The November 29th, 2019 edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown aired live on FOX from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL.
– This week’s broadcast opens up with a shot of the arena, and we see a Happy Thanksgiving graphic on the big screen.
– Roman Reigns comes out to the ring to kick off the show. Reigns gets on the mic and wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and talks about what Thanksgiving means to him. He says last year was a tough year, but being in the ring and healthy for this Thanksgiving is a blessing. Reigns talks about how SmackDown kicked ass at Survivor Series — except Baron Corbin. Reigns calls out Corbin, and Corbin comes out to the stage with a mic. Corbin blames Reigns for betraying the team and getting Corbin eliminated. Reigns and Corbin exchange words, and Corbin takes some shots at Alabama. Reigns says he’ll go at it with Corbin right now, but Corbin says Reigns should face Robert Roode instead. Roode comes out next, with Dolph Ziggler in his corner.
– Roman Reigns vs. Robert Roode: Ziggler and Corbin are both at ringside for this one. Roode controls the opening moments of this one, until he tries going to the top rope and Reigns uppercuts Roode down to the floor. They brawl at ringside now, and Roode hits a spinebuster on the announce table. Back in the ring, Reigns turns it around with a leaping clothesline. Reigns continues with strikes in the corner, then a big boot. Roode stops the Big Dog’s momentum with a Blockbuster off the middle rope for a two count. Roode looks for the Glorious DDT, but Reigns escapes and gives Roode a sit-out powerbomb for a two count. Reigns looks for a superman punch, but Ziggler pulls Roode out to ringside. Reigns runs around the ring and drops Ziggler at ringside. This leads to Roode blindsiding Reigns and slamming him into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Roode looks for a shot off the top, but Reigns punches him out of mid-air for a two count. Reigns looks for a spear, but Roode catches him and gives him a spinebuster for a two count. Corbin throws his scepter to Roode to use as a weapon. Corbin distracts the ref, but their plan doesn’t work, as Reigns gives them both Superman punches and spears Roode for the three count.
Winner: Roman Reigns
– After the match, Ziggler and Corbin attack Reigns in the ring. Reigns is able to fight them off, but then Roode nails Reigns from behind with the scepter, and Reigns is down. Roode grabs a steel chair and unfolds it in the ring. Roode puts Reigns head on the chair and goes to hit it with the scepter, but Reigns moves. Reigns gives Roode a Superman punch and Roode falls out to ringside. Reigns is not happy, and he runs around ringside and spears Roode through the fan barricade. Reigns throws some office chairs on top of Roode under the rubble of the fan barricade. Ziggler comes back over, but Reigns nails him with the steel ring steps. Reigns flips the announce desk over on top of Roode now. We see Corbin retreating to the back as Reigns notices him on the ramp.
– Coming up: “New face of the Firefly Fun House.”
– Back from the break, we see the whole ringside area still torn up. Cole and Graves send us to a video package looking at Daniel Bryan challenging Bray Wyatt for the Universal Title.
– Bray welcomes us to the latest edition of the Firefly Fun House. He holds up the Universal Title and says he has a lot to be thankful for. He says sharing is caring, and The Fiend has the belt too. Wyatt says he had a blast playing with Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series, and he wants to do it again. He says if Bryan wants to join the fun again and have a Title of his own, Wyatt can make that happen, and all Bryan has to do is let him in.
– We see a pre-taped promo from Sheamus, making his first on-air appearance in a while. Sheamus calls out the current crop of stars on SmackDown, and says none of them are like him. He says SmackDown has become soft without him.
– Ali vs. Drew Gulak: Gulak control the opening moments of this one. Ali is able to dodge some shots and fire back with some strikes of his own, but Gulak slams him down from the middle rope and tries to keep him grounded. Ali fights out of a half Boston crab and throws Gulak into the corner. Ali hits a Tornado DDT out of the corner, then follows up with a 450 splash for the three count.
Winner: Ali
– Sasha Banks and Bayley are shown backstage walking through the arena.
– We go to a WWE Shop promo with Heavy Machinery.
– Daniel Bryan is shown backstage in the arena pacing back and forth.
– Sasha Banks and Bayley come out to the ring to address the women of SmackDown. They get on mics and talk about the SmackDown locker room letting them down at Survivor Series. They say they are role models and leaders, and the rest of the roster are weak links. Sasha trashes her Survivor Series teammates until Lacey Evans comes out to interrupt. Lacey gets on the mic and says she just finished preparing a Thanksgiving meal for 36 people, and now she has to deal with Sasha and Bayley. She says they are not leaders, and she wouldn’t trust them to lead “the chicken dance at a garden party.” She says they’re blaming everyone else for their failures, and SmackDown needs a better locker room leader, like Lacey. Sasha gets in Lacey’s face, and Lacey knocks her down with a right hand to the face. Bayley doesn’t do anything and Lacey leaves.
– We’re backstage with Daniel Bryan again for an interview. He’s asked if he will accept Bray’s challenge, but then it appears the segment is interrupted by another edition of the Firefly Fun House. Bray talks to his pig puppet about Thanksgiving, and he tells the puppet he can change, just like how Daniel Bryan can change. Wyatt says you just have to follow these rules… and he introduces a rap song about “how to pull up your pants and do the muscle man dance.” The screen cuts to a shot of Bryan watching Bray’s pig puppet rapping on a monitor, and Bryan doesn’t look impressed. On the rap video on the screen, Wyatt says to let him in, but don’t let in the “reptilians or the triangle folk.” The song ends, and we go back to Bryan, who doesn’t seem impressed by the performance, and we go to commercial without him saying a word.
– Sonya Deville comes out with Mandy Rose. Sonya will be in action against Nikki Cross next. Nikki comes out to the ring, but before the match, Mandy gets on the mic and trashes NIkki, saying she looks like a plate of cold Thanksgiving leftovers.
– Nikki Cross vs. Sonya Deville: Sonya starts off strong with a series of strikes right off the opening bell. Nikki fights back after a jawbreaker, and she puts Sonya down with a running bulldog. Nikki goes up top, but Mandy causes a distraction and Sonya slams her down. Sonya walks over to Nikki, but Nikki grabs her and rolls her up in a cradle pin for the three count.
Winner: Nikki Cross
– Mandy and Sonya beat down Nikki after the match, until Alexa Bliss runs in for the save. Nikki and Alexa give Mandy a double team DDT, then they hug before leaving.
– We see The Miz approach Daniel Bryan backstage. The Miz says that The Fiend changes people for the worse, just look at Seth Rollins and Finn Balor’s behavior after facing The Fiend. The Miz tells Bryan he’s not his friend or his mentor, but he thinks Bryan is too important to SmackDown and his family to lose him. Bryan looks like he’s heard enough, and Miz walks off.
– Back from commercial, Drake Maverick is backstage chatting up Dana Brooke. He says one of his favorite Holiday traditions is mistletoe, and he holds mistletoe up between him and Dana. Dana shuts him down, and she recalls that Maverick recently got married. Elias interrupts and plays a new song, and sings about Maverick’s wife finding out about this.
– Kofi Kingston and Big E come out to the ring, and they’ve got mics. Big E talks about Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Kofi says they’ve decided to open for business on Black Friday, so they’re issuing an open challenge to anyone who wants to come try to take their Tag Team Titles. The question is – who? Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro come out with Sami Zayn, and Sami has a mic. Sami says Thanksgiving is gluttonous and evil, and says Black Friday epitomizes all the evils of capitalism. Sami says it’s time to have Tag Champs who don’t glorify those things, and we’ve got a match.
– Kofi Kingston & Big E (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro: The New Day’s Tag Titles are on the line in this one. Nakamur and Cesaro trade frequent tags and dominate the opening moments of this match against Kofi. They keep Kofi isolated in their corner as Sami cheers them on from ringside. Big E finally gets the hot tag and starts cleaning house. Kofi tags back in for the double team on Nakamura, but Cesaro breaks it up. Kofi dumps Cesaro out to ringside and looks for a dive, but Cesaro intercepts Kofi with an uppercut. Cesaro throws Kofi back in the ring, where the legal man Nakamura looks for the Kinshasa. Kofi dodges it and takes Nakamura down. Nakamura fires back with a knee to the head, then hits a knee drop for a two count. Cesaro tags in and hits a series of strikes on Kingston. Kofi connects with a kick, but then he misses the Trouble In Paradise. Cesaro drops Kofi throat-first over the top rope, then Sami looks for a cheap shot but the ref catches him. The ref ejects Sami from ringside. Cesaro is distracted, and this leads to Kofi hitting the Trouble In Paradise on Cesaro. Kofi pins for the three count.
Winners & still Tag Team Champions: The New Day
– The New Day celebrates with their Tag Titles at ringside and head to the back.
– Cole sends us to a video package looking at Roman Reign’s beating down Roode and Ziggler earlier.
– Daniel Bryan is shown backstage walking through the hallways of the arena.
– Back from the break, Daniel Bryan’s music hits and the former World Champion makes his way down to the ring. Bryan gets on the mic and he talks about Wyatt offering him a Universal Title rematch if he “lets him in.” Bryan says all night people have been giving him unsolicited advice. Bryan says he knows The Fiend changed Finn Balor and Seth Rollins, and maybe he needs to change too. Bryan says he could feel himself changing during his Survivor Series match, but it wasn’t The Fiend changing him, it was the fans. Bryan says that Wyatt challenged him to another Universal Title match, and to answer, he leads the fans in a big Yes chant. Wyatt suddenly appears on the big screen and says this new energy is so exciting, but, The Miz is right, and if Bryan goes through with this, he will change again. Wyatt says it’s only fair though since Bryan is one of the people who helped Wyatt change and build the Firefly Fun House. Wyatt asks if Bryan remembers how he helped change Wyatt, because The Fiend remembers. Wyatt says he almost forgot – he promised a “new face” tonight, and he’s a man of his word. The lights in the building turn red and The Fiend pops out from the ring and tries to pull Bryan down under the ring. Bryan fights back, but The Fiend is able to lock him in the mandible claw. The Fiend pulls Bryan down into the hole in the ring that he popped out of. The Fiend pulls his hands up and it looks like he has chunks of Bryan’s hair in his hands. The Fiend pulls up more hair from the hole in the ring and throws it on the canvas. We hear laughing over the arena speakers, and we cut to black.
