SmackDown - July 31

SmackDown opens with Bayley & Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross hyped the SmackDown Women's title match between Cross and Bayley while Big E talked about facing the Miz tonight. Lacey Evans and Naomi were looking forward to their match as well while AJ Styles was confident in his title defense tonight against Gran Metalik.

SmackDown finally kicked off with Bray Wyatt and the FireFly Funhouse. Wyatt said the Fiend wanted Braun Strowman title and was looking for him at the swamp. He added that no one would be safe until Braun was found.

AJ Styles (c) vs. Gran Metalik for the Intercontinental Championship 

AJ Styles won and retains the Intercontinental Championship 

We got a recap of last week's bar fight between Sheamus and Jeff Hardy before SmackDown continued with Hardy arriving backstage.

Jeff Hardy came out and celebrated his win against Sheamus. He said he was grateful for everyone's support in his personal challenges with addiction. Baron Corbin interrupted him and said that he was sick of Jeff's whining.

Corbin said that he was losing his mind and Jeff fired back at him saying that the real problem was Corbin himself. Corbin called him sad and pathetic before Drew Gulak attacked him from behind.

Drew Gulak vs. Baron Corbin 

Baron Corbin won 

Matt Riddle attacked Corbin after the match on SmackDown and as Riddle was setting up to finish off Corbin, Chad Gable rushed in and hit him with the Chaos Theory German Suplex. 

Big E vs. The Miz

Big E won 

Sheamus was backstage on SmackDown and said that his mistake was fighting Jeff in a bar, where Hardy felt the most at home. He said Jeff was not his problem anymore before walking off.

Naomi vs. Lacey Evans

Naomi won

Otis and Mandy Rose were talking about going on a date before Sonya Deville sneaked in from behind but they had already left.

Back on SmackDown after a break, Mandy Rose was getting ready for her date but Sonya attacked her and messed her makeup off before chopping off part of her hair. She then picked up some clippers before officials stepped in and sent her off.

Miz and Morrison came in to add fuel to the fire and make things worse by making jokes about Mandy before Tucker chased them off.

Bayley (c) vs. Nikki Cross for the SmackDown Women’s Championship 

Bayley won and retains the SmackDown Women’s Championship 

Alexa was trying to console Nikki after the match but she shoved her aside before the lights went out. The red lights were on as The Fiend stalked Alexa in the ring and hit the Mandible Claw on her before SmackDown ended.

Rating: 70/70

Decent show and matches.

RAW

RAW opens with Randy Orton coming out to kick off the show.

Randy Orton has been unstoppable recently as we see a flashback through the destruction he has wrought on WWE RAW. 

He has the mic in his hand and says that in the 20 years that he has been in the company, he has had several different names. He lists his impressive accolades in the company. 

Randy Orton has said that he has done everything that he has wanted to do, but he wants to be the WWE Champion again. He brings up Drew McIntyre. Randy Orton reminds how Drew McIntyre was fired from the company but did fight back.

Randy Orton wants the WWE Championship now and that is what he is going to get at SummerSlam,

Randy warns that Drew McIntyre will never see it coming when he RKOs him. 

Nia Jax comes out.

Nia Jax says that she did not get her rightful title rematch.

She is interrupted by Shayna Baszler. Shayna says no one cares what Nia has to say and she attacks Baszler. 

The two have to be separated. 

The Viking Raiders vs Cedric Alexander and Ricochet vs Andrade and Angel Garza

Andrade and Angel Garza won

Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler 

Ended in double countout

Dominik Confronts Seth Rollins 

Seth Rollins comes out. Rollins pointed out that everyone who steps in his way has ended up hurt, including Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio and Aleister Black. Rollins said he didn't want there to be violence with Dominick Mysterio in the building and asked Dominick to come to the ring for a face-to-face, man-to-man confrontation. Dominick walked to the ring, where Murphy held the ropes open for him. 

Rollins invited him to try to articulate his frustrations leading Dominick to double-leg Rollins and throw punches before Murphy jumped in and the numbers game took over. Murphy and Rollins put a beating on Dominick outside the ring as Rollins screamed, "What is wrong with you and your whole family." Black eventually ran in to try to make the save, but Rollins attacked Black's injured arm. 

Rollins eventually laid out Black with a stomp and told Murphy, "You know what you have to do. Are you in this for real?" while looking at the ring steps. Murphy, after a slap from Rollins, dragged Black to the ring steps and shoved Black's eye into the corner, just as Rollins had done to Rey Mysterio. Before any further damage could be done, Dominick ran back chasing off Rollins and Murphy with a few shots from a kendo stick. 

Mustafa Ali vs Bobby Lashley

Bobby Lashley won

Asuka vs. Sasha Banks for the RAW Women’s Championship 

We shall on the titantron that Bayley was attacking Kairi Sane backstage which meant Asuka got distracted and went to save her friend.

Sasha Banks won via count out. And, is the New RAW Women’s Champion.

Buddy Murphy vs. Humberto Carrillo 

Buddy Murphy won

Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler in an Extreme Rules Match

Drew McIntyre won 

Drew McIntyre stands tall with the Championship, but Randy Orton appears out of nowhere with the RKO. He poses next to McIntyre with the title. 

Rating: 70/70 

Great show and matches

SmackDown

The opens up with MizTv. Miz and Morrison introduces their guest of Jeff Hardy.

Miz and Morrison ask about the clip Jeff wants to show. Jeff says he has no clip. There is no clip. They apparently don’t have any clips but Miz has a clip.

The clip is a video package of the Hardy/Sheamus feud.

Jeff Hardy hates all of this clearly. Miz tries to smooth things over, revealing that Jeff is actually his daughter's favorite WWE Superstar. 

Jeff says that the words that Sheamus has said have hurt him, and the loss at Backlash didn't help either. Still, he's ready to take the Celtic Warrior down and move past all of this. He'll be the beacon of light for those suffering through addiction. 

Miz & Morrison were excited about Hardy's speech, and want to see him get his revenge on Sheamus. And, this time they will be  in an a bar fight match..

Hardy lays out a challenge for Miz and/or Morrison, saying that they can't expect to bring him on their show to talk trash and not get a punch in the face. Miz responds, claiming that's exactly what they expected to do. Sadly, Jeff let some folks down again, as he took both of them out and dumped them to the floor. 

The Miz vs. Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy won

Nikki Cross and Alexa Cross vs. Bayley and Sasha Banks 

Bayley and Sasha Banks won

We see an recap of Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship at MITB 2020

Karaoke Showdown hosted by Jey Uso

Noami vs. Lacey Evans vs. Dana Brooke vs. Tamina

Naomi won

Lacey attacked Naomi after the contest.

Naomi vs. Lacey Evans

Ends in a No Contest

AJ Styles says that he embarrassed Drew Gulak last week, and there's nobody worthy of facing him for the belt. The interviewer revealed that he would be defending the Intercontinental Championship against Matt Riddle next week. 

The New Day (c) vs. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles

Big E was left on the floor, forcing Kofi to fight off both Cesaro and Nakamura in a two-on-one situation. Big E eventually makes it in the ring, and with the ref unable to keep control, he calls for the double DQ. 

Ends in double DQ.

Cesaro brings in a table, and they lay the big man on top. Nakamura hands Kofi to Cesaro for a powerbomb from the top, driving him through Big E and the table. 

Rating: 60/60

Decent show and matches.

RAW

Raw opens with Akam and Rezar arriving backstage. Charly tries to ask them why they didn't attack Seth Rollins last week but they just say she looks lovely and walk away.

When we go live in the arena, Seth Rollins comes out to a mixed response. He shakes hands with a few fans as he makes his way to the ring. He says he may have been too harsh last week when he criticized the Raw roster but it came from his heart because this is his life. He calls the men and women backstage his family.

Seth says he has thought about what he said last week and he would like to apologize. He says he wants to say sorry to all of the fans and the entire locker room. He specifically requests to speak with Kevin Owens. KO comes out right away.

Owens says he smells something fishy about Rollins' apology and accuses him of working with Akam and Rezar. Rollins tries to claim he knows nothing about AOP but Owens doesn't believe him. Owens cusses on live television before AOP comes out on the stage. They speak in different languages before issuing a challenge for a tag team match. Rollins says he will do it if Owens is up for it. KO says he thinks it will end with a three on one attack and dares them to just do it now. Seth says he tried to apologize and walks away. He walks right past AOP without incident. Owens says he would love to fight Akam and Rezar but they decide not to engage.

We return to see Owens still standing in the ring when Lana's music hits. She comes out and poses on the stage for a minute before saying Raw is all about her. KO freaks out and says nobody cares about her and Lashley. They talk over each other with insults.



Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley

Akam and Rezar come down and attack Owens to cause a DQ.

After the break, Lashley says he doesn't know why AOP attacked Owens. Rusev comes in the ring from the crowd and hits the Machka Kick. He taunts Lana and the cops before he runs away through the crowd. Once he recovers, Lashley lays into the police. Bobby knocks one of them in the shoulder and they arrest him on the spot.

Lana slaps the cop and the other one puts her in handcuffs, too.


Drew McIntyre vs. Arika Tozawa

Drew McIntyre won

We return to see McIntyre waiting for Orton in the ring. He shows a clip that illustrates why he has a problem with Orton. He says what Orton did was stupid, stupid, stupid. The Viper eventually makes his way to the ring.

McIntyre says Orton doesn't respect anyone and just does whatever he wants. He says Randy used to be the most dangerous man in WWE but now all he does is post on social media. Orton says he does what he wants because he has earned the right to do so. Randy says he has no problem with Drew but is willing to fight if Drew has one. As they stare each other down, The OC comes out.

Styles says he wants to get his hands on Orton tonight and McIntyre says this has nothing to do with him. He walks away and The OC prepares to attack The Viper. They pounce on him and stomp Orton into the mat until Ricochet runs down to make the save. The OC ends up beating him down before Humberto Carrillo and Rey Mysterio join the fight.


Tony Nese vs. Aleister Black

Aleister Black won



Andrade vs. Erick Young

Andrade won



No Way Jose vs. Erick Rowan

Erick Rowan won



Charlotte Flair vs. The Kabuki Warriors in a 2 on 1 Handicap Match

The Kabuki Warriors won



The Viking Raiders vs. Jobbers

The Viking Raiders won



The OC vs. Rey Mysterio and Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo

The OC won


Randy Orton RKO’d Styles after the match.


Rating: 60/60

It was an decent show and matches.

RAW

The show opens with Elias in the ring with his guitar. He reveals he is going to be the guest ref for the universal title match at Stomping Grounds. Seth Rollins appears behind him and hits him with a chair several times.

Rollins says anyone who considers joining forces with Baron Corbin will get the same thing as Elias. He leaves before The Miz makes his entrance for the Fatal 5-Way match to find a new No. 1 contender for the U.S. Title.

The Miz hits Elias with his finisher to get a pop from the crowd. Lashley is out next and he Spears Elias out of his boots. Cesaro is out third and he grabs Elias by his legs ad swings him around several times. Ricochet comes out and hits Elias with a double knee before Strowman comes out and hits him with a powerslam.

Fatal 5 Way Elimination Match

Ricochet won and will go on to WWE Stomping Grounds to face Samoa Joe for the USTitle.

Samoa Joe attacks Ricochet after the match but Ricochet gets the better of him and sends him out of the ring so he can hit a dive over the top rope.

Becky Lynch is out after the break to talk about her upcoming match against Lacey Evans on Sunday.

Lynch talks about all the ways she is going to beat up Evans before The Sassy Southern Belle comes out to respond. Lacey talks about how she has managed to stay classy despite being through some tough things in her life. She brings her up time in the Marines and how it taught her dignity.

Becky hits Evans with a Bexploder before taking her hat and heading to the back.

The Viking Raiders vs. Jobbers

The Viking Raiders won

Heath Slater is shown asking Shane for a raise backstage. McIntyre appears to be treating him like a friend until he attacks Heath and leaves him laid out. Back in the arena, KO and Sami Zayn are out for the Kevin Owens Show. They bring out Baron Corbin to name who will be his special guest referee.

Corbin reveals he has chosen EC3 as his referee. As soon as he comes out on the stage, Rollins nails him with a steel chair from behind. After he leaves, Big E introduces The New Day.

Corbin reveals he has chosen EC3 as his referee. As soon as he comes out on the stage, Rollins nails him with a steel chair from behind. After he leaves, Big E introduces The New Day.

AJ Styles is shown having a conversation with Anderson and Gallows backstage. They talk about their history together. AJ tells them they have gotten too comfortable with their position and asks when the last time they won a match was. They tell him to watch them beat The Usos later tonight.

The New Day vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin in 2 out 3 Falls

The New Day won

Paul Heyman is out after the break and wants to make sure Rollins knows he will not be the referee in his match on Sunday. Heyman says Rollins and the Lakers both traded away their balls this week. He teases the possibility of Lesnar being there to cash in his contract.

The Usos vs. Anderson and Gallows

The Usos won

Reigns comes to the ring after the break to talk about his upcoming match against Drew McIntyre at Stomping Grounds. He calls out Shane McMahon, but Shane just appears on the big screen. While Shane and McIntyre talk trash, Reigns heads backstage to find them. He fights off The Revival before he walks into Shane's VIP room. He puts McIntyre through a table before he starts chasing Shane into the arena.

They fight all the way to the ring where Roman hits Shane with a Spear to put him down.

The IIconics (c) vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross for the Women Tag Team Titles

The IIconics retains the Women’s Tag Team Titles

Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan

Rowan catches him and hits the Claw Slam on the apron to cause a DQ. Bryan and Rowan team up on Rollins until The New Day make the save.

More people join the fight and it turns into a giant brawl. Mike Rome announces the match will start again with everyone being kicked from the ringside area.

Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan

Seth Rollins won

Corbin comes out and beats Rollins down with a chair to get revenge for him beating down with a chair earlier backstage.

The show ends with Corbin holding up the title over Rollins body.

Rating: 70/70

Great show and matches as we look forward to WWE Stomping Grounds.

SmackDown Live

SmackDown opens with Kevin Owens in the ring for another episode of The Kevin Owens Show. He welcomes the crowd and talks about WrestleMania 35.

Owens talks about how Orton interfered when Styles was supposed to face Angle in his final SmackDown match. Orton says he is proud of what he did because the match never should have happened. He talks about how he was in the main event of WrestleMania while Styles was wrestling in armories and high school gyms. Styles brings up Orton being suspended for failed drug tests.

Orton says that with Cena going to Hollywood, he's taken the role of corporate bitch. Kevin Owens chooses to leave the ring as the situation becomes volatile. They begin to brawl, and Styles pushes Orton away before going for the Phenomenal forearm. Orton RKO's him mid-air!

The Usos and Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. The Bar and Rusev and Nakamura 

The Usos and Aleister Black and Ricochet won 

After the match, Alexa Bliss is out! 

Alexa Bliss announces that The Usos will be defending the title in a Fatal-4-Way tag team match at WrestleMania against all the teams they shared the ring with.

 

All eight men start brawling immediately. Aleister and Ricochet was the last team standing.

Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are out after the break to talk about the women's tag title match. They talk about all of the different ways they could win the belts.

The Miz heads to the ring after the break and talks about how proud he is of his family. He also talks about how he is going to beat Shane at WrestleMania. He says he is doing it for his father.

 

The Miz vs. Sanity in a 1 on 3 Handicap Match

Shane comes out before the match and makes Greg Hamilton announce him as the best in the world. He says he just wanted to watch the match and calls for the bell.

Shane comes out on the stage and says he forgot to mention this handicap match was Falls Count Anywhere. He also shows a picture of himself attacking The Miz's dad to distract him to Sanity can take control. All three men starts destroying The A-Lister.

 

The Miz won 

Becky Lynch is shown arriving at the arena in a cop car before the break. She makes her way out after WWE plays a video hyping her match against Charlotte and Ronda Rousey. Corey Graves is in the ring to conduct the interview.

 

Becky stands on top of the announce table and talks about the difference between her career now and a year ago. She says it has been a fight to get where she is, but now she is in the main event of WrestleMania.

18 - Person Mixed Team Match

 

Everyone gets in the ring and starts brawling. The ref calls for the bell as everyone starts trying to throw each other out of the ring. Asuka was the last one standing in the ring. 

Samoa Joe vs. Ali

Samoa Joe won

it's time for the WWE Championship contract signing between Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston for their match at WrestleMania.

Bryan tries to educate Kofi and the crowd, but the fans just keep chanting KofiMania at him. He gets some cheap heat by saying Baltimore is ignorant. He calls Kingston complacent and says nobody should strive to be like him because he settled for just a little success for 11 years.

Kofi finally stands up and tells Bryan to shut up so he can be educated. He says Bryan doesn't know anything about him. He says he has been watching Bryan since he came to WWE and he hasn't been through what Kofi has been through. It has taken him 11 years to get a singles match for the WWE title and he is not going to waste this opportunity.

SmackDown ends with Kofi signing the contract and declaring he will win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

Rating 80/80:

Great show and matches as we get closer to WrestleMania. Don’t forget to join Wrestling101WithKaren for live coverage of WrestleMania. Also, the coverage for WrestleMania Axxess.