Tonight on SmackDown Live, things are kicking into full gear. SummerSlam is only a few weeks away, and the blue brand has practically no matches set for the biggest party of the summer. We will see developments in the United States and WWE Championship pictures, as well as more of the midcard.
Opening Segment
After winning his third United States Championship two days ago, Kevin Owens starts off SmackDown Live. Owens brags about his win over AJ Styles and announces that he is bringing back the Face of America Open Challenge… next week. Seemingly right on cue, Styles interrupts him. Styles wants his rematch, but then they are both interrupted by the surprise return of Chris Jericho.
As The Phenomenal One is added to the List of Jericho, Owens tries to walk away, but Shane McMahon shows up to address the title scene. Instead of favoring one man over the other, McMahon has an idea: create a triple threat match. In tonight’s main event, the United States Championship will be defended against both Chris Jericho and AJ Styles.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin
At Battleground, Shinsuke Nakamura was looking to put away Baron Corbin in their match but Corbin hit Nakamura with a low blow. Tonight, the match is scheduled again in hopes of a clean finish.
Corbin attempts another low blow, but Nakamura knows to avoid it. The King of Strong Style then hits the exploder suplex to set up for the Kinshasa knee, picking up the clean victory. Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Charlotte & Becky Lynch vs. Tamina & Lana
All four of these women have one thing in common: they all lost to Natalya at Battleground. While they all climb the ladder of the women’s division, two unlikely alliances collide. Charlotte and Becky Lynch have had issues in the past, but they formed a new friendship against common enemies. Lana and Tamina never seemed to be together, but Tamina seems to have become Lana’s bodyguard of sorts.
Lana tags herself and gets laid out with a big boot from former four-time Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte. Charlotte then gets the cover for the win and Tamina yells at her partner out of frustration. Winners: Charlotte & Becky Lynch
Jinder Mahal Demands a SummerSlam Opponent
This week, Jinder Mahal successfully retained the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match, thanks to the help of the Singh Brothers and the returning Great Khali. He gets a response from John Cena who actually congratulates the champion on holding the title with such high regard. He accepts Mahal’s challenge, but Daniel Bryan interrupts.
Bryan is the General Manager of SmackDown and he tells Cena that even though he has an incredible pedigree, he does not make the matches. Bryan does, however, book a #1 Contender’s match for next week’s episode of SmackDown Life. Cena takes on the King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Namaura next week in a dream match, with the winner taking on Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
Aiden English & Mike Kanellis (w/Maria Kanellis) vs. Sami Zayn & Tye Dillinger
This is WWE usual “take two feuds and throw them into a tag team match” strategy. At Battleground, Sami Zayn defeated the Power of Love while Aiden English defeated Tye Dillinger on the Kickoff Show. This seems like the first time in a while that Dillinger has appeared on SmackDown Live.
Tye Dillinger takes out Aiden English and Sami Zayn takes advantage of a distracted Mike Kanellis to hit them with a Helluva Kick. Winners: Sami Zayn & Tye Dillinger
The New Day’s Championship Celebration
At Battleground, The New Day tore the house down with the Usos to become the first-ever team to have held both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships. They come down to the ring to celebrate, but before they can even finish their pre-entrance spiel, they are attacked from behind by the Usos. Needless to say, the celebration never gets started as they are laid out on the entrance ramp.
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles – United States Championship
In a bit of an unusual circumstance, this match is considered cashing in the rematch clauses for both AJ Styles and Chris Jericho, so if they both lose, Kevin Owens will have a new challenger. All three of these men have been playing hot potato with the title since WrestleMania 33.
Owens hits Jericho with a frog splash and goes for the cover, but Styles throws him out of the ring, while Owens recovers from the fall, Styles covers Y2J to gain his second United States Championship. Winner, and NEW United States Champion: AJ Styles
After the match, Kevin Owens loses his temper and complains at how the odds were stacked against him. He immediately invokes his contractual rematch clause for next week, making SmackDown look pretty stacked.
