The July 30, 2019 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the FedExForum in Memphis, TN.
– We see a video from Shane McMahon’s cell phone, and Shane says he won’t be here tonight. Shane talks about his upcoming match with Kevin Owens at SummerSlam, and says if Owens loses he has to retire.
– Kevin Owens comes out to the ring to kick off the show. Owens gets on the mic and tells people not worry, because they’ll make it through tonight without Shane just fine. Owens takes some shots at Shane on the mic, then Drew McIntyre comes out to interrupt. Drew McIntyre comes out to interrupt. Drew gets in the ring, and he’s got a mic. Drew tells Owens he talks to much, and they have a match together tonight. This leads to Drew nailing Owens with a cheap shot, then brawling with Owens out to ringside. Drew throws Owens into the ring post, then over the announce table. Drew tells Owens to dust himself off, because their match is up next.
– Kevin Owens vs. Drew McIntyre: Back from the break, Owens comes out swinging off the opening bell, but Drew quickly overpowers him. Owens is still selling Drew’s pre-match beat down. Owens fights back and drops Drew in the corner, then hits a cannonball splash on him. They fight up to the top turnbuckle, and Owens shoves Drew down to the mat. Owens follows up with a frogsplash for a two count. They fight to the top turnbuckle and Owens knocks Drew down once again, and this time Owens hits a Swanton Bomb on Drew for a two count. Drew comes back with a side suplex for a two count. Drew misses a Claymore Kick attempt, and Owens answers with a superkick. Owens follows up with a Pop Up Powerbomb for a two count. Drew fights back and takes Owens up the turnbuckle, then he hits a suplex off the middle rope on Owens for a two count. Drew takes Owens out to ringside and on top of the announce table, but Owens fights back and hits a Stone Cold Stunner on Drew on the table. Back in the ring, Owens hits a superkick and another Stunner for the three count.
Winner: Kevin Owens
– Dolph Ziggler is backstage for an interview. Ziggler trashes some of the legends who have appeared on WWE recently, like Mick Foley, Goldberg and Shawn Michaels. Ziggler moves on to SummerSlam and says he’s going to take out the “A-lister” Miz.
– SmackDown Women’s Champion approaches Ember Moon backstage, and tells Ember not to forget that Bayley gave her the opportunity to have a Title shot. She says they have a tag match tonight, and if Ember tries pulling anything, she’ll regret it.
– We see a pre-taped promo from Aleister Black sitting in a dark room, and he says he wants more competition.
– Bayley & Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross: Alexa and Ember start this one off. Ember drops Alexa, then tags in Bayley who continues the offense. Bayley dumps Alexa out to ringside and follows her out. Nikki gets in Bayley’s face, then Ember hits a suicide dive on Nikki to take her out. Bayley and Ember seem to exchange words at ringside as we go to commercial. Back in the ring, Alexa and Nikki double team Bayley to take control. Ember finally gets the hot tag and cleans house. Moon hits a running hip attack on both Nikki and Alexa in the corner. Ember goes up top and hits the Eclipse on Nikki. Alexa is the legal woman, and she nails Ember from behind and then hits the Twisted Bliss on her for the three count.
Winners: Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
– Daniel Bryan and Eric Rowan are backstage for an interview, but they end up not saying anything and just walking off.
– Sami Zayn does an interview backstage where he says Aleister Black needs to be beaten and exposed, and Sami is going to be the man to end Aleister’s hype. Sami says he’s going to do it at SummerSlam.
– Corey Graves tells us Roman Reigns will be coming out tonight to issue a challenge for SummerSlam.
– Coming up: Jerry Lawlor’s “King’s Court” with Trish Stratus.
– We see a look at the media coverage for The Big Show’s new Netlix series.
– Jerry Lawler is out in the ring to his The King’s Court. He introduces his guest Trish Stratus. Trish comes out to a big ovation from the crowd, and she exchanges memories with Lawlor from the RAW Reunion. Jerry says after the Reunion, he heard a lot of the WWE legends saying they wish they could get in the ring for one more match. Trish says WWE is in her blood, but she’s a mom now. Charlotte comes out to interrupt. Charlotte complains that she’s the greatest female superstar of any era, and she’s not on SummerSlam, and now Trish is out here taking time reminiscing. Charlotte says lots of WWE stars are parents, and it sounds like Trish is making excuses. Charlotte says the greatest moment of Trish’ life hasn’t happened yet, because Charlotte is challenging Trish to a match at SummerSlam. Charlotte says if Trish can’t hang with her in the ring, then she needs to leave the ring, go get in her mini van and go back to changing diapers. Trish says she respects Charlotte’s ability, but right now she’s just being a bitch, and without Trish paving the way there would be no Charlotte. Trish says she accepts Charlotte’s challenge for SummerSlam, and they have a stare-down in the ring.
– AJ Styles is shown backstage talking to Gallows and Anderson. AJ talks about everyone getting their SummerSlam matches locked in, and he brags about all three of them having TItle belts now. AJ says tonight, Kofi Kingston is going to find out why SmackDown will forever be the house that AJ Styles built. AJ says they’re going to party tonight.
– It’s time for Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Fun House. The rabbit puppet comes up first, and says he is Finn Balor’s biggest fan. We see highlights cut in the video of Wyatt in his mask attacking Balor and Mick Foley recently. The rabbit says Finn doesn’t understand what the Fun House really is, but then the rabbit runs away. Bray walks in looking for the rabbit, then starts laughing. Bray says “let me in” and then we see more clips of him wearing the mask.
– We see a video package looking at Brock Lesnar beating down Seth Rollins last night on RAW.
– Finn Balor vs. Dolph Ziggler: Balor starts off strong in this one and hits a series of strikes on Ziggler early on. Ziggler comes back with a shot to Balor’s knee, then he follows up with the Fameasser on Balor for a two count. Ziggler looks for the Sweet Chin Music, but Balor dodges it and hits the Sling blae. Balor throws Ziggler out to ringside and he measures him up for a suicide dive, but then the lights start going out in the arena. A spotlight comes on and we see Wyatt in his mask on the stage. The lights go out again, and when they come back on, Ziggler is behind Balor in the ring. Ziggler hits a superkick on Balor for the three count.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
– Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura is shown backstage heading towards the gorilla position.
– Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ali This one is a non-Title match. Ali immediately connects with a running kick right off the opening bell. He throws Nakamura out to ringside and then hits a dive on him. Back in the ring, Ali misses a shot and Nakamura turns things around in his favor. Nakamura stomps on Ali, but then misses a suplex attempt. Ali dodges another shot, and hits a version of the X-Factor on Nakamura. Ali goes up top, but Nakamura takes him down and hits the exploder suplex. Nakamura looks for the Kinshasa, but Ali cuts him off with a superkick. Ali goes for a 450 splash off the top but Nakamura rolls out of the way. Nakamura misses another Kinshasa attempt, but he still grabs Ali and hits a DDT on him. NAkamura misses another Kinshasa, and this time Ali reverses it into a small package pin for the three count, and Nakamura can’t believe it.
Winner: Ali
– We see a pre-taped promo from Randy Orton talking about how he just had to be himself to succeed – a third generation star. Orton starts trashing Kofi Kingston for his fake Jamaican accent and his dance moves, and he says Kofi is stupid for thinking he can hang with Orton. Orton says when you piss him off, you get sent right back to the bottom of the ladder.
– Kofi Kingston is backstage for an interview, and he’s joined by Xavier Woods and Big E.
– Kofi Kingston vs. AJ Styles: This one is a non-Title match, with Gallows, Anderson, Big E and Woods all at ringside. The opening bell sounds and AJ starts off strong in this one. Kofi fights back and wrestles AJ down to the mat, putting him in a front face lock. AJ comes back with a single leg takedown and a side headlock. AJ misses a shot and Kofi fires back with an elbow to the face, a splash in the corner, and a missile dropkick from the middle rope. Kofi looks for the Trouble In Paradise but AJ ducks. Kofi clotheslines AJ out to ringside, and then Kofi goes for a dive, but Gallows and Anderson distract him. This leads to AJ hitting a knee to the face of Kofi, then he throws Kofi into the ring post and then into the fan barricade. Back in the ring, AJ continues the offense with a backbreaker for a two count. AJ follows up with kicks in the corner, then he takes Kofi to the top turnbuckle. Kofi fights off AJ and hits a tornado DDT on AJ. Kofi comes back with more strikes and a flying clothesline. Kofi misses a shot in he corner, but he comes back with a flying stomp on AJ for a two count. Kofi looks for the Trouble In PAradise, but AJ blocks it. AJ goes for a fireman’s carry neckbreaker, but Kofi escapes and hits the SOS on Styles for a two count. AJ comes back with a knee strike and an enziguri. AJ misses a shot in the corner and Kofi connects with a kick to the face. Kofi hits a frogsplash off the top to the back of AJ and pins, but Gallows and Anderson interfere with the pin count. Woods and Big E get in Gallows and Anderson’s faces at ringside. AJ and Kofi fight on the apron now, and Kofi knocks AJ out to ringside. AJ hits a cheap shot on Big E, then Gallows and Anderson drop Big E and Woods. Kofi comes flying out of the ring with a suicide dive on AJ, Gallows and Anderson. Back in the ring, Kofi goes to the top rope, but Gallows briefly grabs his leg. The distraction from Gallows allows AJ to grab Kofi and hit the fireman’s carry neckbreaker. AJ looks for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Kofi dodges it and hits the Trouble In Paradise on AJ to knock AJ out of mid-air. Kofi pins for the three, while Big E and Woods drop Gallows and Anderson at ringside.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
– Roman Reigns arrives backstage for an interview, but as he approaches the interviewer, a fork lift comes out of nowhere and knocks something on top of Reigns. A bunch of speakers and equipment fall on Reigns, and WWE crew members rush to help him. It turns out all of the falling objects narrowly missed Reigns, and Reigns is fine. Medics ask Reigns if he needs help, but Reigns declines and leaves. It looks like we won’t hear Reign’s SummerSlam challenge. Reigns walks out of the arena as SmackDown goes off the air.
