Event: WWE SmackDown
Date: November 1, 2019
Location: Buffalo, NY
WWE SmackDown Results and Highlights
The makeshift commentary team of Tom Phillips, Renee Young, and Aiden English started off this week’s Friday Night Smackdown by welcoming the fans.
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar made his way out to the ring with Paul Heyman. Heyman talked about Lesnar’s easy victory against Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel, and called out Rey Mysterio who attacked Lesnar after the match.
Heyman said that in order to take on RAW superstar Rey Mysterio, Brock Lesnar will be quitting SmackDown on FOX and will move over to Monday Night RAW. Heyman taunted Mysterio with a few lines in Spanish before heading out.
Lesnar heads out of the building and WWE COO Triple H along with Shawn Michaels are shown backstage.
WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship – Bayley defeated Nikki Cross: Bayley defeated Cross with some help from her best friend Sasha Banks. Banks pushed Cross from the top rope and Bayley covered for the victory.
Post Match, NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler made her way to the ring and destroyed all the three superstars in the ring.
Backstage, Sami Zayn cut a promo calling out all the NXT talent present in the arena. Matt Riddle and his new tag team partner Keith Lee appeared backstage and chased Zayn down to the ring. Zayn ate a Bro Derek and a Moonsault from both the individuals.
The Miz made his way out for another edition of Miz TV. He talked about how his guest Bray Wyatt couldn’t appear due to the flight issues. Tommaso Ciampa interrupted Miz and called him out for being over-the-top. Miz and Ciampa traded some more shots and eventually a match was announced.
Tommaso Ciampa defeated The Miz: Ciampa was really over with the crowd and won the match with a Fairytale Ending.
Backstage, Daniel Bryan ran into Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Daniel Bryan challenged Triple H to a match at the show, which drew a wild reaction from the crowd. Triple H denied the offer and introduced Adam Cole. Daniel Bryan vs Adam Cole for the NXT Championship was announced.
Tegan Nox & Rhea Ripley defeated Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville: Rose and Deville were scheduled to take on Carmella and Dana Brooke, but Bianca Belair took both of them out backstage. Nox and Ripley dominated the heel duo before Ripley applied the Cloverleaf for the win.
Stephanie McMahon made her way out to the ring and thanked the WWE Universe for the Women’s Evolution, before showing a video package of the historic match between Lacey Evans and Natalya at Crown Jewel.
NXT Championship Match: Adam Cole defeated Daniel Bryan: Triple H and Shawn Michaels watched closely from the ringside as their main guy faced off against Bryan. Both the individuals produced a fantastic matchup, leading to a This is Awesome chant from the fired-up crowd. Cole overcame the former WWE Champion and hit the Last Shot for the victory.
Post Match, the entire NXT roster made their way out to the ring. Triple H cut a promo calling out the rosters of RAW and Smackdown and laying down the official challenge for Survivor Series. Triple H said, ‘We Are NXT’ before dropping the mic and celebrating with Cole and Baszler to end Smackdown.
Takeaways from Friday Night SmackDown
The Championship Situation
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman officially quit SmackDown and will take the WWE Championship along with them on Monday Night RAW. The lead up to SD debuting on FOX had several rumors that FOX needs Lesnar at all cost, and it seems that those rumors were completely false. Lesnar moving to RAW will solve a major conundrum that arose after SmackDown star Bray Wyatt won the Universal Championship at Crown Jewel.
With Wyatt staying on the blue brand, it will be interesting to see if WWE decides to change the color scheme of the Universal title from red to blue. Also, Heyman’s explanation that Lesnar can’t lay his hands on Rey Mysterio, who’s a Raw exclusive superstar, is a great way to continue the brand split.
NXT Takeover: Friday Night SmackDown
After a majority of WWE superstars were left behind in Saudi Arabia due to the flight delay, WWE had to bring in several NXT superstars to fill the void. This move came as a blessing in disguise, as we were treated to the best SmackDown show in recent months.
Along with filling the void, WWE also sowed the seeds for the three-way Survivor Series this year, which takes place in three weeks’ time. It is baffling to see WWE produce a last-minute show in such a fantastic way, as their regular shows follow the same trope even though they are planned days in advance.
Triple H Lays Down The Claim
Although hardcore wrestling fans are well aware of Triple H’s expertise in booking quality shows, the main roster audiences got a major glimpse of what Triple H and this team bring to the fore on Wednesday nights. Triple H’s promo after the show was absolutely perfect, and him teasing a match with his former rival Daniel Bryan was a good continuity.
NXT shows have been killing it in recent weeks, and in the next few weeks, we will get to see a mashup of the three shows.
Bayley’s Run Continues
Bayley’s new look avatar has been on fire in recent weeks, and along with the new look Sasha Banks, they have locked down the women’s division on Friday nights. Bayley got an easy win over Nikki Cross and it will be interesting to see where her character goes next.
The Women’s Division of SmackDown doesn’t have a lot of established talents apart from Alexa Bliss, and it would be interesting to see a face Alexa taking on a heel Bayley if that’s the way they decide to move forward.
