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The SmackDown roster stopped by in Vancouver, Canada for a live event in which all the major names of the blue brand barring AJ Styles and Randy Orton were in action.
Daniel Bryan put his WWE title on the line in an exciting triple threat main even encounter while Charlotte took on Asuka for the SmackDown Women's title. Becky Lynch missed the show as she has been reportedly kept on the sidelines due to a storyline knee injury.
The biggest surprise of the night was provided by NXT superstar Kairi Sane, who made a surprise appearance and also competed in an impromptu match. John Cena was also spotted at the show, however, he was not involved in any of the matches or segments. Weird! The Cenation leader was in Vancouver for a movie shot and may have just dropped by to met his fellow WWE colleagues.
On that note, let's get to the results and highlights then, shall we?
#1 Seamus and Cesaro vs. Big E and Xavier Woods
Veteran tag teams The Bar and The New Day put on a solid opener to get things rolling for the evening.
The 20-minute match was solid considering the talent involved. New Day predictably got great cheers all throughout the match and ended up winning it with the Midnight Hour. All in all, a great way to begin a house show.
Result: The New Day def. The Bar
#2 Shelton Benjamin vs. Jeff Hardy
The Gold Standard came out to the ring and cut a promo expressing his frustration regarding his job. He then issued an open challenge to the entire roster and The Charismatic Engima was on standby to answer the call.
Hardy came out to a great pop and made quick work of the former United States Champion. All it took were two Twists of Fate followed by the Swanton Bomb for Hardy to pick up the win.
Result: Jeff Hardy def. Shelton Benjamin
#3 Kairi Sane and Carmella vs. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce
The Iiconics were out next to do their annoying little routine. Carmella came out to interrupt but was double teamed by Kay and Royce only to be stopped by former NXT Women’s Champion Kairi Sane. The Pirate Princess made the save and an impromptu tag team match was booked.
In the end, the babyface team of Carmella and Sane won the match after Mella got the job done with the Code of Silence submission move.
Result: Carmella and Kairi Sane def. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce
#4 R-Truth (C) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev (WWE United States Championship Match)
The new United States champion put the title on the line next, but before he did so, R-Truth cut a promo in which he expressed his gratitude for the opportunities granted to him. We got a dance break with Carmella and Truth before the match got underway.
Lana was popular with the Vancouver fans as there were quite a few chants in support of Rusev’s valet. Truth eventually retained the title with a roll-up and the assistance of Carmella, who got into a scuffle with Lana.
Truth brought invited few kids from the crowd into the ring and celebrated the win with another dance break.
Result: R-Truth def. Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura
#5 Asuka vs. Charlotte (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship Match)
The champ made her way to the ring first and got a decent reaction from the audience. Charlotte was out next. The Queen cut a promo in which she reminded the fans about their WrestleMania 34 match that ended the undefeated reign of the Empress of Tomorrow. Flair then told the fans that Becky Lynch wasn’t in attendance and this unsurprisingly led to reverberating chants of The Man’s name in the arena.
Flair did a great job of generating heat before the match began. Asuka and Charlotte are inarguably two of the best female in-ring workers in the WWE and both women gave a testament to that with a 30-minute wrestling clinic.
Asuka managed to retain her title with the Asuka lock in what was easily the best match of the night.
Result: Asuka def. Charlotte Flair
#6 SAnitY vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
It was good to see two criminally underutilized tag teams in action after the women brought the house down. The heels were without the presence of Killian Dane and Nikki Cross as Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe represented the eccentric team against the Good Brothers.
Gallows and Anderson won with the Magic Killer in a match that lasted for almost ten minutes.
Result: Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows def. SAnitY
#7 Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio
The penultimate bout of the night pitted two of the most talented Hispanic superstars on the roster against each other. As we’ve grown accustomed to in recent weeks, Andrade and Mysterio put on an exhilarating back-and-forth match that ended after Mysterio got the three-count with the customary 619 followed by the Frog Splash.
Mysterio got one of the best reactions of the night while on the flipside, Almas garnered tremendous heel heat that enhanced the in-ring action.
Result: Rey Mysterio def. Andrade
#8 Daniel Bryan vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Samoa Joe (WWE Championship Match)
A triple threat WWE title match closed out a fairly engaging show. Bryan’s new hemp title belt got excellent reactions as the champion was accompanied by Erick Rowan.
It was a fantastic match to end the night as the in-ring styles of all three men meshed well to satisfy the fans in attendance. Bryan connected with the Flying Knee on Mustafa Ali to successfully retain the title.
Joe was his outstanding self as he flipped the fans off at the end after they were chanting his name. Never change, Joe!
Result: Daniel Bryan def. Mustafa Ali and Samoa Joe
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