WWE SmackDown live results: Night of Champions fallout
A wild Night of Champions main event last Saturday saw Sami Zayn pull off a miracle and become Undisputed WWE Champion after beating both Cody Rhodes and Gunther to do so.
Tonight on SmackDown, Zayn makes his return as a world champion.
Also tonight, Rey Fenix defends the AAA Cruiserweight title against El Hijo del Vikingo, Brie Bella takes on Lainey Reid in singles competition, and Chelsea Green teams with Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton against the team of Jade Cargill, B-Fab, and Michin.
The lineup for tonight’s show includes:
- Sami Zayn returns to SmackDown the new Undisputed WWE Champion
- Charlotte Flair, Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green combine to take on Jade Cargill, B-Fab and Michin
- Rey Fenix defends the AAA Cruiserweight Title against El Hijo del Vikingo
- Brie Bella takes on Lainey Reid
Tonight’s episode of SmackDown was taped on Monday at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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– Our night kicked off with a recap of the Night of Champions main event that saw Sami Zayn win the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Sami Zayn kicks off SmackDown as Undisputed WWE Champion
The new Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn opened the show, with a mix of cheers and boos, and lots and lots of pyro.
“It seems to me that a lot of folks here tonight came to ride ro die with the ‘Last Real Good Guy’,” said Zayn to begin his opening. He said he appreciated the love from the past few days, but it was funny because the people booing for the past few months turned their backs on him. Zayn said he could be petty and tell everyone of those single those people to kiss his ass… but he won’t. Because Zayn said he was a good guy. It is the same reason he is the World Champion, because he has always been the same. Zayn claimed that he won the belt the right way without being as cutthroat as people told him to be. Zayn said he could be petty to those who doubted him and tell them to again kiss his ass, but he won’t, because this was a celebration.
Zayn said that he would be forever now known as a WrestleMania main eventer, Grand Slam Champion and until the day he died, he will be forever known as a WWE Champion. And that no amount of hate or noise would take that away from him.
Cody Rhodes’ entrance music interrupted Zayn as the former Undisputed WWE Champion made his way down to to the ring, looking a bit more serious than usual. Rhodes introduced himself to Zayn, who mocked his “what do you want to talk about” starter. Rhodes said that Zayn talked about how when Cody won the world championship that he was the first to congratluate him. Rhodes then mentioned how he wanted to be the first to congratulate Zayn as the new world champion. Rhodes and Zayn shook hands, as the latter told him to stay right put. Zayn said that Rhodes wasn’t just here to be congratulate, and it had something to do with what Rhodes used to hold (i.e. the Undisputed WWE Title). Before things could escalate, Jey Uso walked down to the ring, wanting to tell Zayn that he wanted a shot at the title.
The two friends exchanged their handshakes as Jey said that he was so proud of Zayn for earning what he deserved. But, Jey said that he was out here on Bloodline business, as this was his warning shot to Zayn. Jey said he needed to bring the gold back to “The Family”.
Rhodes interrupted and said that Jey was out here running errands for Roman Reigns. Zayn said that Rhodes had his chance and now it was his time to become the WWE Champion. Zayn pointed out that the title was still “in the family” and that nobody would touch the World Title. Zayn told Rhodes and Jey to stay away from him.
Adam Pearce interrupted due to Nick Aldis being sent home after a dustup with Gunther following Night of Champions, as the acting SmackDown GM. Pearce said that we’d be doing things his way, with Zayn defending his Undisputed WWE Title this Monday on Raw. As for tonight, we’d see Jey Uso vs. Cody Rhodes with the winner facing Zayn this coming Monday.
Fun opening segment, but I’m not sure about having Cody Rhodes hovering in the world title scene once again. The potential alternative of Jey Uso facing Sami Zayn on Monday isn’t that enticing either, since it’d be more Bloodline nonsense. It’s a no-win scenario, and I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to say on this at the conclusion of the main event.
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– Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and Tiffany Stratton had a bit of a tense argument of sorts before their six-woman tag match against the Baddies.
WWE SmackDown recapper. Former NXT PLE/WWE Saturday Night's Main Event/fill-in recapper.