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WWE SmackDown Live comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (June 18, 2019) from the Citizens Business Banks Arena in Ontario, California, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Stomping Grounds event scheduled for this Sunday night in Tacoma.
Advertised for tonight: Xavier Woods vs. Dolph Ziggler, Bayley joins Alexa
Bliss on “A Moment of Bliss,” and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR JUNE 18
When she found it there in the cold, blue glare, the words distressed and unfamiliar where the feelings seared, an emptiness had hung, and in her chest, she clenched. Reality settled as the memories raced while on the screen he lived. She teared; “Your selfishness has robbed you of the man you could’ve been. I wouldn’t change a thing about you. I love you dearly, my friend.” If he’s not here then where? Me, I’m right here liveblogging this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with Big E doing the deal and New Day making their entrance.
They get in the ring and Kofi Kingston welcomes us to the show. Xavier Woods continues and says everyone knows that on Sunday at Stomping Grounds Kofi will defend the WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler inside of a steel cage, but only if Dolph makes it through your boy here tonight. E says he’s deemed the second hour of SmackDown the freaky hour, which involves a slip-n-slide--
Enter Dolph Ziggler, unamused.
He runs it down as typical New Day, distracting everyone with smoke and mirrors to avoid what we all know from Super Showdown, which is to say Kofi doesn’t deserve to be champion. Without New Day he’d be nothing, and on Sunday, they won’t have his back and he won’t be able to stand on his own. Next time he goes back to Ghana, it’s not gonna be a celebration but an apology tour.
Because at Stomping Grounds, it’s gonna be Dolph grinding him into the cage, face, hair, and teeth, kicking ass and taking names. Kingston says he’s good with being in the cage, because whether he pins him or climbs the steel or maybe just hit him so hard with Trouble in Paradise that he can just walk out the door, regardless of how it happens, he’ll win at Stomping Grounds.
And Woods has been itching to pop Ziggler in the mouth again! Dolph says he wants Kingston to pay close attention to what’s going to happen to his buddy and again says if it wasn’t for them he’d be champion right now. After tonight, Xavier will never be able to help him again. And then on Sunday, when Kofi’s trapped in a steel cage with him, he’ll no longer be WWE Champion because it should have been him.
We see Bayley walking backstage and briefly admiring a poster of herself.
Commentary informs us that Dolph vs. Xavier is next and we go to break.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Xavier Woods
Mat grappling out the gate, Woods with a waistlock into a cradle, one, stalemate! Ziggler trying to pick a leg, Xavier reverses into another cradle, Dolph gets a pin of his own, no good. Back to circling, Woods with a wristlock, Ziggler gets him in the ropes and breaks dirty with a shove to the chest. Xavier shoves back, drop toehold into the second rope, dropkick to the shoulers into a lateral press for two!
Drawing Dolph up, side headlock, Ziggler stands up straight and breaks free with a leg kick before scraping Woods’ face across the top rope. Neckbreaker connects, only two, following it up, smashing his face into the turnbuckle, whip across, boot up on the charge. Xavier hits the Honor Roll, headed up top but Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn hit ringside to attack New Day and sow chaos!
Referee Danilo Anfibio orders them to the back but Woods dives on them! Back inside, Ziggler hits the big DDT... NOPE! On that nearfall, we go to break.
Back from commercial, whip reversed, duck a lariat, slide low, Woods lands a rolling elbow... NOPE! Ziggler to the floor, Xavier off the ropes, dropkick to the floor! Back in, military press... DROPPED INTO A DOUBLE KNEE GUTBUSTER FOR A NEARFALL! To the apron, Dolph gets a superkick, back in the ring, in form control, hanging Woods arms in the ropes and tying him up before applying an armbar of sorts!
Breaking it, Dolph rears back...
Dolph Ziggler wins by pinfall with a superkick while Woods was still tied up in the ropes.
We get a recap of Seth Rollins’ tear through potential guest referees last night.
Backstage we see the B-Team and Shelton Benjamin discussing the potential of playing guest referee when Matt Hardy leaves Baron Corbin’s office and tells Senor Benjamin that he’s next. Shelton corrects him and goes in after.
We see Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross chilling backstage ahead of tonight’s Moment of Bliss to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Alexa Bliss introduces Nikki Cross as being in her corner on Sunday.
She demands her coffee before Bayley comes down, but Bayley comes waltzing out with a cup herself and drinking away. Bliss calls her selfish and the Hugger says she’s never said anything bad about Cross and gets cut off as Alexa berates her again for stealing her coffee and dashing Nikki’s hopes. Bayley tells Cross that Bliss is just using her and of course Alexa deflects.
Bayley says she’s had enough and if Alexa has a problem she needs to say it to her face. Bliss says she saw right through her from the start at NXT, when all the other women made her feel like she didn’t belong and she turned to Bayley, but even she made her feel worthless. The only person that had the time of day for her was Charlotte Flair, and now Bayley comes out with her Bayley Buddies dressing like she works at Forever 21, but she’s not a Hugger, she’s a liar.
The Hugger accuses her of making things up and doing the same thing to Nikki that she did with Nia Jax and Mickie James, and the truth is she’s no goddess, just an entitled little princess that doesn’t deserve a damn thing. Bliss says she’s not entitled, she’s just better than she is and always has been. She has a natural gift but she doesn’t imitate her heroes or wait for autographs and that means she’s entitled?
Bayley accuses her of latching onto people one after the other while she did everything herself. Bliss calls her a placeholder that peaked in NXT and the one person that she found so undeserving is the one person living out the career she always wanted. Bayley’s had enough at that point and attacks! They brawl until Nikki Cross pulls the Hugger off and gets into a shouting match with her.
ALEXA BLINDSIDES BAYLEY WITH A FOREARM! She stands tall to end the segment.
Backstage, Zelina Vega asks Apollo Crews why he’s here.
He says he’s looking for Andrade “Cien” Almas and wants her to tell him that he’s waiting.
In response, Almas blindsides Crews and leaves him lying by some road cases as Chad Gable looks on.
We see Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan chatting backstage to send us to break.
Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight) vs. the B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel)
Axel and Knight to start, Curtis backing him into the corner for repeated punches and stomps, tag to Dallas and he keeps the pressure on. Back to Curtis, kneeling armbar with chainsaw forearm scrapes, Tucker to his feet, whip across, back body drop, falling lariat and the path is clear! Otis legal, spinning body slam, but he’s disoriented, Bo with kicks to the knees and the Dozer is running hot!
Off the ropes, scoop into a fallaway slam, stack the whole B-Team up in the corner, Stinger Splash... IT’S CATERPILLAR TIME! Tucky legal, off the ropes...
Heavy Machinery win by pinfall with the Compactor on Bo Dallas.
Seth Rollins hits the ring, steel chair in hand and wiping the B-Team out, hammering them with chairshots repeatedly!
Outside, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are complaining to Shane McMahon about Rollins running around with chairs and worried for their own safety. Shane suggests they take safety into their own hands and books them in a 2/3 falls match against Rollins and Kofi Kingston later tonight to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Aleister Black cuts another promo complaining about no one knocking on his door and picking a fight with him.
He hears our whispers, he knows what we’re thinking, but this isn’t a woe is me story, no, it’s a woe, my opponents story, because someone will come knocking and pick a fight, he’ll change the essence of that man.
Shane McMahon makes his entrance, flanked by Elias and Drew McIntyre.
He says last night he and Roman Reigns had an incident but he’s not here to talk about that. No, the spotlight is, as it should be, on Drew McIntyre, the man that’s going to kick ass and take names in five days at Stomping Grounds as he defeats Roman in this ring. McIntyre says he prays Reigns is listening because he’s doing him a favor. Shane wanted him to end the Big Dog’s career, but he’s better than that, and on Sunday he doesn’t want Roman to have any excuses.
Enter the Miz.
He says he needs everyone to watch a video. It’s of Roman’s rampage from last night, and McMahon asks if he thinks it’s funny. Miz says no, he’s right, it’s not funny, or at least not as funny as this. This, as it happens, is slow-motion footage of Shane running away and then eating the Superman Punch and the spear. Shane tells the production truck that if anybody runs any more footage they’re fired.
Miz calls McMahon out on his daddy issues and says he’s gonna do a very special MizTV after Roman beats Drew, to which Shane says he gets it, Miz came from dirt, came from a potato. The A-Lister says that when Shane came back he made SmackDown the land of opportunity but now all of both shows are about him and he’s sick of it. WE’RE sick of it!
He says Shane is his responsibility, he’s the one who sent him down this ego trip and he’ll be the one to end it! McMahon says he didn’t give him anything, no, he couldn’t get the job done, so he had to get the job done himself. Shane then books a tag team match-- McIntyre & Elias vs. Miz and any partner of his choosing as long as he picks in the next ten seconds.
R-TRUTH IS HERE AT RINGSIDE! AWESOME TRUTH IS BACK TOGETHER BABY!
McMahon then makes it an elimination match and calls for a referee. The match will begin after the break.
Back from commercial, Authors of Pain run into the Iconics backstage briefly.
The Iconics then continue down the hall and run into Paige and the Kabuki Warriors, who want a title shot. The Iconics demure, citing a busy schedule, but Paige says she asked for and received a match in Tokyo.
Awesome Truth (R-Truth & the Miz) vs. Drew McIntyre & Elias (Elimination Match)
Elias and Miz to start, side headlock, shot off, drop down, knee to the Drifter’s injured ribs and a wristlock. Tag to Truth, double-teams, running knee into the spinning leg drop. The splits, catch Elias off the ropes, more splits, McIntyre tags in, knee drop, choke over the ropes and Elias tags back in. Ron with chops in the ropes, whip reversed, Truth gets a low bridge and the Drifter crashes to the floor!
Back inside, clear Miz from the apron, Elias sets him up...
Elias eliminates R-Truth by pinfall with a running knee in the corner.
Now that Truth’s title is up for grabs again, the roster empties and chases after him at ringside! Some confusion erupts over whether or not you have to pin Truth and that’s enough for him to get away and for us to go to break.
Back from commercial, Elias has a side headlock, fires off a knee, and dumps Miz to the floor. Shane McMahon gets a cheap shot in but Miz manages to sidestep McIntyre over the timekeeper’s barricade! The Drifter puts Miz into the barricade after, back inside, up top, Elias dives... THE A-LISTER COUNTERS WITH A BOOT TO THE INJURED MIDSECTION!
Corner double knees, into the Awesome Clothesline, into the basement DDT... NOPE! Chest kicks, Elias gets under him, electric chair, Miz slips out, O’Connor roll and Drew nails him with a headbutt when the Drifter kicks out! Tag made...
Drew McIntyre & Elias win, last eliminating Miz by pinfall with Claymore from McIntyre.
Another Claymore after the match, Drew tells Roman it’ll be five days... AND A THIRD CLAYMORE!
Commentary hypes Stomping Grounds up.
Backstage, Ember Moon is looking for Fire and Desire and Carmella is looking for R-Truth. Mella runs along and Moon rolls up on Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose eating donuts and joking about it.
Ember runs them down and they say they were just trying to give her a healthier way to keep occupied, but by all means, keep playing video games and rotting your brain. Ember’s had enough and knocks the tray of donuts out of their hands and we got a brawl!
Referees come down and manage to separate them.
Commentary promises a replay of last night’s Firefly Fun House.
Back from commercial, Firefly Fun House replays, as promised.
R-Truth is walking through the parking lot, calling for Carmella when he runs into referee Dan Engler, who he thinks is an Uber driver.
Mella rolls up, Truth comments on how she’s shrunk, and she takes her wig off to reveal Drake Maverick! Ron shoves Drake away but he catches him...
Drake Maverick wins by pinfall with a schoolboy pin to win the WWE 24/7 Championship.
Post-match, Maverick gets in the car and drives off over Engler’s protestations that it’s actually his car.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Kofi Kingston & Seth Rollins (2/3 Falls Match)
Trouble in Paradise out the gates...!
Kofi Kingston & Seth Rollins win the first fall by pinfall with Trouble in Paradise from Kingston on Sami Zayn.
We go to break before the second fall begins.
Back from commercial, Owens with a whip, Rollins hits Sling Blade, back body drop to the apron, he tries to springboard in and KO counters with a slam! Clear the apron, DDT connects... only two! Paul Heyman is shown watching backstage, tag to Zayn, beating on Rollins in the corner.
Tags made, working Seth over, blockbuster out of the corner, path is clear, tag to Kingston! In hot, lariats and a dropkick, leaping lariat, off the ropes, Boom Drop, nope, springboard crossbody... NOPE! Whip denied, Zayn hits the Blue Thunder Driver... STILL NO! Tag to KO, Kofi hits a dropkick, tag to Rollins! Off the ropes, suicide dive for Sami, one for KO too!
Kingston with a plancha, Owens with a schoolboy pin, superkick denied, pop-up powerbomb denied, Avada Kedavra blocked the first time but the second lands true. Buckle bomb blocked, enzuigiri connects, charging out of the corner...
Kofi Kingston & Seth Rollins win the second and final fall by pinfall with Blackout from Rollins on Kevin Owens.
Again we see Paul Heyman watching backstage.
That’s the show, folks.