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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In the wake of WWE Clash of Champions, the reunited Erick Rowan & Luke Harper took out Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns in an all-out destructive assault. Plus, Brock Lesnar made a surprise return to challenge WWE Champion Kofi Kingston to a title match at the FOX Friday Night SmackDown premiere on Oct. 4, and Chad Gable left King Corbin’s coronation in shambles.

Shane McMahon’s attempt to resolve Kevin Owens’ lawsuit resulted in KO challenging Shane-O-Mac to a high-stakes Ladder Match with each of their WWE futures on the line. Elsewhere, Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan came together in their attempts to vanquish Erick Rowan & Luke Harper.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Erick Rowan brutalized both Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan, firmly admitting to being Reigns’ attacker and then seemingly cutting ties from his former friend Bryan when he decimated him and viciously put him through a table.

Kofi Kingston’s incredible journey as WWE Champion came crashing to a screeching halt when Brock Lesnar defeated him in mere seconds to win the title, however Lesnar’s night would take an unexpected turn when Rey Mysterio arrived with a blast from The Beast’s past in Cain Velasquez.

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.

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.

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.

Bayley arrived on Friday Night SmackDown with a new look and new demeanor, but she left Las Vegas as the new SmackDown Women’s Champion after withstanding Charlotte Flair’s best to regain the coveted title. The WWE Draft also got underway with Raw and Friday Night SmackDown both bolstering their rosters with major talent acquisitions.

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.

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.

”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.

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.

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.

”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.

Shane McMahon thought he had it all figured out when he inserted himself into the King of the Ring Tournament Semifinals against Chad Gable and appointed Kevin Owens as the special guest referee with promises of lifting Owens’ $100,000 fine. However, Gable wouldn’t quit in the face of Shane-O-Mac, prompting Shane to fire KO.