History Awesome / WWESmackDown

* '''August 7, 2020:''' Throughout the night, there had been several technical problems which were blamed on "RETRIBUTION" (a black clad, ski-mask wearing quartet that had also been seen briefly on RAW earlier that week). Near the end of the show, [[PowerStable RETRIBUTION]] comes out, wielding pipes & [[BatterUp bats]] and proceeds to go after everyone; the commentators, ringside crew, the developmental talent, [[note]] Since they film their shows at the Performance Center due to the COVID-19 outbreak, WWE uses their developmental wrestlers as the audience on their shows now. [[/note]] akin to the [[FanNickname NXT Riot]], but with no tie choking. The group then lays waste to the arena, tipping over the announce table, spray painting parts of the set and ''[[ChainsawGood taking a chainsaw to the ring ropes]],'' showing that RETRIBUTION is here and they mean business. [[note]] Could also overlap with {{Narm}} as it's not clear what exactly the group's goals are beyond wanton destruction and no less than Wrestling/ShaneHelms pointed out on his Twitter account that nobody bothered to do anything to stop them, despite the group being literally five people. [[/note]]

* '''August 5, 2022:''' The first [=SmackDown=] of the Wrestling/TripleH era showed that Hunter was not done with the big surprises, as in the midst of Wrestling/RomanReigns celebrating his win over Wrestling/BrockLesnar at [=SummerSlam=], Wrestling/DrewMcIntyre heads down to remind of his next challenge. Before Drew can take the fight to the Tribal Chief however, he's attacked from behind by ''Karrion Kross'', returning after being released several months ago. In contrast to his main roster debut the previous year where despite being NXT Champion, he wore a terrible mask and jobbed to Wrestling/JeffHardy in less than a minute, his return saw him brutalize the Scottish Psychopath, and with it telling Roman that doomsday was near for him.
** Also of note, Kross didn't come alone; Scarlett was with him.

* '''May 24, 2001:''' The first 4 way TLC match containing TLC staples Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}}, the Hardys, Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys, and new Tag Team Champions Wrestling/ChrisJericho and Wrestling/ChrisBenoit. Unfortunately has been largely overlooked due to it being announced only in the beginning of the night, not on pay-per-view, and since 2007... Everyone gets at least one shining moment, including both Hardys taking huge dives off the ladder, Jericho putting Edge in the Walls of Jericho on top of two ladders, and most notably Chris Benoit injuring himself going for a diving headbutt on Matt Hardy (he was on a table and then moved), and then coming back to grab the titles once everyone has destroyed each other.

* '''December 25, 2003:''' The 2003 "Christmas in Baghdad" special of "Smackdown" opened with Vince [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=478rGkLui_A thanking the troops]] for all they've done on behalf of America. This troper was moved the first time he saw this that day, as the soldiers then showed how much the WWE coming on Christmas Day was greatly appreciated. Could also double as CMOH as it was the first time the WWE began what would be a long-running tradition to honor and entertain the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

* '''July 22, 2011''': Coming out of the reigns of Money in the Bank 2011, the show was filled with awesome scenes. [=Christian=] vs. Ezekiel Jackson was spot on, [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]]'s challenge to cash in Money in the Bank on Wrestlemania, the (possible) teaser on [[spoiler: Kane's old mask]], and Kane vs. Randy Orton in a Street Fight made for a very made show.

* '''January 28, 2016:''' Seeing [[spoiler:Wrestling/AJStyles]] on ''[=SmackDown=]'' (and win his match against Wrestling/CurtisAxel by using the [[spoiler:Styles Clash]]) was every bit as surreal as it was seeing him on ''Raw''.

-->'''Edge:''' ''[[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry I hate you. Hate...hate is a strong word, but it sums up everything I feel for you, Cena!]] [[FoeYay I hate your hat, I hate your T-shirts, I hate your wristbands, I hate your shoes, I hate your music, I hate the Cenation... I HATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU STAND FOR!]]''

* '''November 25''': [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Mark Henry, who has been laid out by The Big Show and wins. Unfortunately Teddy Long comes out and says it doesn't count since Mark wasn't cleared to compete, and takes away the Title from him, gives back the briefcase, since the match technically didn't happen. At the end of the night, Daniel Bryan is the winner of a Fatal 4 Way and no. 1 contender for the World Championship.

** The first was an unbelievable video montage of the [[Wrestling/CMPunk Punk]]/Bryan/[[Wrestling/ZackRyder Ryder]] trio, chronicling their struggles and recent championship wins, as well as clips from the previous RAW, where the three were teamed together in a 6-man Tag Match and all three entered through the white-hot Philly crowd. To top it all off, the entire thing was set to the most appropriate of songs, Music/{{Switchfoot}}'s "Dark Horses."

* '''November 25''': Daniel Bryan cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Mark Henry, who has been laid out by The Big Show and wins. Unfortunately Teddy Long comes out and says it doesn't count since Mark wasn't cleared to compete, and takes away the Title from him, gives back the briefcase, since the match technically didn't happen. At the end of the night, Daniel Bryan is the winner of a Fatal 4 Way and no. 1 contender for the World Championship.

** The first was an unbelievable video montage of the [[Wrestling/CMPunk Punk]]/[[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Bryan]]/[[Wrestling/ZackRyder Ryder]] trio, chronicling their struggles and recent championship wins, as well as clips from the previous RAW, where the three were teamed together in a 6-man Tag Match and all three entered through the white-hot Philly crowd. To top it all off, the entire thing was set to the most appropriate of songs, Music/{{Switchfoot}}'s "Dark Horses."

* '''November 1, 2019''': With much of the roster stuck in Saudi Arabia after Crown Jewel, WWE was forced to improvise. Using a few wrestlers who hadn't gone such as Daniel Bryan and most of the women's roster, along with several NXT wrestlers, they managed to pull off a seemless NXT invasion storyline that culminated in NXT dominating the main roster, including NXT champion Adam Cole beating Daniel Bryan cleanly in the main event.

* '''July 16, 2021:''' The fact that this episode will mark both the end of the [=ThunderDome=] Era, and the long-awaited return to live touring.

* '''March 14, 2020:''' The spread of COVID-19 in the US meant that all WWE shows for the forseeable future will be done to empty arenas. While surreal for such an audience heavy medium like pro-wrestling, this ended up allowing Bray Wyatt to deliver a [[https://twitter.com/meakoopa/status/1239131459572596736 genuinly terrifying monologue]] to John Cena that ends up playing better without the crowd chanting that would otherwise render a promo like this awkward.

* '''August 1 2008:''' After being begged by [=Edge=] to help him deal with Wrestling/HellInACell with The Undertaker, Mick Foley says no while actually helping him at the same time [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPLlRO8noRs&fmt=18 in that most beautiful way]] that only Foley can do. Edge's reply? "[[WorldOfCardboardSpeech I understand.]]"

* '''June 18, 2021:''' The [[Wrestling/HellInACell]] match between Wrestling/RomanReigns and [[Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr Rey Mysterio]] was quite a surprise, as it marked the first time a Hell in a Cell match has been featured on WWE programming outside of pay-per-view since the August 24, 1998 episode of ''Raw''. The match was a real treat for fans tuning in for the blue brand, as it gave them a chance to enjoy a PPV caliber match on free television. Both Roman and Rey delivered as expected, with Roman playing the big bad bully to Mysterio's ultimate underdog. While the finish was ever in doubt, the match featured enough hope spots that it wasn't a {{squash|match}}, and it made for a great main event.

** '''WELLLLLLL....''' The Big Show made a surprise return from injury and in the space of just four minutes, proceeded to ''single-handedly destroy EVERY SINGLE MEMBER'' of the [=SmackDown=]! roster. Punches, kicks, guys tossed into the barricade and ring steps, Spike tossed over the top rope onto the other Dudley Boyz, Chokeslams for Cena, Charlie Haas, Nunzio, Guerrero, Angle and finally Reigns. It all ended with the shot of the Big Show standing tall in the ring with over twenty guys laid out around him, a true monster dominant.

* '''February 4, 2011:''' Thanks to the machinations of Vickie Guerrero, [=Edge=] and Wrestling/KellyKelly were forced to defend Edge's World Heavyweight Championship in a mixed-tag team match against Dolph Ziggler, Michelle [=McCool=], and Layla. If Edge used the Spear, he would have instantly lost the title to Dolph Ziggler; if either Edge or Kelly Kelly had been pinned or made to submit, the title would have been Dolph's. Despite ''everyone'' thinking Kelly was going to be a liability to the "Rated R Superstar", Kelly actually won the match by pinning Layla after nailing her with a Spear. The unlikely end result of this? ''Kelly Kelly can actually say that she successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship.'' (She also got [[{{Kayfabe}} fired]] by Vickie Guerrero for winning the match though, but was rehired at Elimination Chamber later that month.)

* '''April 4, 2017''': THE KING OF STRONG STYLE HAS ARRIVED ON SMACKDOWN! Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura makes his debut, interrupting Wrestling/TheMiz (Who was parodying John Cena). Miz, by no means an idiot, bolted as soon as Nakamura got in the ring.

* '''August 7, 2020:''' Throughout the night, there had been several technical problems which were blamed on "Retribution" (a black clad, ski-mask wearing quartet that had also been seen briefly on RAW earlier that week). Near the end of the show, [[PowerStable Retribution]] comes out, wielding pipes & [[BatterUp bats]] and proceeds to go after everyone; the commentators, ringside crew, the developmental talent, [[note]] Since they film their shows at the Performance Center due to the COVID-19 outbreak, WWE uses their developmental wrestlers as the audience on their shows now. [[/note]] akin to the [[FanNickname NXT Riot]], but with no tie choking. The group then lays waste to the arena, tipping over the announce table, spray painting parts of the set and ''[[ChainsawGood taking a chainsaw to the ring ropes]],'' showing that Retribution is here and they mean business. [[note]] Could also overlap with {{Narm}} as it's not clear what exactly the group's goals are beyond wanton destruction and no less than Wrestling/ShaneHelms pointed out on his Twitter account that nobody bothered to do anything despite the group being literally five people. [[/note]]

* '''August 7, 2020:''' Throughout the night, there had been several technical problems which were blamed on "Retribution" (a black clad, ski-mask wearing quartet that had been also been seen briefly on RAW earlier that week). Near the end of the show, [[PowerStable Retribution]] comes out, wielding pipes & [[BatterUp bats]] and proceeds to go after everyone, the commentators, ringside crew, the developmental talent, [[note]] Since they film their shows at the Performance Center due to the COVID-19 outbreak, WWE uses their developmental wrestlers as the audience on their shows now. [[/note]] akin to the [[FanNickname NXT Riot]], but with no tie choking. The group then lays waste to the arena, tipping over the announce table, spray painting parts of the set and ''[[ChainsawGood taking a chainsaw to the ring ropes]],'' showing that Retribution is here and they mean business. [[note]] Could also overlap with {{Narm}} as it's not clear what exactly the group's goals are beyond wanton destruction and no less than Wrestling/ShaneHelms noted on his Twitter account that it comes off as unbelievable that everyone was scared off by literally five people. [[/note]]

* '''August 7, 2020:''' Throughout the night, there had been several technical problems which were blamed on "Retribution" (a black clad, ski-mask wearing quartet that had been also been seen briefly on RAW earlier that week). Near the end of the show, [[PowerStable Retribution]] comes out, wielding pipes & [[BatterUp bats]] and proceeds to go after everyone, the commentators, ringside crew, the developmental talent, [[note]] Since they film their shows at the Performance Center due to the COVID-19 outbreak, WWE uses their developmental wrestlers as the audience on their shows now. [[/note]] akin to the [[FanNickname NXT Riot]], but with no tie choking. The group then lays waste to the arena, tipping over the announce table, spray painting parts of the set and [[ChainsawGood ''taking a chainsaw to the ring ropes'']], showing that Retribution is here and they mean business. [[note]] Could also overlap with {{Narm}} as it's not clear what exactly the group's goals are beyond wanton destruction and no less than Wrestling/ShaneHelms noted on his Twitter account that it comes off as unbelievable that everyone was scared off by literally five people. [[/note]]

* March 14, 2020: The spread of COVID-19 in the US meant that all WWE shows for the forseeable future will be done to empty arenas. While surreal for such an audience heavy medium like pro-wrestling, this ended up allowing Bray Wyatt to deliver a [[https://twitter.com/meakoopa/status/1239131459572596736 genuinly terrifying monologue]] to John Cena that ends up playing better without the crowd chanting that would otherwise render a promo like this awkward.
* June 5, 2020: Miz and Morrison, who in the weeks prior, stated they would make [[BullyingaDragon Braun Strowman's life hell]]. They definitely succeed in making him angry. Eventually, Braun finds the two hiding in a white van, [[TemptingFate where the pair think they are safe.]] But, of course, Braun proves them wrong by flipping the van over with them inside. Doubles as a funny moment when you see [[OhCrap Miz and Morrison freaking out.]]
* '''August 7, 2020:''' Throughout the night, there had been several technical problems which were blamed on "Retribution" (a black clad, ski-mask wearing quartet that had been also been seen briefly on RAW earlier that week). Near the end of the show, [[PowerStable Retribution]] comes out, wielding pipes & [[BatterUp bats]] and proceeds to go after everyone, the commentators, ringside crew, the developmental talent [[note]] Since they film their shows at the Performance Center due to the COVID-19 outbreak, WWE uses their developmental wrestlers as the audience on their shows now. [[/note]] akin to the [[FanNickname NXT Riot]], but with no tie choking. The group then lays waste to the arena, tipping over the announce table, spray painting parts of the set and ''taking a chainsaw to the ring ropes'' showing that Retribution is here and they mean business. [[note]] Could also overlap with {{Narm}} as it's not clear what exactly the group's gimmick is beyond wanton destruction and no less than Wrestling/ShaneHelms noted on his Creator/{{Twitter}} account that no one on the roster could be bothered to come out and deal with literally five people. [[/note]]

* '''February 4, 2011:''' Thanks to the machinations of Vickie Guerrero, [=Edge=] and Wrestling/KellyKelly were forced to defend Edge's World Heavyweight Championship in a mixed-tag team match against Dolph Ziggler, Michelle [=McCool=], and Layla. If Edge used the Spear, he would have instantly lost the title to Dolph Ziggler; if either Edge or Kelly Kelly had been pinned or made to submit, the title would have been Dolph's. Despite ''everyone'' thinking Kelly was going to be a liability to the "Rated R Superstar", Kelly actually won the match by pinning Layla after nailing her with a Spear. The unlikely end result of this? ''Kelly Kelly can actually say that she successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship.'' (She also got [[{{Kayfabe}} fired]] by Vickie Guerrero for winning the match.) Good riddance.

* June 5, 2020: Miz and Morrison, who in the weeks prior, stated they would make [[BullyingaDragon Braun Strowman's life hell]]. They definitely succeed in making him angry. Eventually, Braun finds the two hiding in a white van, [[TemptingFate where the pair think they are safe.]] But, of course, Braun proves them wrong by flipping the van over with them inside. Doubles as a funny moment when you see Miz and Morrison freaking out.

** The second was the tag team match that featured Bryan and The Big Show against Dolph Ziggler and Wrestling/JackSwagger. (It had started as an awesome singles match between Bryan and Ziggler and then got chaotic when Swagger ran out to support Ziggler and Big Show came out to even the odds.) The match appeared to be over when Jack Swagger caught Daniel Bryan in the middle of the ring with the Ankle Lock. Then Bryan rolled through and caught Swagger's arm for the [[FinishingMove Lebell Lock]] in [[HolyShitQuotient one fluid motion]] and the crowd ''exploded.''

* '''January 8, 2019''': Wrestling/ReyMysterio and Mustafa Ali team up against Wrestling/SamoaJoe and Wrestling/AndradeCienAlmas in a blistering tag-team match, where the two experienced luchadors steal the show. Special mention goes to Mysterio hitting Almas with a '''[[HolyShitQuotient CANADIAN DESTROYER]]'''! Keep in mind, piledrivers of almost any kind are normally banned on WWE TV, with this version being especially dangerous given how both the one giving and receiving it need to be in perfect sync. And yet both of them pulled it off beautifully, showing off just why the two are among the best in the business. The match eventually ends with Almas countering Rey's 619 into his Hammerlock DDT, picking up the win for his team.