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Roman Reigns kicked off SmackDown with Paul Heyman and said that we were not going to see Kevin Owens tonight because Roman said so. He said that Adam Pearce's plan was great but unlike him, Roman never missed an appearance even though he may have had injuries.
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Adam Pearce came out and said that the situation was getting 'out of control'. Roman was not happy that Adam was giving opportunities to Kevin Owens before Paul Heyman threatened the WWE Official into agreeing to a match with him! Adam accepted the offer and Roman left after telling him that he was going to get his 'a** kicked by the end of the night'.
Sami Zayn handcuffed himself to the barricades as a form of protest before we headed for an ad break on SmackDown.
Back to to the show, Sami was still yelling about the injustices against him when Asuka and Charlotte made their entrances.
Asuka & Charlotte vs. the Riott Squad on SmackDown
Charlotte and Riott kicked us off and Flair had control early on before Asuka was tagged in. Charlotte attacked Billie Kay from the apron before Liv came to the rescue and took her out.
After a break on SmackDown, Liv was tagged in and the Riott Squad managed to take down Charlotte in their corner before Flair came back with chops and tagged Asuka. Asuka was trying to roll Riott up before Ruby rolled her up for a near fall.
Asuka hit the codebreaker and Charlotte tagged in to hit the Natural Selection for the win.
Result: Asuka & Charlotte def. the Riott Squad
Match rating: C
Backstage on SmackDown, the Riott Squad was not happy with Billie Kay but she arranged for them to be in the women's Royal Rumble. Despite that, she got kicked out of the Squad.
Daniel Bryan was out on SmackDown and hyped up the Royal Rumble. Cesaro was out to interrupt and said that he would be winning the Rumble match.
Daniel proposed they have a match right then but Cesaro turned him down, placing an open challenge instead. Dolph Ziggler came out and said he has been in more Rumbles than anyone.
Ziggler accepted Cesaro's challenge and the former US Champions were set to lock horns next.
Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown
Ziggler went for a sleeper hold before being taken to the corner for some big hits. Cesaro did the Swing before being hit with a ZigZag for a near fall.
Ziggler was looking for the Famouser but Cesaro came in with the Neutralizer to pick up the quick win.
Result: Cesaro def. Dolph Ziggler
Match rating: C
Sasha Banks vs. Reginald on SmackDown
Reggie handed a rose to Sasha before the match began but Sasha wasn't having any of it. Reginald managed to land on his feet off a big move and went for a waist lock before fleeing the ring.
Sasha Banks vs. Reginald on SmackDown (contd...)
The match continued on SmackDown as the two leapfrogged over one another in the ring before Sasha planted him on the outside. Reggie went for a powerbomb but Sasha reversed it but her top rope crossbody was caught.
Sasha sent Reggie outside and hit a Meteora off the apron. Back in the ring, Sasha hit the backstabber and locked in the Banks Statement for the win.
Result: Sasha Banks def. Reginald
Match rating: B
Backstage on SmackDown, Heyman was having doubts about the match but Roman told him to 'be a man' and 'handle his business.'
Big E vs. Apollo Crews on SmackDown
Apollo took control with a huge sequence of moves early on, getting a near fall off a standing moonsault before Big E planted him with an Uranage in the corner. Outside the ring, Crews hit a flip off the apron before he blocked Big E's Superplex and hit a top rope move.
Sami Zayn uncuffed himself in the middle of the match hit a Helluva kick on Crews and Big E, ending the match and taking them both out.
Result: DNF
Match rating: B
We learned on SmackDown that Roman Reigns had left the arena and we saw some footage of Kevin Owens saying that he was not allowed into SmackDown because Roman pulled some strings.
He explained his tattoos and said that his grandfathers supported him but never got to see him get into WWE. He said he would be the last man standing after facing Roman at the Rumble and honor his own family.
The Street Profits were backstage on SmackDown and were congratulating Sonya Deville for her new job. They asked for a tag title rematch but Sonya said Montez's injuries would keep him from competing for a few weeks.
Bianca Belair vs. Bayley - Obstacle Course Challenge on SmackDown
Bayley came out and sent Michael Cole off and explained how the course works before starting her run. Bayley had little trouble flipping the tyre and went around the jumping obstacles before she lifted Chad Gable into the fireman's carry.
She went for the basketball, the final challenge, and finished the course in 1:12. After her run, Bayley asked for the course to be reset, making it even harder. Bianca breezed through the first part of the challenge before Otis came out instead of Gable.
Bianca Belair vs. Bayley - Obstacle Course Challenge (contd...)
Belair on SmackDown managed to carry Otis and make the final basket, finishing quicker Bayley's time. Bayley was furious and attacked Belair, wiping her out at ringside before walking off.
Result: Bianca Belair def. Bayley
King Corbin vs. Dominik Mysterio on SmackDown
Dominik took Corbin to the corner early on and managed to send him outside before Corbin came back in with a big clothesline. Corbin blocked a 619 and hit a huge strike, taking down the rookie.
After a bit of back and forth, Corbin hit the End of Days and got the pinfall.
Result: King Corbin def. Dominik Mysterio
Match rating: C
Roman Reigns vs. Adam Pearce on SmackDown
Heyman was walking up the ring steps before the match and fell down, twice, possibly faking an injury. He pulled the 'card subject to change' line and Roman's music hit.
Reigns came out and hit a superman punch right away. Reigns tossed Adam over the barricades, punishing him at ringside.
Roman Reigns vs. Adam Pearce on SmackDown (contd...)
Reigns tossed Adam into the LED boards on SmackDown and stage equipment before Reigns carried him up to the platform where he dropped Owens from. A hooded figure attacked Reigns on SmackDown and it turned out to be Kevin Owens.
In the ring, Owens countered a Superman Punch and hit a Stunner before unloading on the Universal champ. A host of officials came out to stop him but Owens was raging through them as he powerbombed Reigns onto the announce desk, breaking it to bits.
Owens went for the steel steps but the officials took it away from him before he decided to just yell at Roman for good measure as the show came to a close.
Result: DNF
Match rating: A
Episode rating: A
Things are heating up as we head for Royal Rumble next week. We got a surprise main event to say the least while Banks gave us our first intergender match in a long time. Bayley and Bianca had a little unpleasant exchange after the obstacle course.
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