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Roman Reigns kicks off the show, wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. To him, it means family, health and happiness. Reigns says that last year, all he had is family as it was a rough year. Roman says he’s blessed and thanks fans. He says he’s also thankful that Team SmackDown kicked ass and that he didn’t do it alone, he praised NXT but says SmackDown got the job done.
Reigns thanks Ali, Gable and Strowman, he calls Corbin a dummy. Corbin then arrives ans says he won’t thank Reigns cos it was his own leadership, and him eliminating two people that got the job done. Corbin sais that Reigns’ wife burned their turkey but that he didn’t notice since he’s used to eating dog food. Corbin mocks the crowd – A weak promo by Corbin here unfortunately, A low point to kick off the show.
Roman Reigns vs Robert Roode is the first match with Dolph Ziggler and King Corbin at ringside. The finish sees Roode take a Superman Punch for a 2 count, Roode then counters a spear with a spinebuster. Roode grabs Corbin’s scepter but gets taken out by Reigns, who then takes out Corbin, and spears Roode for the pinfall. – Great first match, crowd were reacting well, Roode got some shine too which is always glorious! A clear high.
After the match, Reigns spears Roode through the barricade, throws chairs on top of him, then topples the announce table onto him, more excellent action, bit of a meaner side to Roman, top work.
Following the ads, we see that Roode was stretchered out.
We see some highlights from the Fiend vs. Bryan at Survivor Series.
It’s time for the FireFly Funhouse, with Bray welcoming us to the show. Wyatt says that he is thankful to be Universal Champion, and that sharing is caring. He loves his new toy and had a lot of fun playing with Bryan. Bray says that he wants to do it again. Bray says Bryan can have his wish come true if he lets him in. – Fantastic work as always from Bray Wyatt, another high.
We get a vignette featuring Sheamus, he calls SmackDown soft and pathetic and that he’s coming back and claims that SmackDown will belong to him.
Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak is up next, apparently this feud began on social media…. a quick one with Ali hitting an 054 for the pinfall. – A small showing of Ali’s work, Gulak deserves a bit better though.
Sasha Banks and Bayley are out next to address the women’s division. Banks says she’s not here for a little speech and Bayley says that at Survivor Series, the women’s division failed. They say that SmackDown didn’t lose because NXT was better, they lost because the locker room let them down. They call themselves leaders and say that they have to keep it real and be strong.
Sasha Banks calls the entire team weak links. She runs them all down and Lacey Evans arrives. Lacey mentions that she spent the entire night preparing Thanksgiving dinner for 36 people and doesn’t have time for these two classless women. Lacey says she wouldn’t trust Bayley or Sasha to lead a chicken dance at a party and says a real woman should be the leader. One with style, class, confidence and sophistication, and one that wouldn’t tap out under pressure. Lacey nails Banks with a Woman’s Right and leaves.
Daniel Bryan is interviewed, being asked about Bray’s challenge. We turn to the monitor and see that a trip back to the Funhouse as they have finished dinner, Huskus the pig ate too much.
Bray tells Huskus the pig that the Thanksgiving story is a lie, and says that the first one was between the musclemen & reptilians. This leads to a crazy rap video featuring Huskus & Bray, doing the muscleman dance. – Really wacky, yet mesmerising stuff that you just can’t look away from, especially in the early hours of the morning! Another high, mad bit of footage here. Daniel Bryan looks confused as everyone else, he doesn’t answer the question.
Nikki Cross vs. Sonya Deville. Mandy mocks Nikki’s looks, saying that she looks like cold Thanksgiving leftovers, doesn’t really make sense but ok?? It’s a quick match that sees Nikki cradle Sonya for the pinfall. – 3 talented workers, hopefully this develops into something more down the line and we get a proper feud.
After the match, Fire & Desire beat down Cross until Alexa Bliss makes her return and saves her partner. Brilliant little moment in the show, a moment of Biss if you will… Great to see Alexa Bliss back! Another high.
We see Bryan and Miz backstage, Miz makes light of how they’re not friends, and says that the Fiend changes people for the worse. Miz asks Daniel if it’s worth another shot at the Fiend after barely surviving the first time. Miz brings up Bryan’s family and how they can’t afford to lose him. Daniel gets angry and Miz walks off. – Captivating work from both men, they work so well together, their chemistry is brilliant and it progresses 2 really strong angles in one segment. Once again, it’s a high.
We see Drake Maverick attempt to kiss Dana Brooke under mistletoe, Brooke shuns Drake, bringing up the fact that he’s married…. Elias returns and sings a song about finally being back – Happy that we can once again walk with Elias, he has been sorely missed.
The New Day arrives for their open challenge. The duo joke about Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Sami Zayn arrives as Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro accept the challenge.
The New Day vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro is next. The finish sees Cesaro laying into Kofi with a series of uppercuts, Kofi fires back and Cesaro counters Trouble In Paradise. The ref stops Sami from interjecting and throws him out to the backstage area. Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise and wins. Really solid match, with quite a weak finish unfortunately, the match gets a high, but the finish gives us a low.
Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring to address the events and Wyatt’s challenge.: Bryan arrives and says that Bray Wyatt has offered him another title shot. Daniel acknowledges that the Fiend will change him, but says that he may need to be changed. Bryan says that he was nervous at Survivor Series. He felt change at Survivor Series, due to the fans, their passion and energy had him realising who he should have been this entire time.
Daniel brings up how he has claimed that the YES movement is dead, but maybe the fans brought it back to life. Daniel asks if he should accept Bray’s challenge. The crowd chants Yes.
Bray appears on the screen and he’s happy about this. He says Miz is right, because HE will show everyone Bryan’s true form. Bryan helped build and change him. Bray introduces a new face, a special Fiend Championship belt. Suddenly, the lights go out and the Fiend appears from under the ring and locks in the Mandible Claw dragging Bryan under the ring. He rips out a bunch of Bryan’s hair and throws it on the mat to end the show. – An interesting segment to end the show. It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.
Highs – 6
Lows – 2