One star on the NXT brand was in the building for last week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.

The show last week was heavily talked about as Vince McMahon made an appearance amid news that he voluntarily stepped back from his role as WWE CEO and Chairman due to an ongoing investigation.

There was also an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match between titleholder Roman Reigns and Riddle. Reigns won the match and Brock Lesnar ended up making a surprise return, laying out The Bloodline.

Behind the scenes, an NXT 2.0 star was present.

Sanga Backstage

PWInsider is reporting that Sanga was backstage during SmackDown on June 17. What he was doing there isn’t known at this time.

Sanga has received a lot of praise for his work over in NXT. Sanga was used in a pre-show dark match on SmackDown one week prior. He took on Wes Lee just before the June 10 episode of SmackDown went on the air.

It’ll be interesting to see if Sanga is one step closer to being a permanent fixture on the main roster.

Sanga had been serving as Grayson Waller’s bodyguard on NXT but that was short-lived and the two ended up squaring off.

While the reactions to Vince McMahon’s return to SmackDown were largely negative, it appears to have helped the show with the ratings.

The June 17 edition of the Blue Branded show featuring the Universal championship match between Roman Reigns and Riddle in the main event drew 2.274 million viewers according to Spoiler TV.

This is a big increase from last week’s show. The episode featuring Sami Zayn vs Riddle for the main event had drawn 1.803 million viewers.

The first hour of the show that featured the promo from Vince McMahon among other things drew 2.186 million viewers. The second hour, featuring the big title match then saw an increase in viewership with 2.362 million people tuning in.

As for the key 18-49 demographic, the episode managed to score a 0.55 rating, which is again an increase from last week’s 0.44 number.

• Vince McMahon’s SmackDown Promo Described As ‘Tone Deaf And Embarrassing’

On YouTube, the surprise return of Brock Lesnar at the end of the show is far ahead of other videos from the show with over 2.2 million views at the moment.

The Roman Reigns vs Riddle main event is at 1 million views and the unlisted video of Vince McMahon’s TV return is at 990K views. All other videos are below 500k.

The June 17 episode of WWE SmackDown is history and something went down after the show.

This edition of SmackDown featured an Undisputed Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Riddle. Reigns retained his championship in an action-packed match. As a result, Riddle can never challenge Roman for the gold again.

Vince McMahon also appeared for a very brief promo. Many believe this was a ratings ploy with Vince capitalizing on the news that he has stepped away from CEO and Chairman duties amid allegations.

Once The Broadcast Ended

There was no dark match when the show went off the air. Instead, Brock Lesnar simply posed for the crowd and gave some high fives.

Lesnar had returned to WWE TV after Roman defeated Riddle. He fooled Reigns into giving him a handshake and planted him with the F5. Lesnar also sent The Usos packing.

After SmackDown ended, WWE announced that Brock Lesnar will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Universal Title.

The status of WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis for the June 17 episode of SmackDown is now clear.

Much has been made following a Wall Street Journal report. The news outlet revealed that the WWE board is investigating an alleged $3 million pact Vince McMahon made with a former employee.

McMahon was said to have had an affair with the women. A source from the report claimed that Vince passed the woman onto Laurinaitis “like a toy.”

John Laurinaitis Will Not Attend SmackDown

Many have speculated that John Laurinaitis will ultimately be the scapegoat in this situation. At least for right now, he’s definitely feeling some of the effects.

PWInsider is reporting that Laurinaitis will not be attending the SmackDown taping in Minneapolis tonight.

Reports have been surfacing that a lot of female talent in WWE have felt uncomfortable about Johnny “Ace.”

One current anonymous female star in WWE told Fightful that she’d rather have her belongings sent to her in a trash bag if she’s fired than have to deal with Laurinaitis.

Vince McMahon is scheduled to appear on tonight’s show amid the allegations and the news that he’s voluntarily stepped back as WWE CEO and Chairman.

Check back on the SEScoops homepage for live coverage of WWE SmackDown beginning at 8 p.m. ET

In the midst of an investigation, Vince McMahon will be making an appearance on WWE SmackDown tonight.

The June 17 episode of SmackDown will take place inside the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns will put his gold on the line against Riddle. If Riddle loses, he can never challenge Roman for the gold again.

We’ll also get to see a “Last Laugh” match between Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin. Max Dupri will also unveil the first member of his Maximum Male Models faction.

Vince McMahon Appearance

WWE has also announced that Vince McMahon will be making an appearance during a crucial time.

McMahon is being investigated by the WWE board for allegedly making a $3 million pact with an ex-employee. He reportedly had an affair with the woman and paid her to keep quiet.

As a result of the investigation, McMahon has stepped down from his role as WWE CEO and Chairman for now. Stephanie McMahon is the interim CEO and Chairwoman.

He will retain his role as far as WWE creative is concerned.

It was reported by Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Vince is expected to address the talent before SmackDown goes on the air.

Keep it locked on the SEScoops homepage for live coverage of WWE SmackDown tonight.

The June 10 episode of WWE SmackDown has gone off the air but there was some action after the fact.

This week’s edition of the blue brand’s show featured an Intercontinental Title match between Ricochet and Gunther. Fans also got to see Riddle go one-on-one with “honorary Uce” Sami Zayn.

Riddle won the match and he will move on to challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship on June 17.

The action has held inside the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, LA.

Once Cameras Stopped Rolling

Once SmackDown went off the air, fans got to see a championship match.

Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair put her gold on the line against Asuka. The match was said to have been very good.

Natalya Speaks After Attacking Ronda Rousey

In a WWE social media exclusive, Natalya answered the question of why she attacked Ronda Rousey from behind during the show.

Here’s what she had to say:

“Ronda Rousey comes here and she’s got an entourage of people that kiss her ass. She makes everybody around her jump through hoops but she can’t make me jump through hoops.

“Because I’m the one person in this company that has seen Ronda at her very most vulnerable. I’ve seen her when she is at her weakest.

“When Ronda Rousey came into this business, I told her when to show up at my gym. I told her when she could leave my gym. And now, I’m gonna let her know when I kick her ass.”

The stage is set for a big WWE title match on next week’s edition of SmackDown.

On the June 10 episode, Riddle took on Sami Zayn in the main event. The stipulation was that if Riddle won, he’d get a shot at Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship on June 17.

If he lost, he would be barred from SmackDown.

Roman Reigns vs. Riddle Official

In an exciting SmackDown main event, Riddle defeated Zayn with the RKO. After the match, The Usos attacked Riddle but one-half of RK-Bro sent them packing by retaliating with kendo stick shots.

Reigns will now put the undisputed gold on the line for the first time against Riddle on the June 17 episode of SmackDown.

The match is happening on that date as Reigns isn’t scheduled for the Money in the Bank premium live event on July 2.

Another episode of SmackDown has come to an end but there was some action once the cameras stopped rolling.

This week’s edition of SmackDown (see results here) was jam-packed. It opened with a six-man tag team match between Drew McIntyre and New Day against The Brawling Brutes.

Fans also got to witness a six-pack challenge to determine the number one contender for Ronda Rousey’s SmackDown Women’s Championship.

In the main event, The Usos put the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on the line against Riddle and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Post-Show Action

Fans inside the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio enjoyed some exclusive action once SmackDown went off the air.

This time, it was Ohio’s own The Miz taking on AJ Styles. Before the match, there was a bit of banter between the two on the mic.

In the end, AJ Styles won the match.

A big-time championship match has been added to tonight’s June 3 episode of WWE SmackDown.

WWE is known to pivot on the fly and while reports suggested that initial plans were to hold off The Usos defending their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles until Money in the Bank, things have changed in recent days.

That report was updated to mention that WWE officials were considering having the match take place at Hell in a Cell this Sunday (June 5).

As it turns out, we’re getting the match far sooner than anyone anticipated.

WWE has announced that The Usos will put their gold on the line against Riddle and Shinsuke Nakamura on the June 3 episode of SmackDown.

The company also noted that there will be a six-pack challenge to determine the number one contender for Ronda Rousey’s SmackDown Women’s Championship.

That match will feature Raquel Rodriguez, Shayna Baszler, Xia Li, Natalya, Aliyah, and Shotzi.

Fans will also get to see the return of Madcap Moss, who has vowed to get revenge on Happy Corbin.