WWE SmackDown live results: John Cena appears, IYO SKY vs. Asuka

Asuka will get her WWE Women’s Championship rematch when she goes one-on-one with IYO SKY on tonight’s SmackDown from Glendale, Arizona.

The match was made after Asuka interfered in a tag team bout that featured SKY & Bayley losing to Charlotte Flair and Shotzi on the September 8 edition of SmackDown. Asuka cost the Damage CTRL team the win when she appeared at ringside. 

Also set for tonight, John Cena will make an appearance after he was a guest on The Grayson Waller Effect last week. Cena didn’t get a word in during the interview and instead was involved in a confrontation that featured AJ Styles, Jimmy Uso, and Solo Sikoa.

In addition to that, The Street Profits are scheduled to take on the LWO’s Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar. The Street Profits beat LWO’s Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde last week before attacking them after the match.

Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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– Kevin Patrick welcomed viewers into the show. John Cena’s music hit and off, we went. 

The John Cena segment

Before saying anything, Cena played to the crowd, who went bonkers for him. Cena welcomed everyone to “another sold out Friday night SmackDown.” Cena said he’s been able to do a lot of things since he’s been back. He said he’s been a host, a referee, a backstage correspondent. The crowd gave him the “What?” treatment and Cena gave it back in his own way. Cena said since he’s been back, the shows have been sold out, but they haven’t been like this night. Cena said it’s a special night because he doesn’t want to be a ref, host or backstage correspondent. Instead, Cena said he came back to WWE to compete, and because of that, tonight is the night he wants to have a match. 

Cena said he’s both excited and angry – angry at the Bloodline. Cena said he wants to fight both Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso himself, but instead, he found a partner. That partner, he said, was phenomenal. Cue AJ Styles’s music and entrance. Styles looked like he was wearing a wig at first, which was both weird and funny, but it only took him a few head shakes to remedy that. Styles took the mic from Cena and the crowd chanted Styles’s name. Styles asked Cena if Cena was sure that he wanted Styles and Cena to team up. Style said, “Bloodline, if you want some, come get some.” 

Jimmy Uso’s music hit. Jimmy and Sikoa walked to the ring and hopped onto the apron. Jimmy jawed a little bit, smiled and hopped off the apron. Sikoa followed suit. Jimmy and Sikoa walked back up the entrance way to end the segment – and I remained baffled as to why WWE wouldn’t officially announce a match like that ahead of time, if that match is ultimately going to happen. 

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– Backstage, Adam Pearce was shown talking to Cena and Styles. Pearce said he was going to talk to Paul Heyman to see if they could make the tag match for later. 

The LWO (Rey Mysterio Jr. & Santos Escobar) defeated The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) [10:47]

The story here was that Dawkins hesitated to capitalize on Lashley’s interference and that caused some strife between the Profits and Lashley. It’d be a shame if WWE pulled the plug on those three before it even really has a chance to get going. The crowds are still cheering the Profits, so perhaps the creative minds are calling an audible on the Profits being heels because of their popularity … but damn, man. At least let it breathe. Anyway, the match was fine and the outcome was mildly surprising. I half-expected to see the LWO lose due to miscommunication between Escobar and Mysterio as a means to set up their U.S. title match next week, but so it goes. The four guys worked hard and it was refreshing to see Escobar get somewhat of a spotlight. Ford especially had a good outing reminding everyone that at least he can work an interesting heel style. But the post-match stuff may indicate that he won’t be doing that for long.

Dawkins and Escobar started the match and locked up. After going back and forth, Escobar landed a dropkick to take control. Mysterio tagged in and Dawkins gained control quickly. Ford tagged in and hit a dropkick for a two-count. After running the ropes, Mysterio landed a splash from the second rope. With Ford on the outside, Mysterio went for a slide splash, but Dawkins moved Ford and Mysterio landed on nobody. Escobar tried to came to help, but Dawkins slammed Escobar and the show went to a commercial break. 

Back from break, Ford hit a strong clothesline on Mysterio for a two-count. With Mysterio in the Profits’ corner, Rey fought his way out, but came up short on a hot tag. Eventually, Mysterio ran Ford into the second turnbuckle and then got the hot tag to Escobar, who came in and and landed a pair of flying forearms. Escobar went to the top and hit a cross-body block for a two-count. There was a clunky moment that resulted in Ford kicking Escobar and hitting a running frog splash. Ford went to the top, but Escobar cut him off and landed a Frankensteiner from the top rope. That got Escobar a two-count. 

Escobar hit a double-knees on Ford and lifted Ford, but Ford fought out and landed a knee to Escobar’s head. Dawkins tagged in and slammed Escobar, and that was good enough for a two-count. Escobar hit a knee on Dawkins and tagged in Mysterio, who immediately landed a tornado DDT. Mysterio set up for a 619, but Dawkins countered with a Sky High powerbomb. Dawkins body-dropped Mysterio over the top rope and Mysterio landed on Ford. Bobby Lashley then chokeslammed Mysterio as the referee was distracted. Dawkins lifed Mysterio for a powerbomb, but Mysterio rolled Dawkins up for the pin. After the match, Lashley left ringside without the Profits. 

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– A video aried on The Rock’s return last week. Michael Cole was yelling about “Smeeeellllllling what The Rock is cooking,” but he was interrupted by an angry Austin Theory, who threw a fit and had somewhat of an awkward exchange with the commentary team off mic. The show then went to a commercial break. 

– Backstage, Adam Pearce was shown scolding Austin Theory. The Brawling Brutes showed up and Ridge Holland said Theory was embarrassed by The Rock. Grayson Waller showed up and Butch chimed in, challenging Theory and Waller. Pearce made the match for later on the spot. 

– The Street Profits were shown backstage. Bobby Lashley yelled at Dawkins and said he wants all his stuff back – the watches, suits, etc. Lashley said he’s going to find someone back in catering if the Profits can’t get it done, and, well, the Profits didn’t get it done. A video on Asuka vs. IYO SKY then aired. 

– Backstage, Adam Pearce found Paul Heyman. Pearce tried to talk to Heyman, but Heyman was talking on his phone and we went back to the ring. 

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IYO SKY defeated Asuka [19:30]

Wow, these women worked their asses off. It wasn’t always pretty, but good on WWE for giving these wrestlers three segments and 20 minutes and good on SKY and Asuka for delivering quite a fight. I feared a screwy finish, and we kind of/sort of got that, but to be fair that came after almost 20 minutes of really good wrestling. There were times I thought both women genuinely had their bells rung, and there were moments that I was certain they were three seconds away from the end of the match, but Asuka and SKY clearly work so well together, I’d love to see this with no BS from the outside, and hell … take it to a half-hour. Some of those strikes were gnarly and by the time it was all said and done, it felt like both ladies left every tiny inch of everything they had in the ring. It’s not often SmackDown produces a match that it feels like everyone should see, but I’ll vote for this one, even with the commercial breaks. Great stuff.

Before the bell rang, Charlotte Flair’s music hit and Charlotte walked to ringside. The two locked up to begin and they traded a series of moves until Asuka worked a side head-lock. SKY returned the favor. SKY ran the ropes and cartwheeled her way past Asuka. Asuka hit some kicks, and ultimately landed a pair of arm-drags. Asuka went to the second rope and SKY followed her to land an arm-drag from the second rope. Asuka went to the outside and SKY went for a moonsault, but Asuka moved. Asuka then hit a high kick to SKY’s head and the show went to commercial break. 

Back from break, the two women were on the top rope and SKY stretched Asuka’s arm over the top rope. SKY then hit a pair of springboard shotgun dropkicks. SKY hit a double stomp and a double knees for a two-count. SKY went to the top, but Asuka cut her off and slammed her on the top turnbuckle. SKY came right back and slapped the hell out of Asuka. Asuka came right back and hit some Kowada Kicks. Asuka then landed a super-plex, which led to a good near-fall. 

SKY fired up, but ultimately ran into a knee, which got Asuka a two-count. SKY came back with a throat chop, which was good enough for another two-count. SKY hit a German Suplex, but Asuka countered into a modified Kimura. SKY fought her way out of it and landed a kick to Asuka’s head. Asuka kicked SKY and went to the top to hit her own missile dropkick. Asuka followed that up with a hip attack and a series of back-fists and kicks. Asuka landed a sliding kick for another good near-fall. 

Asuka sunk in an arm-bar and eventually got up to climb the ropes. Asuka was on the second rope, but SKY cut her off and landed a dropkick, which took Asuka to the outside. With Asuka on the apron, SKY went for something, but Asuka held on … until she didn’t. Asuka then kicked the ring post after SKY moved. SKY then hit a moonsault onto Asuka, who was still outside the ring. The show went to another commercial break. 

Back from that commercial break, SKY was working a rear chin-lock inside the ring. SKY hit another German Suplex for another good near-fall. SKY went for a cross-face, but Asuka went for the bottom rope. Before long, Asuka rolled into an Asuka Lock. SKY countered with a pin attempt, which broke up the submission attempt. Asuka came back and kicked SKY in the head, which got Asuka a two-count. Asuka went to the second rope and hit a missile dropkick, which was good enough for another good near-fall. The two traded elbows while on their knees. Asuka rolled into an arm-bar, which turned into another Asuka Lock, but SKY fought out of it. Asuka came right back and went for the Asuka Lock again, but SKY fought out. Asuka went for another Asuka Lock. SKY was fading, but Bayley put SKY’s leg on the rope for a break. Charlotte walked over to get rid of Bayley, but SKY took advantage and hit a wild knee. SKY followed that up with a moonsault for the win. 

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– The Bloodline were seen backstage and Adam Pearce appeared. Pearce brought a contract for the tag-team match and Heyman said that’s fine as long as the match won’t be tonight. Jimmy Uso said they’ll be in the ring to sign the contract while Heyman and Sikoa looked nonplussed. Heyman told Jimmy that decisions like that need approval from the Tribal Chief first. Jimmy told Heyman to let him know what the Tribal Chief says. Sikoa told Heyman not to worry about it because after tonight, there won’t be anyone left to fight them at Fastlane. 

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– A video on Pretty Deadly aired and it was everything you thought it would be. 

Austin Theory & Grayson Waller defeated The Brawling Brutes (Butch & Ridge Holland) [10:50]

And here, I thought this was going to be the famed “let me up” match that WWE loves to slot. At nearly 11 minutes, color me wrong (again). Michael Cole probably went a tiny bit overboard when he said it was a great match, but it’s fair to say that this was a surprisingly good match. The Brutes need some wins, though. For as good as they look in the ring and for as much as WWE half-protects them, they rarely come out on the winning side with these things. Still, Waller keeps adjusting nicely to the main roster and pairing him with Theory was a smart move. Who’s to say if they are in for a true run as a tag-team, but if they are, WWE could do worse. 

Waller beat up Butch to begin the match. Butch came back and did the fingers spot on Waller and Butch tagged in Holland. Holland swung Waller around and lifted Waller for a suplex, which he completed. Butch tagged in and hit a shotgun dropkick on Waller. Butch ran the ropes and Theory held up the ropes, which meant Butch went spilling to the outside. Butch and Waller fought on the outside. Butch and Holland did 10 Beats on Waller and Theory before Butch rolled back into the ring and the Brutes played to the crowd. The show then went to a commercial break. 

When the show returned, Theory had control and was pounding on Butch. Waller and Theory clotheslined Butch repeatedly. Waller went for his version of 10 Beats, but Butch countered with his fingers spot again and got the hot tag to Holland, who fired up and landed a series of slams on Waller. Theory tagged in and Waller chop-blocked Holland. Theory hit an elbow, but Butch broke up a pin attempt and things broke down. Waller rolled into the ring, but Holland cut him off with a spear. Holland then power-slammed Theory for a two-count. 

Butch landed a moonsault on Waller, who was on the outside. Meanwhile, Holland lifted Theory, but Theory rolled out of it. Holland followed that up wiht an Alabama Slam for a two-count. Holland worked a Boston Crab, but Waller broke it up with a rolling Stunner. Theory followed that up with A-Town Down for the win. After the match, Michael Cole said, while sounding surprised, said, “That was a great match.”

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– Next week, Charlotte Flair will face Bayley, Escobar vs. Mysterio for the U.S. Title will happen and Bobby Lashley will be the next guest on The Grayson Waller Effect. 

The contract signing segment

Adam Pearce introduced John Cena as “The Greatest Of All Time.” Cena ran to the ring and signed the contract instantly. AJ Styles’s music hit, but a camera backstage picked up Jimmy Uso beating up AJ Styles. Cena ran to the back. Solo Sikoa jumped off a bunch of travel cases onto Styles and the backstage crew went nuts. Sikoa and Jimmy left the scene while Styles was unconscious. Cena finally got to the back and yelled for help as the show went to a commercial break. 

The show returned and Styles was being stretchered out of the building. Paul Heyman walked slowly to the ring by himself without any entrance music. Karl Anderson was with Styles as they loaded him into the ambulance and Anderson said to Cena that he told Styles not to get involved in the Bloodline stuff. The ambulance drove off. Sikoa and Uso then also walked to the ring without any entrance music. Sikoa threw all the chairs and the contract signing table out of the ring. The crowd booed accordingly. 

Heyman tried to talk, but the crowd’s boos were quite loud. Heyman hit his “My name is Paul Heyman” line. Heyman said he had in his hands a contract signed by John Cena without any tag-team partner for Fastlane. As Heyman was going on, Jimmy grabbed the microphone from Heyman. Jimmy said, “Look what happens when you mess with The Bloodline!” Jimmy said if Cena was smart, he would have jumped in the ambulance with Styles and gone far away from The Bloodline. Jimmy said Cena is going to end up in an ambulance anyway. Cena ran to the ring and shoulder-blocked JImmy. Cena slammed Jimmy and lifted Sikoa for an AA, but Jimmy super-kicked Cena. 

Sikoa set up for the Samoan Spike and landed said Samoan Spike. Jimmy and Sikoa put the boots to Cena. Jimmy went to the second rope and applauded Sikoa. Jimmy went to the top and and hit the Uso Splash on Cena. Jimmy grabbed the contract from Heyman and signed it. Jimmy gave it to Sikoa and Sikoa signed it. Jimmy slammed the contract on Cena’s chest and went to the top again. Jimmy hit another Uso Splash. Jimmy and Sikoa gave the point to the sky and stood over Cena. From there, the show just kind of ended, which was odd because it felt like they were stretching things out for a surprise, but no surprise was to be had. Until next week …