The June 18th, 2019 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, and was the last episode before Sunday’s Stomping Grounds pay-per-view.
– Big E, Xavier Woods, and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston come out to the ring with a tray of pancakes to kick off this week’s broadcast. Woods hypes up Sunday’s Stomping Grounds pay-per-view, and Kofi’s match against Dolph Ziggler. Big E starts to talk, but then Dolph Ziggler comes out to the stage to interrupt. Ziggler tells Kofi that without The New Day he would be nothing, and they won’t be able to help him on Sunday when they’re in a steel cage. Kofi says he’s very familiar with cages, and his Championship journey began in a cage in the Elimination Chamber. But that’s Sunday, and tonight Xavier Woods has a shot at Dolph Ziggler in a single’s match. Ziggler says Sunday is what Kofi needs to focus on, because the opportunity should have been his the whole time, and this Sunday it will be his.
– SmackDown Women’s Champion is backstage walking through the hallways of the building. She will be a guest on Alexa Bliss’ “Moment Of Bliss” tonight.
– Dolph Ziggler vs. Xavier Woods: The opening bell sounds and Ziggler wrestles Woods down to the mat early on for a pin attempt. Woods gets up and trips Ziggler into the middle rope, then dropkicks him for a two count. They fight on the turnbuckle, and then Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn run down and attack Big E and Kofi at ringside. Woods goes flying off the turnbuckle down onto Owens and Zayn on the ringside floor. Back in the ring, Ziggler has recovered and he hits the DDT on Woods for a two count. They briefly brawl out to ringside, and then back in the ring Woods hits a gorilla press slam into a rib-breaker for a two count. They fight out to the apron, where Ziggler shoves Woods into the ring post and then superkicks him off the apron down to the floor. Back in the ring, Ziggler hits the Zig Zag, then he picks up Woods again. Ziggler leans Woods against the ropes and then superkicks him. Ziggler pins for the three count.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
– There’s a line forming outside Baron Corbin’s locker room of wrestlers who want to be his special guest referee. Shelton Benjamin and The B Team are both outside his door. Matt Hardy walks out of Baron’s office and tells “Senor Benjamin” he’s next.
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– Alexa Bliss is shown backstage going over notes with Nikki Cross.
– Back from the break, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross come out to host “A Moment Of Bliss.” Alexa demands for someone to bring her a coffee, but Bayley comes out instead. Bayley tells Nikki that she’s never said or tweeted anything bad about Nikki. Bayley is about to say something about Alexa, but Alexa keeps cutting her off. Bayley tells Nikki that Alexa isn’t really her friend, and Alexa is just using her. Alexa interrupts and talks trash to Bayley, saying she’s a liar and says that even Charlotte was nicer to her than Bayley. Bayley says she’s never lied to Alexa, and Alexa just can’t handle the truth, she’s not a goddess and she doesn’t deserve a damn thing. Bayley and Alexa start brawling until Nikki pulls Bayley off. Alexa then blindsides Bayley and drops her. Alexa and Nikki leave.
– Apollo Crews finds Zelina Vega backstage and asks her where Andrade is. He says he’s been looking for Andrade but can’t find him. Zelina starts to rub Apollo’s chest, then Andrade runs out from the shadows and attacks Crews from behind. Andrade leaves Crews laying and walks off. We see Chad Gable standing in the corner writing something on a clipboard and looking at Crews.
– We see Daniel Bryan and Rowan backstage talking to each other.
– Heavy Machinery vs. The B Team: Tag Team Champions Rowan and Daniel Bryan are at ringside for a closer look at this match. Axel starts off strong in this one, but Tucker eventually fights him off and tags in Otis. Dallas tags in too, and Otis cleans house. Otis hits a splash on both Axel and Dallas in the corner, then he hits The Caterpillar on Dallas. Tucker tags in for the double team slam on Dallas for the three count.
Winners: Heavy Machinery
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– After the match, Heavy Machinery leaves, and then Seth Rollins hits the ring and starts hitting Axel and Dallas with a steel chair.
– We see a limo arrive at the back of the building, and Shane McMahon gets out. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens greet Shane at the back of the building, and they complain about Seth Rollins’ presence tonight. Owens and Sami say that only bad people attack people from behind. They also call Kofi a bad person, and they say something needs to be done. Shane tells them they should team up tonight to face Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston in a two-out-of-three falls tag team match. Owens and Zayn don’t seem happy about Shane’s decision.
– We see a pre-taped promo from Aleister Black calling out anyone to try picking a fight with him.
– Shane McMahon comes out to the ring with Elias and Drew McIntyre. Shane tells ring announcer Greg Hamilton to save it tonight because everyone already knows Shane’s the best in the world. Shane says he’s here tonight to put the spotlight where it should be, on Drew McIntyre. Drew says he did Reigns a favor by not ending his career already. Drew says last night Reigns ambushed their private function and attacked them when they were unprepared. Drew says he wants Reigns at 100% on Sunday. The Miz comes out to interrupt. Shane and Miz exchange words, then Miz shows some footage on the big screen of Shane running away from Reigns, and then Reigns superman punching Shane last night. The Miz says there’s more, but Shane cuts him off and says if anyone in the production truck adds one more clip of footage they won’t have a job tomorrow. Miz says after Sunday, he’s going to host a special Miz TV with highlights of Reigns knocking out McIntyre. The Miz says Shane’s the boss’ kid, and he’s like the kid on the little league team that always starts because his dad’s the coach. Shane says it’s not his fault his dad is a billionaire, and Miz’s dad came from the dirt – a baked potato. The Miz says SmackDown was supposed to be different, but now Shane has made it all about himself. The Miz blames himself for creating a monster by allowing Shane to win the “Best In The World” cup. Miz says he’s the one who sent Shane on this ego trip, and he will be the one to end it. Shane says Miz didn’t give him anything and Miz couldn’t get the job done, so Shane had to do it himself and earn the Best In The World title. Shane tells Miz to find a partner for a tag match against Drew and Elias in the next ten seconds. Shane starts counting down, and behind him, R-Truth is wandering around the ringside area. The Miz says R-Truth is his partner, and Truth looks shocked. Shane says it’s official, but this match is now an elimination match. Shane calls for a referee to get down here, because that’s up next.
– The Iiconics are backstage. They walk past The AOP first, and then they come across Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Paige. Paige says they should put up their Women’s Tag Titles against Asuke and Sane, but The Iiconics say they can’t because they’re too busy and traveling too much. Paige says that’s fine because they’re traveling to the same places. Paige says Asuka and Sane will have a match against The Iiconics next week in Tokyo, and if Asuka and Sane win, they get a shot at The Iiconics’ Tag Titles.
– The Miz & R-Truth vs. Drew McIntyre & Elias: Shane McMahon is at ringside. Miz and Elias start this one off while Truth is on the apron getting the crowd pumped up. Elias and Miz trade shots, and then Truth tags in and hits a kick and a leg drop on Elias for a two count. Truth drops Elias with another kick, then he dances and Drew tags in. Truth connects with some strikes on Drew, but Drew dodges the scissor kick and slams Truth into the corner. Drew follows up with a belly to belly overhead suplex, and then some chops to the chest of Truth. Drew distracts referee Charles Robinson while Elias cheap shots Truth from the apron. Drew chokes Truth across the middle rope, then tags in Elias, who knees Truth in the face. Elias misses a clothesline and Truth fires back with right hands. Elias misses another shot and falls out to ringside. Drew throws Elias back in the ring. Drew distracts the ref and Shane pulls Miz off the apron so Truth can’t tag out. Truth realizes Miz is down and he turns around right into a knee to the face from Elias. Truth has now been eliminated. Wrestlers run down the ramp now and Shelton Benjamin grabs R-Truth 24/7 Title from ringside. A referee explains to Shelton that you have to pin Truth to win the Title, you can’t just physically take the belt. Truth grabs his belt back and runs through the crowd, and the line of wrestlers chases him. The Miz is alone in this one now, and the numbers game is working against him. Miz fights back and drops Drew at ringside, but then Elias drops Miz from behind. Back in the ring, Elias looks for a flying knee strike, but Miz dodges him and kicks Elias down. The Miz follows up with more kicks and then running knee strikes. The Miz hits a running clothesline and then rolls up Elias for a two count. The Miz hits a DDT for another two count. The Miz hits more kicks on Elias now. Elias fights up to his feet, and then Miz rolls him up in a pin. Elias kicks out and Drew hits a cheap shot from the floor. Drew tags in and hits the Claymore kick on Miz for the three count.
Winners: Drew McIntyre & Elias
– Shane gets in the ring to celebrate with Drew and Elias after the match. Shane picks up Miz and holds him up for Drew to hit another Claymore kick on Miz. Drew wants one more, so Shane picks up Miz again and Drew hits another Claymore kick on him.
– We see Ember Moon backstage looking for Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. She runs into Carmella, who is looking for R-Truth, and she tells Ember that she also has unfinished business with Mandy and Sonya. Ember keeps walking and finds Mandy and Sonya eating donuts. They exchange words and start brawling backstage until referees break it up.
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– Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston are backstage discussing strategy for their tag match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn tonight.
– We see the same Bray Wyatt “Firefly Fun House” video that aired on RAW last night.
– R-Truth runs out the back of the arena with his luggage and yells for Carmella to come with him. Referee Rudy Charles pulls up, and says he’s an Uber driver in addition to being a referee. Drake Maverick walks over dressed as Carmella, and this leads to Drake rolling up Truth for the three count. Drake takes his new 24/7 Title belt and steals Rudy’s car and drives off.
– Kofi Kingston & Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn: This one is a best two-out-of-three falls match. The opening bell sounds and Kofi immediately nails the Trouble In Paradise on Sami. Rollins runs in and knocks Owens off the apron, while Kofi pins Sami and scores the three count. The score in the opening moments of the match is already 1-0 for Kingston and Rollins. Owens and Rollins go at it in the ring now and Owens gets the upper hand. Rollins finally comes back with the Sling Blade, and then he tags in Kofi for the double team. Rollins tags back in for another double team attack on Owens. Rollins briefly gets distracted by Sami on the apron, and this leads to Owens slamming him and then hitting a DDT. Owens knocks Kofi off the apron and pins Rollins for a two count. Paul Heyman is shown backstage watching on a monitor. Sami tags in and puts the boots to Rollins in the corner. Owens tags back in, but Rollins fights him off. Kofi and Sami tag in and Kofi cleans house. Kofi looks for the Trouble In Paradise, but Sami avoids it and hits Kofi with a kick of his own. Kofi comes back with a flying cross body off the top on Sami for a two count. Sami comes back with a spinning powerbomb on Kofi for a two count. Owens tags in, but Kofi immediately hits him with a dropkick. Sami sneaks back in the ring but Kofi throws him out immediately, then Rollins tags in. Rollins hits a suicide dive on Sami on one side of the ring, and then on Owens on the other side of the ring. Back in the ring, Rollins hits a springboard flying clothesline on Owens. Rollins looks for the curb stomp, but Sami grabs his foot from the floor. Kofi drops Sami at ringside, and then in the ring Rollins and Owens start trading kicks and pin attempts. Rollins looks for a powerbomb, but Owens escapes. Rollins connects with a kick to the face and then the curb stomp for the three count.
Winners: Seth Rollins & Kofi Kingston
– We go to replays as Rollins and Kingston celebrate in the ring. We see Paul Heyman again backstage watching on a monitor as SmackDown goes off the air.
