:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69967748/20211007_SDMatchPrev_ReySami_fri_FC__952b08424484dab192a13e7be7bf0f12.0.jpg)
WWE SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Oct. 8, 2021) with a show emanating from the Sap Center in San Jose, California, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Crown Jewel pay-per-view later this month.
Tonight’s episode includes a couple first round matches in the King of the Ring and Queen’s Crown tournaments. Sami Zayn looks for a promising start in a tournament he has no chance to win when he battles Rey Mysterio. Liv Morgan will try to gain a measure of revenge on Carmella by knocking her out of the first round too.
Also on the card: there will be a contract signing between Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, and Sasha Banks to make their SmackDown women’s championship match at Crown Jewel official.
Come right back here at 8 pm 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 OCT. 8
So many times, I’ve been lost and blinded by the light, caught up in a maze. Now I feel just like a wolf who forgot how to fight and frozen by the haze. I was a hungry mean beast, I’ll never be satisfied. Always looking for the next feast, and I suppose liveblogging this here pro wrestling show will have to do.
The show opens with Bianca Belair getting in the ring, where five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville are already present with the set for a contract signing.
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks are also present, the former sitting at a table in the aisle and the latter standing atop the announce desk.
Becky talks about how there will be payback, and Sasha asks if she missed her or is she just jealous that her spotlight is bigger than the two of them put together. Belair says the only thing Lynch did at SummerSlam is ride her momentum and get lucky, and she calls them both out for not wanting to get in the ring because she’s ready right now.
The Man flips the table and and advances on her, leaving the Boss an opening to attack Bianca from behind! The Horsewomen stomp away before getting into it with each other, Belair gets under both of them for the KOD but Banks slips out so she beats her up with Becky and hits the KOD through Sasha and the table that was in the ring!
We see Rey Mysterio giving his son Dominik a pep talk in Gorilla when an interview rolls up.
He says being King of the Ring is the next best thing to being Universal Champion, and it’d make him sick if Sami Zayn became king. Dom says he’s gonna hang back and watch.
Rey makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Sami Zayn shows up at Gorilla to be the devil on Dominik’s shoulder, and he says he’s making the right decision holding back and further, he thinks he’s better than his dad.
Rey Mysterio vs. Sami Zayn (King of the Ring First Round Match)
Hard and heavy in the feeling out, Zayn with an early nearfall off a powerbomb, a tijeras sets him in the ropes but he runs away! Mysterio off the ropes, tope con giro into a Frankensteiner on the floor! Back inside, diving splash... NOPE! Sami beats him up a bunch, Rey is on the floor and hurting and Dominik comes down as we go to break.
Back from commercial, Zayn has him lined up but Mysterio counters the Helluva Kick with a Frankensteiner for two! Yoshi Tonic follows it up, still just a nearfall! Up in the turnbuckles, jockeying for position, Rey hits an avalanche Frankensteiner... NOPE! Springboard crossbody, nobody home, Blue Thunder Driver countered with a Frankensteiner!
Dropkick sets Sami up, he runs away, Blue Thunder Driver hits... BUT CAN’T KEEP REY MYSTERIO DOWN! Zayn takes a turnbuckle pad off, Dom ties it back on but Rey gets distracted asking him what he’s doing here, Sami thinks fast...
Sami Zayn wins by pinfall with a schoolboy pin.
Post-match, Sami tries on the cape and crown and dances on the King of the Ring throne.
We see Seth Rollins getting ready for an interview to send us to break.
Back from commercial we get a Hit Row vignette.
A video package recapping Edge vs. Seth Rollins follows.
Seth is interviewed backstage.
He says the prevailing narrative is that he crossed a line by entering Edge’s house, but consider his perspective. He’s embarrassed and mocked and ridiculed and he still managed to beat Edge at Madison Square Garden, in a sanctioned match, with a legal maneuver, but is he celebrated for that? No, he’s called a monster and demonized.
Fine, let’s throw the double standard out the window, he’s still been the bigger man. He just did what a sane man would do when he didn’t get an answer, he went to his house to find his answer. He doesn’t know why he’s talking to somebody without the power to do anything about this, so he’s going to go find someone who can.
Zelina Vega gets an inset promo, saying she’ll rule with various traits from various historical rulers when she wins Queen’s Crown, and she’ll make us kiss her ring. (Well I mean if you insist, ma’am.)
Back from commercial, Toni Storm gets an inset promo where she says she’ll rule with various attributes from musicians, and she’s here to make history.
Toni Storm vs. Zelina Vega (Queen’s Crown First Round Match)
Storm with a snapmare and a hip attack, Vega with a Lou Thesz Press into mounted punches, Dragon sleeper applied! Toni with an atomic drop, off the ropes with a forearm, hip attack in the corner! Storm perches up top, Zelina cuts her off, press slam out of the corner! Toni gets her up, she reverses...
Zelina Vega wins by pinfall with a Yoshi Tonic.
We get a video package recap of the current iteration of Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns.
Roman Reigns makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, the Bloodline are in the ring and Roman Reigns gets on the mic.
Roman says Paul Heyman had one job to do on Monday, and that was make sure the Usos stayed on SmackDown, and that’s what he did, and he asks San Jose to acknowledge Heyman. He tells Paul he loves him, and the Usos love him too, and Heyman reciprocates. He’s part of the family, the wise man, and he wants him to be wise right now.
Reigns wants him to come clean and tell the truth. Paul E says he’s in a terrible spot because no matter what he says it’ll sound like he’s spinning things, and Roman gently lifts his chin to stare him in the eyes. Heyman says Reigns rescued him because he knew he is the wise man, and he’s been accused of many things in his life and he’s guilty of even more, but he’s never been accused of being stupid.
And pulling the trigger NOW on a scheme to dethrone the Tribal Chief would be stupid. Wouldn’t the smart thing be to counsel him for Crown Jewel and leak the plan to Brock Lesnar so he thinks he has a chance, and Brock cannot stand the fact that the Conqueror will be conquered by Roman—
Reigns asks for the mic and takes it, saying he doesn’t want Heyman to tell him, he wants him to look into the camera and tell Brock.
So Paul looks down the barrel and says they had this conversation ages ago, when he said the Undertaker met his match in the form of Brock Lesnar, and Brock has met his match in the form of Roman Reigns. He says Roman will walk into Crown Jewel as Tribal Chief and fight him as a Tribal Beast, and Lesnar will learn one thing— the winner, and STILL reigning, defending WWE Universal Champion, your Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns.
Five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville are in their office when Seth Rollins rolls up.
He asks if Edge is going to be here tonight and says he’s going to go to the ring at the end of the night and if Edge isn’t there to answer his challenge, it’ll be on them and the show won’t end very well. And if they run into Edge before he dose, could they return this framed photo of him and Beth Phoenix to him?
Carmella makes her entrance to send us to break.
Liv Morgan vs. Carmella (Queen’s Crown First Round Match)
Carmella goes and gets her protective face mask applied again before the bell.
Morgan right in with a takedown into mounted punches, jackknife pin, Mella with the Code of Silence but she reverses by tearing at the mask! Enzuigiri from Liv, inverted Codebreaker... CARMELLA GETS A FOOT ON THE ROPES! Raining punches down, cover for two, snapping Morgan’s neck over the top rope...
Carmella wins by pinfall with a superkick.
Mace is interviewed backstage.
He says he’s not going to compete, because that implies that there’s competition, but there’s no one that can match his strength, aggression, or disposition to dominate. All he sees is prey, and he’s coming to annihilate.
Happy Corbin makes his entrance and we get a replay of a promo he and Madcap Moss delivered last week to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Happy Corbin welcomes us to Happy Talk.
He says his buddy Madcap Moss makes him happy, and Moss asks what instrument you find in the bathroom, the answer being a “tuba” toothpaste.
Enter Kevin Owens, he hits the ring and beats Corbin up until Moss makes the save and they overwhelm him! Riddick hits a neckbreaker driver to lay him out!
Naomi rolls up to argue with Sonya Deville about getting matches but she shuts her down and says she’s got a match... against her.
Finn Balor makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, commentary hypes up the new SmackDown roster that will be arriving in two weeks.
Cesaro vs. Finn Balor (King of the Ring First Round Match)
Collar and elbow, Cesaro with an arm wringer, Balor reverses to a side headlock, hanging in there through reversal attempts until the Swiss Superman grabs a headscissors, tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two! Hard whip, off the ropes, big leg drop, only two. Up and over, double leg into a double stomp, Finn getting fired up, back body drop sends Cesaro to the floor!
Back inside as Balor goes for a dive... SWISS DEATH CAN’T KEEP HIM DOWN BUT IT DOES SEND US TO BREAK!
Back from commercial, trading strikes, whip across, Balor ducks a lariat, reverses a tilt-a-whirl into an inverted headlock elbow drop! Charging in, blocked, to the corner for uppercuts! Whip across, another, another, but Cesaro goes to the well one too many times and Sling Blade leaves both men down and out!
Laying the Swiss Superman out, headed up top but he cuts him off with an uppercut! Jockeying for position and Cesaro hits the superplex... NOPE! Arm-trap crossface applied, Finn crawling for the ropes, desperate, reversing to a pin for the break. Cesaro uppercuts him, double leg, reversed, victory roll... NO GOOD!
Sidestep the uppercut, Cesaro takes the post shoulder-first, Balor with a tope con giro! Back inside, shotgun dropkick, headed up top...
Finn Balor wins by pinfall with Coup de Grace.
Becky Lynch is backstage complaining to Deville and Pearce.
She says she’s delivered on every request they’ve had and what have her two opponents done, blindsided her and attacked her from behind? She sees how it is, but let the record show she gave the people the biggest match possible. Sonya says they all know how good she is and the only thing left is to prove it by signing the contract and beating Belair and Banks.
She signs the contract and groins Adam with it on her way out.
Seth Rollins makes his entrance to send us to break.
Commentary hypes up next week’s show, which will be taking place on FS1 and features both tourney semifinals as well as Brock Lesnar appearing and Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks.
Seth Rollins is in the ring to call Edge out to answer his challenge.
He tells Edge he can name the stipulation, have the match in his living room, whatever he wants. He shifts gears and asks what happened to the Rated-R Superstar, to the Ultimate Opportunist, before laughing and saying he ended him with one stomp in Madison Square Garden. He says Edge isn’t just disappointing him, but disappointing all of his fans and, more importantly, he’s disappointing his family.
He talks about how hard it must be for his daughters to have a father who’s a disappointment, and we see Edge roll up in the loading dock.
Edge makes his way to the ring... SPEAR! He beats Seth down at length and breaks off the support strut from the chair to choke him with it but Rollins clobbers him with an elbow to the neck and gets away!
Edge gets on the mic... HE WANTS A HELL IN A CELL MATCH!
That’s the show, folks.