The April 28, 2016 Edition of Smackdown is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's Smackdown brand, which was taped on April 26, 2016 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Summary[]
With their huge WWE World Heavyweight Championship showdown Sunday at WWE Payback looming, Roman Reigns started off SmackDown by calling on his phenomenal challenger AJ Styles to admit the “truth” that he is advising Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Instead, The Big Dog got Intercontinental Champion The Miz and his wife Maryse.
The A-lister, who was still seething over his encounter with Styles and his buddies last week on SmackDown, took the moment to pat himself on the back for being the first to publicly declare collusion between the No. 1 contender and his friends. Of course, The Awesome One also managed to insult WWE's top titleholder, who promptly punched him in the mouth before tossing him from the ring.
Despite displaying a united front in a pre-match interview, The League of Nations’ bravado didn't carry into their Six-Man Match against United States Champion Kalisto, Sami Zayn & Cesaro. Before the contest could even start, all three members of The League were bickering over who should start the contest for their side.
Then, after Rusev tagged himself in, the foreign faction engaged in a shoving match that prompted Alberto Del Rio to walk out. Moments later, The Bulgarian Brute followed suit after Sheamus seemingly inadvertently hit him with a right forearm off the top rope. With the Irish Superstar left to fight on his own, his opponents took advantage with a high-impact attack. Eventually, the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion had enough, leaving the ring as well as the referee counted his team out.
The arguing continued backstage between the frustrated League, with a red-hot Sheamus pushing Del Rio to the floor and punching Rusev before all three Superstars stormed off in different directions. Did the WWE Universe just witness the end of The League of Nations?
Baron Corbin again proved to be a destructive force by dismantling Damien Sandow before hitting the End of Days for the victory. The forceful display comes just days before he steps into the ring against Dolph Ziggler at WWE Payback. Was The Lone Wolf's powerful showing on SmackDown a sign of things to come for The Showoff this Sunday?
Dean Ambrose took a moment before hosting the “Ambrose Asylum” to deliver a heated warning to Chris Jericho before their matchup this Sunday at WWE Payback. But the unstable Superstar's emotional message was just the tip of the iceberg of what was to come on his new talk show.
WWE Women's Champion Charlotte — flanked by her two-time WWE Hall of Famer father Ric Flair — and No. 1 contender Natalya engaged in a highly personal and tense war of words just days before their title clash at WWE Payback. The Queen of Harts — who will have her WWE Hall of Famer uncle Bret Hart in her corner this Sunday — took aim at The Nature Boy, calling him creepy and claiming he helps his daughter cheat because he knows she isn't good enough to win without it.
The Hart Dungeon graduate quickly found herself in a spirited back-and-forth with The Dirtiest Player in the Game over his storied past against the “Hit Man.” Needless to say, any sour feelings between champion and challenger only worsened after this impassioned meeting.
Will Natalya back up her prediction and make Charlotte tap at WWE Payback en route to becoming the new WWE Women's Champion? Plus, what will happen if Ric Flair attempts to interfere in the contest and Bret Hart is waiting on the other side of the ring? If SmackDown's “Ambrose Asylum” is any indication, it will be an explosive encounter.
With The New Day at ringside taking over announcing duties from Mauro Ranallo, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Byron Saxton for this tag team showdown, Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady continued to show they can back up their trash talk inside the ring. The pair defeated Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel with the Rocket Launcher maneuver. The win also came in front of The Vaudevillains, who arrived to the stage during the contest to get an up-close look at their opponents this Sunday in the final of the No. 1 Contenders’ Tag Team Title Tournament, sponsored by Booty-O's.
After the contest, Big Cass reminded Simon Gotch & Aiden English that there is only one word to describe them, “SAWFT,” before staring down the WWE Tag Team Champions.
In an extremely strange encounter from earlier in the day, Stardust was shown demanding a WWE employee find Apollo Crews to tell him that “Cody” is gone. The Prince of Dark Matter appeared convinced that defeateding the smiling Superstar on SmackDown would put a stop to the voices inside his head that seem to be tormenting him.
We may never know if this is true, as the impressive Crews overcame his cosmic foe to hit his spinning sit-out powerbomb move for the victory.
Just when it seemed like Goldust was ready to go ahead with “The Golden Truth” tag team, R-Truth informed The Bizarre Superstar that he has formed “The Gorgeous Truth” with Tyler Breeze.
With his WWE Payback challenger seated at ringside, Roman Reigns overcame Intercontinental Champion The Miz in a huge Champion vs. Champion main event after delivering a Spear for the victory.
Following the contest, a tense staredown between titleholder and challenger quickly erupted into a chaotic brawl after Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson arrived. The WWE World Heavyweight Champion went on the attack first, but was eventually overpowered by AJ Styles’ friends. The Usos then rushed the ring to help their fallen cousin, as The Phenomenal One stood back and watched the carnage take place.
The No. 1 contender's attempt to remain neutral was thwarted when Jimmy Uso hit him with a right hand. Styles fought back with an enzuigiri kick before Gallows fell on the sword for the phenomenal Superstar by standing in front of thunderous Spear from Reigns. Both Superstars then narrowly missed nailing their finishing moves on one another before taking a breath to survey SmackDown's final chaotic scene. Who will stand tall this Sunday at WWE Payback when WWE World Heavyweight Champion defends his title against AJ Styles?
Results[]
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Cesaro, Kalisto & Sami Zayn defeated The League of Nations (Alberto Del Rio, Rusev & Sheamus) by Count Out
- Baron Corbin defeated Damien Sandow
- Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore defeated The Social Outcasts (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel) (w/ Heath Slater)
- Apollo Crews defeated Stardust
- Roman Reigns defeated The Miz (w/ Maryse)
- Dark Match: Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens
Other on-screen talent[]
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Image Gallery[]
Roman Reigns sent The Miz packing[]
Cesaro, Kalisto & Sami Zayn v The League Of Nations[]
Baron Corbin v Damien Sandow[]
Pre-Payback war of words on ‘Ambrose Asylum’[]
Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore v The Social Outcasts[]
Apollo Crews v Stardust[]
Roman Reigns v The Miz[]
See also[]