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WWE SmackDown Live comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (April 16, 2019) from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, featuring night two of the yearly Superstar Shake-up special.
Advertised for tonight: Vince McMahon announces a major acquisition, Paige reveals a mystery team, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR APRIL 16
I could tell you the story of a vagabond, a playboy of the western world. One day by chance he came upon a fair young maid, a country girl. He told her that he loved her, and he took all of her silver. He told her that he needed her too, he said “Hey baby, you got eyes of blue.” But he was a vagabond, and me? I’ve got more in common with the maid, but the important point is that I’m about to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with a recap of all the big moves from last night’s Superstar Shake-Up episode of Raw.
Kevin Owens makes his entrance in a suit and tie to host another edition of the Kevin Owens Show.
He soaks in the atmosphere of his hometown crowd for a moment before beginning in French and welcoming them to the Kevin Owens Show. He continues in English, saying everyone’s buzzing from the Superstar Shake-Up and in fact later tonight Mr. McMahon himself is going to be here to reveal the biggest acquisition in the history of SmackDown.
Of course, the biggest superstar is already here on SmackDown, because that’s him. But out of respect for his guest, he’s going to move on, and it’s somebody that he really does respect a lot, your WWE Champion... Kofi Kingston! He makes his entrance flanked by his New Day stablemate Xavier Woods. KO welcomes them to the show and to Montreal and invites them to take a seat before beginning the interview.
Kev says it’s great to have him here because what he did at WrestleMania is something we’ll never forget-- in his first WWE Championship singles match, he faced Daniel Bryan against great odds and beat him to become the champion, and Owens wants to congratulate him in person. The crowd joins in a standing ovation and “You deserve it!” chants rain down.
Kingston says he appreciates the kind words and says that it’s because of us that he’s champion. (He said that last bit in French.) Owens says somebody’s missing, and that’s Big E. He’s not here because he’s still stuck in the splits, no, Woods explains that he was injured last week in their match, and honestly with all the Superstar Shake-Up Raw took 80% of the Up Up Down Down crew and if he doesn’t get Tyler Breeze on SmackDown he’s gonna lose his mind--
Kofi cuts him off and tells him everything’s going to be fine. KO says New Day are scheduled to wrestle Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura tonight, and since they’re used to being a trio and Kingston’s carrying precious cargo, they need some backup more than ever, and he offers his services as Big K before realizing Big O is funnier. (Although that’s a wrestler already, you may remember him as Zack Ryder’s jacked pal from Z! True Long Island Stories.)
New Day say that’s a big commitment and there’s a lot to it-- wearing crop tops, testing cereal, throwing pancakes, video game tournaments, movement of the groinal region, and so on. Owens gives them a little hip swivel and some pelvic thrusts, which seems to impress Xavier and Kofi. Kingston says he’s a champion of the people, so if Montreal’s into it, they’ll make Kev an honorary member of the New Day!
The crowd is in fact into it, so it’s settled! Kofi presents Owens with a crop top New Day shirt and he puts it on over his t-shirt and tie. He kneels and they present him a unicorn horn, officially inducting him to New Day as the honorary Big O!
Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura are walking backstage when Cesaro rolls up to offer his services to counter Kevin Owens in their tag team match tonight.
Finn Balor makes his entrance, he’s been drafted to SmackDown!
On that bombshell, we go to break.
Back from commercial, we find out that Finn will be wrestling Mustafa Ali!
Finn Balor vs. Mustafa Ali
Circling, collar and elbow, side headlock, shot off, shoulder block and Ali kips up! Back to the lockup, go-behind, Balor with a hammerlock and back to the side headlock, wrenching it in, shot off, drop down, off the ropes, pop-up dropkick ito a side headlock takeover and Mustafa is in control. Block the headscissors counter on the first try, Finn gets it on the second, Ali pops out of it and back into the side headlock!
Balor goes for a pin, posts to his feet, passes Mustafa into the corner, up and over, back elbow catches him off the ropes but it’s only good for one! Scoop and a slam, off the ropes, powerdrive elbow, only two and Finn goes for a kneeling armbar to follow it up. Pressing a knee into his back, Ali pops to his feet but Balor takes him right back down.
Out of the hold, chops against the ropes, whip across, Mustafa catches himself in the ropes, boot, headscissors takeover puts the Intercontinental Champion on the floor and a kick blocks him from coming back in, off the ropes... TOPE SUICIDA TO SEND US TO BREAK!
Back from commercial, Balor’s in control with a knee lift and a chop in the corner. To the next corner, whip across, running chop, another whip across, another chop, a third try gets sidestepped and Ali hits the gamengiri! Rolling thunder X-Factor, Mustafa follows it up with whips into chops of his own, Finn ducks a lariat and hits the inverted headlock elbow drop for two!
Sling Blade, Balor charging out of the corner... SUPERKICK CUTS HIM OFF BUT CAN’T PUT HIM AWAY! Gutwrench, Finn rams him into corner, shoulder thrusts get a knee, tornado DDT attempted but Balor cuts him off and lays him out! Finn up top, Mustafa cuts him off with a dropkick and climbs to join him. Jockeying for position... AVALANCHE FRANKENSTEINER FOR TWO!
Up top, 450 splash, nobody home but Ali lands on his feet! Shotgun dropkick sets him up, Finn climbs...
Finn Balor wins by pinfall with Coup de Grace.
Balor offers a hand to Ali and the former Freelance World Champion accepts and shakes his hand.
Backstage New Day are carrying a tray of pancakes and looking for Big O. They find him and he’s admiring the unicorn horn they gave him. They have an initiation for him, he has to eat all these pancakes faster than Big E’s record. Kev admits he’s never eaten a pancake in his life but he’s game, so they start the timer and he begins cramming pancakes down his gullet, all the while complaining about how dry they are.
R-Truth and Carmella make their entrance, she’ll be wrestling Charlotte Flair after the break.
Back from commercial, we get another vignette starring Bray Wyatt’s shiny new hand puppet.
We go backstage and see that Kevin Owens has beaten Big E’s pancake record and is officially an honorary member of the New Day!
Xavier Woods gives him a little “One of us! One of us!” and we have a vomit scare but Kev keeps it together.
Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair
Flair takes Carmella right down and poses for the crowd. Shoving away at her, jawing, Mella shoves her right back and ducks a boot, superkick connects... NOPE! Charlotte rolls to the floor and the Princess of Staten Island taunts her in the ring as referee Charles Robinson counts. Carmella outside, fighting in front of the uterus trophy, Flair rams her into the barricade!
Mella with a crossbody off the barricade, back inside for the cover, only a nearfall! Charlotte throwing chops, scoop, Carmella floats over and puts her into the turnbuckles! Moonwalk, mocking strut, charging in, Bronco Buster connects! Charging again, back body drop to the apron and the Queen blasts her off the apron with a big boot to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Flair kips up and does the strut, posing for the crowd. Disdainfully piefacing Carmella, drawing her up for the exploder, she floats out into a sitout mat slam! Boot in the corner, another kick but Flair is able to put her on the apron, catch her boot, dragon screw over the middle rope! Outside after her, putting Mella into the barricade, thinking about a moonsault but Carmella cuts her off and lays her out with a superkick!
Mella hobbling on one knee, throwing Charlotte back inside, but again the Queen cuts her off, this time with a chop block! Spinning toehold into the figure four leglock, she bridges back...
Charlotte Flair wins by submission with the Figure Eight.
R-Truth checks on Carmella when a pterodactyl screams out across the PA...
Here comes Lars Sullivan. Truth gets in his face and hammers him with forearms, bravery befitting a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion! Off the ropes, a dropkick but Lars shrugs it off without flinching! Charging in again... FREAK ACCIDENT! He stares at Carmella as referee Charles Robinson helps her out before returning to Truth and hitting a Liger Bomb.
Commentary promises an appearance from Becky Lynch is up next, after the break.
Back from commercial we get some hype for the Shield’s Final Chapter on Sunday.
We get a recap of WrestleMania’s main event.
Becky Lynch is in the ring with both of her titles and a microphone in her hand.
She begins and says she’s gonna say it again because it says nice-- she did what she said she was gonna do and beat Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania to become a double champion! A “Becky Two Belts!” chant goes up and she lets out a completely adorable “That’s me!” that I relate very much to, personally. Seeing her challengers parade around yesterday reminded her of what her job is.
Job one, run through Lacey Evans. Job two, break new ground and slap new heads right here, so whoever they bring in, she’ll batter every single one of those dopes.
Enter Ember Moon. She’s out here to make a name for herself, and--
Enter Bayley! She, too, has joined SmackDown. Becky offers her a hug but she says she thinks she got all her hugs out on Raw. It’s been a while since she’s been on the same roster with Lynch and this whole last year she willed the Women’s Tag Team Championships into existence, but as special as those titles are to her, now that she’s here on SmackDown as a singles competitor, she’s got her eyes on two other titles.
Enter the Iconic Duo. Billie Kay thinks she heard someone say “two belts”, and Peyton Royce confirms. Kay mocks Bayley and Ember for having zero belts, and they mock the Hugger extra for not having the tag titles anymore. Speaking of two belts, they have two titles, and they’re much better than Becky’s because theirs are (sing it with me) iconic.
Paige here. She says the Iconics look like they’re having a great time wearing the titles but the audience will like it better if they defend them, so she’s here to introduce the duo she’s managing on SmackDown, two gifted women she’s believed in from the beginning...
Fire and Desire interrupt, microphones in hand, and thank Paige before saying they need no introduction. Sonya Deville says SmackDown’s waited long enough for the Absolution reunion, to which Paige says they’ll have to wait because she’s here to represent two brand new, revolutionary women. The next tag team champions, in fact... Asuka is first, and then Paige introduces her tag team partner... KAIRI SANE!
And further, if you want to debut, you have to make an impact, and she sends Asuka and Sane to attack! We got a brawl! Becky watches from the corner as the eight other women continue to fight aimlessly and the babyfaces stand tall to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we’ve got a match in progress!
Asuka, Bayley, Ember Moon, & Kairi Sane vs. Fire and Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville) & Iconic Duo (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce)
Kay and Moon at it, Ember off the ropes, knee into a backflip headscissors thing that’s pretty cool, tag to Royce. Moon with more kicks, off the ropes but Bayley gets the tag. Elbow drop for two, kneeling armbar, suplex denied and Peyton nails her with a forearm to the face. Tag to Deville, right hands, into the next corner, putting boots to her, whip across, charge in, boots up!
Bayley off the second with a corkscrew elbow for a nearfall, side headlock, tag to Asuka and Sonya’s fired up for a fight! Ducking and dodging, finally the Empress lands a buzzsaw roundhouse kick but Deville nails her with a knee and passes her into the corner. Tag to Rose, putting boots to Asuka, she fires back with a hip attack and tags Sane in. Double whip, drop down, rolling solebutt, front kick, one-handed bulldog into a basement dropkick!
The match breaks down, Bayley takes flight and wipes Fire and Desire out with a low suicide crossbody! Moon wipes the whole heel team out with a diving crossbody and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Deville passes Bayley into the corner and tags Rose in. Double whip, double book, knees one after the other, sliding knee, cover for two! Reverse chinlock applied briefly before ramming the Hugger into the corner and tagging Royce in. Pass Bayley into the corner, choke her with a boot, Hugger clears house and crawls but Peyton runs over and blocks the tag by knocking Moon off the apron!
It doesn’t last, Asuka tags in, whip reversed, hip attack clears the apron, off the ropes for a dropkick, fired up, the Empress charges, hip attack in the corner! Roundhouse kick, German suplex, basement superkick, off the ropes, sliding knee... ROSE BREAKS IT UP! Ember in, springboard crossbody, Deville gets her with a spear, Bayley-to-Belly clears Sonya out, Billie gets an inverted stomp facebreaker, Sane with an uraken, Royce slaps her and dumps her to the apron but walks into an uraken from Asuka in turn!
Inverted DDT, tag to Sane, up top...
Asuka, Bayley, Ember Moon, & Kairi Sane win by pinfall with the diving elbow drop from Sane on Peyton Royce.
Commentary recaps the Superstar Shake-Up moves to SmackDown, apparently including Lars Sullivan, who gets a recap of his last few weeks of destruction.
The Hardy Boyz get a locker room promo where they talk about being the greatest tag team in all of space and time.
New Day coach Big O on how to do Big E’s big intro, telling him to get the fire from the loins, directly from his plums. Big O does the deal and the New Day make their entrance!
We go to break before the match can begin.
Back from commercial, Buddy Murphy gets a promo introducing himself as the man who’s spent the past six months destroying the cruiserweight division as their champion.
He announces that he’s coming to SmackDown.
Cesaro, Rusev, & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. New Day (Big O, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods)
Woods and Rusev to start, Xavier with a side headlock but the Bulgarian Brute throws him off and into the corner. Big chop, collar and elbow, duck a punch, Rusev hammers him with shoulder thrusts and whips him across. Boot up on the charge, Honor Roll, only two! Tag to Kingston, double arm wringer to a double kick, double running bulldog gets two!
Arm wringer, Rusev with a right hand, tag to Nakamura. Good Vibrations, charging in but Kofi catches him with the pop-up stomp for two! Quick tags, Unicorn Stampede and Kofi invites Big O to play! He gets a little over enthusiastic and ends up warned off, but Woods rolls with it and tags in, directing Owens to hit the cannonball! Cover for two, right hand, whip blocked, Shinsuke with a short-arm knee and a kick to the head before tagging Cesaro in.
Swiss Superman with a back suplex, Woods lands on his feet, firing chops off, Cesaro dumps him to the floor and takes Nakamura back in. Whip into a Hot Shot into the barricade on the floor and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Woods is windmilling punches at Nakamura but he blocks the tag. Xavier clears the apron, Shinsuke gets him caught up in the ropes and hits a sliding German suplex through the ropes after tagging Rusev in. One count, choking Woods over the ropes, Lana gets a cheap shot, tag to Nakamura. Big knee in the corner misses when Xavier floats to the apron, he climbs up top but Shinsuke cuts him off with a roundhouse kick!
Climbing to meet him, jockeying for position, Woods knocks him down before laying him out with the missile dropkick! Tags made, Cesaro and Kofi, Kingston running hot, axehandles, dropkick, off the ropes, leaping lariat! Off the ropes again, Boom Drop, the WWE Champion is fired up! Calling for it, he has to clear Rusev from the apron, gamengiri on Cesaro, diving crossbody but he’s caught and has to slip out!
SOS connects, only two, Big O cheering him on, Cesaro with the double leg into the swing! Sharpshooter applied in Montreal but KO breaks it up with a superkick! The match breaks down, Woods with a DDT, Rusev dumps him out and tags in. Back suplex, Kofi lands on his feet, ducks a kick, tag to Big O! Kev hammering forearms, dumping him to the floor, Kingston calls for it... THE ASSISTED DIVE! New Day all in the ring, Trouble in Paradise sets him up, kick to the gut...
New Day win by pinfall with the Stunner from Big O on Rusev.
Vincent Kennedy McMahon is shown watching backstage on a monitor and we’re promised his big acquisition, after the break.
Back from commercial, we get another creepy dollhouse vignette.
Mr. McMahon makes his entrance.
He gets on the mic and says he seldom offers a seal of approval on any given superstar, but this man that he’s signed is the future of the entire WWE and the greatest acquisition in WWE history. And why wouldn’t he be? He’s tough, he’s talented, he exudes charisma, he’s... Elias.
Elias indeed makes his entrance and thanks Vince for knowing what WWE stands for. He says he’s questioned a lot of Vince’s decisions and complains about all the interruptions, but after what he’s said and done just now, naming him the biggest acquisition in SmackDown history, well, he’s got the pulse on what SmackDown wants. And what better way to kick a new era off than by walking with Elias?
He runs Montreal down and does his usual intro...
ROMAN REIGNS IS HERE!
He gets in the ring and wastes no time, big slicing right immediatelly into the Superman Punch! Vince jaws at the Big Dog... AND HE EATS A SUPERMAN PUNCH TOO! He gets on the mic and keeps it simple-- SmackDown is his yard now!
He starts leaving before heading back... Y’ALL DIDN’T THINK HE WAS GONNA LEAVE WITHOUT SPEARING ELIAS, DID YOU?!
The Big Dog surveys his yard from the stage as Vince slowly regains consciousness.
That’s the show, folks.