Pipers Pit

Following Becky Lynch, Logan Paul, and Finn Balor fielding questions, Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque sat down to address the assembled media. “Okay, so, first and foremost I think tonight was a really good show, the Pittsburgh crowd as always was very into it and our performers really stepped it up. One injury coming out of tonight, we're pretty sure Ronda separated her shoulder in the tag title match, but she gutted through it as she always does. We'll have her evaluated tomorrow. Early estimates put this about 475,000 buys which equals about 1.2 million in revenue. Was a sellout which we're pleased with and now it's onto television this week and Fastlane first week of October. I do want to say I'm also very proud of the people who put Superstars together. I think that will allow us to put a well-deserved spotlight on our Women's Division including NXT talents. I’ll guess we'll open it up for questions.” (48 HOURS FOR ANY OF YOU TO ASK US WHATEVER YOU WANT!)

SEPTEMBER WEEK 1 PPG PAINTS ARENA PITTSBURGH, PA Vic Joseph and Corey Graves of Raw welcome us to WWE Payback and we are live from the hometown of one Corey Graves. Corey says that he could not think of a better homecoming than calling Raw’s marquee matches for tonight’s Premium Live Event. And we kick off the night hot…it is time for the World Heavyweight Championship. Joseph & Graves take us through Finn Balor winning the World Heavyweight Championship last month at SummerSlam, his successful defense against Seth “Freakin” Rollins and then Eric Bischoff naming John Cena as the challenger. Will John Cena become the man for a record 17th time? Or will Finn Balor continue his reign atop Raw? We’re about to find out right now. *Cena feels history is on his side and begins the match dominating Balor as he has so many opponents over the years. *The champion rebounds and takes control of the match with unrelenting offense but he can’t put Cena down for the three count. *Balor goes for Coup de Grace but Cena rolls out of the way and when Balot approaches, Cena scoops him up and delivers an Attitude Adjustment. Balor kicks out a shade before three. *Cena is motioning to give him another when Dominik Mysterio comes down to ringside and distracts Cena and the referee. *From behind the time keeper, Damian Priest comes to ringside and takes a chain from around his neck, putting it in Balor’s hand. When Cena turns back to the champion, Balor nails him with the chain before going to the top and hitting Coup de Grace for the win. RESULT: FINN BALOR WINS BY PINFALL TO RETAIN THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP After the match, Balor, Priest, and Mysterio leave the ring quickly while John Cena is shocked. Balor acts like he just won the biggest match of his life..because he just did. Finn Balor is still the Heavyweight Champion of the World and Ric Flair’s record remains safe! Paul Heyman is backstage, pacing in front of the Bloodline Lounge. He approaches it several times, but always stops, rethinking the decision. He looks nervous and continues to pace. *A fantastic back and forth match as these two go move for move with plenty of stiff strikes and suplexes. *Dragunov gains an advantage and gets a close pinfall off a fall away slam from the second rope. *Dragunov sets up for Torpedo Moscow, but Butch dodges it and Ilja crashes into the corner. Butch jumps on him delivering almost a dozen forearms to the back of his head. Butch picks him up to his knees and hits several knees to the face before locking him into a fisherman suplex. 1 2 Kickout! *Butch can’t believe it and argues with the ref for a moment. He goes to deliver the suplex again when Dragunov pulls him into a small package but Butch goes with the momentum and rolls over Ilja for the three count. RESULT: BUTCH WINS BY PINFALL Sheamus and Holland come down and the Brawling Brutes unite on the outside of the ring and are in full celebration mode as Dragunov watches them from inside the ring, furious at himself for the mistake that cost him the match. Announcers put over if this could be Chance/Carter’s moment tonight? And highlight video of the issues between Rousey & Baszler as well as the huge opportunity that lies before the challengers play. It is time for the Women’s Tag Team Title match here at Payback! *The challengers start off hot and it doesn’t help that Rousey and Baszler don’t seem to be on the same page. *Chance gets a close two count on Shayna before Rousey comes in without a tag and judo throws Chance into the corner like a rag doll. She makes the tag while being admonished by the referee. *Rousey zeroes in, even giving a snarky comment to her partner about this is how you do it. She sends Carter off the apron with a running knee and hooks in the arm lock on Chance for the submission. RESULT: RONDA ROUSEY & SHAYNA BASZLER WIN BY SUBMISSION TO RETAIN THE WWE WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP In the back, The Man Becky Lynch is interviewed by Byron Saxton. Byron asks Becky what the status of her injured arm is and Becky downplays it. Becky says that there is NOTHING that Rhea Ripley could do to keep Becky from this match or from becoming the Women’s World Champion. Pittsburgh, The Man has come around and she’s going to kick Mami’s ass and become the champ! Paul Heyman is still standing outside the Lounge when the Usos and Solo Sikoa exit. “Gentlemen! Is the Tribal Chief busy in there?” Jey lands a hand on Heyman’s shoulder. “Wiseman, I don’t know if I’d go in there. He’s pretty upset still.” “But…but we’re good right?” The trio exchange glances and walk off, leaving Heyman standing there looking even more worried. Logan Paul makes his grand entrance with lasers and smoke, an entourage of beautiful girls and everything like a big time boxer’s entrance. McAfee follows behind, holding up the US title. *Mysterio puts on a clinic early making Paul look silly and frustrating the US Champion to no end. Paul goes outside to converse with McAfee and Mysterio smashes their heads together to the crowd’s delight. *Paul gets back in and takes over thanks to a kick deep in Mysterio’s gut. He uses his size advantage to punish the Hall of Famer for several minutes, topped off by a Guererro-esque frog splash from the top but Rey kicks out! *Paul shares a nod with McAfee and puts Mysterio in position for a 619 but when he plays to the crowd he begins arguing with the referee allowing McAfee to level Rey with a right hand that knocks him out cold. Replays would show McAfee putting on a black glove that he pulled out of his pocket. Paul pushes past the ref and makes a very cocky cover for the win. RESULT: LOGAN PAUL WINS BY PINFALL TO RETAIN THE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP McAfee is jumping up and down on the outside, as if he himself won the match. He’s too busy trash talking Rey who is still down on the mat to see….. LA Knight has come through the crowd and jumped the barrier. He tackles McAfee from behind, raining down punches. Officials rush to ringside and separate them, allowing McAfee and Paul to escape up the aisle. The hype video for Randy Orton vs Matt Riddle airs. It shows the long friendship between the two, Orton’s return and betrayal of Riddle at SummerSlam and the road that got us here…. The video suddenly ends as we go live into the backstage area and see Randy Orton wailing away on a downed Riddle with a chair. When officials try to break it up, Orton swings at a ref and they all back up. Orton beats the hell out of Riddle and then drags him through Gorilla and we see them come out into the arena. Riddle tries to swing, but The Apex Predator side steps it and does an RKO on the floor in the aisle! Randy drags a virtually unconscious Matt Riddle by the hair down the aisle and rolls him into the ring. Orton then gets in and orders the ref to start the match….there is no way that this match can happen, right?!? Riddle is nearly unconscious! *The ref refuses to ring the bell until Matt Riddle stands up with the help of the ropes and tells the official that he will fight. The ref checks to make sure and Riddle demands this fight. The ref rings the bell *Riddle takes a step toward Orton who smiles evilly and then Riddle collapses to the mat *Orton screams at Riddle to “be a man” and get up and as soon as Riddle tries to crawl to Orton, Randy goes to a corner and runs….Punt Kick!!!! Orton covers….1….2….3. RESULT: RANDY ORTON WINS BY PINFALL As soon as the bell rings, Eric Bischoff runs and leads a horde of officials and medical personnel who come rushing down to the ring. Immediately, a stretcher is brought out and officials order Orton to leave the ring while Randy laughs. Bischoff tells Orton that if he doesn’t leave, he will be fired….that gets through and The Viper finally goes to the back. The medical personnel quickly get Matt Riddle on a backboard and stabilize him and get him onto the stretcher. Bischoff can be heard yelling “get him the hell out of here” and the medical personnel waste no time as they literally run down the aisle with The King of Bros on a stretcher. The announcers tell us that they hope to have word later tonight and if not, definitely Monday on Raw as to the condition of Matt Riddle. Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits are warming up in their locker room. All three men look focused without a hint of clowning around. *Becky isn’t wearing the sling but the arm is Rhea’s targeted area and Lynch is essentially fighting one handed. *Ripley is unrelenting and Becky sells the pain but she won’t give up. *Lynch begins putting together some offense with her good arm and it’s enough to stun the champion. She even gets Rhea in the DisarmHer but with back arm she doesn’t have the leverage to really crank it in. *Not satisfied with his role in distracting John Cena earlier, Dominik Mysterio climbs onto the apron and begins arguing with Becky, allowing Rhea to hit a forearm smash in the back of her head. But the crowd begins to stir and then pops. *Trish Stratus runs down the aisle and yanks him off the apron. He starts trash talking her but she knocks him down with a Chick Kick when he leans down to her. Rhea’s eyes go wide seeing her man down and now she’s the one distracted. Becky grabs Rhea from behind, turns her around and delivers a Becks-ploder suplex. Graves is beside himself asking how the hell did The Man do that with her arm?!? Ripley lands right on her head and Becky covers…. 1… 2… 3!!!! RESULT: BECKY LYNCH WINS BY PINFALL TO BECOME THE NEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPION Following the match, Dominik looks up and sees that Mami has lost while the ref hands Becky the Women’s World Title. Dom and Rhea go up the aisle with Rhea looking manic and screaming that this is not over. Trish looks up at Becky and nods in a sign of respect before walking up the aisle while Lynch celebrates. She kept her word: The Man has come around to Pittsburgh and she is walking out as the new Women’s Champion of this World! *Michin gets the best of Scarlett to begin the match and the men quickly are tagged in where AJ gives it his all and shows he’s not afraid of Kross. *Neither Kross nor Styles holds anything back and it’s clear AJ has a score to settle following the hanging at Summerslam. *When Kross backs Styles to the ring, Michin makes a blind tag. Kross throws AJ out of the ring and turns as if he’s going to fight her. Kross engages the referee telling him to get out of the ring which also distracts Michin. When she turns around, Scarlett blows a red dust into her face, and delivers a snap mare following by a kick to the back of the head. Scarlett makes the cover and gets the win. RESULT: KARRION KROSS AND SCARLETT WIN BY PINFALL Michin exits the ring to check on AJ but he shoves her away. He pauses, looking nearly despondent before turning and walking away from her. A video replay of Roman Reigns’ warning to Paul Heyman is shown. If the Bloodline loses tonight, Heyman is out of a job! *Withn the first five minutes all six men have been the legal man and as the match settles down it’s the Bloodline who is in control. Heyman stands at ringside a bundle of nerves. *They keep Ford in their corner and he’s subject to numerous double and triple teams. *Finally he makes a tag to Dawkins who turns the tide and takes on both Usos at once. He doesn’t see Solo attack him from behind though and for a moment it looks like the Bloodline will regain control when Ford and Lashley hit the ring and it’s a six man brawl. *In the process of the brawl, Jimmy superkicks Dawkins while Jey does the same to Ford. Lashley, in a rush to get to Solo accidentally crushes the referee between himself and Sikoa. *Lashley is on fire and pays no attention to the downed official. He clotheslines the Usos over the top and when Solo charges he backdrops him right on top of his brothers. Lashley goes to the outside to continue his onslaught. Heyman watches in terror as Lashley decimates all three opponents. But when he turns around…. Roman Reigns is charging Lashley and spears Lashley through the barrier wall into the time keeper’s area! Heyman’s eyes are wide as he witnesses his Tribal Chief in action. * Solo and the Usos get back in the ring and while the Street Profits put up a good fight three on two is not to their advantage and when Solo hits a Samoan Spike on Dawkins he earns the pinfall. RESULT: THE BLOODLINE WINS BY PINFALL Heyman thanks Reigns over and over for saving the day. Reigns simply nods and he looms over Lashley in particular. As the show ends, the Bloodline stands over their fallen opponents holding their fingers in the air.

Official Payback Lineup if anyone wants to predict.

SEPTEMBER WEEK 1 GIANT CENTER HERSHEY, PA Welcome to Friday Night Smackdown, I’m Michael Cole alongside Wade Barrett and we are just twenty-four hours away from Payback, coming to live on Peacock from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tonight the action is at a fever pitch, Wade.” “Too right, Michael Cole. We have tensions boiling over left and right and there may no better example of tension than the Bloodline when Roman Reigns declared last week that if Solo Sikoa and the Usos fail to defeat Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits tomorrow night, Paul Heyman, the Wiseman, is out of a job!” “And to open the show tonight, the promised title defense by Asuka against an unknown opponent.” Asuka and her mentor Jake the Snake Roberts are in the ring awaiting her mystery opponent. The crowd gets to its feet when the Queen Charlotte Flair, who’s been out of action since Summerslam and the attack on the Snake Pit, makes her way down to the ring, and wastes no time shedding her robe and sliding into the ring to begin the fight. CHARLOTTE FLAIR VS ASUKA © W/JAKE THE SNAKE ROBERTS *They begin brawling off the bat before Charlotte hits a cross body block on Asuka and takes them both over the ropes. *As much as we all know she wants the title, Charlotte seems out for revenge tonight and as the referee counts, neither woman seems to care as they rip at each other until he hits the ten count. RESULT: DOUBLE COUNT OUT (ASUKA RETAINS THE WWE WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP) The bell continues to ring but neither Auska or Charlotte are ready to stop fighting. They brawl around ringside using whatever they can get their hands on, Officials and referees eventually get them separated but it's clear they want more. A replay is shown of last week’s show where Roman Reigns set down the ultimatum. If the Bloodline loses at Payback, Paul Heyman is out of a job. Backstage. Rey Mysterio is talking to a staffer when he stops and turns to face new United States Champion Logan Paul. “Hey Rey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. How does it feel to know your son has already surpassed your career?” Mysterio bites his tongue for a moment. “Logan, your cheap shot aside, I want to congratulate you on becoming United States champion, but you need to know that title puts a bullseye on your back.” “You don’t have any advice I need. I’m already the greatest US champ in history. Better than John Cena….better than Booker T….way better than Eddie Guererro.” Now Mysterio is hot. “Well, here’s some advice anyways. Watch the right.” “What?” Mysterio decks Paul with a right hand and knocks the champion on his back. Mysterio points down at Paul who’s staring up at him wide eyed. “Tomorrow night, I will bring that title to the LWO. Viva la Raza!” Mysterio walks off as Paul holds his jaw. SHELTON BENJAMIN VS GRAYSON WALLER *Shelton shows he’s still got it and gives the younger man all he can handle and more but it doesn’t last. *Waller takes advantage of his first opportunity and never looks back, finally putting Benjamin down for a three count with a front headlock faceplant Cole refers to as the Down Under. RESULT: GRAYSON WALLER WINS BY PINFALL A video labeled “Earlier Today” is shown where Bianca Belair gets out of her car but as she gets her bag out of her trunk, Bayley approaches her. “Hey, Bianca, guess what.” Bianca sighs, not in the mood for games. “What, Bayley?” “I still hate your guts!” Bayley grabs Bianca by the head and slams it into the trunk lid. Belair is stunned and drops to a knee, opening herself to another attack when Bayley kicks her in the head, hitting the car again.” Bayley stands over a fallen Bianca and cackles. “See you tonight, loser!” “My guests at this time….Pretty Deadly. Gentlemen, last week you lost….” Prince shakes his head. “That’s where you’re wrong Kayla. We didn’t lose. We were cheated.” “How did they cheat?” “You saw it the same as everyone else!” Wilson pipes in. “That’s right Kit but we want a rematch and we want it next week. No more games, and we’ll send these so-called Rough Riders out to pasture.” Pretty Deadly walk off, thinking that last remark was pretty funny. TAMINA VS ZELINA VEGA *Tamina starts off throwing Zelina around the ring. It looks like this will be a quick match as Vega can barely offer resistance. *Tamina plants Vega with a bodyslam and turns to go to the corner for the Superfly Splash but she stops. Looking to the crowd, feeling so happy to be dominating she turns back to Vega to deliver a second bodyslam. *As she bends down to pick up Zelina, Tamina gets pulled into a small package and she can’t kick out. RESULT: ZELINA VEGA WINS BY PINFALL Ilja Draguov is backstage when the Brawling Brutes approach but they don’t attack him, instead Butch steps forward. “I am serving official notice to you Dragunov. Tomorrow night at Payback, I will restore the honor of the Brawling Brutes when I put you in your place, flat on the mat.” Dragunov steps up to meet Butch face to face. “So why don’t we make it interesting for you and me and the entire WWE Universe? Of the three of you, you’re the one I’ve wanted in the ring the most but I don’t think just once, win or lose, will suffice. I suggest that tomorrow night is merely the first battle in a long, bloody, and painful war. I suggest that tomorrow night is just the first round in a series of matches that will define our careers. Five matches, three wins, and your brutes stay out of it. Man to man.” Butch grinds his fist into his cheek as a smile forms. “You’re on.” The Brutes walk away leaving Dragunov stoic. Tamina is backstage and she’s distraught after her loss tonight. Naomi walks up and puts an arm around her. “Sis, I've been there, I know what’s in your heart. But you know what you have that none of these other women have? Family. You have family here. Come on, let’s go talk.” Tamina nods slightly, wiping her eye and leaves with Naomi. AUSTIN THEORY VS JOAQUIN WILDE *As if competition with his Brand team mate, Theory shows why he is a former US Champion. *Theory attacks Wilde before the bell rings and never looks back as he keeps the advantage. *With a wide smirk, Theory nails A-Town Down for the win. RESULT: AUSTIN THEORY WINS BY PINFALL Scarlett is at her table again, drawing her tarot cards while Kross looms behind her. “AJ, I thought you could take a hint. At Summerslam I proved the cards right, I proved your fate when I hanged you. But maybe you’re not as smart as I gave you credit for. You stuck your nose in our business again to save your girl. Well all you did was delay the inevitable. Tomorrow night at Payback, it’s the two of you versus the two of us. And when the final bell rings, both of you will receive what you’ve had coming for a long time.” Scarlett flips a card and holds it up with a deliciously evil smile. BAYLEY VS BIANCA BELAIR *Bayley is very cocky to begin the match but Bianca, who’s still showing signs of the earlier attack, is in no mood for her. *Bayley runs into a series of military press slams before taking a powder to the outside. *Bianca follows and the two brawl before Bayley slings Bianca into the post with her braid. *Bayley rolls Bianca back into the ring but she kicks out of the pin. Bayley comes off the second rope with an elbow drop but gets another two count. *Bianca feeds off the crowd who are urging her to her feet. Bayley pounds her with forearms in the back but Belair feels it less and less. She begins fighting back and hits a series of power moves, wearing Bayley out, before Bianca whips her into the ring and buries a right hand into her guy. Bayley doubles over and Bianca picks her up and hits the KOD for the win. RESULT: BIANCA BELAIR WINS BY PINFALL Cole and Barrett run down Smackdown’s big matches for tomorrow’s Payback PLE. We cut to the back where the six men who will meet tomorrow night are in the midst of an all-out brawl and it’s the Bloodline who’s getting the worst of it. In the Bloodline Lounge, Roman Reigns watches the attack on the monitor. He slowly looks to Paul Heyman, whose eyes are locked on the floor. Reigns looks back to the TV, before clicking it off as the show ends.

Live from Hershey Pennsylvania, Smackdown will feature an open challenge to Asuka's WWE Women's Championship. Her devilish mentor, Hall of Famer Jake the Snake Roberts says the Emperess of Darkness is ready for anyone but nobody's ready for her! Last week we also saw the return of the Tribal Chief and he let his Wiseman Paul Heyman know exactly what's on the line at Payback this Saturday. If the Bloodline loses the six-man tag match to Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits, Heyman is fired. What schemes does the Special Counsel have in mind to save his job? Also in Action: Grayson Waller vs Shelton Benjamin Tamina vs Zelina Vega Austin Theory vs Joaquin Wilde Tune in LIVE this Friday* night for Friday Night Smackdown on FOX! *The Show will be dropping tomorrow (Thursday)

WWE Raw opens with a recap of last week where Finn Balor and The Judgment Day closed the show with their promo and then Bischoff came out and announced that Balor’s opponent for the World Heavyweight Championship this Saturday at Payback is John Cena. The video shows the reaction of the crowd along with the shock of Balor. The crowd cheers of last week from the video cut to live cheers in the arena as we skip the usual opening because we are live….. SEPTEMBER WEEK 1, 2023 SPECTRUM CENTER CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA Cena barely welcomes the crowd to Monday Night Raw before…. The Judgment Day comes down to the ring, slowly surrounding Cena, teasing him by crawling up on the apron. Cena’s not sure where the first attack will come from but it all stops when Eric Bischoff comes down to ringside. Bischoff says he will NOT allow the World Heavyweight Championship match at Payback to be wrecked. But if they want a piece of Cena, he’s sure the 16-time chance will agree to a match here tonight. In the main event it will be John Cena versus Damian Priest….and Judgment Day is banned from ringside! Balor, Dom, and Rhea protest but Priest has his eyes locked with Cena’s. We go to the announcers who put over the fact that John Cena will face Damian Priest tonight just five days from Cena trying to win his 17th World Championship. Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley are both here ahead of their clash at Payback. Settle in folks, anything could happen here tonight! We then see Cody Rhodes walking down toward Gorilla. When Raw returns, the American Nightmare is in action…next! COMMERCIAL BREAK DOLPH ZIGGLER VS CODY RHODES *A great back and forth match between these two who go move for move. *Several close falls and even though they both act as babyfaces, the crowd is definitely behind Cody. *Ziggler goes for a Zig Zag but Rhodes hangs onto the ropes and when Ziggler gets up, Cody immediately nails the CrossRhodes. RESULT: CODY RHODES WINS BY PINFALL We go to Eric Bischoff’s office where the New Day and DIY are arguing. Bischoff smacks his desk and tells them he understands both teams have a claim to face Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. So next week we’ll have a number one contender’s match and the winners will get a title shot at Fastlane. Both teams seem satisfied as they exit but now the arguments have turned to trash talking. A video is shown highlighting the history between Randy Orton and Matt Riddle. KATANA CHANCE AND KAYDEN CARTER VS ZOEY STARK AND PIPER NIVEN *Chance and Carter battle through the match as the heels use double teams to keep them down. *When Niven misses a senton from the second rope, Chance makes the hot tag. A double dropkick sends Stark flying off the apron and when Niven gets to her feet they hit her with a variation of Total Elimination formerly used by ECW’s Eliminators. RESULT: KATANA CHANCE AND KAYDEN CARTER WIN BY PINFALL Byron Saxton is backstage with the Miz and Bronson Reed. The Miz facetiously asks where Drew McIntyre is before ridiculing him for staying home with a boo-boo. Saxton tries to say McIntyre is not medically cleared but the Miz cuts him off and says nobody in the locker room will be medically cleared when Bronson Reed gets done with them! Gunther is on his way to the ring, without Imperium behind him. He’ll be with us after the break! When we return, the Intercontinental Champion Gunther is in the ring. He says greatness is tiring. It’s not easy being the greatest Intercontinental Champion in history. But he wants a new challenger so whoever you are, if you have the guts, come out here and stake your claim! Shinsuke Nakamura saunters down to the ring, and walks up the stairs. Gunther is smiling broadly, seemingly happy with this new challenger. As we go to the commercial, they’re face to face neither showing any fear of the other. LOS LOTHARIOS VS INDUS SHEER W/JINDER MAHAL *Indus Sheer bulldozes the two latin heartthrobs on their way to another impressive victory. RESULT: INDUS SHEER WIN BY PINFALL Byron Saxton is backstage with the Man Becky Lynch. Becky is feeling good about her title match this Saturday at Payback but tells Byron that if Rhea just wants to get it over with tonight she’ll graciously accept! RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ VS NIKKI CROSS *Nikki’s fury pays dividends in the beginning as she keeps Raquel off balance. *Raquel stops Nikki with a big boot and takes over, delivering several power moves before she nails the Tejana Bomb. RESULT: RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ WINS BY PINFALL The announcers hype RAW’s matches for this coming Saturday’s Payback PLE. WWE Payback will air from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this Saturday and only on Peacock. A replay of John Cena’s surprise return is shown. DAMIAN PRIEST VS JOHN CENA *Priest is on full offense and Cena weathers the storm and fights back, only to be shut down with a knee to the gut. Priest hits a chokeslam but Cena kicks out. *Priest grows more and more frustrated with his inability to keep Cena down. Priest begins taking chances and it finally catches up when he misses a splash in the corner which opens the door for Cena. *Cena feeds off the crowd and hits an Attitude Adjustment but Priest kicks out at 2 and ½. Cena is shocked. When he goes for a second, Priest buries a knee in his gut and goes for a Razor’s Egde but Cena slips out from behind and rolls up Priest with some veteran savvy for a three count. RESULT: JOHN CENA WINS BY PINFALL We immediately cut away from Cena’s victory celebration to go backstage where Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch are in the midst of a brawl, hitting each other with anything they can get their hands on. Rhea flapjacks Becky onto a cargo trunk, putting her down for the moment. Rhea then looks off screen and gives a sick grin. She picks up Becky, giving her a punch for good measure and leans her over the trunk with her arm dangling over the side. Ripley walks off screen and then comes rushing into picture again pushing another trunk. She pushes it into the first with Lynch’s arm in between. Becky howls in pain as officials move in but the damage has been done. Graves questions how the Man will be able to beat the Eradicator this Saturday with only one arm. Goodnight from Charlotte!

FREE AGENTS SEPTEMBER 2023 ROSTER AKIRA TOZAWA ALEXA BLISS BAD BUNNY BRON BREAKKER CARMELLA CARMELO HAYES CORA JADE DEXTER LUMIS DOLPH ZIGGLER DREW GULAK JOE GACY LYRA VALKYRIA MUSTAPHA ALI OMOS W/MVP R-TRUTH ROXANNE PEREZ SHOTZI TEGAN NOX WES LEE

SEPTEMBER 2023 ROSTER UNIVERSAL WWE CHAMPION ROMAN REIGNS WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPION ASUKA UNITED STATES CHAMPION LOGAN PAUL UNIFIED WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS KEVIN OWENS AND SAMI ZAYN WOMEN’S WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS RONDA ROUSEY AND SHAYNA BASZLER ADAM PEARCE AJ STYLES ALBA FYRE ANGELO DAWKINS ASUKA AUSTIN THEORY BAYLEY BIANCA BELAIR BOBBY LASHLEY BUTCH CAMERON GRIMES CEDRIC ALEXANDER CHARLOTTE FLAIR CRUZ DEL TORO DAKOTA KAI ELTON PRINCE GIGI DOLIN GRAYSON WALLER ILJA DRAGUNOV ISLA DAWN IYO SKY JAKE ROBERTS JAMES STORM JEY USO JIMMY USO JOAQUIN WILDE KARL ANDERSON KARRION KROSS KAYLA BRAXTON . KEVIN OWENS KIT WILSON LA KNIGHT LACEY EVANS LOGAN PAUL LUKE GALLOWS MEGAN MORANT MICHAEL COLE MICHIN MONTEZ FORD NAOMI PAT MCAFEE PAUL HEYMAN REY MYSTERIO RIDGE HOLLAND ROMAN REIGNS RONDA ROUSEY SAMI ZAYN SANTOS ESCOBAR SCARLETT SHAYNA BASZLER SHEAMUS SHELTON BENJAMIN SOLO SIKOA TAMINA WADE BARRETT ZELINA VEGA

SEPTEMBER 2023 ROSTER WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION FINN BALOR WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPION RHEA RIPLEY INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION GUNTHER UNIFIED WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS KEVIN OWENS AND SAMI ZAYN WOMEN’S WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS RONDA ROUSEY AND SHAYNA BASZLER ANGEL APOLLO CREWS BECKY LYNCH BRANDI RHODES BRAUN STROWMAN BROCK LESNAR BRONSON REED BYRON SAXTON CANDICE LARAE CARLITO CATHY KELLEY CHAD GABLE CHELSEA GREEN CODY RHODES COREY GRAVES DAMIAN PRIEST DOMINIK MYSTERIO DREW MCINTYRE EMMA ERIC BISCHOFF ERIK FINN BALOR GIOVANNI VINCI GUNTHER HUMBERTO INDI HARTWELL IVAR JD MCDONAGH JINDER MAHAL JOHNNY GARGANO KATANA CHANCE KAYDEN CARTER KEVIN OWENS KOFI KINGSTON LIV MORGAN LITA LUDWIG KAISER MARYSE MATT RIDDLE MAXXINE DUPRI NATALYA NIKKI CROSS OTIS PIPER NIVEN RANDY ORTON RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ RHEA RIPLEY RICOCHET RONDA ROUSEY SAMI ZAYN SANGA SETH ROLLINS SHAYNA BASZLER SHINSUKE NAKAMURA SONYA DEVILLE THE MIZ TOMMOSO CIAMPA TRISH STRATUS VALHALLA VEER VIC JOSEPH XAVIER WOODS XIA LI ZOEY STARK

AUGUST WEEK 4 KFC YUM! CENTER LOUISVILLE, KY “The Brand comes to the ring, with Logan Paul wearing the United States Championship over his shoulder. McAfee gathers a mic as the boos rain down. “Louisville….Kentucky….I know you don’t have much class around here, not like those fine folks up the road in Lexington who root for a REAL school, but if you will, shut your traps and show some respect for the four men who put the Rated-R Superstar out to pasture! And while you’re at it, show some respect for the NEWWWWW United States Champion, Logan Paul!” Theory and Waller applaud their faction-mate as Paul raises the belt up to even more boos. But those boos turn to excited cheers a moment later. LA Knight jumps the barrier and slides into the ring behind The Brand. None of them see him until it’s too late as he blasts Theory and Waller from behind with a clothesline before he tackles Paul and begins throwing right hands down. McAfee pulls Paul out of the ring and The Brand regroups as Knight says he’ll fight any or all of them right now…YEAH! “On the heels of that exciting opening, we have a referee in the ring and an impromptu opening match, Wade.” “LA Knight is many things but tonight he’s proving himself to be quite foolish, interrupting The Brand’s celebration and forcing himself into their spotlight.” “McAfree and his cohorts had to expect Knight’s return after he was kicked out of the building last week.” “I think they expect to end this charade once and for all in just a few moments.” GRAYSON WALLER VS LA KNIGHT *A good back and forth match. Waller cheats his way to the early advantage with McAfee, Paul, and Theory all taking cheap shots when the referee isn’t looking. *Paul goes as far as to hit Knight with the US belt, but Knight kicks out at 2. Knight has had enough and rolls out of the ring, gathering a chair from ringside. *He gets back in the ring and the referee attempts to take the chair but he gets it in a way he doesn’t want when Knight smacks the ref with the chair, knocking him down. He then charges a stunned Waller, smacking him across the back. Theory pulls Waller out of the ring and the Brand takes off up the aisle with Knight, chair in hand, following on their heels. RESULT: GRAYSON WALLER WINS BY DISQUALIFICATION “My guests at this time, WWE Hall of Famer Jake the Snake Roberts and the WWE Women’s Champion, Asuka. Mr. Roberts, it’s without question that since you began influencing Asuka she’s really become an entirely different person and much more dangerous.” “That is where you’re wrong, little girl. She’s the same person she always was, deep down. She covered it up with smiles and dances but deep down….there was a black heart beating in that chest. She has reclaimed herself and risen as the Empress of Darkness and next week right here on Smackdown, we’re going to give a demonstration live and in living color.” “Do you know who the opponent will be?” “No idea, and frankly we don't care. Because an immortal truth will always apply.” Asuka leans in to Kayla. “Nobody is ready for Asuka.” TAMINA VS MICHIN *Tamina’s power is always a problem for her opponents but Michin mitigates it with some striking and limited use of second rope offense. *Tamina takes a big chance going for a Superfly Splash but it doesn’t pay off as Michin rolls out of the way. *Michin takes advantage and hits an inverted facebreaker called Seoul Food for the win. RESULT: MICHIN WINS BY PINFALL Michin gets her hand raised and turns to see Scarlett staring her down in the ring while Kross stands behind Scarlett with his arms crossed. Slowly they begin advancing on Michin who holds her ground but she’s not alone for long. AJ Styles, who hasn’t been seen since Kross hanged him at Summerslam runs down to the ring and evens the odds. Kross and Scarlett slowly exit the ring, both smiling, as if they’ve gotten exactly what they wanted. Pretty Deadly are in the ring following the commercial break awaiting Cameron Grimes and his partner. Grimes comes down to ringside alone and Wilson and Prince begin having a good laugh until….. Cowboy James Storm comes down to ringside and stands next to Grimes. “Take a good look at the men who are gonna kick your ass tonight. You can call us the Rough Riders, and on behalf of my partner….sorry, for your damn luck!” ROUGH RIDERS VS PRETTY DEADLY *Pretty Deadly is on their heels as Grimes and Storm brawl to an early advantage. *Prince stops the attack, and Pretty Deadly has Grimes close being pinned but he won’t stay down. Pretty Deadly set him up for Spilt Milk but Storm pulls the rope down and Prince tumbles out. Grimes nails Wilson with a right hand and makes the hot tag. *Storm cleans house before he and Grimes hit a double superkick on Wilson that Cole refers to as the Last Call. RESULT: ROUGH RIDERS WIN BY PINFALL Backstage, we see Pat McAfee and Adam Pearce. “Did you see that psychopath out there? He’s unstable and he’s creating a hostile work environment. You know I have more money than God and I’ll sue the hell out of this company unless you do something!” Pearce puts his hands up. “I know what LA Knight did was over the line. It’s never okay to touch an official like that, so Knight is suspended indefinitely, good enough?” “For now.” UNHOLY ALLIANCE VS IYO SKY AND BIANCA BELAIR *Standard tag action with Dawn and Fyre beating up Sky until she makes the hot tag to Belair. *Bianca delivers matching military press slams, then flattens Dawn with a standing clothesline, and finally a KOD. But she doesn’t go for the pin, she tags Sky back in who hits a moonsault for the 123. RESULT: IYO SKY AND BIANCA BELAIR WIN BY PINFALL Bianca and Iyo celebrate their win as Cole questions if they might pose a threat for the Women’s Tag Team Championship. The Brawling Brutes are psyching Sheamus up for his match with Ilja Dragunov. The main event is next! ILJA DRAGUNOV VS SHEAMUS *This match is a war that makes you wince as you watch them kick, chop, punch, and pummel one another. *Sheamus and Dragunov get in their normal offense but they can’t put their opponent down for a three count. *Sheamus begins to feel it, and he runs in for a Brogue Kick but Ilja ducks it, bounds off the ropes and hits a Torpedo Moscow. He makes the cover and gets the three count. RESULT: ILJA DRAGUNOV WINS BY PINFALL As Holland attends to Sheamus, Butch is in the ring and nose to nose with Dragunov. They begin jawwing at each other before they part and Dragunov walks up the aisle victorious. The door to the Bloodline’s Lounge opens and out walks Roman Reigns followed by Heyman and his family. The Universal Champion and the Bloodline will be in the ring….next! “Ladies and Gentlemen…my name is…..” Roman holds out his hand for the mic, which Heyman hands over immediately. “Louisville ... .acknowledge me!” He soaks in both the adoration and the boos. “It seems like the Tribal Chief can’t take a well deserved break after I put Bobby Lashley down at Summerslam without drama happening around here. Last week my wiseman was out here to report on important Bloodline business and then what happens? Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits think they can roll up and intimidate my wise man? How insulting is that? I mean its a slap in the face. He’s a special counsel, he’s not a fighter. He’s also not the Tribal Chief.” Heyman’s smile fades and worry grows on his face. “But you know, he made the right decision. At Payback, my cousins are gonna smash Bobby and the Profits and uphold our family’s honor, isn’t that right Wiseman?” “Absolutely my Tribal Chief!” “Cause if they don’t……you’re fired.” Heyman’s jaw drops as Reigns tosses the mic to the outside and he and his family leave the ring. Heyman, alone in the ring, is sweating bullets as the show ends.

Live from Louisville Kentucky, Smackdown will feature the return of the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns as he shares his reaction to the decision made by his Wiseman, pitting the Bloodline up against Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits at Payback. Also in attendance will be the Brand, including new United States Champion Logal Paul. Following his shocking upset last week what will the megamouths have to say and is there anyone who can shut them up? Also in Action: Tamina vs Michin Pretty Deadly vs Cameron Grimes and a mystery partner Ilja Dragunov vs Sheamus Tune in LIVE this Friday* night for Friday Night Smackdown on FOX! *The Show will be dropping tomorrow (Monday)

A live shot of Edge arriving at the building with his wife, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix. Holding hands, they enter the arena. AUGUST WEEK 3 SCOTIABANK ARENA TORONTO, ON Good evening and welcome to Friday Night Smackdow. I’m Michael Cole and with me as always is my broadcast partner Wade Barrett. Wade, tonight we’ll see Ridge Holland of the Brawling Brutes take on Ilja Dragunov. In addition Hit Row will be in tag action against the lWo’s Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar.” “And do not forget, Toronto’s hometown son Edge will defend his United States Championship against a member of The Brand. But we don’t know which member it will be.” “All that and more but first we go to the ring…and Paul Heyman.” “Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman and I am the Special Counsel to the Head of the Table, the Tribal Chief, the Reignsing, Defending, Undisput……..” Lashley and the Street Profits make their way down to the ring, all three dressed to the nines in very nice suits. Heyman watches them carefully, holding up a hand as they approach him. “I’m…I’m just a Special Counsel…..” Lashley reassures him with a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Paul, Paul, don’t worry. You’re not the ones we want to fight. We know you’re just the mouthpiece of the Bloodline. So what we want is the Usos, and Solo Sikoa at Payback. You can do that, right Paul?” Heyman begins to make non verbal excuses but nearly drops to his knees when Lashley applies a little more pressure. “Uh..yea, yea, we can do that. No problem.” “It’s been nice doing business with you.” Lashley and the Street Profits leave Heyman in the ring. The Wiseman’s face is a mix of anger and uncertainty. After the commercial, a replay of Heyman agreeing to a six man tag for Payback is shown. RIDGE HOLLAND W/SHEAMUS AND BUTCH VS ILJA DRAGUNOV *Hard hitting and brutal, *Sheamus and Butch at ringside stay out of the action in the beginning but when Holland looks to be in trouble they both get in shots on Dragunov. *Holland scoops up Dragunov for a running powerslam but Ilja slips out and when Ridge turns around, he catches a short Torpedo Moscow in the face. Dragunov makes the cover before the Brutes can get in the ring. RESULT: ILJA DRAGUNOV WINS BY PINFALL Dragunov gets to the outside as Sheamus and Butch hit the ring. Sheamus is incensed and gets a mic. “You think that’s funny, fella? Next week we’ll see if you’re smiling when I kick your bleedin’ head off your shoulders!” Dragunov just nods, accepting the challenge. GIGI DOLIN VS NAOMI *A back and forth match and for a few moments it looks like Dolin is going to close it out for a victory but when she goes to the top, Naomi meets her with a right hand before snapmaring her down to the mat. *Dolin looks dazed and when she gets to her knees she’s hit with the Rear View. Naomi picks up the three count. RESULT: NAOMI WINS BY PINFALL Pat McAfee is walking carefree,backstage when LA Knight jumps him from behind. Knight is raining down rights and lefts as officials rush in and separate the two. McAfee doesn’t wait around and makes a quick exit as Knight isn’t done yet. Cameron Grimes is talking to a staff member when Pretty Deadly walks up. “Look Elton, a hillbilly in his natural habitat. Flapping his lips and not working.” “You’re too right Kit. I wonder if he could even find his way to the ring, it’s been awhile.” Grimes steps up, tired of their insults. “Yea, it has been too long since I got to get in the ring with two idiots like you and punch you right in the mouth. So how about next week we make that happen?” Pretty Deadly share a laugh. “As if anyone would want to team with you.” They walk off and leave Grimes seething, but then he stops and pulls out his phone. HIT ROW VS SANTOS ESCOBAR AND REY MYSTERIO *This is a drubbing. The lWo make Hit Row look silly at times with their offense and teamwork. *Mysterio tags Santos and then hits a 619 on Top Dolla, who stumbles back into a superkick from Escobar in the back of the head. Escobar makes the cover and gets the 123. RESULT: SANTOS ESCOBAR WINS BY PINFALL Backstage we see WWE Official Adam Pearce with LA Knight standing by the area back door. “LA, I know you’re pissed off, but you can’t be doing that. There is a big title match tonight and I can’t have you messing it up so….you gotta go tonight.” “You’re throwing me out? You think LA Knight cares about your little title match? Let me make it clear that even you can understand. McAfee. Theory, Waller, I don’t care where, I don’t care how, but I guaran-damn-tee you, LA Knight is going to kick all their asses….YEAH!” Knight begrudgingly exits the building as Pearce just shakes his head. Kayla Braxton finds an agitated Paul Heyman backstage. “Mr Heyman…” “Oh God….” “I just wanted to ask you about the agreement you made tonight concerning Payback. Did you have the approval of Roman Reigns to agree to that match for the Usos and Solo Sikoa or….will you be held accountable?” Heyman sneers but then his phone rings and when he sees the screen he turns pale. “I,,,I have to take this…Yes, my Tribal Chief….” He walks off in the hopes of more privacy. Lacey Evans has a mic as she walks down the aisle. “I am disgusted that I have to get into the ring with…her. This is the best you can do, Canada? This is your national representative against the best America has to offer? No wonder you’re democracy’s useless cousin. You should be ashamed of yourselves but before you hit the Molson too hard, Lady Liberty, Lacey Evans will make quick work so I can get the hell out of here!” ARIANA GRACE VS LACEY EVANS *Evans toys with her opponent, flowing between cruelty and boredom before she slaps on the Cobra Clutch for the win. RESULT: LACEY EVANS WINS BY SUBMISSION McAfee, Theory, and Waller come out, all of them in their ring gear. McAfee has a mic. “I know everyone has been wondering for a week which of us is going to become the new United States Champion in a matter of minutes. It could be me, it could be Austin, it could be Grayson and any of us would make a million times better champion than Edge.” He waits for the boos. “But truth be told, the answer is none of the above. Put your canuck hands together and welcome the newest member of The Brand……” Paul comes out and daps all three of his friends. They all head to the ring looking supremely confident. LOGAN PAUL W/PAT MCAFEE, AUSTIN THEORY, AND GRAYSON WALLER VS EDGE © *The match is great and goes back and forth. Paul is a ball of constant energy but Edge keeps up with him, scoring a near pin early on with a spear that Paul barely kicks out of. *Paul begins to fall victim to Edge’s veteran savvy and the champ begins picking him apart, one body part at a time. * At ringside, The Brand cheers on their man and stays out of it until Waller nails Edge in the back when the referee is busy with McAfee. Edge turns around and nails Waller, then Theory with right hands but when he turns around he walks into a spinning heel kick. *With Edge down, Paul goes to the top but as he balances, he jumps and does a 180 before springboarding high and nailing a moonsault. But he isn’t done. He picks up Edge, delivers a Michinoku Driver, and then bounds off the ropes with a springboard moonsault. 1 2 KICKOUT! *The crowd is back into it, and Edge has life. He begins fighting his way back, and Paul can’t stop him. Edge hits a running clothesline, then another. He picks Paul up for the Edgecution DDT….when Paul pulls him into a small package and scores the three count. RESULT: LOGAN PAUL WINS BY PINFALL TO WIN THE WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP The Brand leaves the ring in celebration and the focus is on Edge. He rises to his feet as the crowd heaps cheers on their hometown star. He looks choked up, as he reaches down and unlaces his boots. Slowly he steps out of them and places them side by side in the middle of the ring. With a wave to the crowd, he exits the ring. The last thing we see before the show ends is a shot of the boots.

Live from Toronto, Ontario Canada, hometown son Edge will face Pat McAfee of The Brand following the loud mouth's challenge to the Rated R Superstar. The Brand has already shown themselves capable of shooting off their mouths, but have they bitten off more than they can chew with the Hall of Famer? Also in Action: Ridge Holland vs Ilja Dragunov Hit Row vs Santos Escobar and Rey Mysterio Tune in LIVE this Friday* night for Friday Night Smackdown on FOX! *The Show will be dropping tomorrow (Thurs)

Wow. That's all I can say. Thank you very very much for this honor and I don't use the word lightly. This board and its writers have entertained and inspired me to do these projects over the years. The biggest thank you is to my partner in crime, @Kimberly. She's my muse, my sounding board and often the person who keeps me sane when I come up with a crazy idea. Thank you all.

"The greatest Manager, Advocate, Special Counsel, Wiseman, Extreme Cult Leader, and Mad Scientist in the history of Professional Wrestling/Sports Entertainment has graced you with his presence for 48 hours. Ladies and Gentlemen, the floor is yours!" (48 hours to ask a question)

Hey, glad you enjoyed it

We see video from earlier where the Bloodline, minus the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns, arrived at the building. Heyman leads the way with a very serious look on his face. AUGUST WEEK 2 SCOTIABANK SADDLEDOME CALGARY, AL Welcome to Friday Night Smackdown! I’m Michael Cole along with Wade Barrett and as we just saw Roman Reigns is not here.” “Michael Cole, the Tribal Chief went through a war this past Saturday at Summerslam and he has earned a night off.” “Funny you mention that Wade, because yet again we saw the Bloodline help Roman Reigns retain his title against Bobby Lashley.” “You must not have one member of your family who likes you. What you saw was the love between Roman Reigns and his cousins the Usos and Solo Sikoa. Of course they’ll support him.” “Someday, Wade, Roman Reigns will have to stand on his own two feet.” “Well you may choose to be disrespectful, but I opt to acknowledge our champion!” ALBA FYRE W/ISLA DAWN VS IYO SKY *Fyre starts off hot, with an assist or two from Dawn and Sky is on her heels. *The tide turns when Iyo begins a comeback, drawing Dawn to the apron. Sky dodges an attack from behind and Fyre collides with Dawn, knocking her to the floor. *Sky hits a standing enzuigiri, then goes to the top and nails a moonsault for the win. RESULT: IYO SKY WINS BY PINFALL Iyo fights valiantly but the Unholy Alliance has the numbers and things are looking bleak when…. Bianca Belair sprints down to the ring and quickly evens the odds. Together, Belair and Sky fight back until Fyre and Dawn exit the ring but there is evil intent in their eyes. In a darkened locker room Asuka is hunched in the corner, petting a snake as Jake Roberts looks on. “Don’t say we didn’t give fair warning. I told Charlotte Flair that she should forget all about Asuka and the WWE Women’s Championship. But she doesn’t listen, just like her old man. She’s arrogant, she’s entitled. That’s okay, because now she’s learned the lesson. She’s tasted her own blood because of her pride. The Empress of Darkness is ready to make someone else learn the lesson. And that lesson is….” The camera zooms in on Asuka who smiles with a blood-like substance running down her chin. “Nobody is ready for Asuka,” the Champion says in a gutteral whisper. Kayla Braxton is waiting outside the Bloodline Lounge and stops Paul Heyman when he exits the room. “Mr. Heyman, you said on X this week that Roman Reigns is on vacation but my sources say he’s still recuperating after such a physical match against Bobby Lashley. “Your sources? Kayla, your sources are garbage. Right now the Reignsing, Defending, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns is on a beach sipping a drink and enjoying the show.” Heyman waves to the camera. “And tonight he will watch as his cousins, the Usos, begin their march back to the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship when they dismiss the Street Profits. That’s not a rumor, that's not from a source, that’s not a prediction. That…is a spoiler.” A vignette of Scarlett slowly laying out her tarot cards as Kross stands behind her, arms folded. “The cards never lie. Tonight, Karrion will focus his anger into his opponent. I foresee destruction….for the Fool.” She holds up the card. Karrion Kross is in action…NEXT! R-TRUTH VS KARRION KROSS W/SCARLETT *Kross completely and utterly dominates the match leading to the Krossjacket. RESULT: KARRION KROSS WINS BY SUBMISSION We see Edge walking with determination backstage. The United States Champion will join us right after the break. Edge comes to the ring, and once the cheers of the crowd die down he takes a deep breath and begins. “Alberta, thank you for that warm welcome. It’s always so great to be back in Canada. I’m out here to announce that next week in my home town of Toronto, I’ll be holding an open challenge for my United States Championship. So whoever wants to step up, I’m more than……” Pat McAfee comes out from the back, mic in hand. “Edge, man, it’s like you read my mind. I was sitting back there talking to Austin and Grayson and I said, please God, give us a chance to show the WWE Universe what The Brand is all about. And then, here you are, opening the door for me. So thank you for that and on behalf of The Brand, we accept.” McAfee smiles big and walks out as Edge shakes his head and Michael Cole questions if McAfee is accepting the challenge or if it’ll be Theory or Waller. Barrett says not to worry, next week we’ll have our answer. A replay is shown of Edge being interrupted by Pat McAfee who after trashing Canada eventually challenges Edge on behalf of “The Brand” for next week in the champion’s home town of Toronto, which Edge accepts. JOAQUIN WILDE AND CRUZ DEL TORO VS PRETTY DEADLY *The LWO controls the early going, sending Pretty Deadly to the outside to regroup. *When they do talk it over, Wilson and Prince use quick tags and dirty tricks to take the momentum. *Cruz makes a small comeback and tries to come off the top but Prince shoves him off behind the ref’s back. This brings Wilde into the ring but the ref cuts him off letting Pretty Deadly to hit Spilt Milk for the win. RESULT: PRETTY DEADLY WINS BY PINFALL The Brawling Brutes are walking backstage when they come to a stop. The camera pans and we see who stands in their way. Sheamus smirks and walks up to Dragunov. “Well fella, you look like you’re lost because you’re standing in our way and if you haven’t noticed, that doesn’t end well for people.” Holland and Butch step up beside Sheamus. “So if you’re looking to challenge one of us, just say the word.” Dragunov looks them over, before slapping Holland right across the face. “Next week, fella.” Dragunov walks off as Holland rubs his cheek but is smiling through it. ASHANTE ADONIS W/B-FAB VS REY MYSTERIO W/ZELINA VEGA *An even match throughout which sees both men control the advantage. *B-Fab gets on the apron but Zelina yanks her down and the women begin brawling. *Adonis tries to take advantage, but Mysterio overcomes him and hits the 619 for the win. RESULT: REY MYSTERIO WINS BY PINFALL THE STREET PROFITS VS THE USOS W/PAUL HEYMAN *A great tag match that goes back and forth with a lot of close false finishes. *Finally the Street Profits gain the advantage and after dismissing Jey from the ring with a double clothesline over the top, they turn their attention to Jimmy. *Dawkins hits a spinebuster and tags in Ford who soars with a frog splash for the 1….2…. *Solo Sikoa hits the ring and breaks up the pin, causing the disqualification. The three brothers then begin to triple team the Street Profits as the bell rings. RESULT: THE STREET PROFITS WIN BY DISQUALIFICATION The Bloodline continues their attack on the Street Profits until the Almighty Bobby Lashley runs down to the ring and clears them out of it. As Lashley helps Ford and Dawkins to their feet, the Bloodline retreats up the aisle, but it looks like this is not end of the story.

Six days after Summerslam and the titanic war between Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley, Smackdown is LIVE from Calgary Alberta and packed with action. Paul Heyman has already announced Reigns will not be present as he enjoys a well-deserved vacation, but the Bloodline will be there as the Usos take on the Street Profits in the main event. Smackdown was also introduced to the newest faction in WWE, who calls themselves The Brand, when Pat McAfee betrayed LA Knight and joined forces with Austin Theory and Grayson Waller. What do they have in store for the rest of the roster? Also appearing: The United States Champion Edge Rey Mysterio vs Ashante Adonis Iyo Sky vs Alba Fyre Tune in LIVE this Friday night for Friday Night Smackdown on FOX!

Well as I said when we created the World Heavyweight Championship, Roman Reigns managed to get his schedule included in a new contract. I get it, I wish he was defending it more, especially on Smackdown, but I can't do much about what he's doing. Seth was a very proud fighting champion and I know Finn will be as well. We'll have him looked at and we'll have to make a determination on the severity of what happened to him tonight.

Following Paul Heyman, Rhea Ripley, and Gunther fielding questions, Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque sat down to address the assembled media. “Let’s get the good news for the night out of the way. We’re all very proud of the entire WWE team from talent to production and marketing and all of it because this is without a doubt the most successful Summerslam in history. Thank you also to Detroit and the folks at Ford Field, it was an awesome experience for us and our fans. Early estimates for buy rate point to over 650,000 buys tonight. We expect 1.25 million in revenue from that alone. All of those numbers will shake out over the next day or so. Now the bad news. As you saw, new World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor, congrats to him by the way, but he’s being examined for some kind of a shoulder injury. I don’t have more than that but he’s a tough SOB to have powered through that injury and have the kind of match he and Seth put on. We’ll get him looked over tomorrow morning and we’ll move forward after we get that information. So that said, I’ll open it up for questions.” (48 HOURS FOR ANY OF YOU TO ASK US WHATEVER YOU WANT!)

AUGUST WEEK 1 FORD FIELD DETROIT, MI “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Biggest Party of the Summer, Summerslam! Wade tonight is going to be a night that may change everything on both Raw and Smackdown.” Michael Cole, you’re completely correct and we will go straight to the Head of the Table because coming up right now is the Tribal Chief versus the Almighty, and if I were a betting man, I can’t pick against Roman Reigns. “Wade, his streak has to end at some point.” “It won’t be tonight.” BOBBY LASHLEY VS ROMAN REIGNS © *Lashley shows no fear of Reigns and muscles him around the ring, eventually throwing him over the top at Heyman’s feet. Reigns looks shook. *The champion regroups and the match resumes into more of an equal affair. Neither man can put the other down, even when Reigns hits a spear he only gets a two count. *Reigns sets up for a Superman Punch but when he jumps, Lashley catches him in mid air and runs him across the ring into the corner, launching no less than six shoulder blocks in the corner and Reigns looks hurt, favoring his ribs. *Lashley can feel the energy from the crowd as he punishes Reigns with a series of power suplexes but when he hits a fall away slam, Reigns’ boot hits the ref and knocks him out. Heyman is growing frantic and waves at the aisle. Here comes the cavalry. *The members of the Bloodline get on the apron on three sides of the ring but they don't stay there for long. Lashley runs at Jimmy and knocks him off the apron with a forearm, then bounds off the ropes and takes out Jey on the opposite side. He stops and locks eyes with Solo who steps onto the ring. *Solo and Lashley begin trading right hands but Solo hits a hand thrust to the throat. He reels back for the Samoan Spike but Lashley ducks it and secures the Hurt Lock! Solo is helpless until his brothers get back in the ring and hit a double superkick to the back of Lashley’s head. *Lashley releases Solo just in time for Reigns to hit a spear, but he’s took exhausted and hurt to take advantage. Solo drags Reigns and put him on top of Lashley before the Bloodline all ditch from the ring. The referee crawls over and makes the count. 1 2 3! RESULT: ROMAN REIGNS RETAINS THE WWE UNDISPUTED WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY PINFALL. Reigns, with the aid of Solo Sikoa heads back up the aisle followed by the Usos and Heyman carrying the title belt. The champion looks exhausted and appears to understand how close he came to losing tonight. In the back, we see all four members of The Judgment Day. Both Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley are warming up for their respective matches tonight while Damian and Dominik cheer them on. By night's end, The Judgment Day could rule Monday Night Raw or they could lose it all. We’ll find out which later tonight. CARLITO VS BRONSON REED *Carlito starts the match by psyching out Bronson and making Reed charge him before slamming the powerhouse for a near fall *The Miz distracts Carlito by getting on the apron and this allows Bronson the opportunity to attack Carlito from behind *From there, the match becomes a showcase of the monster that is Bronson Reed and Carlito really doesn’t get much offense again *The Miz smirks after Bronson does a Belly to Belly Slam and then tells Bronson to end it. Bronson goes up top and nails the Tsunami for the 1…2…3 RESULT: BRONSON REED WINS BY PINFALL A video package is shown reminding us of Iyo Sky and Bayley’s friendship going back to last year’s Summerslam, Bayley’s betrayal of Iyo at Money in the Bank, and how Adam Pearce made tonight a two out of three falls match. 2 OUT OF 3 FALLS BAYLEY VS IYO SKY *A great even first fall with both women spotlighting what they can do in the ring. *Iyo goes for her moonsault early but Bayley rolls out of the way. *Bayley quickly picks Iyo up and hits a Rose Plant for the first fall. BAYLEY WINS HER FIRST FALL BY PINFALL *Bayley quickly presses her advantage and goes for the pin as soon as the second fall begins but Iyo kicks out. *Bayley leaves Iyo in the ring and goes to the outside to complain to Cole at the announcers desk. When she turns around she’s hit in the face by Iyo doing a suicide dive. *Iyo takes the fight to Bayley, beating her around the ring. Bayley digs for something under the ring and when Iyo approaches, Bayley hits her in the head with a fire extinguisher and the referee calls for the bell. IYO SKY WINS HER FIRST FALL BY DISQUALIFICATION *Bayley doesn’t seem to care, telling Iyo how smart she is instead and trash talking her, calling her ungrateful. Bayley rolls her back in the ring but Iyo kicks out at two. *Bayley hits a snap suplex, then a second, before picking Iyo up for a Bayley to Belly but Iyo headbutts her in the face, staggering Bayley to the corner. Iyo hits a running knee then a bulldog but Bayley kicks at 2 ½. *Iyo attacks Bayley while shouting in Japanese and Bayley tries to leave the ring but Iyo grabs her hair and won’t let her out. Bayley punches her in the stomach and goes for another Rose Plant but Iyo blocks it and hits Sliced Bread. *Iyo climbs to the top and this time hits the moonsault for the three count. RESULT: IYO SKY WINS HER SECOND FALL BY PINFALL. Byron Saxton is backstage with The Man Becky Lynch. Byron asks Becky about her thoughts that it is Trish Stratus having the opportunity to be Women’s World Champion tonight? Becky reiterates that she does not believe for a second this supposed change of heart in Trish Stratus, but she wishes Trish well. In fact, The Man hopes Trish wins tonight because the time is coming when Becky and Trish will dance again and if it's for the Women’s World Championship? All the better. As for Becky? Detroit, The Man has come around and tonight The Man makes Zoey Stark her bitch. Vic Joseph and Corey Graves are at the announce table. They speculate about the fact that we could possibly see Trish Stratus vs Becky Lynch for the Women’s title, but if that is going to happen, Trish needs to make history tonight. Trish Stratus has had a change of heart and it’s thanks to the friendship of Lita and the opportunity of a lifetime is now before the WWE Hall of Famer. It has been almost 17 years since Trish won her last World Title, will she become champion again? It’s time to find out. Trish Stratus versus “Mami” Rhea Ripley is up next and it’s for the Women’s World Champion. Let’s go to the ring. TRISH STRATUS VS RHEA RIPLEY © *This is an epic match that sees Trish play to her old school babyface strengths as she comes out a house of fire on Rhea and Dom even looks scared *When Dom tries to interfere, Lita comes over, climbs the apron, and does a Litacaranna on Dom!!! The distraction allows Rhea the chance to nail Trish from behind and then “Mami” dominates *Rhea slams Trish on the announce table, into steps, into a barrier, holds Trish by the hair and tells her to beg for Lita’s help, but Stratus will not end it. Rhea delivers a punishing big boot, a painful neck nerve hold, and some vicious power moves, but she cannot put Trish down. The crowd, once uncertain of Stratus, begins to rally and a “let’s go Trish” chant rings out. *Rhea starts to become confident that she has this in hand, but when she grabs Trish for the RipTide, Trish reverses it and shoves Rhea off…..CHICK KICK!!! Trish is gonna do it!! She covers…. 1…. 2…. Rhea is out at the last second. As soon as this happens, the crowd boos Piper Niven and Zoey Stark come down and attack Lita from behind. After a few moments, Trish sees this and bails to the floor to ask them what they’re doing. Zoey gets in Trish’s face and the two shove each other before *Becky Lynch runs down and goes after Zoey. Trish steps back and lets Lynch do so. After a few moments, Piper tries to attack The Man and Trish begins to go to defend Lynch, but Lita is up and is fighting Niven. Becky & Lita brawl up the aisle to the back with Stark and Niven and while this happens, Dom sneaks behind Trish and rolls her into the ring… *Right into Rhea who nails the RIPTIDE!! Rhea covers….1…..2…..at the last moment, Trish gets her shoulder up! With the crowd cheering, Trish tries to get up but when she does, Rhea is right there. RIPTIDE AGAIN!!! 1… 2…. 3 RESULT: RHEA RIPLEY WINS BY PINFALL TO REMAIN WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Dominik hugs Rhea and hands her the championship. Trish comes to and realizes that she lost her chance at being champion here tonight.The crowd cheers Trish though as she gets to her feet. Rhea and Dom smirk as they head up the aisle in victory. “Now it’s time to go to a dark place we haven’t seen in a very long time. Wade, I don’t even know what to expect.” Barrett shakes his head. “Michael Cole, the only person who does is one of the most evil men in WWE history, Jake the Snake Roberts.” “In any event, welcome back…to the Snake Pit.” We go to a cinematic video where the first thing we see are dozens of snakes writhing on the stone ground. They crawl around the feet of Jake Roberts who is sitting on a large rock in the middle of the room. There is a fog hugging the ground around him. Charlotte Flair enters the pit through a door cut into the stone, carrying the Women’s Money in the Bank briefcase. She steps carefully around the snakes and we see a few closeups of their tongues flicking. She approaches Roberts. Well, I’m here. So what do you have to say?” Roberts slyly smiles. “I remember when you were born, your father was so happy. And I know how proud he is of you and your career. And as a father, and his friend, I don’t want to see it end the way it will.” “And how’s that?” “You have no idea who you’re dealing with. You think this is the Asuka you beat at WrestleMania. You think this is the same woman who laughed and danced. No no, I have taught her how to reach into the darkness and feed off of it. You think you and that briefcase are going to take her title?” “I’m The Queen and I take whatever the hell I want.” “See, you’re blinded like your old man. He had the same attitude, the same arrogance. I'm sorry Ashley, I really am.” Charlotte seems to sense what’s coming and turns to meet Asuka who attacks her from behind but she’s not fast enough. Asuka backhands Charlotte and slams her face-first into the large rock Roberts sits on. Flair falls out of sight behind the rock and we see Asuka pick up the briefcase. She locks eyes with her mentor and he gives her a slow nod. Asuka walks around and begins hammering Charlotte with the briefcase over and over. We can’t see the hits but we hear Charlotte’s groans and cries. On the last hit, Asuka raises the briefcase and it is covered in blood. She tosses it aside and pulls Flair up by her hair while shouting a string of angry sounding Japanese. Flair is wearing the quintessential crimson mask. Asuka loses all emotion in her face and hits a DDT on the stone floor. Roberts turns so that he’s chest-down on the flat rock and he slithers over to Charlotte’s still body. “This was your last warning.” He and Asuka leave the pit as the snakes begin to crawl over Flair and the video ends. A video highlighting the issues that both Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle have had with Imperium is shown. The video chronicles the road to the Intercontinental Title match and it concludes with the closing moments of Raw where Randy Orton returned to Raw. The Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship is next! DREW MCINTYRE VS MATT RIDDLE VS GUNTHER © *To begin the match, both challengers gang up on the Ring General, who is initially able to handle it, but eventually is removed from action by a double Buckle Bomb delivered by both challengers *From there, Drew and Riddle take each other and engage in a physical contest that sees both men delivering stiff shots and close near falls. When it looks like GUNTHER will be out of the match entirely, Imperium come down but Randy Orton stands in the aisle and the champ’s men retreat *The Ring General is eventually able to save the match when Drew nails a Claymore on Riddle and goes for a cover….GUNTHER flies off the top rope and land’s on Drew’s back taking McIntyre out *GUNTHER smacks the hell out of Riddle and they go to the floor and both men bruise each other’s chests with violent chops and smacks and hits and eventually Riddle is able to sidestep the champ, whose knee crashes into steps *In the ring, Matt goes for Bro-Derek and nails it, but McIntyre is back in and throws Riddle to the floor with Randy checking on his friend. GUNTHER and Drew trade some blows and after a few moments, the champ goes for a Powerbomb, but Drew backdrops him, runs to a corner and charges out…..CLAYMORE!!! *Imperium runs down to the ring again, but Drew sees it and bails to the floor to confront Imperium with the ref trying to break it up. This allows GUNTHER to attack Drew on the floor and deliver a powerbomb. Riddle sees this and knows its his moment and gets in the ring preparing to take the champ out when he gets back into the ring, when suddenly……RKO!!!!!!!!!!!! *RANDY ORTON SLID IN AND BETRAYED RIDDLE!!! What the hell?!? Orton stares down at his friend with no expression and leaves the ring *GUNTHER slides in and delivers a powerbomb on Riddle and covers….1….2…..3. RESULT: GUNTHER WINS BY PINFALL TO RETAIN THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP GUNTHER leaves in celebration having retained the Intercontinental Championship. The announcers replay the closing moments of the match where Randy Orton betrayed Matt Riddle and delivered an RKO just as Riddle was about to become champion. The announcers are shocked at the actions of the Viper. RKBro has apparently died here at SummerSlam. The announcers walk us through the history of Becky Lynch & Zoey Stark. They then take us to earlier tonight where Piper Niven & Zoey Stark came down during the Women’s Title match only for Becky Lynch and Lita to run them off. There is no more running though…The Man vs Zoey Stark starts right now. ZOEY STARK VS BECKY LYNCH * Becky beats the crap out of Zoey to start the match and Stark is forced to bail to the floor where Becky gives chase * This continues several times and eventually Becky chases Zoey up toward the set where Piper Niven suddenly comes out and Becky stops and goes to the ring and challenges both women for a fight *Eventually the match fully begins and Becky dominates early until Piper trips Lynch and Zoey drops Becky on her head with a Brainbuster and takes control *Zoey scores near fall after near fall for quite a long time and even locks Becky in her own Dis-Arm-Her but Becky makes it to the ropes in time. Eventually Zoey dumps Becky to the floor and distracts the ref while Piper goes for a splash, but Becky moves out of the way. This wipes Piper out *Becky gets back into the ring and immediately ducks a charge and locks Zoey in the Dis-Arm-Her, but Zoey gets a foot on the ropes. Zoey does a poke to the eye and goes for her rotating knee strike finish, but Becky backs out and does a Becks-Sploder. After that, Becky and Zoey do a roll up reversal and eventually Becky wins the battle of that and rolls Zoey up for the pinfall RESULT: BECKY LYNCH WINS BY PINFALL A commercial for Payback is shown. LA Knight comes down to the ring. “Detroit….lemme talk to ya! They call this the biggest party of the summer but you know as well as I do, you can’t have a party without, lemme hear it….,” the crowd on cue chants L…A….Knight….yeah, “Yeah!” Now the powers that be have not given me a match tonight but that’s okay because when you’re LA Knight you don’t wait for moments to be handed to you, you make moments. So right here tonight, let’s….. The crowd, and Michael Cole, pops when Pat McAfee comes down to the ring. Knight is apprehensive but McAfee disarms him with a hand shake. “Detroit Michigan, we back! I was here just visiting some friends but when I heard this man it was like hearing a symphony. You remind me of everything I loved about WWE growing up and you are going to be at the top of the list in a very short time, my friend.” Before Knight can reply we hear another set of voices. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller come down to the ring already holding mics. Theory begins, waving his hand. “If you don’t shut up, I think I’m gonna puke. These people don’t want to hear you kiss each other’s asses they want to see the real future of the WWE and that is, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller.” “How right you are Austin. All I see here is a washed up former so-called footballer and an Attitude Era wannabe.” Knight steps up to both of them. “Well it looks like I got my wish for a match if you two have the balls, isn’t that right Pat?” McAfee looks to the crowd who’s doing the Daniel Bryan ‘YES!’ chant. “I think you’re right….but it’s not their balls you should be worried about.” Suddenly McAfee who had slid directly behind Knight steps up and punts him between the legs from behind. Knight drops to his knees in pain as Theory and Waller attack like jackals. It only takes a minute or two for Knight to be beaten down and then Theory hits A-Town Down. Waller and Theory drag Knight into position as McAfee climbs to the top rope, and imitating the Macho Man, McAfee flies off with a picture perfect elbow drop. The crowd boos heavily as McAfee raises Theory and Waller’s arms and they leave the ring with Knight still laid out. A replay is shown of Knight, McAfee, Theory, and Waller from the previous segment which saw McAfee betray Knight and align himself with the two young stars. PRETTY DEADLY VS KEVIN OWENS AND SAMI ZAYN © *Pretty Deadly use quick tags and double teams to keep the advantage in the match through the early going. *Owens finally gets tired of the illegal double teams and enters the ring but the ref stops him and Zayn is punished even more. *Zayn almost makes it to the corner but Prince runs into the ring and knocks Owens off the apron, which brings KO into the ring and the ref stops him again, allowing Wilson to drag Zayn back to their corner but Zayn ducks one of their double teams and hits a double clothesline. He crawls to his corner and makes the hot tag at long last. *Owens unleashes on both Wilson and Prince, hitting everything in front of him. He bounds around the ring hitting his trademark spots like running senton and cannonball. When Prince tries to intervene, Zayn hits a Cactus Clothesline, taking them both over the top. *Wilson tries a last ditch offense by whipping Owens into the ropes but Owens ducks a clothesline and spins around, hitting the stunned for the win. RESULT: KEVIN OWENS AND SAMI ZAYN RETAIN THE UNDISPUTED WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP BY PINFALL. The champs climb up opposite corners and hold their belts up in the air in celebration. A video package is shown of the recent history between Bianca Belair and Lacey Evans, specifically Evans’ attack on Belair which was thought to have blinded her, and the reveal that she was in fact able to see….and fight! BLINDFOLD MATCH LACEY EVANS VS BIANCA BELAIR *Evans still protests the stipulation but eventually complies. *Both women wander around the ring trying to feel out for their opponent. They both make some lunges but hit nothing but air. *Bianca finally stops and ‘looks’ around at the crowd. She points in one corner and the crowd boos. She points to another and they boo. Now she points to a corner where Evans is and they loudly cheer. *Bianca runs blindly at the corner and throws a dropkick which connects. Evans is stunned, and trying to scurry away but Bianca grabs her boot and goes to town with a ground and pound to the crowd’s delight. *Lacey rolls it over and gets in some attacks before she applies a Cobra Clutch. Bianca is close to passing out but she shakes her head and powers to her feet with Lacey on her back. She rams her backwards into the corner a few times and when Evans’ grip loosens, Bianca manhandles her up on her shoulders and hits a KOD. She makes the cover and gets the win. RESULT: BIANCA BELAIR WINS BY PINFALL The referee raises her arm and Bianca takes off the blindfold, climbing to the second rope and whips her braid around to celebrate with her fans as her music plays. Kayla Braxton is standing by with her guest, Paul Heyman. “Paul, first of all congratulations on Roman Reigns defending his title tonight against the Almighty Bobby Lashley. After the match, he looked a little worse for wear.” “Ms. Braxton, see, I’m a professional so I’ll address you professionally…the Tribal Chief showed the world yet again why he has one of the longest title reigns in not only recent history but all of WWE history. He took the best that Bobby Lashley had to offer and he gave it back to him as only the Head of the Table can do.” “Isn’t it also fair to say that yet again the Bloodline got involved and helped in that cheap victory?” “Where the Tribal Chief goes, the Bloodline follows, as a show of respect. What you call cheap, I call strategy. And you know what else, Kayla? Nobody can do anything about it.” Heyman smirks and walks away leaving her annoyed. A preview video for Finn Balor vs Seth “Freakin” Rollins airs. It covers a lot of their history (including 2016) as well as the personal attacks that have happened. For Finn Balor, this is a chance at redemption? Will he take it? The World Heavyweight Championship match starts right now! FINN BALOR VS SETH “FRAEAKIN” ROLLINS © *This epic match begins with both men circling one another and Finn almost scores a pin when Seth charges with a kick, but Finn reverses it into a cradle for a near fall - both men then trade several near falls *The match quickly turns Balor’s way when he is able to do a back Mule kick into Seth’s groin and the ref doesn’t see it. Balor controls a lot of this period and shows a vicious side as he brutalizes the champ in the ring and on the floor *When Balor goes for the Coup de Gras on the floor, this is the moment things change as the champ rolls out of the way and into the ring. Balor lands on his feet and charges into the ring and is met with a Superkick immediately. Seth delivers some stiff shots and then drops Balor back on the floor and charges and delivers a Taupe! *On the floor, Seth looks down at Balor and back up at the SummerSlam sign and inspiration strikes…Seth picks up Balor and looks at the barricade and goes for a running throwing Powerbomb, like in 2016. Only this time, Seth slips a little and Balor lands shoulder first into the barrier *The ref immediately bails from the ring and checks on Balor and more refs and medical come down with the match just stopping *All three members of The Judgment Day race to the ring to check on their friend and, for his part, Seth looks legitimately concerned. After a few minutes, Finn says he can continue and the match is ordered to resume *In the ring, Finn tries to fight back, but the injured arm becomes part of the story and Seth works it hard. The crowd actually starts cheering for Balor who will not surrender this match….the champ goes for the Pedigree and Balor reverses that into a backdrop and then does the launching double Drop Kick, but his arm is hurt *The Judgment Day cheer on their friend, but soon Seth is nearing the end of this and goes for the Curbstomp, however Damian grabs him by the leg and this distraction allows Finn the chance to do a Slingblade with one arm! Finn goes up top….COUP DE GRAS!!!!!!! With one arm he covers…. 1…. 2…. SETH JUST KICKS OUT! Finn does a Crotch Chop as Seth stands and the two trade blows back and forth, soon Finn misses the Drop Kick again and is spun around…SUPERKICK! Seth covers…1….2…FINN KICKS OUT! Damian tries to get into the ring and the second he does, Seth superkicks Priest who falls to the floor *Rhea throws her belt to Dom and then gets on the apron - Dom slides the belt into Balor and when Seth turns around, Balor is able to charge with the Women’s World Title and knock Rollins out! Balor goes up top and nails the Coup de Gras!!! 1…. 2….. 3!!! WE HAVE A NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RESULT: FINN BALOR WINS BY PINFALL TO BECOME THE NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION After the match, Seth Rollins rolls to the floor while Finn is given his moment. The ref gives Balor the title belt and pyro shoots off. Damian Priest is the first of The Judgment Day to rush into the ring to hug the new champ who is favoring his left arm, but before long every member of TJD is in the ring hugging Finn. Finn has tears in his eyes as he is lifted onto the shoulders of Priest and the belt is thrust high into the air with the new champ using only his right arm. Redemption has been reached and The Judgment Day truly does now run Monday Night Raw because Finn Balor is the new Heavyweight Champion of the World!!! We see a live shot backstage where McAfee, Theory, and Waller are all smiles and climb into a waiting limo before it drives away. AJ STYLES VS KARRION KROSS *This long simmering feud is nothing short of physical. Even though it fits his opponent’s style, AJ has no qualms about giving as good as he’s getting. *Kross’ power game is a definite advantage and he takes pleasure in torturing Styles without going for a pinfall. *Kross makes a mistake going to the top rope when Styles crotches him, then hits a superplex but Kross kicks out. *Styles works over Kross’ leg, and locks in the Calf Crusher. The referee is closely checking to see if Kross is going to submit and doesn’t see Scarlett throw a handful of red dust into AJ’s face. *Styles releases the hold, rubbing at his eyes. This allows Kross to regroup and blast AJ in the back of the head with a forearm before hitting a Doomsday Saito and locks on the Krossjacket. AJ fights but he can’t escape and passes out. RESULT: KARRION KROSS WINS BY STOPPAGE Kross isn’t done. He rolls to the outside and pulls up an extension cord which had been taped down to the floor and brings it into the ring, wrapping it around AJ’s neck. Barrett comments that AJ’s Good Brothers aren’t here because of the attack by Kross. Kross slings AJ over the top and begins hanging him as the fortune card foretold. AJ awakens and begins to struggle in a panic. Michin runs down to the ring and attempts to help lift AJ to take pressure off his neck but Scarlett comes from behind and throws her over the announcer’s table. Adam Pearce and officials run down and are finally able to stop Kross but the damage has been done and AJ looks unresponsive. Another commercial for Payback is shown. The Hell in a Cell Cage is shown coming down. The time for talking is over. The time for Hell is here. A music video plays highlighting the story between Cody Rhodes & Brock Lesnar. Included is Cody losing to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, Brock’s turn on Cody the next night, their Puerto Rico match, their Saudi Match, Cody being sent home, Brock losing to Seth Rollins in London, Cody winning MITB and the road since then (including the near attack on Brandi Rhodes). One way or the other, what began the night after Wrestlemania will conclude at the second biggest stage of the year. Two men are about to walk into Hell itself?, will either walk out? It is time to find out….. This is the main event of SummerSlam! HELL IN A CELL - WINNER BECOMES MR. MONEY IN THE BANK BROCK LESNAR VS CODY RHODES *Before Brock gets into the ring, Cody goes to the floor and gets under the ring and grabs a handful of weapons and leaves them on the floor. Cody keeps a Tire Iron in his hand and as soon as the cage is lowered, Rhodes charges Brock who immediately lifts Cody up and into an F5!!!!! Brock covers….1…..2….Cody is out of the pin and Brock laughs *When Cody attacks Brock, Lesar backs into a corner and eventually reverses Cody into the corner and then delivers an elbow shot right to the brow of Cody’s eye busting him open immediately *Brock is like an animal once he sees the blood of his prey and brutalizes Cody with vicious hits and elbow shots and even tries to bite Cody by the head. Cody nails Brock with blatant low-blow and drops Brock to the floor but when Cody gets out there, The Beast is up and grabs Rhodes and does a German Suplex right into the cage! *On the floor, Brock finds the Tire Iron from earlier and nails Cody right in his once broken arm with the weapon! Brock launches Rhodes into the cage again and then ties Cody’s arm up in the cage and tries to pull it off of Rhodes’ body! When Brock charges, Cody is able to get his arm out and side step Brock who runs face first into the cage and then Cody does a Cross-Rhodes on the floor! *Rhodes gets some weapons and, with the crowd egging him on, it is time for some payback as Rhodes beats the hell out of nearly every part of Lesnar’s body with a chair and (after breaking the chair on Brock’s back), a Kendo Stick. Brock is able to shove Cody away and get into the ring for escape. Cody slides in……. F5 AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! But now, the animal is pissed. Instead of going for the pin, he takes Cody to Suplex City again and again and again for a total of 13 different Suplexes, the last one sees Cody dropped right on his arm *Cody tries a comeback, but is locked in the Kimura Lock!!! With blood pouring from his face, The American Nightmare tries to stay in this match and eventually is able to get to the ropes, but the ref can’t break it. Cody has to pull at the ropes and eventually Lesnar lets go and Rhodes falls to the floor. Brock goes over to a turnbuckle and not only removes the padding, but removes the buckle completely loosening the top rope from the ring *Brock leans out of the ring to grab Cody who sprays a Fire Extinguisher in Brock’s face. In the ring, with Brock blinded, Cody is able to nail the Cross-Rhodes. He covers 1…. 2….. Brock kicks out. Cody sees the rope down on the ground and wraps it around the throat of Brock and tries to choke Lesnar with it!! Cody has snapped but its the opening Lesnar needs as he grabs Cody’s arm and locks in the Kimura again! *Cody screams but is able to grab the turnbuckle itself and nail Lesnar right in the head with it. When Lesnar gets up once more, Cody runs and charges Brock with the metal turnbuckle and blasts Lesnar right in the face with the weapon. This busts Lesnar open. *Rhodes goes down to the floor and throws chair after chair after chair into the ring and comes in and charges Brock with a chair, Lesnar scoops up Cody for another F5, but this time Rhodes slides down and does a German on Lesnar! *Cody stacks a bunch of chairs around the ring and grabs Lesnar - CROSS RHODES!!!!!!!! Cody isn’t satisfied as he does it one more time. And Rhodes is still not satisfied, Cody takes a chair and wraps Brock’s neck in it and holds the chair and then does one more Cross-Rhodes!!! Cody covers… 1… 2….. 3! RESULT: CODY RHODES WINS BY PINFALL After the match, the cage is lifted as refs and medical personnel flood the ring checking on both men. Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes went through Hell and both men are now down. Cody hasn’t moved after pinning Lesnar. Brock is helped out of the ring and half way up the ramp, he shoves the help off. The Beast goes to the back, stumbling along the way, defeated, but on his own. Not to be outdone, The American Nightmare shrugs off the help being offered to him. Using the remaining 2 ropes, Cody Rhodes is able to stand on his own two feet. The ref raises his hand in the air and Cody raises the Money in the Bank briefcase in the air in celebration. The page has been turned as Cody’s story continues. The American Nightmare has dispatched of the Beast Incarnate and can now move forward along his journey. Cody Rhodes has won in Detroit! Goodnight from SummerSlam!!!!!!