WWE SmackDown live results: SummerSlam go-home show
The final WWE SmackDown before this weekend’s two-night SummerSlam goes down tonight in Newark, New Jersey. A pair of title matches are scheduled for the episode, as well as a confrontation between SummerSlam opponents John Cena and Cody Rhodes.
Cena and Rhodes will meet in a street fight this Sunday for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The last time both men were in the same ring, Rhodes laid out Cena and forced him to sign the contract for their title bout.
Last week, Rhodes challenged Cena to bring “the real” version of himself at SummerSlam for the street fight. Cena will undoubtedly bring his response to that challenge tonight.
Also set for this evening is Giulia defending her Women’s United States title against former champ Zelina Vega in her first title defense. Giulia’s new “business partner” in Kiana James could factor into how this match plays out.
Damian Priest finally gets his chance to take down Aleister Black in singles action after weeks of being vexed by his new rival. Black took exception to Priest sticking up for Ron Killings and has taken out his frustrations on the former World Champion.
Los Garza will also defend their AAA Tag Team titles on tonight’s show in an open challenge. Plus, Jimmy Uso faces off against the debuting Talla Tonga.
Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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– Over shots of Newark, New Jersey and the Prudential Center, Joe Tessitore welcomed us to the shwo. He pointed out the steel cage hanging above the ring. Jimmy Uso, The M.F.T.s, Aleister Black, and Damian Priest were shown arriving at the arena.
John Cena and Cody Rhodes face off before SummerSlam
The Undisputed WWE Champion arrived to the ring in his usual, understated manner, dressed in New York Jets-themed “The Last Time is Now” gear. The crowd serenaded Cena with “Let’s Go Cena / Cena Sucks” chants before he instructed ring announcer Mark Nash to give him an appropriately bombastic intro.
Before Cena could even say a single word, the entrance theme of his SummerSlam foe, Cody Rhodes, interrupted. The American Nightmare made his way down to the ring to address Cena face to face.
The crowd filled the air with an eclectic mix of chants as the SummerSlam opponents stood in the ring. Cena started by saying that he told Rhodes that he was exhausted, and that a match at SummerSlam would be too difficult for him. He said that Rhodes forced him into one of the most dangerous matches in WWE. He only had one thing to say to Rhodes “Thank you”, because that was the boot in the ass he needed. Cena said that for 25 years, he had forged a legacy of respect and hard work. And that five months ago, he flushed that into the toilet for “shock TV”. He said that the people on his team (The Rock and Travis Scott) left him alone in the aftermath, which made him try to pretend something he was not. Cena said that he wanted to take the WWE Championship home not to ruin wrestling, but so that the fans wouldn’t forget about him.
Cena said he was so hung up about how we all saw him tomorrow, that it made him blind to how stupid he was acting today. Cena said that Rhodes did what a good friend should do, by forcing him to face it and forcing him into a fight. Cena said that the Street Fight at SummerSlam was going to get him back to who he really was. According to the Undisputed WWE Champion, August 1st, 2025, was the day that John Cena truly came back to WWE.
Cena said that he didn’t know who’d leave SummerSlam with the title, but the fans would leave as the winners, because we’d finally see John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes in a battle between the best. He told Rhodes that if he wanted some, to come get some. He said that on Sunday, the only platinum rapper showing up to whip Cody’s ass was him. “The Champ is Here!” Cena concluded.
Rhodes asked for two cans of beer to be given to him before he simply told Cena “welcome back”. The two men popped open the cold ones and shared a toast. Rhodes left Cena in the ring, so that the Champ could take in the cheers from the crowd as this segment ended.
Well, this was certainly an interesting segment, to say the least. But, this seemed like a hard reset for Cena to be a face for the latter half of his retirement run. It also seemed like they brushed aside whatever partnership with Travis Scott was developing. Whether or not it leads to a Cody Rhodes heel turn as a result remains to be seen, but it does adds intrigue to the SummerSlam main event, assuming we don’t get swerved one more time to end the night.
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– Tessitore and Wade Barrett tossed to footage of a Jelly Roll training session earlier today where Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre made their presence clear by attacking Jelly.
– PJ Byrne, the lead actor from the new USA Network series The Rainmaker (which, sadly, has nothing to do with Kazuchika Okada) was shown in the crowd.
Women’s United States Championship Match: Giulia (c) (w/ Kiana James) vs. Zelina Vega
Vega and Giulia began with a tie-up before coming at a stalemate and a faceoff. The two attempted to trade strikes, but Giulia won out with a one-handed STO slam for an early pinfall attempt. Giulia continued the punishment on Vega with a mix of elbow strikes and chops, followed by a stalling suplex. Vega managed to kick out at two afterwards as she then left Giulia on the apron with a flip. She sent the Women’s United States Champion to the outside, as she then connected with a diving Meteora to the outside, which took us to a commercial break halfway through.
We returned to action with Giulia slamming Vega down face first with a wheelbarrow faceplant. She then locked in some sort of modfied Camel Clutch on Vega, who then countered it into a roll-up pin that Giulia kicked out of. Giulla regained momentum with a vicious stomp, but couldn’t capitalize after getting kicked in the corner by Vega.
Vega launched into her comeback as she delivered a saito suplex on the champion, followed by the running Meteora to the corner. Giulia avoided a dropkick and lifted Vega onto the top turnbuckle. Giulia looked to deliver a superplex, but Vega wriggled herself free and delivered an avalanche German suplex onto the Women’s U.S. Champion instead. One, two… Giulia managed to kick out at two.
Once again, Giulia put Vega up on the top turnbuckle and hit a series of headbutts to stun her foe. With Vega dazed, Giulia hit an avalanche butterfly suplex, followed by the Arrivederci Knee, and the Northern Lights Bomb. Vega somehow kicked out at 2.99999999 to somehow survive that salvo of Giulia’s signature moves.
Giulia looked for another Northern Lights Bomb, but Vega rolled her up for a close near-fall. Backstabber by Vega gave the challenger an opening she needed. Vega ascended to the top for the moonsault, but Giulia blocked it and pulled up Vega to finish this title defense with an emphatic Northern Lights Bomb.
A solid opener and a great title defense for Giulia. What’s not great, is that this was Giulia’s first match in over a month. She is a great talent who certainly deserves to be showcased more and I will say that tonight’s match was a good start. Now it falls on WWE to book Giulia more consistently so that she gets a chance to show up and show out like she did tonight.
Giulia def. Zelina Vega via pinfall to retain the Women’s United States Championship
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– Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s were interviewed, where we learned that he apparently asked for the steel cage to be above the ring tonight. Sikoa denied those claims as he talked about Talla Tonga’s debut tonight against Jimmy Uso and how it was about sending a message.
AAA Tag Team Championships: Los Garza (Angel & Berto) (c) vs. Mr. Iguana & Psycho Clown
Before the match, Santos Escobar addressed the crowd as he demanded the crowd to show respect to the AAA World Tag Team Champions, Los Garza. He chatised the crowd for not showing the respect deserved, as he then challenged any tag team in the back to face Angel and Berto for the AAA Titles.
Mr. Iguana (alongside La Yesca) and Psycho Clown were revealed to be the mystery opponents for Los Garza.
Psycho Clown and Angel started things off for their respective teams. Angel fell victim to a hurricanrana from Psycho, followed by a springboard crossbody. The masked clown looked good as he handled both Garzas easily early on. He ripped off his mask to reveal another one underneath, as he hit a popup forearm on Angel.
Berto got the blind tag, which allowed him to take advantage by tripping up Psycho as he tried for a springboard move. The AAA World Tag Champions began to work over on Psycho in their corner as the fans chanted for Mr. Iguana. Angel and Berto hit a double team kick on a prone Psycho as the former locked in a resthold to keep his foe grounded.
Psycho fought back with a kick to the face of Angel, which gave him some separation and time to get the tag to Mr. Iguana. The eclectic lizard floored Berto with a helicopter spin as he introduced La Yesca into proceedings. He delivered the Iguanarana on Berto as he then slammede Angel with a crucifix pin for the near fall. Angel and Berto caught Mr. Iguana as he tried for a dive to the outside and sent him right into Psycho Clown. Mr. Iguana was brought back into the ring and left at the mercy of Los Garza on the top rope. They dropped him with a super MTY from the top rope. Iguana managed to kick out at two as he tagged in Psycho Clown.
Psycho tried for a crossbody but got blocked, as they then landed the MTY to retain their AAA World Tag Team gold.
Los Garza def. Psycho Clown & Mr. Iguana via pinfall to retain the AAA World Tag Team Championships
It was an entertaining tag match, yes, but having the AAA-aligned talent lose on their WWE TV debut will certainly not help shake the notions that the WWE/AAA deal is a one-sided partnership more than anything else.
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– Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre were asked backstage about their attack on Jelly Roll earlier today, but the two said they’d explain why they did what they did later tonight.
– A video package setting the stage for the massive six-team TLC Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles at SummerSlam was shown.
Aleister Black vs. Damian Priest
Priest and Black locked horns in the middle of the ring to start as the latter took advantage with an attempted hammerlock. Priest escaped and withstood a kick to the thigh from Black. The Dutch brawler tried for another kick, but he got met with Priest’s own onslaught of kicks, which sent him to the outside. Priest leapt off the steel stepst to drop Black with a clothesline. On the apron, Priest tried for a kick, but he missed and got jettisoned to ringside, as Black then took off with a dive over the ropes. With Black in the driver’s seat, we took a break in the action.
SmackDown returned as Priest attempted to fight back, but he got felled by a knee to the face from Black. The cover from Black, but Priest kicked out. Black taunted Priest, who hyped himself back up and roared back with elbow strikes, a slam, and an Old School crossbody. Priest sized up Black and rocked him with a running clothesline as Black managed to kick out at two.
Priest tried for the Razor’s Edge, but Black escaped the attempt. A kick from Priest sent Black to the ringside area. Priest had a full head of steam and ran for a charging attack, but he was intercepted with a knee to the face from Black. As Black headed up top for a moonsault, Priest avoided calamity and pounced him over the announce table. Priest cleared away the commentary table, but got a faceful of chair from Black, which ended this match in a disqualification.
After the match, Black was far from done as he smashed the chair over the back of Priest. He then struck Priest in the face with the chair, which left him stunned against the steel steps. Black slammed Priest’s head against the steel steps repeatedly as he delivered one Black Mass kick to leave his rival down and out.
Damian Priest def. Aleister Black via disqualification
That match was shaping up to be a good one until the DQ finish, but I will say it was a decent way to get some heat on Black with the post-match attack. That said, it does feel odd that despite being the catalyst for Black’s heel turn, Ron Killings/R-Truth has essentially become persona non grata as it relates to this story, which raises the question of whether or not Truth feels any important at all after being brought back.
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– Backstage, Tiffany Stratton was confronted by her SummerSlam opponent, Jade Cargill. The two traded barbs ahead of their match tomorrow, as Cargill promised to finish what she started now that there’d be no distractions or cash-ins to worry about.
Talla Tonga (w/ Solo Sikoa) vs. Jimmy Uso
Uso started right way by trying to chop down Talla in the corner. On the top rope, Uso tried for a dive, but he got dropped by a punch from Talla, who took over the match with a hard clothesline that felled his opponent. Talla delivered a leg drop with those massive tree trunk legs of his onto Uso, as Sikoa trash talked Uso from the outside. Talla had the clear upper hand on Uso, up until he got sent over the top rope and onto the apron. Uso flew through the ropes and temporarily stunned Talla with a suicide dive, which took us to the break.
We returned with Talla in the driver’s seat as he attacked Uso in the corner. Talla took pleasure in mocking Uso for a bit before Jimmy tried to get momentum back. Talla withstood the storm and once again had Uso at his mercy in the corner with strikes. Uso avoided a running charge from Talla and left him momentarily dazed with a kick. An attempted Samoan drop from Uso failed as Talla was too strong for it. Uso headed up top and got grabbed by the throat by Talla. Chokeslam attempt was reversed by Uso, as he nailed a series of superkicks. Solo Sikoa got on the apron and got a kick for his troubles as Uso then delivered a spear on to Talla.
Uso headed up top and looked for the splash, but Talla caught him and hit a chokeslam for the one, two, three and the victory in his debut match.
After the match, Sikoa summoned J.C. Mateo and Tama Tonga to continue the punishment on Jimmy Uso as the United States Champion called for the steel cage to be lowered. Jacob Fatu ran down and entered the ring before the cage lowered completely. Sikoa made a run for it, as did Talla Tonga. This left Mateo and Tama to be picked apart, pillar to post, coast to coast by Fatu. With Mateo and Tama prone on opposite corners, Fatu laid them out with running hip charges and leaping moonsaults.
Talla Tonga def. Jimmy Uso
I can say that Talla Tonga did not look bad in his debut, and Jimmy Uso tried his best to make him look good for his debut. The post-match extracurriculars with Jacob Fatu laying waste to two-fourths of the M.F.T.s was a fun bit of business.
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SummerSlam Saturday Card
- Gunther vs. CM Punk (World Heavyweight Championship)
- Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss (Women’s Tag Team Championship)
- Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed
- Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre
- Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill (WWE Women’s Championship)
- Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross
SummerSlam Sunday Card
- Street Fight: John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE Champipnship)
- Dominik Mysterio vs. AJ Styles (Intercontinental Championship)
- Steel Cage Match: Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu (United States Championship)
- No DQ, No Countout: Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria (Women’s Intercontinental Championship)
- Triple Threat: Naomi vs. IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley (Women’s World Heavyweight Championship)
- Tables Ladders & Chairs Match: The Wyatt Sicks (c) vs. #DIY vs. Fenix/Andrade vs. Motor CIty Machine Guns vs. Fraxiom vs. The Street Profits (WWE Tag Team Championships)
– Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair were interviewed about their tag match tomorrow. Flair said that Bliss has had her back and been there for her, even if she’s been annoying. The two traded barbs with one another before they walked off.
Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre close out SmackDown
The two men who will face Randy Orton and Jelly Roll tomorrow night at SummerSlam made their way down to the ring to deliver some final remarks before their match.
Paul said that he and McIntyre were trying their best to defend WWE from outsiders, and that we didn’t understand what it took to compete at SummerSlam, which according to Paul, Jelly Roll thought was a “hotdog eating contest”. Paul said that he was tired of outsiders thinking they could step into WWE and compete, which Jelly Roll was in his eyes. He called Jelly a “country star, not a superstar”, and that he does not belong in WWE.
McIntyre said that whatever happens tomorrow will be on Randy Orton’s conscience. He said that he had God on speed dial, because when Drew McIntyre prays, bad things happened. Before Paul and McIntyre could continue, Jelly Roll arrived to the arena , and he wasn’t alone… as Randy Orton accompanied him. The two made their way down to the ring as Nick Aldis tried to stop the two from getting to the ring, but to no avail.
Once Orton and Jelly got to the ring, they began throwing hands with Paul and McIntyre. A vanguard of security officials ran down to the ring to get this fight to stop, to little success. McIntyre and Paul were sent outside as more officials got everybody finally separated. In the ring, Orton calmed himself down, as he turned to Jelly and hyped him up. Orton delivered an RKO on two of the security officials as the last of the trio got dropped by a Jelly Roll chokeslam. Orton and Jelly stood tall in the ring and jawjacked with Paul and McIntyre as we closed out the final SmackDown before SummerSlam.
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That was a decent way to end the night with the Jelly/Orton vs. Paul/McIntyre stuff, but I probably would’ve prefered if Cena and Cody’s segment from the beginning was the final one to send us home before SummerSlam, since the hook of whether or not Cena’s change of heart was legit would’ve at least made an interesting cliffhanger to leave us on before Sunday.
All in all, this was an okay go-home SmackDown before SummerSlam. The matches we got ranged from good (Priest vs. Black) to great (Giulia vs. Vega), and it did an admirable job to sell fans on the two-night event that’s coming this weekend.
