The final SmackDown of 2019 aired live from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Here are 5 takeaways from the show:
Roman Reigns Attacked King Corbin
King Corbin complained about having to compete tonight and claimed that he earned a shot at the title by beating Roman Reigns twice. Corbin added that the WWE Universe should be begging him to defeat Bray Wyatt and become Universal Champion. Roman Reigns’ music hit and the Big Dog attacked Corbin ringside.
Reigns sent Corbin into the barricade and leveled him with a Superman Punch. Roman fired up the crowd and set up for the Spear but Corbin retreated through the crowd. WWE officials rushed the ring as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
Otis Gave Mandy A Fruitcake & Carmella Picked Up A Win
Mandy Rode faced Carmella tonight on SmackDown. Before the match, Mandy asked Sonya Deville to be in her corner tonight. Deville pointed out that Mandy wasn’t ringside for her last week and Rose blamed it on Otis getting sweat all over her dress after he hugged her. Otis then showed up with a fruitcake that his mother made and gave it to Mandy. Dolph Ziggler later hit on Mandy Rose and stomped on the cake from Otis.
Carmella and Mandy traded punches to start off the match. Carmella connected with a Hurricanrana and followed it up with a Clothesline for a two count. Mandy sent Carmella into the turnbuckle and went for a Clothesline of her own but Carmella countered into a roll-up for a two count. Carmella then hit a Superkick for the victory.
Corbin Was Put Back Into The Main Event
The Miz battled Daniel Bryan to determine who will face The Fiend for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. Baron Corbin was originally supposed to be in this match but demanded that the match be postponed after Roman Reigns attacked him. It wasn’t postponed and he was simply removed from the match instead.
The match started out back and forth. Both superstars went for a Crossbody at the same time and crashed to the canvas. Baron Corbin’s security team then rushed the ring and started attacking Bryan and Miz to cause the match to end in a DQ. Miz connected with the Skull Crushing Finale and Bryan hit the Running Knee.
King Corbin was interviewed backstage and was informed that Roman Reigns was asked to leave the building. Bryan and Miz sprinted backstage and attacked Corbin and his security team as SmackDown went to a commercial break. After the break, it was then announced that the Triple Threat was back on for the main event.
The Triple Threat match was initially supposed to start off the show but Roman Reigns interrupted that. Then Miz and Bryan were supposed to begin the 2nd hour of the show but Corbin interrupted that. In other words, WWE wasted around 30 minutes of tonight’s show only to wind up with the main event that had been advertised all week.
Bayley & Banks Prevailed
A Moment of Bliss returned tonight and Lacey Evans was the guest. Bliss brought up Banks taunting Evans’ daughter last week and rolled the footage. Lacey stated that her child means the world to her and that Banks would not have walked out of the arena last week if WWE officials didn’t separate them.
Evans added that she was not going to be attacked from behind tonight and made her way to the ring. Bayley and Banks then attacked Dana Brooke on the entrance ramp and Lacey made the save. A brawl broke out before WWE officials separated them. Dana and Lacey then battled Bayley and Banks in a tag team match.
Banks and Bayley isolated Dana in the ring to start things off. Brooke battled back with a Suplex and went for the cover but Sasha kicked out at two. Banks hit Evans with a cheap shot and Lacey flipped out. As the referee was preventing her from getting in the ring, Banks and Bayley capitalized by stomping on Brooke in the corner.
Bayley tagged in and applied a Headlock to Dana. Banks tagged back in and sent Brooke to the corner. Dana hit Bayley with a punch to the face and knocked her off the apron. Lacey and Bayley tagged in and Evans hit a Clothesline. Lacey planted Bayley with a Neckbreaker and followed it up with a Dropkick to Banks outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Lacey hit Bayley with an Elbow Drop and a Bronco Buster in the corner. Evans hopped up to the top rope and hit a Moonsault. Evans went for the cover but Banks broke it up at two. Lacey chased Evans around the ring and wound up running into a Bayley to Belly. Bayley went for the cover but Brooke broke it up. Dana tagged in as Lacey hit Bayley with the Woman’s Right. Sasha sent Evans into the ring post and then locked Dana in the Bank Statement for the submission victory.
Daniel Bryan Will Face The Fiend At Royal Rumble
The Miz and Daniel Bryan attacked King Corbin to start off the match. Corbin retreated out of the ring and Miz rolled up Bryan for a two count. Daniel hit Corbin with a Suicide Dive and then sent Miz into the ring post. Bryan followed it up with a knee to Miz’s face off the apron.
Corbin launched Bryan into the timekeeper’s area and slammed Miz into the barricade. Back in the ring, Miz connected with a Jawbreaker but Corbin shrugged it off and sent him into the ring post. King Corbin slid out of the ring and leveled Bryan with a Clothesline. Corbin followed it up with a Chokeslam/Backbreaker to Miz before rolling him back into the ring.
King Corbin mocked the “yes!” chant and Bryan battled back with a couple of punches. Corbin hit an uppercut and sent Bryan to the corner. Miz planted Corbin with a Neckbreaker as Bryan got back up. Daniel hit Corbin with some Yes Kicks and Miz followed it up with a Splash. Corbin planted Miz with Deep Six but turned around into a Dropkick from Bryan as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, The Miz had Corbin locked in the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Bryan broke it up and then applied the LeBell Lock to Corbin. The Miz broke that up and all three superstars were down on the mat. Bryan and Miz were the first two up and traded chops in the middle of the ring.
Miz booted Bryan in the face and Daniel rolled to the outside. King Corbin planted Miz with End of Days and went for a cover but Bryan broke it up at two. Corbin went for the End of Days on Bryan but Daniel escaped. Bryan hit the Running Knee but Ziggler got in the ring and hit Bryan with a Superkick. Corbin went for the cover but Roman Reigns joined the party and dragged Corbin out of the ring. Reigns took out Ziggler and Corbin as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
Bryan and Miz were battling on the top rope when SmackDown returned. The Miz went for a Superplex but Bryan was able to hang onto the turnbuckle and Miz crashed to the canvas. The Miz connected with a Shinbreaker off the middle rope and Bryan collapsed to the mat.
The Miz hit Bryan with a series of Yes Kicks but Bryan responded with a slap to Miz’s face. Bryan unloaded some Yes Kicks of his own but Miz then caught him and booted Daniel in the knee. Bryan went for the LeBell Lock but The Miz escaped by biting Daniel’s hand. Miz hit a Skull Crushing Finale and went for the cover but Bryan kicked out. The Miz quickly locked in the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Bryan escaped and applied the LeBell Lock for the submission victory. Daniel Bryan will face The Fiend for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble.
After the match, Bray Wyatt congratulated Bryan during an episode of Firefly Fun House. Bray told Daniel that The Fiend isn’t done with him yet and asked if he was willing to let him in. Bryan then started a “yes!” chant to close the show.
Tonight’s main event was a solid match but there was far too much filler during this week’s episode of SmackDown. However, the storyline between Mandy Rose and Otis is oddly entertaining. I’m looking forward to another match between Bryan and The Fiend at Royal Rumble. I can only hope that WWE opts to ditch The Fiend’s red lighting in 2020.