WWE News: What happened after SmackDown went off the air?
What's the story?
After SmackDown LIVE went off the air, the WWE Universe in Fresno, CA, were treated to a six-man tag team match, featuring Randy Orton, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura against the team of Erick Rowan, Dolph Ziggler and Jinder Mahal.
#SDLive Dark Match Photos [5/2/17] WWE Champion @RandyOrton, @AJStylesOrg and @ShinsukeN def @ERICKROWAN, @HEELZiggler, and @JinderMahal pic.twitter.com/nhJ71ElKuE
— The Orton Girl (@TheOrtonGirl) May 3, 2017
In case you didn't know...
WWE always puts on dark matches featuring the main-eventers of the respective brands. As of late the Blue brand has seen Shinsuke Nakamura and Ziggler take each other on in such matches after the camera stops rolling.
The heart of the matter
The babyfaces won the match after Orton RKO'd Erick Rowan to take the win.
#SDLive Dark Match VIDEO [5/2/17] @RandyOrton hits the RKO on @ERICKROWAN to pick up the win tonight pic.twitter.com/BBEva6dRgi
— The Orton Girl (@TheOrtonGirl) May 3, 2017
It was another action-packed episode of SmackDown, with the main event featuring a championship match-up between the United States Champion Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. Owens won the US Title after losing it to Jericho this past Sunday at Payback. After the match, Owens assaulted Jericho repeatedly and the EMTs were called to Y2J’s assistance.
Also, tonight, The Maharaja Jinder Mahal took on Sami Zayn in a singles contest and beat him with a little help from the Singh Brothers. Furthermore, Charlotte Flair alongside SmackDown Women's Champion Naomi took on Natalya and Carmella in a tag team match, that the heels won.
What's next?
With Chris Jericho out of his way, the now two-time US Champion Kevin Owens looks ahead at his next opponent, The Phenomenal AJ Styles. Dolph Ziggler, jealous of Nakamura's success will try to bring down The King of Strong Style at Backlash.
Charlotte, on the other hand, is set to take on The SmackDown Welcoming Committee, and The Viper Randy Orton looks towards defending his WWE World Championship against Jinder Mahal at Backlash.
Author's take
Tonight's SmackDown has set the stage for what's to come in the next few weeks leading to Backlash.
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