WWE SmackDown live results: Final build to Survivor Series
SmackDown’s go-home show for Survivor Series takes place at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut tonight.
Last week, Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Xavier Woods ended in a disqualification after The Usos interfered. Reigns had promised to bend the knee if he lost to Woods. After the match, Reigns posed in the ring on one knee as The Usos placed Woods’ crown on his head.
Reigns takes on WWE Champion Big E in a non-title match at Survivor Series this Sunday.
Sasha Banks goes one-on-one with Shotzi tonight. Shotzi attacked Banks a couple of weeks ago and gave her a vicious beatdown to set up the match. Banks and Shotzi are both members of SmackDown’s Survivor Series women’s team.
It will be Banks, Shotzi, Shayna Baszler, Natalya & Toni Storm vs. Raw’s Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Carmella & Zelina Vega on Sunday.
The final member of SmackDown’s men’s team will be determined by a fatal four-way match on tonight’s show. Ricochet, Cesaro, Sheamus, and Jinder Mahal will face off in the match. The winner will join Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy, Woods, and Baron Corbin on Team SmackDown. They’ll be facing Raw’s Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley & Austin Theory at Survivor Series.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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They recapped the Roman Reigns and King Xavier Woods match from last week. It highlighted Reigns posing on one knee while the Usos placed Woods’ crown on his head.
Roman Reigns And The Usos Segment
The Usos were already in the ring to start SmackDown. They set the ring up with a throne, scepter, and crown. Jimmy noted Roman Reigns is about to come to the ring, and they have a surprise for him.
First, they addressed their match against RK-Bro at the Survivor Series on Sunday. The Usos then gave Reigns a grand introduction, and he walked to the ring with Paul Heyman. The fans gave Reigns a mixed reaction.
Heyman took the mic and noted they worked on the surprise all week. He praised Reigns and called him the true king.
Heyman believes the fans agree that the title of King doesn’t belong to Xavier Woods, Brock Lesnar, or Big E. He promised that Reigns would smash Big E at the Survivor Series.
Reigns took the mic and asked who’s idea it was to set the ring up with a throne and crown. Heyman pointed at the Usos.
Reigns noted he took the crown last week but didn’t need it. Reigns demanded the fans acknowledge him, and he got a mixed reaction with lots of cheers.
Woods music hit, and he walked out onto the stage. Woods noted having the crown doesn’t make him the king. He told Reigns to meet him face to face without the Usos to prove that he’s a real man.
Woods claimed he didn’t care about the crown and the other stuff in the ring. Reigns didn’t believe him and had the Usos destroy the scepter and throne. Reigns mocked Woods and questioned him again. Reigns placed the crown on the ground and went to stomp it, but Woods ran into the ring.
The Usos jumped Woods and beat him down in the corner. Reigns got in Woods’s face and noted he’s the one and only king. Reigns also doesn’t need props. Reigns then stomped on the crown.
They recapped Jeff Hardy defeating Sami Zayn last week. Michael Cole noted there’s one spot left on Team SmackDown.
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed King Woods. He promised to confront Reigns in the ring later tonight.
Fatal Four-Way Match Winner Added To Team SmackDown: Sheamus defeated Ricochet, Cesaro, and Jinder Mahal (w/Shanky) (10:59)
This was a good opener and a fun fatal four-way.
Sheamus backed Ricochet into the corner while Cesaro brawled with Mahal on the other side of the ring. Sheamus and Cesaro went face-to-face, but Mahal jumped Cesaro. The heels worked together against Cesaro. Sheamus dumped Cesaro out of the ring, and the heels isolated Ricochet.
Mahal set up Ricochet so Sheamus could beat him in the chest. Sheamus started hitting Ricochet, but Mahal rolled Sheamus up for a near fall. Sheamus recovered and beat Mahal in the chest instead. Cesaro jumped Sheamus and went for the giant swing, but Sheamus broke free.
Ricochet took out Sheamus with a springboard dropkick. He then sent Cesaro outside the ring and hit a huge dive onto all opponents on the floor.
Back from the break, Ricochet and Cesaro fought on the top rope. Sheamus and Mahal fought on the top rope on the other side. Time froze for a second as Sheamus gave Mahal a superplex. Ricochet then gave Cesaro a hurricanrana off the top rope.
Sheamus went for a power slam, but Ricochet countered with a DDT. He followed up with a standing shooting star press for a near fall. Mahal took out Ricochet, but Cesaro caught him in the giant swing. Cesareo transitioned into the Sharpshooter.
Ricochet took out Shanky at ringside and calmly stepped into the ring. He rocked Cesaro with kicks to break the hold. In an awesome spot, Ricochet hit the 630 splash on Mahal but walked into the Brogue kick from Sheamus.
Cesaro broke up the pin attempt, but Sheamus fought back. Sheamus leaped off the top rope, but Cesaro caught him with an uppercut. Ridge Holland ran down to ringside and tried to distract Cesaro.
Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick, but Cesaro avoided and rolled him up for a near fall. Holland interfered again, and Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Cesaro for the win. Sheamus joins Team SmackDown at the Survivor Series.
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed Jeff Hardy. Hardy praised Drew McIntrye and is excited to be his partner. He’s also certain that King Woods is going to get revenge on Roman Reigns. Hardy turned his attention to Happy Corbin.
Corbin and Madcap Moss approached and made a bad joke about Hardy. Adam Pearce walked up and was frustrated they weren’t taking this seriously. He announced Hardy vs. Moss for later tonight.
In the back, Megan Morant spoke with Sheamus and Ridge Holland. Sheamus mentioned Holland praising him the last few weeks. Holland praised Sheamus again and called him his idol. Holland noted if anyone has a problem with them, they can find them at the pub.
Michael Cole and Pat McAfee discussed the Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch Survivor Series match. Cole claimed everyone in the media is talking about this feud.
They showed an excellent video package on the Flair and Lynch feud. It mentioned their friendship and becoming bitter rivals. It included the controversial segment where Flair didn’t hand over the belt to Lynch.
Shayna Baszler & Natalya defeated Naomi & Aliyah (1:01)
This was a bad match. They got no time, and the finish came out of nowhere. It seemed like a fast count from the referee, but that wasn’t clear at the time.
They recapped Aliyah pinning Natalya last week and Deville removing her from Team SmackDown.
Natalya backed Aliyah in the corner. Aliyah fought back and caught Natalya with a unique hurricanrana. The faces briefly ran wild on the heels. Baszler backed Naomi in their corner. Suddenly, Natalya pinned Naomi with a fast count from the referee.
In the back, Sami Zayn complained to Sonya Deville about the conspiracy against him. Deville pointed out that was Adam Pearce and not her. Deville noted Survivor Series is the 25th anniversary of The Rock’s debut. Deville announced a 25-man battle royal and put Zayn in the match. She claimed that Zayn would be on Rock’s level if he won.
The referee approached Deville and asked if she did a good job. Deville claimed not to know the referee and said she doesn’t associate with crooked referees.
Jeff Hardy (w/Drew McIntrye) defeated Madcap Moss (w/Happy Corbin) (1:28)
Hardy and Moss didn’t get any time either, and the finish came out of nowhere.
Before the match, Hardy noted the odds were against him, so he brought out McIntrye to be in his corner. McIntyre gave his sword to Pat McAfee to take care of during the match.
Moss jumped Hardy for the early advantage. Hardy fought back and hit the basement dropkick. He followed up with the twist of fate and climbed the top rope. Corbin interfered, but McIntrye attacked him and threw him over the announce table.
Hardy tried to recover, but Moss cut him off. Hardy then rolled up Moss with a small package for the win.
After the match, McIntrye gave Corbin the Claymore Kick, and Hardy hit the Swanton Bomb.
In the back, Kayla Braxton approached Paul Heyman. Heyman noted that Roman Reigns doesn’t need the Usos. He then accepted Woods’s challenge for later.
Non-title match: Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (w/Rick Boogs) defeated Angel (w/Humberto) (1:46)
Nakamura and Angel had another quick match that didn’t get a chance to develop.
Angel rocked Nakamura with a dropkick at the bell. On commentary, Michael Cole noted Los Lotharios were upset that People magazine named Paul Rudd the Sexiest Man Alive, and they showed a photoshopped cover featuring Los Lotharios instead.
Nakamura sent Angel to the floor and caught him with a knee off the apron. Humberto grabbed Nakamura’s leg, but Boogs grabbed him and gave him a suplex on the floor. Nakamura then hit the Kinshasa on Angel for the win.
In the back, Shotzi and Sasha Banks got in each other’s face. Sonya Deville made them promise to shake hands after their match.
Sasha Banks defeated Shotzi (11:05)
Banks and Shotzi had a fine match that dragged at times. The fans were pretty dead by this point.
Banks and Shotzi pushed each other at the start of the match. Banks took over and hit the Three Amigos suplexes. The fans broke into a brief “Eddie” chant. Banks went for the frog splash, but Shotzi avoided the move.
They brawled at ringside. Shotzi trapped Banks’ arm in the steps and stomped on it several times. Shotzi had the brief advantage until Banks fought back and hit a Meteora off the apron.
Back from the break, Banks was firmly in control. Shotzi fought back and attacked the arm to take over. Banks recovered and sent Shotzi headfirst into the turnbuckle. She followed up with the double knees and the Meteora for a close near fall.
Shotzi attacked the arm again and hit the sliced bread for a near fall. Shotzi continued to target the arm and threw Banks into the ring post. She followed up with the ball pit, but Banks rolled to the floor.
Banks recovered and locked on the Bank Statement for the win. After the match, Banks and Shotzi shook hands, but Banks then hit the backstabber. Banks walked off and noted to Sonya Deville that she shook her hand.
In the back, Paul Heyman told Roman Reigns it’s time to head to the ring. Reigns told The Usos to stay in the back.
They promoted Xia Li’s upcoming debut with an awesome comic book-style video. It told the story of Li’s father being the family protector until his death. The landlord was harassing the family, so Li took up her father’s role and beat up the landlord. This was similar to the short animated segment from Kill Bill Vol.1.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Toni Storm about joining Team SmackDown. They recapped Storm challenging Charlotte Flair last week. Storm demanded a title shot and mocked Flair. Flair approached and promised to deal with Storm after she defeats Becky Lynch on Sunday.
Roman Reigns-King Xavier Woods Confrontation
This was a good closing segment featuring Big E’s surprise appearance.
King Woods came to the ring. Woods noted The Usos interfered last week because Reigns can’t beat Woods on his own. Woods called out Reigns to prove him wrong.
Reigns walked to the ring with Paul Heyman. They stopped in front of the ring, and Heyman looked to the back. He called for the Usos, and Reigns smiled. However, The Usos didn’t come out.
Suddenly, Jey and Jimmy went flying out of the entrance. Woods stood in the ring with his arms crossed and a huge smile across his face. Big E’s music hit to a big pop from the fans. Big E and Reigns ran at each other and brawled around ringside.
Woods and Big E hugged in the ring and beat down Reigns together. The Usos recovered and ran into the ring, but Big E hit the Big Ending on both. Woods followed up with a dive wiping the Usos out. Reigns jumped back in and hit the Superman Punch on Big E.
Reigns set up for the spear, but Big E caught him in the Big Ending. Reigns slipped out the back and ran off. Big E posed in the ring with the WWE Championship while Reigns held up the Universal title in the aisle to end SmackDown.