WWE SmackDown live results: Strowman-Wyatt confrontation
Ahead of their title match at SummerSlam later this month, Universal Champion Braun Strowman promises to confront “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt on tonight’s SmackDown.
Strowman vs. The Fiend was set up for SummerSlam last week when Strowman returned to WWE television for the first time since his Swamp Fight against Wyatt at Extreme Rules.
Also on tonight’s show, Alexa Bliss sits down for a one-on-one interview to discuss her run-ins with The Fiend. The Fiend applied the Mandible Claw on Bliss two weeks ago in an attempt to provoke Strowman. Last week, The Fiend attempted the Mandible Claw again but backed off when Bliss touched his face. Strowman showed up on the Titantron as The Fiend approached Bliss, although Strowman claimed he doesn’t care about her.
The SmackDown Women’s Championship match for SummerSlam will be made official tonight as a triple brand battle royal decides Bayley’s next challenger. The battle royal will feature wrestlers from Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.
Plus, Big E takes on John Morrison. Big E looks to build momentum in his singles career after defeating The Miz two weeks ago.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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They recapped the Retribution angle and the attack last week. On commentary, Michael Cole noted the group is hiding behind current events. Corey Graves pointed out that WWE increased security for tonight.
Cole and Graves then ran down the line-up.
Big E vs. John Morrison (w/The Miz)
As Big E and Morrison made their way to the ring, they aired interviews from earlier today. Big E discussed his singles career and noted he’s a former NXT Champion. Morrison mocked Big E and promised to put an end to his singles career.
They never ended up having their match because Retribution ran in. This was the same basic angle as last week except they attacked Morrison and Big E.
Morrison and Big E squared off in the ring when the lights flickered in the arena.
Suddenly, a member of Retribution jumped up on the apron. Cole screamed that’s there’s more of them, and Retribution swarmed the ring. Cole and Graves took off and ran to the back.
Retribution beat down Big E and John Morrison. Big E tried fighting back, but there were too many of them. They targeted his knee and ran off.
The Miz ran out to check on Morrison as they cut to commercial.
In the back, the roster was checking on Morrison and Big E. The Miz apologized to Morrison for not being at ringside. He was on the phone with Maryse.
Miz blamed Big E for sending out a tweet that upset Retribution. Miz and Morrison left. King Corbin approached and said he’s the leader they need.
Big E got fired up and promised to defeat Morrison later and get revenge on Retribution. Sheamus mocked Big E for not having Xaiver Woods or Kofi Kingston.
Sheamus said Retribution wouldn’t target him because they’re scared. Big E got in his face and noted he’s not alone. He walked out with Lucha House Party, Drew Gulak, and Shorty G.
They increased security around ringside although they didn’t do a very good job earlier.
SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley and Raw Woman’s Champion Sasha Banks were in the ring. Banks noted she defends against Asuka at SummerSlam, and they have to defend their tag team titles at Payback. Bayley mocked Stephanie McMahon for making the triple brand battle royal.
Bayley noted they’re good at everything and are better commentators then Graves and Cole.
Asuka Won The Triple Brand Battle Royal
Participants: Asuka, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Tegan Nox, Shotzi Blackheart, Naomi, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Nikki Cross, Bianca Belair, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Tamina, and Shayna Baszler.
This was a typical battle royal with quick eliminations until the end. It picked up when it came down to the final few entrants and was really good when it came down to Asuka and Baszler.
Bayley and Banks did the ring announcing for the match, and they were excellent. They announced the rules of the match and introduced the participants. Banks and Bayley mocked everyone and were so great.
After introducing the first entrants, Bayley read the next name and said it’s a mistake. Asuka’s music hit and she ran down to the ring. She attacked Bayley and Banks, but they escaped.
The rest of the participants just ran out.
The IIconics worked together to dump out Riott and Morgan. Morgan ended up on the apron and pulled out Royce and Kay. The IIconics then pulled Morgan off the apron.
Cross went under the bottom rope and caught Brooke in the ring apron skirt. On the other side of the ring, Belair almost went out, but she held on. Tamina ran wild and beat down everyone. Cross and Tamina squared off. Cross ended up on the apron, and Tamina hit the superkick to eliminate her.
Belair got the better of Tamina and dumped her over the top rope in an impressive spot. Naomi ran wild, but Evans caught her with the Woman’s Right to eliminate her from the match.
Blackheart then eliminated Evans. Evans recovered and pulled out Blackheart.
Belair charged at Nox, but she ducked, and Belair fell to the floor. Baszler took over and dominated the action in the ring. In a scary spot, Baszler picked up Nox but lost control and nearly dropped Nox on her head.
Nox ended up on the apron, but Brooke pulled her out. Brooke jumped back in the ring, but Asuka quickly eliminated her.
The final two entrants were Asuka and Baszler. Asuka ended up on the apron, and Bayley tried to pull her off. Asuka fought back and nailed Bayley and Banks with a running knee.
Baszler hit a running knee on Asuka, but she landed on top of Banks and Bayley, which prevented her elimination. She jumped up on the apron, and Baszler locked on the Kirifuda Clutch. Asuka fought back and pulled her out of the ring for the final elimination.
Asuka takes on SmackDowm Woman’s Champion Bayley at SummerSlam in addition to taking on Banks for the Raw Woman’s title.
In the back, Bayley and Banks were furious that Asuka could even enter the battle royal. Banks pointed out that Bayley lost to Asuka on Raw, but the title wasn’t on the line.
Suddenly, Asuka jumped Bayley. Banks tried to help, but Asuka got the better of both of them.
They recapped the Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville angle.
In the back, Rose said Deville’s not the first person to say she got everything because of her looks. It still hurts that everyone thinks she got everything easily in life. She worked three jobs while she won the Bikini championship.
Rose then challenged Deville to a hair vs. hair match at SummerSlam.
Sheamus ran into two security guards in the back at the entrance. He told them to take the night off because Retribution’s not going to attack on his watch. Apparently, security takes their orders from anyone.
Backstage, Nikki Cross approached Alexa Bliss and hugged her. She apologized for pushing her to the mat two weeks ago. Bliss seemed uneasy. Cross tried to get her to leave, but Bliss wants to get answers from Braun Strowman.
Sheamus defeated Shorty G
This was a fine match. There wasn’t much to it and featured Sheamus dominating.
Sheamus had an early advantage, but Shorty G fought back. He was briefly in control and hit a series of cross faces. Sheamus recovered and beat down Shorty G.
Shorty G made a comeback and hit a missile dropkick. He then got the ankle lock, but Sheamus broke free. Shorty G rolled up Sheamus for a near fall.
Sheamus took back over with White Noise and won the match with The Brogue Kick.
In the back, AJ Styles spoke with Joseph Park aka the former Abyss from Impact. Styles is about to head to the ring.
AJ Styles Promo
Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles and Joseph Park made their way to the ring.
Styles isn’t worried about Retribution. He’s got more pressing matters such as defending his title at SummerSlam. Styles started talking about statistics. On Twitch, users keep asking about his next title defense and statistically who he should defend the title against next.
Styles hired a statistic team called the Phenomenal Intercontinental Statistic System. Styles revealed a board with his name at the top. He then showed the top contenders, but the board was empty. Styles noted there’s nobody good enough to challenge him.
Jeffy Hardy’s music hit, and he made his way to the ring. Hardy has a lot of respect for Styles. He pointed out that he should have faced Styles in the semi-final of the IC tournament, but Sheamus framed him.
Hardy then challenged Styles to a title match. Styles praised Hardy and noted he deserved to be on the board. Styles teased agreeing but said hell no.
Hardy has to earn the title shot. Styles got in Hardy’s face.
Hardy snapped and attacked Styles. He hit the twist of fate and signed his name on the board.
This was a good segment. Styles and Hardy were both good in their roles.
In the back, Lucha House Party stole the tag team titles from Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Backstage, Styles was furious that Hardy attacked him and vented to Joseph Park, who was still holding the board. Kayla Braxton tried to interview him. Styles noted Hardy doesn’t respect him or analytics.
In a funny moment, Styles said he was going to erase Hardy and tried to wipe his name off the board, but it was a permanent marker. Park just looked at Styles and whimpered. Styles and Park are good together.
On Commentary, Michael Cole twice noted there are rumors that next week SmackDown will be in a different location. Corey Graves pointed out the WWE Universe would be involved.
Gran Metalik (w/Lince Dorado) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (w/Cesaro)
This was a decent match while it lasted.
Lucha House Party came out with the belts, but Cesaro and Nakamura took them back before the match.
Nakamura had the early advantage, but Metalik took over with a chin lock. Metalik hit a huge crossbody block and springboard back elbow for near fall.
Nakamura attempted the exploder, but Metalik landed on his feet. He hit a superkick and jumped to the top, but Cesaro jumped on the apron to cause the distraction.
Nakamura regained control and set up for the Kinasha, but Lucha House Party’s music hit. Kalisto walked out, making his return. Dorado and Kalisto worked together to take out Cesaro with a tornado DDT.
Metalik recovered and hit a springboard elbow on Nakamura for the win.
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed Matt Riddle. She asked about King Corbin and the King’s Ransom bounty. Riddle mocked Corbin and gloated about costing him his match last week.
Suddenly, Shorty G walked in and apologized for trying to attack Riddle. Riddle accepted his apology. Corbin attacked Riddle from behind. He thanked Shorty G for his help, but Shorty didn’t seem happy about it.
Alexa Bliss Interview
Bliss discussed her friendship with Braun Strowman. They showed highlights of their friendship and teaming together. The interviewer asked if she had romantic feelings.
Bliss said maybe. Bliss noted she cares about Strowman, and he cared about her. She doesn’t know why The Fiend attacked her.
She said, being in the ring with him is scary and compelling. Bliss understands the idea of a moth to a flame.
They showed Strowman saying he didn’t care about Bliss last week. The interviewer asked Bliss how that made her feel.
Bliss became sad and looked away.
In the back, Sonya Deville mocked Mandy Rose and her interview earlier. Deville accepted Rose’s challenge for the hair vs. hair match at SummerSlam.
Big E defeated John Morrison (w/The Miz)
The Miz joined Michael Cole and Corey Graves on commentary. He mocked Mandy Rose throughout the match.
Morrison had the early advantage as he targeted Big E’s injured knee. They aired footage of Retribution injuring Big E’s knee earlier.
In a cool spot, Morrison attempted a springboard move into the ring, but Big E pushed him to the other side of the ring to the floor. He followed up with a big splash on the apron.
Miz distracted Big E, and Morrison used a chop block on the injured knee. Morrison continued to target Big E’s knee.
Otis then made his way to ringside to confront Miz.
The lights started to flicker, and Cole freaked out. He screamed for security as they cut to commercial.
Back from commercial, the entire roster was standing at ringside. The lights started to flicker again.
Retribution showed up backstage and attacked the referees and crew. They locked a guy in the bathroom as they destroyed the backstage area.
The roster was unaware that Retribution was attacking in the back. Cole and Graves didn’t try to inform the roster though. Referee Jessika Carr ran out and told the roster about the attack.
The roster ran to the back expect for The Miz.
Morrison was firmly in control, but Big E made a comeback and used the Strech Muffler for the win. The angle with Retribution took away from the match.
After the match, Sheamus ran out and hit the Brogue Kick on Big E.
Braun Strowman made his way to the ring to confront The Fiend.
Braun Strowman Promo
Strowman was furious and challenged The Fiend to come to the ring. He promised The Fiend that he was going to be a different person when he came out of the swamp.
Alexa Bliss made her way to the ring instead. She said this isn’t the Strowman that she knows. Strowman said that he doesn’t care about her, and claimed she used him as a pawn. He didn’t look at her and told her to leave.
Strowman told her that everyone changes that encounter The Fiend, including her. She said he’ll regret getting what he wants. Bliss demanded he looks at her and slapped him several times.
Strowman then picked her up into the press slam. The lights slowly went off as Strowman held her in the air. As the lights went off, Strowman dropped Bliss to the mat.
Then the lights came back on. The Fiend was standing in the ring with Bliss. Somehow, Strowman was on the Titantron laughing hysterically.
This was a weird segment. Strowman came across like a total heel. The Fiend was still portrayed as the heel, but he essentially made the save for Bliss.
Next Week: Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles defends against Jeff Hardy.