WWE SmackDown live results: Brock Lesnar returns
Brock Lesnar returns on tonight’s SmackDown from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Last week, Kayla Braxton mentioned the rumors that Lesnar’s indefinite suspension was ending. A furious Paul Heyman mocked her and demanded that she get confirmation by the end of the show.
Later in the night, Braxton had breaking news that management had lifted Lesnar’s suspension — and he would be making his return tonight.
Sami Zayn won the Black Friday battle royal last week to determine Reigns’ next challenger. Zayn got knocked to the floor during the battle royal but went under the bottom rope. Jeff Hardy appeared to win after throwing out Happy Corbin, but Zayn jumped back in to eliminate Hardy.
Reigns, Heyman, and The Usos seemed happy that Zayn won, but the announcement then came that Lesnar was no longer suspended.
Xavier Woods vs. Jey Uso and Cesaro vs. Sheamus are also set for tonight. Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
They recapped last week’s Black Friday Battle Royal. It highlighted Drew McIntrye not being allowed to participate, Sami Zayn winning, and Kayla Braxton’s announcement about Brock Lesnar returning.
Brock Lesnar Segment
This was a good opening segment. Lesnar and Zayn were good in their roles.
Michael noted Lesnar paid his $1 million fine. The fans broke into a loud “Suplex City” chant. Lesnar said he’s back for the Universal Championship. He was about to explain how he got out of his suspension.
Suddenly, Sami Zayn interrupted and made his way to the ring. Zayn claimed they have a lot in common and mentioned they’re both Canadian. He praised Lesnar’s hairstyle as well.
Lesnar admitted he’s not sure he knows who Zayn is. Lensar noted he hunts in Saskatchewan and threatened Zayn.
Zayn explained that he’s the number one contender. Lesnar laughed that he got suspended, and Zayn became the number one contender.
Zayn promised to give Lensar a title shot after defeating Roman Reigns at Day One. Lesnar wondered why Zayn is waiting until Day One when he can get the title shot tonight.
Zayn turned down the idea, but Lesnar wouldn’t back down. He got in Zayn’s face and demanded that he take his title shot tonight. Zayn backed down but thanked Lesnar for the advice.
Zayn touched Lesnar, so Lesnar grabbed his hand. Lesnar twisted Zayn’s hand until he agreed to challenge Reigns tonight.
Lesnar promised to be by Zayn’s side. Zayn became somewhat confident and vowed to win the Universal title.
In the back, Zayn spoke with Sonya Deville. Deville noted Adam Pearce isn’t at the building. Zayn admitted he put his foot in his mouth when he agreed to the match. Zayn wants the match on another night.
Lesnar approached, and Zayn tried getting out of the match again. Deville thinks Zayn against Reigns is a good idea. Lesnar added that he takes on the winner at Day One. Reigns against Zayn is official for later.
Sasha Banks defeated Shayna Baszler (8:56)
Banks and Baszler had a good match. They both worked hard and told a good story.
They recapped Baszler injuring Nia Jax and Eva Marie. Pat McAfee called it a future endeavor kick.
Banks had the early advantage. She tried running up the ropes, but Baszler caught her in the Kirifuda Clutch. Banks broke free and sent Baszler to the floor. She went for a sliding dropkick, but Baszler caught her again.
Banks fought back and hit a Meteora off the apron.
Back from the break, Baszler rocked Banks with a vicious knee in the corner. She followed up with a gut-wrench slam for a near fall.
Baszler taunted Banks. Banks fired up and ran the ropes into an arm drag. She then hit double knees in the corner for a close two-count. Banks followed up with a Tornado DDT for another close two-count.
The fans broke into a loud “Let’s go, Sasha” chant. Baszler missed a knee in the corner. Banks tried to roll up Baszler, but she got caught in the Kirifuda Clutch. Banks rolled through and locked on the Bank Statment.
Baszler broke free and rocked Banks with another vicious knee. Baszler went for another gut-wrench, but Banks rolled through and pinned Baszler for the win.
In the back, Sonya Deville spoke with Adam Pearce on her phone. Pearce was worried about the main event and noted he didn’t lift Lesnar’s suspension. Pearce decided it’s not a good idea to show up tonight.
Drew McIntrye approached and was upset that he wasn’t in the battle royal last week. Deville noted that was Pearce’s decision. He told Deville to tell Pearce that he’s looking for him.
Happy Talk
This was a fine segment.
Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss hosted another edition of Happy Talk. Corbin and Moss discussed the battle royal last week. They talked about eliminating a bunch of wrestlers. Corbin mentioned he pranked Moss when he eliminated him.
Moss was serious at first but then started laughing. Corbin said Jeff Hardy fried so many brain cells that he didn’t realize that Sami Zayn was still in the battle royal. Corbin and Moss told some bad jokes about Hardy and Drew McIntrye. They made fun of McIntrye for not being in the battle royal.
McIntrye came out with Angela and pointed his sword at Corbin. Moss jumped out of the ring to confront McIntrye. Hardy jumped in the ring and hit the twist of fate on Corbin. Moss ran into the ring, but Hardy hit a twist of fate on him as well.
McIntrye ran in and hit the Claymore kick on the heels. McIntrye and Hardy posed to end the segment.
Michael Cole announced that Xia Li debuts next week. They showed another creative comic book-style video.
Los Lotharios defeated The Viking Raiders (1:36)
This was an okay match but they only went about a minute. They also messed up the finish waiting for Nakamura and Boogs to interfere.
The Viking Raiders had the early advantage when Erik slammed down Angel. Erik then slammed Ivar on Angel for a near fall. The heels regained control when Humberto moved Angel out of Ivar’s senton. Humberto then rocked Ivar with a suicide dive.
The heels then went for their finisher, but Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs showed up. Time stood still as the Los Lotharios and Erik had to wait for Nakamura and Boogs to set up on the announce table.
Boogs played his guitar to distract the heels. Erik rocked Angel with a clothesline, but Humberto rolled up Erik for the win.
After the match, The Viking Raiders were mad at Nakamura and Boogs. Boogs then played the Raiders entrance music and they were friends again.
They recapped Charlotte Flair hitting Toni Storm with two pies last week.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Storm backstage. Storm noted she’s the girl that got hit in the face with two pies. She promised to defeat Flair for the SmackDown Women’s title and issued a challenge.
King Xavier Woods defeated Jey Uso (w/Jimmy Uso) via DQ (2:02)
This was an okay match with a weak finish. The match only got two minutes and didn’t get a chance to develop.
Before the match, The Usos addressed Sami Zayn taking on Roman Reigns. They mocked Zayn for being scared of Lesnar. The Usos noted that Reigns is going to smash Zayn and then Lesnar.
The fans loved The Usos. They broke in two loud “Uso” chants during the promo.
King Woods came out and noted he still doesn’t have his crown. However, he does have something for the fans and introduced the hand of the king, Kofi Kingston.
Jey hit a back suplex into a neck breaker to gain the early advantage. He missed a splash in the corner, and Woods fought back. Woods rocked Uso with a rolling clothesline and hit a big forearm.
Woods climbed to the top rope, but Jimmy Uso interfered for the disqualification. After the match, The Usos and New Day got into a wild brawl.
They showed Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman watching in his locker room. Reigns noted Kingston’s back, and Pearce isn’t there. Reigns realized there are lots of things he doesn’t know.
He asked Heyman if he knew Lesnar would show up tonight. Heyman claimed he didn’t know. Reigns promised to smash Zayn and Lesnar if he gets in his way.
In the back, New Day spoke with Aliyah. They called over Kayla Braxton and promised to defeat The Usos at Day One and become the new tag team champions.
Charlotte Flair Segment
This was a fine segment. Flair and Toni Storm’s entire feud revolves around title shots and pies.
Charlotte Flair came to the ring to address Toni Storm’s challenge. Flair mocked Storm and noted number one doesn’t talk about number two.
Flair noted that Storm was the talk of the town because she hit her in the face with two pies. Flair pointed out that Storm can wash off the pie but not the stink of embarrassment. Flair said she’s all about uplifting the women on the roster. Flair considered Storm’s challenge but turned her down again. Flair walked off and posed on the stage.
Suddenly, Toni Storm appeared and hit Flair with a pie to the face. Storm celebrated and laughed at Flair. Flair screamed for a tissue. Storm did get her revenge but there might be better ways to make her a strong challenger.
They showed a Ricochet vignette.
Sheamus defeated Cesaro (3:47)
Sheamus and Cesaro had a good hard-hitting match while it lasted.
Michael Cole noted Sheamus told Ridge Holland to stay in the back. They showed Holland watching backstage.
Sheamus and Cesaro rocked each other with uppercuts at the start of the match. Sheamus took over and slowed the pace down with a chin lock.
Cesaro broke free and hit a series of forearms. He sent Sheamus over the top rope with a clothesline and followed up with a vicious running uppercut against the barricade.
Sheamus rocked Cesaro with a knee as he entered the ring. Sheamus regained control and beat down Cesaro. He mocked Cesaro and praised Holland. Cesaro yelled that Sheamus was like his brother and rocked him with a clothesline. Sheamus recovered and hit the Brogue Kick on Cesaro for the win.
Throughout the night, they showed a graphic for Day One of Reigns vs. Lesnar or Zayn vs. Lesnar. The fans popped for Reigns vs. Lesnar but booed Zayn vs. Lesnar.
Sami Zayn made his entrance for the main event.
In the back, Naomi approached Sonya Deville in her office. Naomi couldn’t enjoy her win last week because Deville was trying to kill her glow.
Naomi challenged Deville to another match. Deville eventually accepted Naomi’s challenge and slapped her in the face. Naomi got in Deville’s face but didn’t do anything.
They recapped Raw. They announced Big E. vs Kevin Owens in a steel cage for Raw on Monday in addition to Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan.
Sami Zayn/Brock Lesnar Segment
Before the match, Zayn took the mic and noted this might be the biggest night of his career. He promised to win the title, but he won’t thank the fans. The only person he has to thank is Lesnar. Zayn said he didn’t want to win the title in Texas, but Lesnar convinced him to take the title shot.
Lesnar came to the ring. Zayn praised Lesnar and noted he’d have a better chance against him than Roman Reigns. Zayn pointed out that Lesnar has a bad track record against Reigns. Lesnar snapped and attacked Zayn. He gave him a series of German suplexes and hit the F-5.
The fans broke into a loud “One more time” chant. Lesnar agreed and gave Zayn another F-5.
Lesnar picked up Zayn and placed him in the corner. Cole and McAfee pushed that Lesnar doesn’t want Zayn to win and wants to face Reigns at Day One. Eventually, Zayn fell back down in the corner.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns (w/Paul Heyman & The Usos) defeated Sami Zayn to retain the title (:16)
This was basically a squash match with an angle to set up the Day One main event.
Cole claimed that Reigns is embarrassed that Lesnar beat up Zayn for him. He added that Lesnar wants to beat Reigns for the title.
The Usos picked up Zayn and placed him back in the corner. The bell rang, Reigns hit the spear and locked on the guillotine submission for the win in 16 seconds. Reigns and The Usos celebrated to end SmackDown.
Roman Reigns defending against Brock Lesnar is official for Day One.
Next week: Jeff Hardy goes one-on-one with Happy Corbin. Naomi takes on Sonya Deville, and Xia Li makes her debut.