WWE SmackDown
August 22, 2017
Brooklyn, New York
Commentary: Tom Phillips, JBL and Byron Saxton
Results by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
“Then. Now. Forever.” The WWE video leads us into the show.
A video showcases AJ Styles defeating Kevin Owens to retain the WWE United States Championship at SummerSlam with Shane McMahon as the Special Guest Referee.
AJ Styles reinstates the US Open Challenge
WWE United States Champion AJ Styles makes his way to the ring to a big reception. Styles stands in the ring, and the crowd chants, “AJ Styles.” Styles says, “Welcome to Smackdown Live, the house that AJ Styles built!” Styles is still the United States Champion after beating Kevin Owens at SummerSlam. Styles told the world that he is the workhorse of WWE. Nothing will change because he’s reinstating tonight the United States Open Challenge, and it starts right now!
Kevin Owens’ music hits, and he appears to be answering the challenge. Styles says he beat Owens at SummerSlam, so they are over. Owens says Styles did not beat him at SummerSlam. What happened on Sunday is that twenty years later, history repeated itself with a McMahon screwing a legendary Canadian out of a title again. Styles can take no credit for beating him. Shane McMahon screwed him. That’s what happened.
Shane McMahon’s music hits, and the Commissioner of Smackdown Live makes his way to the ring to a good reception. A “Shane O’Mac” chant picks up. McMahon says he couldn’t stand back there anymore and listen to this. McMahon says he called the match right down the middle. In the end, Styles won fair and square. Owens chuckles at that and says he won’t talk about the fact that McMahon, the man who survived a helicopter crash and jumped off Hell in a Cell, got grazed by a 450 Splash by Styles and couldn’t get into position to count Styles’ shoulders down. McMahon also physically assaulted him, which led to Styles beating him. Owens then shows footage of McMahon counting to three before realizing Styles’ foot was on the bottom rope. Owens says McMahon should focus on his right hand hitting the mat three times. A few weeks ago when the idiot referee counted to three despite his shoulder being up, that decision stood, so why is he not standing here as the champion? McMahon says he noticed the foot on the bottom rope and immediately called it off. The referee’s decision stands. Owens demands he be given back his title and says Styles is a joke.
Styles tells him to shut up before calling him a “whiny ass little bitch.” Styles says he’ll give Owens a rematch since he beat him already. McMahon says it’s against his better judgement, but if he wants to defend the title, Owens has the match. Owens says that’s not enough because he’s been screwed by an official and guest referee. If they were men, they’d let him pick the referee tonight. McMahon says they have plenty of competent officials. Styles agrees to let him get his own referee because he’ll lose anyway. It doesn’t matter if Owens’ mother is the referee. McMahon allows this and says this is Owens’ last shot at the United States Title. No more excuses! Owens seems pleased with this.
Daniel Bryan is backstage when The Singh Brothers walk in. They do an introduction for Jinder Mahal to enter Bryan’s office. The WWE Champion enters and says Bryan is a progressive thinker. SummerSlam was a huge international success thanks to him. Bryan also realizes he’s an unstoppable WWE Champion. Bryan says he actually sees a man who can’t win without The Singh Brothers. Mahal says Bryan is just like the xenophobic Americans thinking he’s a bad guy. Bryan says Shinsuke Nakamura deserves a measure of retribution, but Mahal reminds him that he doesn’t have to face him tonight per his contract. Bryan says Mahal doesn’t have to face Nakamura… but The Singh Brothers do. They freak out.
Naomi and Becky Lynch will face Natalya and Carmella later tonight.
-Commercial Break-
Kevin Owens is walking backstage when he bumps into Sami Zayn. Owens says he knows they’ve been fighting each other and been by each other’s sides their entire career. Owens needs someone he can trust to be his referee in his match. Zayn is the only one that fits the bill. Zayn thinks about it before saying he watched Owens’ DVD recently. They’ve been fighting so long, he forgets what they’ve been fighting about. Owens says they shouldn’t be fighting. Owens knows Zayn isn’t busy since he hasn’t done much since coming to Smackdown Live, but tonight he can do something that counts. Owens asks him to think about it.
Aiden English is in the ring with a spotlight on him. He’s the Shakespeare of song and the Mozart of melody. English tells them to respect the artiste. He’s the Beethoven of baritone… but he’s cut off. Bobby Roode makes his debut on Smackdown! The crowd sings his song and gives him a massive round of applause.
Aiden English vs. Bobby Roode
The bell rings, and the crowd loudly chants, “Roode.” Roode then leads them into singing, “GLORIOUS!” English says this is his stage. Roode kicks and clotheslines him over the top rope.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see English slapping away at Roode’s head. The crowd is chanting “Bobby Roode.” Roode tackles him to the corner and hits some shoulder thrusts before chopping the chest. English kicks him before sending him to the corner. Roode sidesteps an avalanche, connects with an inverted atomic drop, and hits him with a running forearm. Roode clotheslines him in the corner and throws him down. Roode hits a blockbuster neckbreaker off the middle rope while JBL quips a line about “Beer Money.” Roode lifts him up, but English elbows out and hits the Director’s Cut for a near fall. English goes to the top rope and leaps, but Roode hits him with a Double R Spinebuster. Roode has the crowd sing, “GLORIOUS” before hitting a Glorious DDT for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Bobby Roode
Renee Young comes into the ring to interview Bobby Roode. She says he shocked the WWE Universe with his arrival. She asks what brings him here to Smackdown Live. Roode congratulates Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon for breaking the bank and cashing in on the hottest free agent in sports entertainment. If you don’t know by now, you’re about to find out that everything he touches and does is box office gold. In a New York Minute, Smackdown Live went from being great to being absolutely GLORIOUS! Roode’s music plays, and he poses in the ring for the crowd.
AJ Styles will defend the WWE United States Championship against Kevin Owens later tonight. Owens will choose the referee. We’ll also see The Singh Brothers take on Shinsuke Nakamura.
-Commercial Break-
Daniel Bryan is texting when Chad Gable walks up to him. Bryan wants to apologize to him about Jason Jordan leaving the show. Gable wants to focus on his own career. Bryan says he didn’t just give Jordan away to RAW. Kurt Angle said he’d help him sign one of his friends. Bryan signed the guy, and he will be Gable’s new partner: Shelton Benjamin! Gable is ecstatic. Bryan says they can test drive the new tag team next week. Gable immediately agrees and walks off. Bryan welcomes Benjamin to Smackdown, and they shake hands.
Elsewhere backstage, Kevin Owens is walking when he comes up to Sami Zayn. Zayn says he thought about it hard, and he thought about every rotten thing Owens did to him. Owens needs a lot of help tonight, but he won’t get it from him.
The Hype Bros make their entrance. They’ll face the new WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions, The Usos, next.
-Commercial Break-
Non-Title Match
The Hype Bros vs. The Usos
Jey Uso starts the match against Mojo Rawley. Rawley powers him to the corner before having a whip reversed on him. Rawley slingshots over him, hits a shoulder block, and connects with a wretched gutwrench suplex. Jey landed bad on his hip. Rawley splashes him in the corner and scares Jimmy Uso off the apron. Jey dropkicks him and tags in Jimmy. Jimmy stomps him down in the corner and hits a running hip bump. Jey tags back in, and they hit a double-team wishbone split. Jimmy tags back in, and he stomps Rawley’s midsection before dropping a leg for a two count. Jimmy applies a chin lock. Rawley fights up and knocks Jey off the apron before sidestepping an avalanche.
Zack Ryder is tagged in, and he hits Jimmy with a pair of clotheslines before hitting a face-buster. Ryder punches him to the corner before going for a Broski Boot, but Jey pulls him out. Rawley viciously wipes Jey out with an avalanche. Jimmy then superkicks him into the barricade. Ryder hits a baseball slide and puts him in the ring. Ryder goes to the second rope, but Jey distracts him. Jimmy takes him down and superkicks him for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: The Usos
Jimmy Uso says they have Smackdown Live and the Tag Team Division on lock. He welcomes Brooklyn to the Uso Penitentiary.
Shinsuke Nakamura is walking backstage. He’ll be in action against The Singh Brothers, next.
-Commercial Break-
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Singh Brothers
Nakamura quickly kicks both men down, and they scramble to regroup with Jinder Mahal. Nakamura kicks them down again and chokes one of them in the corner. Nakamura sidesteps the other Singh Brother, and he hits his brother. Nakamura lays them across the top turnbuckle and knees them. Samir and Sunil are thrown out of the ring in front of Mahal. Nakamura challenges him to get in the ring. The Singh Brothers ambush him from behind and stomp him in the corner. Nakamura soon overtakes them and applies a triangle choke for the submission.
Winner by Submission: Shinsuke Nakamura
Jinder Mahal immediately superkicks him and starts taunting the crowd. Nakamura gets up and levels him with the Kinshasa!
Kevin Owens is walking around frustratedly backstage. The Fashion Police stop. They want to be the referee. Owens angrily declines this. Tyler Breeze shouts, “To be continued!” Owens says there is nothing to be continued. Baron Corbin comes up to him and grabs the referee shirt away. Corbin says if Owens wins the title, he gets first dibs. Owens says it’s “when” he gets the US Title. Corbin says he better be a man of his word.
Naomi and Becky Lynch vs. Natalya and Carmella is next.
-Commercial Break-
Natalya says SummerSlam will be known as the day the GLOW was unplugged. She proved that she is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. Naomi can wipe away the tears from her eyes and take a good long look at what a champion looks like. She will forever be the Smackdown Women’s Champion. She promises to restore honor and dignity to the title. It’s not longer “glow time.” It’s her time.
Carmella sarcastically says she’s so happy for her. James Ellsworth says it only took her a million years to win the title. Carmella wants to talk to her about one thing. Natalya said this is her time, but she’s on her watch. Ellsworth says Natalya is on borrowed time. Carmella holds up the briefcase and says she let Natalya have her moment at SummerSlam. When the time is right, she’ll trade in her contract for that championship. Capisce? Ellsworth says it’s not wise for Natalya to team with Carmella. Carmella could refuse to get tagged in and let Natalya get beat up the whole time before cashing in. Carmella gets mad that he revealed the strategy.
Natalya and Carmella w/ James Ellsworth vs. Becky Lynch and Naomi
JBL says if Ellsworth were smarter, he’d be dumb. Becky Lynch will start against Carmella. Carmella dances around before forcibly tagging Natalya in. Natalya is not happy. They lock up… and we go to commercial.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Lynch drop a leg on Natalya. Natalya makes a comeback and stomps her down in the corner. Natalya applies a chin lock and keeps Lynch grounded. Lynch whips her off, but Natalya quickly comes back with a discus clothesline before knocking Naomi down. Natalya stomps Lynch down and goes to tag Carmella, but she gets off the apron. Natalya is furious. Lynch rolls Natalya up for a near fall. Lynch quickly levels her with an enzuigiri. Brooklyn is stupidly starting the wave for no reason. Natalya ripped Carmella off the top rope and pinned her before yelling at Carmella. Naomi tags in and takes Natalya down before applying her submission. Natalya tries for a Sharpshooter, but Naomi kicks her away. Carmella is talking to Ellsworth, and Natalya tags her in. Natalya chases her around before Carmella kicks her away. Lynch hits Carmella with a Bexploder before Naomi hits a split-legged moonsault for the win.
AJ Styles will defend the WWE United States Championship against Kevin Owens. Owens gets to choose the referee. That referee will be Baron Corbin.
-Commercial Break-
Dolph Ziggler is being interviewed backstage. Dasha asks what the WWE Universe can expect from him. Ziggler says he’s excited to be reintroducing himself back to the WWE Universe… in a backstage interview. Ziggler jokes about them rolling out the red carpet. While he was gone, he watched a lot of RAW and Smackdown Live. Now he knows what it takes to be a star in WWE. He’ll start singing, playing guitar, maybe rap a little and dance around like an idiot. Maybe he’ll get a big, fancy robe. That’s exactly what he plans on doing… next week.
Elsewhere backstage, Lana is talking on the phone. She seems pleased. Tamina asks what happened. Lana says the ravishing journey to the title begins next week. Tamina asks about this week. Lana says she wants her to look into her heart and think. Tamina is skeptical. Lana tells her to imagine being in a locker room with people who think they’re different. Lana tells her to take the feeling of being gossiped about and let the anger boil over. Tamina opens her eyes in rage. Lana says she’s ready. One by one, they will crush the competition as the Ravishing Reigns of Terror begins. Tamina will be the most feared woman on Smackdown Live.
AJ Styles is walking backstage. Baron Corbin walks up to him in a referee shirt. Styles says when he wins, Corbin will have to answer an open challenge. Corbin slaps him on the shoulder and says, “See you out there, champ.”
Baron Corbin makes his entrance. The WWE United States Championship will be defended, next.
-Commercial Break-
WWE United States Championship Match
Special Guest Referee: Baron Corbin
Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles (c)
Baron Corbin calls for the match to start, and Owens immediately rolls out of the ring to play some mind games. Styles argues with Corbin about this. Owens attacks him from behind and stomps away at him. Owens puts him in the corner and chops away at the chest. An “AJ Styles” chant picks up. Owens hits the ropes, and Styles takes him down with a dropkick. Owens rolls out of the ring to recover. Styles then takes him down with a forearm plancha.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Styles fight up from a chin lock and elbow out. Styles ducks a clothesline and hits a Pelé kick. Owens again rolls out of the ring. Owens avoids an apron kick, takes him down, and hits a fall-away slam into the barricade. Owens gets him into the ring and picks up a two count. Corbin is calling the match down the line so far. Owens reapplies a chin lock. Styles tries to fight up, but Owens knees him down for a one count. Owens again goes back to the chin lock. Styles finally fights up and elbows him before hitting a sit-out wheelbarrow facebuster.
They both get to their feet, and Styles punches away at Owens before hitting a strike combination and a clothesline. Styles hits a low running forearm before kipping up. Styles clotheslines him in the corner and hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker over the knee for a near fall. Corbin gave that a fair count. Styles stares down Corbin, but soon walks away. Owens drops Styles onto the apron, but Styles knocks him back. Styles springboards, but Owens moves. Styles quickly regains the offense by applying the Calf Crusher. Styles pulls back on the leg, and Owens gets his fingers on the ropes. Styles rolls him back and keeps the hold applied, but Corbin breaks it up. Corbin says the hold was broken by him touching the ropes. Styles is furious. Owens pushes Styles into Corbin. Styles grabs Owens, but Corbin turns him around and yells at him. Owens rolls him up for a near fall. Corbin had a slightly fast count on that. Owens rolls him up a second time for a near fall. Corbin’s count was again slightly faster. They finally wipe each other out with a double clothesline.
Shane McMahon runs down and gets on the apron. McMahon says Corbin is doing a terrible job. The crowd is buzzing. Owens low blows Styles behind Corbin’s back and covers, but McMahon pulls Corbin out of the ring. They argue at ringside, so Corbin takes off the referee shirt and throws it at McMahon. Owens screams at Corbin to come back. McMahon puts on the referee shirt and gets in the ring. Owens is apoplectic. Styles snaps Owens off the top rope and hits a Phenomenal Forearm, and McMahon counts the pinfall!
Winner and still WWE United States Champion: AJ Styles
Replays are shown of what just happened in this match. Styles poses with the United States Championship. As long as Styles is the United States Champion, Owens cannot have another opportunity. Owens is disgusted.
Quick Match Results
* Bobby Roode def. Aiden English
* WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Usos def. The Hype Bros (non-title)
* Shinsuke Nakamura def. The Singh Brothers
* Becky Lynch and Naomi def. Smackdown Women’s Champion Natalya and Carmella
* AJ Styles def. Kevin Owens to retain the WWE United States Championship