“I Always Win.”
Five nights after Payback, the 772nd edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH. On RAW, the most shocking betrayal in recent memory took place as Seth Rollins turned his back on his Shield teammates Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns, destroying Ambrose & Reigns with a steel chair! Rollins then handed the chair to Randy Orton and let “The Viper” finish the job and RAW ended with Seth Rollins standing side by side with Triple H & Randy Orton. For the first time since destroying The Shield from within, Seth Rollins will kick off SmackDown as Rollins is expected to explain his actions.
For the first time since falling to John Cena in a Last Man Standing Match at Payback, the leader of The Wyatt Family, Bray Wyatt, would appear on SmackDown. After failing in his mission to tarnish the legacy of John Cena, what will Bray Wyatt have to say about losing the war against Cena? Will The Wyatt Family move on from John Cena or will Bray Wyatt still seek to destroy the leader of the Cenation?
After a successful title defense at Payback, Bad News Barrett defended the Intercontinental Title against Rob Van Dam at Main Event in a rematch from Payback, but Cesaro would make a major statement by laying out both Barrett and RVD. As a result, SmackDown would see Bad News Barrett make his third title defense in a week as Barrett would defend the Intercontinental Title against both Cesaro and Rob Van Dam in a Triple Threat Match!
Match Results
- Seth Rollins (with Triple H) def. Dolph Ziggler by pin following the Curb Stomp.
- Non-Title: The Usos def. RybAxel by Jimmy Uso pinning Curtis Axel following the Superfly Splash.
- Rusev (with Lana) def. Xavier Woods by submission to the Accolade.
- Intercontinental Championship: Triple Threat: Bad News Barrett (c) def. Cesaro (with Paul Heyman) and Rob Van Dam by pinning Rob Van Dam following the Bull Hammer to retain.
- Natalya def. Alicia Fox by pin after countering a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.
- Bo Dallas def. Santino Marella (with Emma) by pin following the Bo Dog.
- Big Show def. Randy Orton (with Triple H) by DQ after Seth Rollins interferes.
Detailed Results
For the first time since turning his back on Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns in favor of joining Triple H & Randy Orton, SmackDown kicks off with Seth Rollins, who is led to the ring by WWE COO Triple H. Triple H says that they probably think that he is out there to brag and tell them that he was right. The COO then says that so many of the fans have questions for Seth Rollins, saying that Seth Rollins was the man who formed the most dominant group in WWE today, The Shield. Triple H says that Seth Rollins owes them an answer as to why he did what he did on RAW. Seth Rollins says that the only person who knows the answer and the only person who he owes anything to is himself. This brings out Dolph Ziggler, who says that he will take a beating for what he has to say and he will probably be pushed farther down to the totem pole. Dolph says that he was never a fan of The Shield, but he appreciated that The Shield went against The Authority and against Evolution, saying that The Shield was even partially responsible for Batista quitting and that was cause enough for “celebration”. Dolph continues, saying that Rollins turned his back on his own “brothers”, calling Rollins a “traitor”. Dolph then tells Rollins that he did the worst thing that he could do when he “sold out”. Rollins then whispers something to Triple H and the COO tells Ziggler that Rollins has done something that Dolph will never do and that is “sell out arenas” before saying that Dolph is indeed going to get a beating because Ziggler is going to go one-on-one with Seth Rollins right now!
In an impromptu match made by Triple H, the opening match of the night would see the man who sold out and assaulted Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, with Triple H in his corner, would go one-on-one with Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown. At the end of a competitive match, it was Seth Rollins hitting the Curb Stomp on Dolph Ziggler en route to picking up the win.
Backstage, Randy Orton meets up with Triple H & Seth Rollins, welcoming Rollins to the “dark side”. Rollins says that he never left before the trio is confronted by Big Show, who gets in the face of Seth Rollins. Big Show tells Rollins that he is a “piece of trash”, saying that Rollins sold his “soul”, telling Rollins that he would like to see him do to him what he did to Dolph Ziggler. This brings a smile to the face of Triple H, who says that Big Show will get in that ring tonight, but he will face Randy Orton, not Seth Rollins.
The WWE Tag Team Champions were in action on SmackDown as The Usos would face RybAxel in a non-title match. In the end, it was Jimmy Uso hitting the Superfly Splash on Curtis Axel en route to picking up the win for The Usos.
After being presented a gold star and being named the “Hero of the Russian Federation”, Rusev was in action on SmackDown as “The Super Athlete”, with Lana in his corner, would go one-on-one with Xavier Woods. It would not take long for the dominant Rusev to achieve victory as “The Bulgarian Brute” locks on the Accolade, forcing Xavier Woods to tap out to pick up the win.
After both he and Rob Van Dam were laid out by Cesaro on Main Event, Bad News Barrett would defend the Intercontinental Title against both Cesaro, with Paul Heyman a guest on commentary, and Rob Van Dam in a Triple Threat Match on SmackDown! In the end, Rob Van Dam would hit the Five-Star Frog Splash on Cesaro, but Bad News Barrett would quickly take advantage, hitting the Bull Hammer on RVD, pinning RVD to pick up the win and successfully retain the Intercontinental Title.
For the first time since losing to John Cena in a Last Man Standing Match at Payback, Bray Wyatt would appear on SmackDown as Bray says that Cena locked him in a box and his memories began to haunt him. Bray continues, saying that he was “afraid”, but then he begin to remember what she told him about this place, saying that, in his “rebirth”, he will grow stronger and he will become their “leader”. Bray then says that he is “beyond time” and that there is “nothing to fear”, proclaiming that he is “reborn” and telling the fans to “join me”.
After both failing to win gold in their respective title matches, Natalya would go one-on-one with Alicia Fox on SmackDown. In the end, it was Alicia Fox going for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Natalya, but Natalya would shift her weight, landing on Fox and pinning Alicia for the win.
Two of the most delusional Superstars in WWE would face off on SmackDown as Bo Dallas went one-on-one with Santino Marella, with Emma in his corner. In the end, it was Bo Dallas hitting the Bo Dog on Santino Marella, pinning Santino for the win.
Then it was time for the main event as “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show would go one-on-one with “The Viper” Randy Orton, with Triple H in his corner. During the match, Big Show would go for the Knockout Punch on Randy Orton, but Triple H would get on the ring apron and Big Show would grab both Triple H and Orton by the throat. That is when Seth Rollins would make the save, attacking Big Show and allowing Randy Orton to hit the RKO on Big Show. Triple H would then hand a steel chair to Seth Rollins and Rollins would set it down before hitting the Curb Stomp to Big Show on the chair. Rollins then sets Big Show up again, hitting another Curb Stomp to Big Show on the steel! Triple H then raises the hands of Randy Orton & Seth Rollins high as they stand over the motionless Big Show.
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