WWE SmackDown's 20th Anniversary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
20th Anniversary of SmackDown
20YEARSOFSDLIVE.jpg
Promotional poster featuring Sting, Ember Moon, Randy Orton, Hulk Hogan, and Becky Lynch
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
DateOctober 4, 2019
CityLos Angeles, California
VenueStaples Center
Attendance17,558[1]
Tagline(s)We're All Superstars[2]
Celebrating 20 Years

SmackDown's 20th Anniversary, or the 20th Anniversary of SmackDown, was a special episode of WWE's weekly television program SmackDown that took place on October 4, 2019, and commemorated the program's 20th anniversary. It was broadcast live on Fox, and marked the SmackDown's return to Friday nights (thus it was renamed to Friday Night SmackDown);

The broadcast featured current WWE wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands as well as Hall of Famers and Legends from the past.[3] The main event saw Brock Lesnar defeat Kofi Kingston to win the WWE Championship for a fifth time in what was Lesnar's first match on the brand in 15 years. On the undercard, Kevin Owens defeated Shane McMahon in a ladder match resulting in Shane being (kayfabe) fired, Roman Reigns defeated Erick Rowan in a lumberjack match, and Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks in the opening bout.

The event also saw Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's first appearance on SmackDown in over five years,[4] and the WWE debut of mixed martial artist Cain Velasquez and professional boxer Tyson Fury.

Background[]

Production[]

SmackDown! made its debut as a professional wrestling television special for the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) on UPN on April 29, 1999, and made its debut as a weekly program for the network on August 26. Over the years it had shifted networks; before its move to Fox, SmackDown had previously aired on some Fox affiliates that had UPN programming before become The CW in 2006 and its sister syndication service MyNetworkTV from October 2008 to September 2010.[5][6]

On June 26, 2018, WWE announced that SmackDown would move to Fox on Friday nights beginning in 2019, under a five-year contract valued at $205 million per-year. Amid a competitive bidding situation, NBCUniversal and USA Network chose to focus on retaining Raw. The move to pursue SmackDown came as part of Fox's increasing focus on live sports programming and non-scripted entertainment, in the wake of the then-upcoming sale of its film and television studios to Disney. The network's founder Rupert Murdoch promised extensive promotion of the program during its sports telecasts, and proposed a weekly WWE studio show on its cable network FS1.[7][8]

On September 26, 2019, WWE announced that Michael Cole would be returning to SmackDown for the first time since 2008 to lead the commentary team alongside his former Raw colleagues Corey Graves and Renee Young.[9] The following night, Fox aired a special, SmackDown's Greatest Hits, which featured memorable moments from the program's 20-year history.[10] Booker T and Young hosted a half-hour kickoff special prior to the premiere, joined by Fox Sports reporter Charissa Thompson as "blue carpet" correspondent.[11]

Storylines[]

The show included six matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[12][13] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live (with this broadcast renaming the latter to Friday Night SmackDown).[14]

At Clash of Champions, Kofi Kingston defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship.[15] On the following SmackDown, after The New Day (Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods) defeated the team of Orton and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) in a six-man tag team match, Brock Lesnar (accompanied by Paul Heyman) returned and challenged Kingston for the WWE Championship, which Kingston accepted.[16]

On the September 9 episode of Raw, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair defeated The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) in a tag team match, after Lynch and Flair were attacked by the two the previous week.[17] At Clash of Champions, Lynch retained her Raw Women's Championship against Banks by disqualification, while Bayley retained her SmackDown Women's Championship against Flair.[15] On the following Raw during a tag team match against WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, Banks and Bayley were attacked with steel chairs by Lynch and Flair.[18] On the September 24 episode of SmackDown, a tag team match pitting Lynch and Flair against The Boss 'n' Hug Connection was scheduled for October 4.[19] Prior to the announcement on the September 16 episode of Raw, after Banks and Bayley were attacked by Flair and Lynch, Banks challenged Lynch to a rematch for the Raw Women's Championship at Hell in a Cell, and Lynch accepted as a Hell in a Cell match.[20]

Over the summer of 2019, Kevin Owens became furious with Shane McMahon due to the latter taking up more and more screen time each week from other wrestlers and exerting even more authority, which was in contradiction to what The McMahon Family (Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Triple H) had promised several months prior. Despite Shane's attempts to ban Owens from SmackDown, Owens would nevertheless show up and attack Shane at opportune moments.[21] During Raw Reunion on July 22, Owens challenged Shane to a match at SummerSlam and said he would quit the WWE if he were to lose,[22] and Shane accepted.[23] Owens went on to defeat Shane at the event.[24] Two nights later on SmackDown, Shane fined Owens US$100,000 for attacking a designated official, Elias, who was again appointed as the special guest enforcer for Owens' match against Samoa Joe where Elias cost Owens the match by making a fast three count.[25] Owens then tried to sympathize with Shane to lift the fine. Shane said he would consider it, but then cost Owens his King of the Ring tournament match against Elias by taking over as ref and making a fast three count.[26] Shane then replaced Elias, who got injured, in the King of the Ring semi-finals against Chad Gable and promised that he would lift Owens' fine as long as Owens was the referee for the match and "did his job correctly". Gable made quick work of Shane, pinning him in under a minute. Shane then made the match a two out of three falls match and attacked Owens, but Gable made Shane submit to win. Despite Owens calling the match fairly, Shane fired him.[27] Owens then threatened Shane with a lawsuit for wrongful termination as Shane had attacked a designated official (Owens).[16] Shane gave Owens two options: if Owens pursued the lawsuit, he would keep Owens in court indefinitely, but if Owens dropped the lawsuit, he would be reinstated but still have to pay the fine. Owens instead challenged Shane to a ladder match where if Shane won, Owens would drop the lawsuit and leave the WWE for good, but if Owens won, Shane would be gone and Shane accepted.[28]

Prior to SummerSlam, Erick Rowan had attacked Roman Reigns backstage and lied about it. When Reigns found footage that showed Rowan as the culprit,[29] this caused Rowan and Daniel Bryan to split their tag team due to Rowan lying, and a match between Reigns and Rowan was scheduled for Clash of Champions.[30] Rowan then defeated Reigns in a No Disqualification match at Clash of Champions thanks to the returning Luke Harper, reforming their tag team.[15] A rematch between Rowan and Reigns was scheduled for October 4 as a lumberjack match.[31] Prior to the announcement on the September 24 episode of SmackDown, Reigns and Bryan challenged Rowan and Harper to a tag team match at Hell in a Cell which was made official.[32]

Despite being advertised for the show and arriving backstage, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Sting did not appear on the broadcast, with Undertaker later posting on his official Instagram page that he "wasn't needed."[33]

Event[]

The event opened with Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch praising SmackDown only for King Corbin to interrupt, followed by The Rock. After exchanging verbal insults, Lynch and Rock attacked Corbin with multiple punches. Lynch performed a leg drop on Corbin, while Rock followed up with The People's Elbow and the Rock Bottom on Corbin to end the segment.[1]

Preliminary matches[]

In the first match, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair faced Sasha Banks and SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley. In the end, Flair forced Bayley to submit to the Figure-Eight Leglock to win the match.[1]

Next was a champion versus champion match with Universal Champion Seth Rollins against Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in Rollins' first match on SmackDown since 2016. Before the match began, Bray Wyatt appeared in the Firefly Fun House and taunted Rollins about their match at Hell in a Cell. The match ended in a no-contest when Wyatt as The Fiend appeared and attacked Rollins with The Mandible Claw with The Fiend throwing Rollins off the stage.[1]

After that was the ladder match between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon with both of their jobs on the line. Shane dominated at the beginning of the match by striking Owens with multiple objects and performing an elbow drop on Owens through the announce table. Owens then performed a frog splash on Shane through a ladder. In the end, as Shane ascended the ladder, Owens caught him with a Powerbomb through a ladder. Owens then climbed the ladder and retrieved the briefcase to win the match. As per the stipulation, Shane was (kayfabe) fired.[1]

After that, Braun Strowman, The Miz, and Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker) faced Randy Orton, United States Champion AJ Styles, and Raw Tag Team Champions Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler in an eight-man tag team match. In the end, Strowman performed a powerslam on Ziggler to win the match. During the match, Strowman had taunted boxing star Tyson Fury, who was seated in the front row. After the match, Fury jumped the barricade but was restrained by security.[1]

In a backstage segment, DJ Marshmello tripped and fell on top of Carmella, thus pinning her to win the WWE 24/7 Championship. Additional footage was shown on WWE's website and social medias showing Carmella winning back the title.[1]

In the penultimate match, Roman Reigns faced Erick Rowan in a lumberjack match. In the end, Reigns performed a Spear on Rowan to win the match.[1]

Main event[]

In the main event, Kofi Kingston defended the WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar (accompanied by Paul Heyman)—Lesnar's first match on television in 15 years. As Kingston ran and leapt at Lesnar, Lesnar caught him and performed an F-5 to win the title in eight seconds. Following the match, Rey Mysterio, who Lesnar had brutally attacked on the previous Raw (along with Mysterio's son Dominik)[34] came out with Cain Velasquez (making his WWE debut), who had defeated Lesnar by technical knockout to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 121 in October 2010. Velasquez entered the ring and attacked Lesnar with numerous body shots until Lesnar retreated.[1]

Aftermath[]

In a backstage interview after SmackDown went off the air, Cain Velasquez stated that he came for revenge from Brock Lesnar for what he did to Rey Mysterio's son Dominik,[35] who was later revealed to be Velasquez's godson.[36] Afterwards, it was announced that Lesnar would defend the WWE Championship against Velasquez at Crown Jewel.[37]

Due to Charlotte Flair making Bayley submit in the tag team match, Flair was granted a match for the SmackDown Women's Championship against Bayley at Hell in a Cell.[38]

On the following Raw, Tyson Fury appeared, wanting an apology from Braun Strowman. Strowman claimed he was just messing around on SmackDown until Fury seemed to indicate that he wanted to fight. After some verbal insults, a massive brawl broke out between the two that had to be separated by security and other wrestlers.[36] A match between the two was scheduled for Crown Jewel.[37]

Results[]

No. Results[1] Stipulations Times[1]
1 Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks Tag team match[19] 8:15
2 Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ended in a no contest Singles match N/A
3 Kevin Owens defeated Shane McMahon Career vs. Career Ladder match[39]
A briefcase full of legal documents was hung above the ring, the winner was the first to grab the case, and the loser was fired. 		12:00
4 Braun Strowman, The Miz, and Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker) defeated AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode Eight-man tag team match 3:10
5 Roman Reigns defeated Erick Rowan Lumberjack match[31][Note 1] 9:20
6 Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) defeated Kofi Kingston (c) Singles match for the WWE Championship[40] 0:08
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  1. ^ The lumberjacks were: Ali, Andrade, Apollo Crews, Bo Dallas, Cesaro, Cedric Alexander, Chad Gable, Curtis Axel, Curt Hawkins, Dash Wilder, Erik, Heath Slater, Karl Anderson, Ivar, Luke Gallows, No Way Jose, Ricochet, Scott Dawson, Shelton Benjamin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Titus O'Neil, and Zack Ryder.

See also[]

  • List of WWE SmackDown special episodes

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Powell, Jason (4 October 2019). "10/04 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of The Rock's return, Kofi Kingston vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship, Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon in a career vs. career ladder match, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks and Bayley". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  2. ^ ""We're All Superstars": New Campaign Launches WWE's Friday Night Smackdown on FOX | Fox Sports PressPass". foxsports.com. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  3. ^ "Steve Austin Added To The WWE SmackDown FOX Premiere". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  4. ^ Pedersen, Erik (2019-09-30). "Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Rolls Back To WWE For Fox's 'SmackDown!' Debut". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  5. ^ Wallenstein, Andrew (2008-02-08). "CW, "SmackDown" Part Ways". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  6. ^ "MyNetworkTV Crowns WWE Its New Programming Champ". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  7. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (2019-08-20). "WWE's 'NXT' Moves to USA Network as Wrestling Competition Heats Up". Variety. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  8. ^ "How Fox Bodyslammed Rivals to Win WWE Rights". The Hollywood Reporter. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  9. ^ "WWE TV schedule: Changes to announce teams for Raw and SmackDown, new WWE Backstage studio show". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  10. ^ Rueter, Sean (2019-09-13). "Fox and TNT to air hype shows ahead of SmackDown and AEW premieres". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  11. ^ Hernandez, Kristian. "Behind the Mic: WWE Steps Into the Ring on Friday Night With New Backstage Crew". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  12. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (2006-01-13). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  13. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  14. ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  15. ^ a b c Powell, Jason (15 September 2019). "WWE Clash of Champions results: Powell's live review of Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship, Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks for the Raw Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  16. ^ a b Barnett, Jake (September 17, 2019). "9/17 WWE Smackdown Live Results: Barnett's review of New Day vs. Randy Orton and The Revival, Baron Corbin's King of the Ring coronation, Erick Rowan's sit-down interview, Shane McMahon addressing the firing of Kevin Owens". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  17. ^ "WWE Raw Live Results - September 9, 2019". WrestleTalk. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  18. ^ "WWE Raw Live Results - September 16, 2019". WrestleTalk. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  19. ^ a b "Four Horsewomen tag rematch set for WWE SmackDown's FOX debut". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  20. ^ "9/16 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Chad Gable vs. Baron Corbin in King of the Ring tournament finals, the Street Profits hosting a gender reveal party for Maria Kanellis's baby, the begin of the Hell in a Cell build". 16 September 2019.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (July 16, 2019). "7/16 WWE Smackdown Live results: Powell's review of Shane McMahon's town hall meeting, Daniel Bryan's career altering announcement, The IIconics vs. Asuka and Kairi Sane for the Smackdown Tag Titles, Ember Moon and a mystery partner vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  22. ^ Powell, Jason (July 22, 2019). "7/22 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review Raw Reunion featuring Steve Austin, Ric Flair, DX, Hulk Hogan, and many more, Alexa Bliss talkshow with Becky Lynch, the build to SummerSlam continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  23. ^ Powell, Jason (July 23, 2019). "7/23 WWE Smackdown Live results: Powell's review of Kofi Kingston's challenger for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam, Shawn Michaels on guest commentary, Ember Moon vs. Charlotte Flair, Shane McMahon to address Kevin Owens". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  24. ^ Powell, Jason (11 August 2019). "WWE SummerSlam results: Powell's live review of Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship, Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon, Trish Stratus vs. Charlotte Flair, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  25. ^ Barnett, Jake (August 13, 2019). "8/13 WWE Smackdown Live Results: Barnett's review of Roman Reigns vs. Buddy Murphy, Charlotte Flair vs. Ember Moon, SummerSlam fallout". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  26. ^ Powell, Jason (August 20, 2019). "8/20 WWE Smackdown Live results: Powell's review of Daniel Bryan vs. Buddy Murphy, Kevin Owens vs. Elias and Apollo Crews vs. Andrade in first round King of the Ring tournament matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  27. ^ Barnett, Jake (September 10, 2019). "9/10 WWE Smackdown Live Results: Barnett's review of Undertaker's appearance, final hype for Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton at WWE Clash of Champions, The Miz vs. Andrade". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  28. ^ Barnett, Jake (September 24, 2019). "9/24 WWE Smackdown Live Results: Barnett's review of the last USA Network broadcast, Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan meet to clear the air, Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair and Carmella, the build to HIAC continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  29. ^ Barnett, Jake (August 27, 2019). "8/27 WWE Smackdown Live Results: Barnett's review of Ali vs. Buddy Murphy and Chad Gable vs. Shelton Benjamin in first round King of the Ring matches, Daniel Bryan and Rowan demand an apology from Roman Reigns". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  30. ^ Powell, Jason (September 3, 2019). "9/3 WWE Smackdown Live Results: Powell's review of Ali vs. Elias and Chad Gable vs. Andrade in quarterfinal King of the Ring tournament matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  31. ^ a b "WWE Adds Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan To SmackDown 20th Anniversary Special On FOX | EWrestling". ewrestling.com. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  32. ^ "9/24 WWE Smackdown Live Results: Barnett's review of the last USA Network broadcast, Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan meet to clear the air, Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair and Carmella, the build to HIAC continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  33. ^ "Fans Upset After Steve Austin No-Show at WWE SmackDown -- Chanted 'AEW'". 5 October 2019.
  34. ^ Powell, Jason (September 30, 2019). "9/30 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Seth Rollins vs. Rusev for the WWE Universal Championship, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler vs. Heavy Machinery for the Raw Tag Titles, AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander for the U.S. Championship, Miz TV with Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  35. ^ WWE (October 4, 2019). Cain Velasquez here for Brock Lesnar: SmackDown Exclusive, Oct. 4, 2019. YouTube. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  36. ^ a b Powell, Jason (October 7, 2019). "10/07 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of the Hell in a Cell followup with Seth Rollins and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, WWE Women's Tag Champions Kairi Sane and Asuka vs. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, Randy Orton vs. Rusev, Tyson Fury's appearance". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  37. ^ a b Keller, Wade (October 11, 2019). "WWE adds two big matches to Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 31 – Lesnar vs. Velasquez and Strowman vs. Tyson Fury". PW Torch. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  38. ^ Toro, Carlos (October 4, 2019). "Bayley vs. Charlotte Announced For Hell In A Cell, Updated Card". Fightful. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  39. ^ "Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon to put careers on the line in Ladder Match". WWE. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  40. ^ "Kofi Kingston accepts Brock Lesnar's challenge for Friday Night SmackDown debut on FOX". WWE. Retrieved 2019-09-26.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""