WWE Live returned for yet another live house show of SmackDown in Peoria, Illinois and tensions were high. The house show featured some of the blue brand’s biggest Superstars, with Randy Orton finding himself in a Triple Threat title defence match against AJ Styles and Baron Corbin.
The main event saw United States Champion Kevin Owens preparing to defend his title against the ‘Underdog from the Underground’ Sami Zayn.
With the main event featuring two Superstars formerly from the RAW brand, it may be safe to assume that the Superstar Shake Up has taken its effect on live events. A number of the other matchups from last night’s live event were thrillers as well.
The live event also saw the return of the SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions the Usos and the SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Naomi.
#1 Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin
The matchup between these three Superstars in the Triple Threat match kicked off the live event and it saw Baron Corbin and Randy Orton emerge as the favourites during the match. The ‘Lone Wolf’ Corbin received a lot of heat in the match and managed to get the crowd engaged early.
However, the most exciting part of the match had to be WWE Champion Randy Orton’s signature RKO.
Results: Randy Orton defeated AJ Styles and Baron Corbin
#2 Breezango vs. The Ascension
The duo of Tyler Breeze and Fandango, better known as ‘Breezango’, really got the crowd going and received a whole lot of love from the fans in Peoria. The duo did a great job of keeping the fans going throughout the match as they faced off against Konnor and Viktor of the ‘Ascension’.
Results: Breezango defeated The Ascension
#3 Mojo Rawley vs. Aiden English
Mojo Rawley who has been on a role since his big WrestleMania win had a great matchup against Aiden English, who received a lot of heat from the WWE Universe. The fans began chanting slogans like “BUM!’’ and “YOU’RE A BUM”.
This was the result of English confronting a fan who was holding up a sign that read the aforementioned word. However, things really heated up when Jinder Mahal attacked Rawley after the match and delivered his promo in which he addressed the WWE Universe, the fans in Peoria and the entire United States of America.
Results: Mojo Rawley defeated Aiden English
#4 American Alpha vs. The Usos
The reigning Tag Team Champions returned to the live event to defend their Championship shortly after the funeral of Anoa’i family member and former wrestler, Matthew Anoa’i, better known as ‘Rosey’. The champs used their superb heel tactics and gained a lot of backing from the fans in their match against American Alpha.
Results: The Usos defeated American Alpha
#5 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler
One of the brightest stars in SmackDown Live and the WWE today took the stage at last night’s live event and his name is Shinsuke Nakamura. Both wrestlers featured in the matchup received a great ovation from the crowds. This was Nakamura’s live event debut
However, the match became boring and slow in the middle and many fans started booing when the referee refused to count them out when they lay in the middle of the ring. The match gained momentum once again when both men stood up and Nakamura delivered a killer Kinshasa knee strike to Ziggler.
Results: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Dolph Ziggler
#wwepeoria @ShinsukeN with the Kinshasaa. Thank you Nakamura for making my night. pic.twitter.com/ZK9ZHq5NZB
— Zanthos Octavian (@Zano_Octavian) April 25, 2017
#6 Luke Harper vs. Eric Rowan
The Wyatt family may be split up, with Bray Wyatt making his move to RAW during the Superstar shake up, but that didn’t stop two former Wyatt family member Luke Harper and Eric Rowan from going at it.
The match was a good one, but what really got the fans going was Eric Rowan’s antics.
Rowan entered the ring with a few balloons and presented them to a young fan in the crowd, only to pop them soon after. This garnered him a lot of heat. However, the biggest surprise for the fans was Luke Harper, who embraced the fan before and after the match.
Results: Luke Harper defeated Eric Rowan
#7 Six-Pack Challenge between Naomi, Becky Lynch, Tamina Snuka, Natalya, Carmella and Charlotte Flair
The match wasn’t exactly the greatest Six-Pack Challenge match, but the moment that took the cake was when reigning SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Naomi knocked James Ellsworth out after multiple interferences from the former SmackDown Live mascot.
This moment really got the fans up on their feet and was easily one of the coolest moments at Peoria last night.
Results: Naomi defeated Becky Lynch, Tamina Snuka, Natalya, Carmella and Charlotte Flair in the Six-Pack Challenge
#8 Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
The night at Peoria ended with the main event match between United States Champion Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The match was quite intriguing and exciting and really ended the show with a bang.
However, following the match, Kevin Owens went on to infuriate the Peoria crowd by praising his match, bashing the fans and ordering them to stand and accept him as their United States Champion. Owens was quickly shut up by a recovering Sami Zayn, who landed a Helluva kick on the champion, which presumably sent the fans home happy!
Results: Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn
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