SmackDown Live has an intriguing show this week that sets up for a huge episode in Las Vegas next week. Ms. Money in the Bank Carmella takes on the SmackDown Women’s Champion, Natalya, in a non-title match. Shane McMahon gets into a confrontation with Kevin Owens and faces serious consequences. Lastly, Shinsuke Nakamura battles Randy Orton in the main event to determine who will by Jinder Mahal’s next challenger for the WWE Championship.
Carmella (w/James Ellsworth) vs. Natalya… Almost
As James Ellsworth introduces his friend who happens to be a girl, Kevin Owens interrupts. Owens wants to make himself the special guest referee but he is stopped by the Commissioner of SmackDown Live, Shane McMahon. Last week, Owens made himself the referee in Sami Zayn’s match and he wants to do it again in order to prove a point.
Owens and McMahon go back and forth until Owens wishes that Shane O’Mac didn’t survive the helicopter crash from a few weeks ago. Once Owens said that McMahon’s kids would be better off without him, the Commissioner snapped and started attacking the former United States Champion. Referees, security, and Daniel Bryan rush to ringside to pull McMahon off of his employee and as he cools down, he walks to the back. After the attack, Owens tells Daniel Bryan that is is going to press criminal charges towards Shane O’Mac.
Carmella (w/James Ellsworth) vs. Natalya… For Real This Time
Now that the chaos is over, the regularly scheduled program can begin. This is a non-title match, but it is possible for there to be a new champion out of it. Carmella still holds the Money in the Bank briefcase and she might have cashed in a couple weeks ago but James Ellsworth accidentally revealed his plan to the SmackDown Women’s Champion. Next week (if Natalya walks out tonight as champion), Natalya will defend the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Naomi, who is cashing in her rematch.
Ellsworth accidentally drops the Money in the Bank briefcase into the ring and the referee thinks that Carmella is cashing in, but she refuses. As she is yelling at Ellsworth for being a moron, Natalya sneaks in the roll-up and picks up the win. Winner: Natalya
After Ellsworth messed up again, Carmella calls him a “sorry excuse for a human being” among other things before ending their business relationship, leaving Ellsworth in shock.
Dolph Ziggler Re-Debuts
The Showoff, Dolph Ziggler, thinks that the WWE Universe doesn’t care about him so he has decided to take other Superstars’ gimmicks to see if the crowd will like him. He imitates John Cena, Randy Savage, and even Naomi before saying that he doesn’t care about the fans and the “no one can do” what he does in the ring, then Ziggler walks to the back.
Sami Zayn vs. Aiden English
This is a rematch from last week. Kevin Owens was on commentary for this match and he decided to ambush the referee, take his striped shirt, and make himself the referee. Shane McMahon would then void the match from the record books, so Aiden English has a chance to legitimately defeat Sami Zayn.
English dodges a cross body attempt from Zayn before rolling the Underdog from the Underground up from a surprise victory. English goes to sing in celebration of his victory, but Zayn chases the “Mozart of Mayhem” around the ring before English retreats. Winner: Aiden English
Announcements
Next week, The Usos will defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against The New Day in a Street Fight. The Usos picked the stipulation after defeating The New Day in a non-title match last week.
After next week’s announcement it made, Daniel Bryan silently makes his way down to the ring and calls Shane McMahon down to the ring. Bryan says that McMahon cannot assault his employees (of course, unless both parties agree to a match) and refers to Bryan’s verbal feud with the Miz last year as a good example. McMahon wants to smooth things over with Kevin Owens, but Bryan reveals that Vince McMahon (Shane’s father) called him and stated that Shane O’Mac is indefinitely suspended.
Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger
Last week, AJ Styles brought back the US Open Challenge to defend the United States Championship against whoever answered the challenge. Baron Corbin was going to answer the challenge but Tye Dillinger beat him to the punch and after the Perfect 10 failed to capture the title, Corbin attacked him. Tonight, both men get a chance to settle things in a sanctioned match.
Behind the referee’s back, Corbin chops Dillinger straight in the throat, setting him up for the End of Days. Corbin picks up the win and has his sights set on AJ Styles and the US Title. Winner: Baron Corbin
Styles approaches Dillinger backstage and offers him a deal. Since Baron Corbin has gotten in the way of Dillinger’s success with cheap shots, Styles will reopen the US Open Challenge next week, but only to Tye Dillinger. Both men shake hands and as long as Daniel Bryan signs off on it, there is a third title match planned for next week’s episode of SmackDown Live.
Backstage Segment
James Ellsworth approaches Ms. Money in the Bank, Carmella, backstage and begs for a second chance. Carmella accepts, but she makes sure that he knows they are doing things her way. This is followed by Carmella forcefully kissing Ellsworth, then slapping him.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Randy Orton – #1 Contender’s Match (WWE Championship)
With most of SmackDown Live’s Championships being defended next week, the future of the WWE Championship remains unknown. Both Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton have previously failed to capture the company’s top prize from the Modern Day Maharaja, but the winner of this match will get another chance to do just that at the Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View.
Orton RKOed Nakamura last week, and that seems to have been a mistake. Nakamura figured out how to counter the vicious maneuver every time, with the last time setting up for Kinshasa (with Corey Graves on commentary to call it in the best way possible). Nakamura is going to Hell in a Cell to challenge Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. Winner, and NEW #1 Contender: Shinsuke Nakamura
