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WWE SmackDown results, grades: Brock Lesnar decimates Sami Zayn before Roman Reigns win
The Beast laid out Zayn before his main event title shot (Picture: WWE)
Poor Sami Zayn got destroyed by Brock Lesnar just moments before losing to Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown.
The conspiracy theorist was a big focus of Friday’s show as he worked brilliantly with the Beast Incarnate, but he saw his Universal Title opportunity come and go in seconds at the end of the night.
Lesnar kicked off proceedings as he made his return to a fantastic ovation, setting his sights on the gold held by his long-time rival.
Zayn came to the ring to try and butter up Brock, who brilliantly asked who he was, only to laugh it off when Sami pointed out he was the Number One Contender after last week’s Black Friday Battle Royal win.
Lesnar tried to manipulate Zayn into facing Reigns for the title tonight, and in the end physically coerced him, vowing to be by his side for the match.
Later in the evening, The Usos were overly cocky before Jey faced King Woods, but the New Day man brought out the returning Kofi Kingston to even the odds.
Jimmy got involved quite soon into the bout, sparking a brawl which saw Xavier and the Hand of the King stand tall, which left Reigns fuming backstage as he insisted there are ‘a lot of things [he] didn’t know about’ as he quizzed Paul Heyman.
In the main event, Sami called Lesnar his guardian angel before the title match, only for the Beast to drop him with three German Suplexes and an F-5, leaving him dropping up in the corner.
Reigns came down as The Usos lifted Zayn to his feet, leaving him open to a Spear and a Guillotine for a quick win, with the Tribal Chief now set for a Day 1 defence against Brock.
Toni Storm gets revenge on Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks beats Shayna Baszler and more
The first match of the night saw Shayna Baszler – who got a nifty video package beforehand – face off with Sasha Banks, with Pat McAfee referring to the Queen of Spade’s signature move as the Future Endeavours Kick after it took out Nia Jax and Eva Marie.
In the end, the promo video seemed sadly misplaced as the Legit Boss beat Baszler, while her rival Shotzi was nowhere to be seen.
Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss mocked Jeff Hardy and Drew McIntyre on Happy Talk, with the Scottish Warrior threatening to take them out with Angela the sword.
He had backup from Jeff, who attacked from behind and then cleared house with Drew to stand tall.
The Viking Raiders shrugged off the loss (Picture: WWE)
Los Lotharios overcame interference from Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura to beat the Viking Raiders in a match that was far too brief.
Erik and Ivar then looked a bit silly as they partied with Boogs and Nakamura after the bell, instead of being angry at the loss.
Later, Charlotte Flair came out to trash talk Toni Storm and again dismissed her challenge one week after embarrassing her.
Toni Storm got some revenge at Charlotte Flair’s expense (Picture: WWE)
However, the former NXT star appeared on the ramp with a pie and got a measure of revenge over the SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Finally, Sheamus made quick work of Cesaro as the former’s protege Ridge Holland watched backstage.
These two deserved much more time in the ring, and the Swiss Superman specifically deserved better here as the Celtic Warrior destroyed his former Bar teammate in a segment that should have meant more.
More: US TV news
Moments before the main event action went down, Naomi challenged crooked WWE official Sonya Deville to a match after weeks of torment, and Deville had an interesting response.
She insisted as long as she was wearing her suit, Naomi can’t lay a hand on her, but her wrestling gear is another story, which led to the superstar asking if that meant she’s accepting her challenge.
Sonya slapped her and insisted she is, before walking away without detailing a date for the highly anticipated clash.
*WWE SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.
WWE SmackDown results and grades
Los Lotharios beat The Viking Raiders (C-)
King Woods beat Jey Usos via DQ (C+)
Sheamus pinned Cesaro (C+)
Roman Reigns destroys Sami Zayn (A for whole segment)
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