Thanks to some in-ring assistance from Dean Ambrose and some backstage favor with Daniel Bryan, full-time jobber James Ellsworth received a shot at AJ Styles and the WWE World Championship on this week’s WWE SmackDown Live . While Dean and AJ will likely have to put their differences aside as part of Team SmackDown at the Survivor Series next month, it’s clear that Ambrose will do whatever he can to make The Phenomenal One’s title reign a difficult one.
WWE SmackDown Live Results
The following includes the results of all the matches and segments from SmackDown Live on October 18. This episode of SmackDown airs live from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. SmackDown Live hasn’t won the ratings war with Monday Night Raw since the week the blue brand hosted the WWE Draft. With this week’s episode of SmackDown providing the follow-up to the Survivor Series challenge and acceptance, will this be the first time Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan’s show defeats WWE Raw ?
SmackDown Pre-Show On The WWE Network
Scott Stanford hosted the SmackDown Pre-Show , and was joined by Booker T and Jerry “The King” Lawler in the studio. The pre-show can be viewed on this page through the YouTube video feed below. Lita was assigned to backstage duty, reporting live from the Pepsi Center in Denver. Announced as soon as the pre-show began was the match featuring Dolph Ziggler, Rhyno, and Heath Slater teaming up against The Miz and The Spirit Squad in a Six-Man Tag Team Match for this week’s SmackDown .
Drama continued for Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Kane
This week’s SmackDown Live started with Randy Orton coming to the ring to cut a promo about his feud with Bray Wyatt. Of course, he was interrupted by the Eater of Worlds, who was shown lying in a casket with a team of men in black sheep masks prepared to serve as pallbearers. Moments later, a match began between Randy Orton and Luke Harper. Before the match ended, Wyatt made his way to ringside, via casket, and a double-team assault began against The Viper. However, Kane came out to make the save when he appeared in the casket himself. Just when it looked like The Wyatt Family was about to get a full-on beat down from Kane and Orton, the lights went out and the duo disappeared.
Alexa Bliss defeated Naomi
With her status as the sole No. 1 contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line, Alexa Bliss earned a clean victory over Naomi, who picked up a win over Bliss at No Mercy when Becky Lynch was unable to compete. In three week, Bliss gets her shot at the title when Becky Lynch returns to action in Glasgow.
Curt Hawkins delayed his debut again
Curt Hawkins was schedule to make his SmackDown Live in-ring debut against Apollo Crews after weeks of vignettes building up his arrival. Hawkins poked fun at Apollo’s name before the match started, Crews responded physically and Hawkins simply walked away.
Did @TheCurtHawkins make his highly-anticipated #SDLive in-ring debut against @ApolloCrews ? #FaceTheFacts pic.twitter.com/LIRwDq9ggl
— WWE (@WWE) October 19, 2016
Carmella called out Nikki Bella
While things didn’t get especially physical, Carmella was able to draw Nikki Bella to the ring with promises of a “big announcement.” What Carmella had was a video package of clips from Total Bellas and Total Divas that made Nikki appears to be extremely needy. She also accused Nikki of using both Brie and John Cena to help make her a celebrity. While Nikki did get the opportunity to defend herself, the feud between Carmella and Bella is far from over.
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The Miz & The Spirit Squad defeated Dolph Ziggler, Rhyno & Heath Slater
In a Six-Man Tag Team Match, the WWE Intercontinental Champion and SmackDown Tag Team Champions were upset by The Miz and two male cheerleaders. With the next PPV being the Survivor Series , it will be interesting to see which direction the WWE decides to go with the IC and tag titles in the immediate future.
Baron Corbin defeated Jack Swagger
The Lone Wolf made quick work of the “All-American American” in the latest match-up between Baron Corbin and Jack Swagger. Since the victory was both clean and decisive, this could be the end of the program between the two men.
#TheLoneWolf @BaronCorbinWWE is out to prey on The #RealAmerican @RealJackSwagger on #SDLive … pic.twitter.com/fYDpEskcUl
— WWE (@WWE) October 19, 2016
James Ellsworth defeated AJ Styles by disqualification
While Dean Ambrose was hoping to be the special guest referee for the rematch between AJ Styles and James Ellsworth, he was informed by SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan that he wouldn’t be allowed to do so. Instead, The Lunatic Fringe opted to take on the roles of guest ring announcer, time keeper and commentator. Doing everything he could to get under the skin of the WWE World Champion, Ambrose pushed Styles over the edge, leading to The Phenomenal One getting disqualified. While the title didn’t change hands, James Ellsworth now has two consecutive victories over AJ Styles.
Talking Smack On The WWE Network
Once again, Renee Young was joined by Daniel Bryan for another edition of Talking Smack . After discussing the main event match between Styles and Ellsworth, the Hype Bros joined the show to talk about the competitive SmackDown Tag Team Division. Shortly thereafter, they were joined by AJ Styles, who blamed Daniel for what happened to Ellsworth in the main event. After an exchanging of words, it was decided that Styles would face Dean Ambrose on SmackDown Live next week. If he can pick up a victory over the champ, he’ll earn another shot at the WWE World Championship. The final guest on the show was Baron Corbin, who talked about his victory over Jack Swagger and his preference towards being a loner rather than making friends.
What are the #HypeBros all about? @ZackRyder and @MojoRawleyWWE tell the #TalkingSmack team of @WWEDanielBryan and @ReneeYoungWWE. pic.twitter.com/eg9HPpAtgb
— WWE (@WWE) October 19, 2016
The above SmackDown Live results will be corroborated by WWE’s official SmackDown Live page.
Updated WWE Survivor Series 2016 Card
- Raw vs. SmackDown — Men’s 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Match
- Raw vs. SmackDown — Women’s 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Match
- Raw vs. SmackDown — Tag Team 10-on-10 Traditional Survivor Series Match
- Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg (unconfirmed)
Prior to this week’s WWE SmackDown Live , not a lot of details had been confirmed about WWE Survivor Series 2016 . Three traditional Survivor Series Elimination Matches were in the process of being set up, while most of the WWE Universe assumes that Lesnar vs. Goldberg will be booked for the event as well. It will be the first co-branded PPV since SummerSlam and will air live on Sunday, November 20, from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As more information is confirmed, it will be updated at WWE’s official Survivor Series preview page .
Where To Watch
WWE SmackDown Live airs Tuesdays on the USA Network at 8/7c. Replays of WWE SmackDown aren’t made available on the WWE Network until several weeks after the original air date. However, a replay of SmackDown Live is available to stream on-demand Wednesdays with a Hulu subscription.
The next PPV featuring WWE Superstars from the SmackDown Live roster will be WWE Survivor Series 2016 , scheduled to air live on the WWE Network at 8/7c on November 20. The Survivor Series Kick-Off Show will begin at 7/6c.
[Featured Image by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images]