WWE SmackDown Live Results – October 16, 2020

Welcome to Ringside News’ live results coverage of WWE SmackDown Live.

Tonight’s show will feature a Kick-Off Show for the season premiere, meaning our coverage starts at 7:30 PM and will see Stone Cold Steve Austin make a video appearance. Another legend appearing tonight is none other than Goldberg, who has hinted at a showdown with Roman Reigns.

Speaking of Roman Reigns, the Champ will defend his Universal Championship against Braun Strowman in what will be the monster among men’s last night on the blue brand. Also having a farewell match tonight is The New Day, which will see Big E team with his brothers one last time to face Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sheamus.

Other matches tonight include Jeff Hardy Vs. Lars Sullivan, The Street Profits Vs. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles, and the return of Daniel Bryan!

So, while the season premiere might be something of a marketing term, the show tonight is pretty stacked. Let us know what you’re excited to see and enjoy the show!

Kick-Off Show

The Kick-Off Show begins with Booker T and Michael Cole welcoming us to “season 2” of SmackDown and making some jokes.

Paul Heyman is backstage and he says he wants us to join in the anticipation of Roman Reigns. He says Roman faces Braun Strowman tonight, his biggest challenge of all time, and so he is busy stretching and warming up, instead of partaking in a “talent-intrusive kick-off show.”

The Street Profits are backstage and they are hyped to be on SmackDown. They mention that Stone Cold, Triple H, and more will be on the Kick-Off Show. Renee Young makes an appearance and shoots us to a video showing some highlights of year one of SmackDown on Fox.

Seth Rollins joins Booker T and Michael Cole wearing a small black blazer. Seth berates Michael Cole for asking him a silly question. A player from the San Francisco 49ers wishes Seth the very best and Rollins laughs saying he’s doing just fine. Cole asks if he has anything planned and Seth says we’ll have to stay tuned.

Kayla Braxton interviews Braun Strowman backstage and asks how he feels about facing Roman Reigns tonight. Braun says that Roman has been his biggest foe in WWE and tonight we’ll all get to see the pay-off. He can’t guarantee either of them will be standing afterwards but he can guarantee he will walk out with the title.

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon join the table and make jokes with Booker T and Michael Cole. Stephanie says she’s so proud of season one of SmackDown, and Triple H says season two is a great reset for Superstars who are hungry and ready to make a name for themselves. Booker asks Triple H to name a star from NXT who could be the dominant person to headline WrestleMania in the next few years, and Triple H says Rhea Ripley. Triple H also waxes lyrical about Biance Belair and says she is a game-changing talent.

The rest of the Kick-Off Show is Fox sports presenters and personalities talking about SmackDown, including a very brief interview with Stone Cold. And that’s it for the fast Kick-Off, season two starts right now!

SmackDown Live

The entire roster of SmackDown Live is on the stage and in the ring is Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Stephanie welcomes us to the season premiere of SmackDown Live and Triple H says there’s a little something for everyone tonight. The main will be Braun Strowman Vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship, as well as The New Day’s farewell match. Triple H introduces several of the stars and a brawl quickly breaks out with the entire roster fighting its way down to the ring.

Kevin Owens hits a cannonball off the apron to Cesaro and Nakamura, Montez Ford hits a tope to Ziggler and Roode, and then Lars Sullivan comes down. Sullivan drops people on his way down to the ring, drops Kalisto jumping at him, then slides inside and beats both Apollo Crews and Chad Gable. Sami Zayn high-tails it to avoid Sullivan, but Jeff Hardy attacks him from behind and knocks him out of the ring. They’ll be going one-on-one after the break.

*Commercial Break*

Lars Sullivan Vs. Jeff Hardy

The match gets underway and Hardy runs at Sullivan and attacks his leg before punching him and hitting a mule kick. Sullivan fires back with a fast lariat that drops Jeff. Sullivan clobbers Jeff with crossface forearms and hits a toss back suplex. Lars hits a sliding clothesline, then goes up top and looks for a diving headbutt but nobody’s home.

Jeff fires off shots at Lars and lands a jawbreaker. Sullivan whips Hardy to the ropes but the enigma hits a forearm and an inverted atomic drop. Hardy hits a Whisper In The Wind but Sullivan kicks out at one. Jeff looks for Twist of Fate but Sullivan blocks it and shoves him from the ring.

Hardy runs and jumps off the steps but Sullivan catches him and slams him on the apron. Sullivan gets him back inside but Jeff hits a Twist of Fate and goes to the top rope. Sullivan gets on his feet and Jeff can’t believe it. Sullivan grabs him and hits the Freak Accident.

Winner: Lars Sullivan

The New Day make their way to the ring for their farewell match with Big E.

*Commercial Break*

The New Day are in the ring and they mention they will be split across the brands. Kofi says they’ve had a week to think about it and he couldn’t help but smile when everyone told them about how special their run has been. They recount some of their best moments and Woods gets emotional, saying without Kofi and Big E he wouldn’t even be in WWE. It’s been the best six years of his life.

Big E says he loved sitting with Kofi and Woods in Waffle House hearing about their families and his…TV. Kofi says back in 2012 he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be a wrestler anymore but Woods and Big E approached him to do something special. And they’ve had lots of incredible moments but he made two best friends and brothers as well. Woods says enough of the sappy stuff, they want to give us one last time to show why they’re the longest-reigning WWE Tag Team Champions.

*Commercial Break*

The New Day Vs. Sheamus, Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura

We start the match with Nakamura and Woods and they exchange holds. Woods hits Shinsuke with a knee to the gut and tags Kofi for a standing double stomp. Nakamura performs a nice reversal and hits a heel kick. Cesaro tags in and hits an arm-drag/leg-split with Nakamura. Cesaro clobbers Kofi with a European uppercut and forces him to the corner.

Kofi jumps over Cesaro and tags Big E who hits a splash. Woods tags in and throws Big E onto Cesaro with a splash for a two-count. Sheamus tags in and hits a double team with Cesaro, then they pose together as The Bar. Woods dropkicks Sheamus in the knee, then the head and makes the tag for a frog splash from Kofi.  Cesaro runs interference and Nakamura pulls the top rope down to send Kofi flying over the ropes to the floor.

The heels go out and work together to suplex Kofi on the floor. Nakamura gets Kofi inside for a two-count and tags Cesaro who stomps Kingston down in the corner. Cesaro hits a slam and the heels continue to make quick tags to isolate Kofi in their corner. Kofi rallies and tries to make a tag but gets picked up and slammed into the corner. Sheamus shoves Kofi off the top rope to the floor.

*Commercial Break*

We return to see Kofi roll-up Sheamus for a two-count. Kofi hits the S.O.S and both men make tags. Big E runs hot over Cesaro and knocks Sheamus and Nakamura off the apron. Big E hits the big splash and starts clapping. Big E wants the big ending but Cesaro escapes and hits a gutwrench suplex.

Big E dodges Cesaro and tags Woods so they can hit Morning Woods for a two-count. Cesaro clobbers Woods with an uppercut and tags Nakamura for the sliding German suplex on the ropes. Woods knocks Nakamura and Cesaro to the outside and tags Kofi for a dive onto both. Kofi puts Shinsuke inside and jumps off the top but eats knees. Cesaro tags in and they hit the swing into the Kinsasha.

Sheamus tags in and he and Cesaro hit white noise for a near-fall. Big E breaks it up but gets knocked to the outside by Cesaro. Woods knocks Cesaro out but Sheamus clotheslines him out. The New Day hit the Midnight Hour to Sheamus for the win!

Winners: The New Day

The New Day celebrate their final win after the match and all three men get emotional while posing and hugging.

Otis is interviewed backstage but he’s interrupted by Sami Zayn before he can speak. Sami says Otis lost his partner and his girlfriend to Monday Night RAW, so it stands to reason he’ll lose the lawsuit to The Miz as well. Sami says there are winners in the world, like himself, and there are Otis’s. Mr. Money In The Banks shoves Zayn onto the floor.

Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring for the first time inside the WWE ThunderDome. Later tonight, Sasha Banks and Bayley will sign their contract for Hell In A Cell.

*Commercial Break*

Daniel Bryan is in the ring and he’s thrilled to be in the ThunderDome. He points to a screen that features Brie Bella and his daughter Birdie. Bryan says tonight is a great night to be back, and he got to meet the new roster for SmackDown. He’s excited to see the new faces settle in, like The Riott Squad and Bianca Belair, as well as Kevin Owens and Aleister Black, guys he can’t wait to face.

The Friday Night Messiah, Seth Rollins makes his way out and interrupts Bryan. Seth says he’s happy Brie let him take the night off to come join the fun at the ThunderDome. But he thinks baby brain might be getting to Bryan because he didn’t mention the must important acquisition; Rollins the redeemer. Seth asks Bryan which side of history he wants to be on? He says you’re either with him or against him and he knows Bryan is smart enough to help him mould his vision.

Bryan says he’s all for change and saving the planet but to be honest, Seth’s vision is short-sighted, self-indulgent, and quite frankly, kinda dumb. Seth gets mad and argues for a second before hitting Bryan with a punch. Seth stomps him and shouts but Bryan fights back and hits some Yes Kicks that send Rollins reeling from the ring.

Rollins tries to retreat but Rey and Dominik Mysterio come out and Seth runs back to the ring. Rollins asks Daniel for help but Bryan leaves him with Rey and Dominik. Before they can pounce, Murphy comes running down and gets in between them. Seth starts laughing but Murphy tackles Rollins and punches him! Murphy knees Seth and he rolls from the ring, looking furious. Murphy extends a hand to the Mysterio’s but they leave him hanging.

*Commercial Break*

SmackDown Tag Team Championships

(C) The Street Profits Vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode

We start the title match with Angelo Dawkins and Dolph and they trade headlocks. Dawkins drops Dolph with a shoulder, then leap frogs over him and hits a dropkick. Dawkins looks for a splash in the corner but nobody’s home and Roode tags in.

Bobby stomps Angelo in the corner and hits a suplex for a two-count. Roode knocks Ford off the apron and tags Ziggler for a double-team Fame-Asser. Roode and Ziggler continue beating on the Champions and the referee tries to stop them but they refuse and he calls for the bell.

Winners Via Disqualification: The Street Profits

Roode and Ziggler continue the beatdown after the match, hitting Dawkins with a spinebuster/Zig-Zag combo, then Montez comes back and takes them both out with a huge crossbody off the top.

We see a replay of Sasha Banks and Bayley’s title match last week that ended in a disqualification. Banks makes her way to the ring to sign the contract for their upcoming Hell In A Cell match.

*Commercial Break*

Adam Pearce moderates the contract signing between Sasha Banks and Bayley. He offers Sasha the contract first and she signs right away. Before she signs, Bayley starts ranting that she is the longest-reigning SmackDown Women’s Champion and she did it all by herself. Sasha gets angry but Bayley says she’s just jealous. Bayley says Sasha spent all her time waiting to turn on her but she beat her to the punch. Sasha says if she wanted to turn on her, she could have done it years ago.

Banks says friends don’t turn on each other. When Bayley got left behind at NXT, Sasha called her. And Sasha helped bring her to RAW as a team. They were the first-ever Women’s Tag Team Champions. And now Bayley is a record-setting Champion, largely thanks to her help. But Bayley turned her back on her and now she is going to make her pay. Because she is Sasha Banks and her name is bigger than Bayley’s title. When she walks out with the title it will be the icing on the cake. Sasha slides the contract to Bayley, who then leaves the ring without signing it. Banks tells her she can run all she wants but she will sign it one way or another.

We see Braun Strowman warming-up backstage. The main event will take place after the break.

*Commercial Break*

WWE Universal Championship

(C) Roman Reigns W/Paul Heyman Vs. Braun Strowman

The match gets underway and we can see a few legends on the ThunderDome screens, including Goldberg and Mark Henry. They lock-up and Braun forces Roman to the corner, but the big dog fires back and knocks him out of the ring. Reigns hits an uppercut to Braun on the floor and gets him back inside.

Strowman whips Roman to the corner but gets caught with an uppercut and dropped with a big boot. The action spills out of the ring again and Roman slams Braun into the announce table. Reigns jumps off the announce table and looks to hit a Superman punch but Braun grabs him and throws him over the announce desk. Braun runs around the ring and shoulder tackles Roman over the barricade.

*Commercial Break*

Back live and Strowman runs at Roman for a splash and a biel. Braun clubs Roman in the chest and gets a quick two-count. Roman kicks Braun and dodges him so that the monster shoulder tackles the ring post. Roman looks for the Superman punch but Braun grabs hold, lifts him and hits a dominator.

Strowman lifts Roman and hits a Chokeslam for a near-fall – low-blowing Braun during the kick-out. Braun scrambles to his feet and gets hit with a Spear…but kicks out! Roman gets mad and retreats to the corner, looking for another Spear, but Braun picks him up. Roman slides off his back and shoves Braun into the turnbuckles.

Roman attempts the Superman punch again but Braun throws him up, only for Reigns to land into a guillotine choke. Braun slams Roman into the buckles but the tribal chief holds on. Braun stumbles and falls and Roman continues to choke until the monster passes out!

Winner: Roman Reigns

As soon as the match ends, Jey Uso comes out and paces around the stage. While Jey is watching, Roman turns his attention to Strowman and hits a Spear. Roman tells Jey to come to the ring and he gets a chair from Paul Heyman. Jey stares at Roman and looks at Braun who is trying to get up. Roman tells Jey that this is how he ensures his family has food and survives for generations; he has to be tough.

Roman tells Jey he doesn’t want to fight him at Hell In A Cell, and Jey should know that if he can do this to Braun he’ll do it to Jey…then Reigns batters Strowman with the chair over and over. Referees run down but Roman scares them off and beats Braun some more. Jey gets into the ring and Roman says he never wanted to hurt him but Jey forced his hand and he’s embarrassing the tribe.

Roman slides the chair to Jey and tells him to prove he’s tough. Roman turns around and holds his arms out for Jey to hit him but Uso drops the chair. Roman laughs but Jey punches him, then hits a superkick. Jey gets fired-up, lifts the chair, and hits Roman in the back but he’s pulled back by officials. Jey breaks free but Roman hits a Superman punch. Roman looks annoyed as he leaves the ring.

That’s it for the SmackDown season premiere. Let us know what you thought of the show and be sure to come back tomorrow for all your wrasslin’ news. Until next time, stay safe!