Brock Lesnar made a shocking return to confront Roman Reigns as SmackDown came to an end.
The Beast Incarnate hasn’t been seen since losing to the Tribal Chief in the much-hyped back at the beginning of April, but he made an impression on Friday night.
After a brief introduction from Vince McMahon, Riddle kicked off the night properly as he introduced a powerful video hyping up his main event match against Reigns, before paying tribute to his.
He got the fans hyped up for the clash in a fiery manner, and promised to celebrate to Voices – Orton’s theme music – if he won the gold.
What followed at the end of the night was a blistering and engaging main event with the crowd getting into the action, and some perfect nearfalls had people believing a new champ would be crowned.
The best was an RKO outta nowhere, leaving everyone stunned as Reigns kicked out, only to win with a Spear moments later to continue his historic run on top.
He spoke after the bell, insisting he promised to ‘wreck everyone and leave’ and that’s what he’d do with ‘no one left’ to beat – only for Lesnar’s music to hit as the crowd went wild with a loud ‘holy s**t’ chant breaking out.
Cowboy Brock offered Roman his hand as an apparent show of respect, only to drop the champ with an F-5, taking out The Usos too for good measure.
While the idea of Lesnar verus Roman again – presumably at SummerSlam – isn’t the most imaginative, WWE needed a marquee bout with Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton both out of action.
Vince McMahon addresses WWE fans, Pat McAfee roasts Happy Corbin and Raquel Rodriguez qualifies for Money In The Bank
with brief speech in front of the live crowd, welcoming fans and reminding them of WWE’s signature: ‘Then. Now. Forever. Together.’
Madcap won his Last Laugh Match against Happy Corbin in a strong showcase for the rising star, before crackling down the mic after the bell.
However, Corbin had something to say to Pat McAfee after a break, insisting he criticises and jokes about him while referencing their NFL history.
He threatened to attack the commentator in an intense promo, while Pat – calling him ‘Bum Ass Corbin’ – encouraged the fans to laugh him out of the arena.
The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods defeated Jinder Mahal and Shanky in a short match that started decently enough but lost steam and had a weak ending when the latter’s dancing left his partner open to a Trouble In Paradise.
After the match, a video package aired revealing The Viking Raiders are coming to SmackDown next week, which is absolutely needed to inject some life in to the tag team title picture.
Sheamus made– who was hilarious as he tried to swipe at the Celtic Warrior – stay backstage as he got in the ring with Drew McIntyre and Adam Pearce to find out what his decision was regarding the Money In The Bank Ladder Match.
In a fantastic moment, Pearce told Sheamus he was in, leading to some epic gloating from the Irishman calling rival Drew ‘big, dirty, hairy bollocks’ which sparked a brawl before Adam revealed Drew is in too.
Speaking of Money In The Bank, Raquel Rodriguez qualified after a strong win over Shayna Baszler in a match that sadly didn’t grip the live crowd – but could’ve done with more time.
Max Dupri refused to bring out his Maximum Male Models due to the ‘conditions’ on the show, so we’ll have to wait a little bit longer to find out who’s in the group.
In another backstage segment, Ludwig Kaiser hyped up the history of the Intercontinental Title with champions from around the world, before describing Ricochet – and the United States – as all flash but no substance.
WWE SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.
WWE SmackDown results and grades
- Last Laugh Match: Madcap defeated Happy Corbin (C+)
- The New Day beat Jinder Mahal and Shanky (C-)
- Money In The Bank Qualifier: Raquel Rodriguez pinned Shayna Baszler (C+)
- Undisputed WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns (c) beat Riddle (A-)
