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WWE returned to the Manchester Arena last night for SmackDown LIVE – and all eyes are on the big Raw v SmackDown collision at Survivor Series on November 18.
Here are five things we learnt from the blue brand:
Daniel Bryan and Miz are co-captains at Survivor Series
Paige and Shane McMahon kicked off the show by announcing the captain of the men’s Survivor Series will be Daniel Bryan.
Shane – fresh off his rubbish World Cup win at Crown Jewel – was booed heavily by the crowd. Shane at least acknowledged that he’s not in fact “best in the world”.
But The Miz limped out to complain. Miz had reached the World Cup final before sustaining an ankle injury. He said he should be the team captain.
Paige and Shane quickly conferred and Bryan and Miz would be co-captains of the men’s team at Survivor Series.
(Fun fact: the teams at Survivor Series 1988 had co-captains, including Hulk Hogan and Macho Man, and Brutus Beefcake and Ultimate Warrior).
Bryan and Miz bickered and set matches to eventually decide the other team members – Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, and Samoa Joe.
Joe had to beat Jeff Hardy to earn his spot, but it ended in chaos as Bryan fought with Joe and Miz post-match and even threw Shane around. Will it be chaos at Survivor Series too?
The New Day and Usos will join forces at Survivor Series
In more Survivor Series drama, The New Day battled The Usos, with the winners being named captains of the tag teams elimination match.
Despite fun shenanigans from The New Day, The Usos got the win when Jimmy hi Kofi with a second-rope power-bomb and big splash.
But The Usos called a truce after the match and invited The New Day to join their team at Survivor Series.
The old rivals hugged it out to seal the deal.
Nikki Cross has arrived on SmackDown
Becky Lynch came out to respond to Ronda Rousey’s promo on Raw.
It was typically ace stuff. Becky said she’s not coming to Survivor Series for Ronda’s respect, but for Ronda’s arm.
Becky got herself fired up and demanded a any challenger from the back come out and fight.
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But there was a surprise for the champ when SAnitY arrived (remember them?!) and brought out their former NXT partner Nikki Cross.
The crowd popped for the Scottish pint-sized loony and she put up a good fight – but eventually she tapped to Becky’s Dis-Arm-Her.
Let’s hope Nikki – a solid worker and character – gets better treatment on the main roster than the rest of SAnitY, who have barely been on TV since joining SmackDown.
Randy Orton has his sights on Rey Mysterio
Rey took on Andrade “Cien” Almas in a match to decide whether Rey would join the men’s Survivor Series team.
Almas put on an impressive display, matching Rey for speed and innovative moves. Mysterio got the win with a 619 and springboard splash.
But the celebrations were short-lived – Randy Orton slithered into the ring and nailed Rey with his patented RKO outta nowhere.
Rey had defeated Orton in the World Cup at Crown Jewel, prompting Orton to give Rey a savage post-match beating.
And it seems “The Viper” isn’t finished with Mysterio – the masked superstar is the latest target in Orton’s pledge to destroy all of WWE’s heroes.
The women’s Survivor Series team has been picked
Paige returned to the ring to reveal each of the women chosen to represent SmackDown at Survivors.
She introduced Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Asuka, and Charlotte Flair – except Mandy Rose came out instead of Charlotte.
Rose asked why her partner Sonya Deville had been chosen for the team over herself – especially after Mandy had controversially eliminated Sonya in the Evolution battle royal.
Mandy then proceeded to insult each of the other team members, which ended in a brawl when Mandy took a swipe at Naomi’s marriage to Jimmy Uso.
It looks like Mandy Rose is getting a push as a bitchy heel. Expect her to start feuding with soon-to-be-ex partner Sonya Deville very soon.
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