The annual WWE draft has come and gone, and for those who follow and enjoy the Blue Brand as much as me, the results are far from thrilling. The outcome brings back haunting memories of the 1995 Montreal Expos. Much pristine talent was lost while the new acquisitions will get their chances. . This, though, does leave nice opportunities for new pushes and rebooted storylines. Leaving the door open and hoping for the best, I welcome you to this week’s WWE Smackdown Synopsis for 10/16/20.
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Making the switch to Mondays are highly skilled and prominently featured talent such as The Fiend, Alexa Bliss, Matt Riddle, Jeff Hardy, Sheamus, A.J.Styles, The New Day, and The Miz, and John Morrison. SD without the Fiend and Bliss will be like taking a bubble bath without the suds. Taking the Friday night plunge are Seth Rollins, Rey& Dominik Mysterio, The Street Profits, Aleister Black, Kevin Owens, Zelina Vega, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Lars Sullivan, and Calisto. Round that lists off with Bianca Belair, Murphy, Appolo Crews, and The Riott Squad. The eternal optimist in me says, at least there’s considerable room for growth. Daniel Bryan’s return will also provide a shot in the arm.
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Tonight’s show will kick off the new season on Fox, which should make for some compelling segments. The Tribal Chief will defend his Universal title against Braun Strowman’s guesting from Raw. Spearing a monster shouldn’t be overly difficult for Roman Reigns. There will be a little bit of a ” you say goodbye, and I say hello ” component as well. The New Day will receive a send-off when they face the also departing Sheamus and the staying on Friday Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura.
The Charismatic Enigma bids adieu to Smackdown by facing the newly added Lars Sullivan. Revolving doors receive a positive spin. Stephanie McMahon and HHH lead the show off by introducing new and returning faces. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode make their presence felt by attacking the Street Profits. A melee ensues before The Beast as opposed to the Beast Incarnate, Lars Sullivan grounds and pounds a slew of talent before standing alone with Jeff Hardy.
WWE SmackDown Synopsis for 10/16/20
Lars Sullivan vs. Jeff Hardy
No mention is made at the outset that this will be Hardy’s last Friday night appearance. Speed gave Hardy an early but short-lived advantage. Brother Nero was tossed around like a lightly stuffed feather pillow. Sullivan, while hit moments later with both a Whisper in the Wind and then a Twist of Fate, was no worse for wear. A blocked Twist of Fate resulted in Hardy being thrown out of the ring and slammed into that ever unforgiving ring apron.
Sullivan would end this contest with the Freak Accident, a finishing maneuver like a Torture Rack, followed by a slam. Expect to become very familiar with this move in no time.
Winner: Lars Sullivan
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Bidding Adieu To The New Day The iconic trio is st to face Sheamus, Cesaro, and Shinsuke Nakamura in their farewell performance. The contest is preceded by an emotional caucus where the members expressed their level of esteem and gratitude to one another.
WWE SmackDown Synopsis for 10/16/20
The New Day vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro & Sheamus
Before the match took place, we had the chance to grab our balloons and invite our friends to watch the latest Bianca Belair vignette. Xavier Woods led the bout off in impressive fashion by delivering a series of arm drags to Nakamura. Simultaneously, it was pointed out that the New Day hasn’t performed as a threesome for close to a year. They weren’t anything but on their “A” game tonight.
Fast fluid tags were the order of the day with lots of double-teaming but all within the five-count parameters. After Cesaro had begun working over Kofi Kingston, Big E was tagged in and then quickly turned to Xavier Woods. After a two count by the New Day, Woods was laid out by a European forearm, and then Sheamus came on and followed suit. The Fella was soon to be staggered as Woods and E employed crisp double team moves. Kingston then hit a Frog Splash from the third rope but only for a count of two.
Fast & Furious Action
Shinsuke Nakamura would, in turn, pin Kingston but yet again, the dreaded count of two. Cesaro continued with a body slam and a leg drop but was unable to finish the bout off. After multiple tags, Sheamus grabbed Kingston by his dreads and threw him on to the ringside floor. Kingston bounced back by rolling up Sheamus for another count of two. Moments later, Xavier Woods would come close to attaining victory with his Morning Woods.
Kingston’s leap from the top rope was thwarted by Nakamura, who tagged Cesaro while Sheamus hit with White Noise.No more than another two count, however. Kingston was alone with Cesaro and struck the Swiss Cyborg with a head butt. This prompted Woods to be tagged in, and he immediately tagged in Big E. Pristine well-coordinated double-teaming led to a leap, which led to the victory.
While E made the pin, the trio enjoyed an emotional victory huddle in the middle of the ring. We benefitted from a Hallmark moment, knowing that Big E’s singles run will be productive and highly entertaining.
Winners: The New Day
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Otis Is Sent To The On Deck Circle. The MITB winner is interviewed by Kayla Braxton yet interrupted and mocked by Sami Zayn. We get a glimpse then of who the Great Liberator will likely defend his Intercontinental title against.
Daniel Bryan Is Welcomed To The Thunderdome
Aberdeen’s favorite son is delighted to be back after four months at home. He beams about the new talent on the roster but is rudely interrupted by the former Monday Night Messiah. Rollins asks Bryan, “Which side of history would you like to be on. When it comes to the greater good, you’re either with me, or you’re against me”.
Bryan answered with his best mic work since he introduced us to the term “fickle.”He told Rollins that his vision was short-sighted, self-centered, self-serving, and kind of a little bit dumb.
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Rollins landed a punch, which was answered with a series of ” Yes” kicks. The Mysterio’s stormed the ring, as did Murphy. While Murphy appeared to align himself with his one-time mentor, he took Rollins out. While Murphy extended his hand in friendship to Rey Mysterio, the diminutive masked man was by no means on board.
The Street Profits vs. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler
Red Party cups are raised to the new SD tag team champions. This match was tossed out very quickly by the official after Ziggler and Roode were double-teaming Angelo Dawkins. Montez Ford would intervene and pull off the play of the day with a spectacular double crossbody leap. This was the first manifestation of a feud that will most likely last until The Survivor Series, if not longer.
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Winners: No Contest
Bayley & Sasha Banks Contract Signing Ceremony. Batman, riddle me this: when is a contract signing not a contract signing. Even Robin can tell you that it’s when one of the parties fails to affix their signature to the document in question. That’s what we witnessed tonight. While Sasha Banks signed immediately and, of course, told Bayley that she was going to end her, the champion with a steel chair in hand walked away, slithered away, demonstrating cowardice on parade.
WWE SmackDown Synopsis for 10/16/20
WWE Universal Championship Match
Braun Strowman VS Roman Reigns (c)
The Monster enters the ring with gloves, but neither of them says hurt or heal. Jey Uso watches attentively from the back. Early momentum is clearly in the champion’s hands. Strowman was thrown through the ropes, decked with a Superman punch, and drop-kicked onto the apron. After being administered a head butt, the challenger’s head is driven into the ring stairs and then bounced off the announce table.
Strowman showed tremendous resistance and threw the Tribal Chief over the announce table and drove him into the barricade. After blocking a Superman punch, Strowman had the champion in a pinning predicament, but things changed irreversibly with a low blow to Strowman. While the challenger did dodge a Spear, Reigns followed up with a Guillotine and body scissors, which forced The Monster to tap out.
Winner: And Still WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns
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The fun was far from over. As Jey Uso stormed the ring, Reigns continued his onslaught. He grabbed a steel chair borrowed perhaps from Bayley and told his cousin: “This is how we eat, this is how we take care of generations of our family.” After decking Strowman repeatedly with the chair, Reigns begged his cousin to come to his senses and finally deem him the Tribal Chief. Uso would not acquiesce, so the champion exclaimed: “If I can do this to him, imagine what I can do to you.”
Reigns then turned his back and emplored Uso to use the steel chair on him. Reigns shocked and awed Uso by taking him out with a Superman punch and striking him with the steel chair. A gathering of concerned officials attended to the six-time tag team champion as Smackdown’s season premiere drew to a close.
