The first night of the WWE Draft sent shockwaves through the company – The New Day is no more.
For six years, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E have been by each other’s side, but the latter will remain on SmackDown as his friends – the blue brand’s new tag team champions – are heading to Raw.
The trio will get a farewell match on next Friday’s season premiere, and if the split sticks, it will be a sad moments for fans around the world.
It was a genuine shock for the final round of draft picks, with some other big moves taking place throughout the night.
In the first round, Raw chose WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Women’s Champ Asuka and the Hurt Business, with Univeral Champ Roman Reigns staying put and Seth Rollins joining the blue brand.
The next set of picks saw AJ Styles Naomi and the Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler going to Monday nights, wile Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair landed on the SmackDown side of things.
The third round saw Ricochet, Mandy Rose and the team of Miz and Morrison selected by the Raw bosses, with Jey Uso staying put on SmackDown and the father-son duo of Rey and Dominik Mysterio moving to Fridays.
Finally, as mentioned Kofi and Xavier joined Raw alongside Dana Brooke and Angel Garza, but Big E and Otis will both be staying put as SmackDown’s final picks of the night.
Best of the rest
The night kicked off properly with Sheamus and Big E colliding in a Falls Count Anywhere match, which started strong with some brutal kendo stick shots before the break but descended into a bit of catering silliness.
It picked up again once they hit the parking lot, with a bloody Big E eventually picking up the win after sending them both through a table.
Backstage after the match, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston made their returns and insisted they were missing the tag team titles – setting up a huge match later in the night (more on that soon).
Jey Uso came to the ring and demanded answers when it comes to the stipulation for his Universal Title rematch with Roman Reigns, only to be interrupted by Paul Heyman.
He insisted any appearance by the Tribal Chief was at his own discretion, and put over his client leading to a dramatic recap of their Clash of Champions war.
Roman was shown backstage with the belt, offering a word of warning for his cousin, claiming he tried to help him by giving him a main event shot before confirming the first ever Hell In A Cell I Quit match with ominous consequences.
Up next, we had some tag team action, as Jeff Hardy partnered with Matt Riddle in a decent and routine victory over John Morrison and The Miz – but Lars Sullivan made his surprise return as they were celebrating.
Sporting a full beard, he obliterated all four men, looking like a machine on his first night back
Up next, we looked prime for a match years in the making as Sasha Banks and Bayley clashed for the SmackDown Women’s Title weeks after their friendship imploded.
Thankfully, the Role Model got herself disqualified after a few minutes of brawling, retaining the gold and allowing them to fight another day on a bigger stage, with the Boss getting some payback with a steel chair after the bell,
Later in the night, Banks laid down the challenge for Hell In A Cell – and although these two deserve the Mania main event, their feud is perfect for the confines of one of WWE’s most brutal matches.
The New Day’s returning stars Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro in a damn fine bout for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, although it’s a shame to see the champs drop the titles in an impromptu match.
Kevin Owens was spotted backstage getting ready for his match with The Fiend – the first time Bray Wyatt’s alter ego was wrestling on TV rather than PPV – when Alexa Bliss walked up and simply said: ‘Let him in.’
The two collided in a brilliant and brutal main event, with The Fiend looking like a beast and KO putting in a gutsy performance in a hard hitting clash which delivered in a big way.
Fiend won, which was the right move – and the show went off the air as he went face to face with Alexa Bliss, before they both cast their eyes towards a fallen KO.
WWE has some real magic on its hands with this duo, and hopefully they keep running with it. They’re hitting the right notes so far!
Quickfire results
- Falls Count Anywhere: Big E pinned Sheamus (B+)
- Jeff Hardy and Matt Riddle beat Miz and Morrison (C+)
- SmackDown Women’s Title: Sasha Banks defeated Bayley via DQ (A for entire segment)
- SmackDown Tag Team Titles: The New Day beat Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura (c) (B+)
- “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt pinned Kevin Owens (B)
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