Wednesday 17 October 2018 09:06, UK
Nostalgia was the name of the game on SmackDown 1000 but a major title changed hands on the anniversary episode.
Several legends made their return to the blue brand to mark its milestone, with Batista getting an enormous ovation on his return to WWE television in his home town of Washington DC.
He was back as part of the Evolution faction alongside Hall of Fame member Ric Flair, Triple H and Randy Orton and delivered an impassioned promo about all Orton and Flair, citing their world championship wins as proof of their status as the greatest faction of all time.
But for Triple H, he had a slightly different message. Batista spoke about how The Game had changed the business to the point where he "is the business" but couldn't resist making a dig about the fact he had never beaten him.
The comment led to a clear tension between the two, who - at Flair's encouragement - hugged it out to cool the tensions. Triple H, however, did not look happy.
The Bar become five-time champions
Sheamus and Cesaro are once again in possession of a WWE tag-team championship after a bizarre and tainted victory over The New Day.
The match had been to the same high standards consistently set by these two teams when the Bar cleared the commentary desk - behind which sat Booker T and Jerry Lawler - with bad intentions on their minds.
What they could not expect, however, was the arrival of The Big Show, who inexplicably chokeslammed Kofi Kingston - who was not involved in the match - through said commentary table.
That was enough of a distraction for Big E to eat a huge Brogue Kick from Sheamus, who picked up the pin and the championship gold.
Mysterio's debut ends in victory
Rey Mysterio will form part of the World Cup tournament at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia on November 2 after dispatching Shinsuke Nakamura in a qualifying match.
The competitors traded near-falls in a contest which lived up to its pre-match anticipation and in which Mysterio showed he remains in excellent fighting condition following his return to WWE.
He collected the win with his trademark 619 and springboard splash combination to advance to the tournament in Riyadh.
Edge fails to get through to Lynch
In a special edition of the Cutting Edge, the host attempted to convince Becky Lynch not to continue down her path of darkness, saying he had made the same mistakes on his journey to the top and had "stained his soul" as a result.
Her response took her newly-acquired nastiness to a new level, citing Edge's career-ending injury as she ordered him to leave her ring.
That brought out Charlotte Flair, who speared the champion to spark a pull-apart brawl.
Watch the repeat of SmackDown 1000 in full at 10pm on Sky Sports Action HD tonight.
