WWE SmackDown live results: The Usos vs. The New Day
Tonight’s SmackDown from Indianapolis, Indiana features SmackDown’s fallout from Crown Jewel and the start of its build to Survivor Series.
A high-stakes tag team title match will kick off the episode. The Usos are defending their Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles against The New Day. If The Usos win, they’ll be poised to break New Day’s record and become the longest-reigning tag team champions in WWE history.
The Usos are coming off a successful title defense against The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland & Butch) at Crown Jewel.
The SmackDown World Cup tournament begins tonight with Santos Escobar taking on Shinsuke Nakamura in a first-round match. The tournament’s winner receives a future title shot against Intercontinental Champion Gunther.
Nakamura teamed up with Hit Row a few weeks ago to defeat Legado Del Fantasma, leading to tonight’s contest.
Plus, Raquel Rodriguez, Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan, Lacey Evans, Shotzi, and Xia Li compete in a six-pack challenge. The winner will become the number one contender for Ronda Rousey’s SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated New Day to retain the titles (23:51)
Not a surprise, but this match rocked. They worked a long match, so it started slow but picked up toward the end.
They showed Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, and Solo Sikoa watching from their locker room. Later, Michael Cole mentioned that Sami Zayn wasn’t at the show tonight.
The fans broke into an “Ucey” chant before the bell. There was a short “New Day Rocks” chant too. The Usos briefly isolated Kofi Kingston but New Day quickly took over. After sending The Usos to the floor, Kingston wiped them out with a trust fall dive.
Kingston and Jimmy were trading shots as they came back from the break. The Usos took over after Jey caught Kingston with a suicide dive. They cut Kingston off from his corner and beat him down.
The fans erupted into a loud “We want Sami” and “Sami Uso” chant. On commentary, Michael Cole mentioned that Sami Zayn’s not at SmackDown tonight because he’s dealing with a personal issue.
Jimmy slowed the pace down with a chin lock. Kingston broke free with a middle rope dropkick. He dumped Jimmy to the floor and fought off Jey. Kingston went to make the tag, but Jimmy pulled Xavier Woods off the apron.
Back from the break, Woods tagged in and dominated The Usos. He caught Jimmy with a side Russian leg sweep and scored a near fall on Jey. Woods and Kingston hit a series of moves on Jey ending with Woods hitting a top rope leg drop for a close two-count. Kingston hit the boom drop but missed the trouble in paradise. Jey made a blind tag, but Kingston hit the SOS for a near fall.
The Usos ran wild with double superkicks on New Day. They followed with the double-flying splash on Woods for a very close near fall. The Usos were frustrated. They set up for the 1 D, but Kingston pulled out Jimmy. First, New Day hit the midnight hour on Jimmy on the floor. In the ring, New Day hit the midnight hour on Jey for a very close two-count. The fans thought that was the finish.
The Usos and New Day met in the middle of the ring and traded shots. Jey sent Woods to the floor and took him out with a superkick into the timekeeper’s area.
Kingston fought off The Usos. The finish was incredible. Kingston dove off the top rope, but The Usos hit the 1 D in mid-air for the win.
Cole pushed that The Usos will become the longest reigning champions by Monday.
After the break, Reigns congratulated The Usos for their victory in the locker room. Reigns noted he had something to take care of tonight and needed them by his side. He’s going to deal with this in the ring. He hugged Jimmy and then gave Jey a slightly longer hug.
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World Cup First-Round Match: Santos Escobar (w/Zelina Vega, Cruz del Toro, and Joaquin Wilde) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (8:20)
Escobar vs. Nakamura was fun while it lasted. It wasn’t spectacular, but a solid 8-minute match. There was a ton of interference in setting up the finish.
Cole promoted Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Great Muta on New Year’s Day.
They went to a break after a minute of action. Escobar hit a dropkick, but Nakamura took over and tossed him into the barricade.
Nakamura rocked Escobar with an enziguri back from the break. After a flurry of offense, Nakamura hit the sliding German suplex off the middle rope. Escobar fought back by attacking Nakamura’s injured knee.
Legado del Fantasma caused a distraction. Nakamura recovered and took out the heels. Nakamura climbed to the top rope, but Escobar cut him off. He then hit a middle rope phantom driver for the win. Escobar advances to the semi-finals in two weeks.
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They showed a Veteran’s Day video package.
LA Knight/Bray Wyatt Segment
Megan Morant spoke with LA Knight in the back. Knight was complaining about not being in the World Cup. Bray Wyatt’s images flashed on the monitor behind him as he spoke.
He turned around, and Bray Wyatt was standing in front of him. Wyatt got a massive pop when he showed up on screen.
Wyatt said he’s sick of pretending he’s not proud of the horrible things he did to people. Knight got in Wyatt’s face. Suddenly, an image flashed across the screen again. Wyatt knocked Knight down and walked away. Knight jumped to his feet, looking for Wyatt to end the segment.
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Number One Contender’s Six-Way Match: Shotzi defeated Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Sonya Deville, Lacey Evans, and Xia Li (11:24)
At one point, everyone seemed lost and confused. There was a lot of standing around. The finish was a mess after a badly botched table spot and a flat finish.
Everyone fought all around ringside. Morgan and Deville took the focus as they battled in the ring. Morgan set up the ring steps, but Deville dropped her on the steps instead.
Li caught Shotzi with a kick to the spine back from the break. Li and Evans went back and forth in the ring. Everyone else was lying around the ringside area. Morgan fired up and ran wild on Li and Evans. She caught Rodriguez with a DDT, but Deville tried to steal the pin. Morgan broke up the pin attempt.
Rodriguez hit the Texana bomb on Li, but Deville pulled her out. The fans broke into a “tables” chant. Rodriguez set up a table in front of the steps. She set up for something on Devile but Morgan dove off the barricade. They were supposed to crash onto the table, but the spot got botched badly. They completely missed and just fell under the table. Rodriguez, Morgan, and Deville just lay on the ground. Wade Barrett tried to cover it up by saying Rodriguez hit the side of the table.
In the ring, Shotzi hit the Never Wake up on Evans for the pin in a flat finish. Shotzi takes on Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown Women’s title at Survivor Series.
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Emma approached Shotzi backstage to congratulate her on her win. Emma was looking for Madcap Moss. Shotzi assumed Emma’s crushing on Madcap. Emma blushed and walked off, looking for Moss.
Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey approached Shotzi. Shotzi turned her back to Baszler. Baszler jumped her and choked her out.
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Kayla Braxton interviewed Ricochet about his first-round World Cup match against Mustafa Ali next week. He promised to regain the title. Imperium showed up. Gunther wants Ricochet to win the tournament so he can beat him again.
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They recapped Omos vs. Braun Strowman from Crown Jewel.
The Progressive Match Flo of the week was Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross from Crown Jewel.
World Cup First-Round Match: Braun Strowman defeated Jinder Mahal (1:38)
Jinder Mahal cut a promo before the match. He promised to win the World Cup and then the title. No man can stop him.
Mahal jumped Strowman before the bell. He had the early advantage until Strowman recovered and easily beat him with a powerbomb. Strowman advances to the semi-finals in two weeks.
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Zelina Vega (w/Legado del Fantasma) vs. B-Fab (w/Hit Row)
The match didn’t happen. The Viking Raiders and Sarah Logan returned to attack both teams.
Legado del Fantasma was waiting in the ring as Hit Row entered. The lights went out, and The Viking Raiders’ music hit. Erik, Ivar, and Sarah Logan hit the ring. They beat up everyone except for Vega, who escaped through the crowd. The Viking Raiders and Sarah Logan posed to end the segment.
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Roman Reigns Special Moment
Earlier in the night, Reigns said he had business to take care of in the ring. When they got in the ring, he began to address The Usos, but The Brawling Brutes and Drew McIntyre interrupted. Reigns never dealt with whatever was his business.
Roman Reigns, The Usos, Sola Sikoa, and Paul Heyman entered the ring to a positive reaction. The fans broke into a loud “Ucey” chant. Reigns demanded Indiana acknowledge him. Heyman took the mic and buried Indiana. The fans booed, and he said they were not very ucey. Heyman praised The Usos and mocked The New Day.
Reigns admitted it’s not easy being his cousin. He was always the star of the family. Reigns began to address The Usos when The Brawling Brutes interrupted. Ridge Holland and Butch are tired of the Bloodline having the numbers advantage.
Sheamus returned to a big pop. He cut a promo on Reigns, but his mic wasn’t working. Reigns laughed at Sheamus for the mic cutting out. The Brawling Brutes jumped into the ring, and a brawl broke out. The Bloodline overpowered them.
Drew McIntyre ran out for the save and to even the odds. SmackDown ended with all eight guys brawling.
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Next week: The first round of the World Cup concludes with Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet and Butch vs. Sami Zayn. Plus, Shotzi goes one-on-one with Shayna Baszler.