The United States Championship was up for grabs Tuesday night in the opening match as AJ Styles defended against Kevin Owens. Controversy reigned supreme late in the bout as referee Mike Chioda was bumped, leaving Owens somewhat distracted as he prepared Styles for the Popup Powerbomb. The Phenomenal One countered and rolled KO up. The referee still dazed, counted the pin despite Owens' shoulder clearly being off the mat. Styles was declared the winner, and KO was left frustrated and inconsolable as he watched the replay of the botched decision.
Sami Zayn rode a two-match televised win streak into this week's show and sought to continue his winning ways against Aiden English in singles competition. The former Vaudevillian serenaded the WWE Universe for what felt like an eternity before the match between NXT alumni got underway. Zayn seemingly had English under control early, trapped in an arm bar, but the silver-tongued singer scored a shocking roll-up that earned him a much-needed victory. After the match, Mike and Maria Kanellis appeared on the stage, laughing at Zayn's misfortune.
Naomi and Natalya will do battle for the SmackDown Women's Championship on August 20 at SummerSlam, but they found themselves two partners Tuesday night and did battle in tag team competition. Naomi partnered with Becky Lynch to fight Natalya and Miss Money in the Bank, Carmella. Champion Naomi found herself beaten down and trapped in the unforgiving clutches of her No. 1 contender's vaunted Sharpshooter. An unexpected tag by Carmella proved the downfall for the heels, though, as Naomi delivered a devastating sliding slap and forced a tap out moments later. Natalya looked infuriated as she stomped off to the locker room, her shot at victory foiled by a selfish Carmella and a well-timed Bexploder by Lynch.
After several close calls against the United States champions like Kevin Owens and AJ Styles, Chad Gable looked to break out Tuesday as he battled another U.S. titleholder, Rusev. Gable stunned The Bulgarian Brute early, outwrestling him, but he fell victim to a gut wrench suplex. Back from the break, though, the American delivered his own suplex to seemingly shift control in his favor A big moon sault by Gable scored a near-fall. The Olympian tried for a rolling German suplex, but Rusev reversed and delivered a big kick for a near-fall of his own. Rusev grounded Gable and attempted The Accolade, but Gable slid out and applied an ankle lock. Rusev escaped, blasted him with a superkick and applied his trademark submission for the tapout victory. After the match, Rusev cut a promo demanding competition Enter, Randy Orton.The Viper dropped Rusev with an RKO to end the segment and ignite their rivalry.
One of the most anticipated matches in recent memory headlined Tuesday's broadcast as Shinsuke Nakamura and John Cena made the dreams of fans across the globe come true in a No. 1 Contender match. A back-and-forth, hotly contested match saw Cena rolling late After Nakamura controlled the heart of the match, Cena fought back with his trademark stuff to a chorus of boos. One Attitude Adjustment was not enough to put down The King of Strong Style. He delivered another and tried to roll through and deliver a third, but Nakamura fought out of it and stunned Cena. A Kinshasa straight to the face of his opponent cashed Nakamura's ticket to SummerSlam and earned him the biggest win of his fledgling main-roster career.Nakamura going over clear was a pleasant surprise and makes him look like the heavy favorite to dethrone Jinder Mahal in Brooklyn at SummerSlam. After a massively disappointing showing in Philadelphia for Battleground, The King of Strong style is back on track and headed toward the most important moment of his WWE career.
Comments
Post a Comment