The August 6th, 2019 episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI. It was the final episode of SmackDown before WWE SummerSlam this Sunday night. Here are 5 takeaways from the show:
Trish Stratus Slapped Charlotte
Charlotte Flair kicked off the show by boasting about her greatness. Flair claimed that Trish Stratus sees her greatness and it eats her alive because she was never as good as her. Charlotte added that the athletes of today are far better than the athletes of the past.
Flair vowed to shatter Trish’s dreams at SummerSlam in front of her husband and kids. Charlotte rolled a highlight package of her career but it wound up turning into highlights from Status’ career.
Trish came down to the ring and said that the reason she played that video was to remind Charlotte of why she is here and why she has been given these opportunities. Stratus admitted that she has been dreaming of one more match, and it has been eating at her because Charlotte is the embodiment of everything she fought for.
Stratus stated that she wants one more match, maybe to prove it to her kids, maybe to prove it to these fans, but also to prove it to herself. Trish then quoted Harley Race: “there is no greater feeling in the world than to be under these bright lights”.
Trish added that while Charlotte may be The Queen, she will never be her. Charlotte told Trish to bow down and Stratus responded with a slap to the face. Flair then laughed and exited the ring.
Dolph Ziggler Mocked Goldberg & Vowed To End His Career At SummerSlam
Dolph Ziggler faced Rey Mysterio tonight on SmackDown. Ziggler entered to Goldberg’s theme music and got booed out of the building.
Ziggler attacked Mysterio during his entrance and tried to rip his mask off. Ziggler hit Rey with a Superkick as WWE officials rushed down to the ring.
Dolph mocked Rey and then hit him with another Superkick before grabbing a microphone. Ziggler got into the ring and boasted about taking another legend going down.
Ziggler stated that nostalgia isn’t enough and that he will end the legend of Goldberg at SummerSlam. Dolph shouted that the match at SummerSlam will be Goldberg’s last.
Ali rushed the ring and booted Ziggler in the face. Ali followed that up with a Suicide Dive and this led to a match between the two.
Ali dominated the match early as SmackDown went to a break. When SmackDown returned, Ziggler connected with a Clothesline and followed it up with a Superkick for the pinfall victory.
I guess Ali is never going to get a push. He just lost to Dolph Ziggler, who is going to get destroyed by a 52-year-old Goldberg in 5 days. WWE had been rolling vignettes for Ali recently, so I was expecting them to have some kind of plan for him. It sure doesn’t seem that way now.
Shane McMahon Got The Better Of Kevin Owens
Shane McMahon was a guest on the Kevin Owens Show tonight on SmackDown. McMahon will battle Kevin Owens at WWE SummerSlam. If Owens loses the match, he must retire.
Owens stated that he didn’t ask Shane to put his career on the line because of Shane’s last name. Kevin said that he has changed his mind and challenged Shane to put his career on the line as well.
The crowd chanted “yes!” and Shane said he was going to ponder that for a second. McMahon declined and claimed that Owens’ ego got him in this mess in the first place. Shane told Owens that there is no shame in losing to the best in the world and described all of the ways Owens can lose this Sunday night.
Shane told Owens that his career will be over Sunday night and finally he will be rid of him. Owens stated that Shane just exposed to everyone that he really doesn’t have any balls. Elias attacked Owens from behind but Kevin was able to fight him off. Owens then launched Shane over the announce desk but Elias attacked him again from behind.
Owens hit Elias with a Stunner on the announce table but Shane tripped him up. Shane unloaded several punches to Owens’ face and stomped on his ribs. Shane flipped the announce table onto Owens and trapped him against the barricade. Shane continued the assault and hit Owens with a few more punches. McMahon set up a chair on Owens’ face and hit a Dropkick against the barricade. Shane taunted Owens before WWE officials finally broke it up.
I was hoping that Shane agreed to the stipulation, just so we can get a break from him on television following SummerSlam. Owens and Shane will likely have a solid match this Sunday night, it is just hard to get excited because we have seen it before.
Aleister Black Defeated Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn cut a promo on Aleister Black tonight on SmackDown. Zayn blasted Black for locking himself in a dark room and not responding to him like a man. Sami claimed that Aleister doesn’t want to fight at SummerSlam because he knows that all of his hype will be gone if he loses Sunday night.
Aleister’s music hit and Black said that the match is not happening at SummerSlam, it is happening tonight. Black connected with a boot to the face that knocked Sami to the outside as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Zayn was in control and hit a Backbreaker for a near fall. Aleister battled back with a running knee and a Moonsault off the second rope. Aleister hit another knee to the face and then Black Mass for the pinfall victory.
Buddy Murphy Revealed Who Attacked Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns was interviewed by Kayla Braxton on this week’s episode of SmackDown. Reigns noted that he has been through so much this year, but he has always known what was going on. Roman said that he has no idea what is going on and who is trying to attack him.
Reigns added that WWE has offered him personal security but he is a man that does things on his own. Roman noted that he knows now that Samoa Joe is not the attacker and apologized to him. Reigns vowed to get some answers later tonight on SmackDown.
In the main event of this week’s show, Daniel Bryan and Rowan faced Big E and Xavier Woods. The SmackDown Tag Team Champions controlled the match early and Big E connected with three Belly to Belly Suplexes on Daniel Bryan.
Big E followed that up with a Splash and fired up the crowd. Bryan hit Big E with a Dropkick to the knee and then a few Yes Kicks. Bryan trapped Big E in the LeBelle Lock but Big E broke free. Bryan went for a Triangle submission but Big E countered into a Powerbomb for a near fall.
Rowan tagged in and hit Big E with a spin kick for a two count. Woods tagged in as Big E leveled Rowan with a Clothesline. Woods climbed to the top rope and hit Rowan with an Elbow Drop. Woods went for the cover but Daniel Bryan broke it up at the last moment.
Big E took out Bryan with a Spear through the ropes. Rowan then hit Woods with the steel stairs and the match ended in a DQ. Rowan hit Big E with the steel steps and then planted him with the Iron Claw. Bryan connected with the Running Knee on Woods.
Roman Reigns asked Buddy Murphy if he was the one that tried to attack him. Reigns told Buddy that he saw him in the hallway and he either did it, or he knows who did it. Murphy told Roman that he wouldn’t tell him who did it even if he knew. Roman beat the hell out of Murphy and Buddy told Reigns that Rowan did it. SmackDown went off the air with Bryan and Rowan looking at the jumbotron as Reigns was shown pissed off backstage.
This was quite underwhelming for the final segment before SummerSlam. The entire SummerSlam card feels thrown together and rushed. Overall, tonight’s show wasn’t good and it capped off a pretty terrible build for this year’s SummerSlam.