Tonight’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown is live from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Michael Cole welcomes us and he’s joined at ringside by Wade Barrett. WWE announced The Usos vs. Sheamus and Butch for WWE Undisputed Tag Team Titles, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle’s birthday celebrations and more.

– The Usos defeated Butch and Sheamus via pinfall and successfully retained their WWE Undisputed Tag Team Titles. After the match, The Usos stand tall and regroup with Sikoa and Zayn at the bottom of the rampas Sheamus seethes.

– WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle at backstage walking with fellow Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. Braun Strowman greets Angle and Angle introduces him to Steveson. Strowman recognizes Steveson from the WWE Performance Center, and tells him to not take too long down there because we could use him up here on SmackDown. Strowman has some friendly words about Steveson getting these hands. Steveson says when he gets out of the Performance Center, Strowman will be the first one he comes to see. Strowman hugs Angle and wishes them a good night as he walks off. Angle and Steveson keep walking.

– LA Knight makes his way to the ring and The Bray Wyatt graphics flash on the screen. Michael Cole confirms John Cena’s return for the final SmackDown of 2022. Knight is in the ring now. He takes the mic but fans boo. Knight says he doesn’t recall asking the fans, so let him talk to you. He calls fans puppets when they start with the “What?!” chants. He says it’s obvious he struck a nerve and fear in Wyatt. He brings up how he gets blind-sided each week, but Wyatt denies it was him, and says if he did do it, there would be nothing left of Knight. 

Knight is calling Wyatt’s bluff because here he is. Knight says he has proof it was Wyatt. He shows us footage from three weeks go, when he was first attacked. All we see is the same footage as before, with officials pushing debris off Knight. He says that could be anyone, but let’s look at what happened right before. We see how Megan Morant interviewed him on his way out of the building that night. He stops the video and we see one of Wyatt’s masks in the background. Knight calls it one of Wyatt’s toys. He shows us footage from the other attack and pauses it, then shows us one of Wyatt’s other masks in the background. Knight says he already told Wyatt what he can do with his puppets, and he can do the same with his toys.

Uncle Howdy interrupts from the big screen now. The video flashes with happenings between Knight and Wyatt, Howdy’s face, and other images. Howdy asks Knight what he’s waiting for? Do it. Don’t you want to be respected, feared? He deserves to be punished. Do it. Let’s do it, man. He deserves it, do it now. He deserves to suffer. The door is closing. We go back to Knight in the ring now. He says if you need anymore evidence, you’d have to be a cross-eyed halfwit to not see it was Wyatt. Knight threatens to go back to the back and find Wyatt right now, yeah. He drops the mic and marches backstage.

– Michael Cole sends us to video from earlier tonight, which was already posted to Twitter. The video shows Cathy Kelley interviewing Legado del Fantasma about facing The Viking Raiders now. Shotzi screams out from the parking lot, and we see Shayna Baszler and SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey walking away. Shotzi had her hand slammed in a car door. She cries out as officials rush to check on her. 

Megan Morant is backstage with Baszler and Rousey now. She asks if they’ve taken things too far. Baszler asks what she’s implying, and says all we saw was Shotzi crying in pain on the ground. Rousey says Shotzi does this every week. Baszler says she could’ve fallen for all we know, or maybe she’s just unlucky like Natalya and Raquel Rodriguez. Rousey says or maybe she’s just fragile. Rousey says tell the China shop the bulls are coming. They go to walk off but Tegan Nox and Liv Morgan walk up. Liv says she can’t deny they make a good team, they’ve hurt several Superstars and pretty much beaten everyone… except us. Nox assumes the China shop is open. Baszler says if you mess with the bull, you get the horns. They have a few more words as the heels walk away.

– Legado Fel Fanstasma defeated Viking Raiders via disqualification after Hit Row attacking Legado Del Fantasma. After the bell, Legado del Fantasma are announced the winners but Hit Row beats them down at ringside. Dolla and Adonis hit the ring and attack Erik and Ivar with chairs now. Valhalla jumps on Adonis’ back, clawing at his eyes. B-Fab pulls her off and kicks her in the face, sending her to the floor. 

B-Fab follows and launches Valhalla onto Vega at the announce table. Wilde goes back in and leaps off the top but Dolla catches him in mid-air, then launches him to the mat from his shoulders. Hit Row kneels down and taunts Wilde while he sells in the middle of the ring now. Hit Row celebrate and taunt the others who are down at ringside trying to recover.

– LA Knight is walking at backstage now, looking for Bray Wyatt. He enters a dressing room and finds a Wyatt t-shirt hanging up. The lights go out. Knight turns on his phone flashlight, and a Wyatt mask appears. Knight shouts out in fear.

– We see Shinsuke Nakamura, Emma and Madcap Moss backstage at Kurt Angle’s birthday. They greet Angle and Gable Steveson. WWE Producer Jason Jordan walks up with a homemade card for Angle. The “father and son” reunite with a hug.

– Ricochet makes his way to the ring as Samantha Irvin does the introduction. Ricochet hits the ring as we get tonight’s Progressive Match Flo video, which looks at how Ricochet defeated Santos Escobar last Friday to win the SmackDown World Cup Tournament. We also see his post-match face-off with WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER. Cole confirms their title match for next Friday.

Ricochet is checking out his World Cup trophy, which is on display in the ring. The music interrupts and out comes Imperium – GUNTHER, Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser. They march to the ring for a contract signing to make Ricochet vs. GUNTHER official for next week’s SmackDown. Adam Pearce welcomes them and has them take a seat. Vinci and Kaiser stand behind GUNTHER. Before Pearce can finish his introduction, the music interrupts and out comes Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of The New Day.

Woods apologizes to Pearce for interrupting, but they wanted a front row seat to see everything here. Kofi knows how these work – eventually GUNTHER will get mad, then the rest of Imperium will get mad, and they will try to jump Ricochet, but we can’t have any of that. Woods plus their match at WWE NXT Deadline against NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly. Woods goes on about how they’ve come to have Ricochet’s back. Pearce dismisses the idea of every contract signing ending in physicality, but Woods gets him to agree. Fans chant for The New Day.

GUNTHER says he wants Ricochet to remember who took the title off him. GUNTHER has beaten Ricochet twice, proving he’s not worthy to hold the title. GUNTHER says next week he will beat Ricochet again, and do it in the worst way possible, and nothing can save him. GUNTHER says the difference between Imperium and Ricochet and his two goofs is that Imperium respects this great sport, and they are professional wrestlers, not performers. The crowd gave GUNTHER the “What?!” treatment the whole time. GUNTHER signs the contract. 

The New Day starts cracking jokes about GUNTHER saying Imperium has trouble performing. They say there are pills for that. They try to get a “Imperium can’t perform!” chant going. Ricochet stands up and addresses GUNTHER, saying he will give GUNTHER the fight of his life next week. GUNTHER stands and yells back. Pearce asks for a crew to come out and remove the furniture as things are heating up, but GUNTHER tosses the table out and Ricochet tosses a chair. 

Pearce calls for a referee to come out and make the match official as a brawl breaks out between the two sides. Vinci and Kaiser are sent to the floor. Ricochet dropkicks GUNTHER, then Woods and Kingston double dropkick him to the floor. The New Day and Ricochet pose in the ring now. Ricochet runs the ropes and leaps out, right as The New Day also flies out, and they take Imperium down. The babyfaces return to the ring as fans cheers.

– Ricochet and The New Day defeated IMPERIUM via pinfall. After the match, Ricochet and The New Day celebrates and GNTHER is on the apron now, staring down at Ricochet as Ricochet talks trash about how he will win next week.

– We go to backstage Kurt Angle’s birthday party. Alpha Academy tries to get in but security says they’re not on the list. Chad Gable can’t believe this, and wants the guy to keep checking. The Street Profits walk up and they are on the list, so they’re let into the party. Gable is not happy.

– The Bloodline at backstage and they’re all in a good mood and on the same page, ready to go out and eat. Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa leave, but Sami Zayn and Jey Uso stay behind a bit. Jey says with The Tribal Chief coming back next week, it might be good if Zayn trims his hair, shapes his facial hair up. Sami asks why. Jey says with how War Games went and with how Sami has been leveling up each week, he thinks it will be a big night for Sami next Friday in Chicago. Sami is a bit surprised but he’s excited as Jey walks off.

– Rey Mysterio at backstage working with a trainer on his leg injury. Scarlett and Karrion Kross walk in. The trainer says they can’t be here, then he steps away and calls for security. Kross says it’s not like that. He’s heard about Rey’s predicament, and came as soon as he could. He says Rey’s issue with son Dominik Mysterio is heartbreaking, Rey must be in hell. Rey agrees. Kross says Rey has demonstrated restraint, which counts for something… he turned the other cheek, turned the other page and came to SmackDown for a new beginning, but then he gets injured. 

Kross asks Rey if he knew Scarlett comes from Romania. He says life can be pretty rough for some people there, especially for a kid growing up. Rey looks uncomfortable in his chair. Kross tells a story Scarlett told him, which has stuck in his mind. He tells how Scarlett, as a kid, had a thoroughbred horse, a champion horse her family needed. Eventually the horse couldn’t run as fast as it once could or jump as high, but the family needed it so they strapped a cart to it, and it became a workhorse. Eventually it could no longer drag the cart… Scarlett never forgot the look in its eyes, the broken look when it realized it was totally useless. 

Kross says it’s always a sad thing to see when it gets to the point you have to put animals out of their misery. Two security guards walk in and ask if there’s a problem. Kross says no problem at all. Kross tells Rey to look at the time… Tick, Tock. Rey leans back in his chair and thinks it over as Kross and Scarlett walk out.

– We get a new “Back To Basics” vignette with Lacey Evans doing boot camp. A voice-over says most people choose comfort, safe choices and the easiest way. This training would break them within minutes, they’d be crying for mom or crawling back to the safety of their couch. Not you, you embrace the suck, you choose the hard way, you welcome pain. 

– Liv Morgan and Tegan Nox defeated Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey via pinfall after some interference from Raquel Rodriguez. After the match, the music hits as Nox and Morgan celebrate. Rodriguez stares at Rousey and Baszler from the stage. Rousey and Baszler look on from the ring and they’re not happy.

Kurt Angle thanks Pittsburgh for this birthday celebration. Before he can continue, the music hits and out comes Alpha Academy to interrupt – Chad Gable and Otis. Gable is still salty over Alpha Academy being left off the guest list for Angle’s backstage party. Gable says Angle didn’t want to get upstaged at his own party by a real Olympic hero. Gable says Angle is just petty, and pettiness sucks.

Gable says this is the only time he will say the fans are right, but they’re right when they chant “you suck!” at Angle. Fans boo. Gable and Otis are in the ring now. Gable says he sees Angle for what he’s really become – he has no integrity, he lost his intensity, and if he wants to keep a shred of the intelligence he has left, he will get the hell out of Alpha Academy’s ring because this celebration is over, and Otis is going to eat the birthday cake.

Fans chant “eat the cake!” now. Gable says Angle might end up with another broken freakin’ neck if he doesn’t leave. Thank you! Angle turns and leaves as Otis begins eating the cake. Gable, who is also eating the cake, continues taunting Angle and insulting him as he walks up the ramp to the stage. Angle stops and says if they’re going to eat all that cake, they’re going to need a lot of milk. Angle’s music starts up as Gable Steveson comes out riding a milk truck, with a driver dressed as a milk man. Angle also hops on the milk tuck as it drives down to ringside.

Kurt Angle and Steveson begin throwing bottles of milk from the floor to the ring, hitting Gable and Otis. A bottle knocks Otis in the head. Barrett isn’t happy with the milk bath, and Cole says he’s lactose intolerant. Angle then pulls out a large hose and drenches everyone in milk as Steveson cheers him on. Steveson and Angle bring a few bottles into the ring as Otis and Gable retreat. Angle and Steveson toast and chug milk as fans cheer them on. They then hit the corners to pose to a “you suck!” chant and Friday Night SmackDown goes off the air.