Tag: Sheamus

WWE SmackDown results 05/19/23: Usos continue their downward spiral

Things went from bad to worse for Jimmy and Jey Uso on the May 19 episode of WWE SmackDown.

It’s really only in retrospect that we realize that we were watching when a big star made their debut … because we don’t know until later they’re actually going to be a big star. But every debut could be something special down the road, which is a relevant idea for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown from Columbia, South Carolina.

Why? Because even though we briefly saw Grayson Waller last week, this will be the show where he makes his first legit SmackDown appearance, hosting his segment “The Grayson Waller Effect.” He’s promised a big name guest, and if we were to make a wager, whoever it is just might be someone he antagonizes into being his first opponent on the blue brand.

There’s also no guarantee that Waller becomes a huge WWE star. But he might, and if so, you’ll be able to tell everyone you were watching when he took his first steps.

As for those who are already main eventers, tonight’s show has plenty of those as well. Most prominently, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are going to come face to face with their challengers at Night of Champions, Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa.

Sure, KO and Sami have been in the ring with those two plenty of times, especially Sami seeing as he was once part of the Bloodline and all. But things are different now, particularly since Reigns brushed aside The Usos — who also happen to be in tag team action tonight. This has all the makings of a very combustible mix, and we’re here for it.

WWE SmackDown results from Columbia:

  • Roman Reigns doesn’t even get past the “Acknowledge me!” part of his promo before Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn join him and the Bloodline in the ring; when The Usos ambush Owens and Zayn and look for approval, however, Reigns is livid and storms out of the ring

  • Jey and Jimmy try to explain themselves, but Roman insists he had something to say and angrily kicks them out of the Bloodline dressing room
  • Pretty Deadly def. Brawling Brutes by pinfall
  • A tribute video is shown to remember the late “Superstar” Billy Graham
  • Zelina Vega says she is, in fact, ready for Asuka after the experience she had at Backlash in Puerto Rico
  • Asuka def. Zelina Vega by submission, then won’t let go of the Asuka Lock, which ends up bringing Bianca Belair to the rescue — and Belair barely avoids another dose of the mist

  • The Grayson Waller Effect welcomes AJ Styles, and Grayson Waller ends their conversation with what he thinks will be the best part of Night of Champions: “And new … World Heavyweight Champion, Seth ‘Freakin” Rollins!”

  • The LWO has a pep talk ahead of their match with The Usos
  • Street Profits def. LA Knight and Rick Boogs by pinfall, leading Knight to turn on Boogs after the match, hitting him with the BFT
  • Cameron Grimes says it feels like he’s living a dream and is ready to keep going … to the moon!
  • Karrion Kross and Scarlett have a tarot card for Styles, never a good thing
  • Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn def. Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon by pinfall
  • Due to Liv Morgan’s injury, Raquel Rodriguez has to relinquish the tag team titles and find another partner to compete for them against three other teams, but she gets mocked and challenged by Damage CTRL in the meantime
  • Austin Theory complains about being ganged up on last week, but Sheamus isn’t out there to talk and just drops Theory with a Brogue Kick
  • Heyman says the Tribal Chief forgives the Usos but still won’t be out there at ringside for their match
  • LWO (Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar) def. The Usos by pinfall, with an assist from Owens and Zayn, and Reigns is unhappy but keeps Sikoa from going out there

WWE SmackDown results: Bobby Lashley bloodied but triumphant in title tourney 1st round match

Bobby Lashley was busted open but still managed to prevail and advance to face AJ Styles later on SmackDown.

Austin Theory ends up doing some running early on, with both Sheamus and Bobby Lashley in hot pursuit. Lashley nails a swinging neckbreaker and Sheamus drops a knee before following with a standing senton. Theory is clotheslined to the floor, leaving the two bruisers to turn their attention to each other.

Lashley runs into a powerslam that Sheamus converts into a near fall. They battle over by the ropes, where Sheamus drops his foe’s neck across the top rope before Theory comes over … only to end up in position for the 10 Beats of the Bodhran.

During commercials, Lashley did his “run dude into the post” thing to Theory, keeping him out of the fray again. Lashley gets the upper hand in a battle with Sheamus, but only until the Celtic Warrior gets double boots to the face up against a corner charge.

Lashley moves in looking for the Hurt Lock, but Theory returns with a dropkick to break things up. He covers Sheamus but Lashley breaks up the pin.

Theory pulls off his rolling blockbuster on Lashley and finds Sheamus ready to prevent a pin. The U.S. champ stomps away on Sheamus in return, drawing boos from the Knoxville fans. Sheamus rebounds quickly and ends up one-on-one with Theory, climbing to the middle rope for White Noise and covering for a near fall.

Sheamus warms things up for a Brogue Kick but is laid out by a spear from Lashley; Theory tries unsuccessfully to steal the pin. Lashley counters the A-Town Down with a one-armed slam, then applies the Hurt Lock. Sheamus’ Brogue Kick catches mostly Theory, and a busted open Lashley covers Austin to get the three.

Click here for full WWE SmackDown results from Knoxville.

WWE SmackDown results: Phenomenal night for AJ Styles sends him to tourney final

See who emerged from the SmackDown side of the tournament and what Roman Reigns had to say.

Knoxville, get ready for a packed two hours of WWE SmackDown tonight.

It’s the first episode with the new post-WWE Draft rosters, but the biggest intrigue is arguably about six men vying to be off to Raw. That’s because it’s the second night of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament, and if the SmackDown representative wins the whole thing, he’ll be defending that title exclusively on Monday nights.

Be that as it may, the Triple Threat matches for tonight are pretty sweet. One features AJ Styles, Edge and Rey Mysterio, while the other will see Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley and Sheamus collide. The winners will then face each other in what we expect will be the night’s main event, with that winner then going against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions for the title.

There are also titles up for grabs tonight. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez will defend their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against the Damage CTRL duo of Bayley and Dakota Kai, because we guess IYO SKY can’t get all the title shots even though we’d stan for that.

Last and certainly not least, Roman Reigns now calls SmackDown his exclusive home, and he’ll be live in Knoxville as well. What will he want to talk about? Not Cody Rhodes any more, probably, so look for him to address the tension within the Bloodline and the status of The Usos.

It should be an entertaining two hours of pro wrestling without a whole lot of filler, which is just the way we like it.

WWE SmackDown results for Knoxville:

(click any match with a link for full details)

  • AJ Styles def. Edge and Rey Mysterio by pinning Edge to advance in a WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament first round match
  • Bobby Lashley def. Sheamus and Austin Theory by pinning Theory to advance in a WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament first round match
  • Grayson Waller gets Adam Pearce to agree to put the SmackDown tourney finalist on his talk show next week
  • Cameron Grimes def. Baron Corbin by pinfall in a matter of seconds to win his SmackDown debut
  • Accompanied by the entire Bloodline, Roman Reigns gives tons of credit to Solo Sikoa for solving problems, but wants The Usos to apologize for losing a match they dedicated to him …

  • … and after Reigns getting in Jimmy’s face, Jey steps in and apologizes but gets some surprising news: Solo and Roman will go for the tag team titles at Night of Champions
  • Damage CTRL seems to be having a Bloodline moment of its own with Bayley saying she pushed IYO SKY too hard and that she and Dakota Kai will win the tag team titles tonight
  • Still, stinging from their public humiliation, the Usos get into it briefly with the LWO but decide not to press it since they’re outnumbered
  • Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez def. Damage CTRL (Bayley and Dakota Kai) by pinfall to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
  • The Brawling Brutes get a visit from Pretty Deadly but don’t know what to make of them
  • Bianca Belair has a championship celebration in front of her hometown fans that is quickly interrupted by Asuka, who sprays her with the blue mist
  • AJ Styles def. Bobby Lashley by pinfall in a World Heavyweight Championship Tournament semifinal

WWE SmackDown preview: Tourney time, plus the Tribal Chief

A case could be made for any of the six SmackDown participants in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament.

One contender down, one to go. Seth Rollins will be competing to be the inaugural WWE World Heavyweight Champion (this version of it, anyway) at Night of Champions, but he’s just one man who will fight for that honor, as Peter Cetera once said long ago, and needs someone to oppose him. That’s where tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown from Knoxville comes in.

Just like on Raw, there will be two Triple Threat matches with the winners advancing to face each other later in the night — and the winner of that match will face Rollins in Saudi Arabia. These bouts are absolutely stacked, including one with AJ Styles, Edge and Rey Mysterio. That’s two Hall of Famers and a future inductee in one match if you’re scoring at home.

The other three-way dance isn’t too shabby either, as it features Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley and Sheamus. There are a lot of ways WWE can go with the SmackDown winner, which is part of what makes it interesting. We picked Sheamus, and not to toot our own horn, but we also called Rollins moving on from Raw.

One very significant member of the SmackDown roster who isn’t in the title tourney is also going to appear on the show tonight. We’re talking, of course, about Roman Reigns, who already has plenty of gold of his own. What he doesn’t have is clarity within his Bloodline, as Solo Sikoa has been super reliable but The Usos certainly have not. Will the Tribal Chief address the mess in his own house — and will someone come forward to challenge him at Night of Champions?

It’s quite possible those answers will await us tonight on Fox. Tune in at 8 p.m. ET to see for yourself, or join us back here at Wrestling Junkie as we’ll be recapping all of the action live.

20 best WWE matches of all time: Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and more

Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Kurt Angle are among the WWE superstars with multiple matches on this list.

Rankings of the best anything are always tricky, definitely subjective, and absolutely a lot of fun. When it comes to the best WWE matches of all time, however, there’s also another factor: There’s just so many of them.

Consider lists of the best movie or TV series. Yes, there are a ton of each over the years. But in any given year, there are maybe dozens of movies to consider, and great TV shows tend to last for several years, even in the modern streaming age.

WWE goes nonstop every tear, putting matches on Raw and SmackDown weekly and holding bigger premium live event cards monthly. That’s hundreds of new matches annually, and while some are unquestionably more significant than others, each one is a separate performance with its own unique context.

Just narrowing that list of potential candidates down could be a Herculean effort, but we found a way to reduce the work and make the resulting list pseudo-scientific at the same time. We came up with a formula that incorporates both Cagematch ratings and the Wrestling Observer’s star ratings to give each of the greatest WWE matches ever their own score.

The end product has a satisfying cross-section in terms of both types of matches and chronology, as it includes bouts from 1994 up through this year. Certain names appear multiple times — you’d expect nothing less from the likes of Shawn Michaels, for instance — but there’s also nice variety in terms of who made the cut overall.

And while we certainly have our own opinions about where certain matches should fall in the top 20, we decided to let the rankings remain where the numbers said they should fall. After all, debating lists like this is part of what makes being a pro wrestling fan so much fun. Where possible, we’ve included the full video of the match so you can relive them as you go.

Without further ado, here are the best WWE matches of all time, working from 20 up to No. 1.

Here’s how the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament should play out

Fantasy booking the World Heavyweight Championship tournament is something lots of WWE fans are doing right now.

Though it would have been nice if WWE would have split up the WWE Championship and Universal Championship a while back — or perhaps never unified them in the first place — it’s done the next best thing with the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship. With Roman Reigns off to SmackDown as the post-WWE Draft rosters take effect this week, the new title gives the Raw talent a top prize of their own.

To find the inaugural champion, WWE has created a 12-man tournament with six wrestlers each from Raw and SmackDown that will play out on both shows this week. There will be two Triple Threat matches per brand, with the winners squaring off later in the show to determine the finalists, who in turn will meet for the title at Night of Champions on May 27 in Saudi Arabia.

Saying that the World Heavyweight Championship has been divisive is an understatement. For every WWE fan looking forward to something new and a chance for wrestlers to breathe prestige into the belt, it’s easy to find one who is skeptical of its “consolation prize” feel.

Despite that, there’s an opportunity in the tournament to do what WWE does best, weaving long term storytelling in with liberal does of nostalgia and fresh matchups to arrive somewhere compelling by the time the first World Heavyweight Champion is crowned.

To that end, here are three things that should happen during the World Heavyweight Championship tournament to make it as worthwhile as possible.

Cody Rhodes shouldn’t win, and shouldn’t even make the final

One of the biggest worries once the World Heavyweight Championship was announced was that WWE would try to have its cake and eat it too with regard to Cody Rhodes. After he came up short against Reigns at WrestleMania, the new title would be the most convenient way for him to win that elusive world championship without having to defeat the Tribal Chief. Everybody wins! Except the fans, of course, as this would be quite the copout.

Seeing Rhodes sent to Raw and then announced as part of the tournament field has only amplified those concerns. But let’s give Triple H and the creative team the benefit of the doubt for now and assume this is just to mess with our heads.

The most entertaining way for WWE to handle Rhodes would be to lean into the idea that he’s likely going to win … and then pull the rug our from under him. Have Cody win his Triple Threat match Monday night and look good in the Raw semifinal until a deus ex machina (maybe deus ex beast?) arrives in the form of Brock Lesnar.

After losing without being convincingly defeated at Backlash, Lesnar shouldn’t be willing to let things go with Rhodes, and the best possible way for him to get revenge would be to cost the American Nightmare a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. That allows the Rhodes-Lesnar program to continue while clearing the road for Cody to still go after Reigns down the road, which would truly be a win-win.

Sheamus should win the SmackDown side of the bracket

There are a lot of ways the SmackDown side of the tournament could go, making it a little harder to figure out the best way forward. It’s easier to approach it by process of elimination based on who’s involved in ongoing feuds.

Austin Theory and Bobby Lashley, for example, cancel each other out since they likely have unfinished business together. Rey Mysterio is part of a larger LWO-Judgment Day war, one that could easily swallow up his tourney chances.

AJ Styles and Edge would both be fun sentimental picks, and it wouldn’t be out of the question for WWE to give either man a run at the World Heavyweight Championship as a sort of last hurrah deal (especially for Edge). But there’s an even better choice still remaining: Sheamus.

The Celtic Warrior has been lauded even more than usual for his work over the past year but has come up short every time he’s gone for gold. Even better, he hasn’t had a singles match with the person who should emerge from the Raw bracket in more than five years …

Seth Rollins should win the whole thing

Let’s not overthink this. Not only is Seth Rollins incredibly over in his current babyface role, he’s been a trooper over the past few years while WWE has pushed others in places he no doubt feels he deserves.

Rollins has already cut the best promo at making the World Heavyweight Championship feel like it can be something special and convinced many he’s the man to help it on its way. He and Sheamus would put on a heck of a match at Night of Champions without either man needing to turn heel to sell their desire to win.

Let Reigns keep his titles as long as needed, but give the Visionary a chance to run with the ball on Raw. It just feels right, and hopefully WWE agrees.

Gunther def. Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 39: Best photos

Check out these photos of the Intercontinental championship match between Gunther, Sheamus, and Drew McIntyre.

Check out these photos from Gunther’s Intercontinental championship defense in a triple threat match against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. (Photos courtesy of Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports)

WrestleMania 39 results: Gunther breaks Sheamus’ heart, retains IC title

Gunther, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus did battle for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 39. Get all the details on their match.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Drew McIntyre is dressed in white tonight, while Sheamus is accompanied to the stage by his Brawling Brutes teammates before they end up retreating to the back. Gunther has a bit of a retro look for him with a long navy blue coat.

When the bell rings, Gunther seems to motion his challengers to fight each other, but McIntyre sends him to the floor with a dropkick so he and Sheamus can duke it out.

Sheamus lands the first big move, an Irish Curse, but Gunther returns and attacks him from behind. Titus O’Neil is loving this one as the guest commentator.

A clubbing chop from Gunther sends Sheamus to the mat, and he hurls McIntyre into the ringpost as well. A series of chops and boots batters Sheamus as the fans applaud.

Gunther drops Sheamus’ back on his knee before switching to a Bostom Crab. Alas, McIntyre has joined them now, and he’s willing to trade strikes with the champ. The fans come alive again as Drew backs Gunther into a corner with rapid fire chops, and now all three men are doing battle.

Eventually, Gunther ends up taking the 10 Beats of the Bodhran while also receiving chops from McIntyre, who sends Sheamus to the floor as well. Sheamus gives his old (former?) friend the same treatment, going well beyond 10 beats, and past 20 until Drew finally slumps to the outside.

Sheamus hoists McIntyre but eats a boot to the face and a release German suplex from Gunther. The champ crashes home a clothesline and gets a two count.

Gunther lines up Sheamus for another big clothesline that gets another near fall. McIntyre hits a neckbreaker on Gunther, then hurls Sheamus into him in the corner. A Future Shock and a kip up have Drew feeling good, but Gunther evades a Claymore and hits a powerbomb that forces McIntyre to kick out at two.

The Ring General climbs up top only to be greeted by Sheamus’ fists and hands. Sheamus delivers an Avalanche White Noise and the Celtic Cross, but his cover is only good enough for a two count.

Sheamus locks the champ in a Cloverleaf, adjusting the hold as needed until McIntyre tries a sleeper on him. A series of reversals finds Sheamus hitting both opponents with knees to the face, and the fans cheer as they can feel the finish.

A Brogue Kick finds the mark, but McIntyre hauls Sheamus out of the ring when he makes the cover. As they battle, McIntyre sets up for a breathtaking tope con hilo. He calls for the Claymore but runs into a Brogue Kick, and once again it’s only good for a two count.

“Fight all damn night” says Michael Cole. McIntyre connects on a Claymore, and this time it’s Sheamus’ turn to barely kick out before the ref counts to three. The Irish and Celtic Warriors battle on their knees, then their feet, continuing to just throw with all they’ve got left.

Sheamus manages to come out of it with another Brogue Kick, but he’s slow to cover and Gunther has finally recovered to splash them both. He powerbombs Sheamus onto McIntyre, then powerbombs Drew to retain his Intercontinental Championship.

WrestleMania 39: Start time, matches, predictions, how to watch

WrestleMania 39 is less than a week away, and we get you set to watch all of the action in Los Angeles.

For pro wrestling fans, there’s no better time of year than WrestleMania. Even people who wouldn’t call WWE their favorite variety of the art form get excited for the company’s biggest show of the year, descending on whatever city is hosting.

In this case of WrestleMania 39, it’s Los Angeles, where SoFi Stadium will play host to two nights of the best WWE has to offer. Historically, that’s often meant a number of older stars who may only wrestle once or twice a year.

Not so much this time, where with the exception of John Cena (and yes, including him in that category makes you wonder where time has gone) and a couple of all-time women’s division greats, the focus is very much on the talent and stories WWE has around on a regular basis.

The headlining attraction will see Cody Rhodes attempt to knock Roman Reigns off his perch atop WWE. The emotional high point of the event may come when Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens take on The Usos for their tag team titles in the culmination of one of wrestling’s grandest longform narratives. And there are plenty of other title bouts and matches with compelling hooks up and down the card.

Will that be enough to make it feel special if WWE plays it pretty straightforward throughout? The guess is that the answer will be yes, as the venue and crowd will ensure the event feels larger than life. Here’s a rundown on everything you need to know as WrestleMania Goes Hollywood.

WWE WrestleMania 39

  • Date: April 1-2, 2023
  • Location: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
  • Start time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT both nights
  • How to watch: On Peacock in the U.S., and on WWE Network in the rest of the world
  • Matches announced: 13

Additional WrestleMania 39 resources

Please scroll down for a look at each match, including our predictions.

Opening Bell: Last shows before WrestleMania, Adam Cole returns on Dynamite

Get set for the week in WWE and AEW with Opening Bell: quick previews of Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage.

Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week we’ve just begun.

WWE Raw preview – Monday, March 27, Footprint Center, Phoenix

Hey, it’s the week of WrestleMania! We made it. Good job everyone. The question now is if Cody Rhodes will make it to the end of the week and his date with destiny.

See, not surprisingly, the Bloodline is making it as difficult as possible for him to arrive in Los Angeles in one piece. To that end, he has to face the group’s enforcer, Solo Sikoa, this week on Raw. He’s bravely told Sikoa he’s not ready for the top level of WWE, but we’ll see if he ends up eating those words — painfully — in Phoenix.

Another big match for WrestleMania, and we mean that literally, will see Brock Lesnar go toe to toe with Omos. To emphasize just how large they are, Raw will host a weigh-in for them, something generally seen in boxing and MMA but should provide some entertainment value in this context as well.

Here’s what else WWE is promising for the final Raw before the Show of Shows:

  • Miz TV will welcome Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus as guests
  • The team slated for the Fatal 4-Way WrestleMania Showcase tag team match will engage in an eight-man tag match, which works out perfectly since there are two fan favorite teams and two villainous duos … but will Otis tear himself away from his modeling career long enough to participate?

AEW Dynamite preview – Wednesday, March 29, Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis

That Kenny Omega. He put his body on the line last week in a bout that lived up to all the hype against El Hijo del Vikingo, and does he take a week off? Absolutely not.

Omega is right back in there this week on Dynamite, facing Jeff Cobb. The NJPW talent has never had a chance to fight Omega in a singles match, but he promised to come looking for Kenny this week, and AEW has made it easier for him to do so by booking them in a match instead of making him literally knock on Omega’s door.

Oh, and it’s for Omega’s IWGP United States Championship, a title we forgot he held.

But an even more exciting match is also scheduled for Dynamite, as Adam Cole (bay bay!) is making his long awaited return from injury. While Cole was ready to name his first opponent after months on the shelf last week, Daniel Garcia talked his way into the spot instead. We’ll see if that proves to be a mistake.

Dynamite has some other great stuff announced as well, including:

  • Orange Cassidy puts his AEW International Championship on the line yet again, this time against The Butcher
  • “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry goes up against Matt Hardy
  • Willow Nightingale will have to keep her head on a swivel for the rest of The Outcasts when she takes on Ruby Soho
  • The Blackpool Combat Club will be in trios action against Dalton Castle and The Boys

WWE SmackDown preview – Friday, March 31, Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles

This is the absolute last WWE show prior to WrestleMania, the “so close you can taste it” edition of SmackDown. While you can’t expect anything that will mess up the Showcase of the Immortals too much as a result, there’s still some interesting stuff planned.

For starters, Rhodes and Roman Reigns will have their final face-off. Is there anything left to be said, any small mental advantage one of them could still gain? We’ll find out Friday night.

That goes for the Intercontinental Championship situation as well. Drew McIntyre and Sheamus are both vying to win that title, and their friendship has unraveled because of it. Yet they’ll have to try to put their disagreements aside to battle Imperium, or else they risk Gunther having a leg up on both of them come WrestleMania.

Finally, the Andre the Giant Battle Royal has become a tradition for WrestleMania, but this time it will take place the night before the Showcase of the Immortals instead. See who ends up taking the big trophy this year on SmackDown.

AEW Rampage preview – Friday, March 31, Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis (recorded on March 29)

You might have heard there’s a lot of wrestling going on this week, much of it in Los Angeles. As a result, there’s every chance Rampage will get swallowed up in everything else going on. But nevertheless, it will air this week in its regular time, in contrast to the last two weeks.

As usual, AEW social channels and Dynamite should let us know what to expect before Friday night rolls around.