The 1,000th episode of SmackDown Live opens up with a special video package looking at the first 1000 episodes of SmackDown. The video includes clips of Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Eddie Guerrero, Eric Bischoff and The Big Bossman.
We are live from The Capital One Arena in Washington, DC as Tom Phillips welcomes us to tonight’s show. He is joined by Byron Saxton and Corey Graves.
We go right to the ring for the second edition of TruthTV as R-Truth is in the ring with Carmella.
Truth acts like there have been many memories on TruthTV over the years but Carmella reminds him that this is only the second episode. Truth calls for a dance break. Fans want another. Truth goes to introduce his first guest but he just breaks out in another dance break with Carmella. Carmella says that it is time to really bring out the first guest. The music hits and out comes RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon.
Stephanie thanks them for the introduction and fans start booing her. Stephanie says that she was the first General Manager Of SmackDown and she had a vision, and it’s wonderful to see that vision come together on The 1,000th episode. Stephanie then tells Truth to go ahead. Truth is about to ask his first question but the music interrupts and out comes SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon making his return. Shane officially welcomes everyone to SmackDown 1000 and asks what’s up. Shane talks about how the opening video flooded him with memories and how tonight wouldn’t be possible without the fans. Shane then thanks the fans in attendance and the viewers around the world for making SmackDown and WWE as a whole, a success every week. Stephanie knocks the fans for buying Shane’s lines. Shane then welcomes her to The A Show. Stephanie then talks RAW up and says that they would never start the night off with TruthTV. Fans start chanting for TruthTV now.
Shane goes on about how they give people chances and what they want to see on SmackDown. The music interrupts and out comes The WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon. The boss marches to the ring for a big pop. Vince steps in the ring and tells Stephanie and Shane that no one came to see them bicker, they came to be entertained. Vince then says that The E in WWE stands for Entertainment and that is what they are here to do. Vince then goes on about entertainment and fans give him the “what!?” treatment. Stephanie then says that he has his hearing aid in tonight, so it’s fine, he can hear, no worries. Vince then calls for a dance break. Vince then joins R-Truth and Carmella in dancing and Stephanie and Shane join in as well.
Commentary hypes up our proceedings for later on tonight from Rey Mysterio vs. Shinsuke Nakamura through to The Cutting Edge to the return of Evolution.
WWE Champion AJ Styles makes his entrance followed shortly by Daniel Bryan as they will be in tag team action after the commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get another hype reel of SmackDown’s history.
WWE Champion AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan vs. The Usos (Jey & Jimmy Uso): Bryan starts this one off for his team and he controls the pace of the match until The Usos start double-teaming him. The Usos trade tags now, and Jey pummels on Bryan in the corner. Bryan starts to fight back, but he misses a shot in the corner and hits the turnbuckle hard. Bryan then tags in AJ. Jey Uso misses a splash in the corner and AJ locks in the Calf Crusher. Jimmy runs in, but Bryan intercepts him and applies the Yes Lock. Jey reaches the bottom rope to break the Calf Crusher. Bryan and Jimmy tag in, and Bryan cleans house then hits a missile dropkick off the top on Jimmy. The Usos try to double team Bryan, but AJ runs in to even the odds. Bryan accidentally hits AJ in the face, which leads to The Usos hitting double superkicks on both AJ and Daniel. They pin Daniel for the three count. Winners: The Usos (Jey & Jimmy Uso)
After the match, The Usos begin their celebration as we go to replays. We go to some still shots from SmackDown’s 1000 episode history including shots of Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, The Rock and The Infamous Big Bossman/Big Show Funeral Segment as their music plays.
SmackDown General Manager Paige is backstage with Vickie Guerrero and WWE Hall Of Famer Teddy Long. John Laurinaitis walks in and gets in the way. Vickie yells at him, “Excuse me!”
Commentary promises us The Evolution reunion after the commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get a video package covering WWE’s efforts at breast cancer awareness.
Evolution make their entrance together and head to the ring. Triple H gets on the mic and talks up SmackDown having 1000 episodes as a monumental achievement, a direct result of constantly evolving. So to celebrate, you bring together the one group that epitomizes the word evolution. Ric Flair is next, saying that he is more used to ten thousand, and Randy Orton talks about all the fond memories he had getting his start with these guys.
Orton then says that it was just a start, and he’s kept on evolving, and while Triple H has run the show, Ric Flair has lived vicariously through his daughter’s achievements, and Batista’s spent more time in a makeup chair than a ring, he’s cemented his legacy. Batista is up next, and he admits that he is a little nervous being back. Batista then says that it has been a long time but he’s gonna enjoy every second of it and ignore what Randy just said.
Batista then says that as many of us know, the last place he wants to be is with a microphone in hand, so he thought about it, thought about what he really wanted to say on this auspicious occasion, and he came up with four things. He wanted to be here tonight because it’s SmackDown 1000, 1000 episodes of a brand that he’s proud to say he helped build. The second thing was that it was in his home town where he grew up a poor kid that worked two blocks down the road bouncing in nightclubs and saw more violence than any kid should see, and here he is talking to all of us, a dream come true. Number three, all of us fans, whether we booed him or called him Bluetista or Bootista, sometimes we hated him and sometimes we loved him, but every night he busted his ass and he loves us and wants nothing but to entertain us. He gave us everything every night, and all he cared about was entertaining us. Fourth, Evolution and how special it is, how the molecules change in the ring when they walk in the room.
Batista then says that when Line in the Sand plays, it’s a different vibe, four world champions brought together as an army, never before or since, it’s special. Randy Orton, 13-time world champion, the first time he saw him in OVW, Batista knew he was special and so did Ric and Hunter. Batista then says that Randy has got more talent in his pinkie than half the guys who ever stepped foot in the ring. Ric Flair, The Nature Boy, Space Mountain, 16-time World Champion, there is nothing he can say that we don’t know, or is there? Batista tells Ric to keep “that thing” in his pants before observing that it’s a family show. Last but not least, Triple H. The Game. 14-time world champion, a man who single-handedly changed the business. He not only runs this business, he IS this business, and Batista says that there is nothing he hasn’t done… except beat him. Triple H squares up but Ric takes the mic and plays peacemaker, leading to Batista and Triple H hugging. Line in the Sand plays again, everybody hugs, and that’s the segment.
We cut to The Undertaker’s shadow backstage and go to a commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get to see a commemorative tweet from The Rock.
Kurt Angle joins the commentary booth for the next match and it is Rusev vs. The Miz in a WWE World Cup Tournament Qualifying Match.
Rusev vs. The Miz (WWE World Cup Tournament Qualifying Match): Rusev hits a spinning heel kick early on, and Miz rolls outside for a breather. Back in the ring, The Miz distracts the referee and Aiden English comes out and hits a cheap shot on Rusev. Miz rolls up Rusev with a fist full of tights for the three count after a very short match. Winner: The Miz
After the match, Lana approaches English at ringside and low blows him for a big pop. Rusev attacks English and destroys him at ringside. Rusev snaps and tosses English over the announce table.
We head backstage to Curt Hawkins and his mentor Edge chilling and commentary promises us The Cutting Edge after the commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get another SmackDown history reel.
WWE Hall Of Famer Edge makes his entrance, complete with Tony Chimel introducing him. Edge starts by saying that a great man he knew lived his life huge and he has always tried to do the same thing, and it doesn’t get much more huge than SmackDown 1000. So he had to be here, and besides, SmackDown has always felt like his show. Edge then says that some of his greatest accomplishments happened right here, cashing in Money in the Bank against The Undertaker, competing against Eddie Guerrero in a no disqualification match people still talk about, he married Vickie Guerrero, he divorced Vickie Guerrero, and so on.
Needless to say, this show really means something to him, and the last few weeks he has been watching the show and he had to come here tonight to address it. As strange as it sounds, The Rated-R Superstar is going to attempt to be SmackDown’s moral compass. Bear with him, he knows, and he’s going to introduce his first guest on The Cutting Edge, SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch.
They take their seats and Edge says that he is happy she’s here, and they’ll get to Charlotte Flair, but he couldn’t help but notice when she walked down that aisle that they have a lot of similarities. Lynch says that he is one of the people she modeled her career on and she appreciates that he sees what she sees. Edge asks her to hear him out and says more than anyone else, he understands what she’s doing and thinking. He wasn’t supposed to be in the main event, he wasn’t the hand-picked one, and he had to scratch, claw, and bite for every inch he earned in this company, just like she has. But he gets that she thinks she’s making the right choice throwing her friendship away, but he’s here to tell her that wasn’t the right choice. Again he asks to be heard out. He made the same choices. If there was a friendship that got in his way between him and the top, he stepped on it and crushed it, leaving a trail of burnt bridges, but here’s the thing. You can win all the titles you want, your face can be on all the posters you want, but the choices you make change who you are, they stain your soul, and he still sees a good person in her.
Edge then says the end result of the choices she’s making end with her sitting at home, staring at the championships on the wall, reminiscing about her accomplishments by herself. But the kicker is she won’t even like herself. This clearly hits home with Becky and she admits he’s right. She doesn’t like herself, she loves herself. She tells him to stop being so condescending and get out of her ring, and bids him be careful he doesn’t hurt his neck again going through the ropes.
The music interrupts and out comes Charlotte Flair. Flair asks Becky if she really had to go there. Flair tells Edge all Becky cares about is the title on her shoulder. Flair mentions Becky running away from her at Super Show-Down and last week. Flair enters the ring now and ends up tackling Becky. They brawl around the mat as referees and officials hit the ring to break them up. Adam Pearce, Jamie Noble, Fit Finlay and several referees try to keep them separated but they keep breaking free and fighting to end the segment.
We cut to Rey Mysterio walking backstage when he runs into Jeff Hardy and has a nice reunion to send us to a commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we get another SmackDown history hype reel.
WWE Hall Of Famers Jerry “The King” Lawler & Booker T take up The New Day’s commentary booth for their match against The Bar which is coming up next for The SmackDown Live Tag Team Titles.
The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) (c) vs. The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro): The SmackDown Tag Team Titles are on the line in this one. Big E and Xavier woods are in this match while Kofi is at ringside. Sheamus starts off strong against Xavier, but Xavier fights back and stuns him with a forearm to the face and a headscissors takedown. Woods follows up with a dropkick for a two count. Sheamus and Cesaro hit a cheap shot behind the referee’s back on Woods, and The Bar trades frequent tags now to double team Woods. Big E finally gets the hot tag and he cleans house. After dumping Sheamus outside, Big E hits a suplex on Cesaro for a two count. Sheamus tags himself in and knees an unsuspecting Big E in the face. Sheamus looks for the big boot, but Big E dodges it, and then he spears Sheamus to the outside. Woods tags in and hits the Shining Wizard on Sheamus for a two count. Big E tags back in and they look for the double team, but Sheamus reverses it and Cesaro tags himself in. Sheamus takes out Woods, and Big E takes out Sheamus. Cesaro comes in and hits the Neutralizer on Big E, but Woods breaks up the pin. Big E and Cesaro fight up to the top rope, but Sheamus tags himself in and breaks it up. Sheamus and Cesaro hit a Doomsday Device type double-team move on Big E. Sheamus pins but his feet are on the ropes, and Kofi knocks his feet off. Sheamus gets in Kofi’s face at ringside, then Cesaro nails Kofi from behind. Woods looks for a suicide dive on The Bar, but The Bar catches him and slams him down. Sheamus and Cesaro clear off the table Booker T and Lawler are at, but then The Big Show’s music hits. The Big Show comes out and walks over to The Bar at ringside. The Bar backs up, and Big Show helps up Kofi. Big Show then grabs Kofi by the throat and powerbombs him through the announce table. Big E looks on shocked from the ring, and Sheamus takes the opportunity to hit the big boot on Big E for the three count. Winners & The New SmackDown Tag Team Champions: The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro)
After the match, The Big Show enters the ring and stands tall with The Bar. We go to replays. The Big Show and The Bar celebrate the title change as the music continues.
Another hype reel of SmackDown’s history follows.
Commentary sends us to a John Cena promo where he puts SmackDown over and talks about how important SmackDown was to the development of his career.
Rey Mysterio makes his entrance and we go to a commercial break.
Back from the commercial break and we are just in time for WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura to make his entrance for a rare first-time ever match that is legitimately first-time ever, not just “first-time ever in WWE.”
Rey Mysterio vs. WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (Non-Title Match) (WWE World Cup Qualifying Match): The opening bell sounds and Nakamura starts off strong with knee strikes to Rey. Rey fires back with some leg kicks, but Nakamura shuts him down with a front face lock and more knees. Rey comes back with a hurricanrana, but Nakamura shuts him down with more strikes. Nakamura misses a shot and Rey looks for the 619, but Nakamura rolls outside. Rey kicks Nakamura down, and then Rey runs and literally slides out of the ring under the bottom rope with a splash on Nakamura laying on the ringside floor. Back in the ring, Nakamura tangles Rey up in the corner and kicks him in the face. Nakamura misses a shot and Rey fires back with strikes. They fight over to the turnbuckle and Nakamura looks for a Samoan Drop off the top, but Rey fights out. Rey ends up hitting a Frankensteiner off the top for a two count. Rey springboards off the top, but Nakamura catches him with a knee to the body and Rey is hurt. Nakamura hits another knee strike in the corner for a two count. Nakamura looks for the Kinshasa, but Rey reverses into a pin for a two count. Nakamura comes back with a spinning heel kick, and then he looks for the Kinshasa again but misses. Rey fights back with kicks and then he hits the 619. Rey follows up with a springboard frogsplash off the top for a three count. Winner: Rey Mysterio
After the match, Rey stands tall as his music plays. The announcers hype The WWE World Cup Tournament when the bells toll and the lights go out. Rey looks on as The Undertaker begins to make his grand entrance.
Commentary plugs DX vs. The Brothers Of Destruction for WWE Crown Jewel as The Undertaker makes his entrance. The Undertaker takes the mic as fans chant his name. The Undertaker says at Crown Jewel…some fans start booing…he will have three words for DX – Rest In Peace. That’s it for The Undertaker’s SmackDown 1000 appearance. The music starts back up as The Undertaker looks around the arena. The Undertaker heads up the ramp and stops at the stage. The Undertaker then turns and looks back at the ring as fans cheer. The Undertaker then raises his fist as the lightning strikes and The 1,000th episode of SmackDown Live goes off the air.