Say this for Grayson Waller: He knows how to push people’s buttons. And that’s almost certainly what he’s going to do tonight on WWE SmackDown in Toronto.
Rey Mysterio was initially announced as the guest tonight on The Grayson Waller Effect, but WWE has since revealed that Santos Escobar will be joining him. Normally, that would be no problem, as the two have been staunch friends and allies in the LWO.
But when Mysterio won the United States Championship last Friday, he only did so because Austin Theory attacked Escobar, preventing him from getting the title shot. It was only after doctors said Escobar couldn’t go (in storyline terms, that is), that Rey stepped up to the plate.
Escobar seemed legitimately happy to see his mentor win, but if there’s any part of him that’s resentful, you can be sure that Waller will locate it and bring it to the forefront tonight. That’s what a good heel talk show host does, after all.
Another big draw on tonight’s card will be Edge competing in front of his hometown fans. He’ll be battling Sheamus, who he somehow has never faced during his 25-year WWE career. Hanging over the bout is the specter of retirement for Edge, who has bee up front about saying it’s possible this will be his final WWE match.
Will the Rated-R Superstar ride off into the sunset on SmackDown? Possibly, but that’s why we watch.
WWE SmackDown results from Toronto:
(Scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)
- The Grayson Waller Effect welcomes both Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar … and LA Knight
- Austin Theory def. LA Knight by pinfall, thanks in no small part to timely assistance from The Miz
- Edge gets videotaped salutes from John Cena, Sheamus, The Miz, Charlotte Flair and Sami Zayn
- Another great tribute video shows Edge as a young man asking Bret Hart a question from the audience of a talk show, plus tons of awesome highlights from his career
- Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair def. Damage CTRL (IYO SKY and Bayley) by pinfall
- More tributes to Edge come in from Cody Rhodes, AJ Styles, Ricochet, Kevin Owens, Becky Lynch, Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle
- Belair is about to be interviewed backstage but gets jumped by Damage CTRL, who smash her left leg between two steel chairs
- Street Profits def. The O.C. by pinfall, showing off a new tandem finisher while doing so; Bobby Lashley comes out to congratulate them afterward
- A replay of last week’s Bloodline segment plays, which ends with the memorable “Deuces, Uces!” farewell line by Jey Uso
- Kayla Braxton asks Paul Heyman for an update on the current state of The Bloodline and the head space of Roman Reigns, but he refuses to answer and mocks Braxton for inquiring about Bloodline-related rumors; he then gets a phone call which he will share, saying Jimmy Uso will be live on SmackDown next week
- Edge def. Sheamus by pinfall