The July 23, 2019 episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from the American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL. Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
Shane McMahon Accepted Kevin Owens’ Challenge
New Day joined Tom Phillips and David Otunga on commentary for the show tonight. SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon was introduced as the best in the world and the crowd immediately responded with a “CM Punk!” chant.
McMahon stated that he was happy not to see Kevin Owens at the RAW Reunion last night. Shane accepted Owens’ challenge for a match at SummerSlam and pointed out that Kevin said that he will quit if he loses at SummerSlam.
A loud “you can’t wrestle!” chant broke out and Shane joked that the crowd should ask Roman Reigns about that. Shane rolled footage of Kevin Owens saying he quit on August 27th, 2018.
Shane said that was typical “Kenny Owens” and Kevin Owens interrupted. Owens claimed that last August was the lowest point in his career and that is not who he is today. Owens vowed to beat the hell out of Shane at SummerSlam and stated that he was going to do the same right now.
McMahon told Owens that if he attacks him tonight he doesn’t get the match at SummerSlam. Shane McMahon announced that Kevin Owens will face Roman Reigns later tonight. Shane later made Drew McIntyre the special referee for the match and Elias the special timekeeper.
I’m sure this will be an entertaining match at SummerSlam, but we’ve already seen this before. It is inexcusable for WWE to be doing this much repetitive booking with all the talent they have on their roster.
Dolph Ziggler Superkicked Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels was a guest on Miz TV tonight on SmackDown. Michaels said that last night was fun and that Stone Cold was right when he said it was like a family reunion.
Michaels brought up Rollins’ being an honorary member of DX and that Seth has every intention of burning it down at SummerSlam. Dolph Ziggler interrupted and said that he has enough of these so-called legends.
The Miz told Ziggler that he would be happy to punch Dolph in the face right now. Ziggler stated that he used to idolize Michaels but called it embarrassing that Shawn continues to come out here every chance he gets.
Ziggler added that it was embarrassing as Goldberg in the ring and claimed that it was an embarrassment that he returned to the ring last November. Michaels agreed with Ziggler that it was embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as Ziggler being known as a second-rate Shawn Michaels wannabe.
Miz got in Dolph’s and challenged Ziggler to do something about it. Ziggler got pissed off as the crowd chanted “do something!”. Ziggler went to walk away but Michaels grabbed him. Dolph went to punch Michaels but he ducked and struck Ziggler. Michaels got in a couple of punches but then got leveled with a Superkick. The Miz went after Ziggler but Dolph retreated up the entrance ramp.
I absolutely loved this entire segment. In my opinion, this is the proper way to use legends of the past. Michaels played his role great tonight and got people invested in The Miz and Dolph Ziggler storyline. Last night’s RAW Reunion was all about nostalgia but nothing was really accomplished in regards to building towards SummerSlam.
Ember Moon Sent A Message To Bayley & Charlotte
Charlotte faced Ember Moon tonight on SmackDown. Charlotte knocked Moon down early and Bayley’s entrance music. Flair lost focus and started trash-talking with Bayley as the champ walked down the entrance ramp.
Ember Moon got back up and capitalized on the distraction by rolling Charlotte up for the victory. After the match, Ember Moon celebrated with Bayley outside the ring. Moon then threw Bayley inside the ring and Charlotte attacked her.
Moon climbed to the top rope and hit Flair with the Eclipse. Ember then went right back up to the top rope and delivered another Eclipse to Bayley. Ember Moon will face Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in two weeks at SummerSlam.
Flair was later interviewed backstage and said that it was a slap in the face that she wasn’t on SummerSlam. Charlotte demanded to be at SummerSlam and said that her opponent will be better than Ember Moon. Flair vowed to prove that she is the greatest female superstar of all-time.
Kofi Kingston Will Face Randy Orton At SummerSlam
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston came down to the ring and issued a challenge to Randy Orton for SummerSlam. Orton’s music hit and The Viper made his way to the ring.
Kofi rolled footage from the November 16th, 2009 episode of RAW where Kingston hit a Boom Drop on Randy through a table. Kingston stated that moment still gives him goosebumps till this day and that was supposed to be the moment that he made it to the main event scene.
Kingston claimed that Orton used his influence to ensure that he would never reach the main event. Kofi added that it almost worked, but he found the power of positivity and become what Orton never wanted him to be, the WWE Champion.
Randy admitted to using his influence to hold him back and claimed that Kofi wasn’t ready back then. Orton added that Kingston still isn’t ready now and his title reign is a fluke. Orton said that he never had fake a Jamaican accent, throw pancakes, or shake his ass to reach the top.
Orton boasted about injuring Ali before the Elimination Chamber PPV and that he was the only reason Kofi even got a title shot in the first place. Randy claimed that he can take the WWE Championship at any time and Kofi challenged him to a match at SummerSlam. Orton accepted and told Kofi that his fairy tale will come to an end courtesy of the RKO at SummerSlam.
Kingston then battled Samoa Joe on SmackDown and Randy Orton was ringside for the match. Dueling chants for Kofi and Joe broke out as the two superstars locked up in the middle of the ring. Kingston Dropkicked Joe to the outside and leaped on top of him. Back in the ring, Joe took control and bounced Kofi’s face off the top turnbuckle.
Joe connected with an Uranage and went for the cover but Kofi kicked out at two as SmackDown went to a commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Joe had Kofi in a Headlock in the middle of the ring. Kingston escaped and leveled Joe with a Clothesline.
Kingston followed that up with the Boom Drop and set up for Trouble in Paradise but Joe retreated to the corner. Orton hopped in the ring and went for the RKO but Kingston was able to avoid it. Orton hit Joe with the RKO and then turned around into a Trouble in Paradise from Kingston.
Orton and Kingston had a terrific promo tonight. I liked that Orton took credit for Kofi getting a title shot because he injured Ali. WWE used events of the past to provide backstory and gave the fans a reason to care about the match.
Bray Wyatt Will Battle Finn Balor At SummerSlam
Finn Balor was interviewed tonight on SmackDown about being attacked by Bray Wyatt on last week’s episode of WWE RAW.
Finn stated that he doesn’t know if Bray is back to settle an old score with him or if he is doing something new. Balor added that he cannot explain Bray’s puppets and his attack on Mick Foley last night.
Balor noted that he has stared fear in the eyes before and he is not going to back down. Finn challenged Bray to a match at SummerSlam but was then interrupted by an episode of Firefly Funhouse.
Bray shouted “yowie wowie!” and said that Balor was so brave. Wyatt said that he was a huge fan of Balor, but The Fiend isn’t a fan. The Fiend officially accepted the challenge at SummerSlam and claimed that The Fiend is an abomination, and he remembers. Wyatt closed the promo by saying “let me in”.
Shane McMahon’s Plan Backfired
Kevin Owens squared off against Roman Reigns in the main event of this week’s episode of SmackDown. Drew McIntyre was the special referee, Elias was the timekeeper and Shane McMahon served as the guest ring announcer for the bout.
Shane introduced Roman Reigns as the man that lost to him at Super ShowDown. McMahon introduced Kevin Owens as “the quitter” and the man that will lose to him at SummerSlam.
Owens grabbed a microphone and said that he has no problem going through Reigns, Elias, and Drew McIntyre to get to Shane. Reigns said that he was going to whoop everyone’ ass tonight and the match started with five minutes left in the show.
Reigns and Owens locked up and Roman drove Kevin to the corner. Drew separated them and shouted that he was the official and they need to listen to him. Reigns punched McIntyre in the face and threw him out of the ring.
Roman chased Shane around and caught him on the apron. McIntyre hit Reigns from behind and Owens got back into the ring. Shane, Elias, and McIntyre knocked Owens back out of the ring and beat Roman down.
The crowd chanted “you suck!” as Shane geared up for a Spear. Owens dragged Shane out of the ring and slammed him into the barricade. Owens hit Elias and McIntyre with a Superkick. Reigns delivered a Spear to McIntyre and Owens connected with a Stunner to Elias.
Shane tried to escape but Roman caught him on the entrance ramp. Roman brought Shane back into the ring and hit him with a Superman Punch. Owens followed that up with a Stunner to Shane and had a brief staredown with Reigns. The crowd chanted “one more time!” and Owens hit McMahon with another Stunner. Owens grabbed the microphone again and vowed to kick Shane’s ass at SummerSlam.
This week’s episode of SmackDown was a solid show. It still had some issues, mainly the female superstars were once again in an extremely short segment. That has become a trend in recent weeks that WWE needs to rectify. As usual, there was also way too much Shane McMahon tonight. However, the promo between Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton was very good and has me looking forward to the WWE Championship Match at SummerSlam. The best segment of the night was easily Miz TV with Ziggler and Shawn Michaels.
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