WWE Smackdown Opener:
WWE Smackdown Live from Green Bay, Wisconsin opened up with a video review of the recent developments involving WWE World champion AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose and James Ellsworth.
Backstage:
Dean Ambrose is backstage talking to a crew member when James Ellsworth walks in. Ellsworth thanks Ambrose for how he’s helped him recently. Ellsworth says he’s here because he wants to return the favor. Ellsworth wants to be in Dean’s corner when he faces WWE World Champion AJ Styles later tonight. Ambrose thanks him but says he’s not sure it’s a great idea. Ambrose suggests Ellsworth just hang out in the locker room. He stammers and says they will catch up later. Ambrose leaves and fans boo as Ellsworth shakes his head.
No DQ Match: Kane vs. Bray Wyatt
We go right to the ring and out comes Bray Wyatt. We get a look back at last week before Kane makes his way out as the pyro explodes.
The bell rings and they go at it. Kane takes control and hits a low dropkick. Wyatt fights out of the corner and nails a lariat for a quick pin attempt. Kane turns it around with big shots and splashes in the corner. Kane hits the sidewalk slam and goes to the top. Wyatt rolls to the floor and Kane comes down. They meet on the floor and Wyatt plays possum. Wyatt grabs a steel chair but Kane hits him with a right hand and sends him into the steel steps. Kane takes apart the announcers table now.
The lights go out and when they come back on, Luke Harper is on top of the announce table. He boots Kane in the face and nails a big clothesline. Harper stands over Kane as we go to commercial.
When they returned, Wyatt was in control of Kane until he was caught with a big boot. Harper got involved but was nailed. Bray cut off Kane and scored a two count. Harper got involved again, leading to Randy Orton hitting the ring. He faced off with Harper. Big Orton chants. Kane went to grab Wyatt for a chokeslam but Orton snapped him with an RKO out of nowhere and slid out of the ring. He stared at Wyatt and then walked off as Bray scored the pin on Kane.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Backstage:
AJ Styles was interviewed. He said he couldn’t get James Ellsworth out of his head and acted disgusting. He said he looks like someone melted a WWE action figure in a microwave. Styles promised that Dean wasn’t going to walk out of Smackdown tonight and if he sees Ellsworth, James will be missing more than his chin when AJ is done.
In the Arena:
Back from the break and Renee Young is in the ring. She welcomes SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch back and out she comes to a pop. She’s almost immediately interrupted by Alexa Bliss.
Bliss says for someone who just had back surgery, Becky looks great. Becky says she didn’t have back surgery. Bliss enters the ring and tells Renee to leave. Fans chant for Becky. They trade shots on the mic and Bliss calls Becky a world class con-artist, saying she fooled all these people but she won’t fool Bliss. Bliss wonders what Becky’s excuse will be in two weeks before their title match in Glasgow. Bliss takes more shots at Becky and tells her to save everyone the embarrassment by handing over the title to the rightful champion. Becky gets riled up and says she will be in Glasgow to rip Alexa’s arm out of her socket. Bliss says the title is hers in two weeks but in the meantime… Bliss attacks but Becky counters and unloads, taking it to the floor.
Bliss rams Becky back into the ring post. Bliss takes control and launches Becky into the barrier. Bliss brings it back in the ring and drops her with a DDT. Bliss steps on Becky on her way out of the ring. She brings a can of spray-paint back in the ring and paints a yellow line down Becky’s back. Fans boo as Bliss taunts Becky and her music hits.
– Still to come, Ambrose vs. Styles with a title shot up for grabs. Back to commercial.
Survivor Series Qualifying Match: The Ascension vs. The Hype Bros
Back from the break and out come Konnor and Viktor. We get a sidebar video where they say they are the biggest and the best tag team, and they will rise at Survivor Series. Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley are out next as Greg Hamilton makes the introduction. The winners of the match will go on to represent SmackDown in the 5 team vs. 5 team Traditional Elimination Match next month.
Zack Ryder and Viktor go at it to start. Ryder decks Konnor but gets sent to the floor by Viktor. Konnor tags in and goes to work on Ryder now. Konnor gets distracted and Ryder nails him trying to make a tag. Konnor stops the tag and drives Ryder to the mat. Konnor comes off the second rope but Ryder moves out of the way. Mojo tags in with Viktor and they go at it.
Mojo unloads on Viktor and hits a pounce. Mojo with splashes in the corner. Mojo slams Viktor but Konnor breaks the pin attempt. Mojo sends Konnor into the ring post but Viktor comes from behind. Ryder dodges a move and they hit the Hype Ryder for the win.
Winners: The Hype Bros
– After the match, Ryder and Mojo stand tall as we go to replays.
Backstage:
Back from a break and Andrea is backstage with Orton. She asks if he cares to explain his actions from earlier tonight. Orton just stares off with his arms crossed. for a minute. Orton says: “If you can’t beat them, join them.”
Backstage:
Daniel Bryan is backstage on the phone with Shane McMahon talking about Survivor Series. Natalya appears and Bryan mentions she has a match with Nikki Bella tonight. Natalya is worried about RAW stealing SmackDown’s thunder. She suggests she be the Team Captain for the women’s team at Survivor Series. Bryan makes Nikki vs. Natalya for the team captain spot but the loser won’t be on the team at all.
Nikki Bella vs. Natalya
We go to the ring and out comes Nikki Bella. Back to commercial.
They locked up and Bella used an Oklahoma Roll for a two count. Natalya caught Bella with a rollup for a two count. Bella used a crucifix for a two count and drilled Natalya out of the ring. Bella nailed a sliding kick to the outside but Natalya swept her legs out from under her and drilled Bella with a clothesline on the floor. Natalya rolled her back in the ring for a two count. Bella kicked off a Sharpshooter attempt. Natalya grabbed her and nailed her with several shots to the back of the neck and cinched in an abdominal stretch.
Nikki fought her way out of the stretch with elbows to the gut and rolled up Natalya for a two count. Natalya cut her off and cinched in a sleeper, trying to force a submission. Bella fought her way to her feet but was shoved back down to the mat. Natalya mocked Bella and stomped her. Bella was trapped in the Sharpshooter but Nikki made her way to the ropes to force a break.
Natalya nailed a nice snap suplex but missed a leaping legdrop. Bella fought back and nailed a leaping enziguiri off the ropes for a two count. Bella set up for Rack Attack Version 2 but Natalya cut her off and nailed a Michinoku Driver. Natalya locked in a bow and arrow but Bella fought her way out and shocked Natalya with a STF, forcing the submission.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Carmella immediately attacked Bella and beat her down in the corner, screaming that no one cares about her anymore. She used the Bella Buster on Nikki.
Backstage:
Dean Ambrose was interviewed. He said the last few weeks of listening to AJ Styles whine was fun but tonight is about taking him out. He said Karma was… another word for a female dog. Oh, did that come off contrived. He said that tonight will be fun and games, for him.
– We see The Miz and Maryse walking backstage. They see Kenny and Mikey of The Spirit Squad and nod for them to follow. Back to commercial.
In the Arena:
The Miz and Maryse came to the ring with The Spirit Squad. Spirit Squad did a cheer to introduce him. It was terrible, but that may have been by design. Miz said it’s been 16 days of darkness since he doesn’t have the Intercontinental championship anymore. He said it was the Ziggler IC burial tour. He said that he feels sad for the fans but really feels for the legends who worked to make the belt mean something and now it’s dying a slow death. He said Pat Patterson is in Montreal with tears running down his cheeks. Ziggler came out with a mic to stop the verbal burial.
Ziggler said that he feels sorry for everyone who has had to deal with this crap for the last six months. He told Miz they have a fighting champion now and he’ll put the belt on the line against the Miz right now. The crowd was really into this idea but Miz said that a true fighting champion, like himself, doesn’t get goaded into a rematch. He said he would get his title shot soon but they can accomodate the request for a fight. They went to leave the ring with the idea it was going to be a three on one beating when WWE Tag Team champions Heath Slater and Rhyno came out. Miz and the Squad backed off.
Slater said that they must not really want to fight if they are standing behind Maryse. He asked Miz what his problem is. Miz told Slater he was a joke and so was their Tag Team championship reign. He said it was more embarassing than Ziggler’s IC title run. Miz asked him what he knows about being a champion. Slater said that he knows champions don’t run from a challenge. Miz said that’s as funny as Slater getting pinned last week. He said the Spirit Squad would love a title match and dared them to defend the belts against the Spirit Squad. Slater said that he hears what was being said but he just bought five stocks in Puerto Rico. Miz asked him if he was scared by a pair of cheerleaders. Slater said no, and Miz cut him off before he could continue and said Slater was on and called for a referee. Back to commercial.
SmackDown Tag Team Title Match: The Spirit Squad vs. Rhyno and Heath Slater
When they returned from commercial, Miz and Ziggler had joined the announcing team as Kenny Dykstra was working over Slater. He nailed a nice catapult into the bottom rope. Tully Blanchard is smiling somewhere. Dykstra nailed another clothesline and tagged in Mikey Mondo, who scored a two count. The Squad continued to double team Slater. Dykstra set up for a piledriver but Slater backdropped him over. Slater went for a tag but had his leg caught and was placed in a chinlock by Mondo. The crowd chanted for Rhyno.
Slater nailed a high knee to finally ward off Mikey and made the tag to Rhyno. Rhyno cleaned house as the crowd chanted for ECW. Kenny acted like he hurt his knee to allow Mondo to nail Rhyno as the referee was distracted. Kenny scored a two count off of that. Rhyno came back with a belly to belly suplex for a two count as Ziggler and Miz got in each other’s faces on the floor. Kenny was shoved off the apron by Slater, crashing int Miz. Rhyno gored the hell out of Mikey and scored the pin.
Winners: Rhyno and Heath Slater
After the match, all three champions celebrate as we go to replays.
– Still to come, Styles vs. Ambrose. Back to commercial.
Backstage:
Dean Ambrose was stalking the halls when he came across a sulking James Ellsworth. Ellsworth again asked to be in his corner tonight. Dean told him he could do so but warned him to be careful.
AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose
Ambrose has control over Styles early, including a clothesline over the top the floor. Styles recovered and nailed Ellsworth. Ambrose checked on him, allowing Styles to nail a pescado over the ropes to the floor as they went to commercial.
When they returned from commercial, Styles remained in control until missing a pescado to the floor. Ambrose nailed a dive to the outsde. He nailed a series of clotheslines and nailed a fisherman’s suplex for a two count. JBL said Dean Ambrose was “Rick Grimes out here.” Might be the wrong week to make that comparison. Styles and Ambrose went back and forth until Dean cinched in the Cloverleaf. Styles grabbed the bottom rope to break the hold.
Styles went to the apron. Dean went to suplex him in but Styles reversed and Ambrose landed on the apron. Styles snap suplexed him off the apron to the floor. Ouch. They were both out on the floor as we go back to commercial.
They battle continued after they returned to the ring. Dean fought off Styles on the ropes and came off with a flying elbow. They battled back and forth with strikes and forearms. Dean went for a suplex but Styles blocked it. Dean nailed a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Styles nailed a springboard into an inverted DDT for a two count. Good back and forth match. AJ went for the Styles Clash but it was blocked and Dean used a forward roll for a two count. Styles nailed a spinning backfist, but Ambrose used the rebound clothesline for a two count.
Styles was placed on the top and nailed with a big superplex. Styles caught Dean with the calf crusher. Ellsworth tried to rally Dean. Dean grabbed Styles by the neck and began slamming him back of his head first into the apron. Styles scapped on the calf crusher again. Dean fought his way to the ropes and made it, forcing the break.
Dean tried to get up but his knee kept giving out. Styles charged and nailed a NASTY dropkick through the ropes on Ellsworth. It looked just evil the way WWE shot it. Styles went for the springboard forearm but Dean kicked him. He went for Dirty Deeds but Styles blocked and nailed the Pele Kick. Styles went for the Clash but was backdropped over the top to the floor. Ellsworth was right there on the floor recovering and saw Styles land in front of him. He psyched himself up and superkicked him, which they called “No Chin Music.”
As soon as he did it, the referee and Dean both looked at Ellsworth like he was out of their mind. After recovering from that shock, the referee called for the bell.
Winner by DQ: AJ Styles
The story was that Dean would be the number one contender if he won, so Ellsworth getting caught up in the moment actually led to Dean losing his chance. James looked like he was crying and beside himself after the bell. They went off the air with Styles smiling at his fortune as Dean looked frustrated in the ring.
