With Raw wrestlers John Cena and Kurt Angle already qualified for the WWE World Cup, SmackDown got their chance to enter two of their men in the tournament.
Taking place at WWE Crown Jewel, the WWE World Cup will pit eight wrestlers against one another. This week on SmackDown, Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe as well as Randy Orton and The Big Show competed in matches to determine the next batch of qualifiers.
First up, a returning Hardy took on a visibly hobbled Joe.
The prize is a spot in the #WWEWorldCup tournament at #WWECrownJewel, so who will prevail: @SamoaJoe or @JEFFHARDYBRAND?! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/9KA2oPQJyd
— WWE (@WWE) October 10, 2018
The match was nothing to write home about, with Hardy picking up the victory after the referee waved off the match. Joe was upset but his lower body would simply not allow him to continue.
Being unable to stand, @SamoaJoe loses to @JEFFHARDYBRAND in a #WWEWorldCup Qualifying Match. #SDLive pic.twitter.com/KI3ToU7p28
— WWE (@WWE) October 10, 2018
Next up, madman Orton took on a motivated Big Show. Wrestling for the first time in months, Big Show didn’t show any signs of ring rust. The SmackDown live crowd was behind him and at times Show looked rather nimble on his feet.
WELLLLLLLLL, @WWETheBigShow is BACK in action on #SDLive, and he's off to a FIRED UP start against @RandyOrton! #WWEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/jTY0moOuut
— WWE (@WWE) October 10, 2018
After a back and forth battle, a eye poke into RKO combo was all it took for Randy Orton to ruin the Big Show’s comeback match.
SO GROUNDED. pic.twitter.com/PhbopyIysL
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) October 10, 2018
With half the tournament field set, the current WWE World Cup has an all American bracket thus far.
Who else would you like see compete in the WWE World Cup?
Get complete SmackDown results and coverage here.