For the first time since the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, SmackDown returned to the air and Jey Uso was forced to face his consequences for losing to Roman Reigns in their ‘I Quit’ match.
Uso had been warned by Reigns prior to their match that there would be severe consequences if Uso couldn’t defeat him to capture the universal championship. That played out on-air during SmackDown, with Reigns giving Uso one final chance to acknowledge him as the family’s “head of the table.” Uso’s initial resistance to the idea at the start of the show broke in a spectacular show of violence by the time the broadcast went off the air.
CBS Sports was with you all night, bringing you highlights and recaps of all the night’s action. Read on for everything you need to know from the Hell in a Cell fallout edition of SmackDown.
Jey Uso finally acknowledges Roman Reigns
Reigns and Uso opened the show in the ring, with Uso immediately telling Reigns that Reigns had not defeated him at Hell in a Cell, he simply used “the one person” who could make him quit when the champion locked Jey’s brother Jimmy in a guillotine choke and refused to release the hold. Reigns again reminded Uso of the consequences of his loss, that he must fall in line or be kicked out of their family, stressing that every member of the extended family was backing him as champion and “head of the table.” Uso broke down crying, yelling, “I hate you” repeatedly, but Reigns simply stated that Uso had until the end of the night to fall in line.
Survivor Series Qualifying Match — Jey Uso def. Daniel Bryan via pinfall after an Uso Splash. Uso fought angry in the early going, clearly emotional from his situation with Reigns. After a Bryan comeback, Reigns’ music hit and the universal champ made his way to ringside. The action continued, going back-and-forth, with Bryan eventually locking in the LeBell Lock before Uso was able to escape. Uso hit a superkick shortly after and an Uso Splash to pick up the victory. Reigns climbed into the ring after the match and Uso said, “You’re the head of the table, alright? I’m with you.” Reigns then turned and stared at Bryan and Uso delivered another superkick and splash to show his commitment to Reigns as he repeated, “I understand now. I love you too.” Reigns pointed to Bryan and said, “Make him understand,” so Uso dragged Bryan out of the ring, continuing to beat on him before driving him through an announce table with a splash from the top rope to the outside. Uso continued to batter Bryan as the show went off the air.
The drama in this storyline was threatening to drift even closer to being too much after the Hell in a Cell match. Uso’s “understanding” — and subsequent attack on Bryan — pulled it back. Rather than continuing the push and pull between Reigns and Uso, Uso snapped and went over the edge with his cousin. And there are few more sympathetic characters to put on the end of Uso’s punches than Bryan. Grade: B+
Aalyah Mysterio and Murphy are in love
Early in the show, Aalyah Mysterio was shown speaking to Murphy backstage and stating that her mom has been very “open-minded” about the two of them, but that Rey and Dominik were refusing to even speak about the situation. Murphy said he would issue an official apology in the ring later in the night.
Murphy would eventually attempt to issue that apology. He said he understands why the Mysterios despise him, but as a man, he needed to apologize face-to-face. He invited the two to the ring, begging to be able to apologize, but instead it was Seth Rollins who emerged from backstage. Rollins said that Rey and Dominik would never accept Murphy’s apology or whatever relationship he had with Aalyah. Rollins then said that if the Mysterios don’t accept him, he will. And he’ll also accept Aalyah. Dominik attacked Rollins from behind, Murphy pulled him off and attacked Rollins himself. After Rollins ran away, Dominik and Murphy brawled until Rey ran in as well. Aalyah stopped Rey from hitting a 619 on Murphy and refused to leave the ring, declaring that she loves Murphy. Murphy and Aalyah then kissed as Dominik and Rey left the ring.
In the wake of the Speaking Out movement, it’s odd to see this story play out. Yes, both Aalyah and Murphy are “legally” adults, but Aalyah turned 19 in August, while Murphy is 13 years her senior. It’s just an awkward thing to run with as some sort of “star-crossed lovers” story in an era that saw allegations of inappropriate relationships — including those between veterans and young wrestlers and personalities based on broken power dynamics — take center stage. Along with those problems, the issues between Rollins, Murphy and the Mysterios just feel like they ran out of steam months ago and I don’t think there’s any juice left to be squeezed here. Grade: C-
What else happened on WWE SmackDown?
- Survivor Series Qualifying Match — Kevin Owens def. Dolph Ziggler via pinfall after a stunner. Robert Roode involved himself on the outside early, getting in a cheap shot on Owens. The referee caught on, however, and ejected Roode from ringside. Down the stretch, Owens countered a Ziggler superkick with one of his own before going for a pop-up powerbomb, but Ziggler countered into a fameasser for a near fall in a nice exchange. In the end, Owens was able to hit the stunner to pick up the victory and secure a place on Team SmackDown.
- Lars Sullivan was interviewed by Corey Graves. Sullivan took issue with being called “a freak,” recalling being made fun of in his youth before crying and making those same kids scream 20 minutes later. Now he wants to make the world his personal playground — and personal hell on Earth.
- Survivor Series Qualifying Match — Bianca Belair def. Billie Kay and Natalya via pinfall after hitting Kay with the Kiss of Death. The match came about when the three women confronted Adam Pearce backstage, all claiming they should captain the women’s team at Survivor Series. Pearce told them that they could settle things in the ring, with the winner earning a spot on the team. After a short match with some wild swings in momentum, Belair finished off Kay with the Kiss of Death.
- The Street Profits def. Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro via pinfall when Montez Ford hit Nakamura with a frog splash. Before the match, the Profits cut a promo on Survivor Series opponents The New Day, promising to get the victory in their champions vs. champions bout.
- Sasha Banks cut a promo on Bayley after beating her for the SmackDown women’s championship at Hell in a Cell. Banks said that she realized when Bayley turned on her, it wasn’t their team that was unstoppable, it was her. Bayley cut off the promo, pointing out that everyone knows Banks can win a championship, but she’s never been able to hold on to one. Finally, Bayley threw down the challenge for a title rematch on next week’s SmackDown.