– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown opens live from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California as Tom Phillips welcomes us. He’s joined by Corey Graves and Byron Saxton. They hype tonight’s episode.
– We go right to the ring and out comes The Miz for another must-see edition of MizTV. Miz is coming to SmackDown from RAW under the WWE Wild Card Rule tonight. Greg Hamilton does the introduction as fans pop.
Miz isn’t happy because he’s being forced to “follow the script” tonight. He welcomes everyone to the show. He says tonight’s guest specifically requested this. Miz introduces Drew McIntyre with a grand introduction that he is reading off a card. Miz messes up the introduction on purpose and fans laugh, cheering him on. He also introduces Elias and Shane McMahon, who is forcing him to host this segment tonight. Shane’s music hits and out he comes with Elias and Drew. We see a video package with stills from Shane’s win over Roman Reigns at WWE Super ShowDown on Friday.
We see the WWE World Cup trophy on display at ringside as Shane has Hamilton give him the proper introduction. Fans boo Shane as he poses. Shane has Elias play a tune and fans chant “you suck!” at him. Shane says fans think The Miz’s show sucks. Shane brags about beating Reigns by himself at Super ShowDown. Fans boo some more. Shane says Reigns shouldn’t be ashamed because he lost to the best in the world. Miz fires back about how all of Shane’s wins are tainted. He brings up some of their recent matches, and Shane’s matches with Reigns. Shane mocks Miz and tells him to do his job, start the interview. Miz shows us post-SSD footage of Saxton interviewing Reigns backstage. Reigns talked about how he will kick ass and takes names, starting with Drew at WWE Stomping Grounds. Drew takes the mic now and addresses the match with Reigns at Stomping Grounds. Drew says he enjoys hurting people and he has a weapon that no one else does around here – the Claymore Kick. Drew says he’s going to kick Reigns’ head off at Stomping Grounds.
The back & forth on the mic continues as some fans chant “boring!” now. Shane takes a shot at Miz’s dad. Miz stands up but Drew gets in his face. Shane proposes another fight with Miz tonight. First, Miz must defeat Elias. And then he must defeat McIntyre. And if Miz gets through that, then Shane will give Miz his dream match again. Shane goes on and calls for a referee to come to the ring. Shane’s music hits as Miz prepares for the first match. We go to commercial.
The Miz vs. Elias
Back from the break and the match is underway. Elias decks The Miz and asks the crowd who wants to walk with him. Elias keeps control and nails double knees for a close 2 count.
Elias keeps Miz grounded in the middle of the ring as we see Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre watching from ringside. Miz fights back and nails a jawbreaker. Miz unloads with kicks in the corner as fans count along. Miz charges with knees in the corner, and again. Miz charges again but Elias comes out of the corner, dropping him with a knee to the face. Elias with a 2 count.
Miz blocks a Drift Away but Elias levels him. More back and forth now. Miz with the big elbow drop. Miz goes on and hits the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin to win.
Winner: The Miz
– After the match, McIntyre rushes the ring and prepares to do battle with The Miz. Back to commercial.
The Miz vs. Drew McIntyre
Back from the break and the match is underway. Drew McIntyre controlled for a few minutes but The Miz turned it around. Miz sent Drew to the floor to regroup. Shane McMahon checks on Drew at ringside until Miz comes out with an attack.
This leads to Drew countering in the ring. Miz blocks that and drops Drew for a big DDT as fans pop. Shane gets on the apron to provide a distraction to stop the Skull Crushing Finale. Drew takes advantage and drops Miz with a Glasgow Kiss headbutt.
Drew heads to the corner to wait now. Miz recovers but Drew levels him with a Claymore Kick for the pin to win.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
– After the match, Shane enters the mic and says maybe he and The Miz should have their match after all. Shane calls for the bell.
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz
The bell rings as Shane McMahon starts beating on The Miz while he’s down. Miz fights back as fans cheer him on. Miz goes for the Skull Crushing Finale but it’s blocked. Shane takes advantage and applies the Triangle choke for the win.
Winner: Shane McMahon
– After the match, Shane celebrates as the music hits and we go to replays. Elias and Drew raise Shane in the air as the celebration continues.
– Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville approach Ember Moon, taunting her for reading books and suggesting she reads Mandy’s new Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine. They have words and Deville bullies Moon some, apparently ahead of a match later on. Moon throws a fit and screams after Deville and Rose walk off.
– Back from a break and Tom congratulates John Cena on landing a role in the “Fast and Furious 9” movie, which will not feature The Rock.
Heavy Machinery vs. AJ Kirsh and Dave Outra
We go to the ring and out comes SmackDown Tag Team Champions Rowan and Daniel Bryan. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and Bryan has the mic. He says we’re in for a treat tonight because The Planet’s Tag Team Champions will be defending against the YOLO County Tag Team Champions. We see two enhancement talents in the ring with cardboard title belts. They are former WWE Tough Enough participant AJ Kirsh and Dave Outra.
The music interrupts and out comes Heavy Machinery to the ramp. Tucker and Otis talk about how Bryan and Rowan are ducking them, and how they’re just blue collar guys who like to have a good time. Tucker says they would win the titles if they were to get a shot. Bryan fires back on the mic and ends up proposing Heavy Machinery vs. the YOLO County Tag Team Champions. The challenge is accepted.
The bell rings and Tucker starts unloading on one opponent. Otis comes in for a big double team into the corner. Otis ends up hitting The Caterpillar. Otis tags Tucker back in for big double team moves to get the pin.
Winners: Heavy Machinery
– After the match, Rowan wants to fight but Bryan keeps him from going in as Heavy Machinery looks on from the ring.
– Still to come, Big E returns to the ring in six-man action.
– WWE 24/7 Champion R-Truth is backstage with Carmella. Truth talks about recent 24/7 Title happenings and how the title is ruining his life, stressing him out. He calls it the 7/11 Title. We hear someone coming and Carmella hides Truth in a large production case. The coast is clear now and Carmella tries to get Truth out of the box but it’s locked. A staffer walks up and tells Carmella her match is next. She has to leave but promises she will help Truth get out of the box later. Truth starts screaming. Jinder Mahal walks by and hears Truth screaming about having on oxygen. Jinder tries to sound like Carmella. He tells Truth to stay right there while he goes off to get a crowbar. Jinder walks off as Truth continues screaming inside the locked box.
Carmella vs. Sonya Deville
We go to the ring and out comes Sonya Deville with Mandy Rose. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and the match begin as Carmella is also out. Carmella with offense early on until Deville turns it around. Deville with big knee strikes out of the corner. Deville with more offense and a 2 count. Deville uses the middle rope to choke Carmella as the referee warns her.
Deville keeps control and shuts down a comeback attempt. Deville hits the ropes and nails a flying knee to the face for a 2 count. Deville talks some trash and bullies Carmella around the ring. Carmella slaps her back but gets kicked in the face. Carmella ends up applying the Code of Silence but Rose puts Deville’s foot on the bottom rope to break it up.
Carmella goes after Rose, chasing her back in the ring. Deville takes advantage and levels Carmella for a close 2 count. Carmella sends Deville out of the ring and she lands hard on the floor. Carmella runs the ropes and hits a suicide dive, taking both Deville and Rose down for a pop. Carmella brings Deville back in but Rose gets involved again on the outside. Carmella drops her on the floor with a superkick. Carmella returns to the ring but Deville nails a jumping knee strike for the pin to win.
Winner: Sonya Deville
– After the match, Deville exits the ring and celebrates with Rose on the ramp. We go to replays as the music plays. Carmella sits up in the middle of the ring and stares at Rose and Deville as they head to the back.
– Alexa Bliss is backstage with Nikki Cross. Bliss asks Cross if she’s OK, and she is. Bliss says Cross must have not heard. Bliss says if Cross is going to find out, it should be from a friend. Bliss talks about how social media was full of comments against Cross after she interfered in the tag team match on RAW last night. Bliss says Cross can get payback on Bayley tonight but when she’s standing across from her in the ring, she should picture all the social media bullies instead of Bayley. Bliss tells Cross not to hold back. Cross stares off in thought.
– We go to the ring and out first comes The New Day – Xavier Woods, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston and the returning Big E. The New Day celebrates Big E’s return and makes their entrance as we go back to commercial.
Back from the break and The New Day is in the ring. Woods and Kofi are happy because this is the actual return of Big E. Fans pop and cheer them on. Big E jokes that if he had a title for every time he returned, he would be Charlotte Flair. Fans pop again. They go on about tonight’s match and how Kofi beat Dolph Ziggler at WWE Super ShowDown. Kofi says Ziggler won’t be able to run at WWE Stomping Grounds when they do battle in a Steel Cage. They go on until the music interrupts and out comes Ziggler with a mic. Ziggler rants about Kofi betraying himself and others, calling him a coward. Ziggler says Kofi is still WWE Champion for just one reason. Ziggler shows us video of how Woods interfered from the apron during Friday’s SSD match. Ziggler fails to include what happened before Woods got involved. Ziggler says the footage doesn’t lie and even Kofi has to admit that it should’ve been Ziggler now. Ziggler says there will be nowhere to run or hide at Stomping Grounds, and no one to save Kofi from Ziggler. Ziggler says Kofi and everyone else will learn what Ziggler has known – that Kofi can’t beat him without his pals. Kofi says Ziggler forgot to show everything that happened in the video. Kofi asks if Ziggler really thought Woods wasn’t going to retaliate. The music interrupts and out comes Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. They join Ziggler on the stage.
Sami talks about how they can’t stand injustice. He goes on about how if the roles were reversed at Super ShowDown, people would be calling for justice for Kofi, but somehow they’re OK with what happened because it was Ziggler that got kicked. Sami says this tells him that these disgusting people have no morals, and all that matters to them is who you do and don’t like. Sami says they care about righting wrongs, and that’s what they will do. Big E mentions how they all enjoyed seeing WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins destroy Sami with a steel chair on RAW last night. Sami says this is another clear example of hypocrisy because if anyone else was wearing the referee shirt on RAW, someone wold be getting fired, but it was OK because Sami was wearing the shirt. Sami rants some more about how everyone is nothing but hypocrites. Ziggler says the biggest hypocrite of them all is in the middle of the ring holding the WWE Title. Big E cuts Ziggler off, praises Kofi and talks about how this title reign is all about a man who deserves it. Kofi says Stomping Grounds is about kicking ass and taking names, and that’s what he’s going to do to Ziggler. Kofi says he will forever remain our… WWE Champion. Big E says before we get to Stomping Grounds, The New Day will give Sami, Ziggler and Owens a free preview. Because… New Day rocks. The music hits as The New Day taunts the heels from the ring.
– We see Bayley backstage walking when Kayla Braxton stops her for comments, asking about Alexa Bliss’ earlier backstage comments on offensive tweets aimed at Nikki Cross. Bayley says consider the source – Bliss. Bayley doesn’t have a problem with Cross, but she will handle it if she wants to get involved. Bayley hopes Bliss is watching from ringside because this will be another moment she can’t miss.
Bayley vs. Nikki Cross
We go right to the ring and out comes SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and we get another cryptic backstage vignette from Aleister Black. Black rants and has a staffer open the door to the room he’s in. Black turns and yells out the door, begging anyone else in the locker room to come and pick a fight with him. We go back to the ring and Bayley is wrapping up her entrance. Out next comes Nikki Cross with Alexa Bliss, to Bliss’ music.
The bell rings and Cross unloads early on, showing a more aggressive side as she works Bayley over and takes her down. Bayley comes back and connects with a dropkick. More back and forth. Cross re-groups with Bliss on the outside. Cross ends up cutting Bayley off and working her over against the apron. Cross brings it back in and spikes Bayley into the mat for a close 2 count. We go to commercial with Bliss cheering Cross on from ringside.
Back from the break and Bliss taunts Bayley while she’s hung upside down in the corner. Bayley tries to fight out and finally knocks Cross back. Bayley returns to the ring and starts mounting offense. Bayley with a close 2 count. More back and forth between the two. Bayley unloads and gets the non-title win with a big flying elbow drop as Bliss looks on.
Winner: Bayley
– After the match, Bayley celebrates as her music hits. Bliss continues staring Bayley down from the floor. We go to replays.
– Still to come, a six-man main event.
– We go backstage to production cases being loaded onto a truck. Jinder Mahal has a referee and he’s trying to find the case that has R-Truth locked in it. Jinder is told that the cases are being loaded up for delivery to next Monday’s RAW in Los Angeles. We hear Truth screaming inside a case as it’s loaded up. Carmella appears and she’s also looking for Truth. Carmella is worried. Tom plays up the seriousness of the situation and says Truth is being shipped to RAW.
– Back from a break and we see Bray Wyatt’s “Firefly Fun House” segment that aired on last night’s RAW.
– Kayla Braxton is backstage with Apollo. She brings up how Apollo was supposed to have a match against Andrade recently but it didn’t happen. We see what happened with Andrade and WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor that night. Apollo says maybe Andrade was trying to send a message to Balor but he’s not here as an afterthought and the next opportunity that he gets will… Zelina Vega appears and has words for Apollo. She warns Apollo not to provoke Andrade because if he does, Andrade will make sure he never has another match. Vega walks off. We see Chad Gable standing off to the side taking notes on his pad.
Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler vs. The New Day
We go to the ring for tonight’s six-man main event as Kevin Owens makes his way out. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and Sami Zayn is out to join Owens, as well as Dolph Ziggler. The New Day’s Big E, Xavier Woods and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston are also out. Kofi starts off with Ziggler as they go back and forth. Woods tags in and keeps the attack going on Ziggler. Ziggler counters a move and rocks Woods. Sami tags in and takes control of Woods. Woods turns it around and takes Sami to the corner, putting him down. Woods begins the Unicorn Stomp and keeps it going with tags. Woods tags back in and launches Big E into Sami, then covers for a 2 count.
Kofi tags in but ends up getting dropped off the apron by Sami. Kofi lands hard on the floor. Ziggler levels Kofi with a big running forearm on the floor while the referee isn’t looking. Ziggler talks some trash and brings Kofi back into the ring, keeping him grounded in the middle of the ring. More back and forth now. Ziggler tags out. Kofi looks to make a comeback but he gets taken out on the floor again. Owens and Sami stand over Kofi on the floor as we go back to commercial.
Back from the break and Ziggler works over Kofi in the middle of the ring. We see how Owens hit a big senton on the floor during the break. Owens tags in and works over Kofi in the ring now. Fans try to rally for Kofi but Owens shuts him down. Woods and Sami end up going at it now, trading big shots. Woods levels Sami and sends him to the floor. Woods runs the ropes and leaps out, taking down Ziggler and Sami at the same time. Woods brings Sami back in and goes to the top. Owens distracts the referee while Ziggler knocks Woods off the top, sending him down to the floor. Owens tags in and unloads on Woods in the corner now. Owens with a dropkick while Woods is upside down in the corner. Owens taunts Big E now.
Owens mocks the crowd for the USA chants and keeps Woods down. Ziggler tags in and gouges at Woods’ eyes, using the top rope as the referee warns him. Ziggler keeps Woods down in the middle of the ring and applies a submission. More back and forth as Woods tries to stay alive and make a tag. Ziggler drags Woods back towards their corner now. Sami tags back in and unloads on Woods while he’s down. Sami grounds Woods in the middle of the ring now as Big E looks for the tag. Woods tries to fight up and out but Sami fires back with big strikes. Sami drops Woods and tags Owens back in for a quick double team. Owens slams Woods and goes back to the top for a big moonsault. Woods still kicks out at 2. Woods finally manages to get an opening with a big DDT on Owens.
Big E finally gets the hot tag as fans pop. Ziggler also comes in. Big E unloads on Ziggler and tosses him overhead. Big E dances some and hits the running splash on Ziggler in the middle of the ring. Fans rally for Big E now. Big E goes to Spear Ziggler off the apron but Ziggler gets his knee up. More back and forth now. Kofi tags in as Big E holds Ziggler in the air. The double team Midnight Hour attempt is broken up. Ziggler superkicks Big E. Kofi and Sami are the legal men now. Sami gets dropped by Ziggler by accident when Kofi moves. Ziggler ends up dropping Woods with a superkick next. Kofi levels Ziggler with a Trouble In Paradise. Kofi comes right back with another Trouble In Paradise, this time to Sami. Kofi covers Sami for the pin to win.
Winners: The New Day
– After the match, The New Day celebrates as their music hits. Kofi raises the WWE Title in the air and we see Ziggler down on the floor, recovering outside of the ring. SmackDown goes off the air with The New Day celebrating in the ring.
