The New Era of ‘SmackDown’ will continue on August 2nd. (WWE.com)
Tonight on SmackDown, the second episode of the New Era will be broadcast live from Nashville, Tennessee, and it’s looking to be a pretty good one. It all starts tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the USA Network. Read on for match results and spoilers from the show, followed by a preview of the night’s events as written earlier today.
8:00 – Backstage, Shane McMahon scolds Randy Orton for his attack on Brock Lesnar on Monday Night Raw, saying there will be serious repercussions. A massive security team is dispatched in case Lesnar tries to get some revenge.
8:03 – Dean Ambrose enters. He introduces himself as the WWE World Champion (not the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, apparently). He says he’s not a one hit wonder and is here to stay. He invites Dolph Ziggler to come on out, and Ziggler enters.
Ziggler tells Ambrose he is a big fan and that the two of them are pretty similar. Ambrose disagrees, saying they’re nothing alike because Ambrose is all go while Ziggler is all show. Ambrose also says that Ziggler is only concerned with what people say about him, while Ambrose doesn’t care and is simply worried about winning. Ziggler says he’s going to beat Ambrose at SummerSlam because he is “that damn good.” Ambrose says Ziggler’s problem is he’s not as good as he thinks he is.
Suddenly, Bray Wyatt appears and beats up Dolph Ziggler. He then challenges Ziggler to a match in order to prove he’s worthy of being the number one contender. But if he loses, Wyatt will take Ziggler’s place at SummerSlam and become the #1 contender himself.
8:20 – Dolph Ziggler tells Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan that he wants to accept Bray Wyatt’s challenge and prove everyone wrong. Shane agrees and schedules the match for later this evening.
8:21 – Apollo Crews defeats Kalisto and Baron Corbin, becoming the #1 contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
8:39 – Becky Lynch is prepared to fight Eva Marie, but she seems to fake an injury so that the match is cancelled.
8:47 – American Alpha defeats The Vaudevillains.
8:58 – A.J. Styles enters, saying he’s here to talk about John Cena. Right on cue, Cena enters. Styles says he doesn’t understand why Cena is still in the WWE. “I don’t want you here, John,” Styles says. He also says Cena fans are all weak-minded people, and Nashville is the weakest of all. Finally, he says Cena is completely delusional with his “never give up” attitude.
Cena says he doesn’t make his fans believe anything. Styles says he’s going to prove to Cenation that John Cena is a fraud. Cena answers Styles’ question about why Cena is still with the WWE: he says he’s here out of love for the fans. On the other hand, the only reason Styles is here is to be a good wrestler; he has no loyalty to the company or the fans. In other words, he cares nothing for honor, loyalty or respect.
Styles challenges Cena to a match at SummerSlam, and Cena agrees.
9:18 – Fandango fights Randy Orton, but in the middle of the match, Brock Lesnar appears to beat up Orton.
9:28 – Backstage, Heath Slater once again approaches Daniel Bryan wanting a SmackDown contract. Bryan agrees to give Slater a match next week, with his opponent being Rhino.
9:36 – Carmella enters, but during her entrance, Natalya attacks her from behind.
9:43 – Dolph Ziggler defeats Bray Wyatt, retaining his status as #1 contender.
Last week on SmackDown, Dolph Ziggler shocked the world when he emerged victorious in a six-pack challenge, earning him the right to battle Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam, with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line. That match won’t take place until August 21st, but we should still expect to see a confrontation between Ambrose and Ziggler on August 2nd’s SmackDown.
Plus, the aftermath of the ending of last night’s Monday Night Raw will be dealt with. During Brock Lesnar’s return to the WWE, Randy Orton made a shocking appearance, crossing brands to deliver an RKO. Will this have any repercussions? Will SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan be upset with Orton for going over to Raw just a weeks after the brand split? Or, as WWE.com’s official preview asks, could this decision of Orton’s actually force the SummerSlam match between Orton and Lesnar to be called off?
We will also evidently be finding out more about the future of A.J. Styles. According to WWE.com, with Styles’ future at the company unclear following his loss last week and his separation from Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, we’ll find out on August 2nd’s SmackDown what Styles’ plans are going forward.
Plus, members of the women’s division like Beckly Lynch and the recently drafted Alexa Bliss will want to assert themselves, as will NXT‘s American Alpha, who make their main roster debut tonight.
