media

This is the Fightful.com live coverage for tonight's episode of WWE Smackdown! Live! Tonight the WWE Superstar Shakeup continues after 20 Superstars switched brands last night on RAW which saw the like a of Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and Natalya coming over to team red and The Miz being sent to the blue brand. Who will join RAW? Who will be taken from RAW and brought over to Smackdown! Live? Be sure to come back here at 8PM EST to find out these questions and more and don't forget to stick with us after the show for the post show podcast!
-We open the show with a recap of Shinsuke Nakamura attacking AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan last week before AJ comes out and talks about what Shinsuke did to him and how he showed his true colors. AJ says that Shinsuke is a con artist and talks about him ruining his match with Daniel Bryan before demanding that Shinsuke come out to the ring. Instead Rusev Day comes out and Aiden says that Shinsuke isn't there tonight. Aiden says that AJ..

Fightful.com's Sean Ross Sapp and Jeff Hawkins talk WWE Monday Night Raw for April 16 2018, and the WWE Superstar Shakeup!
For additional premium podcasts, the Fightful Weekender podcast, members only podcasts, outtake and behind the scenes footage, retro shows, Q&A shows, dark match commentary, early access to interviews and segments, subscribe to Fightful Select! www.FightfulSelect.com

What stars will be joining the blue-brand after an eventful night one of the 2018 WWE 'Superstar Shake-Up'?
* Jeff Hardy brings the WWE United States Championship back to SmackDown Live.
“The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy became a multi-time Grand Slam champion in WWE last night on RAW as he defeated Jinder Mahal to become the new WWE United States Champion. Tonight, SmackDown Live got a rush of adrenaline as Jeff Hardy returned to SmackDown for the first-time since competing in a “Loser Leaves WWE” World Heavyweight Championship match against CM Punk in 2009.
In a TWIST OF FATE, @JEFFHARDYBRAND has been shaken up to #SDLive, and he’s bringing his #USTitle with him! #SuperstarShakeup pic.twitter.com/vY1tgzQoug
— WWE (@WWE) April 18, 2018
Hardy's first appearance on the blue-brand in nine years kicked off by interrupting the former WWE United States Champion Randy Orton. Jeff breezed past Orton on his way to the ring to compete against and defeat a game Shelton Benj..

Night two of the WWE Superstar Shakeup is upon us, after the Raw brand saw over 20 superstars head to their show.
Fightful.com has learned that WWE United States Champion Jeff Hardy will debut for the Smackdown Live brand in a non-title match with Shelton Benjamin.
Former NXT Women's Champion Asuka will appear via graphic tonight, as will Big Cass as joining Smackdown.
The duo of Absolution's Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville have traded spots with the Riott Squadd, and will now appear on Smackdown Live. The GM of Smackdown Live is Paige, who was the leader of the group before her career-ending injury and subsequent retirement from the ring.
In one of the bigger switches of the Superstar Shakeup, Samoa Joe will debut for Smackdown in a match with Sin Cara. Joe has only appeared on Raw since his promotion to the WWE main roster last year, and is currently embroiled in a feud with Roman Reigns.
The Smackdown Live tag team division is getting a shot in the arm, as NXT's Sa..

This is the Fightful.com live coverage for tonight's episode of WWE 205 Live. Tonight 205 Live general manager Drake Maverick will address Buddy Murphy's attack on Cruiserweight champion Cedric Alexander last week, Lucha House Party take on Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa in a tornado tag match and much more so be sure to come back here at 10 PM EST after Smackdown! Live for an hour showcasing the WWE Cruiserweight brand!
Mustafa Ali vs Ariya Daivari
Ariya attacks Ali before the bell rings, then Ali hits a huricanrrana for a quick two count. Ariya catches Ali up top and pulls him off of the top and to the mat before starting to focus on his back. Ali comes back with a series of clotheslines, chops and elbows before going for his signature rolling neckbreaker, but Ariya counters it into a superkick. Ali dropkicks Ariya out of the ring before Ariya hits a spinebuster onto the floor when Ali goes out after him and rushes him. They get back in the ring and Ariya gets a quick two c..

The former NXT Tag Team Champions are coming to Smackdown.
During Smackdown, a vignette for Sanity played which had Eric Young talking about causing “Chaos” and ended with the Smackdown logo. The video only featured Eric Young making it unclear if all the members of Sanity will be joining Young but he did use the pronoun “we.” The other members of the group are Nikki Cross, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain.
WWE shared the following tweet with an animated GIF from the video.
Chaos is coming… #SDLive pic.twitter.com/FVng5J5cJ7
— WWE (@WWE) April 18, 2018
Later in the show, there was a graphic aired for Sanity which had Dain, Wolfe, and Young but no Nikki Cross. Wolfe and Dain tweeted “Sanity is coming” and “Chaos is coming” during Smackdown.
Prepare for inSAnitY… #SDLive #SuperstarShakeup #SAnitY@KillianDain @TheEricYoung @TheWWEWolfe pic.twitter.com/e3AJuVaglS
— WWE (@WWE) April 18, 2018
Sanity last appeared in a match on NXT in the semi-finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag T..

Smackdown has a seven-foot tall wrestler now.
Last August, Big Cass was injured during a match against Enzo Amore. The match was a Brooklyn Street Fight which was after Big Cass turned on his former tag team partner Amore. He tore his ACL which required surgery in August.
Tonight on Smackdown, Daniel Bryan was speaking to Renee Young backstage when Big Cass caught his attention. Big Cass made fun of Bryan's height and left quickly.
.@BigCassWWE has arrived on #SDLive, and he's wondering what the “big” deal about @WWEDanielBryan is… #SuperstarShakeup pic.twitter.com/BHErgfri4Y
— WWE (@WWE) April 18, 2018
.@BigCassWWE is BACK, and he’s on the BLUE BRAND! #SDLive #SuperstarShakeup pic.twitter.com/lXZoD4xJrV
— WWE (@WWE) April 18, 2018
During the main event match, Big Cass attacked Bryan.
After the brand split, Amore and Big Cass were on Raw so Big Cass has not been on Smackdown since June of 2016. He has never held a championship in NXT or WWE but he was beating wr..

Jeff Hardy will attempt his first title defense in Saudi Arabia.
On Raw, Jeff Hardy defeated Jinder Mahal for the WWE United States Championship right after Mahal joined Raw during the Superstar Shakeup. The next night, Hardy showed up on Mahal's old brand Smackdown.
Randy Orton had won a number one contender's match the week after WrestleMania 34 and was supposed to face Jinder Mahal at WWE Backlash. When Hardy won the championship, some thought it meant Orton would face Hardy. But, Hardy will have to win against Mahal at The Greatest Royal Rumble event.
WWE announced the United States Championship match on twitter alongside the Universal Championship match.
Two HUGE championship matches are set for #WWEGRR in Saudi Arabia NEXT FRIDAY! #SDLive @WWERomanReigns @BrockLesnar @HeymanHustle @JEFFHARDYBRAND @JinderMahal pic.twitter.com/hXQuBnZh2L
— WWE (@WWE) April 18, 2018
As of right now, both of the WWE mid-card title are being contested at the event in Saudi Arabia an..

Andrade Almas and Zelina Vega are coming to Smackdown.
The former NXT Champion and his business manager were featured in a video package during the Superstar Shakeup episode of Smackdown. Then WWE made it official in the following tweet.
#ElIdolo @AndradeCienWWE and his business manager @Zelina_VegaWWE are heading to #SDLive! #SuperstarShakeup pic.twitter.com/CVsYBwi5lL
— WWE (@WWE) April 18, 2018
After the announcement, Almas made the following statement on Twitter.
El Idolo and La Muñeca have arrived!!! #SmackdownLive ————
— Andrade Cien Almas (@AndradeCienWWE) April 18, 2018
Almas did appear in the 2018 Royal Rumble where he lasted almost thirty minutes but went back to NXT to defend his championship. He lost that title at NXT Takeover: New Orleans to Aleister Black.
The Mexican Luchador has been with WWE since 2016 and before then predominantly wrestled for the Lucha Libre promotion CMLL.
Vega has wrestled in the past and on some NXT house shows but she has not..

Here's the full list of competitors who made the jump to Tuesday night's.
Tonight's SmackDown Live played host to night-two of the 2018 WWE 'Superstar Shake-Up'. There were a number of major players added to the blue-brand. Also, the newly-crowned SmackDown Live Women's Champion Carmella discovered that she now has a slew of new challengers that are gunning for her title.
SmackDown Live's Acquisitions:
* The Miz
* Jeff Hardy
* Sonya Deville
* Mandy Rose
* Samoa Joe
* Big Cass
* Eric Young
* Alexander Wolfe
* Killian Dain
* Asuka
* Karl Anderson
* Luke Gallows
* Cesaro
* Sheamus
* R-Truth
* Andrade “Cien” Almas
* Zelina Vega

Fightful did have live coverage of tonight's SmackDown Live, along with a post-'Superstar Shake-Up' podcast with our very own Sean Ross Sapp, Alex Pawlowski, and Jeff Hawkins. Also, head over to our detailed coverage of night-one of the 2018 WWE 'Superstar Shake-Up' to catch up on what ..

Who will be the first man to attempt to put an end to the “Age Of Alexander”?
At WrestleMania 34 Cedric Alexander realized his dream after months of being on the hunt as he captured the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in a hard-fought battle against Mustafa Ali. Although Cedric would have liked to celebrate his championship victory, a threat to his title immediately arose in the form of “The Best Kept Secret” Buddy Murphy.
Since Murphy's debut on 205 Live he has had to have this weight checked due to him barely being under the 205 weight limit. On tonight's edition of 205 Live Murphy, who was in position to challenge Alexander for the title did not make weight and will have to re-qualify at a later date to return to the brand.
THE BAD NEWS: Unfortunately, @WWE_Murphy was unable to make the 205-pound weight limit; therefore, he must wait for a later date to re-qualify for in-ring competition in the #Cruiserweight division. #205Live pic.twitter.com/eTUq3teS7g
— WWE (@WWE) Ap..

The “dream match” will have a sequel.
Since falling short to AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34 Shinsuke Nakamura has been on a tirade of handing out “low-blows” to “The Phenomenal One”. The sneak attacks continued last night on SmackDown Live as Nakamura delivered another cheap shot to AJ Styles while Styles' attention was locked in on the action in the ring while he was standing on the ring apron during a tag team match.
There will be no more room for “low-blows” come April 27th as “The King Of Strong Style” looks to become WWE Champion. WWE announced via Twitter that at the 'Greatest Royal Rumble' event at the King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura.
#WWEChampion @AJStylesOrg defends his title against @ShinsukeN in a #WrestleMania rematch at #WWEGRR on April 27! https://t.co/zVHUOB2j54
— WWE (@WWE) April 18, 2018
Fightful will have live coverage of the 'Greatest Royal Rumble..