SmackDown Live

SmackDown opens with a video showing Bryan's retirement speech a couple of years ago on Raw.
When we go live to the arena, Daniel Bryan comes out to alot of YES chants. He has a huge smile on his face as he climbs the ropes and points to the sky with the WWE Universe. Bryan looks around for a bit as the crowd chants his name before he thanks everyone. He starts by talking about the attack on Shane last week and informs the crowd he is still waiting for Owens and Zayn to show up. Then he talks about the day he was forced to retire.
Bryan gets a little choked up while talking about everything he has in his life to be thankful for. He says his wife was always there for him when he was depressed and sad and she helped him fight for his dreams. He recalls how she encouraged him to see specialist after specialist. The crowd chants "Thank you, Brie." 
Bryan says there were times when he wanted to quit and Brie kept encouraging him to fight for his dreams until it finally paid off. He talks about every doctor clearing him for competition and the crowd erupts with YES chants. He thanks the doctors and WWE for giving his case a second look and thanks everyone who has supported him through this tough journey. Bryan takes a moment to give a special thanks to Brie and says nobody can truly understand her level of support and he is grateful to her. Then he says it's time to move onto the fun stuff. He doesn't know when or where he will get back in the ring and the crowd points to the WrestleMania sign and starts chanting WrestleMania.
Bryan says he doesn't know if it will happen at Mania, but he will compete in a WWE ring again for sure. He end the segment with a Yes chant.

 Bryan is walking backstage after the break and he tells Charles Robinson to get KO and Zayn for him when they arrive. Ziggler walks up and congratulates Bryan before saying he can't wait to defeat him And Bryan says he can try before Ziggler walks away. 


Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev w/ AJ Styles at commentary 
Shinsuke Nakamura won 
Aiden English jumps Shinsuke from behind and AJ just sits and watches for a moment. He slowly hands his belt and vest to Graves before turning to walk to the ring. Nakamura manages to drive Rusev and English from the ring without his help.


Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin 
Baron Corbin won

Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya 
Carmella's music hits and she runs to the ring. Charlotte kicks her in the face before she can cash in and Nattie rolls the champ up for a quick pin.


Luke Harper vs. Jimmy Uso
Luke Harper won 

Jinder Mahal talks about being added to the U.S. title match at WrestleMania and takes credit for restoring glory to the WWE title. He says the fans continue to boo him for no reason, which bring out Bobby Roode, the other challenger in the U.S. Title Match.
Randy Orton eventually joins the party to share his thoughts. He says nobody respects Mahal because he can't win without help from his friends. Jinder looks like he is going to fight, but then he throws Sunil Singh into Orton for an RKO and runs away. Roode hits Singh with a Glorious DDT. Roode and Orton each counter the other person's finisher and come to a stalemate. Mahal points to the WrestleMania  sign while Orton and Roode back off their fight.


Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan 
Becky Lynch and Naomi won 

Daniel Bryan comes out after the break and calls out Owens and Zayn.
Owens says he and Zayn weren't even going to show up but then they heard about Bryan being cleared and decided they had to come congratulate him. Zayn says Bryan has always been fair to them when everyone else in the back tried to hold them back. Sami says the three of them together would be a dream team.
Bryan shows a replay of Owens and Zayn beating up Shane McMahon last week. KO gets a good laugh out of it. Bryan says this is a big deal and they should be taking it seriously. He calls them two of the best performers of this generation but says they crossed a line when they assaulted their boss.
Bryan says he doesn't want to have to do this, but he is forced to fire them. The crowd gives a split response to this news. Owens and Zayn look stunned. Bryan says they may be able to return one day and they mean a lot to him. He offers them his hand and Sami eventually shakes it. So does Owens, but then KO turns back and lays Bryan out with a running forearm. Zayn beats on Bryan mercilessly before Bryan manages to trip him. He puts Owens in the corner for the YES kicks and takes down Zayn with a German suplex. Bryan gets them in opposite corners for a series of running dropkicks.
Zayn grabs Bryan and Owens delivers a superkick. Several officials try to stop them, but Zayn lines up and nails him with a Helluva Kick. They bring Bryan outside the ring so Owens can hit him with a powerbomb onto the apron. 
The show ends with Bryan being loaded onto a stretcher while Owens and Zayn exit up the ramp. Bryan and Shane will likely unite to take them on in a tag match at WrestleMania.

Rating 90/90
Insane show and matches as we head to WrestleMania 34.