Both the Phenomenal One and The Man return to SmackDown! AJ Styles has a response for “The New Daniel Bryan” while Becky Lynch continues where she left off!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• The Bar VS The Usos; The Usos win.
• Shinsuke Nakamura VS Rusev; No Contest.
• The Miz VS Kofi Kingston w/ The New Day; Kingston wins.
• SmackDown Women’s Division Battle Royal: Asuka wins and joins the SmackDown Women’s Championship TLC Match.

PLAY BY PLAY

SmackDown General Manager, Paige, starts the show!

And please welcome back the SmackDown Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch! Yes, The Man is back in town! Nia Jax’s face-breaking, concussion-giving punch kept Becky from fighting Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series, but that hasn’t stopped her from being Relent-Lass. Fans are happy to see Becky and Becky’s happy to be back. Any time is too much time away for her. She bled, fought and won during the raid against Raw and still wanted to fight. But she couldn’t, she wasn’t allowed to. “But not no mo’, baby girl.” The Man is putting herself back in the game! Survivor Series had someone else step into Becky’s shadow for once. As such, Becky gets down to business and calls out Charlotte Flair! And here Charlotte comes!

The Queen walks out and joins both Paige and Becky in the ring. Charlotte did her best to battle Rowdy Ronda at Survivor Series but she resorted to a brutal attack with kendo sticks and chairs. Charlotte suffered her punishment of a hefty fine, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the issue here tonight. Fans duel with chants for Becky and echoing “WOO~!” Becky told Charlotte to give Ronda a beating like Becky would’ve, and she came close. But if it was Becky beating Ronda down, Ronda wouldn’t have gotten back up. Becky wanted Charlotte to step up, but does Charlotte know who Charlotte is? It took Charlotte channeling Becky to beat Ronda. Charlotte tells “Becky, Becky, Becky, Becky,” that she wasn’t being Becky, she was being Charlotte Flair. “The only woman on either roster capable of giving Ronda the beating that she deserved.”

And Becky, or The Man, or whoever, do you know why? Because Charlotte is genetically superior with the mindset to do anything possible to get the job down, “WOO~!” Oh come now. Charlotte went from copying her old man to copying The Man. She’s a bootleg Becky trying to take what’s Becky’s. But at least we know she’s being genuine about it now. Wow Nia really hit Becky hard, didn’t she? Because Becky went from quirky to delusional. Becky is copying Ric while riding Charlotte’s coattails. As for Ronda, “The Queen stands out in a crowd”, and will be at TLC because she’s the one born ready. And Charlotte fought for herself that night, and will fight against Becky here and now!

Paige keeps the peace and shuts these two down. Paige enjoys the fire in Charlotte, and she hasn’t seen that since seeing it in Becky. She hasn’t seen anything like these two, so the SmackDown Women’s Championship rematch will happen, at TLC! But that’s not all, because it will be a TLC Match!! Becky and Charlotte love the idea of that, but then here comes Mandy Rose? And not just Mandy, she has Sonya Deville, Zelina Vega & The IIconics with her. “What a joke.” This is insulting! How dare Paige say no one else has shown the same desire as Charlotte. Everyone talks about what Charlotte did to Ronda, but the reality is that any of them could’ve done that. Any one of these five deserves a match over Charlotte. Paige just doesn’t give them the time of day. Paige left Absolution, for PCB. Why?

But wait, here come Naomi, Asuka, Carmella and Lana! “Hold up, wait a minute, let me put some glow up in it!” These four heard what Mandy was saying, and weirdly enough, they agree. Paige surely isn’t questioning any of their desire. The entire SmackDown women’s Division has great talent. Becky wants them to line up, she’ll smack the heads off all of them! Paige eases Becky back and tells everyone to calm down. But Paige loves the passion! So therefore, every woman will be in a Battle Royal! The winner of that moves on to join Charlotte and Becky for a TRIPLE THREAT TLC! A golden opportunity on the road to Tables, Ladders & Chairs, who will win a ticket to the title match in time for the holidays?

The Usos speak.

“We told y’all!” Jimmy & Jey, along with Team SmackDown, held it down for the Blue Brand at Survivor Series, 6-1! There’s only one name in the game and it’s UCE-O! They take on the tag team champions, after the break!

The Bar VS The Usos!

The SmackDown Tag Team Champions have had a rough few weeks. They lose to The Authors of Pain after a urinary distraction, and then lose to The New Day in the first-ever Thanksgiving Feast Fight. As for Jimmy & Jey, they were the sole survivors to be the 1 in 6-1! Will they bring Cesaro & Sheamus their third loss in a month? Or can the Swiss Cyborg & Celtic Gladiator break out of the Uso Penitentiary?

And for those wondering why the Giant isn’t out ringside for his new pals, it’s because The Bar were upset with him over that Thanksgiving Feast defeat. Cesaro blamed Show for why The New Day got away with that food fight frenzy, so Show punched Cesaro with his giant fist! The trio is back down to a duo, will that affect The Bar in any way?

The bell rings and Sheamus starts with Jimmy. They tie up and Sheamus gets a headlock takeover. Jimmy headscissors out then gets his own headlock. Sheamus powers out and runs Jimmy over. Sheamus runs but into an uppercut! Tag to Jey and the Usos chop away. Jimmy holds Sheamus for Jey to forearm smash then dropkick! Cover, ONE, but Jey stays on Sheamus. Sheamus rocks Jey with a forearm and tags in Cesaro. Cesaro throws hands on Jey then whips him to a corner. Jey stops himself and uppercuts back. Tag to Jimmy and Jimmy goes up to hit double ax handles on Cesaro’s arm. Cesaro pulls Jimmy’s hair and has him on the ropes. He backs off but Sheamus hotshots! Sheamus tags in and they whip Jimmy for the Bar Lariat! The Bar says their catchphrase and we picture in picture.

Sheamus stomps away on Jimmy and puts him in The Bar’s corner with a European Uppercut. Cesaro tags in and hotshots Jimmy, then gives his own EuroUppers. Cover, TWO! Cesaro keeps on Jimmy with an armlock, and wrenches that elbow into the keylock. Cesaro wrenches while Jimmy endures. Jey rallies the fans and Jimmy feeds off the energy. Cesaro tags Sheamus and Sheamus mule kicks Jimmy. The Bar ouble whip for Super Saiyan Kicks! Sheamus soaks up th eheat while Jimmy winces. Sheamus shouts at the fans over their disrespect, then brings Jimmy up. Jimmy hits back with uppercuts and chops! Jimmy backs Sheamus down but gets a mule kick. Sheamus tags Cesaro, and The Bar mug Jimmy with stomps. Cesaro has Jimmy down and stomps away until the ref backs him off.

Cesaro drags Jimmy up again, and into the chinlock. He pulls on Jimmy’s head as fans rally up again. Jimmy powers his way towards his corner a step at a time, but Cesaro pushes him back the other way. Cesaro tags Sheamus and hands off the headlock. Sheamus thrashes Jimmy about, but Jimmy endures. Jimmy gets his second wind and pulls on Sheamu’s Mohawk. Sheamus thrashes more but Jimmy keeps fighting up. Jimmy jawbreakers free! Sheamus tags Cesaro and Cesaro boots Jey down! Jimmy dodges but there’s no one to tag. We return to single picture as Sheamus tags in and rocks Jimmy with a big knee! Sheamus carries Jimmy back to The Bar’s corner and Cesaro tags in. Cesaro rocks Jimmy with another EuroUpper, and Sheamus helps with the suplex. Cover, TWO!

Cesaro tags back to Sheamus and Sheamus rocks Jimmy with another knee. Cover, TWO! The Bar keeps its cool, but fans rally for The Usos. Sheamus puts Jimmy in the corner but Jimmy fights back! Jimmy rocks Cesaro and dumps Sheamus out. Cesaro hurries to get Sheamus up and in, but Jimmy heads for his corner. Tags bring in Jey and Cesaro! Jey rallies with lariats, kicks and a shout-out to Roman Reigns with the fist pump uppercut! Jey whips Cesaro and hits a Samoan Drop! Fans fire up with Jey as he aims at Cesaro. Corner to corner hip attack hits! Cover, TWO! Jey is surprised but he doesn’t lose his cool. He runs into an elbow, Sheamus tags in.

Cesaro takes the dragon whip kick, but Sheamus waits for Jey to build speed. Jey leaps, Cesaro rock shim with an uppercut! Sheamus knees Jey in the back! Sheamus keeps moving, knee drop from the second rope! Cover, TWO! Sheamus keeps going, and is even higher up now. Jey gets out of the way and shoves Sheamus into a post! SUPERKICK for Cesaro! SUPERKICK for Sheamus! Cover, TWO!! Sheamus survives but Jimmy is back up. Jey tags his brother and each Uso takes a corner. Fans fire up as they both aim at Sheamus. Cesaro slides in to EuroUpper Jey! Jimmy leaps on knees, Sheamus rolls him up, TWO!? Sheamus is shocked, but he takes his frustrations out by raining rights on Jimmy. He drags Jimmy over in the fireman’s carry and tags Cesaro.

Cesaro climes but Jey SUPERKICKS Sheamus from behind! Cesaro blats Jey out but Jimmy rolls Cesaro up, TWO!? EuroUpper hits, but then Jey tags in! Cesaro misses in the corner an dgets double kicks! SUPERKICK brings him down, Jimmy Uso Splash! Cover, USOS WIN!

Winners: The Usos, Jimmy pinning

#LOCKDOWN! Jimmy & Jey make the best of even odds, but can they capitalize all over again should they get a tag title match?

The New Day are laughing.

They’re clearly watching something on Xavier Woods’ phone. The Miz comes over and asks what. They say it’s Miz’s best work. Oh wow, Miz didn’t realize they were die heard #Mariners, aka fans of The Marine. What’s their favorite part of Marine 6? Oh no, sorry, they weren’t watching Marine 6 starring Becky Lynch. They were watching Miz from last week losing to the Bryant Brothers. Who who who pinned him? Wayne or Dane? Or Bane? Or Kane? Kairi Sane? Oh wow the guys throwing pancakes making fun of him. Miz and Shane, #BestTeamintheWorld, were battling through injuries from their Survivor Series battle to defend SmackDown’s honor. The same Survivor Series where the New Day’s team were the only SmackDown win 6-1? They were just fine.

Well their match didn’t count, and it was The Usos who won! And it’s not like The New Day wouldv’e done better. Miz can beat any of them, he’s 2/3rds of Best in the World! In fact, Miz will set up a match for tonight. What’s up with Miz? Well Jake Carter has been through a lot, but is still a family man at heart. OMG Big E is actually a fan of The Miz’s Marine trilogy!? But in all seriousness, who will The Miz call out in his match later tonight? And will Miz back up his words of being mostly Best in the World?

AJ Styles heads to the ring!

After 371 days, The Phenomenal One lost his WWE Championship. But “the new” Daniel Bryan cheated to become the new champion. They’ll have their third match against each other at TLC, so Styles promises to speak on that and more tonight. Fans duel between Styles and Bryan already as Styles says that “for 14 days, I have been without the WWE title.” Those 14 days seem a lot longer than those 371 days he had the title. No one likes losing, especially Styles, but it’s the way he lost that bothers him most. And by that, he means Daniel Bryan taking advantage of the referee going down to kick below the belt. On top of that, Bryan beat Styles down after with stomp after stomp and kick after kick. Styles knew there would be a target on his back, but to think that target would move to somewhere else.

Styles knows what it’s like to want something so bad he’d do anything to get it. But it was those stomps and kicks that made it worse. Styles wasn’t even cleared to be part of Survivor Series or last week’s SmackDown because of that. So Styles was home as Bryan gave us his explanation. Bryan claims to be a “new” Bryan, all because his dreams manifested and fought for him. Styles thinks that’s a bunch of BS. But old Bryan or new Bryan, Styles will bash Bryan’s face in either way. And why wait for TLC?! Let’s do this here and now! Fans want it, but the only problem is, Daniel Bryan didn’t show up tonight. Bryan wasn’t at Starrcade or house shows. Maybe Bryan was watching Raw and borrowed a certain idea.

But SmackDown isn’t Raw, it’s the House that AJ Styles Built! For 371 days, Styles never took a night off! He was the champ, and the ring is where he belonged! So if Daniel ever rolls out of his chamber, make sure you show up at TLC. Bring your dreams, your excuses, but most importantly, bring the WWE Championship, “because it belongs to me!” Styles is fired up for the finale of this trilogy, will Styles become the new champion? Or will it still be the new Daniel Bryan?

Lars Sullivan is on his way.

The Leviathan of NXT has decimated many opponents in many different ways, and has both Stephanie and Shane McMahon clambering to put him on their brand. Who will win the bidding war to get this new monster on their roster?

Shinsuke Nakamura VS Rusev!

The King of Strong Style is still WWE United States Champion after WWE Starrcade this weekend, mostly thanks to The Miz going after Rey Mysterio for him. But then the Bulgarian Brute helped Mysterio defeat Nakamura & Miz in a tag match afterward, establishing that Rusev wants back in the hunt. The King has been searching for worthy competition, has it found him first?

But before a bell can ring, Nakamura attacks Rusev! Nakamura stomps away at the ropes then drags Rusev out for a KINSHASA! Rusev goes down and slumps out of the ring while Nakamura laughs. Nakamura goes out but referees keep him away. Fans boo and jeer as Nakamura aims at Rusev again. Nakamura hits Rusev with another Kinshasa! The King leaves without even having competed, but will he be forced to take the Super Athlete seriously sooner or later?

No Contest

We celebrate 20 Years of Jeff Hardy!

The stage is lined with both SmackDown and 205 Live rosters while Michael Cole is in the ring. Please welcome the Charismatic Enigma himself, Jeff Hardy! Hardy appears and everyone from fans to fellow superstars give a standing ovation to him. Hardy takes a quick lap around before he enters the ring. Cole cues up footage that reminds everyone of all that Hardy has done these past two decades, Hardy’s self-portrait of extreme risks and exciting moments. “Sky’s the limit, so here we go.” So many times, Jeff hardy has climbed up something high to jump off it, exciting and maybe even scaring fans in attendance. Alongside his brother, Matt, Jeffy Hardy has held the tag team championships multiple times, and has himself become a Grand Slam Champion with world, Intercontinental and United States Championship reigns. Hardy’s “self-portrait” is nothing less of a Hall of Fame bid.

Fans and fellow superstars given Hardy another standing ovation as the footage ends. Hardy himself is humbled, and can only say thank you to the WWE Universe. Watching all that back, “what’s wrong with me?” Hardy has had a great creative outlet, and he’s gotten much better at face paint. Being the Charismatic Enigma in the highest highs and lowest lows, the fans sticking by him through it all means so much to him. Hardy thanks the fans and the fans thank him back. He even throws a quick “DELETE! DELETE!” Maybe they should delete that? Hardy wouldn’t be here without his wife and kids, and the fans, so he thanks them all for making this night possible. And this is far from a retirement speech, and Hardy isn’t sure what the future holds, but let’s all find out together!

But wait, there was one star who wasn’t present. Here comes Samoa Joe! Shane tries to talk Joe down but Joe “congratulates” Hardy on 20 years. That’s such a long time. Excuse the tardiness, Joe was preparing for a toast, but we all know having a drink around Hardy isn’t the best idea. Shane wants to silence Joe but Hardy wants him to get this off his chest. Joe thanks the WWE for that “wonderful anthology”, what a special treat since Hardy probably wasn’t coherent enough to remember it himself. Joe does not celebrate weakness and does not believe in second chances when there are men like him who haven’t even had their first. Hardy just responds with “DELETE! DELETE!”

Joe continues on to say that what’s worse is that Hardy, after making so many mistakes, still lets himself be put up on a pedestal. For as many times as Hardy has made fans leap out of their seats, there are times he’s let everyone down. But Joe’s consolation is this: people like Hardy never change, those demons never go away, they’re always waiting to get him again. And Hardy will have a “next time”, so Joe offers his hand in a one-step program. It’s quick, but anything but painless. Hardy won’t let Joe rain on the parade. He’s walked this tightrope 20 years and still lives for the moment. How about we have a moment right now?! Hardy’s ready for a fight, but Joe has a change of heart. Joe laughs it off, but will he have to back up his words eventually?

The Miz VS Kofi Kingston w/ The New Day!

The Hollywood A-Lister wanted this match, and now he gets this match! He’ll face the high-flyer of the trio, but will Miz prove he’s truly 2/3rds Best in the World?

The bell rings and Kofi circles with Miz. They tie up and Miz gets a wristlock. Woods hands out pancakes while Kofi flips and handsprings to trip Miz. Kofi splashes and covers, TWO! Kofi keeps on Miz with a headlock but Miz puts him in a corner. They break but Miz kicks low. Miz reels Kofi into a headlock while fans demand more pancakes. Kofi powers out but Miz runs him over. Miz say “No Pancakes!” then runs. Kofi speeds things up and runs Miz over with a back elbow. Kofi clotheslines Miz out, then builds speed. Miz runs away but Kofi was just teasing. Big E pelvic thrusts and Woods plays the trombone, Kofi DIVES! Kofi takes Miz out and The New Day fire up together as we go picture in picture.

The New Day laugh and enjoy themselves before putting Miz back in the ring. Kofi runs and crossbodies to a cover, TWO! Another crossbody cover, TWO! Miz clobbers the crossbody out of the air! Miz stomps away on Kofi, then runs to hit the low boot. He paces around Kofi befre sitting him up. He drives in a knee and hooks the nose. The ref reprimands him so The Miz goes for the arms. Kofi resists and gets up, to put the hold on Miz! Miz turns it back around fast, and brings Kofi down to his knees. Kofi gets back up and fights out! Kofi whips but Miz reverses. Miz runs and hits his A-list lariat! Miz climbs while we return to single picture, and leaps, only to get a dropkick! Kofi and Miz are both down but fans rally behind The New Day.

Kofi is up first and he rallies with double ax handles. He dropkicks and hits the leaping lariat! The New Day fire up again as Kofi hits the Boom Drop! Kofi then takes aim from Miz from a corner. Fans clap along as Kofi swings, but Miz blocks the kick to go for the Figure Four. Kofi powers out, wants the SOS but Miz gets the full nelson. Kofi wheelbarrows and victory rolls out of the Finale to the cover, TWO! Miz gets Kofi with the backbreaker but the neckbreaker is denied. SOS! Cover, TWO!! Miz survives and The New Day can’t believe it. It was close, but Kofi is up again. He brings Miz up but Miz grabs ropes. Miz then kicks low and hits the basement DDT! Cover, TWO!

Miz keeps his cool but then goes for a buckle pad. He pulls it off, but Big E prepares a counter measure! Miz whips Kofi over, but there’s a stack of flapjacks in the way. Kofi rolls Miz, TWO! Kofi kicks away and runs, but into the kitchen sink knee! Woods plays the trombone, but Miz blasts him with a dropkick! And then blames the buckle pad on Big E?! The ref argues with E while Miz gets a chair. Woods takes that away, Miz walks into Trouble in Paradise! Cover, Kofi wins!

Winner: Kofi Kingston, by pinfall

The New Day work together to make sure Kof didn’t lose to the Miz’s miz-chief! Things aren’t going so well for 2/3rds of Best in the World, will he ever live up to that nickname?

Randy Orton heads to the ring!

The Viper still has the damaged mask he took from Rey Mysterio last week, his trophy for the brutality he put on the King of Lucha after their main event match. The Apex Predator has gone from Legend Killer to hero hunter, and he’s only getting started with Mysterio. Orton takes up a mic and says, “disrespectful, disgusting, disturbing.” Those words were used by the fans to describe his actions. But in Orton’s mind, it was “euphoric.” He never understood the big deal behind a mask, “this piece of trash that I ripped of Rey Mysterio’s face.” Orton never bothered to learn the history because he didn’t care to know.

But to make it clear, Orton wasn’t disrespecting lucha libre culture. What he did was to embarrass Mysterio. This was to yank Mysterio off the pedestal the fans put him on. Orton proved to the world that at this stage in Mysterio’s life is “another one of my victims.” A victim of the three most devastating letters in wrestling today. But before Orton can get past the R, Rey Mysterio is here! Mysterio wears a neck brace after what the chair shot to the post did. But he’s not backing down from Orton, he’s bringing the fight! But Orton knees low and then throws Mysterio around! Orton damages this mask and then yanks off the neck brace. He puts Mysterio in the ring but officials come out to stop him. They don’t, so Mysterio kicks away! And then 619 to Orton’s side!

Mysterio keeps going, enziguri putting Orton back on the ropes. And another 619! Fans fire up with Mysterio as he goes to get himself a chair! He wants to return the favor but referees want him to stop. Mysterio doesn’t listen to them, but Orton gets him at the ropes! Draping DDT on the bad neck! Mysterio is down but Orton isn’t leaving it at that. Orton grabs that chair, and then drags Mysterio back out. Orton throws Mysterio against barriers again, then drags him up by his mask. He puts the chair against Mysterio’s throat and shoves Mysterio into the steel steps!! Security comes out to back Orton off, he’s done enough! For the second week in a row, Orton has driven steel into Mysterio’s throat. Will Orton pay for his crimes against the living legend? Or has he erased this hero once and for all?

Shane McMahon meets with The Miz backstage.

Miz wants to know where Shane was. He was back here, obviously. Miz wants Shane to try and meet him half way on making their team a thing. Or a third of the way. Miz could’ve been Kofi if he had his tag partner by his side. Shane points out they’re not actually a tag team yet, but Miz is busy shining the World Cup trophy. Miz, pay attention. Oh sorry, he couldn’t hear Shane over the cries of their neglected World Cup. Whether Shane likes it or not, this trophy bonds them together. It is like their child! And they’re the Best Parents in the World. And that makes them family. So start acting like it! Miz makes Shane hold the World Cup before he storms out. Is Miz 2/3rds crazy right now? Or will Shane come around to join Miz in the #BestTeamintheWorld?

SmackDown Women’s Division Battle Royal!

The Man, Becky Lynch, and The Queen, Charlotte Flair is ringside to watch The FABULOUS Princess, The Golden Rose, The Gladiator Gal, The IIconics, La Muneca (The Doll), The Ravishing Russian, The Empress and The Glow all compete to be part of THE Women’s Championship Triple Threat TLC match! Who joins the historic and hard hitting match in San Jose?

The bell rings and brawls begin! The IIconics fight Asuka and Carmella while Lana goes after Zelina Vega. This leaves the duo formerly known as Absolution to pick on Naomi in another corner. Vega turns things around on Lana while Peyton Royce and Billie Kay get the better of Carmella and Asuka. Lana puts Vega on the apron but Sonya goes after her! Lana bails out from the bottom rope, but she yanks Vega off! The Ravishing Russian ELIMINATES Vega! Vega is furious so she yanks Lana down and runs her over! The battle rages on while we go to break.

SmackDown returns as Lana recovers on the outside. The IIconics go after Carmella while Sonya and Mandy battle the Empress and Glow. Naomi helps Asuka by pulling Mandy away. Lana returns and rallies on the Aussies! Peyton saves Billie and they work together to double whip Lana. The IIconics ELIMINATE Lana! But then they turn around to see the familiar foe of Asuka! Asuka dodges them both to hip attack Billie. Pop up knee for Peyton! Then a forearm for Billie, and a doge, to dump her out! Billie holds on but is kicked. Peyton goes after Asuka but she gets dumped out. Asuka back hands Peyton and the IIconics are stuck. Asuka hip attacks and ELIMINATES both IIconics!

The Empress and the Princess meet, another familiar match up. FABULOUS Kick for Asuka! Carmella drags Asuka up and feeds her a boot in the corner. She then runs back in, but is tossed out. Asuka forearms Carmella, then throws more hands. Carmella covers up, but screams in fear of a roundhouse. Asuka waits until she’s done, and says to breathe. Then she boots Carmella down! Asuak ELIMINATES Carmella! But Sonya and Mandy go right after her! Naomi saves Asuka but gets hit herself. Sonya drags Asuka up to feed to Mandy’s golden knee! Absolution drag Asuka up and throw her at the ropes. Asuka holds on and Naomi saves her again. Naomi fires forearm after forearm on Mandy, then whips. Rear View hits! Sonya runs in but misses, to get a springboard roundhouse!

Naomi fires up as she headscissors Mandy. Mandy blocks with insane strength, and then lifts Naomi up. Naomi end s p on the apron but looks to pull Mandy out with her. Mandy yanks Naomi but Naomi does the splits. Then she dodges Mandy and sends her into the post! Mandy falls, Naomi ELIMINATES Mandy! But then Sonya knees and ELIMINATES Naomi! The final two are Sonya and Asuka, both fierce female fighters. Time to put your hair up and square up! Fans fire up for Asuka as she circles with Sonya. Asuka avoids Sonya’s grip and then fires off kicks. Sonya fires kicks but Asuka dodges them, only to get tackled to the mat! Sonya drags Asuka up quick, and throws Asuka out. Asuka holds on and counter punches.

But Mandy comes back! Mandy’s making up for screwing Sonya out of the Evolution Battle Royal, but gets a sliding kick for it! Sonya runs, but Asuka sees her coming! Asuka kicks her away, kicks her again, then drags Sonya up by that ponytail. Asuka goes to suplex Sonya but Sonya resists. Fans chant and both women are on the apron. They brawl on the edge, double roundhouses rock them! Both Asuka and Sonya hold on and stand back up. They run at each other again, pop up knee ELIMINATES Sonya! Asuka wins!!

Winner: Asuka; joins the SmackDown Women’s Championship TLC Triple Threat

A historic match now becomes epic! The Queen and The Man meet The Empress for the title, will either of them be ready for Asuka?!

My Thoughts:

What an incredible night for SmackDown! And this week wasn’t even about being Raw but better, it was just straight up better. This SmackDown not only lived up to its big episode hype, it exceeded it. Everything was great from top to bottom, and even the weakest part of tonight’s SmackDown (which I’m not even sure if there was a weak point) was still stronger than Raw’s main story.

Opening with Becky’s return was a good move, because that was definitely what fans wanted to get to right away. Becky gave a sort of backhanded compliment to Charlotte with how the beating on Ronda, while great, still wasn’t good enough. Charlotte was the only confusing part, she talked so strongly about doing all that for Becky but then tells Becky she didn’t do it for Becky. Well Charlotte is becoming the Mad Queen so maybe it’s okay if she’s inconsistent.

And while giving us Becky VS Charlotte at TLC is a good move, SmackDown does us one better by giving all their women some time to shine. SmackDown’s use of their Women’s Division is the polar opposite of Raw’s, and all for the better. Raw only had one women’s match last night and two segments that didn’t really work the way they hoped. SmackDown put all their women into one match and it was amazing! I am so so so happy to see ASUKA gets back to the title scene after all she’s been through. It might not happen with how red hot Becky is running right now, but it’d be rather amazing if Asuka won the title at TLC. This would free up Charlotte and Becky to fight, blaming each other for the loss, and then yes, finding a way back to Horsewomen VS Horsewomen.

Then for the men tonight, it’s very strange for Big Show to quit The Bar so soon after joining them. But again the running gag is that Show always seems to flip sides. That aside, Bar VS Usos was incredible and now The Usos have a win over the champs. The New Day also have a win over The Bar, so maybe we’re looking at a Triple Threat tag title match, perhaps with Ladders or Tables. Raw and SmackDown have already established their own TLC matches, so something else needs to be used. For that matter, give me a Chairs Match of Bryan VS Styles. Heel Bryan might try to use Champion’s Advantage, so removing disqualifications makes sense, and it ups the ante so Styles can really beat down “New” Bryan to his heart’s content.

SmackDown also does better at establishing these new feuds. Nakamura refusing to have a match with Rusev by attacking him pretty much confirms they’re competing for the United States Championship in some form. Samoa Joe is going after Jeff Hardy, which makes for a great match-up, and obviously Orton still wants after Mysterio. Call me crazy but I’d love if all three stories were put together in a Six Pack US Championship match, maybe with tables or a ladder. Then Miz’s loss to Kofi establishes “tension” between Miz and Shane in relation to the World Cup. I’m hoping this gives us Miz VS Shane at Wrestlemania, winner has “full custody” of the trophy, aka their “child” as Miz puts it. Having a long build to this will be great, as Miz can use it to establish a better Tweener character, since he seems to be headed down that path.

My Score: 8.8/10