The June 12th edition of WWE SmackDown was the go-home show for Sunday’s Money In The Bank PPV, and aired live from the Fedex Forum in Memphis, TN.
– SmackDown GM Paige is in the ring to kick off this week’s show, and she’s joined by the women who will be competing in Sunday’s Money In The Bank ladder match: Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Naomi and Lana. Paige talks about this upcoming match, and their opponents from RAW who will also be competing. Lana says she’ll be the one taking the contract home to SmackDown, but Naomi interrupts and says she’ll snatch her bald right now. Charlotte takes issue with Naomi, and tells Paige she’s the most accomplished one and will win. Becky interrupts next and says she’ll be the one to win, and she talks about her accomplishments. Becky and Naomi exchange words until the Iconics come out to interrupt. The Iconics say none of the women in the ring are capable of winning the Money In The Bank match, and they make fun of everyone in the ring for several moments. There are ladders set up all over the SmackDown stage. Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose interrupt next and say their talent is superior to the talent in the ring. The women in the ring head outside and start brawling with the women on the ramp. As they’re fighting, we go to the commentary table where Tom Phillips introduces a Daniel Bryan video package.
– We see Daniel Bryan backstage warming up and getting ready to come out.
– Back from commercial, Tom Phillips talks about the feud between Big Cass and Daniel Bryan. He shows us a pre-taped promo from Daniel Bryan earlier in the day talking about stomping on Cass’ face until he quits at Money In The Bank.
– Daniel Bryan vs. Shelton Benjamin: The opening bell sounds and Shelton takes the fight to Daniel with knees and punches. Bryan dodges a shot in the corner and wrestles Shelton down to the mat. Daniel pins for a two count, then picks up Shelton and lays into him with uppercuts. He boots Benjamin in the face, but Shelton ducks the next shot and dumps him out to the ringside floor. Shelton fights with Bryan on the floor and slams Bryan knee-first on top of the announce table. Shelton is now focusing on Bryan’s left knee. Back in the ring, Bryan drops Shelton, but he misses a shot off the top rope. Shelton capitalizes with a half Boston crab on Bryan’s bad knee. Shelton goes for a German suplex on Daniel, but Bryan lands on his feet and kicks out Shelton’s knee. Both men are down now and slow to get to their feet. Bryan is up first and he lays into Shelton with some kicks, then takes him down with a Dragon Screw. Bryan hits the “yes kicks” on Shelton in the corner, then he starts working on Shelton’s left knee. Daniel takes things up to the top turnbuckle, but Shelton escapes and knees Bryan in the face. Shelton grabs Bryan on the turnbuckle and hits a superplex off the top for a two count. Shelton looks for a facebuster, but Bryan dodges it and takes Shelton down. Bryan puts on the Yes Lock, but Shelton is able to escape and he puts Bryan back in a half crab on the bad knee. Bryan escapes and applies a heel hook to Shelton, and Shelton taps out.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
– Bryan celebrates on the turnbuckle after the match, as Tom Phillips promotes his match with Big Cass on Sunday. We go to the broadcast table where Phillips, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton talk about the card for Money In The Bank.
– We see a replay of Shinsuke Nakamura beating down AJ Styles three weeks ago.
– AJ is in his locker room, where he grabs the WWE Title off the wall and gets ready for an interview, up next.
– Paige runs into Asuka backstage, and Asuka demands a match with Carmella tonight. Paige says she’ll make a ten-girl tag match tonight, and Asuka and Carmella will be on opposite teams. Paige runs into The Miz next, who is wearing a referee shirt. The Miz says she’s practicing for an audition, and he asks to be made special guest ref for the Samoa Joe vs. Rusev match tonight. Paige declines initially, but then appears to give The Miz what he wants, and the Miz thanks her and walks off.
– Tom Phillips introduces a video package looking at the history between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler comes out to the stage and he talks about this Sunday’s Last Man Standing match for the WWE Title. He introduces AJ Styles, and AJ comes out for an interview with Lawler. Lawler asks AJ about slapping Nakamura across the face last week, and asks what went wrong during the contract signing. AJ says Nakamura got under his skin and he lost his cool, and says the only thing he’s sorry for is not knocking Nakamura’s head off with his fist. AJ says if Nakamura can’t follow the rules in the house that AJ Styles built, he will have to discipline him. AJ says he’ll be the last man standing at Money In The Bank, and will walk out with his WWE Title.
– We go backstage where The Miz consults with a WWE referee about what he’s allowed to do during a match. Rusev vs. Joe is coming up next.
– Rusev vs. Samoa Joe: Aiden English sings Rusev’s entrance, and The Miz is the special guest ref for this one. The opening bell sounds and Joe starts off strong, backing Rusev into the corner with strikes. Rusev fights back and dumps Joe outside, then drops him on the floor. Back in the ring, Joe takes control of the match until Rusev is able to hit a shot in the corner and then the big boot to the face. Joe comes back with the Coquina Clutch, but referee (The Miz) is distracted by Aiden English on the apron. The distraction leads to Rusev hitting the kick to the face for the three count.
Winner: Rusev
– After the match, Aiden English throws a ladder in the ring for Rusev to climb, but the Miz comes in and attacks. The Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Rusev from behind, then Miz climbs the ladder and grabs the Money In the Bank briefcase above the ring. Miz carries the briefcase out of the ring and slams it on the announce table. Byron opens the briefcase, revealing that it’s full of pancakes. The Miz freaks out, and we see The New Day backstage watching on a monitor and laughing hysterically.
– Shinsuka Nakamura is backstage getting ready for his match with Jeff Hardy tonight.
– Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Jeff Hardy’s U.S. Title is not on the line in this one. The opening bell sounds and Hardy and Nakamura circle each other in the ring. They lock up and Nakamura backs Jeff into the corner. Jeff fights back and Nakamura slides out to ringside. Nakamura dares Hardy to come out and get him, and Hardy obliges. Hardy beats down Nakamura at ringside, then gets back in the ring and hits a suicide dive on Nakamura out on the floor. They fight back into the ring where Nakamura gets back in the game and he drops Hardy on the mat. Hardy fights his way to his feet and hits a jawbreaker on Nakamura. They trade blows until Hardy hits a running forearm shot and then an inverted atomic drop and a dropkick. Hardy is selling a knee injury after the commotion. Jeff hits a kick in the corner, and then he looks for a dropkick in the corner but Nakamura blocks it. Nakamura stuns Hardy and then drops him with a spinning heel kick. Nakamura sets up Jeff in the corner and he charges for a running knee strike, but Jeff dodges it and drops Nakamura. Jeff goes up top and connects with the Whisper In The Wind for a two count. Nakamura fights back and looks for the Kinshasa, but Jeff blocks it and hits the Twist of Fate. Jeff pins but Nakamura gets his foot on the bottom rope, then rolls outside. Jeff rolls out and takes Nakamura back in the ring, then he looks for another Twist of Fate, but Nakamura escapes and hits a low blow. The ref calls for the bell and this one ends in a DQ.
Winner via DQ: Jeff Hardy
– After the bell, Nakamura hits the Kinshasa on Jeff, and then Nakamura counts to 10 as Jeff lays on the mat.
– We go backstage for an interview with SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella. Carmella laughs off the possibility of being concerned about Asuka, and she says she isn’t concerned about tonight’s tag match either.
– Big Cass is backstage for an interview where he talks about going to a Memphis fair to make an appearance. Cass reveals a big “you must be this tall” sign he took from the fair, and he says Daniel Bryan doesn’t meet the height requirement. Cass trashes Bryan and says he won’t be able to reach Cass’ level this Sunday at Money In The Bank.
– The broadcast team again promotes the card for Sunday’s Money In The Bank pay-per-view before we go in to tonight’s main event. Tom Phillips also shows us a video package looking at WWE’s sponsorship of the Special Olympics and powerlifting athletes.
– Charlotte, Becky, Asuka, Naomi & Lana vs. Carmella, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, & The Iconics: Sonya and Naomi start this one off and they trade strikes early on. Naomi takes Sonya down with a hurricanrana, and then tags in Lana. Lana hits an elbow to the face in the corner, and then a neckbreaker for a two count. Sonya hauls Lana back to her team’s corner and she tags in Carmella. Carmella starts beating on Lana, but she misses the Bronco Buster in the corner. Becky gets the tag and she drops Carmella with a spinning heel kick. She hits another kick on Carmella, and then a flying clothesline. Becky follows up with a t-bone suplex on Carmella for a two count. Peyton Royce tags in and drops Becky with a kick to the face, and then Billie Kay tags in and continues the offense on Becky. The heels take turns tagging in and double-teaming Becky now. Becky tries to mount a comeback, but Sonya spears her down for a two count. Billie tags in and puts Becky in a head lock. Becky comes back with an enziguri, and Charlotte gets the hot tag. Charlotte cleans house and takes out everyone except for Carmella, who got out of the way. Charlotte spears Peyton Royce down next, then she goes up top. Carmela tries to interfere, but Charlotte kicks her away. Charlotte goes for a moonsault off the top, but Peyton blocks it with her knees. Mandy Rose gets the tag and starts beating on Charlotte, then Sonya tags in for the double team. Charlotte escapes them and tags in Asuka. Asuka hits a missile dropkick off the top on Mandy. Mandy fires back with some elbows to the face, but Asuka is able to take her down and she applies the Asuka Lock. The heels run in to break it up, then the babyfaces run in and this one breaks down to a brawl all over ringside. Charlotte moonsaults off the top onto The Iconics at ringside, as Mandy and Sonya take out Becky. Naomi then hits a splah off the apron on Sonya. Back in the ring, Asuka drops Mandy, and then Carmella drops Asuka. Carmella pin, but Lana breaks up the pin. Carmella turns around and looks for the superkick on Asuka, but Asuka dodges it. Carmella rolls up Asuka, but Asuka escapes and applies the Asuka Lock. Carmella taps out, and Asuka’s team wins this one.
Winner: Charlotte, Becky, Asuka, Naomi & Lana
– Carmella retreats up the ramp with her Women’s Title belt as the winners celebrate in the ring. The Iconics, Mandy and Sonya all recover at ringside. The other winners all seem to surround Asuka, and they look up at the briefcases hanging above the ring as SmackDown goes off the air.
