The Best Episodes of WWE SmackDown Season 21

After New Day threatened to quit WWE, Mr. McMahon gave Kofi Kingston one last chance to challenge for the WWE Title at WrestleMania … except his fate wouldn’t be in his hands. The Chairman decreed that if Kofi’s New Day brethren could prevail in a Tag Team Gauntlet Match, then The Dreadlocked Dynamo would get his WWE Championship Match on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

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Adam Cole defended the NXT Championship against Daniel Bryan in an instant classic to conclude a night of surprises as the black-and-gold brand claimed a resounding victory over SmackDown in the first battle on the march toward Survivor Series.

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On a monumental New Year’s Day SmackDown LIVE, AJ Styles unleashed the newfound aggression he showed Mr. McMahon last week on four other Superstars en route to earning a WWE Championship Match against “The New” Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble. Plus, John Cena came face to face with The Man in his return to Team Blue.

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Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Carmella squared off in a Triple Threat Match to determine who would challenge SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka at Royal Rumble. Elsewhere, WWE Champion “The New” Daniel Bryan felt pressure from all sides as his recent actions began to come back and haunt him.

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When The Bar crashed The Miz’s “Bestie Birthday Bash” for Shane McMahon, it led to an impromptu match between Miz and Sheamus that saw The Bar covered in cake. Elsewhere, SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka and Becky Lynch attempted to one-up each other as their Royal Rumble title clash approaches.

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A highly competitive Gauntlet Match determined who would be last to enter the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match this Sunday, a bout that now also has a new entrant. Elsewhere, Charlotte Flair spoke with elation on being chosen to replace Becky Lynch against Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35.

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Following a huge Six-Man Tag Team Match, the challenger for “The New” Daniel Bryan’s WWE Championship at WWE Fastlane was revealed. Elsewhere, NXT Superstars continued to shine bright as Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black and Ricochet brought their best to the blue brand.

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Mr. McMahon dropped a bombshell when he announced that Kevin Owens would replace Kofi Kingston as “The New” Daniel Bryan’s challenger for the WWE Championship at WWE Fastlane. However, matters complicated even more when the returning Owens suggested that he and Kingston team up against Bryan & Rowan in the main event of SmackDown LIVE.

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The “Wild Card Rule” brought Raw’s AJ Styles and Sami Zayn to SmackDown LIVE, but WWE Champion Kofi Kingston upped the ante when he challenged both Superstars to a Triple Threat Match with WWE’s most prestigious prize on the line. Elsewhere, new SmackDown Tag Team Champions were crowned, but not in the way Shane McMahon intended when the “Wild Card Rule” struck again.

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Kevin Owens finally exploded on Shane McMahon, verbally assaulting The Best in the World at the start of the night and dropping him with a Stunner at the end of it, massively altering the main event between Roman Reigns and Dolph Ziggler.

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The beef between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon continued, first with Shane-O-Mac’s Town Hall Meeting quickly going south when KO abruptly arrived and then again in the main event when Owens tussled with Dolph Ziggler, but the conclusion would be altered when Shane hit the scene with some backup clearly aiming to take KO out.

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Shane McMahon thought he had backed Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns into a corner when he pitted the two in a match against one another, as Drew McIntyre, Elias and Shane were all present for it. However, the tides quickly turned on “The Best in the World” when Owens and Reigns made it clear that they were more interested in tussling with Shane-O-Mac and company than each other.

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Tonight on SmackDown LIVE, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston overcame United States Champion AJ Styles in a non-title Champion vs. Champion Match with the members of The O.C. and The New Day at ringside. Plus, Roman Reigns was denied the opportunity to make a SummerSlam challenge when a pile of scaffold and metal fell down upon him, and Charlotte Flair emerged to challenge Trish Stratus to a match at The Biggest Event of the Summer.

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The New Day engaged in a drag-out battle with Randy Orton & The Revival in a major Six-Man Tag Team main event on SmackDown LIVE, but the makeshift trio’s victory over the WWE Champion and SmackDown Tag Team Champions was only half the story. Also, the mystery surrounding who is responsible for the recent attacks on Roman Reigns took several more twists and turns.

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”The New” Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowan reveal who they believed to be the culprit behind the series of attacks on Roman Reigns – a man with almost identical facial features to Erick Rowan. Elsewhere, the WWE Champion Kofi Kingston proved he would not back down in the face of Randy Orton’s onslaught towards him and his New Day brothers.

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The battle for brand supremacy took several final shocking twists on Friday Night SmackDown, including appearances by Rhea Ripley, The Undisputed ERA, Seth Rollins and Triple H’s NXT army, which literally arrived ready for war.

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Rey Mysterio and Andrade brought the house down in another instant classic, this time a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, but Samoa Joe and Randy Orton stole some headlines by match’s end. Elsewhere, the issues between SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair intensified as all three look to dominate at the Royal Rumble event this Sunday.

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WWE Champion “The New” Daniel Bryan looked to evade every single threat to his title on SmackDown LIVE, but he instead received news that he would have to face five of them inside the dreaded Elimination Chamber in three weeks. Elsewhere, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair got into a wild brawl.

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”The New” Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy squared off in the main event of SmackDown LIVE, but all six WWE Title Elimination Chamber Match participants couldn’t help but get involved by the end of the bout. Elsewhere, Becky Lynch confronted a McMahon Family member for the second consecutive night, going face-to-face with Triple H.

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Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship opportunity future was decided when Mr. McMahon made a major announcement regarding what The Dreadlocked Dynamo would have to do to face off against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. Elsewhere, Shane McMahon held nothing back in his explanation of why he betrayed The Miz at WWE Fastlane.

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Kofi Kingston attempted to secure his place in the WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania, but just when he thought he was en route to The Grandest Stage of Them All, Mr. McMahon dropped a bombshell that would completely change The Dreadlocked Dynamo’s road to the title yet again.

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WWE Champion “The New” Daniel Bryan railed on Kofi Kingston’s good name one too many times, as a passionate Kofi finally lashed out verbally just five days before challenging The Planet’s Champion for the title on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

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Night Two of the Superstar Shake-up seen on SmackDown LIVE with many surprises that include the arrivals of Roman Reigns, Finn Bálor, Bayley, Ember Moon and many more. Elsewhere, The New Day appoints a new honorary member of the group after appearing on “The Kevin Owens Show.”

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With Big E finally being cleared for in-ring competition, The New Day brought their best to the trio of Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in the SmackDown LIVE main event. Elsewhere, Shane McMahon attempted to make an example out of The Miz as his Super ShowDown victory tour continued.

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WWE Champion Kofi Kingston & Universal Champion Seth Rollins teamed up to take on Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a blockbuster 2-out-of-3 Falls Match main event on SmackDown LIVE. Elsewhere, the growing tension between SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and Alexa Bliss finally boiled over in a tumultuous “Moment of Bliss” that would see fists fly.

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