WWE Friday Night Smackdown Live Coverage - December 4th, 2021

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What will happen when Brock Lesnar returns to SmackDown TONIGHT?

In the wake of the stunning announcement by Kayla Braxton last week that Brock Lesnar's suspension has been lifted, what will The Beast have in store when he is once again unleashed upon SmackDown? What will his return mean for Universal Champion Roman Reigns and The Bloodline's control over the blue brand?


:smackdown:

– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX opens up with a video package looking at how Sami Zayn won last week’s Black Friday Battle Royal to become the new #1 contender to WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, and how Kayla Braxton announced that Brock Lesnar’s storyline indefinite suspension had been lifted.

– We’re live from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas as Michael Cole welcomes us. He’s joined at ringside by Pat McAfee and the crowd is already hot.

– The music hits and we go right to the ring as a massive Brock Lesnar makes his way out to a pop. The pyro hits as Lesnar marches to the ring. Fans chant “Suplex City!” as Lesnar bounces around and smiles with the mic in his hand.

Lesnar acknowledges the crowd and says they must’ve heard his suspension ended. Lesnar says he came here for one thing tonight and that’s the WWE Universal Title. Lesnar goes to continue speaking but the music interrupts and out comes Sami Zayn.

Sami says finally their paths are crossing, he feels like this has been a long time coming, and he feels like their careers are parallel in so many ways, besides the UFC career and a few WrestleMania main events. Sami goes on about how similar they are, calling them two Canadian Alpha males who are about the same. Sami enters the ring as Lesnar stares him down. Sami says no funny business, but he is a fan of Lesnar, and enjoys his look, saying Lesnar should’ve done it years ago. Lesnar tells Sami to shut up, and says he is confused because he has no idea who Sami is. Brock says to pardon his ignorance, but he wonders if Sami is a fan? Sami responds but Lesnar quickly interrupts and says Sami has a lot of balls coming out to interrupts him. Brock says yes, he does live in Canada, and he hunts there, he kills things there, and he eats things there. Brock tells Sami to explain who he is and why Brock hasn’t ripped his head off.

Sami says that’s a very good question that deserves an answer, and he will give it. Sami bills himself as an elder of SmackDown and goes on about how he became the #1 contender to WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Lesnar says so he gets suspended and Sami becomes the #1 contender? Lesnar laughs at this. Sami says once he beats Reigns for the title, he will be happy to roll out the carpet for Lesnar. Lesnar asks if Sami is going to face Reigns at WWE Day 1. Sami goes on about giving Lesnar a title shot and Lesnar apologizes. He says people are playing Sami. Sami mentions the conspiracies against him. Lesnar asks why would Sami wait for his title shot, why doesn’t he challenge Reigns here tonight in San Antonio? Lesnar hypes Sami up for the title shot. Sami says that’s a good idea but he doesn’t want to do it tonight, he’s not mentally prepared and has a hip issue to be honest. Lesnar asks why not and says he’s a fan of Sami now. Lesnar goes on about how Sami needs to face Reigns tonight. Sami needs more time to prepare but Brock tells him to shut up, kid.

This back & forth goes on until Sami thanks Lesnar for the advice, but says no thank you. Sami touches Lesnar’s hand but quickly apologizes. Lesnar bends his hand back and Sami changes his mind on the title shot. Lesnar lets Sami go and shoves him away, wishing Sami good luck and saying he will be watching, and he has Sami’s back. Lesnar tells Sami to go get him, kid. Sami gets a bit hyped up and says we will see a new Universal Champion tonight. Sami makes his exit as Lesnar looks on, going from a smile to just shaking his head and staring Sami down. We go to commercial.

– Back from the break and Sami Zayn stops Sonya Deville backstage. Sami says he may have put his foot in his mouth by agreeing to challenge Roman Reigns tonight. He goes on pleading with Deville and Brock Lesnar walks up. Sami tells Lesnar that tonight is not a good night because Adam Pearce isn’t here, but Deville says that’s not an issue and the title match is good for tonight. Lesnar is happy to hear, and asks Deville if he can face the winner at WWE Day 1. Deville agrees.

Sasha Banks vs. Shayna Baszler

We go back to the ring and out comes Sasha Banks to a pop. We see how Banks and Naomi defeated Shayna Baszler and Natalya last week while Sonya Deville watched from ringside. Banks poses for the pyro and out next comes Baszler. Cole leads us to a video package of highlights on Baszler as she marches to the ring.

The bell rings and they go at it. Banks dodges a shot and takes Baszler from corner to the ropes. Banks gets caught in a Kirifuda Clutch from mid-air but she quickly breaks free. Baszler still takes Banks down and steps on the arm. Banks fights it off and sends Baszler to the floor with an arm drag. Banks goes for a baseball slide to the floor but Baszler catches the leg and follows up. Banks comes back, sending Baszler into the apron.

Banks then delivers the Meteora from the apron to the floor. Banks rolls Baszler back into the ring and covers for a 2 count. We go to commercial with Banks standing tall.

Back from the break and they’re going at it. Baszler rocks Banks with a huge running knee to the face in the corner, then a gutwrench slam for a close 2 count. Baszler keeps control and talks trash while slapping Banks around now. Banks fights back and hits the arm drag from the top again. Banks with more offense. Banks rocks Baszler in the corner with a right hand, then drives the double knees down for a 2 count.

Banks with more offense and another close pin attempt. Banks shows some frustration and clutches her hurt arm. Fans rally for Banks but Baszler kicks her away. Baszler charges for another big knee into the corner but she hits the turnbuckle as Banks moves. Banks looks to follow-up but Baszler catches her in mid-move with a Kirifuda Clutch. They trade counters and pin attempts on the mat while in the clutch. Banks goes into a Bank Statement but Baszler takes back control.

More back and forth until Baszler flattens Banks with a knee strike. Banks goes for a gutwrench but Banks counters it and rolls through for the pin out of nowhere for the win.

Winner: Sasha Banks

– After the match, Banks stands tall as her music hits.

– Sonya Deville is backstage on FaceTime with Adam Pearce. She tells him about booking Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar vs. the winner at WWE Day 1. Pearce says he doesn’t want the show disrupted so maybe he should stay away tonight. Deville says Brock is fine tonight, no worries. Pearce also mentioned how he had nothing to do with the reinstatement. Pearce says he might want to “Remember The Alamo” tonight but Deville says upper management wouldn’t like that. Deville says she’s going to go now, she has the show under control. Pearce hangs up and in comes Drew McIntyre. Drew wants to know who is responsible for not putting him in the Black Friday Battle Royal last week. Deville blames it on Pearce and says Drew will have to take it up with him later as he’s not here tonight. Drew raises his sword and tells Pearce that he would like to have a word with him later on when he’s around. Drew walks off.

– We go back to the ring and out comes Happy Baron Corbin with Madcap Moss. They hit the ring for another must see episode of Happy Talk as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and Cole hypes the WWE Universal Title situation. We go back to the ring for Happy Talk with Corbin and Moss. Corbin brings up the Black Friday Battle Royal and Moss says he had so much fun eliminating everyone. Corbin says he had fun pranking Moss when he eliminated him. They keep laughing and then crack jokes on Jeff Hardy. Corbin brings up Drew McIntyre and how he’s gone too far. Moss and Corbin crack jokes and laugh at Drew until the music hits and out comes McIntyre with his sword, Angela. Moss meets Drew on the entrance-way but Drew raises his sword to keep him back.

Drew then points the sword at the ring, and Corbin turns around to a Twist of Fate from Hardy. Moss rushes the ring but Hardy drops him with a Twist of Fate as well. McIntyre enters the ring and levels Moss with a Claymore Kick. Hardy and McIntyre stand tall as fans go wild. Moss and Corbin recover at ringside while Hardy and McIntyre pose in their hats.

– Cole hypes next week’s SmackDown from Los Angeles and sends us to a new comic-style vignette on “The Protector” Xia Li. This vignette features Li recalling how she was on a walk one night when two vultures confronted her and tried to attack her. Li goes on about how she fought them of. We now see the Li backstage. She is Xia Li, defender of the vulnerable, destroyer of oppressors. Li will be here next Friday on SmackDown.

The Viking Raiders vs. Los Lotharios

We go back to the ring and out come The Viking Raiders – Erik and Ivar. They rush the ring and we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and out come Los Lotharios – Humberto and Angel. We see how Angle defeated Rick Boogs last week. The bell rings and Angle starts off with Erik. Angel charges but Erik slams him into the mat. Erik knocks Humberto off the apron to the floor. Ivar tags in and they double team Angel with power moves.

Erik tags back in for more double teaming but Humberto pulls Angel to safety and Ivar lands bad in the corner. Humberto ends up launching himself into Ivar at ringside, and Angel levels Erik with a superkick. Humberto grounds Erik with a submission and holds it there, while Angel waits to double team but taunts Erik while he’s just held there in the submission for a minute or two.

We suddenly hear Rick Boogs playing his guitar somewhere. Boogs and WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura are on the announce table now. The distraction attempt ends up back-firing as Garza rolls Ivar for the pin to win.

Winners: Los Lotharios

– After the bell, Angel and Humberto quickly head to the ramp as their music hits. Boogs and Nakamura look disappointed at ringside. The Viking Raiders go to ringside to confront Boogs and Nakamura, but Boogs ends up shredding his guitar while playing The Viking Raiders’ theme. This leads to the two teams rocking out together, along with McAfee.

– We get a Progressive Match Flo video looking at how SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair lost to RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch in the non-title champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series, predicted by Toni Storm. We then see how Storm confronted Flair on SmackDown last week, and how Flair threw a few Thanksgiving leftover pies in her face. Storm is backstage with Kayla Braxton now. Storm is upset at being known as the girl who had two pies thrown in her face. She says Flair can try and embarrass her as much as she wants but that won’t stop her going for what she wants – a title match. She says Flair doesn’t know what to do because Storm isn’t afraid of her, intimidated by her, or impressed by anything she does. Storm goes on and says Flair may have more experience, but she’s in Flair’s head, and while Flair thinks Storm isn’t on her level, she will prove Flair dead wrong when Flair accepts the challenge. Storm says she may be Toni 2 Pies right now, but she has a better name for herself coming up – SmackDown Women’s Champion. Storm walks off.

SmackDown Tag Team Champion Jey Uso vs. King Xavier Woods

We go back to the ring and out come SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos – Jey Uso with Jimmy Uso. The Usos hit the ring as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and The Usos are in the middle of the ring, fingers in the air. Fans chant their names as they take the mics. Jey and Jimmy have words for Sami Zayn and Brock Lesnar, and hype up their cousin as the one who will smash Lesnar at WWE Day 1. They then raise their fingers in the air to pay tribute to The Bloodline as the “Uce!” chant breaks out. The music hits and out comes King Xavier Woods. Woods speaks from the stage and goes on about surprises, and how The Usos don’t like surprises such as the one Sami Zayn pulled last week, adding that they certainly won’t like what he has tonight. Woods says yes his crown is smashed right now but he has a present tonight. Woods then introduces Sir Kofi Kingston for his return. Kingston and Woods head to the ring as fans chant for The New Day.

The bell hits and Woods charges but Uso kicks him in the gut. Uso unloads and launches Woods hard into the corner, putting him down. Uso talks some trash and keeps Woods down as Jimmy and Kofi look on from ringside. Uso with a big neckbreaker in the middle of the ring for a close 2 count.

Kingston talks trash about how The Usos didn’t finish the job. Jey challenges Kofi to come in and fight as he keeps Woods down. Woods gets up with chops and right hands. Woods with another big chop and a heel kick to put Uso down. Uso runs into a boot int he corner, but Woods then rolls out of the corner with the big clothesline. Woods yells out and gets hyped up. Woods ducks right hands and nails a big punch, then delivers more offense to keep control.

More back and forth now. Jimmy gets involved at ringside as Woods goes to the top turnbuckle to fly. Jimmy knocks Woods off the top but the referee sees him and calls for the disqualification.

Winner by DQ: King Woods

– After the bell, Jimmy and McAfee show each other some love but Kofi comes flying over and takes Jimmy down at ringside. Kofi delivers a Trouble In Paradise before The New Day attacks Jimmy and beats him up some more. Jey pulls his brother to safety and The Usos retreat while The New Day stands tall in the ring as their music hits. We see Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman watching backstage in his locker room suite. Reigns says Kofi is back, Adam Pearce isn’t here, and there are a lot of things Reigns didn’t know about tonight. Reigns asks if Heyman knew Brock Lesnar was returning tonight. Heyman says he was just as surprised as Reigns. Reigns asks Heyman if he knew Lesnar would be in Sami Zayn’s corner. Heyman says he found out just as Reigns did. Reigns says there’s something his Wiseman should know – he’s going to go out and defend his title, and will smash Zayn, and if Lesnar comes anywhere near him tonight, then he will smash Lesnar too. Reigns looks ahead to end the segment.

– We go back to the ring and out comes SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair to pyro. Flair is here to address the challenge from Toni Storm. We go back to commercial.

Back from the break and Aliyah is walking with The New Day, congratulating them on being together. She walks off and The New Day call Kayla Braxton over to deliver some breaking news. Kofi Kingston says The Usos tried to end his career but they failed. He goes on about watching from home, but now it’s an eye for an eye. Just as The Usos destroyed King Woods’ crown, The New Day will destroy The Usos’ SmackDown Tag Team Titles reign when they beat them at WWE Day 1. We go back to the ring and Flair is in the ring posing to boos from the crowd.

Flair says that feisty Toni Storm had a lot to say and she doesn’t know where to begin, but wait, yes she does. Flair goes on about how the easiest way to get a name in this division is to call her out. Flair knows exactly what Storm is doing. Flair says #1 doesn’t talk about #2 and even acknowledging Storm feels like too much. Flair says if anything Storm should be thanking her. Flair laughs about smashing the pies in Storm’s face last week, and says Storm can wash the pies off but can’t rinse away the embarrassment. She says if it was that easy to embarrass Storm, imagine what she can do to Storm in the ring. Flair says we all know she’s about uplifting the other women in the locker room, but Storm demanding a title opportunity just doesn’t add up.

Flair came all the way out here to let Storm know she’s considered her challenge and the answer is… no. Fans boo. The music hits and Flair makes her exit now. Flair backs up the ramp with the title in the air, but we see Storm waiting for her. Flair turns around to Storm smashing a big pie in her face. Storm laughs as Flair seethes and screams out to cheers from the crowd.

Cesaro vs. Sheamus

We go back to the ring and out comes Sheamus. We see how Cesaro ruined Ridge Holland’s in-ring debut last week. The Celtic Warrior hits the ring to pose in the corner as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and we get a vignette hyping up Ricochet. We go back to the ring and Sheamus waits as his former tag team partner Cesaro makes his way out to a pop now. Cole says Sheamus told his protege Holland to watch from the back to see how it’s done tonight. The bell rings and they go at it, trading holds and going to the mat, then back up. Sheamus backs Cesaro into the corner and unloads with back elbows.

We see Holland watching the match from backstage. Cesaro unloads with uppercuts, but Sheamus fires back with uppercuts of his own. Sheamus with the Irish Curse backbreaker. Sheamus poses to some boos. We see Holland watching backstage again. Sheamus delivers 10 Beats of The Bodhrán and yells out, asking Ridge if he’s watching. Sheamus with another power move and more offense before grounding Cesaro in the middle of the ring. Sheamus grounds Cesaro and works him over as the referee checks on him.

Cesaro fights up and out, unloading on Sheamus in the corner with strikes. Cesaro knocks Sheamus over the top rope to the floor. Cesaro runs around and the ring and nails a big jumping uppercut, knocking Sheamus over into the timekeeper’s area. Cesaro yells out for a big pop. Cesaro slams Sheamus face-first into the announce table several times. Cesaro brings it back into the ring but Sheamus immediately levels him with a jumping knee strike.

Cesaro kicks out at 2. Sheamus drops several knees into Cesaro and talks trash now, saying Ridge is 10 times the man Cesaro ever was, and how Cesaro held him back. Cesaro says Sheamus was like a brother to him, and then he unloads on Sheamus to turn it around. The Gotch Neutralizer is blocked as Sheamus fights back and ends up nailing the Brogue Kick for the pin to win in the middle of the ring.

Winner: Sheamus

– After the match, Sheamus stands tall over Cesaro as his music hits.

– We get a look back at the earlier segments with Brock Lesnar and Sami Zayn.

:sduniversal:

WWE Universal Title Match: Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns

We go back to the ring for tonight’s main event as Sami Zayn makes his way out. Sami hits the ring and we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and Naomi confronts Sonya Deville in her office. Naomi says she couldn’t even enjoy last week’s win with Deville sitting at ringside, and thinking about everything Deville has done to steal her glow. Naomi says she’s asking once again if she can have a match with Deville, or is she afraid? Deville says yes, she will give Naomi the match… when she decides to take off this suit. Deville wants to make one thing clear – when she has her ring gear on, it’s one thing, but as long as she has this suit on, she is a WWE official, and Naomi’s boss. Deville says if Naomi even lays one of her neon green fingernails on her, she will not only make sure she doesn’t get the match she’s obsessing over, she will make sure Naomi gets no paycheck either. Naomi asks if Deville is accepting her challenge or what? Deville delivers a very stiff smack to the mouth, knocking Naomi back. Naomi comes right back and gets in Deville’s face, seething. Deville says yes, and then walks off. Cole and McAfee lead us to a RAW Rebound video for this week’s show, and then hype next Monday’s episode. We go back to the ring and Zayn is waiting in the corner, sitting down and in deep thought. Cole hypes how the winner of this match will defend against Brock Lesnar at Day 1 on New Year’s Day in Atlanta. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and the announcers hype next week’s SmackDown. Zayn is in the ring with a mic now. He says this might be the biggest match of his career, but he also hates Texas. Zayn mentions Lesnar being a little birdie in his ear, and goes on about how he will do something tonight – shock the world like it hasn’t been shocked in a long time. He goes on and on about how he will upset WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Sami brings up the conspiracies against him, rips into the fans and says he will not have a reason to thank them tonight, he will only have Lesnar to thank. The music hits and out comes Lesnar to the ring. Sami tells fans to give it up for Lesnar.

Sami gives thanks to Lesnar, thanks him for having his back, and mentions how Lesnar probably would have had an easier time with him than Reigns at Day 1. Sami brings up how Lesnar hasn’t had the best track record against Reigns as of late. Lesnar is a bit upset now. Sami declares that it will be Lesnar vs. Sami at WWE Day 1, but Lesnar quickly interrupts with a kick to the gut and a big German suplex. Lesnar delivers three big German suplexes, then the F5 in the middle of the ring. Fans want one more F5 and Lesnar delivers it, laying Zayn out in the middle of the ring. The referee checks on Sami and says a few words to Lesnar but Lesnar indicates he’s not here to hurt the official. Lesnar props Zayn up in the corner and laughs as he walks off, making his exit to the back. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and Cole says the main event is still on. The music hits and out comes The Bloodline,
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos. They stop on the entrance-way and raise the titles, and their fingers in the air, as the pyro goes off. The Bloodline marches to the ring now with Heyman raising the Universal Title in the air. We get a look back at how Lesnar just destroyed Zayn. Reigns enters the ring to raise the title as more pyro goes off. Sami is barely standing in the corner but the referee calls for the bell.

Reigns immediately calls for a Spear and delivers it, leveling Sami in the middle of the ring. Reigns applies the Guillotine and Zayn immediately taps out for the finish.

Winner: Roman Reigns

– After the squash, Reigns stands tall with the title as the music starts back up. We go to a replay. The Bloodline raise their fingers and titles in the air as Cole and McAfee hype Lesnar vs. Reigns for the Universal Title at WWE Day 1. Reigns embraces The Usos and then kneels over Zayn to talk some trash as SmackDown goes off the air.