WWE SmackDown live results: Jinder Mahal celebrates his title win

The Big Takeaway —

AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kevin Owens will compete at Money in the Bank in the titular match. Jinder Mahal celebrated his championship win with pomp and circumstance, though the good times might not last if Orton gets his say in their title rematch at Money in the Bank.

Baron Corbin made it personal with Sami Zayn, sending him out of the arena in a stretcher. The Fashion Police got another opportunity to crack the case of the Uggos, but didn’t get the job done. A fatal five way match next week will determine the next challenger for Naomi’s SmackDown Women’s title.

Show Recap —

A police motorcade. a black car and a limo showed up. The Singh Brothers rolled out a fancy carpet for the new WWE champion Jinder Mahal, who just kinda stood there and laughed, perhaps soaking it all in.

Shane McMahon came out to start the show. The Money in the Bank briefcase was high above the ring, as that show will be the next SmackDown PPV. Shane announced that Randy Orton has initiated his rematch clause and in his hometown of St. Louis, he will face Jinder Mahal for the WWE title.

Shane also brought up the Money in the Bank match itself. He introduces the five participants for the Money in the Bank Ladder match….AJ Styles arrives first. Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler follow. Kevin Owens comes out, but Shane says hold on a minute, you know full well you aren’t one of the participants. Shane instead introduces the fifth participant…Shinsuke Nakamura.

Owens cuts off Shane, saying are you really going with these five for the Money in the Bank match? True, Sami and Shinsuke won their matches, but he won his match and AJ gets the shot anyway? SmackDown may be the land of opportunity, but Shane chooses those opportunities. Maybe it’s because he did what Shane couldn’t do at WrestleMania — beat AJ Styles.

Shane says he does have some salient points. So at Money in the Bank, Kevin Owens will be the sixth participant in the match. Corbin says none of you have a chance, so just lower the ladder and give me the briefcase. Styles says let me remind you this is the house that AJ Styles built, wasn’t built with count outs or cheap shots. Styles calls Kevin Owens the Eric Cartman of the WWE and says he’ll show why he’s the franchise player of the WWE.

Zayn starts to cut his promo but Corbin cuts him off, saying he’s still coming off his fluke win. He’s the Rudy of the WWE, and there’s a reason why there was never a sequel. Zayn says he doesn’t mind doing it again and won’t even wait until Money in the Bank.

Ziggler cuts them off, saying he’s the only won who was won Money in the Bank and will do it again. Nakamura says for those who don’t know me, I’m Shinsuke Nakamura, and as for Dolph…he can call him Mr. Money in the Bank.

Shane makes the Zayn/Corbin rematch, as well as a tag team match featuring Ziggler and Owens against Nakamura and Styles.

Charlotte and Becky Lynch defeated Carmella and Natalya

Carmella got the heat on Becky during commercials, which were running concurrently with SmackDown footage. Charlotte got the tag and went to the top rope. Tamina tried to interfere, but Charlotte fought her off, plus Naomi came in to take her out with a crossbody. Carmella and Becky are tagged in and after fighting for a bit, Carmella falls to the disarmher, giving Becky Lynch the submission win in an okay match.

Sami Zayn defeated Baron Corbin

This lasted under a minute. As soon as he got the opportunity, Zayn cradled him for a flash win.

Corbin jumped him after the match, further continuing WWE’s crusade against wins and losses actually mattering. He threw him into the timekeeper’s area and took out a steel chair, slamming it on Zayn’s back. He took him out into the crowd and gave him the snake eyes on a production area table. Corbin kept beating him up until the refs stopped it.

Fashion Files: The Final File (?) aired. Shane McMahon was there, eyeing a Tony Chimel photo. Breezango walked in and asked if he wanted to see them. Shane said he never even called for them. Breezango goes on anyway, saying after their loss Sunday they aren’t capable of being on the case. They turn in their badges and other assorted outfits Tyler has worn in recent weeks. 

Shane disagrees, saying they’ve more than proven themselves after Sunday, and in fact Tyler will be in action tonight against Jey Uso and Fandango will face Jimmy. Fandango says it looks like we’re back in the case and scurry off with their belongings.

It’s now time for Jinder Mahal’s big Punjabi Championship Celebration. Indian dancers came out to celebrate, it was actually pretty cool. The Singh Brothers followed, then Jinder. The dancers danced around the ring as Mahal entered.

The crowd booed as Jinder started talking. Shower me with your hatred, he says, but 1.3 billion people in India are celebrating me as champion. You people boo me because I look and talk different. But now you boo me because I exposed you as the fools that you are.

Randy Orton is just like all you, like America — he is on the decline. This is not about you, this is about me celebrating my accomplishment. I celebrate for India. He says to keep quiet as he talks to his people in Punjabi. Fans chanted USA as he cut the promo. Pyro goes off as Jinder celebrates in the ring.

Dancing Lana is still coming.

Tyler Breeze defeated Jey Uso

Jey starts talking about how they have already beaten the two when Fandango starts squirting him with a water gun. Distracted, Breeze rolls him up for the win.

Fandango defeated Jimmy Uso

The next match immediately followed. This lasted a bit longer, but ended the same way. Breeze put on the Granny hair which got Jey mad as they ran around the ring. This distracted Jimmy, which allowed Fandango to, yes, roll him up for the win.

Fandango took a mic and said they wanted a shot at the tag team titles. Jimmy and Jey, still flustered, accepted the challenge. Chioda got the okay from the back, and it looks like we have a SmackDown tag team title match incoming!

The Usos defeated Breezango to retain the SmackDown tag team titles

Crowd got into this pretty fast. One of the Usos went for the dive but Fandango got the knees up and rolled him up in a good nearfall Fandango and Jimmy were fighting on the top rope when Jey tagged in, Fandango unaware. He plants Jimmy with his top rope leg drop but Jey immediately follows with the superfly splash to pick up the win.

Shane was in his office, Fashion File stuff still in tact when Natalya walks in, wanting an opportunity for the women’s title. She says she is the one who won that match. Carmella and James Ellsworth come in, then Becky. The latter says she is the first Smackdown’s women’s champion. Taminia says it’s her turn. Carmella says the queen is waiting for her crown. Shane says there will be a fatal five way match next week, with the winner facing Naomi at the Money in the Bank PPV.

Brian Kendrick says tonight Akira Tozawa will learn his final lesson in a street fight tonight on 205 Live.

Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler

Both heels worked on Nakamura forever. Nakamura finally got a hot tag and worked over Ziggler. Owens took out Styles with a senton on the floor, then rammed his knee in the back of Styles on the apron.

Nakamura came in for the second hot tag of the match and landed a flurry of offense on Owens.  After a scuffle between Ziggler and AJ, Nakamura cleared the ring then landed the kinshasa on Owens for the win. Standard, but pretty decent main event.

Nakamura and Styles celebrated in the ring as the show went off the air.

Final Thoughts —

This was a good show in that they made it clear Money in the Bank is a month away, and we already have the participants all lined up for the show,. It also further established Nakamura as one of the top acts of the roster with a big win in the main event.

They did the best job they could with Jinder, as the celebration and ballyhoo was pretty neat, but his promo content has largely been the same as it was the last few weeks leading to Backlash. Eventually the luster and heat that comes with winning the WWE title by surprise is going to die down, and if he keeps going with the same ‘ol song and dance promo, it’s not going to be good television.