Nerdly » WWE Smackdown Live – July 30th 2019: Results & Review

31st Jul2019

WWE Smackdown Live – July 30th 2019: Results & Review

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this week’s Smackdown Live review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have some weird, wild stuff to get to, so get your popcorn ready and let’s…I can’t think of any-thing. Star Wars is on TCM right now. It’ll be on Wednesday as well. There…that’s some-thing. Okay, Smackdown.

Match #1: Kevin Owens def. Drew McIntyre

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Fresh off their hostile encounter just moments prior, Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre squared off, as Drew clearly looked to wear KO down before his SummerSlam clash with Shane McMahon. Drew attempted to build off his earlier attack on Owens and pound the fearless rebel into submission, but Owens struck back with relentless mettle, coming at McIntyre with everything, including a ring-rattling Pop-up Powerbomb. Drew bulldozed his way through it all and appeared to be closing in on victory. In the clutch, Drew seemingly looked to slam KO through the announcer’s table, but Owens recovered and dropped McIntyre with a Stunner on the hardwood and followed up with a subsequent Stunner in the ring for the win.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was an excellent opener that started the card of right. That almost rhymed…almost. The plans for the Death Star will soon be ba…sorry. Star Wars is still on TCM. KO and Drew had a good time here, making a match that was very aggressive, as well as energetic. I feel like I’m selling you DDP Yoga. This is the kind of match that should be on TV all the time, because it’s thrilling yet logical, brutal yet graceful and sweet as a licorice whip. I don’t know how to explain that last quip about the licorice whip, so just pop on your tap shoes and tippity tap on over to my last sentence. This was fine stuff from two people who look like they belong on David Mamet’s version of The Odd Couple.

Match #2: Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross def. Bayley & Ember Moon

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Despite their upcoming SmackDown Women’s Championship Match against one another at SummerSlam, Bayley & Ember Moon teamed up on the blue brand to take on Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross. Bliss & Cross attempted to use their familiarity with one another to their advantage, preying on The Hugger and The Shenom’s inexperience as a unit, but Bayley and Ember were unphased from the jump. After being steadily beaten down by Bliss & Cross, Bayley finally made a clutch tag to Moon. Ember looked to have the match won when she leveled Cross with the Eclipse, but The Goddess was the legal competitor, and she blindsided Ember and finished her off with Twisted Bliss for the 1-2-3. The hits would literally just keep coming for Moon after the match when Bayley seemingly just wanted to check on her. With SummerSlam and perhaps some retribution in mind, however, Bayley returned the favor from last week by dropping Ember with a Bayley-to-Belly.

My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – The booking here sucked, but at least…wait, the wrong people lost.

Match #3: Dolph Ziggler def. Finn Bálor

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Following a whirlwind seven days that saw him Superkick Shawn Michaels last week on SmackDown and battle with Seth Rollins on Raw last night, Dolph Ziggler reset as he took on Finn Bálor. The two Superstars dazzled the WWE Universe with a frenetically paced match, with Balor looking to get himself back on track and get retribution for HBK, while Ziggler clearly just wanted to hog all the attention. It appeared The Extraordinary Man was rolling, but then the lights went out, and The Fiend briefly appeared in the entranceway, causing Finn to be distracted for just long enough to give Ziggler the opening to drop him with a Superkick for the win.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This never had a chance to be what it should have been, but they tried and showed that they were at least capable of having a good one together.

Match #4: Ali def. Shinsuke Nakamura

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Despite a tough defeat to Shinsuke Nakamura during an impromptu Intercontinental Championship Match this past Saturday night on WWE Network special SMACKVILLE, Ali attempted to right the weekend’s wrong by ponying back up against The King of Strong Style tonight. Ali shot out of the gates, bringing his explosive attack right to WWE’s Rockstar. Nakamura fired back with a series of blistering strikes to regain control, but Ali evaded the Kinshasa three times before catching the Intercontinental Champion off-guard with a rollup for the 1-2-3 in the non-title match.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was quite good for something that was over far too quickly. Ali winning was the right thing and making him a proper contender to the Intercontinental Title is one of the best things that could happen for either man right now. Over-all, this was not bad for around two minutes.

Match #5: (Main Event) Kofi Kingston def. AJ Styles

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

With The New Day and The O.C. overflowing in titles, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston and United States Champion AJ Styles clashed in the main event on SmackDown LIVE. This Champion vs. Champion Match had the WWE Universe on its feet from the jump, and the seesaw affair briefly came to a standstill when The O.C. and New Day got too close for comfort and began barking at each other at ringside, leading to an absolute melee. Kofi capped off the chaos by countering the Phenomenal Forearm with an awe-inspiring Trouble in Paradise for the win. After the match, Roman Reigns was intending to make a SummerSlam challenge from the backstage area, but The Big Dog just barely evaded sheer catastrophe when tons of steel beams came plummeting toward him. Thankfully, Roman got back to his feet and seemed unharmed, but was someone responsible for this mysterious occurrence?

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was an excellent main event that had all the action it needed to be a success. It’s nice to see when Vince comes to his senses before it’s too late. This is the kind of match that the WWE needs more of and in great supply. What a blast from two of wrestling’s best. Star Wars just finished on TCM. Overall, this was great and May The Force Be With You.

News Of The Night:

Trish Stratus came out for an interview with Jerry Lawler and accepted a challenge from Charlotte Flair to wrestle at Summerslam against her.
Roman Reigns had his interview sabotaged by an un-seen assailant while he prepared to make his Summerslam announcement.
Daniel Bryan chose not to go through with his big announcement, again.
Bayley was booked to be a bit of a heel by attacking Ember Moon, despite her attack being retribution for last week’s attack from Ember Moon.
Sami Zayn will wrestle Aleister Black at Summerslam.
Another Fire-Fly FunHouse aired with more wild $#!@.
Randy Orton got a video package explaining his hatred of Kofi Kingston that did more to get him over as a star than most of the booking he’s received in his entire career.