The August 21st, 2018 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, and was the first episode after SummerSlam.
– The Miz and Maryse come down to the ring to kick off this week’s show. We see a replay of The Miz using brass knuckles on Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam on Sunday. The Miz says he has an announcement to make, and he looks sad as Maryse hugs him. The Miz says he’s sad to announce his retirement… against facing Daniel Bryan ever again. He says his 8-year saga with Daniel Bryan has come to a satisfying conclusion. Miz says Bryan punched him a hundred times, but that’s no match for one of his punches, like the one that ended the match. Daniel Bryan comes out to the stage to interrupt, and he calls The Miz a coward. Miz interrupts and says Bryan has to accept his loss because he will never beat Miz and will never have a chance to face him again. Bryan tells Miz to shut up, and says he’s a wannabe actor pretending to be a wrestler. He says Miz won’t be able to retire yet, but then Maryse interrupts and tells Bryan that he should retire again and change his name to Daniel Bella. Brie Bella then interrupts and hits the ring. Maryse rolls outside so Brie punches Miz and then Bryan clotheslines Miz out of the ring. Bryan gets back on the mic and says he just talked to Paige, and at Hell In A Cell they will all have an intergender mixed tag match. The Miz and Maryse freak out and head backstage as Bryan leads a “yes” chant.
– Still to come: An interview with WWE Champion AJ Styles
– Back from the break, Miz and Maryse are searching for Paige. They find her and complain about being booked in a match against Daniel and Brie. Miz says Paige is actually a worse GM than Daniel Bryan. Paige says the tag match stays, and it’ll be awesome.
– Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton: We see some replays of Orton’s previous attacks on Jeff. The opening bell sounds and Orton starts off strong, backing Jeff into the corner with strikes. Jeff fights back and goes up to the middle turnbuckle, but Orton shoves him into the ring post and down to the ringside floor. Orton suplexes Jeff onto the announce table before taking things back into the ring. Hardy comes back with a Whisper In The Wind, and both men are down. They get to their feet and trade blows until Jeff hits an inverted atomic drop and a dropkick. Jeff hits the Twist of Fate and then goes up top, but he wastes some time on his way up and Orton gets up and knocks him off the ropes. Orton sticks his finger through Jeff’s pierced ear again and then looks for a DDT, but Jeff escapes. Jeff tackles Orton and then stomps him below the belt, which earns him a DQ from the ref.
Winner via DQ: Randy Orton
– After the match, Jeff kicks Orton out of the ring then throws him over the announce table. Orton gets back to his feet and they brawl past the timekeeper’s area and around the ring. They brawl into the crowd and towards the production area, and then Hardy grabs a steel chair and uses it to drop Orton. Hardy pummels on Orton with the chair, and then sets him on a table and hits him with a camera. Hardy climbs on top of some production boxes and does a Swanton Bomb all the way down on Orton through the table. Hardy smiles as the crowd pops and his music hits.
– The Bar is backstage with Renee Young for an interview. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows quickly interrupt. Gallows and Anderson crack some jokes and announce their intentions to be the next challengers for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Sheamus and Cesaro say they’re going to kick their heads off next week, because they don’t just set the bar, they are the bar.
– Naomi vs. Peyton Royce: Peyton and Billie Kaye shut a brief promo before the match making fun of Naomi and Brooklyn. Naomi starts off strong with a series of kicks on Peyton. Naomi follows up with a leg drop for a two count. A distraction from ringside leads to Peyton hitting a cheap shot and knocking Naomi out to ringside. Back in the ring, Peyton beats on Naomi in the corner and chokes her with her boot. Peyton applies a chin lock until Naomi fights out. Peyton misses a kick and Naomi starts kicking her legs out. Naomi fires up with some kicks now, then she goes out to ringside and throws Billie into the ring post. Back in the ring, Peyton hits a fisherman’s suplex for the three count.
Winner: Peyton Royce
– We go to the locker room where Big E is having his ribs taped up, selling an injury from his SummerSlam match. Kofi and Xavier walk in and give Big E a pep talk, and they say they’ll beat the Bludgeon Brothers in their rematch tonight.
– The broadcast team sends us to a video package looking at the history between Charlotte and Becky Lynch, with Becky turning on Charlotte on Sunday.
– We see a shot of Becky Lynch’s locker room with the door closed. She’s up next.
– Becky Lynch comes down to the ring and gets on the mic to address what she did to Charlotte on Sunday. Becky says SummerSlam was supposed to be her night, and she waned to silence the critics who say she is just Charlotte’s friend, because she’s her own woman. Becky says the fans weren’t with her the whole time, and when Charlotte weaseled her way in her Title match fans should have boycotted SummerSlam. She bashes the fans for cheering for Charlotte when she won, and says she’s tired of being an afterthought. Charlotte comes out to interrupt and hits the ring. They brawl through the ring and around ringside. They fight back in the ring until referees and other women from the locker room break them up. Charlotte knocks Becky out to ringside and dives off the apron on her until they are pulled apart again.
– Rusev & Lana vs. Andrade Almas & Zelina Vega: Rusev and Almas start things off, and Almas slaps Rusev a couple times. Rusev fires back and drops Almas. They fight into the corner where Almas takes control with a series of kicks to the body. Almas looks for a swinging reverse DDT, but Rusev blocks it. Almas puts Rusev in an arm bar over the top rope until the ref breaks it up. Almas comes flying off the top rope, but Rusev kicks him out of the air and then tags in Lana. Zelina comes in and Lana drops her then sends her out to ringside. Back in the ring, Zelina mounts a comeback and chokes Lana across the middle rope. Zelina and Lana trade pin attempts until Zelina grabs her by the hair and slams her down. Zelina charges at Lana in the corner, but Lana stops her with a boot to the face. Rusev gets the tag and Almas comes in, and Rusev levels him with a running shoulder block. Rusev follows up with a splash in the corner and then a spinning heel kick. Rusev misss a big boot and Almas hits a spinning back elbow and then a running knee strike in the corner for a two count. Almas looks for a DDT but Rusev fights out and clotheslines him out to ringside. Zelina comes in and shoves Rusev, then Lana comes in and takes her out. Almas tries to bring a steel chair in the ring, but Aiden English comes out of nowhere and grabs the chair. Almas turns around into a big boot from Rusev, and then Rusev locks in The Accolade for the win via submission.
Winners: Lana & Rusev
– Aiden celebrates at ringside while Rusev and Lana raise their hands in the ring.
– We see a short pre-taped clip from Shinsuke Nakamura holding up his United States Championship belt.
– AJ Styles is hown backstage in his locker room looking in the mirror at his WWE Title belt. He’s scheduled to address the crowd tonight.
– The broadcast team introduces a video package looking at the history between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, and then the finish of their SummerSlam match.
– WWE Champion AJ Styles comes out to the stage for an interview with Renee Young. AJ says SummerSlam didn’t end the way he wanted to, but he doesn’t regret what he did to Samoa Joe. AJ says he isn’t proud of losing the match via DQ, but Joe crossed a line that a real man doesn’t cross. AJ says the next time Joe mentions his family, AJ is going to rip his heart out, and just then Samoa Joe attacks out of nowhere. Joe grabs AJ from below the stage and drags him down to the floor, locking him in the Coquina Clutch. Joe gets on the mic while AJ is down, and he sends a message to AJ’s wife, saying AJ has already gone to sleep so he won’t be home to tuck in the kids. Joe walks off as AJ is left laying on the floor beside the stage.
– We see some replays of Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella getting into it with The Miz and Maryse earlier tonight.
– Paige is backstage giving orders to officials to get AJ medical attention. Carmella walks in and Paige says she looks different after losing 10 pounds of gold from her waist. Carmella demands a remtch, and then R-Truth comes in. Truth says Carmella has been ducking and dodging him for weeks, and the running stops, because he wants a Title match. Paige explains to Truth that just because Charlotte and Becky pinned Carmella for a Title opportunity, doesn’t mean R-Truth gets the same. Truth says Carella got lucky and walks off. Paige gives Carmella a rematch against Charlotte, next week.
– Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. The Bludgeon Brothers (c): This one is a No DQ match for the Tag Team Titles, but Big E stays backstage. The opening bell sounds and they all immediately being brawling out of the ring and around the floor. Kofi and Harper trade strikes near the announce table until Woods dropkicks Harper over the table. Rowan grabs Woods from behind and throws him onto the fan barricade, and then he throws down Kofi too. Rowan throws an announcer’s chair at Kofi and drops him again. Rowan and Kofi fight into the ring now as Harper and Woods trade shots at ringside. Harper looks for a suplex, but Woods escapes and hits an elbow to the face, then he drops Harper face-first into the announce desk. Back in the ring, Kofi boots Rowan in the face and then dumps him outside. Kofi kicks Rowan from the apron and then he goes over to help Woods. The New Day grabs a ladder from under the ring and they slide on the mat. Rowan then grabs the New Day members from behind on the floor and holds them while Harper goes flying out of the ring with a suicide dive on them. The Champions throw a bunch of steel chairs in the ring, then they go back to beatong on the New Day Members at ringside. Rowan hits a splash on Kofi up against then barricade, and then he whips him into a big boot from HArper. Woods gets back to his feet and boots Rowan in the head, but Rowan comes back with a running shoulder block. Back in the ring, Harper looks for a chair shot on Kofi, but Kofi kicks the chair in his face and then hits a facebuster for a two count. Rowan pulls Kofi out to ringside and boots him down, then he elbows Woods in the face. Back in the ring, Rowan starts unfolding the chairs, and then they lay the ladder across the two unfolded chairs. The Brothers go to do the double chokeslam on to the ladder, but Kofi comes flying off the top rope to break it up. The Brothers grab Kofi and hit the double chokeslam on the ladder on Kofi instead, but they only get a two count. Rowan goes out to ringside now and gets a table and puts it in the ring. Rowan and Harper then beat down Kofi at ringside, and then Rowan gets his mallet and hands it to Rowan. Harper slaps Rowan across the face, and Rowan asks him to slap him a couple more times. Rowan charges at Kofi with his mallet, but Kofi moves and Rowan crashes into the timekeeper’s area by himself. Woods gets up but Harper drops him with a superkick. Harper takes Woods back in the ring and looks for a powerbomb through a table, but Kofi makes the save. Kofi has the mallet now and hits Harper with it. Kofi hits the Trouble In Paradise, and then Kofi lays Harper on the table in the ring. Woods goes up top and hits a flying elbow on Rowan through the table for the three count.
Winners & new Tag Team Champions: The New Day
– Big E runs out after the match to celebrate with Kofi and Xavier in the ring. The New Day celebrates in the ring with their Tag Title belts as we go to replays. The New Day goes in the crowd to celebrate with the Tag Title belts as SmackDown goes off the air.
