On Friday, October 12, WWE Friday Night SmackDown was live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The show was a big episode for not just the brand, but the entire WWE. Not only was it the second episode of SmackDown aired on FOX, but tonight was also the first episode of the WWE Draft. Fans were excited about which WWE Superstars would stay on their respective brands, and which ones would switch shows.
The draft was not the only thing that Vegas wrestling fans had to look forward to, however. Roman Reigns would battle current Universal Champion Seth Rollins in a match to determine which brand would get the first overall pick, and Charlotte Flair attempted to defend her SmackDown Women's Championship against Bayley in a rematch from their clash at Hell In a Cell, WWE's previous pay-per-view event.
With an action-packed card and plenty of eventful moments to expect, there was plenty of anticipation among the WWE fans present. Here's a quick recap of how the night turned out.
Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins: The first match of the night had plenty of great moments. Most notable were Rollins using a flying knee-frog splash combination and a sequence between the two that ended with Reigns hitting his signature superman punch on Rollins for a two count. The fans responded well to the match, with most of them being behind Reigns for the match. At the end of the match, Rollins was about to hit his finisher on Reigns before the lights went out and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt dragged Rollins to the bottom of the ring through the mat. Rollins would crawl back up, but Wyatt would continue to stalk Rollins for a bit before leaving. There was no official announcement of the match, but it was later revealed that Rollins won by disqualification due to Wyatt's interference. Winner: Seth Rollins by DQ
First Round of the Draft: The pool of draft-eligible Superstars for the night's show were shown on the TitanTron screen at the front of the stage, as well as showing the rules of the draft. Stephanie McMahon came up to the podium to present the picks. RAW drafted RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch first overall. SmackDown drafted Roman Reigns with their first overall selection. RAW drafted the O.C. faction of United States Champion A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows. SmackDown drafted Bray Wyatt. RAW drafted Drew McIntyre with the final selection of the first round.
King Corbin vs Shorty Gable: Corbin came out to a loud chorus of boos from the crowd, showing no problems with their reactions. Gable got some good offense going throughout the match, reversing Corbin's Deep Six signature move into a bulldog of his own, landing a few German suplexes, and getting an ankle lock that almost made Corbin tap out. Unfortunately for Gable, Corbin would get the last laugh, landing his End of Days finishing move to get the victory. Winner: King Corbin by pinfall
Second Round of the Draft: RAW drafted Randy Orton to start the second round. SmackDown drafted Sasha Banks. RAW drafted Ricochet. SmackDown drafted Braun Strowman. RAW drafted Bobby Lashley to end the second round.
Brock Lesnar/Paul Heyman promo: The promo discussed Lesnar's loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in 2010. Heyman explained that Lesnar had been waiting for nine years to get revenge against Velasquez for the loss. Heyman would also highlight last week's episode of SmackDown, where Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship, before saying that at Crown Jewel, WWE's next big show in Saudi Arabia, Lesnar would get his revenge and defeat Velasquez to retain the championship. After the promo, Rey Mysterio would come to the entrance ramp with Velasquez at his side. The two would show footage of Lesnar's UFC 121 defeat before Velasquez, with Mysterio translating from Spanish to English, that he would give Lesnar another scar at Crown Jewel.
The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods) vs The O.C. (A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows): Before the match, The New Day would present a breast cancer survivor and her sister customized WWE Women's Championship belts in honor of WWE's support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The O.C. would primarily target Woods during the match, but the New Day got most of the crowd's support. The match was solid overall, with Kingston winning the match for the New Day after a nice sequence with Styles ending in a Trouble in Paradise kick to get the three count. Winner: The New Day by pinfall with Kingston defeating Styles
Third Round of the Draft: RAW drafted Alexa Bliss to start the third round. SmackDown drafted Lacey Evans. RAW drafted Kevin Owens. SmackDown drafted the SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder). RAW drafted Natalya to end the third round.
Final Round of the Draft: Going right back to the draft after the break, RAW drafted the Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) to start the fourth and final round. SmackDown drafted the Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metallik, and Lince Dorado). RAW drafted Nikki Cross to reunite her with Bliss. SmackDown drafted Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker) with their final pick. RAW drafted the Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) to end the draft for the night.
Smackdown Women's Championship Match: Bayley vs Charlotte Flair (c): Before the match, Bayley would debut a new look before cutting through the inflatable tube men used for her entrance, signifying another step in her ongoing heel turn. The two would have a great match, with highlights being Flair hitting a moonsault from ringside, and Bayley hitting her Bayley-to-Belly suplex and diving elbow drop finishers for two-counts. As Bayley expressed her frustration to the referee, Flair would hit her Natural Selection finishing move on Bayley. However, Bayley would roll Flair up with a small package to get the victory and win the SmackDown Women's Championship. Winner: Bayley by pinfall to become the new SmackDown Women's Champion
After getting the victory, Bayley would celebrate before cutting a very brief promo in the ring to cement herself as a heel. Fans seemed to react positively to the dark side of the new champion, who celebrated her victory as the show went off the air.
Overall, SmackDown put up a solid show. Fans really enjoyed the opening and ending matches of the night, and a few Superstars got some strong reactions as they were drafted. The Draft will continue on the October 14 episode of RAW in Denver, Colorado on the USA Network.
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