The Viper is here for The Bloodline!

He returned at WarGames, he returned to Monday Night Raw, and now, The Apex Predator, Randy Orton, returns to Friday Night SmackDown! Will he be able to strike at The Bloodline tonight?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Pete Dunne VS Bobby Lashley w/ The Street Profits; Lashley wins.
• Santos Escobar VS Joaquin Wilde; Santos wins.
• Kevin Owens VS Grayson Waller w/ Austin Theory; Kevin wins.
• Bianca Belair w/ Charlotte Flair & Shotzi Blackheart VS Kairi Sane w/ DMG CTRL; Bianca wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Bianca Belair is here!

Brooklyn cheers The EST as she skips to the ring, her team victorious against Damage Control in WarGames! After a recap package, fans chant for Bianca and she gets the mic to say, “Man, it is so cool to be in one of the best boroughs in one of the greatEST cities in the world, Brooklyn!” The fans cheer that! Bianca says DMG CTRL really tried to take them out, but her team did what needed to be done. So shout out to Becky Lynch for coming through, showing up and showing out. Shout out to Shotzi for her guts and passion. And shoutout to Charlotte Flair for being a bigger person and making that call to Becky.

“Now while it feels great to be standing in this ring and celebrating that W from WarGames, my war with DMG CTRL, it ain’t over~! Cuz Iyo Sky, I’m still coming for you, cuz I want my title back!” Fans also cheer that. But speaking of Iyo, here she comes! The Evil Genius leads DMG CTRL out, though where’s Bayley? That aside, Dakota Kai is the one to tell Bianca, “It’s really great how uh, you can get all of these people to cheer for you.” The fans boo her but Dakota tells them to shut up! Dakota says just earlier, Iyo was saying how gross it is here in Brooklyn! It smells! Who would want to live here?!

DMG CTRL slide into the ring, and Dakota says Iyo was also saying that Bianca is in way over her head, dude. Iyo already beat Bianca twice. So… if Bianca wants to get yet another shot, she’ll have to go through all of DMG CTRL. Well that ain’t nothing new. So who wants it first, huh? But wait! Here come Charlotte & Shotzi to back Bianca up! Fans cheer as Charlotte says “Ladies~…! Bianca isn’t the only one coming for you. And I’d love to go through all of DMG CTRL.” Shotzi says it seems to her that there’s enough DMG CTRL to go around. They rush in, and the brawl is on! Fans fire up but Iyo TOSSES Bianca and helps Asuka against Charlotte!

Shotzi and Kairi brawl in a corner, Bianca returns, Charlotte BOOTS Asuka way while Bianca RAMS Iyo into a corner! Bianca stomps Iyo down, Charlotte helps Shotzi with Kairi, and Charlotte sets Kairi up for Shotzi’s BOOT! Iyo ends up isolated, and Bianca hits a SPINEBUSTER! Iyo scrambles out, DMG CTRL regroups, are their days on top numbered?

DMG CTRL regroups backstage.

And Bayley is confused as to what’s going on. Iyo angrily asks where Bayley was but Bayley says no one told her they were going out there! Maybe if she knew, things would’ve been different! The joshi talk in Japanese, Dakota cools it off. What matters is that Kairi is facing Bianca tonight. No one knows Bianca better than Bayley so Kairi would appreciate the help. Kairi says yes, they’re “tomodachi <friends>,” that’d be appreciated. Bayley says okay, but are they really Bayley’s friends?

Pete Dunne VS Bobby Lashley w/ The Street Profits!

With Sheamus recovering from injury and Ridge Holland just ditching him last week, The Bruiserweight is all alone against The All Mighty! Will Dunne stand a chance against the overwhelming strength of Bobby Lashley?

SmackDown returns and Lashley makes his entrance, Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins by his side. But before the bell, Lashley gets a mic to say “Hey, listen, kid. When I told you to make a name for yourself…” The fans chant “BOBBY! BOBBY!” and Lashley says that’s a name. Does Dunne know what Lashley can do to him? Lashley will break Dunne into pieces! Is Dunne ready for that? Dunne SLAPS Lashley! Fans fire up, Lashley grins, and the bell rings. Dunne then BOOTS Lashley! And BOOTS! And fires off furious fists! Lashley carries Dunne to then TOSS him! Dunne flounders but also snarls. Dunne swipes at the Profits, but Lashley run sin to CLOBBER him!

Lashley whips Dunne hard into buckles, then storms around. The Profits high-five Lashley and Brooklyn is behind him as he stands Dunne up for haymakers! Lashley smothers Dunne in the corner, lets off to whip corner to corner, then storms up on Dunne. Lashley digs hands into Dunne’s face, the ref counts and Lashley lets off. Lashley runs in but Dunne BOOTS again! Dunne runs up to DROPKICK Lashley out of the ring! Fans are torn as Dunne goes out to FLYING KNEE! Lashley staggers back, Dunne sets up to MOONSAULT! Down goes Lashley and Dunne hurries back up! Dunne ARIHARA MOONSAULTS! Down goes Lashley and fans fire up as SmackDown goes to break!

SmackDown returns and Lashley clotheslines Dunne in a corner! Lashley then brings Dunne around to snap suplex! Dunne writhes, Lashley paces around him and the fans cheer. Lashley drags Dunne up, suplexes again, and this time he holds Dunne up! Dunne throws knees, gets free, and he runs, ducks ‘n’ dodges, but Lashley hits a MILE HIGH SPINEBUSTER! Fans fire up again and Lashley drags Dunne up. Lashley TOSSES Dunne out, storms out after him, and then drags Dunne up again. Fans cheer as Lashley fireman’s carries Dunne, to then POST Dunne! The Profits say this is an extended Black Friday!

Lashley puts Dunne in, Dunne crawls away but Lashley aims. Lashley runs in, but Dunne sends the Spear into the POST! Lashley staggers back, the Profits coach him up, but Dunne GAMANGIRIS! Dunne runs up to ENZIGURI! Lashley ends up in a corner, Dunne GAMANGIRIS again! And again! Dunne KICKS and KICKS and KICKS, then pushes Lashley out so he can go up. Dunne DOUBLE STOMPS an arm! Dunne bends the fingers, isolates the arm, and STOMPS the arm! Lashley grits his teeth but Dunne reels him in. ASAI DDT! Cover, TWO! Lashley is tougher than that but Dunne keep son him with HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL ELBOWS!

But Lashley fights up! Fireman’s carry, then an adjustment, for the OKLAHOMA STAMPEDE! Cover, TWO!! Dunne survives and Lashley is annoyed. Ford says yeah, Dunne’s got heart, but that’s about it. Lashley hauls Dunne up but Dunne SLAPS him! Lashley LARIATS Dunne inside out! Lashley then drags Dunne up, MILE HIGH- ENZIGURI! Dunne gets up, Lashley SPEARS him back down!! Cover, Lashley wins!

Winner: Bobby Lashley, by pinfall

The Bruiserweight put up a fight, but Lashley is still Lashley. Will The All Mighty soon head for a title as we head for the New Year?

Paul Heyman walks into Nick Aldis’ office.

The Wise Man seems rather indignant looking at the SmackDown General Manager. Heyman then dusts off the New York Jets NFL Legacy belt before speaking. “Did you invite Randy Orton to SmackDown tonight?” Aldis says yes, he did. And Aldis intends to sign Randy to a SmackDown exclusive superstar contract tonight. Heyman looks around and asks if the Tribal Chief knows about this. Aldis says Heyman has forgotten that there are countless memos: All communication to Roman Reigns must go through Paul Heyman. So consider this a communication to Roman: Aldis WILL sign Randy to SmackDown.

And if Aldis has to offer up the entire Bloodline as leverage, so be it. So the question to Heyman is… “What’re you gonna do about it?” Heyman says, “Anything it takes.” Heyman gets on his phone to call Roman Reigns. But is there nothing that can stop The Viper from finally being within striking distance of The Tribal Chief?

Backstage interview with Pete Dunne.

Kayla Braxton says he lost to Lashley, but she wants to talk about last week. Why did Ridge walk out on him? Dunne says he doesn’t know. And he doesn’t care. Because right now isn’t about the Brutes, it’s about Dunne! He is going to focus on himself. He is here to fight, and he will fight anyone! But in walk Pretty Deadly. They say this is so tough. But don’t be sad, use this as a learning opportunity. Sometimes, being abandoned can help you find your own path. Even if that path, like Dunne’s career, hits a dead end. Dunne HITS them! Dunne fires off but that’s 2v1 and Pretty Deadly turns it around! They TOSS Dunne into a road case!

How’s that, Butch?! HUH!? You’re alone! ALONE! And always will be! Elton Prince & Kit Wilson have numbers on their side, but will Dunne still get revenge?

Backstage interview with Santos Escobar.

Cathy Kelley says given his recent history with the LWO, what can we expect in his match with Joaquin Wilde here? Santos says he’s only trying to finish what Rey started. Rey turned his back on the LWO when he chose Carlito over Santos. And now Santos’ own brothers in arms are blinded by their hero, not seeing that Rey will do the same to them. Cruz is still recovering from the last time he tried standing up to Santos. And if Wilde can’t see the truth, Santos will put him on the shelf, too. The Emperor of Lucha is becoming a tyrant, but will he be unstoppable in destroying what he helped create?

Santos Escobar VS Joaquin Wilde!

SmackDown returns and Wilde makes his entrance. The bell rings and Wilde DROPKICKS Santos! And DROPKICKS again! Then kips up and ROCKS Santos with haymakers! Fans fire up, Wilde whips and ELBOWS Santos down! Then drops an elbow! Santos bails out but Wilde PLANCHAS out onto him! Fans fire up again and Wilde CLUBS Santos. Wilde puts Santos in the ring, then aims again, but Santos bails out! Fans boo but Wilde just goes to the corner! Springboard CANNONBALL! Direct hit and the fans fire up all over again! Wilde snarls and he puts Santos back in. Cover, TWO! Wilde keeps on Santos with a shove.

Wilde then goes up a corner, but Santos sweeps the legs! Wilde tumbles down, Santos stomps away and RAMS Wilde into a corner. Santos puts Wilde in the Tree of Woe, goes to the far side and runs in, DROPKICK! Wilde falls out of the Tree, Santos snapmares to cover, TWO! Santos is annoyed but he CLUBS away on Wilde’s chest! Santos rips up the LWO shirt! Fans boo but Santos throws the shirt away. Santos drags Wilde up, CLUBS him, then clamps onto an arm with a cording hold. Wilde endures, Santos talks trash that HE is the LWO, but the fans rally up. Wilde fights up to his feet, throws knees, but Santos whips Wilde away.

Santos storms up, Wilde ELBOWS him, then bumps Santos off buckles. Wilde fires haymakers again, then whips. Santos reverses but Wilde ducks ‘n ‘dodges to dropkick a leg out! Fans rally up behind Wilde and he runs up to KNEE Santos down! Wilde roars and fans are with him! Wilde runs back in, SOMERSAULT SATELLITE DDT!! Cover, TWO!! Santos survives and Wilde grows frustrated. Wilde hurries back to a corner to aim again. Wilde runs in, into a SUPERKICK! Santos says this is what happens when you cross him! Fireman’s carry, and “This is for YOU, Rey!” PHANTOM DRIVER!! Cover, Santos wins!

Winner: Santos Escobar, by pinfall

But Santos isn’t done sending his message! He beats down Wilde with fists, the ref tells him to stop, but Santos refuses! So here comes Dragon Lee! The Boy Wonder may have lost at Survivor Series but he won’t let Santos just do what he wants! Santos bails out, he did what he wanted. Wait, he slithers back in! But Dragon is ready and fires haymakers on him! Dragon whips, Santos reverses but Dragon RANAS! Santos ends up in a corner, Dragon JUMP KICKS, leg sweeps, and SWINGING DROPKICK! Combinacion Dragon hits, and fans fire up! Dragon aims again, BULL’S HORNS!! Santos flounders away, is his fight with Dragon far from over?

Nick Aldis greets Logan Paul backstage.

The Maverick is her with his United States Championship, ready to make his first appearance on SmackDown. What will the ImPAULsive Influencer have to say about being United States Champion? We find out, after the break.

Adam Pearce visits Nick Aldis in his office.

And the Raw GM asks the SmackDown GM to tell him the rumor isn’t true. Is Aldis trying to get a Raw Legend out from under Pearce’s nose? Aldis tells Pearce that Randy is a free agent now. But yes, Aldis does intend to sign Orton right here tonight in that ring. Is that so? Yeah, Pearce had his chance on Monday. Don’t worry about what happened on Monday. If Aldis is going to the ring with a contract, Pearce will join him. Pearce also has a contract folder! Nice office, by the way. Pearce heads out, who wins the signature of the Legend Killer?

Logan Paul heads to the ring!

Brooklyn is a little torn on seeing the Maverick in person, though probably because he needed brass knuckles to load his already titanium reinforced hand to beat Rey Mysterio. But Logan gets the mic to say, “To every friend who stabbed me in the back, to every hater who preyed on my downfall, I’ve got a question: WHERE ARE YOU NOW?!” He doesn’t understand. Don’t they get it by n ow? The more they hope he fails, the harder he works. And the harder he works, the more he wins. And the more he wins, the more he gets to stand up here and bark back!

And to all the jealous superstars backstage mad at him because they’ve been doing this their whole life while he’s the fastest rising superstar in history, you want the US Championship? Of course you do! It has been on his junk, just like y’all have since he got here! But a champ is only as good as his challengers, and since Rey is hurt, Logan can’t give him the rematch he was so excited for. So good news! Logan spoke with Aldis, and they have created a tournament to determine his next challenger. It starts next week, featuring eight superstars!

Santos Escobar, Dragon Lee, Karrion Kross, an NXT superstar to still be determined, Bobby Lashley, Grayson Waller, Austin Theory, and of course Kevin Owens. And Logan guarantees whoever wins this will have a nightmare trying to take this title from him. But wait, speaking of! Here comes Kevin Owens! Brooklyn fires up for The Prizefighter as he heads right for the ring. Kevin gets himself a mic and he says if Logan wants to talk about a nightmare, this, Logan Paul in the ring, is a nightmare. The first time Kevin ever saw Logan was 10 years ago on that app, Vine. And back then, it only took Kevin those six seconds to realize Logan is an unbearable jackass.

Fans cheer in agreement, and Kevin says if we’re talking about “junk,” the only junk is that crap drink Logan peddles. And now, guess what? Kevin is here to tell us that if he’s in the tournament, the nightmare will end. Logan’s days as champion will be numbered. That’s funny. Kevin calls himself a prizefighter, but Logan’s been in the ring with the greatest boxers in the world. If these two were to fight, six seconds is five more than Logan needs to KO KO. Kevin will never take this away from Logan: he’s very clever. But the thing is, that’s another world. This ring, the WWE Universe, it’s Kevin’s world, understand?

Logan says we’ll see about that. But then here comes Grayson Waller & Austin Theory! Logan smiles because it’s like looking in a mirror as these two walk down here. And Waller tells Logan he is better than this. He doesn’t need to talk with Kevin, Kevin is a troll looking for attention. He isn’t a forward thinking disruptor like the three of them. They have a lot in common, really. A-Town Down Under get in the ring, and Kevin says he loves punching people in the face. Look who he is in the ring with: Logan Paul is a man who knocks people out. So after Logan is done knocking Kevin out, maybe Kevin’s days of punching people- KEVIN DECKS THEORY!

Fans fire up as Theory tumbles out, and Waller goes to check on his buddy. Logan and Kevin drop their mics, stare down, and fans fire up as Kevin dares Logan to make the first move. Logan says worry about Waller first. Will Kevin give us a preview of the US Championship Contender’s Tournament? We find out after the break!

Kevin Owens VS Grayson Waller w/ Austin Theory!

SmackDown returns and Logan is sticking around to be on commentary for this one. Logan says he is like a proud father watching his sons on the playground. The bell rings, Waller bails out and regroups with Theory. Kevin goes out to ROCK Waller! And CHOP him! And then SMACK Waller off the desk! The ring count climbs, Kevin throws hands and he puts Waller in the ring. The ref makes sure Theory stays back, but then Waller stomps away on Kevin. Waller talks trash, UPPERCUTS Kevin, but Kevin CHOPS back! Waller kicks low, CLUBS Kevin on the neck, then cravats him into the ropes! The ref counts, Waller lets off.

Waller whips, Kevin reverses and CLOBBERS Waller! Then SENTONS! Fans rally, Kevin runs in at the corner and he clotheslines! Kevin then goes corner to corner, but Waller gets up to BOOT him! Waller LEG LARIATS! Waller rains down fists, then talks trash. Logan isn’t sure how well Kevin is built for this. Waller throws hands again, Logan denies knowing anything about brass knuckles, and Waller goes along the ropes. BALLER ELBOW! Cover, TWO! Kevin SLAPS Waller! And SLAPS him again! Waller BOOTS Kevin down! Waller snarls, drags Kevin up, but Kevin fights the suplex! The fans rally, Kevin suplexes Waller up and over!

Kevin glares at Logan, then CHOPS Waller! And CHOPS again! Kevin fakes the chop to then poke Waller in the eye! Kevin goes corner to corner, but then Waller bails out! No cannonball here and fans boo. Kevin goes out after Waller but Waller ROCKS him first! And SMACKS Kevin off the desk! Logan holds onto his Prime to make sure it doesn’t spill. Waller gets in the ring, builds speed and slides, but Kevin avoids the lariat to DECK Waller! Kevin gets on the apron, to FROG SPLASH to the floor! Fans fire up with Kevin while the ring count climbs. Kevin goes out after Waller again, but Waller RAMS him into steel steps!

Waller gets in to distract the ref, Theory STOMPS Kevin’s hand on the steps! Theory signals that to Waller and Waller stomps that arm! Waller slides out to then SLAM the arm into the post! Fans boo as A-Town Down Under high-five, and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Kevin hits a FROG SPLASH in the ring! Fans fire up again while both men are down. Kevin shakes the bad hand out while Waller goes to the corner. Kevin storms up but Waller hits the bad hand! Then ARMBAR DDT! Waller hammerlocks that arm, then hits a ROLLING SNAP on the arm! Waller traps that arm in a double wristlock but Kevin endures. The fans rally, Kevin fights up, and he throws body shots with the good hand. Fans cheer, Kevin throws Waller out, but Waller grabs at Kevin’s bad hand. HOTSHOT on that arm! SOMERSAULT STUN- NO, atomic drop first! And then a DDT!

Fans fire up as Kevin evens things out. Kevin goes to ropes, drags himself up, but Waller runs up. Kevin blocks to HEADBUTT, CHOP and CHOP! Then a forearm! But that’s the bad arm! Waller runs in, Kevin dodges and SUPERKICKS! Waller is in the corner, Kevin runs in to CANNONBALL! Kevin goes up the corner again, SWANTON BOMB! Cover, TWO!! Waller survives and Theory rubs it in that it was just a two. Kevin keeps his focus, kicks low, but Waller grabs the bad arm to stop the stunner! Waller STOMPS the fingers! FUJIWARA ARMBAR! Kevin endures, fights around, but Waller twists the wrist!

Kevin keeps fighting, reaches out, and ROPEBREAK! The ref counts, Waller lets go at 4. Waller has Kevin in the corner, puts the bad hand inside a buckle pad, and then runs up to PUNT only buckle! Kevin rolls Waller up, KEVIN WINS!

Winner: Kevin Owens, by pinfall

Logan can’t even! Kevinn pulled off a minor miracle, can he do that all over again in the opening round of this coming tournament?

BREAKING NEWS for next week!

CM Punk will show up on Friday Night SmackDown in Providence, Rhode Island! What more will the returning Best in the World have to say about “coming home” to the WWE?

Bianca Belair w/ Charlotte Flair & Shotzi Blackheart VS Kairi Sane w/ DMG CTRL!

The Evil Genius said The EST will have to not just earn her rematch for the title, she’ll have to get through everyone in DMG CTRL first! Bianca said bet, but will she be able to sink the Pirate Princess? Or will Bayley’s tips help Kairi end the series before it begins?

SmackDown returns and DMG CTRL has a pep talk backstage. Dakota asks if Bayley is okay. Yeah, yeah, she’s good. Go, Kairi. Dakota says Bayley doesn’t seem like herself, and then Iyo says Bayley will stay backstage tonight. Bayley ends up the odd one out as the others make their entrance, what is that about? But that aside, the bell rings and the fans rally up for Bianca. Bianca and Kairi circle, approach, but Kairi dodges. They tie up, Bianca puts Kairi in a corner but Kairi dodges to KICK a leg! Kairi goes to roll up but Bianca stays up! Then Bianca handsprings free, and she runs Kairi over! Bianca dusts off her hands, then keeps moving.

Kairi drops, Bianca handsprings over her, and then runs her over again! Bianca wags her fingers, then drags Kairi up. Kairi throws body shots, but Bianca blocks the whip! Bianca reverses, Kairi uses ropes to go up and RANA, but Bianca handsprings through to DROPKICK! Fans fire up while Bianca eggs Kairi on. Bianca stands Kairi up, scoops her, but Kairi fights free! Kairi grabs the braid, but Bianca uses that to reel Kairi in and DECK her! Bianca runs, but Asuka trips her up while the ref is checking Kairi! Kairi fires off on Bianca while fans boo, and Kairi SLAPS Bianca! DMG CTRL taunts Bianca, Kairi runs, but Charlotte trips her!

Btu the ref SAW Charlotte do it! So the ref EJECTS Charlotte and Shotzi! Fans boo but then Asuka is caught slithering in! So the ref EJECTS DMG CTRL! Now all things are equal and that doesn’t sit well with DMG CTRL! Asuka protests but Bianca DROPKICKS her down! Kairi goes after Bianca, shoves her to a corner, but Bianca shoves Kairi! The EST and Pirate Princess stare down as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Kairi has Bianca down with the ANCHOR HOLD! Bianca endures as Kairi bridges back, but then Bianca powers Kairi away! Bianca runs in, but gets POST! Kairi AX KICKS Bianca down, covers, TWO! Kairi stays on Bianca with a chinlock, then gets the arms for a straitjacket stretch. Bianca endures, fans rally up, and Bianca fights to her feet. Kairi ends up a backpack , but Bianca powers up to arm-drag Kairi away! Bianca eggs Kairi on, then scoops her to SLAM her! Fans fire up as Bianca scoops and SLAMS again! Bianca huffs and puffs and whips Kairi to a corner! Bianca storms up to then climb up, and she rains down fists!

The fans cheer and count along, Bianca goes all the way to TEN! Then she backflips away, Kairi runs in into a SPINEBUSTER! Bianca runs, handspring MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO!! Kairi escapes and Bianca can’t believe it. But Bianca then drags Kairi up to a fireman’s carry. Kairi fights free, waistlocks, and they go to ropes. Bianca bucks the O’Conner, scoops Kairi again, and SLAMS her! Cover, TWO! Bianca stands Kairi up but Kairi URAKENS! Bianca goes to the corner, Kairi screams and marches to the far side. Fans boo as she runs back in, SLIDING D! Kairi pushes Bianca out, goes to the top, FLYING KABUKI ELBOW! Cover, TWO!

Bianca is reminding us she’s the toughEST and that makes Kairi mad. Kairi storms up to URA- NO, Bianca blocks and chicken wings! But Kairi victory rolls to send Bianca right out! Kairi then goes to the apron, runs in, but Bianca avoids the elbow to chicken wing! GlamEST Slam on the barriers! Fans fire up as Bianca puts Kairi in, but wait! Bayley sneaks out here! She grabs the braid and YANKS Bianca down! The ref  notices Bayley now and is confused, but he did eject the others, not her. Kairi and Bayley high five and then Kairi climbs. Kairi prepares that elbow, but Bianca ROCKS her first!

Bianca drags Kairi off the corner into the torture rack! Bayley freaks out for the KISS OF DEATH!! Cover, Bianca wins!!

Winner: Bianca Belair, by pinfall

Bayley has no words as her help had no effect! Bianca can check Kairi off the list and she continues on, who will she look to take down next?

BREAKING NEWS for the United States Championship Contender’s Tournament!

Our first two opening round matches are set! Dragon Lee and Santos Escobar get to run it back from Survivor Series while Bobby Lashley and Karrion Kross clash for the first time in the WWE! The special Tribute to the Troops edition of SmackDown is the perfect place to start this tournament, but who will move on to the second round?

Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce are both in the ring.

The General Managers are both here, and Aldis says “Ladies and gentlemen, as your General Manager, it is my distinct honor and privilege to welcome back to SmackDown, the Viper, Randy…! Orton…!” The fans fire up as Randy indeed makes his way to the ring, and he looks just as happy to be back! Orton joins Aldis and Pearce in the ring, strikes his pose on the corner, then revels in the fans chanting his name. Randy gets so fired up, he throws his vest off! Pearce says this is electric, but Aldis says, “How dare you interrupt me on MY show!” Pearce says Aldis better calm down. Randy is a Raw legend, that is where he belongs.

But Aldis can give Randy the one thing he wants, right here on SmackDown. Pearce knows what Aldis is getting at, and counter offers with a World Heavyweight Championship opportunity. Randy is rather taken aback, but Aldis says he can give Randy the guys who took him out. But “Ladies and gentlemen, things that live in Brooklyn,” here comes Paul Heyman. And he serves as the Wise Man to Your REIGNING! DEFENDING! UNDISPUTED! WWE UNIVERSAL HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION…! Roman… Reigns. And look who’s back. “After 18 months on the shelf, thanks to Roman Reigns and The Bloodline, Randy Orton comes home looking for revenge.”

But there will be no RKOs this evening, and there will be no decision made by Randy Orton, because The Bloodline is going to make his decision for him. Fans boo but then here comes Solo Sikoa! Jimmy Uso is also with the Enforcer, and the GMs get outta there. Jimmy slides in but Randy stomps away! Solo run sin but Randy fires off hands! Randy fights them both 2v1 but that gets the better of him! But here comes L A KNIGHT! Fans go wild again as the Mega Star runs in and kicks Jimmy! Then he fires off on Solo! Fans chant “YEAH! YEAH!” with every shot! Knight dumps Solo out but Solo drags him out! So Knight fires hands then throws Solo into barriers!

Knight and Solo head up the ramp, but Orton gets Jimmy! He puts Jimmy in the ropes, to DRAPING DDT! And despite what Heyman said, fans want to see it! Orton grins and he hears those voices! Jimmy gets up, for an R K O!!! Heyman is furious, but Orton has the GMs hand over the contracts. Orton looks them both over, Heyman says to stay safe by going with Raw. But Orton looks at Jimmy, who is still out cold. So yeah, Orton signs with SmackDown! Then Orton gets on the mic to say, “Hey, Paul… You can call Roman Reigns. And you can tell him… Daddy’s back.” The fans fire up for that! Aldis raises Randy’s hand in celebration, only to get an RKO!!

The fans are even more fired up as Randy is going to do whatever he wants to whoever he wants! Will the Apex Predator soon make himself the Head of the Table?

My Thoughts:

A great SmackDown here to follow up Survivor Series while turning the corner. A brilliant story beat for how to get Orton on SmackDown so he can go after The Bloodline, and great move to have LA Knight help out. With Kevin now shifting his attention to Logan Paul and the US Championship, Knight and Orton are going to be a good duo going after the Bloodline together, probably have a tag match with Jimmy & Solo, and maybe a few singles matches, before Randy takes on Roman at the Royal Rumble. I don’t expect Randy to win the Universal Championship because it just doesn’t seem like Roman’s losing before Mania, maybe not even at Mania, but this is going to be good stuff for Randy in his return.

And speaking of the US Championship Contender’s Tournament, awesome field right there, because for one, Karrion Kross gets to do stuff again. And second, it has the classic “settling feuds here” matches you see in WWE tournaments. And also, it gives an NXT superstar an opportunity, possibly even a call-up, so can’t wait to see who HHHBK agree should jump in here. Really good promos from Logan, Kevin and A-Town Down Under to help set this in motion, and Kevin VS Waller was great stuff as a preview. Kevin snatching the win feels like an indicator that he’ll make it to the end, maybe even win the whole thing, only to sadly lose to Logan in the title match.

Lashley being in the field is great, too, he had an awesome opening match with Dunne. Dunne is having to find himself again as his current trio falls apart and then gets beat down by Pretty Deadly. I hope there’s a two birds, one Big Strong Boi opportunity taken here: put Tyler Bate in the contender’s tournament, give him a great showing, but then have him be Dunne’s old-new tag partner so that the mainstream WWE fandom can see the greatness of British Strong Style. And then of course Santos beats Wilde, and Dragon makes a great save to get some heat going into their rematch. I would like to think Dragon wins the rematch to move towards the title, and Santos can screw him over in the later rounds.

And we continue to get awesome stuff out of the DMG CTRL story. Bianca of course wants her title rematch and that means having her go against DMG CTRL again, but Iyo purposefully keeping Bayley at arm’s length is a nice detail. Bayley taking the pin in WarGames despite all her efforts, and then Bayley costing Kairi against Bianca despite her good intentions, the last straw is more than likely gonna be if/when Bayley loses to Bianca, and then maybe, just maybe, the same way Becky and Charlotte made amends, Bayley will try to make amends with Charlotte. There are a lot of stories in WWE right now about forgiveness and grudges, it’d be fitting if Bayley went on a soul searching journey a la Jey Uso and Sami Zayn.

My Score: 8.8/10