We begin our night with a pre-taped message from Shane McMahon. The Best in the World tells the audience that he has been working with his life coach and has decided that he will not be at Smackdown Live tonight. This gets him his biggest pop in six months but it also brings out Kevin Owens. Kevin loves that Shane is absent because now the show can be about the talent like it’s supposed to be. He hypes their “Kevin quits if he loses” match at SummerSlam and says that, when Shane loses he can still get back on TV because of his last name but, when he does, he’ll have to face the fact that this is The Kevin Owens Show! But the bagpipes hit and out comes Drew McIntyre. Drew tells KO that Shane made a match for them tonight. After a sucker punch and a toss over the announce table, he lets Kevin know that the match starts now.
Drew McIntyre vs Kevin Owens
Drew McIntyre works like a lumberjack in the start, chopping Owens to the ground and then grinding the stump. An ole into the ring post and a follow up cannonball gets KO on the right track. Frog splash doesn’t work out for him but he hits another cannonball off the apron when Drew rolls outside. D-Mac recovers to whip Owens into the barricades on both side of the ring, though. Back in the ring, they’re trading punches when McIntyre sets Owens up on the turnbuckle. Looks like he’s going for a superplex but he’s headbutted down. Swanton by Owens but only a two count! He goes for the stunner but he’s pushed off and eats a Glasgow Kiss followed by a Black Hole Slam. Claymore is readied but intercepted by a superkick. Pop-Up Powerbomb comes out of mothballs but only a two count! McIntyre catches KO on the top turnbuckle again and this time gets an Emerald Flowsion off the second for another near fall! Frustrated, he takes Kevin back to the announce table but KO rallies to hit a stunner. Back in the ring for a superkick, a stunner and a three count.
Your winner by pinfall… Kevin Owens!
Reaction: Kevin Owens going over Shane’s bodyguard makes sense and they’re pulling the trigger on the KO gun. Impressive win over an impressive guy and surviving some impressive and devastating maneuvers. Owens as the common/family man against the odds would have been great but, for now, he’s the “tough guy” hero. Pop-Up powerbomb always looked stupid against anyone but cruiserweights, though. Fight me.
Kayla Braxton is in the back with Dolph Ziggler and they recount his superkick on Shawn Michaels on Miz TV. He says he’s got just two words for ya, “Too Bad!” He says that “The walking pile of catchphrase that used to be Mick Foley” (Ouch!) ended up on the wrong end of The Fiend because he had no business being in the ring anymore. He uses that to segue into Goldberg’s last match! He says that HBK is the same as the rest of them. Now Dolph has a match against Miz at SumerSlam? Miz isn’t even the best wrestler in his household. Dolph is more scared of Maryse and he’s sure that Miz is too! Dolph has a match with Finn Balor who wants to teach him a lesson in respect? He’s looking at the past and Dolph is the future.
Reaction: Whoever wrote this bit should get a free steak dinner included in his next pay envelope. Heel Dolph is some classic, Grade A heat machine.
Ember Moon is in the locker room and warming up for her tag match with Bayley vs Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross. Bayley says she’s willing to overlook the Eclipse that Ember nailed her with recently but not to get any more funny ideas in this match … or she’ll regret it.
Aleister Black feels different (in a lot of ways.) He admires that a “real man” like Cesaro answered the call to challenge him but he doesn’t know how to proceed from here.
Ember Moon & Bayley vs Alex Bliss & Nikki Cross
After a match that showcased Ember’s athleticism and continued the questionable tradition of “Bliss the Brawler,” Ember and Bayley couldn’t work together as well as the Unlikeliest BFFs. Twisted Bliss on Ember seals the deal.
Your winners by pinfall… Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
After the match, Bayley gives Ember a hand up… and pulls her right into a high elevation Belly to Bayley!
Reaction: Turnabout is fairplay, I guess. But I don’t know if this is “Bayley,” y’know? But it’s looking more and more like that’s not where our attention is supposed to be right now.
Sara Schreiber is in the back with Sami Zayn. He says that Smackdown is full of complainers but he wants to help one of them. Aleister Black is in pain because of the stress of expectations that he can’t meet. Sami is going to help him. He’s picking a fight with Black for SummerSlam and, when he beats him, there will be no more expectations.
Reaction: A good dance partner for Aleister and a good excuse for Sami to be at SummerSlam in case they want him to interfere in Kevin Owens’ match with Shane. After fifteen years, he’s overdue to be the one sticking the knife in the back.
We’re in Memphis and that means we get a special edition of The King’s Court! Jerry Lawler is in full royal regalia and manages to catch himself from saying “diva” when introducing fellow Hall of Famer, Trish Stratus! She’s sorry that she missed the RAW Reunion as she’s on vacation but she’s happy to be in King’s Court. Jerry says that all the legends were talking about having “one more match.”
Does Trish ever feel that way? The fans think so and begin the chant. Of course Trish does but she’s a mom now. Club Mix Zarathustra comes over the house speakers and The Queen crashes King’s Court. After an icy greeting, Charlotte says that other WWE Superstars have been mothers so why doesn’t Trish face her at SummerSlam? Trish is silent until Charlotte tells her to “get in her minivan and go back to changing diapers!” Trish tells Charlotte that “to be ‘The Woman,’ you’ve got to beat ‘The Woman.’” Challenge accepted!
Reaction: The best of the last generation vs the best of today. Charlotte has all the ability to carry Trish through any rustiness. Big match. More on that later.
The “OC” is in the back, hyping how they’re reunited, AJ’s SummerSlam match with Ricochet, and tonight’s match vs Kofi Kingston.
Firefly Funhouse is back! Ramblin’ Rabbit is excited for SummerSlam because he’s a huge Finn Balor fan. Unfortunately, Finn made a big mistake and The Fiend is unleashed! He ducks out as Bray Wyatt walks in and tells us all to let him in.
A recap of Brock Lesnar attacking Seth Rollins and pulling him out of an ambulance raises questions about their SummerSlam match.
Dolph Ziggler vs Finn Balor
I sometimes point to Finn Balor as a guy who “phones it in” and has “paint by numbers” matches on TV. None of that here. Dolph goes to work early as an old school heel, raking the eyes across the ropes and only breaking stretch hold to get in some clobbering. Finn rolls through a sunset flip for a low dropkick. Goes for the Slingblade but they go into a countering sequence that ends with Dolph hitting a Famouser on a nearly prone Balor. Dolph gets tossed out side but the lights start shutting off. The Fiend is here! And then he’s gone. The lights are back on and Dolph is back in the ring. Finn turns around and gets a superkick right on the button.
Your winner by pinfall… Dolph Ziggler!
Reaction: I would have loved to see these two go for a Broadway but this helps (potentially) set up Fiend vs Demon for SummerSlam. Unfortunately, if they go that way, somebody’s gotta lose.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Ali
Ali is on the top turnbuckle in seconds for a cross body but gets a face full of second turnbuckle when Nakamura sidesteps his slide attack. Most of the match is constant countering of Kinshasa attempts into pin attempts as Ali manages to dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge out of trouble. Nakamura keeps giving him chances and Ali eventually succeeds. No belt, though. That would be silly, wouldn’t it? Becoming champion by beating the champion? Could you imagine?
Your winner by pinfall (but totally not Intercontinental Champion still/yet)… Ali!
Reaction: Ali is a pleasure to watch every time. Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee, and sells like The Wolf of Wall Street. He’s the next little thing. When Rey hangs it up, this is who fills that gap.
A pre-recorded segment with WWE World Heavyweight title challenger, Randy Orton, takes us back to 2009 as Kofi Kingston alluded to in a recent face-to-face. Randy was already in the midst of his destiny as multi-time world champ. All he had to be was himself. Kofi had to fake a Jamaican accent, come up with dance moves, and be the “fun” guy. In their matches, Randy brought out an aggressiveness in kofi Kingston but he ended it all with an RKO.
They show the infamous “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” moment. Randy explains that Kofi got put down and then sent down the ladder. Fast forward to 2019 and there’s a “new Kofi” in Ali. Ali was set for The Elimination Chamber but Randy’s boot to the eye changed that. Kofi got an opportunity from that. He got his Wrestlemania moment from that. And did he say, “Thank you,” to Randy? No. He challenged him. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Reaction: Great package that tied the SummerSlam match into events from earlier in the year all the way to a decade ago. Real life flavoring fiction. Good stuff. This will be Kofi’s “big league” title defense. Good to see a lot of thought put into it.
Kayla Braxton is in gorilla position with your boys, The New Day! They’re going to turn the gentrified “House That A.J. Styles Built” into a Palace of Positivity (P.O.P.) and Big E does his signature introduction to pop the crowd and they head out to pop AJ’s bubble.
WWE World Champion, Kofi Kingston (w/ The New Day) vs United States Champion, AJ Styles (w/ The Good Brothers)
The OC run interference and the distraction allows AJ to get out to an early lead. AJ’s attempt at a superplex is blocked and turned into a leaping Tornado DDT by Kofi! “New Day Rocks” chants get the world champ fired up for his leaping chops. The little window comes up and Kayla Braxton is readying for Roman Reigns’ announcement for who his SummerSlam opponent will be. Kofi’s corner splash misses but then AJ runs right into the leaping chest stomp. Trouble in Paradise is caught by AJ who goes for the Ushigoroshi but Kofi flips himself out of it. SOS hits for a two count. Suplex blocked and AJ hits an Enziguri. Kofi pendulum kicks his way out of a corner rush by AJ and goes up top for a splash across his back.
The pin attempt gets broken up when The Good Brothers pull AJ out of the ring. New Day comes over to protest and Kofi tries for a dive on The OC but AJ cracks him one in the mouth as he gets to the ropes. Kofi returns the favor with a kick on AJ as he tries to get back into the ring. AJ turns around and punches Big E as things begin to break down. Kofi does the Fosbury Flop onto The OC! AJ gets back into the ring and Kofi follows but gets slowed down by Gallows. It’s all AJ needs as he catches Kofi coming off the top rope and nails the Ushigoroshi. Styles goes for the Phenomenal Forearm but Kofi recovers and hits Trouble in Paradise on a mid-air US champ!
Your Winner by pinfall… Kofi Kingston!
Reaction: Fantastic match. Very well laid out with stuff inside the ring, outside the ring, very little interference but lots of “extra” outside the ring. Whoever produced this one deserves a steak dinner for two with their next paycheck. Unless it’s Hurricane Helms. Then you just give him comic books.
Roman Reigns approaches Kayla when a bunch of stage equipment falls over onto him! He climbs out from underneath, unhurt. The paramedics want to check him out but he says that he’s fine. He backs away from them, telling them that he doesn’t need them. They relent and Roman walks off with no announcement as to his SummerSlam opponent.
Reaction: A little anti-climactic (especially after the main event match) and a little bizarre. It asks questions without asking them. Who’s his opponent? Is there “Phantom of Smackdown” that knocked over the equipment? Are they one in the same? Why was Roman so weird about it? It capped off a two hour show with five matches and somewhere around sixteen segments. That sounds like Uncle Eric. Making Legend vs Generation matches two weeks out from SummerSlam (one of the “big four,” that they once hyped as “The Season Finale?”) That sounds like WWE as usual.
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