WWE News: AJ Styles hits Rusev with a Stone Cold Stunner during SmackDown LIVE dark match

This was actually a thing
This was actually a thing - photo credit: zdbdog06

What's the story?

WWE SmackDown LIVE fans were not only treated to the Mixed Match Classic match between Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs Shinsuke Nakamura and Natalya, but they got to see the first ever KFC Colonel Rumble as well!

In case you didn't know...

The WWE has a long-running commercial deal with KFC that has seen several of their Superstars dress up as the KFC Colonel for television adverts. The most recent one saw multiple Kurt Angles ruining Heath Slater's day

The heart of the matter

A report of what happened after SmackDown LIVE has been helpfully posted by Reddit user zdbdog06 and he has stated that there was not one, but two dark matches to wrap up proceedings for SmackDown LIVE.

The first was a Four Corners Tag-Team Championship match between The Usos, Rusev Day, The New Day and Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable. The finish came when Gable was hit by the classic Superkick, Splash combo from The Usos who retained their titles.

What followed was the KFC Colonel Rumble, a mini-Royal Rumble match to determine who will be the next WWE KFC Colonel Sanders, in what the report from zdbdog06 says got the loudest crowd reaction of the night.

Miz and Rusev started, with Titus, Slater and Mojo Rawley entering with the latter three all swiftly getting eliminated. Next in were Fandango and Tyler Breeze, but Breeze eliminated Fandango and then was eliminated. There was then a staredown between the Miz and Rusev that was interrupted by AJ Styles. Styles eliminated Miz and then eventually hit a hilarious Stone Cold Stunner on Rusev, eliminating him to win.

What's next?

AJ Styles is set to defend his WWE Title in a handicap match against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble, but regardless of the result in that match, at least he'll always be the winner of the first ever KFC Colonel Rumble

Author's take

SmackDown LIVE only had four matches, three of which were US Title Tournament matches and one of which was the same three babyface women against the same three members of the Riott Squad we've seen for the past year and they keep this Rumble match, and that Fatal Fourway Tag-Team Title match off of television?


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