WWE SmackDown Live Results & Discussion (8/15)

The August 15th edition of WWE SmackDown aired live from the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI, and was the go-home show for SummerSlam 2017.

– The Singh Brothers come out to the stage to introduce WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and kick off the show. Jinder points out that today is India’s Independence Day, and he brings out a bunch of people dressed in the classic garments of his country. The WWE Champion introduces a woman to the ring who begins to sing the Indian national anthem. All of the people around the ring start dancing and playing drum music, then Jinder tells the fans he knew they would boo and they’ll boo again when he beats their hero John Cena. Mahal says he’s the reason why people all over the world are subscribing to the WWE Network. Mahal shakes his head at last week’s Cena vs. Nakamura dream match, and says tonight will be reality when he beats Cena worse than Nakamura ever could. Mahal says Nakamura’s destiny is to lose to him at SummerSlam, and then he begins to speak to his people in his language. Shinsuke Nakamura’s music hits and he comes out to interrupt. Nakamura steps in the ring and Mahal asks him how dare he disparage Mahal’s people on their day. Nakamura says in his country today is a holiday when they pray for peace, and Sunday in America is SummerSlam when Jinder loses the WWE Title to him. Nakamura’s music hits and he leaves while the Singh Brothers yell at him from the ring.

– The announce team says that Ric Flair is resting comfortably in Atlanta but is still considered in critical condition. They wish him well and a speedy recovery.

– Natalya def. Becky Lynch: Naomi coms out before the match and dances down to the announce table. Natalya slaps Becky across the face and Becky returns the favor. They brawl to the outside early on, then back in the ring Becky takes control of the momentum. Becky goes up top and misses a leg drop, leading to Natalya putting her in the Sharpshooter. Natalya stares down Naomi at ringside as she locks Becky in the Sharpshooter, and Becky taps out.

– After the match, Natalya tries to put Becky back in the Sharpshooter, but Naomi comes in to make the save. Before Natalya can make it backstage, Carmella comes out to the stage with James Ellsworth. Carmella and Ellsworth says it doesn’t matter who wins the Women’s title at SummerSlam, because with her Money In the Bank briefcase Carmella will be the ultimate winner.

– Tamina is backstage yelling at Lana about her lack of opportunity. Lana says Tamina is isn’t ready and the roster doesn’t fear her, yet. Lana says if Tamina listens to her, people will fear her because Lana will use her smarts to help her, and then Tamina will be ready to become Women’s Champ.

– The Usos approach Daniel Bryan backstage and ask him which New Day members they’ll be facing at SummerSlam. Bryan says they’ll be facing Big E and Xavier. The Usos say that’s cool, but tonight they want Kofi and Xavier, and Bryan grants them the match.

– Chad Gable def. Rusev via DQ: Rusev overpowers Gable in the opening moments until Gable comes back with a boot to the face and a belly to belly overhead suplex. The fight spills out to ringside where Rusev throws Gable into the steel steps. Rusev throws Gable over the announce table and he crashes into the announcers’ chairs, prompting the ref to call for the disqualification. Rusev pulls Gable up onto the announce table and locks him in the Accolade for a minute as the crowd chants for Randy Orton.

– After the match, Rusev steps into the ring with a mic. Rusev only gets out one word, “Randy,” then Orton runs in the ring and hits an RKO on Rusev out of nowhere. Orton poses on the corner and stares at Rusev on the mat.

– AJ Styles comes out to the ring and we see a video recapping what transpired between him, Shane McMahon, and Kevin Owens last week. AJ says that after seeing the footage, he wants Shane to come out to the ring. Shane says there’s no need for AJ to apologize for accidentally kicking him last week, and the reason he’s the ref is because he can take a shot and still finish the match. Shane says he’ll be a WWE official on Sunday, and if AJ pushes or shoves him, it’s a different story. Shane says if AJ puts his hands on him again, Shane will return the favor. Kevin Owens’ music hits and he comes out to the stage to interrupt. Owens says AJ hit Shane on purpose last week, and thinks AJ has something planned for SummerSlam. Owens says if he were to collide with Shane in any way, it would be a complete accident. Owens says he’s thrilled that Shane is the ref at SummerSlam, because Shane will call it down the middle and Owens will get his U.S. Title back. Owens goes to shake AJ’s hand, but they end up getting in a shoving match. Shane gets in between them again, and AJ almost accidentally punches Shane but Shane blocks it. Owens tries to superkick AJ from behind, but AJ ducks and Owens kicks Shane instead. Owens heads backstage while AJ and Shane stare each other down. AJ leaves next as Shane slowly gets up and heads to the ramp.

– The New Day comes out to the ring and accepts The Usos’ match request they made to Kurt Angle earlier. The New Day says The Usos can get it any time, whether it’s tonight or Sunday.

– The Usos def. Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston: Big E is at ringside for this one. Kofi and Xavier take turns hitting repeated knee drops, leg dops, and sentons on Jey Uso in the opening minutes. The New Day members hit sliding dropkicks in tandem on the Usos at ringside, then brawl with them in front of the announcers’ desk. Kofi takes a shot to the ring post, and the Usos turn the momentum in their favor. Back in the ring, Jey works over Kofi and hits two powerslams. Kofi comes back with a back suplex, then Xavier and Jimmy get the tags. Xavier hits some kicks to the head, then Kofi tags back in. Xavier and Kofi hit a double superkick on Jimmy, then Kofi hits a backbreaker. Jey dumps Xavier off the top rope, then Jimmy takes out Kofi’s knee from behind. Jey tags in and The Usos hit a double superkick on Kofi for the win.

– In what we’re told is the finale of Tyler Breeze and Fandango’s backstage segment saga, we go to their office and see a poster examining the Diesel and Razor Ramon imposters from the 90s. Breeze walks in once again wearing a wig and women’s clothing. Fandango says the aliens left a rock in his pocket, and it will help them see the future. He throws the rock, and it hits a member of The Ascension. They say they just came back to return Breezango’s pie because it’s horrible. Fandango examines the pie for evidence, and The Ascension yells that they live a gluten-free lifestyle. They find a piece of paper that says “two B,” and Breeze says “it’s happening again.” The segment ends with “Breezango will return in two weeks” appearing on the screen.

– Jinder Mahal vs. John Cena – No Contest: The Singh Brothers are at ringside for this non-title match. Jinder challenges Cena to a test of strength and does momentarily get the better of Cena before kicking Cena in the midsection. Jinder chokes Cena over the top rope, then one of the Singh Brothers cheap-shots Cena behind the ref’s back. Jinder stomps on Cena then throws him through the ropes to the outside. Back in the ring, Jinder continues the offense with a stalling vertical suplex. Cena comes back with some shoulder blocks and a back suplex, then hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Jinder rolls outside and the Singh Brothers get another cheap-shot in on Cena, leading to Jinder kicking Cena in the head. The ref ejects the Singh Brothers from ringside and the Champion is not happy about it. When Jinder turns around, Cena catches him in an STF but Jinder reaches the ropes to break the hold. Mahal hits an elbow to Cena’s head and drops Cena’s throat over the top rope. The Champion hits a running knee to the face of Cena for a two count. Mahal goes for the Cobra Clutch but Cena reverses into an AA for a two count. Cena takes Mahal up to the top turnbuckle and appears to be going for an AA off the turnbuckle. Cena hits the AA off the middle rope, but Baron Corbin runs in out of nowhere and breaks up the pin. Corbin hits Cena with the briefcase and Cena falls out to ringside. Corbin starts heading to the back, but then he looks at his briefcase, then looks at Jinder who is still down from the AA. Corbin hands over his briefcase to the ref and he’s officially cashing it in.

– Jinder Mahal vs. Baron Corbin: The referee holds Corbin back until Mahal gets up to his feet. When Mahal gets to his feet the ref calls for the opening bell. Cena gets on the apron and Corbin punches him off, which leads to Mahal capitalizing on the distraction by rolling up Corbin behind for the three count. Mahal wins to retain his WWE Championship, and he rolls out of the ring and escapes up the ramp. The Singh Brothers meet Mahal on the ramp and they celebrate with his WWE Title belt. Corbin is not happy, and he freaks out at ringside about losing his Money In the Bank cash-in match. Mahal and the Singhs laugh at Corbin from the stage as he trashes the ringside arena. Cena gets to his feet and also laughs at Corbin’s loss. SmackDown goes off the air with Corbin looking distraught at ringside.