GUNTHER faces off with Ricochet after his World Cup victory (Picture: WWE)
WWE delivered a fantastic wrestling-heavy show on SmackDown as Ricochet won the World Cup and Tegan Nox made a shock return.
This week’s blue brand was heavily focused on the tournament to find GUNTHER’s next challenger for the Intercontinental Title, while the champion himself was also in action.
Before Ricochet and Santos Escobar, who got hyped up during the night, faced off in the main event, the IC Champ found himself in a backstage altercation with Kofi Kingston.
The New Day star declared himself for the Royal Rumble and picked Ricochet to win the World Cup, leading to Imperium interrupting and the former world champion challenging one of them to a match.
It all led to a brutal and exciting match between GUNTHER and the WWE veteran, who reminded fans just how great he is while making sure the Ring General didn’t have things his own way.
In the end, GUNTHER needed a new finisher, The Last Symphony, to put Kofi away, while Braun Strowman made his presence felt during the match to nullify Imperium and show he’s not far away.
The main event saw Ricochet beat Escobar in an absolutely glorious battle between two stars with great chemistry, and they were able to go at it one on one after Legado del Fantasma were ejected from ringside.
GUNTHER came out to stare down his next challenger, with the title match taking place in two weeks on SmackDown.
Tegan Nox returns, Uncle Howdy and Bray Wyatt talk, Lacey Evans goes back to basics and more
Another big story coming out of this week’s SmackDown is the return of Tegan Nox – just after a year since she was released – towards the end of the show.
Before the main event (and a backstage segment where Karrion Kross and Scarlett ominously revealed Rey Mysterio as their next target), Damage CTRL hit the ring to address the fans.
Bayley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai promised to restore some class to the blue brand with no one else stepping up, which was Liv Morgan’s cue to interrupt.
She ended up getting attacked by all three women until Tegan Nox stormed the ring to try and save the day, although the numbers game proved just too much until Liv used a kendo stick to turn the tide, with Nox hitting the Shiniest Wizard on Bayley to stand tall.
Tegan Nox came out to save Liv Morgan from Damage CTRL (Picture: WWE)
SmackDown started this week with The Bloodline in a good mood after Survivor Series, with Jimmy and Jey Uso both hyping up Sami Zayn before Sheamus and the Brawling Brutes came out.
It all led to the Celtic Warrior’s match against Zayn, and there was plenty of chaos after a fantastic bout when Solo Sikoa joined his brothers to take out Ridge Holland and Butch and ringside, distracting the referee and allowing Jey to hit a superkick on Sheamus to help Sami to victory,
Later on backstage, Jimmy and Jey were talking about the Honorary Uce when Sheamus went on the attack with a shillelagh.
Sami Zayn beat Sheamus in a definite banger (Picture: WWE)
Shayna Baszler looked dominating as she beat a valiant opponent in Emma, who put up a fight but fell to the Kirifuda Clutch.
Shotzi came to try and save the Aussie star after the bell but the Queen of Spades continue her attack until Raquel Rodriguez rushed down to chase her off, while backstage Madcap Moss comforted his real life partner and reminded her of the impact she had on the women’s revolution in NXT.
Lacey Evans appeared in a US Marines-themed boot camp style vignette promising to take things back to basics.
Elsewhere, Bray Wyatt spoke and insisted he wasn’t behind the recent attacks on LA Knight, noting that if he was, ‘you would all know because there would be none of him left’.
Before the main event, build up to various shows was interrupting by Uncle Howdy, who again warned viewers that Wyatt is a monster.
WWE SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.
WWE SmackDown results and grades – December 2, 2022
Shayna Baszler beat Emma via submission (C+)
GUNTHER defeated Kofi Kingston (A-)
SmackDown World Cup Final: Ricochet beat Santos Escobar (A)
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : WWE star Kevin Owens is suffering through painful back and knee injuries
Follow Metro on Snapchat
You can follow our new Snapchat show Pop Cultur’d, the go-to place for all things pop culture.
Keep up with the latest Showbiz exclusives by following Metro Showbiz on Snapchat.
And football fans can indulge in all the transfer gossip and more on Metro Football on Snapchat.
An exciting, action packed night for the blue brand.
