The April 23, 2019 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE.
– Shane McMahon comes out to the ring to kick off the show, with his extended introduction from the ring announcer. There’s a kid in a full Ultimate Warrior costume in the front row. Shane says he’s here tonight to talk about Roman Reigns, and how Reigns punched Vince McMahon last week. Shane shows us a replay of the punch and talks about how disgusting it was. Shane said that was like attacking a national treasure, and Shane wonders about what the appropriate action to take against Reigns would be. Shane says instead of a fine or suspension, they’re going to settle it in the ring.
Shane tells Reigns to get his butt out here, and this isn’t a request, because Reigns works for Shane and his family, it’s an order. Reigns comes out and steps in the ring with a microphone. Roman and Shane come face to face and they both drop their microphones. Elias ambushes Reigns from behind, then Shane attacks him and stomps on Reigsn in the corner. Reigns comes back with a big boot and some punches. Elias runs back over and double teams Reigns with Shane now. Elias hits the Drift Away on Reigns and then they leave.
– Still to come: Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura; and Finn Balor vs. Andrade
– We see Shane and Elias talking backstage about how good it felt to get revenge on Reigns.
– WWE Champion Kofi Kingston is backstage for an interview. Xavier Woods joins to be his hype man. They talk about Kofi being the WWE Champion and his match against Shinsuke tonight. Kevin Owens walks in wearing a New Day shirt and helps get Kofi pumped up for his match tonight.
– Finn Balor vs. Andrade: We see a pre-taped promo from Andrade and Zelina before the match. The opening bell sounds and this one spills out to ringside early on. Andrade leaps from the turnbuckle for a corkscrew moonsault down onto Balor at ringside. Back in the ring, Andrade continues the offense and controls the pace of the match after hitting a flying knee to the face of Balor. Balor finally fights back and then hits a double stomp on Andrade. They fight into the turnbuckle and Andrade goes for a Frankensteiner, but Balor rolls through and dumps Andrade out to ringside. Balor hits a big suicide dive on Andrade, then takes him back in the ring. Andrade fights back with a spinning elbow, then the running knee strike in the corner for a two count. Balor comes back with an inverted DDT, and both men are down. Zelina climbs to the top rope and tries to leap down on to Balor, but Balor moves and she lands in Andrade’s arms. Andrade puts her down, then Balor hits a dropkick on Andrade. Balor follows up with the Coup De Grace on Andrade for the three count.
Winner: Finn Balor
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– We see Elias backstage warming up his guitar and singing about Roman Reigns. Elias proposes that Roman should face him one on one at Money In The Bank. Shane hops up next to Elias and says that was great, but Reigns will never accept, so it’s time for them to go. Shane and Elias get in a limo and drive out of the arena.
– We see some video from earlier today of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville telling Paige they are way out of her league, and it’s too late for Absolution to return.
– Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce: Kairi is joined by Paige and Asuka. Peyton and Billie Kay cut a promo on them before the match. Peyton starts off strong against Kairi and chokes her up against the ropes then stomps on her. Kairi fights back and hits an axe kick, then a neckbreaker. Kairi hits a running elbow on Peyton in the corner, then she goes up to the top rope. Kairi hits the flying elbow drop for the three count after a short match.
Winner: Kairi Sane
– Paige and Asuka celebrate with Kairi after the match. Mandy and Sonya interrupt their celebration and they have a face-off on the ramp. Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers then interrupt, and it looks like Jinder’s match against Chad Gable is up next.
– We see a pre-taped promo from Aleister Black in a black t-shirt in front of a black background.
– Chad Gable comes out for his match with Jinder, but on the ramp Lars Sullivan ambushes him from behind. Lars beats down Gable at ringside and slams him into the ring post. Lars then turns his attention to Jinder, and he slides in the ring. Jinder and the Singh Brothers start to flee the ring. Lars grabs one Singh brother and suplexes him down, and then he powerbombs the other Singh brother while Jinder escapes. R-Truth comes out to interrupt and he charges Lars. Truth hits the ring and starts trading punches with Lars now. They brawl all over the ring until Sullivan hits a suplex, and then a running powerbomb.
– We go to Roman Reigns’ locker room for an interview. Reigns says he accepts Elias’ challenge and he’s going to break his jaw.
– Charlotte comes out to the ring, and she’s got a mic. She talks about her WrestleMania loss to Becky Lynch in their triple threat match with Ronda Rousey. Charlotte says she was robbed at WrestleMania, and she wants Becky to come out and explain why she thinks she’s the rightful Champion when she didn’t beat Charlotte. Becky comes out and gets on the mic. She tells Charlotte that it was a winner takes all match, and Charlotte must not have understood what that meant. Becky says she beat the woman Charlotte couldn’t beat – Ronda, and Becky has beaten Charlotte more times than she can count. They continue to talk trash until Bayley comes out to interrupt. Bayley says the Superstar Shakeup was supposed to be a fresh start, but all she sees is a rerun between Charlotte and Becky. Bayley says Becky has never beaten her. Charlotte tells Bayley to get in the back of the line because this is Charlotte’s show. Bayley challenges Charlotte to a match to determine the #1 contender, but Charlotte says she’s not worth her time. Bayley slaps the microphone out of Charlotte’s hand, and it looks like we might have a match now.
– Charlotte vs. Bayley: Charlotte starts off strong and backs Bayley into the corner off the opening bell. Charlotte shoves Bayley, and Bayley shoves her back and knocks her down. Charlotte misses a spear and Bayley comes back with a neckbreaker. Charlotte fights back and slams Bayley into the corner. They trade slaps to the face now and Charlotte gets the upper hand and drops Bayley. Bayley rolls up Charlotte for a two count, then hits a springboard cross body for another two count. Bayley hits some strikes in the corner, but Charlotte ducks one and takes out Bayley’s knee. Charlotte starts focusing her offense on Bayley’s knee now, and Bayley rolls out to the apron for a breather. Charlotte looks for the Figure Four, but Bayley fights out and drops her. Both women are down now and Bayley is selling the knee. Charlotte escapes a suplex attempt, then she drops Bayley with a big boot for a two count. Charlotte goes for a moonsault off the top, but Bayley rolls out of he way. Bayley follows up with a German suplex. Bayley hits a sunset flip into the turnbuckle, then pins for a two count. Bayley misses a shot and Charlotte answers with a spear. Charlotte immediately pins for the three count.
Winner: Charlotte
– Charlotte will now receive a shot at Becky’s Championship. We see Becky backstage watching on a monitor. Becky does an interview where she says she doesn’t underestimate her competition, but she’s betting on herself at Money In The Bank. She says she’ll defend her RAW Title against Lacey Evans and her SmackDown Title against Charlotte at Money In The Bank.
– We see Kofi, Xavier and Kevin Owens backstage in front of a table of pancakes. Kofi is warming up for his match against Nakamura up next.
– They air Bray Wyatt’s “firefly fun house” vignette that also aired on RAW. Bray says he can’t wait to show everyone what he learned, and he introduces us to the buzzard box and the witch doll. Bray says he used to be a bad person, but he’s done being that “pathetic slob loser.” Bray takes a chainsaw to a cardboard cutout of himself and cuts it in half.
– Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Woods and Owens are at ringside, and Owens does the ring introduction that Big E usually does. Rusev and Lana are at ringside in Nakamura’s corner. The opening bell sounds and Kofi and Nakamura trade strikes evenly in the opening moments. Kofi fires up and hits a cross body off the top on a standing Nakamura for a two count. Kofi connects with a kick, but then he misses a spear and Nakamura answers with a knee drop. Nakamura follows up with kicks and he sends Kofi out to the apron. They fight out to ringside where Nakamura connects with more kicks to the head and upper body. Back in the ring, Nakamura tries to toss Kofi but Kofi lands on his feet. Kofi taunts Nakamura and then clotheslines him. Kofi hits a dropkick, but then he misses a shot in the corner. Nakamura boots Kofi in the head then slams him down on the mat. Nakamura misses a shot and Kofi comes back with a double stomp on Nakamura. Kofi and Nakamura trade kick attempts now but miss all of them. Kofi latches on to Nakamura and hits the SOS. Kofi pins, but then Rusev runs in to break it up, and the ref calls for the DQ.
Winner via DQ: Kofi Kingston
– Owens and Xavier hit the ring to break it up and this one turns into an all-out brawl. Woods gets taken out at ringside, but Owens and Kofi are able to clear the ring. Owens then turns on Kofi and kicks him in the face. Owens beats down Kofi and Woods now, then he grabs the WWE Title belt from ringside and yells at Kofi. Owens takes Kofi out to ringside and looks to powerbomb him, but then Xavier Woods dropkicks Owens to break it up. Owens comes back with a clothesline on Woods and beats him down. Referees finally come out and Owens leaves. Kofi and Woods are hurting at ringside as Owens stares them down from the stage, and SmackDown goes off the air.
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