Saturday 19 October 2019 08:05, UK
Daniel Bryan came to the rescue of Roman Reigns on SmackDown as the alliance between the pair was made official.
Something of an uneasy truce has existed between Reigns and Bryan in recent weeks but last night the latter seemingly confirmed his character shift away from the dark side when he burst onto the scene to halt a three-on-one attack on the former.
Reigns had been about to defeat Intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura in their title match when Baron Corbin took him out with a sceptre and Sami Zayn joined in the melee to put a beating on the Big Dog.
That brought out Bryan, who helped Reigns run off the heel trio and later formed a tag team for a match against Nakamura and Corbin.
That contest was a chaotic affair and included the destruction of a ringside barrier and ultimately Bryan secured the win, pinning Nakamura after a Busaiku knee strike before celebrating with Reigns, their union well and truly confirmed.
Nikki Cross wins title shot
SmackDown women's champion Bayley was on the show to explain her actions of the previous week, saying she has had enough of the one-way nature of her relationship with the fans before quoting Vince McMahon: "Life sucks, and then you die."
Bayley, with Sasha Banks at her side, then took her seat at ringside to watch a six-pack challenge for a shot at her title unfold as a SmackDown sextet commenced battle.
Scotland's Nikki Cross prevailed, pinning Mandy Rose following a spinning neckbreaker after the rest of the field had wiped each other out.
Strowman makes his point
Drew Gulak, as the self-proclaimed 'most eminent combat sports historian on the roster' had some words of advice for Braun Strowman ahead of his Crown Jewel match against Tyson Fury, and even went to the trouble of putting them into a Power Point presentation.
But the Monster Among Men was not interested in such guidance and instead piled on the power moves in a one-sided contest against the former Cruiserweight champion.
Gulak will be unlikely to offer up any insight in the future if this experience, which ended with a running powerslam, is anything to go by.
