Smackdown Live | A WWE 2K19 Universe

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Introducing: Kyle O'Reilly

Kyle O’Reilly covers the ground he struts on. He’s a wisecracking striker extraordinaire whose cocksure stride is owed to his near-flawless execution inside the ring.

O’Reilly spent more than a decade perfecting his craft before coming to NXT in 2017. With an extensive background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and other martial arts, O’Reilly had become a master striker and submission specialist by the time he made it to the black-and-gold brand.

Falling in with The Undisputed ERA almost immediately upon his arrival, O’Reilly was a pivotal part of the group’s machinery from day one. The hard-hitting Canadian won the NXT Tag Team Championship multiple times with Bobby Fish and defended it alongside fellow Undisputed ERA members Adam Cole and Roderick Strong. And although the tag ranks are where he excelled early on, O’Reilly emerged as an NXT Championship contender in 2020. His bid to dethrone Finn Bálor at TakeOver 31 was unsuccessful, but it earned O’Reilly praise from every corner of the industry.

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Introducing: Luke Gallows

When you’ve conquered the world, only WWE remains.

A former WWE Superstar who reinvented himself and achieved worldwide notoriety overseas, Luke Gallows returned to WWE to right some wrongs, and he brought a good brother with him.

Along with Karl Anderson, who ran with Gallows in Japan and came with him to WWE, this near-seven-footer is the kind of no-frills brawler who can turn giants into ants and ants into smears on the pavement. He and Anderson proved as much at Royal Rumble 2017, when the fearsome duo captured Raw's Tag Team Championship from Cesaro & Sheamus.

In summer 2019, Gallows & Anderson reunited with longtime running buddy AJ Styles to form The O.C., refocusing on what originally made them one of the most feared pairings in all of sports-entertainment. The renewed partnership quickly paid dividends as Gallows & Anderson captured the Raw Tag Titles before SummerSlam 2019 and captured the WWE Tag Team World Cup to become the best tag team in the world by winning a Tag Team Turmoil Match against eight other tandems.

Gallows & Anderson are a force to be reckoned with, and their focus never waivers from being mean and making green. Now isn't that just too sweet?

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Introducing: Mike Kanellis

The power of love can conquer all … and Mike Kanellis is here to prove it.

Mike made his WWE debut alongside his wife Maria Kanellis at WWE Money in the Bank, and the adoring couple have made it clear that they have come forth to to guide the WWE Universe in the power of love. Equipped with Tony Robbins-like microphones, an unbelievably catchy theme song and more passion than the rest of the civilized world combined, Maria and Mike are here to demonstrate what true love really looks like.

Whenever he steps inside the squared circle, he will undoubtedly look to prove that true love can hurt.

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Introducing: Mustafa Ali

Mustafa Ali is a Superstar will the unique ability to enthrall audiences with his tremendous ability ... or in the case of RETRIBUTION, help to unleash utter destruction on WWE.

For more than a decade, Ali pursued his dream of making it as a WWE Superstar, competing on the independent scene while working as a police officer in Chicago and starting a family. Barely squeaking his way into the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic after being announced as an alternate, Ali displayed a dogged perseverance that eventually took him all the way to a bout for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Cedric Alexander at WrestleMania. Although he was narrowly edged by his friend, Ali had the capacity crowd in the palm of his hand from bell to bell.

Ali moved from 205 Live to SmackDown LIVE and wasted no time turning heads, as he scored an incredible pinfall victory against then-WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in a tag team match. No stranger to thrilling moments inside the squared circle, Ali puts his extensive in-ring ability on full display when he executes the jaw-dropping 054, a reverse 450 splash on the blue brand. But it wasn't enough to prevent the inevitable chaos that was to come.

Beginning in the summer of 2020, the lights begin to flicker across WWE, an unsettling sign that the masked group known as RETRIBUTION was about to unleash its unique form of anarchy, destroying the ring with chainsaws, smashing windows with cinderblocks, setting fire to generators, attacking announcers and taking out basically anyone who dared to get in their way.

Soon revealed as the leader of the nefarious group, Ali has led the intimidating faction of SLAPJACK, MACE, T-BAR and RECKONING in a rivalry against The Hurt Business as they continued to work toward their mission of destroying WWE and all of its Superstars.

If the wreckage is vast, Mustafa Ali and the forces of RETRIBUTION consider it a successful night.

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Introducing: Roman Reigns

For some, one versus all sounds like an unwinnable contest, a hellish punishment or a never-ending nightmare. For Roman Reigns, it was just another day at the office. Or in the case of The Big Dog, another day at the "Head of the Table."

The agile, imposing juggernaut has been told his entire life that he cannot accomplish his goals. And since day one of his arrival in WWE, he has proven his naysayers wrong in the language of broken bodies and shattered Superstars who thought they had his number. Whether it was finishing opposing teams off as the enforcer of The Shield or steadily grinding his way toward the WWE Championship as a solo competitor, Reigns has made a lasting impression on anyone who’s come into contact with him.

On his own, The Big Dog has never turned away from a challenge and has proved himself time and time again, battling everyone from Brock Lesnar to John Cena to a WrestleMania showdown with The Undertaker that brought the legendary Deadman his second loss at The Showcase of the Immortals.

At SummerSlam 2018, Reigns finally vanquished his greatest rival when he defeated Brock Lesnar to win the Universal Title. He then set out to be what he had always been, a fighting champion. That all changed on the Oct. 22 edition of Monday Night Raw, when Reigns announced that the leukemia that he had lived with for 11 years had returned. Because of this, he relinquished the Universal Title and returned home to fight it. Thankfully, Reigns' battle was a successful one, and he returned to Raw with renewed focus, The Big Dog battled Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 35 and defeated The Scottish Psychopath, proving that he was as powerful as ever.

However, after missed several months in 2020, The Big Dog made a startling return after "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, ruthlessly attacking both men in a moment that no one saw coming. From there, Reigns enlisted the assistance of Paul Heyman as his special counsel, recaptured the Universal Title in a Triple Threat Match against The Fiend and Strowman, subjected his cousin Jey Uso and became firmly entrenched as the face of Friday Night SmackDown.

Roman Reigns calls himself “The Head of the Table” who provides for all and puts food on the table, and he refuses to accept anything less than complete respect from any Superstars that come in his “Island of Relevancy.” And he has shown time and time again that those who show him or his family disrespect will pay a very painful price.

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Introducing: Rowe

The War Raiders, Hanson and Rowe have one objective in mind: World domination.

For years, The War Raiders used brute force to capture tag team titles wherever they went, from the U.K. to Japan. Looking to devour new competition, Hanson & Rowe turned their attention to the NXT Tag Team scene in early 2018. Their impact was felt immediately, as The Viking Raiders arrived by surprise to unleash a barrage on two of the black-and-yellow brand’s top tandems, Heavy Machinery and Riddick Moss & Tino Sabbatelli, less than one week after NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.

Hanson & Rowe, whose gruff exteriors would look right at home beyond the wall in “Game of Thrones,” have made smash-mouth collisions their stock in trade. Yet, Ivar, a protégé of WWE Hall of Famer Killer Kowalski, is also deceptively agile for a man of his size. Every bit as athletic as he is ferocious, the 300-pounder has been known to come crashing down on opponents from the top rope.

After going undefeated for several months on Raw, Hanson and Rowe captured the Raw Tag Team Titles in a thorough thrashing of Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode.

On their quest to prove they were the most dominant force on Raw, The War Raiders found themselves in an "anything you can do, I can do better" series of competitions against The Street Profits after WrestleMania 36, revealing a different side and set of skills for the "kinda cute" Ivar and his teammate Erik.

All other tag teams better beware.

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Introducing: Sami Zayn

A Canadian-born Superstar of Syrian descent, Sami Zayn brought with him an experience level matched by few when he arrived in WWE. After all, how many Superstars can say they have competed in a staggering 29 countries?

These days, Zayn is known on SmackDown as the self-proclaimed "Master Strategist" after winning a number of matches utalizing such methods as trapping his opponents in the ring apron or making them chase him under the ring in order to secure a count-out victory. Moreover, he holds the strong belief that there is a WWE-wide conspiracy against him and professes that idea to anyone on the blue brand who will listen with a barrage of rants as he indiscriminately lashes out at the WWE Universe and the locker room alike.

Nevertheless, like him of loathe him, no one can afford to underestimate Zayn’s intensity and undeniable skill in the squared circle and on the mic. His in-ring presence incorporates an eclectic blend of styles, from his explosive aerial moves to his hard-hitting strikes. Simply put, Zayn can take down any Superstar on the roster — an ability he has displayed in show-stealing matches against the likes of Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Seth Rollins and so many more, and led to his reigns as NXT and Intercontinental Champion.

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Introducing: Seth Rollins

This is Seth Freaking Rollins. He’s really freaking good.

Did you know that he beat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title twice? Or that he’s the only man to cash in a Money in the Bank contract in the main event of WrestleMania? Or that he’s the only human being to ever hold the WWE Championship and United States Championship simultaneously?

If you didn't, it won’t be long until this hybrid athlete’s skills turn you into a believer. A veteran of the independent scene who sometimes seems more ninja than wrestler, Rollins set up shop as one of WWE’s on-the-spot history-makers from the second he walked in the door. From his reign as the first-ever NXT Champion to his vaunted time as The Architect of the dominant trio The Shield, Rollins’ first two years in WWE were a master class of evolution. Coincidentally enough, that’s the name of one of the factions he and his fellow Hounds of Justice managed to upend in their near-spotless two-year run throughout WWE’s ranks.

He’s even better flying solo, racking up accolades faster than WWE can produce them. Within 15 months of The Shield’s breakup, Rollins had won a Money in the Bank contract, converted it into the WWE Title and added John Cena’s U.S. Title to his trophy case. Eventually, The Beastslayer became a Grand Slam Champion, capping it off with an Intercontinental Title win at WrestleMania 34. The biggest victory of Rollins' young career came one year later at WrestleMania 35 where he beat the seemingly indestructible Brock Lesnar to win the Universal Championship. Amazingly, Rollins defeated Lesnar again at SummerSlam 2019 to win the Universal Title for a second time.

Despite the epic win, Rollins soon received some criticism from the WWE Universe, and he responded by lashing out at the fans, dubbing himself first The Monday Night Messiah on Raw and then the SmackDown Savior when he was moved to the blue brand as part of the 2020 WWE Draft, hellbent on bringing his ruthless teachings to the masses.

Is it even possible to hold this ascendant athlete down? If you’re lucky, but only for the short-term. As he’s fond of saying, Seth Rollins is the future, and the future can’t be stopped.

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Introducing: Shinsuke Nakamura

Known the world over as The King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura employs a hard-hitting style in the ring, incorporating blistering strikes with submission holds. The crown jewel of his arsenal is a devastating knee strike, which has felled many opponents.

Nakamura’s smashmouth offense, along with an unusual but magnetic charisma, first earned him fame in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he was a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion — a title held by the likes of WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki, Vader, The Great Muta and AJ Styles. He was also the youngest competitor to earn that honor, winning it for the first time at 23.

First making his mark stateside in WWE NXT where he was the NXT Champion, WWE's Rockstar immediately excelled under the bright lights of SmackDown, scoring monumental victories over the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler.

Nakamura claimed his biggest win to date by eliminating Roman Reigns to win the 2018 Royal Rumble Match. Following the triumph, he declared his intentions to face WWE Champion AJ Styles at WrestleMania in a bona fide Dream Match. Nakamura was defeated on The Grandest Stage of Them All, however, and shocked the WWE Universe by hitting Styles with a low blow after the bell.

Sporting a brash new attitude, Nakamura pressed on in his quest for title glory, and his dogged perseverance paid off when he unseated Jeff Hardy to capture the United States Championship. He followed up by defeating Finn Bálor for the Intercontinental Title and subsequently forming an alliance with Sami Zayn and Cesaro. Nakamura got his first taste of tandem gold when he and Cesaro took down The New Day in a SmackDown Tag Team Title Tables Match at The Horrow Show at WWE Extreme Rules.

Can anyone hit hard enough to slow down The King of Strong Style? Perhaps, but you'll have to be fast enough to hit him at all.

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Introducing: Sin Cara

Having already forged a strong international following, Sin Cara, known for his high-flying style and awe-inspiring acrobatics, set his sights on reaching new heights of global success with WWE. The most popular luchador in Mexico became a welcome and huge acquisition by WWE and debuted on Monday Night Raw the night after WrestleMania XXVII, April 4, 2011.

A second-generation performer, Sin Cara (whose name literally means “without face”), began in Mexico at the tender age of 15 and has never looked back. With his roots firmly bedded in the art of lucha libre, he exudes charisma, agility and a deep love and loyalty for his Mexican heritage. In WWE, the soaring Superstar birthed a new legacy, wowing viewers around the world with spectacular displays of agility and airborne attacks and joining forces with Kalisto to form the championship-winning tandem of The Lucha Dragons.

Watching Sin Cara take to the air to send Superstars spinning, whirling and scrambling for recovery is more than just observing a world-traveled competitor in his natural element; it’s to witness the impossible. You won’t just believe Sin Cara can win a match; you’ll believe a man can fly.

Can anyone hit hard enough to slow down The King of Strong Style? Perhaps, but you'll have to be fast enough to hit him at all.