On Monday Night Raw this week, we saw the return of Roman Reigns. Reigns returned weeks after being beaten mercilessly by Triple H. Roman Reigns was healthy, and back for revenge. On tonight’s episode of Thursday Night Smackdown, we will hear from Roman Reigns for the first time since he attacked Triple H on Raw. Also, the Intercontinental Champion, Kevin Owens, will take on “The Phenomenal One,” AJ Styles.
Opening Segment
Roman Reigns makes his way to the ring to talk about his actions on Monday Night Raw, as well as to promote his match against Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32.
He entered from the entrance ramp, like on Raw. Maybe this is the end of Roman entering from the stands.
In a very short promo, Roman Reigns vows to destroy Triple H at WrestleMania, and that Triple H should “believe that.”
Backstage Segment
Renee Young is interviewing AJ Styles about his reactions to Chris Jericho’s actions last week on Smackdown, and earlier this week on Raw. On Smackdown last week, Jericho burned a “Y2AJ shirt” as a symbol to show the end to their friendship. On Raw, after a match with Neville (where Neville would get injured), Jericho would cut a promo on how much he hates that the fans chant for AJ Styles, instead of an icon like him.
Styles starts to talk to Renee Young, when he is interrupted by Kevin Owens. Owens compares Styles to Sami Zayn, since they both currently are getting revenge on friends that turned on them. Styles wants Owens to keep running his mouth, because tonight, he will be the one to shut it.
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz
A couple weeks ago, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler each had a quick win against each other, and this match looks to end the series of three. On Monday Night Raw, Ziggler stood up to the Authority, which led to him facing Triple H. If he won the match, he would be able to have any match of his choosing (except the WWE World Heavyweight Champioship match) at WrestleMania. After a lot of close calls, Triple H would hit the pedigree for the win. Tonight, Ziggler and Miz both look to build momentum going into “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
Dolph Ziggler hits a superkick, and actually picks up the victory. No Zig Zag, nothing else, just a superkick. This is unheard of in WWE today. Hopefully the superkick will turn into a finisher again. Winner: Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com exclusive video
Michael Cole is sitting down with Kalisto, and asks him whether or not he accepts Ryback’s WrestleMania challenge for the United States Championship. Kalisto says that it would be an honor to defend the US title at WrestleMania, and accepts.
It’s official: Kalisto vs. Ryback for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 32.
Bubba Ray Dudley (w/D-Von Dudley) vs. Goldust
As soon as the match starts, D-Von teases the audience by getting a table from under the ring, and puts it back immediately.
Side note: All three of the men that are in this segment competed in the Attitude Era. Goldust and the Dudleys are great and all, but this time could be used to build talent like Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Darren Young, Damien Sandow, or any of the Social Outcasts (there are probably more people to list).
D-Von Dudley distracts Goldust, leading to Bubba Ray kicking Goldust on his way into the ring, and Bubba Ray picks up the victory. Winner: Bubba Ray Dudley
After the match, R-Truth comes to the ring to try and save Goldust from being attacked by The Dudley Boyz, but the numbers game is in favor of the Dudleys. After R-Truth’s failed attempt, The Usos come make the save (they face the Dudley Boyz at WrestleMania), sending the Dudleys fleeing to the back.
In-ring Segment
Charlotte is in the ring, and calls out Sasha Banka and Becky Lynch, her opponents she will defend her Divas Championship against at WrestleMania 32. Charlotte insults Banks and Lynch, and it leads to the challengers arguing about who deserves the title more. After realizing that this is what Charlotte wanted, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch attack Charlotte and stand tall at the end of the segment.
Kofi Kingston (w/The New Day) vs. Wade Barrett (w/The League of Nations)
At WrestleMania, The New Day will defend their WWE Tag Team Championship against the League of Nations, and this match might be a sign of what’s to come.
The League of Nations try to distract Kofi Kingston, but the New Day stops them, leading to Kingston rolling up Barrett for the win. Winner: Kofi Kingston
In-ring Segment
The Social Outcasts are sitting on the outside of the ring, debating which one of them will win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. They are interrupted by Dean Ambrose, who takes them all out with a kendo stick. After taking out the Social Outcasts, Ambrose challenges Brock Lesnar to a fight on Monday Night Raw.
Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
Owens and Styles have been facing each other at house shows all week with great reviews, so this match will likely be just as great.
The match was great, but Chris Jericho interrupted and distracted AJ Styles, leading to Owens hitting the Pop-Up Powerbomb for the win. Winner: Kevin Owens
After the match, Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Styles and keeps chanting “AJ Styles” while he is down. Jericho standing tall over Styles ends this episode of Smackdown.
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