We are live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, as the bell tolls, and the lights go down as The Undertaker makes his slow way to the ring.
Undertaker says he wanted to come out here and take a minute and absorb all of this. For the past 30 years, I have considered these hallowed grounds his home. He does not know how many more times he will come home, but there is one thing that he wants everyone to remember about this place. The Titans that were born here, the legends that made their names here, and the heroes that were created right here in Madison Square Garden. It is rewarding to him that each of those souls, he took a piece of them with him. They will not be forgotten because the echoes of their memories will go through these hallways for all of eternity. Now, we usher in a new era of superstar…
Sami Zayn interrupts and he dances around the stage before addressing the Undertaker.
Zayn tells the people the Undertaker is in the ring. The Phenom and Dead Man. Sami says New York respects legends and you are a legend. Truthfully what he finds impressive about Taker’s career is his history in this arena. You have been selling out this arena not for ten or twenty years, but for thirty years. Madison Square Garden has been your yard. Sami says he has nothing but the utmost respect for Zayn. Sami says that it shouldn’t be you opening Smackdown in Madison Square Garden. Even you can admit that it probably should have been him.
Nothing but respect. When is enough enough? Sami says he knows how much Taker loves WWE and you are about paving the way for the future. Sami says the future is here. The future is now and the future is Sami Zayn. Sami says these unruly fans in New York want nothing more than Sami Zayn to take out the Undertaker, but that is not why he is here. Sami says he is here to ask him to turn around and to leave this ring right now. Sami says he wants Taker to do the right thing and pass the torch. The future of Madison Square Garden and the WWE are in good hands with Sami Zayn.
The “you suck!” chant starts back up. Taker nods and hands the mic to Sami. Sami is shocked but excited. Taker keeps walking out of the ring but stops on the apron. He turns around to see Sami showing off like usual. Taker returns to the ring and gets in Sami’s face. Taker grabs Sami and delivers a big chokeslam in the middle of the ring. Taker stands tall over Sami as his music starts back up. Taker makes his exit and stops on the ramp to raise his fist.
Backstage:
Shane McMahon is in his office and Chad Gable enters. Shane calls him shorty and then he praises Gable for his performance in the King of the Ring. Shane says Elias cannot compete in the King of the Ring Tournament because he broke his ankle. Gable is assuming that he gets a bye and goes right to the finals. Shane says as Best in the World, he knows about tournaments so he should earn his way. Shane says Chad will have an opponent and it will be someone from Raw or Smackdown who was already eliminated.
– The Miz makes his way to the ring as we go to commercial.
The Miz vs. Andrade
Shinsuke Nakamura is at the announce table for this match.
They lock up and Almas misses a chop and Miz with a wrist lock. Miz with an arm drag and arm bar. Almas with a chop and Almas goes Tranquilo in the ropes and Vega joins him on the mat. Miz goes to the apron and then gets a near fall with a rollupo. Miz with a flapjack. Miz goes Tranquilo and then he catapults Almas over the top rope to the floor. Vega gets on the apron to distract Miz and Almas almost hits Vega. Miz with a rollup for a near fall. Miz with an elbow but Vega rakes the eyes and Almas with a drop kick that sends Miz into the corner.
Almas with a running double knee strike for a near fall. Almas chokes Miz in the ropes. Almas sets for a suplex and hits it and holds on for a second one. Almas goes for a third one but Miz blocks it and Miz with a suplex. Miz with a punch but Almas wtih a back elbow for a near fall. Almas sends Miz to the floor. Almas with a double sledge off the ring steps. Almas Irish whips Miz into the ringside barrier. Almas goes to the apron for a slingshot senton and hits it. Almas gets a near fall. Almas with a reverse chin lock.
Miz with elbows and he lands on his feet on a belly-to-back suplex attempt. Miz with a kick and DDT. Miz with a knee and then he hits Reality Check for a near fall. Miz with kicks and he misses a round kick. Miz holds on to the ropes to stop an O’Connor Roll attempt. Miz with chops and kicks. Miz with a running knee into the corner followed by a second one. Almas misses a knee and hits the turnbuckle and goes to the floor. Miz iwth a drop kick through the ropes and Almas is sent into the announce table. Miz looks at Nakamura and then he kicks Almas. Miz sends Almas into Nakamura.
Miz sends Almas into the ring and Vega grabs the ankle and Almas with a back elbow for a near fall. Almas goes up top and goes for the double jump moonsault but Miz catches Almas and hits Skull Crushing Finale for the three count.
Winner: The Miz
After the match, Nakamura attacks Miz and hits Kinshasa.
Backstage:
Shane McMahon is in the back and he asks Apollo Crews and Matt Hardy if they have seen Chad Gable. Shane finds Chad and Chad asks about his opponent and Shane says Elias approves his pick. Shane leaves for a moment and returns and says that Gable will be facing… The best in the world, Shane McMahon.
– Mandy Rose makes her way to the ring as we go to commercial.
Mandy Rose (with Sonya Deville) vs. Nikki Cross (with Alexa Bliss)
Before the match, Mandy says she told Nikki Cross that she will never look like her. Mandy says she would be embarrassed to walk around looking like Nikki. Mandy says she is beautiful and Nikki is ugly.
Mandy shows a photo of her next to Nikki. Mandy says men open doors for her while they close the door for Nikki. Mandy says she is at the front of the line while Nikki is at the back of the line. Mandy says that Nikki looks like a rat from the Lincoln Tunnel.
Nikki runs to the ring and attacks Mandy before the bell rings. The match starts and Nikki with a cross body. Mandy kicks Nikki away but Nikki with a sleeper. Mandy backs Nikki into the turnbuckles to escape. Nikki with a cross body but Mandy catches her and hits a fallaway slam. Mandy gets a near fall. Mandy kicks Nikki in the corner. Mandy with a straitjacket choke. Mandy taunts Nikki while maintaining the choke. Nikki with a jawbreaker and a back elbow.
Nikki with a kick and Mandy tries to send Nikki into the turnbuckles but Nikki blocks it and Nikki sends Mandy into the turnbuckles. Nikki with forearms followed by a splash and bulldog. Nikki goes up top and Sonya goes to the apron but Alexa pulls Sonya off the apron. Nikki misses a cross body and Mandy misses a knee. Nikki with a rollup for the three count.
Winner: Nikki Cross
– We go to catering where Otis watches Tucker mix a smoothie and Otis drinks it. We go to commercial.
Heavy Machinery vs. John Silver and Alex Keaton
Knight and Keaton start off and Tucker with waist lock take downs and a slam. Knight with a hip toss. Silver tags in and Knight with a hip toss. Knight kicks Keaton. Tucker with an Irish whip and clothesline to Silver. Otis tags in and Otis with a splash to Silver and Keaton. Otis with the caterpillar. Tucker passes Silver to Otis for the Compactor and the three count.
Winners: Heavy Machinery
Backstage:
Shane is in the back talking to a production assistant. Kevin Owens enters the office and Kevin says Shane wanted to see him. Shane says Kevin asked him to reconsider the fine and as the benevolent leader, he is willing to eliminate the fine. Kevin wants to know what is the catch. Shane says it is a job. Shane gives Kevin a referee’s shirt. Shane says the King of the Ring Tournament means a lot to him. Shane says that Kevin’s family is important to him. If you do your job correctly, that fine goes away. Shane asks Kevin if he gets his drift. Kevin starts to ask Shane a question but he walks away dejected.
We go to commercial.
– We are back with a look at the Roman Reigns and Erick Rowan situation.
In the Arena:
Erick Rowan makes his way to the ring.
Rowan says all his life, people don’t seem to get him. All of you think that he is controlled by somebody and they tell him what to do… until last week. All of you need to look him in the eyes because you are afraid to look him in the eyes and see what it is that makes him tick. You need to look deep into these eyes to see who he is. He is a schemer and manipulator. All you see is a big brute who victimizes and terrorizes.
Roman Reigns‘ music plays and he makes his way to the ring.
Reigns hits the ring and immediately hits a Superman Punch, sending Rowan out of the ring. Rowan is right back up on his feet, staggering around. Reigns runs around the ring for a Spear but Rowan kicks him and then sends him into the barrier. Reigns rocks Rowan and sends him over the barrier into the crowd. They start brawling through the crowd now. They fight back to the ringside area and Reigns hits another Superman Punch. Security and officials run down to keep them apart but Reigns nails another Superman Punch as Rowan tries to come back over the barrier. Rowan gets up and lifts a fan in the air, then launches him at security, taking them all down. Rowan yells at officials now as they plead with him to back off. He says he has something to say. They back him off but Rowan runs around the ring, launching himself at Reigns and a few security guards. Rowan stomps on Reigns and drags him up the ramp.
Reigns rocks Rowan with right hands on the ramp. Rowan drops him. Fans boo as officials back Rowan off Reigns again. Reigns gets up and nails Rowan with another Superman Punch. Reigns knocks Rowan back onto the KOTR throne and beats on him. Fans chant for Roman some. Rowan grabs one of the long camera arms that hangs in the air and rams it back into Reigns and some of security. They go down. Rowan talks trash to Reigns about Sunday as a brief “holy s–t!” chant breaks out. We go to replays as officials check on Reigns and the security guards. Reigns slowly gets to his feet on the stage as fans cheer him on and chant his name. We go to commercial.
– We are back with a look back at Rowan’s attack on Roman Reigns on the stage. We see Rowan in the back and he mumbles that he is going to teach Roman.
Bayley vs. Ember Moon
Charlotte Flair is at the announce table to watch the next match.
Ember with a drop kick as the bell rings and then she lands on her feet on a hip toss. Ember with an arm drag to send Bayley to the floor. Bayley with a knee and she sends Ember to the timekeeper’s area but Ember stops and punches Bayley. Bayley with a forearm and kick. They return to the ring and Bayley gets a near fall. Bayley sends Ember into the turnbuckles. Bayley with a reverse chin lock. Bayley with an elbow to the back of the neck. Bayley with a biel to Ember and then Bayley with a running shoudler into the corner. Ember with a Codebreaker to a charging Bayley and both women are down.
Ember with forearms and kicks, ending with an enzuigiri. Ember with a running forearm into the corner followed by a springboard cross body for a near fall. Ember with a kick to the back and then Beyley with a rollup but Ember counters and gets a near fall. Bayley with a rana and knee to knock Ember off the apron. Bayley goes for a suicide dive but Ember with a kick to the shoulder. Ember comes off the turnbuckles but Bayley moves. Bayley with a belly-to-belly suplex for the three count.
Winner: Bayley
After the match, Charlotte enters the ring to have a moment with her opponent on Sunday. Charlotte points at the title belt and gesticulates that it will be hers. Charlotte offers a hug but Bayley leaves the ring.
– Kevin Owens is in the back and he is thinking about having to be the referee for Shane McMahon’s match against Chad Gable.
– We take a look back at what happened last week between Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton. We see Kofi Kingston looks at at the photo of him getting ready to hit the Boom Drop on Randy Orton ten years ago in Madison Square Garden. He walks into commercial.
In the Arena:
We are back and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston makes his way to the ring.
Kofi says it feels good to be back in the World’s Most Famous Arena. This building will always hold a special place in his heart because this building is where his career changed forever. This is where he stood up to one of the top superstars to prove that he belongs here. That is what happened when he whooped Randy Orton’s ass all over this building. The icing on the cake was when he laid Randy out and put his ass through a table. The entire arena, the entire city was chanting his name and he knew he would be back inside this ring as your WWE Champion and that day has come.
Kofi says he sees some kids in the crowd and they might not know what happened and some might have forgotten it. We take a look at the Boom Drop Kofi hit on Orton.
That is just a small taste of what he is going to do to Randy Orton at Clash of Champions when he remains your…
Orton starts to ‘Stupid’ and he says he can’t continue to listen to the two things that Kofi has done. Win the WWE Championship and that Boom Drop. Randy says he has won the WWE Title 7 times, won the Royal Rumble twice, and won Money in the Bank. Randy says he will win on Sunday. Whether it was that phony Jamaican accent or that Power of Positivity bulls***.
Kofi goes into the crowd to confront Orton and Orton hits Kofi with a chair. Orton sends Kofi into the guardrail and then he puts Kofi onto a table and Kofi escapes an IEDDT attempt. Kofi with punches and Kofi has the chair. Kofi hits Orton in the back with the chair and he does it again. Kofi pulls a table over. Kofi asks Orton if they want to relive history. Orton with punches and Kofi is on the table. Orton grabs the chair and Kofi kicks Orton. Kfoi with punches. Kofi gets another table. Kofi puts Orton on the table and Kofi hits Orton with the chair to send Orton back onto the table. Kofi goes to the railing and he hits another Boom Drop onto Orton.
We go to commercial.
Chad Gable vs. Shane McMahon in a King of the Ring Semifinal Match with Guest Referee Kevin Owens
We go to the ring for the final King of the Ring quarterfinals match as Chad Gable makes his way out. Shane McMahon is out next, replacing Elias, who is out with an ankle injury. The winner will face Baron Corbin in the KOTR finals on Sunday at the Clash pay-per-view. Kevin Owens is the special referee for this match.
The bell rings and Shane starts off picking on Gable’s height. They go at it some and Gable nails a Chaos Theory on Shane to get the easy pin from Owens.
Winner: Chad Gable
After the match, Gable celebrates and goes to leave. Shane takes the mic and says this is now a 2 of 3 Falls match. He has some words with Owens as Gable returns. Fans chant “asshole!” at Shane. Owens apologizes to Gable at ringside, allowing Shane to attack Gable from behind. Shane slams Gable’s face into the announce table over and over, then into the timekeeper’s area. We go to commercial.
2 of 3 Falls King of the Ring Match: Chad Gable vs. Shane McMahon
Back from the break and we have two falls left. Shane McMahon shows off after Chad Gable barely makes it back into the ring before the 10 count from Kevin Owens.
Shane works Gable around the ring for a few minutes. Gable turns it around and goes for a backslide pin but Owens won’t make the pin. Fans boo Owens. Shane recovers and goes for a pin on Gable, which Owens does a fast count for.
Shane goes back to beating Gable around. Gable mounts offense and unloads on Shane now. Gable with a spinning neckbreaker. Gable goes to the top and nails a moonsault, holding it for the pin but Owens is counting really slow. Shane still is barely able to kick out in time. Fans boo Owens, who is clearly conflicted.
Gable pleads with Owens and goes back to Shane but gets rocked. Shane comes with a clothesline to the back of the head. Shane with a TKO and a pin attempt. Owens counts much faster than usual but Gable still kicks out. Shane brings a steel chair into the ring but Owens stops him. They argue and Shane tells him it’s alright. Owens puts the chair out of the ring. Gable catches Shane and drops him into the ankle lock in the middle of the ring. Gable drops down and tightens the hold and Shane finally taps. Owens calls the match and Gable is announced as the winner.
Winner: Chad Gable
After the bell, Gable’s music hits and he celebrates by running around the ring. It’s revealed that the KOTR finals will take place on Monday’s RAW instead of the Clash of Champions pay-per-view. Gable vs. Baron Corbin is confirmed for the finals. Shane ends up attacking Owens from behind and beating him down. Owens destroys Owens as fans boo. Shane takes he mic and announces that Owens is fired. The announcers are stunned. SmackDown goes off the air with Shane standing over Owens as AEW chants begin to pick up in the MSG crowd.
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