WWE SmackDown: Roman Reigns submits Braun Strowman

After the WWE Draft there were a number of new faces on WWE SmackDown, while others said goodbye as they head over to Monday Night Raw.

WWE SmackDown kicked off a new season of wrestling with a night filled of action on Friday evening. In the first post-WWE Draft event there were a lot of last and first-time appearances on the blue brand.

The first match of the night featured former Intercontinental champion, Jeff Hardy, taking on Lars Sullivan before Hardy moves over to Monday Night Raw. Hardy was forced to fight Sullivan off for much of the match but could not deal with the power within the big man. Hardy even landed the Twist of Fate, but when he went up to the top rope, Sullivan was already on his feet. He would snatch Hardy off the top rope, planting him with the Freak Accident for the win.

Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston are also headed to Raw, but that would not be before another match with Big E on SmackDown. The trio faced off against Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro and Sheamus.

Woods and Nakamura started things off. They got things going back and forth, but never side got in control until Woods used Big E for an assisted big splash. Tag team moves galore were all over the place, including a brief reunion of the former tag team champions in The Bar. The New Day were rolling until Kingston was isolated and suffered a wealth of offense at the hands of all three men. Kingston would not go away as he was able to create some space between he and his opponents to make the tag to Big E.

Nakamura and the Bar would get control again and almost put Kingston away until Big E made the save. Woods and E would get back into the ring and hit the Midnight Hour on Sheamus to get the pinfall victory.

The new SmackDown tag team champions defended their titles in their first match on Friday. This match broke down quickly when all four men ended up brawling, causing the referee to throw the match out.

The main event of the night was a one-on-one match between Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns. Strowman is heading to Raw starting next week, but he was looking to take the title with him on Monday.

The two big men exchanged heavy lock-ups first, but Reigns was able to overpower Strowman for much of the early going. That would fall apart once they rolled out of the ring where Strowman got the advantage, knocking Reigns over the barricade. Back in the ring, the assault continued as Strowman continued to overpower the Universal champion.

Reigns used a low blow on a kick out to slow Strowman down, but he could not put him away even after hitting the Spear. The finish would come when Reigns got a hold on Strowman’s neck with the guillotine choke. Strowman attempted to break out of the hold but tapped out.

October 16 WWE SmackDown results

• Lars Sullivan defeated Jeff Hardy via pin fall
• The New Day defeated Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro and Sheamus via pin fall
• The Street Profits vs. Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode ended in a no contest
• Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman via submission