SmackDown. Photo by WWE.com
With only two weeks left until the second biggest show of the year, things are heating up on Tuesday nights. SmackDown Live took a bit of a hit after the Superstar Shakeup, but last week proved that they’re not afraid to take risks.
Last week’s SmackDown was stacked. After what could have easily main evented any WWE pay-per-view, Shinsuke Nakamura will go on to face Jinder Mahal. Considering the promo he cut on Mahal earlier in the month, it seemed like John Cena would be the one to go to SummerSlam, possibly capturing his 17th title win. However, to the surprise of most fans, Cena not only put over the former New Japan star, but did so in quite a decisive finish. Both men came away looking strong, Cena dipping further into his arsenal that he typically does.
Their bout wasn’t in poor company, as another main event quality match went on earlier in the night. Kevin Owens defended his United States Championship against AJ Styles after their odd meeting at Battleground. The two were joined in the ring by none other than Chris Jericho, who also demanded a rematch for the title that he lost at WrestleMania. Styles walked away with the championship after a ref botch, which prompted Owens to complain to management. Shane McMahon, always the hands-on boss, announced that he will personally referee their match at SummerSlam to ensure no more indecisive finishes taint the United States Championship.
Sami Zayn lost to Aiden English, stopping any momentum that he had coming out of two wins against Mike Kanellis. After years of floundering, English looks like he might finally be due for a small push, though fans are wondering where that leaves Zayn.
Naomi called on Becky Lynch to help her take down number one contender Natalya and Ms. Money in the Bank Carmella in a tag match. Naomi continued to prove that she is a fearsome competitor with the slap heard around the world, or at least in Gifs on Twitter. She slid right into Carmella, smacking her across the face and then forcing her to tap out. Carmella hard-tagged her way into the match and it gave Natalya an out from the loss.
With only one show to go after this before SummerSlam, SmackDown will surely be trying to make it count. What rivalries will we see moved forward and matches announced for the big show? Will they keep up the great matches that filled last week’s episode?
SmackDown Live Episode Number: 935
Air Canada Centre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
What should we expect for tonight’s episode of SmackDown? Let’s take a look at Daily DDT’s top four predictions for tonight’s SmackDown Live: