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WWE SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Apr. 3, 2020) with a show moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. There won’t be any fans in attendance, but we will see John Cena respond to Bray Wyatt’s challenge for a Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36. Miz TV is also scheduled, with New Day and the Usos as the guests.
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on Fox. 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 APR. 3
Swimming the river ascending, free of Fear, filled with purpose. Nishikigoi fights through oceans of adversity against the current to obtain the highest goal. Swim through oceans of suffering, climb to the falls of Dragon Gate, become... Transform from a koi into a beast, but me, I’m here to liveblog this pro wrestling show, folks.
The show opens with the intro video.
The ring is set up for MizTV but the Usos make their entrance.
They can’t wait to be invited out here after they got blindsided last week, this ain’t Ellen or Oprah or Maury, it’s Friday Night Lockdown with the Usos and they’re gonna become the tag champs.
Enter the New Day.
Big E and Kofi Kingston come out doing the “Oh no” gimmick before rolling into the ring to question the idea of the Usos winning the tag titles. The two teams bicker about who’s going to win and they want to do it right now but Miz and Morrison come out on the stage.
Miz says this is the disrespect they’ve become used to despite being turtleneck tough guys and tag team champions who beat the entire division in the Elimination Chamber. He talks about how New Day and Usos will destroy each other and then they’ll climb the ladders and retain the titles, which they illustrate by climbing ladders that are set up on the stage.
Before they can get down and run away, New Day and the Usos rush the stage and beat them down. An Uso hits Kofi with an errant spear and E drops him with a lariat before throwing his brother over the barricade! Big takes a wicked bump over the steps from the champs after and then they bulldoze Kingston with a ladder!
The champs pose on top of ladders.
Commentary hypes up a replay of Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania 24 for later tonight.
Naomi makes her entrance, she’ll be in action after the break.
Back from commercial, Bayley and Sasha Banks have joined commentary.
Lacey Evans vs. Naomi vs. Tamina
Tamina instantly creating an alliance against her but fending Naomi off. Evans with a slingshot into a schoolboy and a low dropkick, Naomi with a side headlock. Shot off, springboard into a sunset flip but Snuka blocks and smashes her face into the mat before blocking a right from Lacey and punching her. Both women on the apron, Tamina blasts them off and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Naomi firing off elbows but Tamina sledges her down. Whip, springboard into a roundhouse and Snuka’s on the back foot. Evans back in, chipping away and she takes Tamina off her foot with a lariat! Senton de la muerte in the corner, action spills to the floor and Naomi takes Lacey out but Sasha Banks gets up and throws Evans into the steel steps!
Naomi kicks the Boss’ head off, roundhouse to Snuka, sunset flip for two. Enzuigiri connects, Samoan drop in return... NOPE! Naomi down and out in the corner, Tamina charges in, sidesteps her into the turnbuckles but Bayley snaps her neck over the top rope and Snuka capitalizes...
Tamina wins by pinfall with a superkick.
Post-match, Bayley gets in the ring with Tamina and shakes her hand, telling her she’s thankful she’s in the match and congratulating her on her win... SNUKA DROPS HER WITH A SUPERKICK! Sasha Banks offers a tentative fist, calling back to Team BAD... AND SHE EATS A SAMOAN DROP!
Commentary tells us Flair/Michaels is up next after the break, so see y’all when we’re back to new content!
Or we could come back from commercial, get Tucker Knight backstage and Mandy Rose chatting with him when an interference pattern breaks in saying “The Truth Will Be Heard”
And THEN we go back to 2008. See y’all later!
Here we go, new content!
Michael Cole offers us breaking news on the Elias / Baron Corbin match for WrestleMania. We get a replay of Corbin knocking him off a balcony first, and then Cole explains that the match is still scheduled but Elias isn’t yet cleared.
Moving on to the Universal Championship, WWE finally admits that Roman Reigns is being replaced by Braun Strowman with no further explanation. Truly a great unique storyline if there ever was one. This company, I swear...
Tucker Knight talks to Otis Dozovic about Mandy Rose, who asked after him earlier, but he thinks she’s just being nice. Otis gets a text and walks off really excited, and we go to break.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Tucker Knight
Circling, Ziggler turning the speed up, leg pick, Knight blocks him and slings him aside. Charging in, Dolph with a back elbow but Tucker drops him with a lariat! Knight putting boots to him, but Ziggler gets a neckbreaker and then the Heartstopper elbow drop for two. Side headlock applied, shifting to an arm-trap reverse chinlock. Tucky to his feet, Dolph with a mat slam to counter and he goes back to the chinlock.
Raking the eyes, Knight powers out of it and reverses a dropkick into a catapult that sends Ziggler face-first into the turnbuckles! Pump kick, charging in, Dolph sidesteps and he eats the post hard! Big DDT connects and we go to break.
Back from commercial, slugging it out, Knight blocking Ziggler’s shots, double chickenwing belly-to-belly suplex! Action to the floor, whip sends Dolph into the barricade as referee Charles Robinson counts. Tucky breaks the count as Ziggler slithers off up the ramp. Going after him, whip into the steel steps, Knight dismantles the steps and throws Dolph back inside.
Charging in, catch the boot, counter into a side slam but Ziggler gets a foot on the ropes! Back to the floor, Dolph rakes his eye, Zig Zag on the steps and Robinson has no choice but to call it...
Tucker Knight wins by disqualification.
Dolph goes to decapitate him with the steps when Mandy Rose comes out yelling for him to stop with Sonya Deville in tow. Otis runs down to make the save and we get another “The truth will be heard” break-in. This time a dark hooded figure appears on the tron and asks if we were paying attention. He says the truth will be heard, and he plays secuirty camera footage of Mandy talking about how Otis is cute and sweet.
Sonya comes over and says she supports her on the date and she wants all the details. Rose leaves, and Sonya grabs her phone to send Otis a message. Footage of Sonya making a deal with Dolph Ziggler plays as Deville begs off in the present and Mandy leaves her behind on the ramp. Sonya goes after her and Otis pounces Ziggler on the ramp, but he manages to scrabble away.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Mandy Rose is storming off and Sonya Deville is chasing after her asking for a chance to explain, to no avail.
Daniel Bryan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Sami Zayn is on commentary.
Circling, Nakamura with a go-behind, standing switch, Shinsuke takes guard but Bryan slips through and gets an arm wringer before stomping the elbow. Dan offers a test of strenght and Nakamura turns it into a wristlock, wrenching it all the way in. Bryan fights him off, to the floor, diving knee off the apron! Back inside, perched up top, missile dropkick into the kip-up and the American Dragon points at Sami.
Running dropkick, set Shinsuke up top... AVALANCHE FRANKENSTEINER BLOCKED AND NAKAMURA HITS THE DIVING KINSHASA FOR TWO! Stomping away, Good Vibrations, whip across, boots up in the corner and Nakamura hits a roundhouse to the back of the head. Sliding snap German suplex through the ropes and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Nakamura with shoulder thrusts in the corner, whip across, backflip up and over. Off the ropes, duck a lariat, Bryan hits the Axe Bomber! Backbone full of resolve, the American Dragon rises to his feet and lays the chest kicks in. Alternating legs, backing off for the buzzsaw but Shinsuke ducks and goes for a sleeper hold. Rolling through, falling knees to the ribs, and now Nakamura lays the chest kicks in himself.
Bryan turns it around, kick to the arm, cover for two. Shoulder armbreakers, jockeying for position, Shinsuke hits a superkick to lay him out! Inverted exploder, calling for it, Dan reverses the Kinshasa into a half-crab! Nakamura to the ropes to force the break, laying knees in, Bryan catches a forearm and reverses it into a cross armbar!
Shinsuke to his feet, armbar of his own, snapping the arm back but Bryan reverses back into his own with full extension! Shifting to the Yes! Lock, struggling to get it in but Cesaro hits the ring and attacks, forcing referee Jessika Carr’s hand!
Daniel Bryan wins by disqualification.
Drew Gulak bull rushes Cesaro and grabs the Gu-Lock but Cesaro hosses him over the barricade! Bryan comes in and Cesaro throws him into the announce desk! Drew comes back and Shinsuke and Cesaro team up to throw him into the steel steps before returning to the American Dragon! Zayn throws him in the ring... NEUTRALIZER! KINSHASA! HELLUVA KICK!
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a replay of last week’s Firefly Fun House.
John Cena makes his entrance.
He talks about WWE’s decision to continue running shows from the Performance Center. It’s a message that left all of us asking what’s really gonna happen, and it’s been a bit of a learning curve, with moments ranging from meh to great, but he thanks us for navigating the situation, and that brings us to the final broadcast before an unprecedented WrestleMania.
Once again, all of us are asking what’s really gonna happen, and tomorrow night will be the most viewed and most talked about WrestleMania broadcast, because for the first time ever, no one really knows what’s gonna happen. He’s been challenged to a Firefly Fun House match, and he hasn’t been able to get anyone to tell him what that really is.
He doesn’t even think Bray knows, but he thinks that’s what the Fiend wants. The Fiend loves uncertainty because uncertainty leads to fear, which leads to panic, which leads to collapse. The Fiend has dominated the WWE landscape with uncertainty, fear, and panic, and here we are, on the eve of WrestleMania, all of us staring into the uncertainty, asking what happens next.
He’s here to tell us what happens next— he will not panic, he’s sure as hell not afraid, and he will squash Bray Wyatt and finish what he started six years ago. Bray isn’t even on the level below him, and anyone who knows who he is and what he’s capable of knows that a poor man’s version of a bootleg Mr. Rogers doesn’t stand a chance, and is he supposed to be afraid of a man that dresses like an oversexed child of Wiz Khalifa and the WB frog?
He was ready to step aside and invest in the future, but the Fiend made this challenge and to make matters worse he’s tried to get every advantage, and he’s STILL gonna get his ass kicked. What’s gonna happen? As far as Bray Wyatt’s ridiculous challenge at WrestleMania, he accepts.
Rambling Rabbit appears in the crowd and says he’s excited because after the Fiend’s done with him, Cena’s gonna play with them forever. All the other Fun House pals appear in the crowd chanting forever before the sound drops out and Rabbit tells us the Fiend is here.
The lights go down and come back up red. The Fiend appears on the balcony that Corbin knocked Elias off of. He and Cena stare each other down and Wyatt suddenly appears behind John. He tells him to let him in before the lights go down again.
They come back up.
Wyatt and the Fiend are both gone.
Cena is perplexed.
That’s the show, folks.