Smackdown Articles - Page 4

After working the proverbial system with a steady stream of main roster talent to bolster the ratings, it looks like WWE’s calculated risk has paid off with a brand new five-year contract for NXT at the CW, which will begin in October of 2024. When NXT decided to shift from a reality game show format […]

Before he was named the new SmackDown General Manager by WWE and even unseated as the seventh-longest tenured NWA World Heavyweight Champion behind Lou Thesz (3), Dan Severn, Dory Funk Jr., and Gene Kiniski, Nick Aldis was arguably most well known for his matches against Cody Rhodes, first at All In, where he dropped the […]

When news broke that Nick Aldis was working in WWE on a handshake deal as a producer-in-training, it turned more than a few heads around the professional wrestling world. Sure, the idea of going from inside the ring to out of it is nothing new in the industry, as new RAW GM Adam Pearce followed […]

After seeing his tag team with Sami Zayn unceremoniously come to an end on the season premiere of SmackDown thanks to the shrewd wheeling and dealing of new GM Nick Aldis, Kevin Owens was afforded an entire segment on the Blue Brand to continue his conversation with Cathy Kelley from his WWE Digital Exclusive segment […]

When WWE threw out the former general manager system that featured Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff overseeing RAW and SmackDown – sure, technically, they were called “executive directors,” but same difference – Adam Pearce was left with the unenviable position of having to helm both brands, which needless to say, made for some Kayfabe strangeness. […]

After watching his tag team win streak come to an end alongside Grayson Waller in the first and only successful Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship defense of Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso’s run with the straps, you’d think Austin Theory would be feeling pretty down in the dumps. The momentum train is dashed, the titles […]

When Paul “Triple H” Levesque not only introduced Nick Aldis to the WWE Universe but revealed him as the new SmackDown General Manager, it turned a lot of heads around the professional wrestling world, and not exclusively in a positive way. Sure, many, if not most fans familiar with the “National Treasure’s” schtick were happy […]

As crazy as it may sound for fans who have been watching professional wrestling for a while, Natalya is rapidly approaching 17 years as a member of the WWE Universe, making her debuts in FCW and WWE proper under the Nattie Neidhart moniker in 2007. Since that fateful day, the second-generation Superstar has wrestled some […]

After two months and two WWE main roster Premium Live Events away, Logan Paul will officially be returning to WWE for the first time since SummerSlam on the 10/20 edition of SmackDown, where he will address the current United States Champion, Rey Mysterio. Now to some, the decision to lean into Paul once more in […]

On paper, there are a multitude of reasons why WWE would pull the trigger on re-signing CM Punk. From his initial impact on the ratings, to the message it would send to AEW and the big-time matches that could be added to future cards against the likes of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, there are […]

After making his big return at Backlash to help fight off the Judgment Day during Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rican Street Fight against former friend Damian Priest, fans eagerly waited to see what the future held for Carlito in WWE. A stalwart of the promotion during the 2000s, there were rumblings that the two sides were […]

When Paul “Triple H” Levesque announced that not only was Adam Pearce being promoted to the role of RAW General Manager, but Nick Aldis was coming in to fill the same role on SmackDown, it turned heads around the professional wrestling industry. Suddenly, one of the biggest names on the free agent market, a man […]

Karrion Kross hasn’t wrestled a match on WWE television since all the way back in August, when he took on AJ Styles in a losing effort on SmackDown. Since then, Kross has shared pictures of himself on social media looking menacing, and his wife/partner Scarlett is hosting a show with Shotzi about spooky places of […]

With the WWE Universe heading to Fastlane for the biggest show of the month of October… at least until next week’s edition of NXT, fans were afforded an intro for the show from none other than Pat McAfee, a man who knows a thing or two about the Hoosier state from his time as an […]

After truly embodying what it means to be a part-time over the past few years, it’s really been nice to have John Cena back as a full-time member of SmackDown over the last month or so. Sure, it’s not like Cena’s been hanging out at home, watching TV and taking a shot anytime his voice […]

Well folks, it’s official: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Kevin Patrick announced on SmackDown that Jade Cargill is heading to WWE. That’s right, no surprise debut, no moniker change, or no nothing; when Graves said “a storm is coming,” the opening lines of Cargill’s AEW theme song, it effectively let it be known that much […]

After (re)forming one of the most popular factions in WWE under the LWO banner, Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar will find themselves on opposite sides of the vs. symbol on SmackDown, when they wrestle a singles match with the former’s United States Championship belt on the line. Now, for fans in the know who appreciate […]

Popular WWE program Friday Night SmackDown will be making a major network shift. The show will soon jump over from Fox to USA Network, which is where Monday Night Raw currently resides. Starting in October 2024, SmackDown will now air on USA Network, leaving Fox (where the show has aired since 2019) in the dust. […]

If there’s one person Kevin Nash does not like at all, it’s LA Knight. Despite having seemingly never met in person, let alone had any sort of legitimate disagreement that would forge a long-standing hatred, “Big Daddy Cool Diesel” has consistently taken any opportunity that has come his way to trash the 40-year-old Superstar, sparking […]

When Cody Rhodes announced that Jey Uso was going to be heading to RAW at Payback, it set into motion a series of events that still haven’t been resolved to this day: SmackDown‘s draft compensation. Announced by Adam Pearce on the subsequent episode of RAW, the Blue Brand reportedly requested and was granted draft compensation […]

LA Knight has been compared to a lot of different Superstars during his time in the WWE; to some, he’s a clone of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Others compare him to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and others still believe he’s nothing more than The Miz 2.0, even if that faction is largely made up of […]

When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson spent some time with former WWE commentator Pat McAfee on his namesake show – making some news about a potential match at WrestleMania 40 against Roman Reigns – at the University of Colorado, a hop, skip, and a jump away from SmackDown‘s venue in Denver, more than a few fans […]

As the days have passed since the untimely passing of Bray Wyatt, more and more stories have come out about the man behind the spooky gimmick and just how many lives he touched during his professional wrestling career both inside and out of the ring. Stopping by WrestlingNewsCo to talk about everything from the LWO, […]

As the professional wrestling world prepares for Bray Wyatt‘s memorial ceremonies in the week following his untimely passing due to a heart attack, WWE decided to release a video where almost a dozen performers, announcers, and creatives alike sat down in front of a camera to tell some of their favorite stories from the life […]

While watching Michael Cole lead an expansive tribute show to honor the memories of Bray Wyatt and Terry Funk, with dozens of WWE Superstars standing in unison as the promotion rang a ten-bell solute to their fallen alumni, one face notably missing from the assembly was Alexa Bliss, the do-it-all diminutive former champion who worked […]

After getting down to business in their first televised tag team match since all the way back in June – which was a loss to Pretty Deadly, if you can believe it – the Street Profits returned to the WWE Universe with new attitudes, new suits, and a new quasi-manager in Bobby Lashley, who congratulated […]

After LA Knight “invaded” RAW to simply take a few pictures as the first-ever winner of the Slim Jim Battle Royal at SummerSlam, The Miz got into it in the ring with the “Megastar” first on the mic and then with his fists, leading to many fans celebrating the promo as a real babyface coming […]

Last Friday night on SmackDown, Rey Mysterio shocked viewers when he walked away from the show with the United States Championship, defeating Austin Theory in the process. Mysterio, 48, is considered by some as the greatest Latino wrestler of all time, and by some, he’s considered the greatest of all time. Now it looks like […]

After taking part in a ten-minute love fewest with his behind-the-scenes best friend Edge in the lead-up to a match booked SmackDown next week, Sheamus and the Brawling Brutes stopped by the backstage area of the Scotiabank Saddledome to talk turkey with Kayla Braxton before hitting the pubs in downtown Calgary, Alberta. Officially landing the […]

Though he wasn’t scheduled to appear on SmackDown and the three-man debuting commentary team of Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick, and Michael Cole even highlighted his future 25th Anniversary Celebration on the next edition of SmackDown, Edge decided to show up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to discuss his past, his present, and his future in the […]

After the initial shock of Roman Reigns’ SummerSlam victory wore off, fans in Ford Field and beyond could at least lean back on the fact that, after weeks and weeks of chanting, social media posting, and tee-shirt purchasing, LA Knight finally secured his first big win as a member of the WWE Universe by being […]

It feels like every month or so, fans get an update from Big E on his future prospects in the WWE Universe, with July’s appearance on After The Bell leaving fans in an encouraging spot. August’s update, unfortunately, was not so good, as during the SummerSlam media conference, Big E told the folks in attendance […]

After over a year on the main roster, LA Knight is finally starting to pick up steam, with the “Megastar” set to wrestle on his third-ever WWE Premium Live Event following his promising, if not ultimately disappointing, effort in the Money in the Bank Men’s Ladder match and a disastrous debut in the Mountain Dew […]

In professional wrestling like in life, nobody stays at the top forever; even the greatest WWE Superstars will eventually start to show their age, and in their place, young stars like Grayson Waller who are hungry to establish their own legacy will make their main roster debuts in the hopes of taking one of those […]

After initially making his bones as a heel on the WWE main roster alongside his fellow Legado del Fantasma faction mates Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro, Santos Escobar has found himself working babyface as a member of Rey Mysterio‘s LWO and is reaping the benefits of that partnership almost immediately, as the son of […]

Though Grayson Waller has wrestled exactly two matches on the main roster in WWE, three if you count house shows, the 0-3 Superstar had title matches on his mind when he stopped by the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, going so far as to name off some very famous people that he would like in […]

LA Knight finds himself in a very interesting spot in the WWE Universe. On one hand, he’s arguably the most over babyface on SmackDown, which, considering Jey Uso also calls the Blue Brand home, is a pretty significant compliment, and while he isn’t pushed like, say, Seth Rollins or Cody Rhodes, he remains one of […]

Kevin Nash is a very busy man. Though his professional wrestling career is long over from an in-ring sense, with his last match coming at Big Time Wrestling all the way back in 2018, Diesel has remained an active part of the community, appearing at conventions, stopping by WWE programming from time to time, and […]

After truly getting into it with the “Great One,” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on Twitter, with the former making fun of Rocky Maivia’s outfit from his debut in Madison Square Garden and the certified Hall of Famer firing back with a diss of his own, calling the “Aussie Showoff” a “Outback Jack Off,” surely Grayson […]