WWE SmackDown Live Results & Discussion (9/26)

The September 26th edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Gile River Arena in Glendale, AZ.

– Kevin Owens comes out to the ring first to kick off this week’s SmackDown broadcast. Owens steps in the ring with a mic and calls out Shane McMahon. Owens says he’s been hearing all week about how Shane is going to take action tonight, but he doesn’t see him. Owens says this is Shane’s opportunity to come out to the ring and face him, but Shane isn’t there. Owens says he has nothing but respect for Vince McMahon and he likes Vince. He says we saw what he did to someone he actually respects, and at Hell In A Cell we’ll see what Owens does to someone he doesn’t respect. Sami Zayn’s music hits and he comes out to interrupt. Zayn steps in the ring and gets on the mic, and says that Owens has snapped and lost control of himself. Zayn says after head-butting Vince, Owens is crossing a line that he can’t come back from. Zayn says Owens needs to get a grip and stop what he’s doing right now. Owens says he’s cool and hasn’t lost his mind, and the only reason Zayn is out here is because Owens has once again outshined him. Owens says Zayn has never made the kind of impact that he’s made. Zayn says his career isn’t going as great as Owens’, but when his day comes he’ll do it the right way and he’ll be able to look at himself in the mirror. Zayn says when Owens looks in the mirror there is a giant piece of trash looking back at him. They drop their mics, then Daniel Bryan comes out to interrupt. Bryan quickly books a match between Owens and Zayn, and that will happen tonight!

– Rusev will be holding a “Pride of Bulgaria” celebration tonight.

– Baron Corbin def. Tye Dillinger: Before this one starts, the lights go out and United States Champion AJ Styles makes his way out to ringside. AJ joins the commentary table, and Corbin stares him down. Dillinger takes advantage of the distraction and throws Corbin to the outside. Corbin recovers and rolls back inside and the ref starts this one. The fight spills back out to ringside early on where Corbin repeatedly throws Dillinger into the fan barricade. Back in the ring, Corbin goes for a suplex but Tye reverses into a rollup for a two count. Corbin grabs Dillinger and hits the chokeslam backbreaker. Corbin goes for another one but Tye escapes and hits a superkick. Tye follows up with a knee to the face for a two count. Corbin rolls outside and Tye follows. Corbin shoves Tye off and charges at him, but Tye dodges and Corbin crashes into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Tye goes for the TyeBreaker, but Corbin escapes and rolls outside. Corbin walks over to the announce table and throws a cup of water in AJ Styles’ face, then he throws Tye into AJ and they both fall over the announce table. Dillinger is slow to get up from the fall over the announce table, and the ref counts him out. When Tye tries to get back in the ring, Corbin boots him in the face back down to the floor. AJ runs in the ring and Corbin retreats up the ramp. Corbin gets on the mic on the stage, and says he knew AJ and Tye would work together. Corbin says everyone knows AJ can’t beat him one on one, and says he doesn’t need to take any shortcuts against AJ. Corbin says he wants AJ at Hell In A Cell, and he’ll take the US Title.

– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers are shown backstage walking through the arena.

– Back from commercial, Mahal and the Singh Brothers are in the ring. Jinder gets on the mic and begins cutting a promo about his Hell In A Cell opponent Shinsuke Nakamura. Jinder says last week he may have gone a little too far in making fun of Nakamura, but he does respect him. He says unlike last week, this week he’s going to compliment Nakamura. Jinder says Nakamura was upset about his comments last week, and he does the same gag where he shows pictures of Nakamura on the big screen and makes fun of him. Nakamura shows up on the big screen, then the lights go out and he makes his entrance to confront the WWE Champion and the Singh Brothers. The Singh Brothers charge at Nakamura on the ramp, but Nakamura lays them both out. Jinder Mahal runs over and cheap-shots Nakamura from behind. Jinder beats down Nakamura at ringside then throws him in the ring. In the ring, Nakamura hits a knee and a kick to Mahal, then he goes for the Kinshasa but the Singh Brothers run in and distract him. Nakamura lays out the Singh Brothers, then Jinder grabs Nakamura from behind. Nakamura escapes from Jinder and kicks him down, then hits the Kinshasa. Jinder and the Singh Brothers recover at ringside before retreating up the ramp.

– The New Day comes out to the ring with a bunch of snacks to watch the Usos vs. The Hype Bros up next.

– The Usos def. The Hype Bros: Mojo spears Jimmy Uso into the corner early on, then drops him with a shoulder block. Mojo gets distracted and Jimmy takes out Mojo’s knee, then both Usos take turns stomping a mud hole in Mojo. Mojo comes back with a suplex on Jimmy, then Ryder gets the hot tag. Ryder cleans house, then he goes up to the middle rope. Mojo tags himself in, and Ryder takes issue with this. Ryder and Mojo in the corner, then Jimmy pushes Mojo into Ryder and knocks Ryder down to the floor. Jimmy follows up with a superkick and a splash on Mojo for the win. After the match, the Usos cut a promo on The New Day and say they belong to be sitting on the sidelines watching like the rest of the chump fans. Big E takes a mic out of his popcorn bucket and hands it to Kofi. Kofi says The Usos talk a pretty big game for two guys who just lost the tag titles to them. The New Day then proposes that they defend their Tag Titles against the Usos inside a Hell In a Cell structure at the HIAC pay-per-view. The Usos seem to accept the idea and walk off.

– Aiden English is in the ring to introduce the the mayor of Rusev’s hometown Plovdiv, and then he introduces Rusev. English also sings the Bulgarian National Anthem while Rusev comes down the ramp. Rusev steps up onto a podium, and then English holds open a scroll for the Plovdiv mayor to read from. He honors Rusev in their language, and then offer a “key to the city” to Rusev from his hometown. He also declares September 26th as “Rusev Day.” Rusev now gets on the mic and shows a replay of him beating Randy Orton last week. Rusev says last week, everyone saw the lion from Bulgaria rip the fangs out of the viper’s mouth. Rusev says he has destroyed the legend of The Legend Killer, and declares SmackDown Live as his jungle now. Aiden English then informs us that he’s prepared a song in honor of Rusev Day. English sings about Rusev Day until Randy Orton runs in out of nowhere and hits an RKO on English. Rusev jumps off the podium and hits Orton, but Orton gets back up and hits an RKO on Rusev too. The Plovdiv mayor hits the road while Orton poses on the turnbuckles.

– Daniel Bryan is backstage with Sami Zayn. Bryan says he just got off the phone with Shane, and he’s on his way to the building right now. Bryan says Shane is coming for Owens tonight, and Zayn says that he doesn’t want Shane interfering in his match tonight. Zayn asks Bryan to tell Shane to let him have his shot at Owens tonight, and Bryan says he’ll try.

– Randy Orton is shown walking backstage, and he tells Renee Young that if she sees Rusev, to tell him that Orton wants him at Hell In A Cell. Orton wishes her a Happy Rusev Day and walks off.

– Charlotte def. Carmella: Ellsworth is at ringside on a leash chained up to the ring post. The opening bell rings and Charlotte drops Carmella early on, but Carmella kicks her away. Charlotte gets up on the turnbuckle, but Ellsworth grabs her by the ankle and Carmella runs over and hits a Frankensteiner on Charlotte. Charlotte comes back with some chops to the chest, then she throws Carmella outside. Charlotte rolls outside and drops Ellsworth, then Carmella hits a superkick on Charlotte. Back in the ring, Carmella stomps a mudhole in Charlotte in the corner then hits a hurricanrana. Carmella throws Charlotte down by the hair and the ref warns her. Carmella goes up top and hits a cross body for a two count. Carmella pushes Charlotte into the corner, then hits a big boot. Charlotte ducks a shot and rolls up Carmella for a two count. Charlotte follows up with a big boot to the face for the three count.

– After the match, Natalya comes out to the stage and cuts a promo on Charlotte. Natalya says she’s glad Ric Flair is recovering so he can see his overrated daughter get beaten by Natalya at Hell In A Cell.

– It’s announced that The Fashion Files with Fandango and Tyler Breeze will return to SmackDown next week.

– The Undertaker’s gong sounds and the lights go out. The Undertaker’s entrance queues up and a man in a trenchcoat and big hat comes out, but of course it’s Dolph Ziggler and not the Undertaker. Ziggler steps in the ring and gets on the mic. He asks the fans if they really thought they’d see the Undertaker twice in one year. Ziggler says anyone can walk out like a zombie, but no one can do what he does in the ring. As Ziggler is ranting, he gets interrupted by Bobby Roode’s entrance music. Roode makes his way down to the ring and gets on the mic. Roode says Ziggler is amazing in the ring, but he’s also a hypocrite for wasting the fans’ time with these entrances while saying he doesn’t care what they think. Roode says since Ziggler wants to say he’s the best performer in WWE history, Roode wants to find out, and challenges him to a match at Hell In A Cell. Ziggler says Roode has the flashy robe and entrance light show, but he can’t match Ziggler in the ring. Ziggler says Roode is everything that’s wrong with WWE, and he accepts Roode’s challenge. Ziggler starts to say that anyone who steps in the ring with him will “rest in peace,” but Roode cuts him off and says Hell In A Cell will be absolutely glorious.

– Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn via stoppage: Referee Charles Robinson calls for the opening bell and both men immediately start throwing punches at each other. Owens drops Zayn and starts stomping on him, then picks him up for a short-arm clothesline. Owens hits a cannonball in the corner, then takes Zayn outside and throws him into the fan barricade. Back in the ring, Zayn comes back with a clothesline, but Owens grabs the tights and throws Zayn right back outside. Shane McMahon is shown on the big screen arriving at the arena. In the ring, Owens hits a superkick and goes for a powerbomb, but Zayn escapes and hits a tornado DDT on Owens. Owens hits another superkick on Zayn and goes for the Pop Up Powerbomb, but Zayn escapes and hits the Blue Thunder Bomb. Owens rolls outside and Zayn hits a suicide dive on him, then rolls Owens back in the ring. Owens immediately rolls back out the other side of the ring. Zayn goes to leap through the ropes at Owens, but Owens stops him with a superkick. Owens drags Zayn out to ringside and then powerbombs Zayn onto the corner of the ring apron. Charles Robinson is not having it and he calls off the match after deeming that Zayn is unfit to continue. Zayn is laying on the ringside floor selling the powerbomb. Medics haul off Zayn while Owens watches on from ringside. They almost have Zayn to the ramp, but Owens charges and tackles Zayn and the medics carrying him. Owens grabs a steel chair and opens it, then puts Zayn’s head into the open part. Before Owens can slam Zayn down with the chair on him, Shane McMahon comes out for the save. Shane sprints down the ramp, but Owens shoves Sami at Shane, and the chair around Zayn’s head hits Shane in the face. Owens runs through the crowd as Shane gets to his feet. Shane gets in the ring and stares down Owens up in the crowd. SmackDown goes off the air with Shane telling Owens to come back to the ring, but Owens keeps going through the crowd.