– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown opens up with a look back at last week’s show and Kevin Owens’ attack on Vince McMahon.
– We’re live from Oakland, California with Tom Phillips, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.
– We go right to the ring and out comes SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon as Greg Hamilton makes the introduction.
Shane says we just saw what he considers to be a cowardly act by Kevin Owens to his father. Shane says one thing is for sure, he has to give his dad credit for being one tough, salty SOB. Shane says he and his father have had their differences in the past but at the end of the day, he’s still his father and he loves him. Shane tells Owens to imagine if he was the one at home last week watching with his sons while his father got beat down by a coward. Shane says the McMahon family will strike back with vengeance when attacked. Shane goes on and says Owens doesn’t realize what he has done, or maybe he does. He not only beat down the Chairman and CEO of WWE, he beat down the patriarch of the McMahon family. Shane condemns Owens to a ruthless beat down, he condemns Owens to vengeance, he condemns Owens to Hell In a Cell. Shane drops the mic and leaves.
– Still to come, Baron Corbin vs. WWE United States Champion AJ Styles. We see Randy Orton walking backstage. Back to commercial.
Aiden English vs. Randy Orton
Back from the break and Hamilton introduces Aiden English in the ring. Aiden starts singing but the music interrupts and out comes Randy Orton to a pop.
The bell rings and Aiden immediately attacks Orton and catches him off guard, taking it to the corner. Aiden unloads in the corner as the referee warns him and fans boo. Orton comes back out of the corner with a clothesline as fans pop. Orton keeps control and catches English in a powerslam. Orton goes for the second rope draping DDT but English scrambles to the floor. Orton follows and keeps control, connecting with an uppercut. Orton goes to back drop English on the announce table but English slides out and turns it around. English launches Orton over the announce table and returns to the ring. We go to commercial.
Back from the break and Orton turns it around, working English over in the corner. Orton stomps away and rocks him with more punches & uppercuts. The referee warns Orton. English takes advantage and connects with a cheap shot thumb to the eye, then hits a dropkick for a 2 count. English goes to work and keeps Orton grounded now.
Orton tries to fight back but he runs into a boot in the corner. Orton goes to the second rope and comes flying off but Orton catches him in mid-air with a RKO outta nowhere. Orton covers for the pin.
Winner: Randy Orton
– After the match, Orton stands tall as we go to replays. The music interrupts and out comes Rusev with a mic. Speaking from the ramp as fans fans boo, Rusev says he was going to be a national hero in his homeland of Bulgaria going into SummerSlam but Orton turned him and his family into a national disgrace in just 10 seconds. So tonight, Rusev is going to rip the fangs out of The Viper’s mouth and he’s going to do this right now. Rusev marches to the ring as Orton waits. Orton nods his head to the referee to accept the match and the bell rings.
Randy Orton vs. Rusev
Rusev enters the ring as English jumps on the apron for a distraction. Orton catches a kick but Rusev blocks the RKO. Orton pushes English off the apron but this leads to Rusev leveling Orton with a kick and covering him for the quick win.
Winner: Rusev
– After the match, Orton recovers as Rusev’s music hits. We get a replay of the quick finish. Rusev retreats to the ramp and taunts Orton.
– Still to come, Kevin Owens will be here live via satellite to respond to Shane McMahon. Also, Charlotte Flair will have an update on her dad.
– We see WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and The Singh Brothers walking backstage. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Renee Young approaches an excited Rusev backstage. She says he seems elated but he asks what that means. Rusev is thrilled about pinning Randy Orton, saying he will now return home as a conquering hero. He starts chanting “Rusev #1” and we hear some fans pick up the chant in the arena. Rusev walks off.
– We go to the ring and Hamilton introduces The Singh Brothers. They give an introduction for WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and out he comes. The three march to the ring together.
Jinder takes the mic and says he knows it’s hard to believe but some people were in an absolute uproar about what he said about Shinsuke Nakamura last week, and apparently Nakamura was upset also. Jinder says at least Nakamura’s face is full of delight. He goes on and shows more stills of Nakamura’s facial expressions on the big screen as The Singh Brothers laugh, just like last week. Jinder goes on poking fun at Nakamura, cracking jokes on him being Japanese and showing stills on the big screen. Fans chant Nakamura’s name now. Jinder says the fans will turn on Nakamura just like they turned on him. He says fans chant for Nakamura and sing his theme song to hide their own xenophobia. Jinder goes on talking about how fans are making racist jokes about Nakamura behind his back. Jinder speaks in Punjabi now and wraps the segment by raising the WWE Title in the air.
– Still to come, AJ defends against Corbin. We get the Hispanic Heritage Month video on singer & actress Jennifer Lopez before going back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Renee is with Shinsuke Nakamura backstage for his reaction to Jinder Mahal. Nakamura says it was funny but not as funny as when he wins the WWE Title.
WWE United States Title Match: Baron Corbin vs. AJ Styles
We go to the ring and out comes WWE United States Champion AJ Styles as we see what led to this match. AJ takes the mic and fans chant his name. AJ says first, Kevin Owens has no idea what he’s done after what he did to Vince McMahon last week. Owens beat up the man responsible for AJ being in WWE and the man responsible for the WWE Universe being here tonight. AJ was happy to hear it would be Owens vs. Shane in Hell In a Cell. AJ is confident that Owens won’t make it out alive. AJ addresses Mr. Shortcut Baron Corbin now and starts talking about some of his recent failures. AJ says Corbin will fail when he steps into the ring with The Phenomenal One. AJ says Corbin can huff and puff but he will never blow down the house that AJ Styles built. The music hits and out comes Baron Corbin.
Corbin hits the ring and we get formal ring introductions from Hamilton. Corbin decks AJ before the bell rings. Corbin unloads in the corner as the referee tries to get him to stop. Tye Dillinger runs out for the save and takes out Corbin’s knee. Tye unloads and sends Corbin out of the ring. Referees run down to break up the fight. Corbin scrambles back into the ring and sells an ankle injury. AJ is slow to recover in the corner as well. Corbin clutches his ankle. AJ attacks Corbin and applies the Calf Crusher. The hold is broken as Corbin rolls to the floor and the referee talks to AJ. Corbin clutches his ankle on the floor as the referee checks on him and AJ’s music plays.
– Still to come, Charlotte Flair gives thanks to fans for their support of her dad. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Baron Corbin is limping backstage when Renee approaches him for comments. Corbin says he feels violated. He was about to win the United States Title but Tye Dillinger cost him. Corbin goes on and says he’s not going to bitch or whine, he’s going to get even.
– We go to the ring and out comes Charlotte Flair.
Charlotte says it’s good to be back, it really is. She thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers while her dad, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, has been sick. She says it’s been an emotional 6 weeks, literally life & death, but her dad is making a comeback. Charlotte learned a valuable lesson while away – life is fragile and you have to make the most of the moments, make them count. That’s why Charlotte is going to make every moment as big as possible for she and her dad from here on out. The music interrupts and out comes SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya.
Natalya says they are all glad Flair is doing better but now it’s time to focus on something more important. Natalya says she’s proud to host the first-ever “Celebration of Women” tonight. She says women have led the charge to break down barriers and nurture future generations. Tonight is a celebration of all women… by focusing on one woman. A woman who completed the journey that Amelia Earhart could not. A woman she is so very, very proud of. Natalya calls for a drum roll and uncovers a large photo of herself in the middle of the ring. Charlotte jokes that this was truly inspiring and uplifting. Charlotte is glad Natalya interrupted her because she’s here to challenge Natalya for the title. The music interrupts and out comes Becky Lynch.
Becky comes out and calls Natalya a crazy lady – the craziest there was, is and ever will be. Becky says she has love for The Flairs but they disagree on one thing – the title is coming back to Becky. The music interrupts and out comes Naomi next. Naomi tells Natalya to stop because she does not represent all the women, or even the women of SmackDown. All she represents is her stank cats. Naomi says since Becky and Charlotte are here asking for title matches, she figured… the music interrupts and out comes Lana and Tamina Snuka. Lana tells Natalya to not to listen to these pathetic villagers. Natalya thinks Lana and Tamina are on her side but Lana calls her a crazy cat lady and says she needs to shut up. Lana says these women have had their title shots but they failed and now it is Tamina’s time. Natalya tells them to stop this because it’s not about any of them, it’s about celebrating women. Natalya goes on about how she’s not a crazy cat lady… she’s going to be champion forever. Natalya goes to leave but the music interrupts and out comes SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan.
Bryan is sorry Natalya’s celebration was cut short but tonight the women of SmackDown will gt a spotlight because this is the land of opportunity. He announces tonight’s main event – Becky vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Flair in a Fatal 4 Way. A “yes!” chant starts up. The winner of the match will go on to face Natalya at the Hell In a Cell pay-per-view. Bryan’s music hits as the SmackDown Superstars react.
– Still to come, Kevin Owens will speak. Also, The New Day vs. The Hype Bros. We go to commercial.
The Hype Bros vs. The New Day
Back from the break and out comes The Hype Bros. The Usos are out to join the announcers for commentary. New SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day are out next for this non-title match. We see how they won the titles from The Usos last week in Las Vegas. It will be Big E and Kofi Kingston in action tonight as Xavier Woods watches from ringside.
Big E starts off with Mojo Rawley and takes control. The Hype Bros take an early breather at ringside to regroup as The Usos look on. We go to commercial.
Back from the break and Mojo works over Kofi for a 2 count. Big E and Zack Ryder end up tagging in at the same time and Big E unloads with suplexes. Ryder turns it around and hits his moves but Kofi breaks the pin up. Mojo gets sent to the floor, allowing Kofi to run the ropes for a big dive. The finish sees Ryder take The Midnight Hour for the non-title pin.
Winners: The New Day
– After the match, The New Day dances and taunts The Usos. We go to replays.
– We get another look at Kevin Owens’ attack on Vince McMahon from last week. Tom welcomes Owens for an interview, live via satellite.
Owens wants to apologize first. He doesn’t know what came over him. He’s watched the footage over & over, and still can’t believe what he did. He apologizes to the WWE Universe, the officials and a heart-felt apology to the McMahon family. Owens also can say with sincerity – Shane McMahon had it coming. Owens says Shane made him do everything. It was Shane that disrespected him first. Owens says he has nothing but respect for Vince and when he shook his hand and got his word, all of a sudden Vince became Shane. Owens was looking at Shane. Owens has another apology, for anyone who watches Hell In a Cell because what he did to Vince is nothing compared to what he will do to Shane. Owens says people like him don’t go to Hell for what he’s going to do, they go to Heaven. That’s it for the interview. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and The Hype Bros are backstage. Mojo says he’s sick and tired of losing, something has to give. Mojo says if they want things to change, they’re going to have to do something drastic.
– We go back to the arena and out comes Dolph Ziggler with a mic. He says he’s been coming out lately and exposing the elaborate entrances of Superstars that can’t lace his boots. Ziggler says he’s the greatest in-ring performer in WWE history but fans still don’t get it. The lights go out and here comes Ziggler doing Triple H’s entrance. Ziggler takes shots at Triple H for WWE NXT, wearing mom jeans and spitting the water out. Ziggler says that’s not him, he can do something a little more… CM Punk chants start up. The lights go back out and here comes Ziggler doing the entrance of WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.
Ziggler rants some more before stopping and coming out with another entrance – this time it’s the DX entrance. There are more CM Punk chants now. Ziggler has two words for us… who cares? Ziggler asks who cares about two dads acting like teenagers, begging fans to like their jokes to keep them relevant. Ziggler says all fans care about are these superficial entrances. Fans don’t care about in-ring performances. They don’t care. Ziggler says he is the best ever and fans couldn’t care less. Ziggler says he doesn’t care about the fans. He drops the mic and walks off to the back.
– The announcers plug the WWE Network and No Mercy. Still to come, the Fatal 4 Way main event. Back to commercial.
Fatal 4 Way: Tamina Snuka vs. Becky Lynch vs. Naomi vs. Charlotte Flair
Back from the break and out comes Becky Lynch. Tamina Snuka and Lana are already waiting. Naomi is out next and Charlotte Flair is out last. The winner of this match will face SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya at Hell In a Cell.
The bell rings and Tamina attacks Charlotte, taking her to the corner. Tamina unloads on the other opponents and takes control. Becky and Naomi get tossed out to the floor. Flair fights back but Tamina slams her to the mat. Tamina stands tall and grabs Charlotte for a suplex. Tamina covers for a pin attempt as we go back to commercial.
Back from the break and Flair is fighting back against Tamina. Becky comes in as does Naomi. Naomi with a close 2 count on Tamina as Flair and Becky break it up. Tamina gets sent to the floor and Lana checks on her. Naomi takes down Becky and Flair for another 2 count. Naomi and Flair go at it now. Naomi counters a move with a big jawbreaker for a 2 count. We see Natalya backstage watching the match.
Naomi ends up putting Flair into a submission but Becky breaks it. Becky with the Disarm-Her on Naomi. Tamina comes in and breaks the hold. Tamina with a side slam on Becky. Tamina charges but misses in the corner and hits the ring post. Naomi with a jawbreaker to Becky. Becky ends up floored by a Tamina clothesline. Flair spears Tamina for a pop. Flair drags Tamina over to the corner. Naomi fights Charlotte but gets dropped right beside Tamina. Flair goes to the top and hits a moonsault on Tamina and Naomi at the same time. Flair covers for a 2 count and another 2 count. Flair shows frustration.
Flair goes for the Figure Four on Naomi and looks to transition into the Figure Eight. Becky breaks it with a leg drop. Tamina stops Becky from getting the pin. All 4 Superstars are down as Lana looks on from ringside and some fans chant “this is awesome” now. Tamina scoops Becky for a big Samoan Drop as they are alone in the ring now. Tamina goes to the top as Lana cheers her on. Tamina hits the big Superfly splash on Becky but Naomi breaks the pin. Lana pulls Naomi to the floor but Naomi drops her with a kick. Tamina floors Naomi as she tries to come back into the ring. Charlotte takes advantage and drops Tamina with a big boot for the pin and the win.
Winner and New #1 Contender: Charlotte Flair
– After the match, Charlotte has her arm raised as we see Natalya backstage watching. We go to replays. Flair stands tall in the ring as her music plays. She mouths that she’s coming for Natalya’s title. SmackDown goes off the air with Charlotte celebrating.
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