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WWE SmackDown Live comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (April 23, 2019) from the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for next month in Hartford.
Advertised for tonight: Roman Reigns could face repercussions for punching Vince McMahon, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair come face-to-face, 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 23
We all seek meaning in our lives, but when every shadow of doubt is denied the sanctification of hatred thrives on every sucked thumb and held skirt and blanket so secure that they block out the sweep of the floodlights that could free us from the darkness that surrounds us. The demons that keep hounding us. We put out our own eyes and reproach the blind, but me, I’ve got to keep mine up and running so I can liveblog this here pro wrestling show for y’all, folks.
The show opens with Shane McMahon making his entrance.
He says he doesn’t have a lot of time and isn’t in the best of moods and orders Greg Hamilton to get his big intro right on the first try today. He’s here to talk about what Roman Reigns did to his father last week, and he rolls footage of Vincent Kennedy McMahon getting Superman Punched. He says that was horrific to watch and asks what kind of man hits another man’s father like that.
It’s disgusting, he says, like disgracing the American flag or defacing Mount Rushmore. But it’s not just a great man he hit, it’s the chairman and CEO of WWE, and more than that, it’s his dad, and there’ll be repercutssions. Should he levy a fine? Maybe suspend Roman Reigns or even fire him? No, they’re gonna settle it in the ring, and he orders Reigns to come down to the ring.
Enter Roman Reigns.
They face off in the ring and have a good staredown before Roman considers his microphone and tosses it aside. McMahon looks confused for a beat before tossing his mic down as well and doing a little shuffle. Elias from behind, Reigns has him scouted but Shane takes full advantage to rain punches and knees down! Roman throws him off, big boot, big slicing right, punches in the corner but the Drifter returns and cuts him off!
The heels put boots to the Big Dog but he keeps fighting back and manages to throw them off for a brief moment. They continue the beatdown and leave together while Roman recovers and we go to break.
Back from commercial and we get a recap of what we just saw.
We go backstage with Shane and Elias talking up how great they felt about teaching Roman a lesson and how there’s more to come.
Kofi Kingston is interviewed backstage.
He talks about how the love of the WWE Universe is growing inside him and everything’s okay because he’s WWE Champion, which gets Xavier Woods to come into frame and they celebrate his reign together. They made one big change happen, and Big E’s gonna be back soon, but in the meantime they’ve got an honorary member. We know him as Kevin Owens, they call him Big O, and he leaps into frame! He says tonight’s a big night and asks Kofi if he’s ready before saying he knows he’s gonna win.
And why? Because... New! Day rocks!
Finn Balor makes his entrance.
Zelina Vega and Andrade “Cien” Almas get a promo where Vega says Finn couldn’t run away with the Shake-Up and Almas says he wants to destroy the myth of Finn Balor.
Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Finn Balor
Collar and elbow, Almas into the corner, hammering away with knees, Balor turns him around, windmilling punches until referee Jason Ayers warns him off. Stomps, double leg, dragging him into the ring and Zelina Vega with him but as the ref is busy with her Andrade gets an upkick. Finn to the floor, Cien runs, step-up tornillo to the floor sends us to break!
Back from commercial, Almas has an armbar in but Balor’s posting to his feet. Club his back, go for a powerbomb, Finn reverses into a DDT! Double leg into the double stomp, gamengiri from the apron, up top but Andrade cuts him off in the corner. Jockeying for position, avalanche Frankensteiner... FINN REVERSES TO A SUNSET FLIP FOR TWO! Back body drop to the floor, off the ropes... TOPE CON GIRO!
Back inside, Sling Blade countered, back elbow lands hard and puts Balor into position for the corner double knees... NOPE! Drawing him up, reversed into the inverted headlock elbow drop, Vega up top but Balor moves out of the way of the crossbody! Cien eats the shotgun dropkick, Finn up top...
Finn Balor wins by pinfall with the Coup de Grace.
Elias is shown playing a song backstage about how SmackDown is his and how he’s got a proposition for Roman for a match at Money in the Bank. Shane McMahon rolls up to tell him how great he is and make the challenge official before they leave together.
Kairi Sane makes here entrance flanked by Asuka and Paige to send us to break.
Back from commercial we get an “earlier today” clip of Fire and Desire berating Paige for not picking right back up where they left off together as Absolution.
The Iconic Duo make their entrance with a promo as always. Billie Kay jokes about confusing Paige and Nick Fury and Peyton Royce compares Asuka and Kairi Sane unfavorably to the Avengers. They blame last week on Peyton being dehydrated, but she says this week she drank a whole gallon of water and she’s ready to hand Kairi her first loss on SmackDown.
Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce
Sane grabs Royce’s hand calmly into a hammerlock and Peyton wriggles away before unloading with boots in the corner and telling referee Mike Chioda that she has until five. Choke in the corner, kicks in the ropes, Kairi catches one and hits the dragon screw! Axe kick follows, off the ropes, cartwheel neckbreaker, whip reversed, Interceptor! Walking the plank, charging in, up top...
Kairi Sane wins by pinfall with the diving elbow drop.
Paige and her allies celebrate until Fire and Desire make their entrance, sarcastically applauding until... Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers make their entrance?
Sure.
He’ll be in action after the break.
Back from commercial, Aleister Black takes a seat in a dark room.
He says we know who he is, but do we know what he is? The name and the persona are not the same thing, nor should the aesthetic of the persona evoke any judgmental reactions. But it does, doesn’t it? In the few seconds they have he can’t explain the complexities of his tragic character, but give it time, and he’s sure the world we grew up in will have him condemned.
At ringside, Chad Gable is making his entrance when Lars Sullivan runs in and destroys him. He heads in the ring and hits Freak Accident on Samir Singh before turning to Sunil... LIGER BOMB! R-TRUTH MAKES THE SAVE! THE TWO-TIME NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION IS ALL BUSINESS AS HE CHARGES THE RING AND THROWS HANDS! Going for the kick, Lars catches him... FREAK ACCIDENT!
He slams Truth a second time before leaving.
Commentary hypes up Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and the face-to-face between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of the opening segment again. Perhaps the show is running light?
Roman Reigns is interviewed backstage.
He says he hopes it was worth it for Elias, because at Money in the Bank he’s gonna break his jaw and make sure he never sings again. And yeah, that means he accepts the challenge.
Charlotte Flair makes her entrance.
She gets on the mic and says in the main event of WrestleMania 35, three of the very best, not just women, but very best in this business, went head-to-head. Ronda Rousey, the Baddest Woman on the Planet. Becky Lynch, the Man. And the Queen, wooo. So Becky pinned Ronda to win both the Raw and SmackDown women’s championships, but she pinned Rousey. Flair didn’t tap out or get pinned, so you know what that means?
Ronda Rousey lost her championship, so Lynch did not beat her for her title, and that means she wants Becky Two Belts to come out and explain why she’s the rightful champion when she didn’t beat her.
Enter Becky Lynch.
She points out it was a winner takes all match and yes, Charlotte’s right, she didn’t get pinned, but that’s because Lynch was concerned with beating the woman that Flair couldn’t beat. Becky says she’s beaten Charlotte more times than she can count so she needed to beat Ronda to prove that she could, and when it was over she walked out with both titles and there wasn’t a damn thing either could do about it.
Flair says the only injustice here is that she wasn’t beaten for the title, and she actually thinks she’s the one in Lynch’s head, because whenever ol’ what’s-her-name knocks her out, all she sees is Charlotte Flair. It’s all over her Twitter and all she talks about! Becky scoffs, saying she’s owned Flair countless times and constantly come out on top and Flair’s on her worst winning streak ever, so who’s in who’s head?
Charlotte concedes the point about the streak but says that Becky’s got everything to lose and so after she beats Lacey Evans, she’s next in line to take it back. They bicker and Lynch says she wants Charlotte to clear the way for the likes of Bayley, Mickie James, and Ember Moon, because she wants new opponents but management won’t untangle them.
So after Money in the Bank, if Charlotte would like to climb her way up... Flair says she’s done it eight times so she can do it nine--
Enter Bayley.
She gets on the mic and says the Superstar Shake-Up is about fresh starts but all she sees is a rerun. And while Becky’s lost count of how many times she’s beaten Charlotte, Bayley can count how many times she’s beaten her-- zero. Flair tells the Hugger to get to the back of the line and pats her on the shoulder as she tells her to get to the back of the line.
Bayley swats her hand away and says she should start earning her opportunities, so why not see who deserves one right now? Charlotte says Bayley’s not worth her time but the Hugger swats the mic away and we go to break!
Back from commercial, we get a hype reel for WWE’s partnership with Make-A-Wish.
Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match)
Collar and elbow, really struggling in it, Bayley pushes Flair into the corner but she turns it around and breaks dirty. The Hugger shoves her to the mat, side headlock applied, Charlotte breaks with a knee lift, Bayley floats over, right hands, Flair Flip but the Hugger cuts her off with the Stunner over the middle rope! Outside after her, charging in, through-the-corner dropkick barely connects but it’s enough!
Back inside, duck a lariat, crossbody for two! Corkscrew elbow drop, sliding elbow, Flair trips her up, swinging neckbreaker gets followed by a mat slam. Cranking Bayley’s neck over the bottom rope, referee Ryan Tran warns her off and she shifts gears to smashing the Hugger’s face into the turnbuckles. Corner to corner, trading right hands, roll-up for two, diving crossbody... NOPE!
Lining her up, running knee in the corner, shoulder thrust, back roll, tube man elbow, Flair sidesteps but eats a boot. Elbow connects, knee drop to the ankle, repeated knees to the hamstring and Bayley rolls to the apron to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Bayley counters the spinning toehold with a thumb to the nose! Flair attacks the leg again but Bayley’s able to put her on the apron and land a wicked knee when she gets back in! Knee up on the charge but the Hugger gets a lariat for two! Bayley hammering with clubbing blows to the head and back of the neck, throwing Charlotte into the ropes, ducking the boot, back suplex but the Queen lands on her feet and hits the boot... NOT ENOUGH!
Wrist control, Flair to her feet, dragging the Hugger into position, up top... NOBODY HOME ON THE MOONSAULT! German suplex connects for two! Drawing the Queen up, she rams her into the corner and goes for the slingshot knee drop but Bayley counters and Charlotte’s face goes into the mat! Sunset flip buckle bomb... SO CLOSE! Going for the figure four again, reversed to a small package... STILL NO!
Flair snaps off the boot...
Charlotte Flair wins by pinfall with the big boot to become #1 contender to the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship.
We see Becky Lynch watching backstage from an unusual angle even for WWE when an interview rolls up.
She says holding both titles means pulling double duty, and she thinks she’s gonna tap Lacey before she even gets her gloves off anyway. But she’s not underestimating her competition, just betting on herself, and at Money in the Bank, she’s gonna defend both titles and walk out Becky Two Belts.
New Day are backstage getting ready for Kofi Kingston’s match, which will be up next, after the break.
Back from commercial we get another airing of this week’s episode of Firefly Fun House. Yowie wowie!
Commentary runs down the currently scheduled card for Money in the Bank.
Backstage, New Day coach Big O on doing the intro and he does the deal!
We get our main event entrances, but the actual match will have to wait for after the break.
Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Nakamura with a side headlock, reversed and reversed again, shot off, shoulder block, Kingston sidesteps a knee, drop down, leapfrog, leapfrog, leaping back elbow! Dropkick connects, Shinsuke to the floor, off the ropes, fakeout dive! Kofi’s feeling it, Nakamura back in, Good Vibrations, snapmare, knee drop but Kingston rolls away and hits a running knee!
Off the ropes, slingshot Vader Bomb... NOPE! Drawing Shinsuke up, arm wringer into an armbar, Nakamura reverses to the triangle but is forced to give it up when he gets pinned to counter! Up top, Shadows Over Hell for two! Dropkick sends the King of Strong Style to the floor, off the ropes but he’s cut off with a kick! Guillotine knee drop across the back of the neck follows to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Nakamura is in control with a front chancery. Falling knees as he threatens to escape, hammering at the WWE Champion’s ribs. Drawing him up, chest kick, knees in the corner, fighting to the floor briefly and back in but the cover’s only good for two. Monkey flip, Kofi lands on his feet, he wants more, double chops and a dropkick, sidestep the body avalanche, Shinsuke hangs him up for a kick and the sliding German suplex through the ropes!
Calling for it, he charges in but Kingston hits the pop-up stomp! Rusev hits the ring...
Kofi Kingston wins by disqualification.
Chaos ensues, Xavier off the ropes, wipes Rusev out, Trouble in Paradise takes Nakamura down... KEVIN OWENS SUPERKICKED KOFI KINGSTON! He takes his New Day shirt off and beats the champion down! He takes it to the floor and throws Kofi into the barricade! He takes him back in the ring and holds the title in front of his face and says he hopes his kids had a good time because he’s coming for it!
Kofi fires up and fights back but KO stomps the crap out of him in the corner! Xavier Woods tries to make the save only to eat an apron powerbomb! Trainers and referees swarm Woods as Kofi checks on him and Kev backs off, satisfied at an evil job well done.
That’s the show, folks.