WWE SmackDown live results: Bayley explains her actions
The build to Clash of Champions continues on tonight’s SmackDown.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley will appear tonight and address her attack on Sasha Banks from last week. The attack happened after Bayley & Banks lost a rematch against Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax.
Bayley viciously attacked Banks and her injured knee after the match. She then trapped Banks’ head in a chair and stomped on it. Bayley promises to explain her actions tonight.
Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy defends his title against AJ Styles tonight. Hardy defeated Styles for the title a few weeks ago, but Styles claims Hardy cheated. Former Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn returned with his title two weeks ago and pointed out he never lost the championship. Last Friday, all three argued and ended up brawling. WWE.com is teasing that Zayn will be involved in tonight’s match.
Plus, Bray Wyatt hosts a new edition of the Firefly Fun House. Wyatt promises that he’ll reveal the newest member of the Fun House tonight.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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SmackDown started with a recap of Roman Reigns winning the Universal Title and Jey Uso winning the fatal-four way last week to earn a title shot at Clash Of Champions.
Roman Reigns And Paul Heyman Promo
Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman made their way to the ring as fans gave him a thumbs down. There was also lots of booing. Heyman noted the tribal chief is letting him fill fans in on the plan.
Heyman explained that Reigns wanted him to explain everything and hide no secrets. He then discussed Jey Uso winning the fatal-four way last week to earn a title shot at Clash of Champions. He praised Uso and introduced him.
Uso thanked Heyman for getting him into the four-way. He pointed out that Heyman and his family go way back.
Heyman noted that Uso shouldn’t thank him. He should thank Reigns because he’s Heyman’s boss and came up with the plan.
Reigns noted Uso doesn’t have to thank him either. He said Uso earned this and is going to get a huge payday. Reigns told Uso Clash of Champions isn’t going to be his moment. Just like when they were kids, Reigns is going to beat Uso.
King Corbin’s music hit, and he walked out. He said it’s obvious this was all a setup and is a classic case of nepotism. Corbin noted there’s nothing he hates more than watching someone abuse their power.
Sheamus interrupted and made his way to the ring. He agrees with Corbin that Reigns pulled strings to get Uso in the match. Sheamus complained that there’s no way to prepare for Uso on short notice.
Uso then challenged Corbin and Sheamus to take on him and Reigns in a tag team match. Corbin attacked Uso, but he dumped him to the floor. Sheamus charged but went shoulder-first into the ring post.
Reigns never helped Uso or agreed to the tag match. He just stood there and watched with a smirk on his face.
This was another awesome promo from Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns. They’re great together, and heel Reigns is very effective. They were both excellent in their roles, as was Jey Uso.
They announced a four-way between Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans, and Tamina for a shot at Bayley’s title.
Sami Zayn was in the production truck and was furious that they advertised Jeff Hardy against AJ Styles for the I.C. title
Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles
Sami Zayn interrupted during the ring introductions. He was furious they billed the match for the I.C. title. Zayn noted he never lost the title and is still the real champion. He admitted they crowned a sham champion during his absence.
Adam Pearce came out with security and forced Zayn to the back.
Styles and Hardy had a good match until the finish. Styles jumped Hardy to start the match and beat him down. Hardy fought back and hit the Twist of Fate.
He attempted the Swanton Bomb, but Styles moved out of the way. Hardy crashed hard on to the mat as they went to commercial.
Back from the break, Styles was firmly in control as he beat down Hardy around ringside. Hardy recovered and jumped off the steps and crashed into Styles.
Hardy hit the whisper in the wind for a near fall. Styles regained control and attempted the Styles Clash.
Hardy countered and hit a basement dropkick. Styles attacked Hardy’s injured knee from a few weeks ago.
Styles set up for the Phenomenal forearm when Zayn pulled him off the apron. He sent Styles into the ring post and hit the Helluva Kick on Hardy.
Roman Reigns and Jey Uso against King Corbin and Sheamus is official for later tonight. Jey Uso was talking to Roman Reigns in his locker room.
Jeff Hardy struggled to get up after the match. He stumbled around and then fell over on the ramp. Michael Cole and Corey Graves were concerned.
Back from the break, Alyse Ashton informed everyone that Jeff Hardy didn’t lose consciousness and fell because of dehydration. This angle feels like a reference to Matt Hardy’s injury from All Out, but maybe it’s just a coincidence.
Styles interrupted and wanted to talk about the real news. Styles noted Hardy cheated to beat him and Zayn disappeared for months. Styles promised to win the I.C. title.
They recapped Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura challenging the Street Profits to a match on Raw.
In the champions lounge, Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits approached Cesaro & Nakamura. The Street Profits want to check out the champion’s lounge. Cesaro and Nakamura have a match and told the Street Profits not to touch anything. The Street Profits started eating popcorn the second they left.
Earlier today, The Lucha House Party discussed winning the SmackDown tag team titles. Kalisto referred to himself as the leader of the Lucha House Party. Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik didn’t seem to like that comment.
The trainer was checking on Hardy in the back and told him he needs fluids. Sami Zayn entered and started brawling with Hardy.
Non-title Match: Lucha House Party (w/Lince Dorado) defeated SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura
There wasn’t much to this match. The heels dominated until the lame distraction finish.
Gran Metalik took Cesaro down with the head scissors to give the faces the early advantage. Kalisto hit a splash off of Metalik’s shoulders on Cesaro for a near fall. The heels quickly took over and isolated Kalisto in their corner.
In a cool spot, Cesaro held Kaltiso in a gut wrench suplex position, but Nakamura hit a knee first before Cesaro hit the suplex.
Suddenly, The Street Profits appeared on the screen having a party in the champion’s lounge. They distracted the heels, and Kalisto rolled up Cesaro for the win.
Back from the break, The Street Profits continued to party in the champion’s lounge when the Lucha House Party joined in.
Bayley Promo
SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley made her way to the ring with a chair.
She grabbed a mic and sat in the middle of the ring. They recapped the angle between Bayley and Sasha Banks from last week.
Bayley noted everyone is asking about Sasha Banks. Nobody is asking how Bayley is doing. She bragged about beating down and injuring her best friend. Bayley pointed out that she’s not naive, and she knew that Banks was going to strike.
Bayley knows that Banks pretended to be her best friend, but she was just using her. Bayley knows that because she used Banks every step of the way. Bayley noted that after last week Banks is completely useless to her.
This was a good promo from Bayley.
As Nikki Cross made her way to the ring, Bayley attacked her from behind with the chair. Back from the break, Alexa Bliss and the trainers checked on Nikki Cross. The trainer thinks Cross is good to participate in the match. Bliss has a lot more braids in her hair this week.
Fatal Four-Way: Nikki Cross defeated Lacey Evans, Tamina, and Alexa Bliss
This dragged a lot, especially when Tamina and Evans were on their own.
The heels cleared the ring of the faces. Evans and Tamina went back and forth until Bliss jumped back in the match.
Tamina splashed Bliss in the corner and sent Evans to the floor.
Cross recovered and jumped on Tamina’s back. Cross ran wild and scored a near fall on Tamina.
She tossed Tamina to the floor, and Bliss followed up with a sliding dropkick. As she hit the dropkick, Michael Cole noted The Fiend is not affecting Bliss tonight. Of course, Bliss then went into a trance and wandered around ringside.
Cross hit a flying crossbody off the apron onto the heels. Bliss was still in her trance as she grabbed Cross and hit The Fiend’s finisher, Sister Abigal, on the floor.
Back from the break, Bliss left the match, which turned it into a triple threat. Cross was still on the floor at ringside. Evans hit her moonsault on Tamina for a near fall, but Cross broke up the pin attempt.
Cross ran wild and scored a near fall on Evans, but Tamina made the save. Evans hit the woman’s right on Tamina, and Cross hit the neck breaker on Evans.
Tamina missed a superkick, and Cross rolled her up for the win.
Cross takes on SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley at Clash of Champions.
They showed a vignette of a blond woman getting dressed and putting on a fur coat.
Otis (w/Tucker) defeated John Morrison (w/The Miz)
This was a fine match, but there wasn’t much to it. Otis dominated Morrison for most of the match.
They recapped John Morrison stealing Otis’ Money In The Bank briefcase only to find out that Otis keeps the contact in his lunch box.
The Miz joined Michael Cole and Corey Graves on commentary.
Otis hit a shoulder tackle to gain an early advantage. Morrison was briefly in control until Otis hit a belly-to-belly suplex. The Miz caused a distraction, and Otis missed a charge in the corner.
Morrison then tossed the Money in the Bank lunch box to The Miz. The Miz ran off with the contract.
Otis recovered and hit a splash in the corner. He then hit the Vader Bomb for the win.
Back from the break, Otis and Tucker were looking for The Miz. Otis revealed that he has the real Money In The Bank lunch box in the MITB briefcase.
In another part of the arena, The Miz opened the lunch box but only found an apple core.
They recapped Sheamus attacking and injuring Big E last week.
The Firefly Funhouse
Bray Wyatt welcomed everyone to the Firefly Funhouse. He’s sad that Roman Reigns has the Universal Championship. He said the most important part is how one deals with loss. The phrase Less You Know then flashed across the screen, which is a parody of the NBC PSA The More You Know from the 90s.
Wyatt introduced the newest member of the Firefly Funhouse, the persevering parrot. The parrot never flew out of the box because Wyatt forgot to cut holes in it.
The evil Vince McMahon puppet showed up and noted Wyatt couldn’t handle the Firefly Funhouse on his own. He then introduced the newest puppet, Wobbly Walrus. Wyatt gave a shocked look. The segment ended with to be continued. This was a weird segment, although it might be heading somewhere.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns (w/Paul Heyman) & Jey Uso defeated King Corbin & Sheamus
This was a fine match. The focus was more on setting up the Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso at Clash of Champions.
As Uso made his way to the ring, King Corbin and Sheamus jumped out of the ring and attacked him. The match started without Roman Reigns.
Uso made a brief comeback, but Sheamus tripped him. Corbin then hit the deep six for a near fall. The heels dominated Uso and mocked him for not having a partner.
Uso fought back and knocked Sheamus off the apron. He caught Corbin with a superkick and followed up with a Samoan drop. Uso missed a charge in the corner. Sheamus then hit White Noise for a near fall.
Sheamus set up for the Brogue Kick when Roman Reigns music hit. Reigns and Heyman walked to the ring. The heels were distracted, and Uso ran wild. He hit a suicide dive on Corbin and a superkick on Sheamus.
Uso hit the splash on Sheamus, but Reigns made the blind tag. He then hit the spear on Sheamus for the win.
Reigns and Uso posed on the stage. Uso grabbed Reigns’ hand with the belt and raised it.
Reigns didn’t like the gesture and peered at Uso. Uso and Reigns couldn’t hide the tension as SmackDown ended.