WWE SmackDown Live Results And Grades For July 17, 2018

Carmella And Paige Backstage Segment

Following yet another victory by Becky Lynch, we see Carmella’s response to being called out for a future title match against The Lass Kicker. SmackDown Live GM Paige continues to be a legend, as she mentions how much the crowd was behind Becky, throwing shade at Carmella. She insults Mella by calling James Ellsworth her “boyfriend”, which grosses the Princess of Staten Island out.

Carmella says she deserves another MellaBration after defeating Asuka for a second time, to which Paige responds that this will only happen if she defeats Becky in a non-title match next week.

More importantly, if Becky wins, she gets to face Carmella for the title at SummerSlam.

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1019383621319196672

Tye Dillinger vs. Samoa Joe

I have to give all the credit in the world to Tye Dillinger for calling Samoa Joe out for a match, because let’s just say that this is NOT good for your health. R-Truth tries to give Dillinger a motivational speech backstage, but Dillinger knows better than to listen to him. He’s ready to face Joe, and while we know there’s only result, let’s see if he can give him a fight. Dillinger impressed against AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura since he joined SmackDown Live in 2017, so this would be another big moment for the pro wrestling veteran.

Immediately, Dillinger went right after Joe when the bell rang, doing so out of pure hatred for Joe after his ambush attack last time out.

Dillinger kept destroying Joe outside the ring, exposing his knee and smashing Joe with some vicious strikes. But it didn’t take long for the Samoan Gladiator to halt Dillinger’s moment, blasting The Perfect 10 into the ring post.

The match didn’t last too much longer after that, with Samoa Joe predictably putting Dillinger to sleep. That Coquina Clutch sure is something else!

Grade: B, Solid match, and I loved Dillinger’s aggression early in the match. WWE doesn’t use him much, but they do a solid job of portraying him as a serious-but-not-great competitor when he’s in the ring. Dillinger is an important guy to have on any roster.