– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown opens live from the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota as Tom Phillips welcomes us. He’s joined by David Otunga and Byron Saxton. Otunga is filling in for Corey Graves, who is still on vacation.
– We go right to the ring and out comes Randy Orton to a pop. We see the King of the Ring throne, robe, crown and scepter on the stage. Orton hits the ring as the announcers hype up tonight’s show.
We see what Orton and The Revival did to The New Day on last night’s RAW. Tom says WWE Champion Kofi Kingston is not here tonight because he’s recovering from RAW. Orton takes the mic and says unlike Kofi, he is not a liar and he speaks the truth. Orton says Kofi ran from a fight, in front of his family, at SummerSlam. Why? Because Kofi is stupid. Fans boo and Orton tells them to shut up. Orton says he gave Kofi the chance to prove himself last week and he failed, and for his troubles he received two RKOs. Why? Because Kofi is stupid.
Orton says with help from The Revival, they decimated The New Day again last night on RAW and the best part was holding Kofi down to make him watch as they shattered the leg of SmackDown Tag Team Champion Xavier Woods. Why? Because Kofi is stupid. Orton says Kofi fails every time he gives him a chance to prove himself. Orton says this proves the power of positivity can be crushed out of nowhere, with the three most destructive letters in sports entertainment – RKO. The New Day’s music hits and Orton waits for a fight but no one is coming out. Orton turns around to a big Trouble In Paradise from Kofi.
Kofi gets hyped up as fans chant his name. Kofi says we’re going to find out the stupid one tonight. Kofi brings a steel chair back into the ring and wraps it around Orton’s leg. Kofi slaps Orton around and talks more trash, saying he’s doing this for Woods. Kofi goes to the top to jump on the chair but here comes Dash Wilder. Kofi comes down from the top and kicks Dash at the ropes and sends him to the floor. Scott Dawson runs in but Kofi drops him. Dash runs back in but takes steel chair shots from Kofi. Kofi sends Dash back out and hits Dawson with chair shots over the back now. Dawson rolls to the floor as fans cheer Kofi on. The New Day’s music starts back up as Kofi stands tall with the chair, fans chanting his name.
– The announcers talk about the Roman Reigns mystery attacker storyline and send us to video package showing the events leading up to tonight. Otunga says a lawyer friend of his told him that Daniel Bryan and Rowan really have done extensive research into the incidents, and have uncovered significant information. Tom says we should know more later tonight.
King of the Ring First Round Match: Andrade vs. Apollo Crews
We go to the ring for the first SmackDown match in the 2019 King of the Ring Tournament as Greg Hamilton does the introductions. Andrade is out first with Zelina Vega. We go to commercial.
Back from the break and the and the announcers talk about the big WWE NXT – USA Network announcement from earlier today. Shane McMahon is in his office when Kevin Owens knocks and comes in. Owens asked if Shane wanted to see him and he did. Shane wanted to make sure Owens wasn’t going to earn himself an even higher fine than last week. Owens says he had a bad week last week and isn’t here to make things worse. Shane sees that a lot is on Owens’ mind. Shane asks him what’s up. Owens says Shane knows what’s wrong. Owens reminds him of the $100,000 fine. Owens says he went home to his family and realized how bad this is. He talks about how he and Shane come from different backgrounds, but $100,000 is a large amount of money to him, which impacts his family. Owens goes on and says he knows Shane is a great father, but man to man, father to father, he wishes Shane would re-consider the fine. Shane thinks about it and says he will take it under consideration. We go back to the ring and out comes Apollo Crews as Andrade and Vega wait.
The bell rings and Crews charges with a big clothesline for a close 2 count. Crews looks to keep the momentum going but Andrade drops Crews face-first into the corner and follows up with running knees for a pin attempt. Crews blocks a Hammerlock DDT and rolls Andrade up for a 2 count. More back and forth now. Andrade ends up on the apron but he applies a submission on the ropes, focusing on the left arm. The hold is broken and Andrade goes to the top. Andrade flies but Crews dropkicks him out of the air as Vega looks on concerned.
Andrade goes to the floor for a breather. Crews goes face-first off the apron. Andrade flies back to the floor for a scissors but Crews catches him in mid-move. Andrade counters that and sends Crews face-first into the steel ring steps. We go to commercial as the screen splits.
Back from the break and Andrade flies with a crossbody but Crews caches him. Andrade fights out with an elbow. They both go down after Crews delivers knees to the gut. Vega looks worried again at ringside. More back and forth now. Crews mounts momentum and gets hyped up for the crowd. Crews with more offense and an Olympic Slam for a 2 count.
Andrade fights Crews off with elbows. Andrade slides out of a move and Crews runs into a big boot in the corner. Andrade goes to the top but Crews jumps up with a big kick for a pop. They tangle some more on the mat now. Andrade with a drop toe hold into the turnbuckles. Vega tries to rally for Andrade. Andrade goes for the running knees in the corner but Crews moves once again. Andrade blocks another Olympic Slam attempt and kicks Crews in the face. Crews comes back with a kick and an enziguri. Crews with a standing Shooting Star Press for another close 2 count.
Vega ends up interfering and slowing Crews down from the floor. Andrade takes advantage and levels Crews. Andrade with the Hammerlock DDT in the middle of the ring for the pin to advance to the second round.
Winner: Andrade
– After the match, Andrade stands tall as his music hits and Vega joins him to celebrate. We go to replays. Tom shows us the updated KOTR brackets and Andrade will face the winner of Shelton Benjamin vs. Chad Gable. Andrade and Vega head to the back.
– We see Daniel Bryan and Rowan backstage walking with a man they have dressed in all black and with his face covered. They bring him into an interrogation-like room. Bryan sits the man down and says they know what he did, and tonight the whole world will find out. Bryan warns the mystery man to stay in this chair until then or he will be very sorry.
– WWE 24/7 Champion Elias is walking backstage and playing his guitar. Someone catches his eye and it’s referee John Cone in disguise. Elias takes Cone’s hat off and asks where “he” is. Cone points to a production case. Elias approaches it and Drake Maverick pops out and says “surprise!” as Elias grabs him by the throat. Elias tells him to read a letter that says the 24/7 Title rules have been suspended for the entirety of the night, so Elias can focus on his KOTR match with Kevin Owens. The letter was signed by Shane McMahon. Elias stuffs Drake back into the case and shuts the lid. He walks off as Drake hangs out of the case, saying he just wants to consummate his marriage.
– Still to come, Charlotte Flair appears on “A Moment of Bliss” with the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. We go to commercial.
– Back from the break and it’s time for another edition of “A Moment of Bliss” on the stage. Out come WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.
Bliss welcomes us to the show and they pose with the titles. Bliss says they have been humbled by this title reign but they don’t want people to think they’ve changed – “A Moment of Bliss” will always welcome the less fortunate and give a platform to those who don’t have titles, but tonight is a little different because her guest requested to be on the show. Bliss asks everyone to give it up for The Queen and the nine-time champion as Charlotte Flair makes her way out.
Flair looks at her seat and says this seems like the wrong chair. She points to the KOTR throne and says that’s more like it. She takes a seat with Bliss anyway. Bliss says the recent SummerSlam match with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus was like a passing of the torch. Flair says she took the torch. Flair goes on about proving she’s the Queen of all eras and the face of the SmackDown women’s division. Bliss says some people would say the face is the champion, currently Bayley. Flair says people say a lot of things but facts are that Bayley might be champion but Flair is the brand. She says WWE doesn’t send Bayley to red carpet event with her side ponytail and high-fives. Flair says she’s marketable but Bayley is not, which is why they send her to do premieres and media, because she is SmackDown. Fans respond with some wooo’s and some boos. Flair says Bayley is an afterthought, which is why the title and the division are afterthoughts right now. The music interrupts and out comes Bayley.
Bayley tells Flair to stop with the same bragging and insults, that we hear over and over. She says it sounds like a bunch of excuses because at the end of the day, I am the champion, which means she is better than Flair, and that just eats Flair up inside. Flair asks Bayley if she even knows how people feel about her and the title. The crowd pops. Flair tells her not to take her word for it, but go back and look what everyone was talking about at SummerSlam – Flair vs. Trish, not Bayley vs. Ember Moon. Flair says Bayley has de-valued the title and now she has to clean up her mess when she beats her at Clash of Champions. Bayley says if that’s a challenge, she accepts, and she can’t wait to do everyone a favor by shutting Flair’s mouth up. Bayley says she forgot one more thing that’s very important… she shoves Flair’s stool over and she falls to the ground. Bayley looks down at Flair and smiles before walking off.
– Buddy Murphy is backstage preparing when Roman Reigns walks in. Reigns says they can do it like they did a few weeks ago or they can talk man to man. Reigns wants to know who Murphy is lying to, him or Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan. Murphy is pretty sure he saw Rowan. Reigns needs to know more than pretty sure. They have more words and Reigns says if he has to he will come back and beat Murphy’s ass. Reigns walks off.
Daniel Bryan vs. Buddy Murphy
We go to the ring and out comes Daniel Bryan with Erick Rowan. We go back to commercial.
Back from the break and out comes Buddy Murphy. Bryan takes the mic and taunts Murphy for changing his mind on what he previously claimed. Bryan says he and Rowan will make their reveal tonight and show Buddy also had something to do with it. The bell rings and Bryan turns around to a big flying knee from Murphy for a close 2 count.
Murphy takes Bryan to the corner and unloads as the referee backs him off. Bryan goes out and back in, then back out for a breather. Bryan turns it around on Murphy and chops away. Bryan with kicks in the corner now. Murphy fights back with strikes of his own. Bryan looks to be biting Murphy in the corner now as the referee warns him. Bryan with a big kick to the back and some trash talking as Rowan looks on. Bryan slaps Murphy around and keeps calling him a liar. Murphy tries to fight up and out but Bryan drops him again. Bryan takes Murphy back to the corner for more chops.
Murphy turns it right around and unloads with chops of his own. They run the ropes and Murphy clotheslines Bryan over the top to the floor. Murphy runs the ropes and leaps out with a big dive, taking Bryan back down. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and Murphy drops Bryan with a big dropkick. Murphy fights Bryan off and drops him with a kick from the apron. Murphy goes to the top and delivers double knees for a close 2 count in the middle of the ring. More back and forth now. Bryan takes Murphy to the mat and applies the LeBell Lock in the middle of the ring. Murphy resists and reaches for the bottom rope but Bryan tightens it and re-positions to turn it into the Rings of Saturn.
Murphy gets his arm free but Bryan goes back to the LeBell Lock. Murphy finally breaks the hold by getting his foot on the bottom rope. Fans chant “let’s go Buddy!” now. Bryan with kicks to the chest while Murphy is on his knees now. Bryan yells at Murphy to stay down. Murphy ducks a kick and jumps up with a big shot of his own. Bryan turns Murphy upside down in a Tree of Woe and kicks away in the corner. Bryan runs and hits the low dropkick to the face. Bryan takes Murphy back to the top and hits a big belly-to-back superplex. Murphy still kicks out at 2 and Bryan is surprised.
Bryan yells at Murphy for being a liar while delivering more kicks and offense in the corner. Murphy counters in the corner as Bryan goes to the top, and delivers a running sitdown powerbomb for a close 2 count. They trade shots in the middle of the ring now. Murphy unloads with forearms. More strikes and counters between the two. Murphy ducks a move and backslides Bryan for a 2 count. Murphy with more kicks and knees, and a Brainbuster for a close 2 count as Bryan gets his foot on the bottom rope. Rowan jumps on the apron to make sure the referee saw the foot. Rowan remains on the apron, staring at Murphy. Murphy turns his attention to Rowan and Bryan rolls him up from behind for a 2 count. Murphy superkicks Rowan off the apron and Bryan rolls him up again. Murphy comes back and delivers a big knee to Bryan, then Murphy’s Law for the big pin to win.
Winner: Buddy Murphy
– After the match, Murphy hits the ramp to stand tall as his music hits. Bryan looks on from the mat as Rowan checks on him. Fans chant for Murphy as we go to replays.
– Still to come, Elias vs. Owens in a KOTR match.
– We see the mystery man sitting backstage in the room Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan put him in.
– The Revival is walking backstage, selling the earlier chair shots from Kofi Kingston. We go to commercial.
– Back from the break and we see how Buddy Murphy just defeated Daniel Bryan. Murphy is backstage with Kayla Braxton now. She goes to introduce him but jumps out of the way as Bryan and Erick Rowan attack. Rowan destroys Murphy around the backstage area as Bryan yells at him for being trash, not belonging, and deserving what is happening. Officials come in to break things up, checking on Murphy as Bryan and Rowan back off. Murphy is down and hurt.
The Revival vs. Heavy Machinery
We go to the ring and out comes The Revival, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. They are selling the earlier chair shots from Kofi Kingston, and we see replays from that segment. Dawson takes the mic and isn’t happy with the fans for cheering the chair shots. He says this just proved The New Day isn’t championship material. Dawson says The New Day are cowards. Dash agrees and goes on about how Big E wasn’t even man enough to show up tonight. Dawson says The Revival are now officially challenging the SmackDown Tag Team Champions to a title match at Clash of Champions.
Dash goes on about how they will restore credibility to the division that The New Day has damaged. The music interrupts and out comes Heavy Machinery, Tucker and Otis. Dash starts off with Tucker and they go at it. Tucker ends up applying a bear hug in the middle of the ring, focusing on the taped ribs. Otis comes in and takes over. Tucker comes back in for a big double suplex on Dash but Dawson runs in. Otis decks Dawson and lifts him for a suplex, while Tucker still has Dash up in the air for a suplex. They finally drop them at the same time and then clear the ring. Heavy Machinery stands tall and celebrates as we go back to commercial with the split screen.
Back from the break and Dash has Tucker grounded. The Revival takes turns on Tucker, keeping him down. Dawson comes of the top with an elbow but misses. This leads to Otis getting his hot tag to unload on Dash as fans pop. Otis with more offense on Dash and a big splash. Fans cheer Otis as he hits the Caterpillar and the elbow drop.
Otis tags in Tucker. Otis scoops Dash to set up for The Compactor but Dawson runs in and dropkicks him to stop the move. This leads to Dash getting the roll up on Tucker for the pin to win.
Winners: The Revival
– After the match, The Revival backs up the ramp as their music hits.
– Still to come, Elias vs. Owens in another first round KOTR match.
– Kayla Braxton is backstage with Chad Gable, asking about people saying he’s the underdog in his KOTR match with Shelton Benjamin. Gable goes on about how he’s always proved people’s expectations wrong. We see Benjamin poke his head out of the men’s locker room door behind Gable and Braxton. Benjamin tapes a sign to the door and walks off. Gable says he will be the underdog once again in next week’s match against Benjamin, but he’s heard people say King of the Ring is a great place to open eyes, so he’s ready to open some eyes. Gable turns to walk into the locker room but stops to read the sign Benjamin put up. It says, “You must be this tall _______ to participate in the KOTR tournament.” Gable doesn’t find it funny. He enters the men’s locker room and slams the door.
– We see the mystery man backstage in the empty room once again.
– We go to the ring and out comes The Miz for another must see edition of MizTV. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and Tom goes over the NXT – USA announcement again. We go back to the ring and The Miz welcomes everyone to MizTV. Miz says tonight’s guest requested the time to speak and he wants to know why. The music hits as Miz introduces Sami Zayn.
Sami says he really doesn’t care about Miz or MizTV but he needed some TV time to get things off his chest. Miz knocks Sami for his recent losses. Sami says for once Miz is right. Sami says he’s been losing match after match but he had an epiphany on RAW – he’s been caught up in the trap that people like Miz and the parasite fans fall into – the WWE greed trap. Sami goes on about how he’s always fought for causes or for what’s right, and he finally realized that he’s better off helping people. Sami says he may be one of the greatest competitors today but there are so many people on SmackDown who need his help. Miz asks who. Sami says one of them is ready to come out now. The entrance starts up as WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura makes his way out.
Miz asks Nakamura why he would ever need to associate himself with Sami. Sami knocks Miz and brings up how Nakamura is Japanese, an artist and a poet, and he’s in pain because he can’t articulate what’s in his soul. Sami understands this and says he has a bond with Nakamura that no one else could ever understand. Sami goes on about how Nakamura and he share a bond. Sami says from now on if anyone needs to talk to Nakamura, they talk to Sami. Miz asks if he’s really going to let Sami speak for him… Nakamura puts his hand up for Miz to stop talking, and then points to Sami for Miz to keep talking. Sami says they’re going to say it in a language that even Miz understands. Nakamura suddenly drops Miz with a kick. Nakamura unloads on Miz as fans pop and boo. Nakamura with more offense on Miz in the corner until Sami pulls him off. Sami says Nakamura did a great job. Fans boo Sami as he stands over Miz. Sami holds Miz as Nakamura delivers a big Kinshasa. Sami continues running his mouth as we go to replays. We go to commercial with Sami praising Nakamura in the middle of the ring.
– Back from the break and Daniel Bryan enters the room with Erick Rowan. Bryan tells the mystery man he’s called for Roman Reigns and he doesn’t want Reigns to find out. The mystery man seems worried.
– Shane McMahon is backstage in his office when Kevin Owens walks in. Shane sent for him. Shane says he hasn’t heard Owens apologize yet for putting his hands on a WWE official. Owens apologizes and admits he was wrong. Shane says he is re-considering the fine. Shane goes on and says if Owens puts his hands on another official, he will be terminated right there. Owens waits for an answer but Shane says he’s not quite there yet.
King of the Ring First Round Match: Elias vs. Kevin Owens
We go to the ring for tonight’s second King of the Ring tournament match as WWE 24/7 Champion Elias makes his way out. He is not wearing the title as the rules are suspended tonight. They lock up and start going at it.
Elias drops Owens first and goes to work. Fans do dueling chants as Owens finally turns it around and mounts offense. Owens clotheslines Elias over the top rope to the floor. Owens runs the ropes for a dive but Elias moves. Owens puts the brakes on and steps out to the floor, keeping control along the barrier. Elias counters and launches Owens into the barrier.
Elias brings it back into the ring as they go back and forth. Owens with a big German suplex and then a cannonball in the corner. Elias still kicks out at 2. The music interrupts out of nowhere and out comes Shane McMahon, who will be watching the match from ringside. Owens is concerned. We go back to commercial.
Back from the break and Elias remains in control. Owens tries to fight out and make a comeback but Elias drops him with a jumping knee for a 2 count. We see Shane watching from his ringside chair. Elias unloads in the corner and bests Owens down. Elias with a running knee to the face in the corner. Elias scoops Owens for a powerslam for a 2 count. Elias keeps Owens grounded now. Owens fights up and nails a huge DDT for a pop. Owens keeps fighting and hits a dropkick from the second rope. Owens goes on and hits a senton.
Elias avoids a Pop-Up Powerbomb and boots Owens. Owens goes to the corner but Elias gets him on his shoulders. Elias drops Owens with a big powerbomb and holds it for a 2 count as Shane applauds. Elias takes Owens to the top for a superplex but Owens fights back. Owens sends Elias to the mat and goes for the big senton but Elias gets his knees up and Owens lands on them. Elias charges but Owens sends him over the top rope to the floor. Owens with a cannonball from the apron to the floor.
Fans pop as Owens gets hyped up on the outside. Shane ends up approaching Owens. Shane takes off his jacket to reveal a referee jersey. Shane starts counting Owens out and he gets upset. Shane enters the ring and talks to Owens, allowing Elias to deck him from behind. Owens, now furious, fights Elias off and has words with Shane. Elias blocks the Stunner and tries to shove Owens into Shane but Owens puts the brakes on to avoid hitting Shane. Elias takes advantage and rolls Owens up as Shane counts a very fast count for the pin to win.
Winner: Elias
– After the match, Elias and Shane head up the ramp as Elias advances in the KOTR tournament.
– The camera quickly goes backstage to Roman Reigns entering the room where Daniel Bryan, Erick Rowan and the mystery man are. Bryan takes off the hood and reveals an unknown bearded man who looks just like Rowan. Roman thinks it over and looks confused. Reigns and Bryan exchange looks as Reigns looks at Rowan and then the mystery man a few times. SmackDown goes off the air with Reigns looking confused while the bearded mystery man looks terrified.
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