WWE SmackDown Live: Results, Analysis, and Grades for Aug. 22
By Rob Furness
Smackdown Live. Photo by WWE.com
Though the Raw main event from SummerSlam is sure to dominate the headlines, SmackDown Live quietly had a great showing at the biggest party of the summer.
Leading into tonight, it seems like there are more questions asked than answered following SummerSlam. At the biggest party of the summer, we saw some extremely surprising titles change hands. Just as surprising is what didn’t happen Sunday night.
On the pre-show, the Usos picked up the victory and the titles from The New Day, in a match that was much better suited for the main card. In the SmackDown Women’s Championship match, Natalya pulled off a surprising win over Naomi. Natalya seemed like a place holder feud at worst, and someone for Carmella to cash-in on at best. She was neither that night. Baron Corbin’s downward spiral continued, as he lost to Cena in the opening match. Shane McMahon couldn’t seem to get out of the way in the United States Championship match.And, after beating John Cena a week ago, clean, Nakamura seemed like the favorite going into SmackDown main event at SummerSlam. But even the artist couldn’t content with the WWE’s most effective finisher — Singh Brothers’ interference.
Will Ms. Money in the bank cash in tonight? Will Shane have to answer for his less than impressive performance as referee? Does Nakamura deserve a rematch? How could Sami Zayn be left out of SummerSlam? Does Luke Harper even wrestle for the blue brand anymore? And is SmackDown Live about to get a little more glorious?
Let’s review the August, 22 edition of SmackDown Live!