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WWE SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Dec. 3, 2021) with a show emanating from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, featuring all the latest build to the Day 1 pay-per-view event coming up on January 1, 2022.
Advertised for tonight: Brock Lesnar’s suspension has been lifted and he will return to SmackDown television. How will Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, and Adam Pearce react to the return of the Beast Incarnate?
Lost in the shadow of Brock’s return is the fact that Sami Zayn has earned the next Universal title match against Reigns. We should find out more details tonight on when, or if, that match will take place.
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. (Note: Going forward, there will be no ban on GIFs or images in the live blog threads. Feel free to post as you wish.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR DEC. 3
Works of art, painted black, magniloquent, bleeding dark. Monotonous palate, murky spectrum, grimly unlimited. Food for thought, so prolific, in contrasting shades, forcely fed. Abstraction, so choking, so provocative, but me? I’m just here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with a recap of last week’s Universal Championship business, including Brock Lesnar’s return.
Brock Lesnar makes his entrance, as promised.
He gets on the mic and says he’s here tonight for one reason and one reason only, the Universal Championship.
Enter Sami Zayn.
He tries to talk up the similarities between himself and Brock and tells him man to man that he’s a fan and he respects his body of work and he even likes the topknot! Lesnar tells him to shut up and says he doesn’t know who Sami is, asking if he’s just a fan or not.
But he’s got a lot of balls coming out here and interrupting him, because he lives in Saskatchewan (yes, he’s from Canada) and he hunts things and eats the things that he hunts, and he wants to know who the hell Zayn is and why he shouldn’t rip his head off.
Sami says he deserves an answer and tries to sell himself as locker room leader and #1 contender to the Universal Championship. Brock has a giggle about Zayn being #1 contender and says he’s happy to give Lesnar a shot after he wins the title. Lesnar mock apologizes and asks who’s playing him and how.
Brock takes him in his arm and talks up the title match and Sami’s name in lights and pitches him doing it right here tonight in San Antonio. Zayn begs off and says he’s not mentally prepared and such, but Lesnar keeps railroading him, backing him into the corner and just saying “Tonight!” over and over.
Sami puts his hand on Brock’s chest and Lesnar wristlocks him until he agrees to have his match tonight. Brock says he’ll be at ringside to watch this first hand and he’ll have Zayn’s back.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Sami Zayn is backstage with Sonya Deville panicking about agreeing to a title match and trying to get out of it.
Brock Lesnar rolls up and Sonya makes the match official and confirms that Brock gets the winner at Day 1. Lesnar high fives Sami and tells him to get him.
Sasha Banks vs. Shayna Baszler
Banks in control early, taking Baszler to the floor, a little back and forth and we go to break.
Back from commercial, corner knees, Baszler fires back with a Karelin Lift! Disdainful kicks, jawing at Banks, she fires back with right hands, step-up lucha arm drag, kick to the arm, hanging her up, corner knees, cover for two! Tornado DDT, another nearfall!
Upkick puts Sasha in the corner, sidestep the charge, Shayna cuts her off, Kirifuda Clutch in the middle of the ring but Banks reverses to a pin to force her to adjust! Reversing to a bridging pin, still no but she gets the Bank Statement crossface! Baszler escapes, vicious running knee to the face!
Doctor Bomb reversed...
Sasha Banks wins by pinfall with a rana pin.
Backstage, five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce is on the phone with Sonya Deville.
She updates him on the Universal Championship situation and Pearce decides maybe it’d be better to stay away from the show for the rest of the night.
She turns around after getting off the phone and Drew McIntyre is right there.
He wants to know who blacklisted him from the battle royal last week, and she tells him to take it up with Pearce. He gets his sword out and tells her to tell Adam that he’s looking for him.
Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss make their and send us to break.
Back from commercial, Corbin and Moss are in the ring for Happy Talk.
They talk about last week’s battle royal and Happy plays it off like eliminating Madcap was a hilarious prank, and he goes with it. They mock Jeff Hardy for forgetting Sami Zayn was in the match due to his “fried brain cells” and Moss tells an incredibly silly joke.
Drew McIntyre is their next target, running down with his sword and such.
Enter Drew McIntyre.
He turns out to be a distraction as Hardy hits the ring and hits Twists of Fate on them! Claymore seals the deal and Drew and Jeff put on the heels’ hats.
We get a Xia Li vignette.
Viking Raiders make their entrance to send us to break.
Los Lotharios (Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo) vs. Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
Erik cleaning house on Los Lotharios early, throwing Garza into the corner and freight training, Lotharios doing double teams, Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura are ringside for the distraction...
Los Lotharios win by pinfall with the distraction.
Post-match, Vikings confront Boogs but he plays guitar to calm them down.
Toni Storm is interviewed backstage.
She says Charlotte Flair isn’t going to stop her from going after a title match, and Charlotte may have more experience than her but she’s on her level. Right now she may be Two Pie Toni but she’s searching for a better nickname, Toni Storm, SmackDown Women’s Champion.
The Usos make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, the Usos get on the mic and call Sami Zayn out for getting cowed into going with Brock Lesnar’s plan.
Xavier Woods makes his entrance and gets on the mic.
He says the Usos don’t like surprises but he’s got one for them, because yes, his crown is shattered (for now), but the Hand of the King, Sir Kofi Kingston, is back!
Jey Uso vs. Xavier Woods
Uso lighting Woods up early, putting boots to him, back suplex neckbreaker, cover for two! Ode to Rikishi misses, Xavier with chops and punches, a leg lariat, whip reversed, boot up in the corner! Off the ropes, slide under, rolling elbow, out to the floor and a brawl breaks out!
The match goes to a disqualification finish.
New Day and the Usos brawl and New Day get the upper hand and the Usos run off while a disappointed Roman Reigns watches with Paul Heyman.
Reigns says there’s lots of things he doesn’t know about tonight and grills Heyman as to whether or not he knew Brock Lesnar was going to be here tonight. He says he’s gonna smash Brock Lesnar if he comes anywhere near him tonight.
Charlotte Flair makes her entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, New Day and Aliyah are walking and talking backstage when New Day run into an interview.
They say they’re gonna win the tag titles from the Usos at Day 1.
Charlotte Flair gets on the mic.
She calls Toni Storm out for begging for a title shot and says she knows exactly what she’s doing and even acknowledging her feels like giving her too much credit. She can shower off the pie but she can’t rid herself of the stink of embarrassment. Storm demanding a title shot doesn’t add up, so she came all this way to say no.
As Flair leaves, she doesn’t see Toni come behind her with a pie of her own... PIE TO THE FACE!
Sheamus makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a Ricochet hype reel.
Cesaro vs. Sheamus
Collar and elbow, Cesaro with a go-behind, Sheamus with back elbows, trading uppercuts, Irish Curse connects! Finlay Roll gets another nearfall, stomping away, fishhooking the Swiss Superman’s mouth! To the floor, Cesaro with an uppercut over the timekeeper’s barricade, smashing Sheamus face-first into the announce desk before throwing him back inside!
Back inside, pump knee connects but Cesaro kicks out at two! Back and forth...
Sheamus wins by pinfall with the Brogue Kick.
We get a recap of our opening segment.
Sami Zayn makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Naomi rolls up on Sonya Deville in her office.
She says she keeps thinking about everything she’s done to try and kill her glow and she needs to know if she’s scared or not to have the match. Sonya says she’ll get the match as soon as she takes off the suit. But as long as she’s wearing the suit, she’s a WWE official, and if she puts hands on her, she’ll take her job.
Sonya hauls off and slaps her to prove her point!
We get our obligatory Raw recap and go to break.
Back from commercial we get some hype for next week’s matches, including Naomi vs. Sonya Deville.
Sami Zayn is in the ring and on the mic and he says this could be the biggest match of his career, and he never dreamed of winning the title here but every now and then there’s an angel on his shoulder that convinces him to go out on a limb and he’s going to shock the world by upsetting Roman Reigns and winning the Universal Championship.
He runs down the crowd for never having supported him and he says he has to thank Brock Lesnar for being behind him.
Enter Brock Lesnar, to be at ringside as promised.
Zayn says he knows he’s not out here to help him and he won’t even say he SHOULD help him win, but surely at Day 1 Brock would have an easier chance against Sami than he would against Roman, seeing as his record against Reigns isn’t great. He’s not saying he can’t do it, but—
LESNAR THROWS HIM AROUND WITH A TRIO OF GERMAN SUPLEXES! Fireman’s carry... F-5! ANOTHER F-5! Referee Charles Robinson begs Brock to stop and he takes Sami over and leans him in the corner, giving him a thumbs-up for his match before leaving.
And so we go to break.
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Sami Zayn (WWE Universal Championship)
Roman with the spear, locking the guillotine choke in...
Roman Reigns wins by submission with the guillotine choke to retain the WWE Universal Championship.
The Bloodline stand tall in the ring and Roman jaws at Sami’s unconscious body.
That’s the show, folks.
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