WWE Smackdown Opener:
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown opens up with Baron Corbin, Erick Rowan, Rhyno and Apollo Crews backstage talking. Dolph Ziggler has his head down and doesn’t look t be in a good mood. AJ Styles walks in and introduces himself as the new face. He brags on beating John Cena at SummerSlam and has the band that Cena left in the ring at SummerSlam. AJ mocks Ziggler for having a sad face and rubs the SummerSlam loss in. AJ says he doesn’t like losers and Ziggler attacks him. The other Superstars hold them back as referees also intervene. Ziggler tells AJ to stay the hell away from him and mind his own business. We cut to the opening video.
– We’re live from Uncasville, CT with Mauro Ranallo, JBL and David Otunga. The entire SmackDown roster is in the ring with new tag team titles and a new women’s title. Greg Hamilton introduces Commissioner Shane McMahon and General Manager Daniel Bryan.
Shane McMahon comes out and he shuffles his way to the ring. He is joined by Daniel Bryan.
Shane welcomes everyone to Smackdown. Shane says that Daniel accepted the job as General Manager if they were going to give everyone an opportunity. Shane says you have a huge opportunity in front of you.
Daniel tells the six women they were fantastic at Summerslam. You are all championship caliber and can be the one to wear the title to represent Smackdown. Daniel wants to know which one will be the first Smackdown Women’s Champion. Shane says we will find out at Backlash. There will be a Six Pack Challenge to determine who wears the title around their waist.
Shane says they will be crowning Tag Team Champions at Backlash. Daniel says the tag titles are near and dear to his heart. You need to be like brothers to be champions. You go to war with your brothers and you celebrate the highs and lows with your brothers. There will be a Tag Team Tournament that will culminate at Backlash.
Heath Slater interrupts the party and he has something to say. He says he has came this close the last two weeks to get a Smackdown contract. In the last two weeks, you have taken it from him. Why not do this. He will let bygones be bygones. How about give Heath a chance to be Michael Phelps and put some gold around his waist.
Daniel says that Heath is not equipped to challenge for the Women’s Title.
Heath mockingly laughs at Daniel and he tells Daniel he is not a woman. Heath says he is talking about the tag team titles.
Shane says that Heath is not equipped to challenge for the title. You are not on the roster, and if you were, you don’t have a tag team partner.
Heath says he can go in the back and guarantee that he can find someone to stand by his side. Heath says he guarantees that they will enter the tournament and win.
Daniel tells Heath he can find a partner by the end of the night, they will find a team to add next week to make it an eight team tournament. Shane says the only way Heath gets a Smackdown contract is to win the tournament.
Heath says they will not regret this and he will find a partner by the end of the night.
AJ Styles comes out and he complains about the ship that Daniel and Shane are running. Enough about the Tag Team tournament or the Women’s tournament. AJ refuses to be Heath’s partner and then Dolph Ziggler attacks AJ from behind and then the wrestlers in the ring come to the floor to break things up as we go to commercial.
Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss
They lock up and go to a stalemate. Becky with a wrist lock. Alexa with a reversal and take down but Becky with a hammer lcok and bridge. Alexa with a snap mare and Becky goes for the arm but Alexa goes to the ropes. Becky sends Alexa into the ropes and kicks Becky. Alexa chokes Becky in the ropes and then she stands on Becky’s back and stomps on the head. Alexa gets a near fall and then she applies a quarter nelson and chin lock. Bliss turns it into an arm bar.
Becky with clotheslines followed by a leg lariat and then she hits a running forearm into the corner. Alexa floats over and hits a sunset flip power bomb for a near fall. Alexa with a wheelbarrow into an arm drag but Becky holds on and applies DisArmHer and Alexa taps out.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Backstage:
Heath Slater sees Miz in the back and he offers Miz a chance to be his partner. Miz says this is the next step for him to achieve greatness. Heath likes the idea of them being a team and we see that Miz was talking to Spielberg about being the next Indiana Jones. We go to commercial.
Tag Team Tournament Match: The Ascension vs. The Usos
The bell rings and Konnor and Viktor attack the Usos and Konnor elevates Jimmy for a knee off the turnbuckles from Viktor. Viktor sends Jimmy to Konnor and Konnor with a clothesline for a near fall. Konnor knocks Jey off the apron> Konnor with a splash on Jimmy and Viktor gets a near fall. Viktor rakes the eyes and he chops Jimmy. Viktor with another chop and he gets a near fall. Konnor tags in and gets a near fall after a leg drop.
Konnor with a nerve hold. Jimmy with a punch and Konnor sends Jimmy into the turnbuckles. Jimmy with a sunset flip for a near fall. Jimmy with a dragon whip and both men are down. Jey tags in and so does Viktor. Jey with a cross body for a near afll. Jey with a thrust kick and he goes for the uppercut but Viktor with a backslide for a near fall. Jey with a Samoan Drop and then he goes for the running hip splash but Konnor with a pounce. Jimmy super kicks Konnor and then he hits a suicide dive on Konnor. Jey with a super kick to Viktor and Jimmy tags in and hits the frog splash for the three count.
Winners: The Usos (Advance in Tournament)
– Randy Orton will speak later tonight, but first… We go to commercial.
In the Arena:
We are back and AJ Styles makes his way to the ring. AJ says he sees a lot of angry faces out there. He sees a lot of jealous faces in the back like Dolph Ziggler. Why? Because of what he did at Summerslam, and we see the footage of AJ pinning John Cena.
AJ says the wrist band looks better on him too. He says he did what he said he would do. He would BEAT UP JOHN CENA. Then he beat John at Summerslam. AJ says you don’t have to be Cena fans any more. You can be AJ Styles fans. AJ says he is the Face that Runs this Place. AJ repeats himself and he says he should be the number one contender for the WWE Championship.
Dolph Ziggler tries to come to the ring, but he is held back by referees and agents.
Daniel Bryan comes out and he says that he will not let the two of them ruin this show. Daniel says he agrees. AJ beat John Cena and deserves to be the number one contender. He tells Dolph that he came close to being the WWE Champion. It looks like you want to fight and the people want to see them fight. Daniel says if AJ wins tonight, he will get to face Dean Ambrose at Backlash. Daniel says if Dolph wins, he gets added to the match and it is a Triple Threat. We go to commercial.
Nikki Bella vs. Carmella
We are back and Renee Young is with Nikki Bella in the ring. She asks Nikki what does it mean to fight back from her neck injury. Nikki says it means everything.
Carmella attacks Nikki and punches her. Carmella continues the attack. Carmella with forearms to the back. Carmella is warned by the officials.
Carmella leaves the ring and comes back and Carmella with an X Factor. We go to commercial.
No Contest
– We are back and we take a look back at the match between Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar from Summerslam.
In the Arena:
Randy Orton makes his way out to a pop.
Orton says no one expected him tonight but here he is. He points out the 10 staples in his head and says he was in one hell of a fight with Brock Lesnar on Sunday. Orton says he knew what he was getting into but he would’ve rather went out on a gurney to have it end how it did. He says Shane McMahon thought he was doing the right thing by intervening. Maybe on paper he was. Orton says one day he will cross paths with Lesnar again… the lights hit and out comes Bray Wyatt.
Bray asks Randy how is his head. He says he saw what Brock did to him and he saw the look in your eyes change. It went blank. There is nothing like laying there with you head busted open to remember that you are just a man. You are a great man, but just a man. A man who hurts, a man who suffers. A man who dies.
Bray says he is not just a man. He is a god. A God can never die. You will find all about it… in time.
The lights go off and back and and Bray is no longer in his rocking chair at ringside.
Backstage:
Shane McMahon is talking to a referee and he is asked about Brock Lesnar. He says Brock crossed the line. He is asked if Stephanie will take the matter seriously. Shane doubts she will take it seriously. He says he heard Stephanie fined Brock $500. Shane is asked if that is fair. Shane says this thing with him and Brock is far from over. Back to commercial.
Backstage:
We are back and Heath Slater is offering Arn Anderson a spot as his tag team partner. Arn says there is only one Ric Flair and you aren’t him. Arn says he was considered a tag team specialist. Heath says that Arn is his last hope. Arn realizes he wasn’t the first choice and he says no.
Rhyno asks if a tag team champion will be able to make payments on an above ground pool. Heath has a partner.
– We see Tyler and Fandango talking about the tag tournament earlier and Tyler says this tournament will be a breeze and Fandango points out the play on Tyler’s name.
– Chad Gable and Jason Jordan talk about their squad goals. One become the top tag team. Two become the tag team champions. Three, get a thousand singlets. Chad says they are ready, willing, and gable.
American Alpha vs. Breezango
Gable and Fandango start things off and Gable with a waist lock and Fandango gets to the ropes. They lock up again and Fandango with an arm drag. Gable with a leg sweep and cover. Gable with a series of waist lock take downs on Fandango. Breeze tags in and Gable with a rollup for a near fall. Gable with an arm drag and Jordan tags in and hits a drop kick. Gable and Jordan with tandem waist lock take downs and they send Breeze and Fandango to the floor.
Jordan with an arm bar on Breeze. Gable tags in and Jordan gives Breeze’s arm to Gable and Gable with an arm bar. Jordan tags in and he hits a double sledge from the turnbuckles. Gable tags in and Fandango with a clothesline when the referee was sending Jordan to the apron. We go to commercial.
We are back and Gable skins the cat and sends Fandango into the ringside barrier with a body scissors. Gable tries to make the tag and Breeze tries to stop the tag but Jordan tags in. Jordan with a clothesline followed by an elbow and drop kick. Jordan with overhead belly-to-belly suplexes to Fandango and Breeze. Jordan with a running shoulder to Breeze. Gable tags in and he hits a German suplex with an assist from a Jordan drop kick for a near fall.
Gable tags in and Jordan gets Breeze on his shoulders and Fandango pushes Gable off the turnbuckles and Breeze with a rana for a near fall. Breeze with a super kick to Jordan with his head against the turnbuckles but Gable breaks up the cover. Breeze holds up Jordan and Gable with a cross body to take care of Fandango. Jordan with a sunset flip for a near fall. Breeze with an enzuigiri for a near fall. Jordan blocks a super kick and hits an overhead suplex followed by a shoulder in the corner. Gable tags in and they hit Grand Amplitude for the three count.
Winners: American Alpha (Advance in tournament)
Backstage:
Dean Ambose is walking in the back and he is asked about the number one contender match. Dean says he just got heard about it. He was upstairs playing roulette. He says he is on a run today. The word around the tables was his opponent would be determined tonight. He is told that it is Dolph Ziggler versus AJ Styles. Dean has a drink delivered to him and he says he needs to be alert on commentary. Back to commercial.
#1 COntender Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. AJ Styles
If AJ wins, we have a singles match, but if Dolph wins we get a Triple Threat Match at Backlash
We are back and Dean Ambrose makes his way to the announce table for the main event.
Dolph goes for the leg but Styles stays on his feet. Styles gets to the ropes and Ziggler breaks the hold. Ziggler goes for the leg again but Styles stays on his feet and Styles with a punch. Ziggler with a take down and he applies a chin lock and body scissors. Styles gets to the floor to slow things down. Ziggler tiries to clothesline Styles over the top rope but it does not work. Ziggler drop kicks Styles to the floor. We go to commercial.
We are back and Styles with shoulders in the corner. We see Ziggler being catapulted into the turnbuckles during the commercial break. Styles wtih an Irish whip but he misses a splash into the corner when Ziggler moves. Ziggler punches Styles but Styles with a hard Irish whip that sends Ziggler sternum first into the turnbuckles.
Styles with a back breaker for a near fall. Styles kicks Ziggler in the back. Styles with punches and a slap. Styles with a round kick to the head. Ziggler with a rollup and then he tries for a German suplex but Styles blocks it and he connects with a forearm.
Styles with a knee lift and Ziggler staggers into the corner. Styles sends Ziggler into the turnbuckles. Styles chops Ziggler in the corner. Styles with punches and kicks. The referee warns Styles but he returns to control with an elbow to the back of the head. Styles with kicks but Ziggler with punches. Styles with an Irish whip but Ziggler sends Styles to the apron. Ziggler with punches and he goes for a shoulder but Styles moves and he kicks Ziggler and hits a neck breaker on the middle rope and Ziggler falls to the floor as we go to commercial.
We are back and Styles with a rear chin lock. Ziggler punches Styles but Styles does something to send Ziggler to the mat since the cameras focused on Ambrose. We see Ziggler being sent into the ring steps during the commercial break. Styles with a key lock. Ziggler gets to his feet and he punches Styles. Styles with a knee to the midsection. Ziggler with a drop kick. Ziggler wtih an elbow and he hits two clotheslines followed by a splash into the corner and neck breaker followed by a leaping elbow drop and he gets a near fall.
Ziggler misses a Fameasser attempt and then Styles misses a shoulder in the corner. Ziggler with a Fameasser for a near fall. Ziggler goes for a Zig Zag but Styles pushes him off and Styles with an ushigoroshi for a near fall. Styles slams Ziggler and he goes to the apron for a springboard 450 but Ziggler moves. Ziggler with a hesitation DDT for a near fall. Ziggler goes for a super kick but Styles blocks it and tries for a Styles Clash but Ziggler escapes. Styles charges at Ziggler but Ziggler moves and Styles bounces off the ropes and Ziggler hits a Zig Zag but he gets a near fall.
Ziggler misses a super kick and Ziggler has his foot caught in the ropes and Styles kicks the ropes and he hits the Styles Clash for the three count.
Winner: AJ Styles
After the match, AJ Styles goes over to Dean Ambrose sitting next to the announce table. Styles has something to say to Ambrose and he knocks the headset off Ambrose. Ambrose and Styles are face to face.
We go to credits.
