Season
WWE Friday Night SmackDown: Season 18
Overview
The 2016 WWE Draft changes the course of the blue brand forever as it becomes SmackDown LIVE with its exclusive Superstars, its own Tag Team and Women's Championships, and the home of the WWE Championship.
Details
- Series
- WWE Friday Night SmackDown
- Season
- Season 18
- Air date
- 2016-01-07
- Episodes
- 52 episodes
Episodes
Episode 1: January 7, 2016 (Laredo, TX)
On SmackDown's USA Network debut, Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens' Intercontinental Championship battle intensified into an uncontrollable fight, Charlotte and Becky Lynch's Divas Championship Match ended in controversial fashion and much more.
Episode 2: January 14, 2016 (Lafayette, LA)
SmackDown on USA Network’s huge triple main event lived up to the hype as The Dudley Boyz and Wyatt Family destroyed some tables, a championship changed hands and Dean Ambrose — alongside The Man That Gravity Forgot — turned the Cajundome into the Ambrose Asylum.
Episode 3: January 21, 2016 (Dayton, OH)
Roman Reigns battles The League of Nations, Dolph Ziggler & The Usos take on WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day and Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens come face-to-face on Miz TV.
Episode 4: January 28, 2016 (Tampa, FL)
In this week's SmackDown, Chris Jericho welcomes Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose on The Highlight Reel, Kalisto defends the United States Championship against Neville, AJ Styles makes his SmackDown debut and more.
Episode 5: February 4, 2016 (Memphis, TN)
With their WWE World Heavyweight Title No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Match at WWE Fastlane approaching, would Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose manage to stay on the same page against Alberto Del Rio & Rusev?
Episode 6: February 11, 2016 (Portland, OR)
On an action-packed episode of SmackDown, AJ Styles and Chris Jericho battled in an epic rematch, The Dudley Boyz made a shocking announcement and Sasha Banks delivered a statement to her former Team B.A.D. partners.
Episode 7: February 18, 2016 (Ontario, CA)
With the relationship between the brothers-in-arms uncertain, Brock Lesnar returned to SmackDown for the first time in 12 years and wreaked havoc on his WWE World Heavyweight Title No. 1 Contender Triple Threat Match adversaries.
Episode 8: February 25, 2016 (Indianapolis, IN)
As The Road to WrestleMania kicked into overdrive, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H made it clear that he is all about The Game, an 8-Man Tag Team turned into an absolutely slugfest for dominance, and SmackDown’s six-man main event proved to be one phenomenal showdown.
Episode 9: March 3, 2016 (Atlanta, GA)
Following two weeks of vicious assaults at the hands of Brock Lesnar and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, The Lunatic Fringe opened old wounds and a new chapter of his longstanding rivalry against Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens. Plus, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks battled for a chance at WrestleMania and Bray Wyatt set a Roadblock for The Beast.
Episode 10: March 10, 2016 (Milwaukee, WI)
On the final stop before WWE Roadblock, Dean Ambrose joined forces with Dolph Ziggler & The Usos in a huge 8-Man Tag Team Match against The Wyatts. Plus, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens’ friendship fell further into the rearview as their rivalry grew and Chris Jericho burned down AJ Styles’ WWE career in a symbolic fire.
Episode 11: March 17, 2016 (Cincinnati, OH)
On a SmackDown filled with big-fight feel, Roman Reigns predicted the destruction of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H at WrestleMania 32, Dean Ambrose called out Brock Lesnar to let him know where he can find him next Thursday and Chris Jericho burned AJ Styles in his main event clash against Kevin Owens.
Episode 12: March 24, 2016 (Boston, MA)
Just 10 days before WrestleMania, Brock Leaser, Dean Ambrose and The Wyatt Family went to war, the combatants of the WrestleMania Intercontinental Title Ladder Match fought for momentum and Roman Reigns continued to unleash his own vicious brand of authority.
Episode 13: March 31, 2016 (New York City, NY)
The Road to WrestleMania made its final stop on SmackDown as Dean Ambrose made a big statement before his battle with Brock Lesnar. Plus, Thursday’s hottest show provided a sneak peek of what WWE fans can expect this Sunday at WrestleMania 32.
Episode 14: April 7, 2016 (Houston, TX)
In the wake of WrestleMania, SmackDown featured WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, the return of Dean Ambrose from his Show of Shows clash against Brock Lesnar, the debut of The Vaudevillians, an Intercontinental Title rematch and a turbulent tag team main event.
Episode 15: April 14, 2016 (San Diego, CA)
On a SmackDown filled with turmoil, two more teams advanced in the No 1. Contenders’ Tag Team Tournament, sponsored by Booty-O’s, AJ Styles showed Alberto Del Rio he is worthy of his spot in the “big leagues” and Sami Zayn’s main event showdown with Chris Jericho involved some rowdy guest announcers.
Episode 16: April 21, 2016 (London, England)
SmackDown traveled across the pond with a hard-fought battle between the Phenomenal and the Awesome, a WrestleMania rematch and a fierce tag team main event showdown with huge WWE Payback implications.
Episode 17: April 28, 2016 (Manchester, NH)
On the final stop before the first pay-per-view of a New Era, The Big Dog battled The A-lister in a huge Champion vs. Champion Match, Natalya laid the verbal SmackDown on Charlotte and Ric Flair on a heated “Ambrose Asylum” and The League of Nations imploded amid Six-Man Tag Team action.
Episode 18: May 5, 2016 (Kansas City, MO)
A New Era of WWE came to Thursday night in chaotic fashion, as a tag team main event quickly descended into a fast-and-furious Six-Man Tag Team showdown.
Episode 19: May 12, 2016 (Des Moines, IA)
As WWE hurls toward Extreme Rules, SmackDown featured a vicious assault of insane proportions by Chris Jericho, chair-welding mayhem by Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, an eye-catching debut by Dana Brooke and a tag team showdown where no one could be trusted.
Episode 20: May 19, 2016 (Greenville, SC)
On the final stop before WWE’s craziest event of the year, Roman Reigns battled Luke Gallows in a huge main event showdown, the Intercontinental Title Fatal 4-Way combatants fought to land the final blow before Extreme Rules and The Lunatic Fringe gave The Ayatollah of Rock ’n’ Rolla a preview of his Asylum.
Episode 21: May 26, 2016 (Norfolk, VA)
In the wake the groundbreaking announcement that SmackDown will move to Tuesday nights beginning July 19 — airing live every week with its own distinct roster — big blue featured two explosive championship matches, a huge return and a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match.
Episode 22: June 2, 2016 (Rockford, IL)
SmackDown was chockfull of chaos as The Club made an emphatic statement at the expense of The New Day, “Money” competitors squared off in a tag team showdown and Natalya helped Becky Lynch even the odds against WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke.
Episode 23: June 9, 2016 (Wichita, KS)
As WWE prepared for a Money in the Bank pay-per-view that could very well rival WrestleMania, SmackDown featured a pair of outrageous tag team matches, a highly personal Women’s division contest, and a main event showdown pitting The Lunatic Fringe against “The Best in the World at What He Does.”
Episode 24: June 16, 2016 (Biloxi, MS)
On the final SmackDown before what could be the greatest Money in the Bank pay-per-view ever, Thursday night’s best show spun out of control with a Fatal 4-Way Match, a one-on-one showdown pitting The Phenomenal One against a WWE Tag Team Champion, and a manic main event collision between Money in the Bank Ladder Match competitors.
Episode 25: June 23, 2016 (Tucson, AZ)
On a fiery edition of SmackDown, Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn battled in an action-packed main event showdown, Sasha Banks showed the WWE Women’s Champion what happens when you attack The Boss, and The Club showed there’s strength in numbers.
Episode 26: June 30, 2016 (Miami, FL)
With SmackDown Live less than three weeks away, the second-longest-running weekly episodic television show in history showcased a Fatal 4-Way United States Title No. 1 Contender’s Match, a United States Championship Match and a Champion vs. Champion Match.
Episode 27: July 07, 2016 (Toledo, OH)
With WWE Battleground 10 days away and Superstars looking to improve their stock heading into the WWE Draft when SmackDown Live premieres on July 19, the second-longest weekly episodic television show in history went absolutely off the rails.
Episode 28: July 14, 2016 (Grand Rapids, MI)
As Superstars looked to raise their stock en route to Tuesday’s WWE Draft on the premiere of SmackDown Live, the final Thursday night edition of the blue brand proved to be a hotbed for all-out types of chaos.
Episode 29: July 19, 2016 (Worcester, MA)
WWE's New Era got off to a spectacular start on SmackDown Live's premiere, highlighted by a WWE Draft that was packed with eye-opening picks and a five-star WWE Championship Rematch between Dean Ambrose (representing SmackDown Live) and Seth Rollins (representing Raw). Find out which Superstars are now on Raw and SmackDown Live after the huge roster shakeup.
Episode 30: July 26, 2016 (Buffalo, NY)
SmackDown Live began the New Era with a Six-Pack Challenge, a high stakes Battle Royal and a serpentine showdown against the reigning Intercontinental Champion.
Episode 31: August 2, 2016 (Nashville, TN)
Dolph Ziggler fights to keep his SummerSlam spot intact while looking down Bray Wyatt in the main event of SmackDown Live.
Episode 32: August 9, 2016 (Bakersfield, CA)
With only two weeks before their SummerSlam clash for the WWE World Championship, Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler attempted to put their differences aside to take down Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan on SmackDown Live.
Episode 33: August 16, 2016 (Austin, TX)
John Cena looked to adjust AJ Styles’ attitude while Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler both looked for the tactical edge with SummerSlam only five days away.
Episode 34: August 23, 2016 (Uncasville, CT)
In the wake of SummerSlam, the SmackDown Women’s and Tag Team Championships were introduced as Bryan and Shane McMahon plotted towards crowning the first-ever champions at Backlash. Plus, Nikki Bell made her SmackDown Live debut and AJ Styles became the No. 1 contender to the WWE World Title while denying Ziggler that same chance.
Episode 35: August 30, 2016 (Dallas, TX)
With Backlash on the horizon, Dean Ambrose squared off against Baron Corbin - with his No. 1 Contender AJ Styles lurking in the shadows. Plus, reverberations from The Miz and Daniel Bryan’s explosive Talking Smack exchange on WWE Network carried over to SmackDown Live and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament continued with two more teams advancing onto the second round.
Episode 36: September 6, 2016 (Lincoln, NE)
With Backlash imminent, AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose both aimed to gain the mental (and physical) advantage ahead of their WWE World Championship showdown, the final two teams for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament were decided and the six women vying for the first SmackDown Women’s Championship all looked to make a statement.
Episode 37: September 13, 2016 (Philadelphia, PA)
John Cena returned to SmackDown LIVE and immediately changed the game for Team Blue. Meanwhile, The Miz continued to struggle for respect, a new No. 1 contender to the SmackDown Women’s Title was crowned and Heath Slater finally signed his SmackDown LIVE contract.
Episode 38: September 20, 2016 (Birmingham, AL)
After John Cena and Dean Ambrose battled intensely in the SmackDown LIVE main event, it was announced that Ambrose will square off against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship on SmackDown LIVE next week! Meanwhile, Intercontinental Champion The Miz put his title on the line against Dolph Ziggler, The Usos and American Alpha battled to become the SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 contenders and matters only got stranger between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt.
Episode 39: September 27, 2016 (Cleveland, OH)
John Cena took more than a front row seat as his No Mercy opponents AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose collided for the WWE World Title in a monumental SmackDown LIVE main event. Meanwhile, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton engaged in a game of cat and mouse, The Miz challenged Dolph Ziggler to put his career on the line at No Mercy and the Tag Team and Women’s divisions continued to be as explosive and unpredictable as ever.
Episode 40: October 4, 2016 (San Diego, CA)
WWE World Champion AJ Styles, John Cena and Dean Ambrose did not hold back in their face-to-face-to-face confrontation that proved extremely explosive. Elsewhere, the mind games between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt took a mysterious turn, the Tag Team and Women’s divisions rose to new heights and several rising stars of the New Era looked to make their mark on Team Blue.
Episode 41: October 11, 2016 (San Jose, CA)
Episode 42: October 18, 2016 (Denver ,CO)
Episode 43: October 25, 2016 (Green Bay, WI)
Episode 44: November 1, 2016 (Newark, NJ)
Episode 45: November 8, 2016 (Glasgow, Scotland)
Episode 46: November 15, 2016 (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
Episode 47: November 22, 2016 (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Episode 48: November 29, 2016 (Columbia, SC)
Episode 49: December 6, 2016 (Houston, TX)
Episode 50: December 13, 2016
Episode 51: December 20, 2016 (Detroit, MI)
Episode 52: December 27, 2016 (Chicago, IL)