WWE.com John Cena returned to 'SmackDown Live' on July 4th.
SmackDown Live just finished airing a new episode on the USA Network. Here’s what happened:
9:58 – After the match ends, Kevin Owens enters the ring and attacks AJ Styles. Styles retaliates and almost gets in a Styles Clash, but Ownes retreats.
9:45 – AJ Styles wins a United States Championship battle royal. This means he will face Kevin Owens for the U.S. Championship at Battleground. The match comes down to Sami Zayn and AJ Styles, but Styles eliminates Zayn. At one point in the match, Mojo Rawley betrays Zack Ryder, throwing him over the ropes and eliminating him. The match’s participants were Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Tye Dillinger, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Konnor, Viktor, Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder, Jason Jordan, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Epico, and Sin Cara.
9:38 – Backstage, the real Renee Young interviews Maria and Mike Kanellis. The two gush about each other for a while, but they’re interrupted by Sami Zayn, who was stretching nearby and accidentally knocked something over. Zayn apologizes to them for interrupting again.
9:36 – Tyler Breeze interviews Tye Dillinger backstage while dressed as Renee Young. Breeze asks Dillinger for his strategy in the United States Championship battle royal.
9:27 – Backstage, Jinder Mahal enters. He says that America is the land of prejudice and that those chanting “USA” disrespect him because of the color of his skin. Randy Orton says that nobody likes Jinder Mahal not because of where he’s from, but because he’s a jackass.
9:17 – Aiden English defeats Randy Orton by disqualification.
9:01 – The Usos and The New Day participate in a rap battle. The most jaw-dropping moment comes when The Usos make reference to Xavier Woods’ sex tape with Paige, telling Big E not to get R-rated like his boy Xavier. When Xavier Woods says that The Usos do nothing but carry Roman Reigns’ bags, The Usos attack The New Day. The Usos are therefore disqualified, and The New Day win the rap battle.
8:55 – Shinsuke Nakamura is about to participate in a backstage interview with Renee Young when he is ambushed by Baron Corbin.
8:51 – Naomi defeats Lana and retains the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Lana taps out after literally five seconds. After the match, Tamina comes out, confronts Naomi, and walks with Lana backstage.
8:40 – James Ellsworth and Carmella enter. Ellsworth says that they’re here to celebrate something much more important than Independence Day: it’s a “Carmellabration” to celebrate Carmella’s Money in the Bank victory. Carmella mocks the audience for thinking that someone else might win the Money in the Bank contract last week. Carmella says that now, she can cash in on Naomi whenever she wants.
Just as she’s mentioned, Naomi enters. Naomi says that she’s not scared of Carmella because her eyes are always open.
Daniel Bryan enters. He tells James Ellsworth that he is being banned from the arena, fined $10,000, and suspended for 30 days. If Ellsworth tries to get around this, Carmella will be stripped of the Money in the Bank contract.
8:33 – Zack Ryder approaches Mojo Rawley backstage. Rawley looks extremely upset, but Ryder says that they must put last week in the rear view mirror. Ryder goes on to tell Rawley that he got them both entered into the United States Championship battle royal tonight.
8:23 – AJ Styles defeats Chad Gable. This means he will participate in the United States Championship battle royal tonight.
8:16 – Chad Gable and A.J. Styles enter Daniel Bryan’s office. Bryan says that Kevin Owens has been complaining all week about Styles and Gable being in the United States Championship battle royal tonight, with Owens arguing that he already beat both of them. Bryan decides that Styles and Gable will fight in a “win and you’re in” match, with the winner entering the battle royal.
8:00 – John Cena enters. He’s immediately met with a “Let’s Go Cena!”/”Cena Sucks!” chant. He asks the crowd if they missed him, and he proceeds to give a very patriotic speech about the American dream and about why he loves the U.S.A. Cena transitions into saying that some people claim he’s a part-timer, but in reality, he’s an all-timer. If his time in the WWE is limited, he wants to go down in a blaze of glory, and so this is why he’s now a free agent and will be appearing on Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live. Cena calls out a number of superstars on both brands, including Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
Rusev enters, returning to the WWE after four months. He complains that Cena got all this hype promoting his comeback when he didn’t get anything like that. He also insults America and says that the country is a joke. Cena challenges Rusev to a flag match to take place tonight on SmackDown Live. Rusev does not accept the challenge, saying that they will fight on his terms.