The November 11, 2022 edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown featured a WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship match between the reigning title holders The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) and former champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods).
When the match was taking place, WWE Friday Night SmackDown commentator Michael Cole would speak about past WWE Tag Team Champions, bringing up current All Elite Wrestling (AEW) stars in the process.
WWE Spoke About AEW Talent By Name On Friday Night Smackdown
The bout between The Usos and The New Day had two major implications: 1. The WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship, and 2. The record for the longest-reigning World Wrestling Entertainment Tag Team Champions in the entire history of the company.
Currently, The New Day holds the record at 483 days, however, with The Usos’ title-retaining victory, they will eclipse the record Monday, November 14, 2022 and officially become the longest-reigning tag team champions in WWE history. They are currently listed at 482 days at the time of this writing on Saturday, November 12, 2022, with the tie at 483 set for Sunday, November 13, 2022.
During the bout, WWE Friday Night SmackDown commentator Michael Cole spoke about the WWE Tag Team Championship and the legacy behind the belts, mentioning several reigns throughout company history. While discussing the past, Cole brought up several talents who are now involved in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), including The Hardy Boyz, The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gun is currently in AEW) and Christian as well, being a tag team champion with current WWE Superstar Edge during his time in World Wrestling Entertainment.
Historically, it is a very rare occurrence for WWE to namedrop stars from other promotions, however, they did so multiple times on the most recent episode of SmackDown, but it should be mentioned that they did not name current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley — who was known as Dean Ambrose during his run in WWE, being a two-time tag team champion with Shield faction mate Seth Rollins.