The July 30th episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from the Fedex Forum in Memphis, TN. In addition to the takeaways below, Aleister Black returned to sitting in a dark room and asking for a fight tonight on SmackDown. Sami Zayn answered the call and will face Black at SummerSlam.
Here are 4 takeaways from this week’s show:
Kevin Owens Sent A Message To Shane McMahon
SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon started off the how with a pre-recorded video. Shane announced that he will not be at SmackDown tonight and the crowd cheered. McMahon said that he has found a life coach that is helping him. Shane blamed his absence on Kevin Owens’ recent attacks and vowed to end his career at SummerSlam.
Kevin Owens came down to the ring and joked that Shane McMahon is not here tonight but we will all get through it together. Owens noted that now that Shane isn’t here, maybe tonight’s SmackDown will be about the talent and not Shane’s stupid face.
Drew McIntyre interrupted and told Owens that he talks too much. McIntyre announced that he will be facing Owens tonight and then hit him with the microphone. Drew sent Owens into the ring post and threw him over the announce desk.
McIntyre started off the match in control and beat Owens down in the corner of the ring. Owens sent McIntyre into the ring post and followed it up with a Cannonball for a near fall. McIntyre battled back and went for the Claymore Kick but Owens countered with a Superkick. Owens hit the Pop-Up Powerbomb and went for the cover but McIntyre somehow kicked out at two.
McIntyre planted Owens with a Suplex off the second rope for a two count. Drew bought Owens to the outside and set him up on top of the table. Owens hit McIntyre with a Stunner on top of the table and Drew retreated back into the ring. Owens followed him and connected with a Superkick and then another Stunner for the pinball victory.
Bayley Got Revenge On Ember Moon
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley teamed up with Ember Moon to face Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross on tonight’s show. Bayley will defend her title against Ember Moon at WWE SummerSlam on August 11th. On last week’s episode of SmackDown, Ember Moon hit Bayley and Charlotte Flair with the Eclipse. Before the match, Bayley warned Ember not to try anything tonight or she will regret it.
Moon started off the match with Alexa Bliss and promptly booted her to the canvas. Bayley tagged in and bounced Alexa’s face off the top turnbuckle. Bayley connected with a Dropkick that sent Bliss to the outside. Ember took out Nikki with a Suicide Dive and Bayley launched Alexa into the the barricade as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Nikki had Bayley trapped in the ring skirt and unloaded a flurry of punches. Bliss followed that up with a Dropkick and slapped Bayley across the face. Alexa went for the cover but Bayley kicked out at two. Cross tagged in and hit Bayley with a Splash in the corner.
Bayley escaped and tagged Ember in. Moon hit Bliss with an Enziguri and then a Powerslam to Cross. Ember connected with a Splash in the corner and followed it up with an Eclipse to Cross. Bliss launched Ember into the ring post and hit Twisted Bliss for the pinfall victory. After the match, Bayley planted Ember with the Bayley to Belly.
Why not just have Bayley and Moon win this match? The attack after the match makes sense because Bayley got revenge for last week. I don’t get why the challenger for the SmackDown Women’s Championship was just pinned by someone that has nothing to do with the feud.
Charlotte Will Face Trish Stratus At SummerSlam
Jerry “The King” Lawler host an episode of the King’s Court tonight on SmackDown and Trish Stratus was the guest. Trish spoke about the RAW Reunion show last week and how great it was to get back in the ring with her colleagues.
Lawler suggested that Trish should return to the ring for a final match and the crowd chanted “one more match”. Charlotte Flair interrupted and stated that it is a disgrace to hold King’s Court without a proper queen. Charlotte claimed that it was a travesty that she was not on SummerSlam.
Flair mocked Trish Stratus for saying that she is a mom and claimed it sounded like an excuse. Charlotte challenged Trish to a match at SummerSlam and Stratus didn’t respond. Flair brought up the women’s revolution and referred to herself as a trailblazer. She stated that Trish must think she can hang with The Queen and told Stratus to hop in her minivan and go back to changing diapers.
Trish said that she respects Charlotte and thinks that she is a hell of an athlete, but right now she is just being a bitch. Stratus told Flair that there would be no trail for Charlotte to blaze if it wasn’t for her, Lita, Jacqueline, Ivory, and Beth Phoenix. Trish added that to be the woman, you’ve got to beat the woman and accepted Charlotte’s challenge for a match at SummerSlam.
Someone Attacked Roman Reigns After The Main Event
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston faced United States Champion AJ Styles in the main event of this week’s SmackDown. The OC and New Day were ringside for the match.
AJ knocked Kingston to the canvas with a shoulder tackle but the champ popped right back up and applied a Headlock. Styles escaped and locked in a Headlock of his own in the middle of the ring.
Kofi escaped and hit Styles with a Dropkick off the second rope. Kingston Clothesline Styles out of the ring and set up for a Suicide Dive but Gallows and Anderson got in the way. Styles capitalized with a knee to the face and sent Kofi into the ring post. AJ launched Kingston into the timekeeper’s area as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, AJ was still in control of the match and had Kingston in another Headlock. The crowd chanted “Kofi!” as Kingston battled to his feet. Kofi connected with a Tornado DDT and followed it up with a Dropkick.
Kingston hit a Clothesline and then the Boom Drop. Kofi connected with a Double Stomp and went for the cover but AJ kicked out at two. Kingston hit SOS for another near fall. Kofi hit AJ with a Splash off the top rope but The OC dragged Styles out of the ring to prevent the pinfall.
Big E and Woods started trash-talking with Gallows and Anderson as AJ made his way back into the ring. Kingston hit a boot to AJ’s face on the apron and a brawl broke out. Kingston took out The OC with a Splash and brought Styles back into the ring. AJ connected with a Neckbreaker and went for the Phenomenal Forearm but Kingston countered with the Trouble in Paradise for the pinfall victory.
After the main event, Roman Reigns was set to be interviewed backstage to issue a challenge for SummerSlam. However, someone knocked over a large part of the set and it landed on Roman. Reigns was able to get up and said he was fine to end the show.
I’m assuming that Samoa Joe was behind this. It not only looked terrible, but it was made worse by the fact that Reigns got right up after the structure fell on him. Overall, this week’s SmackDown was not a good show, especially with SummerSlam right around the corner. The Flair versus Stratus match at SummerSlam should be entertaining, tonight’s promo was not.
WWE’s fascination with having champions pinned in non-title matches continued tonight, as Shinsuke Nakamura was defeated by Ali. Nakamura beat Ali at Smackville, and then we saw another match between the two superstars tonight. Tom Phillips insinuated that Ali deserves a shot at the IC Title now, even though he just lost a title match three days ago. Also, we’ve seen that match twice in the past 72 hours, why would anyone want to see it yet again at SummerSlam?