Jul 25, 2016 MALE WRESTLERS: Aiden English Alexander Wolfe AJ Styles Andrade "Cien" Almas Big E Cesaro Daniel Bryan Epico Colon Eric Young Harper Jeff Hardy Jey Uso Jimmy Uso Karl Anderson Killian Dain Kofi Kingston Luke Gallows The Miz Primo Colon Randy Orton R-Truth Rowan Rusev Samir SIngh Samoa Joe Sheamus Shelton Benjamin Shinsuke Nakamura Sin Cara Tye Dillinger Xavier Woods FEMALE WRESTLERS: Asuka Becky Lynch Billie Kay Carmella Charlotte Flair Lana Mandy Rose Naomi Nikki Cross Peyton Royce Sonya Deville Tamina Zelina Vega CHAMPIONS: WWE Champion: AJ Styles (2x, won November 7, 2017) WWE United States Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (won July 15, 2018) WWE Smackdown Women's Champion: Becky Lynch (2x, won September 16, 2018) WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions: The Bar (won October 16, 2018) OTHERS: Paige (Smackdown General Manager) Shane McMahon (Smackdown Commissioner) COMMENTATORS: Tom Phillips Corey Graves Byron Saxton
Jul 26, 2016 WWE Smackdown Live, July 26, 2016 Preview In the wake of Dean Ambrose's incredible WWE Title victory in a furious Triple Threat Match at WWE Battleground, SmackDown Live prepares to take the WWE Universe by storm! 1. And so it begins Following their tremendous success in the WWE Brand Extension Draft on SmackDown Live’s premiere last Tuesday, Commissioner Shane McMahon and his General Manager Daniel Bryan will now hit the ground running with the help of an explosive locker room. And it’s already getting interesting. In the spirit of friendly competition between WWE’s two premium brands, SmackDown Live struck first by beating Raw in the ratings last week! There is no doubt that Shane and Bryan intend to keep it that way. But how will they maintain their success? Big blue’s new live element will create a new level of spontaneous energy to the show each and every week. GM Bryan has also maintained he will put Superstars first. But what other factors might contribute to SmackDown Live staying on the top of the New Era? 2. Who will comes after the WWE Title on Smackdown Live? Certainly having the WWE Champion won’t hurt! Yes, Sunday at WWE Battleground, WWE Champion Dean Ambrose triumphed over ex-Shield cohorts Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in an awe-inspiring Triple Threat Match to keep WWE’s most prestigious prize on Tuesday nights! But now that everybody knows where it is, the real question becomes: Who is coming after it? Could it be SmackDown Live’s resident 15-time World Champion John Cena? Or maybe it’ll be the Superstar who has made it his mission to neutralize the Cenation for months (and who likes a good title now and again), AJ Styles? Wouldn’t Randy Orton love to be WWE Champion heading into his SummerSlam showdown against Brock Lesnar? Or with Bryan known to fight for the underdog, what about the powerful Apollo Crews? Whoever decides to step into the limelight, look for a possible huge WWE Title match to be in the works for “The Biggest Event of the Summer” in the wake of Raw’s creation of the WWE Universal Title Monday. But what about the rest of the SmackDown’s title picture? Certainly those with a thirst for gold can seek the Intercontinental Championship. The Miz is still in possession of the title,in spite of a less than definitive double-disqualification at WWE Battleground. With Darren Young on Raw, it will be interesting to see who takes his place as the No. 1 contender. Moreover, seeing as how Raw is in the midst of creating a WWE Universal Championship to offset the void created in the absence of the WWE Title, couldn’t SmackDown Live conceivably create addition titles as well — for the good of say their many talented tag teams and elite Women’s division? With Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon, anything is possible. 3. Will chaos create cash for Smackdown Live? Another thing that may set SmackDown Live apart from the competition is the potentially catastrophic nature of those currently residing in its locker room. In addition to the unstable aforementioned WWE Champion, what about the likes of The Viper Randy Orton? Or the vicious Baron Corbin? Demon Kane? Are you kidding me? Such a volatile group of Superstars might not even make it from the car to the front door without inciting a brawl. Have you ever heard of Bray Wyatt — now separated from Wyatt Family disciple Braun Strowman — to recruit peacefully? The point is, at the very least, the WWE Universe can look for the all-out bedlam week in and week out. 4. Something new from NXT Perhaps the most exciting element of the WWE Brand Extension Draft was the announcement that six NXT competitors would be among those selected. Now, with American Alpha, Alexa Bliss, Mojo Rawley and Carmella all coming to SmackDown Live, the WWE Universe is clamoring to find out what’s in store for these up-and-coming Superstars. The possibilities are endless. Though the WWE Tag Team Titles currently reside on Raw, greatness can be measured in many ways, and the likes of The Usos or The Vaudevillians are perfect for a dynamic combination of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable to prove their mettle on the main roster. Speaking of tag teams, has the WWE Draft effectively brought the “Hype Bros” back together? Hmm? Mojo did help Zack Ryder at WWE Battleground. And now that they are on the same show again, it’s definitely in the realm of possibility. But the story of NXT potentially does not end with the men’s division. Case in point, consider Alexa Bliss! Last week, in an emotional WWE.com Exclusive, the vibrant athlete expressed just how much being drafted meant to her. It will be interesting to see how well her passion will transfer against her SmackDown Live opposition. And don’t you dare forget Carmella or you may regret it. The Staten Island Princess looks to cement herself in the upper echelon of SmackDown Live in a hurry and probably won’t mind taking out that likes of Becky Lynch and Natalya to do it. 5. The wild card But not everything great comes from difference. SmackDown Live is also loaded with former World, Intercontinental and United States Champions, including Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder and Kalisto, each one as skilled as they are dangerous and each one with SmackDown success in recent years. For them, it may be a new night, but in reality, it’s just another opportunity to reaffirm that SmackDown Live is their house.
Jul 26, 2016 If this is a true competition between the brands (does anyone know if the lead NXT writer has already started on SD?) then they're gonna have a hard time topping last night
Jul 26, 2016 I get off work right when Smackdown starts so I'll probably miss the first 10 or so minutes on the drive home. Excited for it though, my first time actually planning on watching Smackdown in probably 10 years
Jul 26, 2016 I'm thinking it's very likely we could get Dean/Bray at SummerSlam. Orton is tied up with Brock and I don't see them not doing a Cena/AJ match at Slam
Jul 26, 2016 @Devil White I don't see Cena getting a title run for awhile, possibly ever again. He's not working house shows anymore
Jul 26, 2016 f--- I forgot all about this tonight, not used to caring about smackdown and definitely not used to it being on Tuesday. I was gonna DVR it but forgot and I'm already at work, may try to stream some of it or just catch highlights later.
Jul 26, 2016 You can't DVR it through an app? Here in la I can log into my time warner app and set things to record on my phone
Jul 26, 2016 Naw not that I know of at least, but oh well not that big of a deal. Work is gonna be pretty slow tonight so I can follow most of it or maybe even watch it if I find a stream that works on my phone.
