice job of showing confidence without showing that she is on Lynch’s side again. They are both faces, but they aren’t back to being best friends yet. Maybe that will come as they continue to build respect. The battle royal idea was welcomed by the crowd and I think the fans want Asuka to win. I do too. Paige also deserves credit for handling the segment well because there was a lot going on and she played her role perfectly.
Still to come is AJ Styles and we’ll hear from Jeff Hardy too. The Usos did a quick promo talking about their match against The Bar up next.
A clip aired promoting Mixed Match Challenge after Smackdown in the first round of the Raw playoffs.
(Commercial)
There was a great pairing segment sponsored by KFC showing the relationship with Santino and Beth Phoenix.
The Usos made their entrance for a tag team match. The Bar duo of Sheamus and Cesaro made their entrance with the Smackdown Tag Team Titles around their waist. There was no Big Show this week because of some earlier today segment with Big Show where Cesaro was mad about last week’s loss to New Day. Show punched Cesaro in the jaw. Sheamus yelled at Cesaro saying that they are better off without them.
Analysis: I guess that means Big Show has turned again. He loves to turn. It could also be the heels playing mind games with others.
The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) vs. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso)
This is not for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.
The Usos were in control early, but The Bar took control when Sheamus got in a cheap shot. Sheamus and Cesaro hit a double team shoulder tackle to take down Jimmy leading to a break about one minute into it.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Sheamus hitting a running knee on Jimmy while on the apron. Jey Uso got the hot tag with a nice tribute punch to cousin Roman Reigns, a Samoan Drop and a running hip attack against the turnbuckle for a two count. Sheamus made the blind tag, Jey kicked Cesaro out of the ring and when Jey tried a dive out of the ring, Cesaro hit an uppercut to knock Jey down. Sheamus to the middle rope and he a hit a knee drop for two. Sheamus up top, he jumped off, Jey moved and Jey shoved Sheamus into the steel ring post. Jey with a superkick on Cesaro and a superkick on Sheamus for two. Jimmy tagged back in as both Usos went to the top rope. Jey jumped off, Cesaro uppercut, Jimmy jumped off, Sheamus got the knees up and covered for a two count. Nice sequence there. Jimmy with a rollup on Cesaro that got a two count. Cesaro missed a corner splash, Jey tagged in, superkick, Jimmy tagged back in and hit a Superfly Splash for the pinfall win after about ten minutes.
Winners by pinfall: The Usos
Analysis: *** Good match as usual from these teams. They are two of the best teams in the company and know how to build up an exciting match when they get around ten minutes. There was a story in the match with Cesaro having an injured jaw after Big Show punched him, so The Usos kept hitting him with superkicks to weaken him and eventually they got the win. The result was obvious because champions losing non-title to set up a title match is what WWE does nearly every time in that scenario. They did it on Raw last week with Gable and Roode earning a title shot, but they failed to win the titles this week due to…pee. Yeah, I mentioned it. I’m cruel.
The New Day were shown in the locker room looking at something on their cell phone. The Miz thought they were watching The Marine movie. New Day mocked Miz for losing to a no-name team. Big E wondered if it was Wayne or Dane or Bane or Kane or Sane that beat them and Xavier even sang “This Fire Burns” song for Kane, so that was funny. Miz said they were defending for the honor of Team Smackdown. Kingston mentioned that they were the only team that won at Survivor Series with Woods yelling 6-1, which was funny. Miz told them their Survivor Series match didn’t count. Miz said that he is two thirds best in the world and said he’ll go to his bestie Shane McMahon to set up a tag team match. Big E talked about “Jake Carter” and his storyline in The Marine, so Xavier and Kofi called him a closet “Mariner” meaning he was a fan of The Marine.
Analysis: There were some funny one-liners in there by The New Day. It’s tough to get it all in my recap because they talk so fast, but I laughed during some of it.
Still to come is the women’s battle royal. Jeff Hardy is also there for a 20-year celebration of his career.
AJ Styles was shown sitting down in a chair backstage. Some guy went up to him to tell him it’s time, so Styles got up and he’s up next.
(Commercial)
Let’s Hear From AJ Styles
AJ Styles, the former WWE Champion, made his entrance to a big ovation. He gets his rematch against WWE Champion Daniel Bryan at TLC on December 16. The fans chanted “AJ Styles” at him.
Styles said that for 14 days, he has been without the WWE Title. He said that those 14 days seem a lot longer than the 371 days that he did have the championship. He said that nobody likes to lose, he hates losing, but it is the way that he lost that bothers him. A clip aired of Daniel Bryan two weeks ago hitting a low blow kick and running knee to beat Styles for the WWE Title. Heel turn for Bryan.
Styles said that he knew the target was on him, he didn’t know that target was somewhere else (down there). Styles talked about what bothered him was that Bryan attacked him with kicks after the match. Styles explained that he wasn’t cleared to be at Survivor Series or at Smackdown last week. Styles said that he watched Bryan explain his actions last week and that led to clips of Bryan talking about the “New Daniel Bryan” that is the WWE Champion.
Styles said that sounds like a lot of BS and a lot of trash. Styles said he didn’t care if it was the new Daniel Bryan or the old Daniel Bryan and he was looking forward to smashing that face in. Styles said that they don’t have to wait until TLC because they can do this right here, right now. Styles announced that Daniel Bryan is not there. Styles talked about how Bryan wasn’t at the live events this past week and said that somebody has been watching Raw where they do things differently there. Styles said that this isn’t Raw. Styles talked about how for 371 days, he never missed a live event, a pay-per-view or Smackdown Live because he was the champ and this is where he belonged. Styles said when Bryan rolls out of his hyperbaric chamber and he rests up, he better show up to TLC. Styles told Bryan that the WWE Championship belongs to him while adding that it belongs to the “Phenomenal” AJ Styles. His music played to end it.
Analysis: It was a solid promo rebuttal from Styles to counter what Daniel Bryan said last week. I am fine with giving a guy 5-7 minutes to talk about his upcoming WWE Title match. We don’t always need to see some confrontation. Styles can handle a promo like that just fine. I liked how he explained why he wasn’t at Survivor Series or last week’s Smackdown because of Bryan’s attack because it puts over Bryan as a guy that did a cheap attack on him. Bryan will retain at TLC. I would be shocked if there was a title change.
Still to come is Jeff Hardy’s 20-year celebration.
(Commercial)
The Smackdown announce team of Tom Phillips, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton were shown at their table at ringside. They spoke about Lars Sullivan coming to the main roster and Graves put him over as a freak. We don’t know what main roster show he is on yet.
Shinsuke Nakamura, the United States Champion, made his entrance for a match. He looks more natural in the red and black gear. He’s worn the blue gear in the last few weeks, but it just doesn’t look right on him. I don’t comment on wrestling fashion much. With Nakamura, just keep him in the red and black.
Rusev made his entrance as the opponent of Nakamura. When Rusev got in the ring, Nakamura attacked with a running knee to the back of the head. Rusev got back up and Nakamura hit a Kinshasa knee to the head to knock Rusev out of the ring. No match. Nakamura left. Rusev got back up on the floor and Nakamura hit him with another Kinshasa knee to the face. Nakamura left holding up his title.
Analysis: I was looking forward to the match, but we won’t get it this week. At least it’s a way to build to a future match since Nakamura hasn’t had a meaningful rivalry for a while.
Still to come is the women’s battle royal. Jeff Hardy is up next at the top of hour two.
Analysis: There was only one match in the first hour.
(Commercial)
Jeff Hardy 20 Year Celebration
The WWE superstars were on the stage for a celebration for the “Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy. Michael Cole was in the ring with pictures from Jeff’s career and he introduced Hardy. It was 20 years ago when Hardy first signed with WWE. Hardy is 41 years old now.
Analysis: Jeff signed with WWE 20 years ago, but if you look at his career, he spent about 10 years in WWE. It’s still a lot and Jeff is a no doubt WWE HOF talent. It’s just not 20 years “in” WWE. Just saying.
A video package aired about Jeff Hardy’s career. The highlight reel of Jeff’s career is incredible because of the crazy moves he did, especially all those moments where he jumped off ladders and put people through tables. The video was awesome. Hardy is a 3-time WWE Champion that also won the Tag Team Titles, Intercontinental Title, United States Title and other titles along the way. The fans applauded and chanted “Hardy” for him.
Hardy said he doesn’t know what to say other than “thank you all.” Hardy said that he can’t believe he did half of that stuff and he joked “what is wrong with me?” He said that this business has given him a creative outlet while pointing out that his face paint is way better than ten years ago. Jeff said that throughout it all, he felt the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, but no matter what, the fans have stuck by his side, so for that, he is eternally grateful. The fans chanted “Thank you Hardy” at him. Hardy thanked his wife Beth and his two daughters. Hardy said this is far from a retirement speech. He said he didn’t know what was going to happen in the future, but what do you say we find out together.
Analysis: Good speech by Jeff. He’s not known as a great talker, but he improved a lot in the second half of his career. It was odd that Matt Hardy wasn’t there or that Jeff didn’t spend a moment to thank him. I don’t think there’s any heat between the brothers. I just figured he would mention Matt being so important in his career. Matt still works for WWE although he’s not wrestling anymore.
Here comes Samoa Joe for the interruption. He’s not in the mood to celebrate. Joe congratulated Jeff on 20 years. Joe said that he was in the back popping some bottles ready to have a toast. Joe said that maybe having a bottle of champagne around Jeff isn’t the best idea. Shane got in Joe’s face to try to stop him, so Jeff said he can talk and to let him through. Joe said thanks to WWE for that wonderful video package considering at the time, Jeff wasn’t coherent enough to remember any of it anyway.
Joe said that he does not celebrate weakness and he does not believe in second chances when there are men like him who have yet to get their first. Hardy led the crowd in “Delete” chants. Joe said that despite all of Jeff’s mistakes, he still allows himself to stand in that ring and be put on a pedestal, which makes Joe sick. Joe said that for as many times as Jeff made the fans get out of their seat, there are just as many times that he let these people down. Joe said the demons never go away, they are always in the background ready to take control and the next time Jeff feels powerless, Joe is offering his hand. Joe said there’s a one step program that won’t be painless.
Hardy said that Joe can’t rain on his parade tonight. Jeff said that he has walked the tightrope for 20 years, he almost ended his career 20 times and he still lives for the moment, so let’s make a moment right now. Joe teased going into the ring, but instead he walked straight to the back. Jeff led the crowd in cheers to end it.
Analysis: Joe is one of my favorite heel promos in WWE and he showed you why with that promo. He was a jerk to interrupt Jeff, then he ripped on Jeff for his alcohol/drug problems in the past and the fans hated him for it. This set up a future feud, which is fine because it feels fresh.
Next up is The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston.
(Commercial)
The trio of Naomi and The Usos were at the WWE Shop table shilling WWE merchandise items.
The New Day trio made their entrance with the pancakes, the trombone and Big E had a Kairi Sane picture with him since they rhymed her name earlier.
The Miz was up next. He was solo without his “buddy” Shane McMahon by his side. They should have had a segment where Miz tried to convince Shane to join him. Graves called himself a “Mariner” while mentioning former Seattle Mariners baseball players, so Phillips corrected him that a Mariner is different.
The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston (w/Big E and Xavier Woods)
The fans were chanting for pancakes as Miz slapped on a headlock. Kingston hit a flying elbow to the face followed by a clothesline that sent Miz out of the ring. Kingston teased a dive, Miz moved and Kingston stopped himself from diving. After distractions from Big E (hip thrusts) and Woods (trombone playing), Kingston hit a suicide dive to take out Miz on the floor leading to a break.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Miz jumping off the top, right into a Kingston dropkick. Kingston with a dropkick, leaping clothesline and a boom drop legdrop. Kingston went for Trouble in Paradise, Miz caught the foot, he went for a Skull Crushing Finale and Kingston rolled up Miz for a two count. Kingston hit the SOS for a two count. Woods and Big E thought that was it. Miz came back with a kick to the knee followed by a DDT for a two count. Miz tried to expose the top turnbuckle, so Big E grabbed a stack of pancakes and put them in front of the turnbuckle to block a move. Kingston with a kick, Miz with a knee to the ribs and Woods played the trombone, so Miz kicked Woods down. Miz grabbed a steel chair from ringside, the ref was distracted by Big E, Woods took the chair away and Kingston hit a Trouble in Paradise kick for the pinfall win after about eight minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Kofi Kingston
Analysis: **1/2 It was a solid match between two guys that worked together a lot when Kingston was mostly a singles wrestler. The story of this match was the numbers game that gave New Day the advantage and Miz couldn’t deal with it. Miz is on a losing streak now after Survivor Series, last week’s Smackdown losing to the joke team and now this loss.
The women’s battle royal is still to come as the main event of the show.
Randy Orton was shown backstage delivering an icy stare into the camera because he’s up next.
(Commercial)
Let’s Hear From Randy Orton
Randy Orton made his entrance in his wrestling gear while holding Rey Mysterio’s mask in his left hand. The clip aired from last week when Orton beat Mysterio and then took his mask off. Rey’s face was not shown on camera, of course. Google Rey in WCW for that, kids.
Orton talked about how people reacted to his actions against Mysterio last week and he said his word was “euphoric” to describe what he felt. Orton said he never understood what was so special about this piece of trash that he ripped off Mysterio’s face. Orton said he didn’t care about the history. Orton said that what he did wasn’t meant to disrespect Rey’s culture, it was done to embarrass and humiliate him. Orton wanted to take Rey down from the pedestal that the fans have put him up on. Orton said that at this stage in his career, Rey is just another one of Randy’s victims. Orton said that Rey is the victim of the three most destructive letters in sports entertainment…R…and here comes Mysterio.
Rey Mysterio walked out with a neckbrace on. Mysterio marched down to the ring. Orton left the ring and whipped Mysterio into the barricade two times. Orton ripped off the neckbrace. Orton tossed Mysterio into the ring as referees came out to try to stop it. Mysterio came back with kicks and a 619 connected to the hip/leg of Orton. Mysterio with an enziguri kick followed by another 619 kick, this time to the head. Mysterio grabbed a chair, he went into the ring, but Orton stopped him and hit a draping DDT off the ropes. Orton whipped Mysterio back first into the barricade. Orton grabbed the chair, put it against Mysterio’s throat and sent the chair into steel steps, which caused Rey to go down selling the throat injury again. The agents at ringside including Adam Pearce and Jamie Noble managed to keep Orton back to end the segment.
Analysis: It was another dominant showing from Orton to build up support for Mysterio. Orton did a good job with the promo as he showed no remorse for his actions last week when he attacked Mysterio. I assume the chair attack will lead to a Chairs Match at TLC, but that’s not a given that they will go that route. I’m just saying that in the past, that’s the kind of thing that would lead to a Chairs Match.
(Commercial)
There was a shot of Commissioner Shane McMahon in his office with the World Cup trophy. The Miz wondered where Shane was. Shane told him they are not a team. Miz said that they are forever bonded by their collective greatness and this trophy is their child. Miz said they are good parents, the best in the world and said they are family. Miz put the trophy in Shane’s hands as Miz left, which led to Shane saying “wow” to himself. To clarify, it was more of a “wow, this guy is crazy” kind of wow.
Analysis: This gimmick for The Miz is pretty silly right now. It’s over the top and he’s good at doing that, but even in this instance, it feels like a bit too much. It’s likely a slow build to a Shane heel turn where he supports The Miz or maybe they end up having a WrestleMania match.
The women made their entrance for the main event. Carmella was up first with R-Truth joining her. Mandy Rose was up next. She’s my favorite in the match…at least in terms of looks. Just saying. Sonya Deville was next. The IIconics duo of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay entered without a promo. Zelina Vega, the smallest woman in the match, was up next. Lana was up next up to a decent pop. Asuka was up next to the loudest pop of the women so far. Naomi was last and she got a good ovation from the crowd.
Women’s Battle Royal to Earn a Smackdown Women’s Title Match at TLC
The winner of this match will get added to the Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair TLC Match at TLC for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Flair and Lynch were watching at ringside.
The nine women paired off in the corners as the match began at 9:49pm. Lana managed to send Vega over the top rope, Lana was kicked out of the ring and Lana pulled Vega out to the floor, so Vega was eliminated. After the elimination, Vega clotheslined Lana and they went to break.
Zelina Vega eliminated by Lana
(Commercial)
The match returned with Lana getting eliminated by Royce and Kay, who worked well together. The fans booed that because they like Lana.
Lana eliminated by Royce and Kay
Asuka faced off with the IIconics, she dumped Kay over the top, but Kay stayed on the apron. Asuka sent Royce to the apron. Asuka hit a running hip attack on both IIconics at the same time. The fans loved that.
Peyton Royce and Billie Kay eliminated by Asuka
Carmella got into it with a superkick on Asuka that looked impressive. Asuka sent Carmella to the apron, Carmella ducked a kick to the head, so Asuka kicked her in the ribs to eliminate Carmella.
Carmella eliminated by Asuka
The final four are Asuka, Naomi, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Rose hit a running knee on Asuka to stun her. Naomi got back into it with punches to Rose and a Rear View hip attack on Rose followed by a jumping kick on Deville. Rose blocked a headscissors attempt by Naomi, then they battled on the apron with both women going over the top. Naomi did the splits to avoid a move, then she sent Rose into the ring post to eliminate her. Deville hit a knee to Naomi to eliminate her.
Mandy Rose eliminated by Naomi
Naomi eliminated by Sonya Deville
Deville hit a takedown on Asuka. When Asuka was sent over the top to the apron, Rose grabbed Asuka’s leg, but Asuka stopped her cheating with a kick. Asuka lifted Deville over the top to the apron, so they were both over the top as they battled on the apron with forearm strikes. Asuka and Deville hit kicks to the head at the same time. Why not just roll into the ring to save yourself? Because it’s wrestling. Deville charged at Asuka and Asuka hit a knee lift to Deville’s face to eliminate Deville. The match went about 10 minutes.
Sonya Deville eliminated by Asuka
Winner: Asuka
Analysis: **1/4 It was okay for a battle royal. They are tough to rate because they are so repetitive. Asuka was the best choice as the winner. The finishing sequence was okay, but as I noted in the review it’s silly when they keep fighting on the apron when they could easily just roll back in the ring. The issue with these women’s battle royals is that they have to repeat the same spots over where the women get pulled over the top rope and then take a move to get eliminated. You don’t see the clotheslines over the top like in a men’s battle royal because they are smaller, so it’s tough to do spots like that.
Asuka celebrated the win in the ring while Lynch and Flair looked on from ringside. That’s how Smackdown ended for this week.
Analysis: That match is going to be outstanding. They are all great wrestlers and in a TLC match, they can be very creative. I’m excited about it. Who wins at TLC? I might go with Asuka because I can see the scenario where Becky loses the title, wins Royal Rumble and then challenges Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania. It could be Charlotte with the title, though. It’s tough to predict, which is what I like.
Three Stars of the Show
- Asuka
- The Usos
- Kofi Kingston
The Scoreboard
7 out of 10
Last week: 4.5
2018 Average: 6.57
Last 5 Weeks: 4.5, 7.5, 8, 5, 7.5
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.
There were only three matches in two hours, but that’s okay because I thought it was a pretty good show. The three matches were solid although none of them really stood out as must-see matches.
The show had a sense of purpose with feuds started with Nakamura vs. Rusev and Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy, plus the continuation of Orton vs. Mysterio.
I like the way the women were given a big spotlight with the opening promo setting up TLC and then the main event match with Asuka getting the biggest win she’s had in months.
A big difference between Smackdown and Raw is that every Smackdown segment has a sense of purpose either as a match or building to a match. On Raw, there’s way too much filler or meaningless segments that bore people. Smackdown running one hour shorter is a big reason why.
The next WWE pay-per-view is Tables, Ladders & Chairs (TLC) on 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.)
Raw Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Nia Jax
Finals of Mixed Match Challenge (Teams to be determined.)
There will be more matches added. A few of the Smackdown angles teased during this show are likely, such as Orton vs. Mysterio in a possible Chairs Match.
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John Canton
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