The July 9th, 2019 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH.
– Tonight’s broadcast opens with video from earlier today, showing Dolph Ziggler arriving at the arena. Ziggler rants about carrying Owens like he’s carried WWE for the past decade. Owens comes pulling up in a car, honking the horn. They argue and this leads to blows as Owens strikes first. They brawl until Superstars come and break it up. Shane McMahon also appears as they are separated. Shane orders Owens to leave the building.
– Shane McMahon is backstage for an interview. She asks why he canceled the Owens vs. Ziggler match, and he talks about how we can’t have that kind of behavior from Owens in WWE. Shane says he has other ideas for tonight’s main event and will go work on that now.
– Kevin Owens runs in from the crowd and invades ringside with a mic, cutting the announcers off. Owens talks about how he watched the McMahon family promise change, but the only thing that’s happened is Shane getting more power, and no one wanted to see that. Fans cheer Owens on as he continues yelling about Shane. Owens says this is the biggest load of crap he’s ever seen in WWE. Shane comes walking down the ramp and has Owens’ mic cut as fans boo. Owens calls him an idiot and grabs another mic. Owens talks about how Shane disrespects every performer, past and present, when he calls himself the best in the world. Owens says it makes everyone sick. Owens says everyone in the back thinks “Shane can kiss my ass” when he calls himself the best. Shane wants Owens stopped. Owens goes on about how Shane takes TV time from people like Ali, Buddy Murphy, Apollo Crews, Asuka, Kairi Sane and others. Owens leaves through the crowd as a “thank you Owens” chant breaks out. We go back to the announcers and they discuss tonight’s show.
– Finn Balor is backstage getting ready to come out to the ring.
– Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Before the match we see a pre-taped promo from Balor, who praises Nakamura but says that’s not the man he’s facing tonight, tonight he’s facing a man who is desperate to get his career back on track. In the opening moments Nakamura connects with several elbow strikes on Balor. Balor counters a pin attempt with a kick to the face. Nakamura keeps control until Balor turns it around with a kick. Balor with a big chop in the corner. Balor blocks a kick and drops an elbow over the throat for a 2 count. Balor waits for Nakamura to get back up now. Nakamura blocks a Slingblade. Nakamura with more offense and a sliding German suplex at the apron. Nakamura waits for Balor to get up now. Nakamura charges for a Kinshasa but Balor counters and hits a Slingblade. Balor goes to the top but Nakamura cuts him off. Nakamura brings Balor down with a knee to the ribs. Nakamura goes to the top while Balor is recovering on the apron. Nakamura with a big knee strike, knocking Balor from the apron to the floor. Nakamura sends Balor into the ring post and the barrier a few times as the referee counts. They both make it back in at the 9 count. Nakamura tosses Balor back out to the floor. Nakamura delivers a Kinshasa on the floor as the referee counts again. Balor makes it back in just in time. Nakamura continues the beatdown on the floor, sending Balor into the barrier and the steel ring steps. Nakamura leaves Balor laying as the referee counts. Balor once again makes it back in at the 9 count. Nakamura immediately delivers a Kinshasa for the pin to get the non-title win.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
– After the match, Nakamura stands tall over Balor as his music hits. Nakamura delivers a quick kick to the back as we go to replays.
– Shane McMahon, Elias and Drew McIntyre are backstage. Shane and Drew promise to make Cedric Alexander pay for what happened on last night’s RAW. Drew and Shane are also confident about beating Roman Reigns and The Undertaker at WWE Extreme Rules on Sunday. Elias says he’s been working on the perfect funeral song for Taker. Shane hopes it’s spooky. Dolph Ziggler walks up and he’s not happy with Shane taking away his chance to end Kevin Owens. Shane says Ziggler can take care of another issue for them tonight. He books Ziggler vs. Reigns for tonight. Shane says they will all be out there at ringside to support Ziggler.
– Still to come, a Tag Team Title Summit.
– We see Bayley backstage walking to the ring. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and we get a video package for Samoa Joe vs. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston at Extreme Rules. We go to pre-recorded backstage comments from Joe now. Joe promises to tear away every last shred of the lie that Kofi is on Sunday. Joe goes on and says he will put Kofi to sleep, then take the WWE Title.
– Kayla Braxton is in the ring with a mic. She introduces Nikki Cross, and says she is here to represent herself and Alexa Bliss. Cross is out for the Extreme Rules contract signing for the 2-on-1 Handicap Match for the SmackDown Women’s Title.
Kayla introduces SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley next and out she comes to the table. We see what happened on last night’s RAW with the Beat The Clock Challenge, Cross picking the Handicap Match stipulation for Extreme Rules, and Bayley’s attack. Bayley points to Bliss not being here tonight and goes on about how she was just like Cross when she first came to WWE. Cross is upset about last night’s attack. They have more words as Bayley tries to convince Cross that Bliss is using her. Bayley asks Cross if she’s really OK with this, with helping someone else win a title. Bayley says she understands the odds are against her, but she’s bringing her A-game and will do whatever it takes to win.
Bayley asks what will happen when Bliss loses on Sunday and then blames Cross. Bayley signs the contract. Cross says she will help h er friends but Bayley wouldn’t understand that because her friends have abandoned her. Cross says Bliss isn’t using her and Bliss has promised that when she wins the title on Sunday, they will be the first-ever co-champions on the blue brand. Cross signs the contract and tells Bayley to stick around for her match with Carmella, so she can show that when it’s time to play, Nikki has all the fun. Carmella’s music hits and out she comes.
Carmella vs. Nikki Cross: Carmella makes her way into the ring as Nikki Cross and Bayley look on. Back to commercial. Back from the break and the bell rings as Bayley watches from a chair in front of the announcers. Cross attacks Carmella and unloads, beating her down and stopping to look at Bayley. Cross takes it to the corner and keeps control. Cross with a dropkick. Cross keeps Carmella grounded and keeps looking out at Bayley. Carmella finally tries to make the comeback but Cross shuts her down. Cross yells out at Bayley, saying this is on her, before going back to work on Carmella. Carmella ducks a crossbody attempt and they both go down. Carmella mounts momentum off the ropes now. Carmella runs Cross face-first into her boot in the corner. Fans pop for Carmella as she keeps control and hits the Bronco Buster in the corner. More back and forth as they tangle. Carmella with a close roll-up out of nowhere. Cross blocks another shot and hits her swinging neckbreaker, The Purge, in the middle of the ring for the pin to win.
Winner: Nikki Cross
– After the match, Cross stands tall as her music hits. She stares out at Bayley.
– The announcers discuss the feud between The Kabuki Warriors and The IIconics. We see how Asuka and Kairi Sane recently won a non-title match over Peyton Royce and Billie Kay in Tokyo, Japan, to earn a future title shot. We go backstage to Paige, Asuka and Sane confronting The IIconics now. Paige says they want to schedule their title shot for tonight. The champs say Billie is sick and they play it up. Paige says they accidentally won the titles at WrestleMania 35 and they’ve done nothing since but run and make excuses. Paige calls them names and slaps something to the floor. The IIconics go to stand up to them but Paige reminds them they claimed Kay is sick. Paige threatens them with the title shot to happen soon, and The IIconics walk off.
– We see Dolph Ziggler backstage preparing for his main event with Roman Reigns. Daniel Bryan and Rowan are shown walking to the ring backstage. We go to commercial.
– Back from the break and Tom shows us RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch on the cover of the new issue of ESPN The Magazine with Alison Brie of Netflix’s GLOW series.
– Kayla Braxton is backstage with Roman Reigns. She asks about the craziness of tonight and his match with Dolph Ziggler. Reigns welcomes the craziness and says Ziggler is not ready for him tonight. He also says he and The Undertaker will do their thing on Sunday, which means Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre will rest in peace.
– We go to the ring for tonight’s Tag Team Title Summit as The New Day’s Big E and Xavier Woods come out first. They talk about tonight’s Triple Threat and the Triple Threat on Sunday. They go on and say for the first time, the members of The New Day will be able to touch their championship tips together after Extreme Rules. The music interrupts and out comes SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan and Rowan.
Bryan says fans are booing him but they should be booing The New Day. Bryan knocks them for gyrating and making jokes about three-ways and tips, for not taking the title shot seriously. Bryan says they’re not taking it serious because when they have won titles in the past, no one takes them serious either. Woods says Bryan talks too much without ever saying anything. Woods wants to hear what Rowan has to say. Woods says Rowan confuses them because first he was taking orders from Bray Wyatt, then Luke Harper and now Bryan. Woods says they can’t figure out who Rowan’s daddy is. Rowan gets upset as a “who’s your daddy?” chant breaks out. Bryan goes on knocking The New Day, saying they can’t escape the mid-card and are just a bad comedy act, bad for the tag team division. Bryan says the only thing worst would be for Heavy Machinery to win the titles. Bryan goes on ranting about Heavy Machinery until the music interrupts. Out comes Tucker and Otis.
Tucker brags on how they took Bryan and Rowan to the limit at Stomping Grounds, and the win over Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens last week. Tucker says they earned this opportunity. Otis says they are blue collar solid, and Tucker says that means they overcome any obstacle. Tucker goes on and says Heavy Machinery will be the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions on Sunday, mocking Big E. Tucker says they will show everyone that there’s no party like a blue collar party. Otis says tonight, Woods and Bryan have a match with him and he’s coming. He heads to the ring as the music hits. Back to commercial.
Otis vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Xavier Woods: Back from the break and the match begins as the bell rings. Daniel Bryan goes to the floor as Xavier Woods and Otis face off, locking up to start. Bryan runs in and jumps on the back of Otis after he tosses Woods. Bryan gets dropped and goes back to the floor for a breather as Woods tries to overpower Otis. Bryan runs in and joins Woods for a double suplex attempt on Otis. Otis counters and hits a double suplex on Woods and Bryan at the same time. Otis with a 2 count on Bryan. Otis whips Woods into the corner a few times. Bryan runs in but Otis plants him face-first into the mat. ryan with more kicks. Otis catches the roundhouse and scoops Bryan for a big slam. Woods with a kick to the face of Otis. Otis catches a move by Woods and drops him. Otis with running splashes to Woods and Bryan in the corner. Otis gets ready for The Caterpillar and hits it on Bryan, dropping the elbow. Bryan rolls to the apron to avoid the pin. Bryan superkicks Otis down. Bryan charges Woods with a running knee but Woods turns it into a Gutbuster. Bryan rolls to the floor.
Woods and Otis trade shots now. Otis with a big slam in the middle of the ring for the pin to win.
Winner: Otis
– After the match, Otis stands tall as the Heavy Machinery music hits.
– We get a video package showing what has led to the Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler feud, including today’s brawl in the parking lot and tonight’s opening segment with Owens and Shane McMahon.
– Ember Moon has words with Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose backstage in catering. They tell Moon to find a tag team partner for next week’s show, if she can. Moon s
– Aleister Black is backstage for an interview and to reveal his opponent for Extreme Rules. Cesaro sits down, and it looks like Cesaro vs. Black will be taking place on Sunday at Extreme Rules.
– Roman Reigns and Dolph Ziggler are shown backstage getting ready to come out to the ring.
– WWE Champion Kofi Kingston is backstage for a quick backstage interview where he bashes Samoa Joe.
– Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler: Before the match starts, Shane McMahon, Drew McIntyre and Elias come out to ringside, and Shane gets his extended “best in the world” introduction. The opening bell sounds and Reigns and Ziggler grapple into the corner. Reigns overpowers Ziggler at first, but Ziggler fires back with kicks and punches. Reigns comes back with a clothesline and then he looks for a Samoan Drop, but Ziggler escapes and hits a dropkick. Ziggler follows up with an elbow drop for a two count. Reigns fights back, but a distraction from Elias leads to Drew McIntyre cheap-shotting Reigns behind the ref’s back. Back in the ring, Ziggler takes control and wrestles Reigns down to the mat. Ziggler looks for a DDT, but Reigns escapes and drops Ziggler with a big boot and then a leaping clothesline. Zigglr comes back with the Zig Zag for a two count. Ziggler looks for a superkick, but Reigns dodges it and hits the superman punch for a two count of his own. Reigns dumps Ziggler outside and then hits a dive on Ziggler, Drew and Elias all at ringside. Shane runs in the ring, but then Kevin Owens runs in and hits the Stone Cold Stunner on Shane. Reigns takes Ziggler back in the ring and hits the spear on him for the three count.
Winner: Roman Reigns
– SmackDown goes off the air almost as soon as the bell rings, with referee Charles Robinson raising Roman Reigns’ hand.
