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WWE SmackDown Live comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (July 2, 2019) from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for later this month in Philadelphia.
Advertised for tonight: Kofi Kingston tries to figure out Samoa Joe, Bayley tries to ready for Alexa 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 JULY 2
Sorcerers of madness selling me their time. Child of god sitting in the sun, giving peace of mind. Fictional seduction on a black snow sky. Sadness killed the Supermen, even fathers cried. Of all the things I value most of all, I look inside myself and see my world and know that it is good, and that I’m about to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with a recap of last night’s EXPLOSIONS.
Kevin Owens makes his entrance.
He takes a seat in the ring and welcomes us to the Kevin Owens Show before introducing his guest, Shane McMahon. Who, of course, is flanked by Drew McIntyre, as always. KO runs a clip from last night of the Under... (checks notes) ...taker calling the lightning down and running them off. McMahon says he’s not afraid of the Undertaker and he’s just another name for them to run through.
McIntyre talks about how they can take them in a normal match, but their tag match is no holds barred so it’s gonna be a vicious physical assault like no one’s seen before. Owens rolls the clip again and plays devil’s advocate, saying he looks a little afraid of the Undertaker but he knows he’s not afraid, it’s a coincidental reflex that sends you into the fourth row.
He keeps on needling Shane until McMahon stands up to him and starts making threats--
Enter Dolph Ziggler. KO goes apoplectic and screams at him to not come down here yelling about how it should be him because everybody’s sick of it. Ziggler tells Owens he belongs in a hot-dog eating contest, but KO says at least he’d win the contest, which is more than Dolph can say, and if he wants a title match, management is right here and can decide who gets it.
Shane says neither of them deserve it, but they can team up to wrestle Heavy Machinery tonight, and the winning team will be added to the tag title match at Extreme Rules.
Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan are interviewed backstage.
Bryan complains about the math involved in facing New Day in a triple threat but vows to leave Extreme Rules as tag team champions to send us to break.
Back from commercial, New Day are interviewed backstage.
They point out that the tag title match being a three-way stacks the odds against them but they’re gonna take back what’s rightfully theirs by kicking in the door and becoming your tag team champions for the sixth time.
Big E vs. Daniel Bryan
Circling, E clapping, collar and elbow, side headlock, Bryan shifts to a waistlock, hip swivel and a hip toss to escape. More hip action, off the ropes, shoulder block comes up empty and Big wants another one! Dan obliges, he shrugs him off again, off the ropes for a third time and E catches him into the Cobra Twist with New Day spanks! Shot off, shoulder block, drop down, hip toss blocked, backflip but Big catches the American Dragon with a lariat to send us to break!
Back from commercial and Bryan is going to work on the leg, wrenching it over the middle rope and kicking away at E’s surgically repaired knee. Off the ropes, dropkick right to the knee, but Big fires up, punches into the corner, whip across, backflip up and over, off the ropes... E catches him with the trifecta of belly-to-belly suplexes only for Dan to counter the third with headbutts and leg kicks!
Chest kicks, E shrugs him off, off the ropes, big splash! Bryan knocks him to the floor, off the ropes, Big nails him with a forearm but Erick Rowan is able to put E into the post while referee Mike Chioda is checking on him! Bryan charges in...
Daniel Bryan wins by pinfall with the Busaiku Knee.
Backstage, R-Truth is interviewed about his recent title loss.
At first he doesn’t want to talk about it, but then mentions that he’s heard that Drake Maverick is in town so he’s coming for him!
We see Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross walking backstage to send us to break.
Nikki’s worried because she’s never done any hosting before but Alexa talks her up and she gets fired up to host tonight’s edition of A Moment of Bliss to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Nikki Cross makes her entrance and welcomes us to A Moment of Bliss with her as host.
She welcomes her guest, Bayley, who enters and takes her seat before thanking her for her warm welcome. Cross defends Alexa but the Hugger ain’t having it, telling her she doesn’t have to do her bidding. Nikki says she’s not doing her bidding, she’s just hosting her show. She thinks it’s unfair how Bayley drags Alexa’s name through the dirt, to which the Hugger says what’s unfair is that last week, Cross beat her in the ring and last night she beat Carmella.
So... why is Alexa wrestling for the title at Extreme Rules and not her. Nikki says she doesn’t know, but she wants a match right now! Bayley accepts!
The match will begin after the break, of course.
Bayley vs. Nikki Cross
Bayley with a dropkick out the gates, straight suplex, covers coming up empty, mounted punches, Cross outside and back in, whip into a back elbow and the champion’s still in control. Double chickenwing, Nikki with a jawbreaker to escape, Bayley with kicks in the corner, outside again, back in, diving crossbody for two! Double axehandles, whip into the corner, body avalanche sets up a bulldog and Cross is fired up!
Jockeying for position...
Bayley wins by pinfall with the Bayley-to-Belly.
We see Kofi Kingston walking backstage, he’ll be face to face with Samoa Joe after the break.
Back from commercial, Mustafa Ali gets a promo video where he talks about how kids are told how their name defines them but he’s the one that’s gonna change that, and after he becomes WWE Champion and the ring announcer says his name, that’ll change minds.
Kofi Kingston makes his entrance, followed thereafter by Samoa Joe.
Joe rushes the interviewer out of the ring to “avoid collateral damage” and tells Kofi that was an act of generosity, of benevolence, something that Kingston is very familiar with. Every time New Day are given championship opportunities, his boys offer him up because Kofi is their guy, and game recognizes game. Some hustle with fear, others with charisma, and Kingston goes around like he’s everybody’s friend, but truth is he’s just using them
And in a couple years he wouldn’t be surprised if Xavier was reduced to hype man and Big E to his butler. Kofi says he’ll say it again, at WrestleMania he beat Daniel Bryan for the title, by himself. And at Stomping Grounds, he beat Dolph Ziggler by himself, and at Money in the Bank, he beat Kevin Owens by himself, and Joe will be no different at Extreme Rules.
What has Samoa done by himself, besides losing the United States Championship to Ricochet? But if he’s honest he has sympathy, he almost feels bad, because what happened to the old Samoa Joe that would take all comers instead of sneaking around playing hide and seek? Joe says that’s what he’s talking about, Kofi’s always ready, so slick, pandering to these mindless idiots that think he cares about them.
Right on cue, Kofi says, the part where he insults his family, but he gets it, he knows what he’s doing, it’s because he’s jealous. Jealous Joe! He gets it, he’d be jealous too, because be honest, he’ll never have a moment like he had with his kids at WrestleMania. Samoa says it doesn’t matter how often he comes out here and says it, people love their willful ignorance, so he’s going to prove Kingston isn’t who he says he is.
And he’s gonna do it simply, by asking him to shake his hand, to prove that he recognizes that the man standing before him is the next WWE Champion. But all gestures have two sides, and for putting his ego aside, Joe will guarantee the safety of all those he holds dear, up through Extreme Rules, and again, all he needs to do is shake his hand. He knows he’s not playing around, this is a legit offer, is he the man he pretends to be?
He’s gonna give him five seconds to do it before he slaps him around the ring to make him beg for the handshake. Kofi extends a hand tentatively as a smile plays across his face... HE FLIPPED JOE THE BIRD! JOE OFF THE ROPES... TROUBLE IN PARADISE!
Heavy Machinery are interviewed backstage.
Tucker asks Otis to show what went through their minds when they got this opportunity, and big Dozer vibrates like mad for a beat. Tucky says Dolph and Kevin have 18 titles between them, but they’ve never won titles together, and they scouted that information. They have a lot of respect for them, but they’re not a team, and tonight, to the way they see it, Ziggler and Owens are gonna implode.
Otis says they’re gonna get the titles because they’re coming.
On that note, we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get another recap of last night’s explosions.
Bobby Lashley checks in from his hotel and says he’s hurting but Braun Strowman got what he deserved and the next time he sees that son of a bitch he’s gonna send him somewhere worse than the hospital.
Andrade “Cien” Almas” vs. Apollo Crews
Almas hammering away in the corner, corner knees... NOPE! To the floor, Crews with the moonsault! And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Apollo running hot with lariats, Crews ducks one, hits one of his own and kips up! A back elbow nails him, boot up in the corner, Almas up top but Apollo hits an enzuigiri and raises the roof, Ultimo Guerrero style! Military press drop into a standing moonsault... SO CLOSE! Back suplex lift, Andrade lands on his feet and cracks Crews with the back elbow!
Apollo to the floor, Cien slingshot plancha, he gets caught and scooped up, lawn dart on the apron! Zelina Vega with the tijeras off the apron while referee Jason Ayers is distracted! Back inside, hammerlock...
Andrade “Cien” Almas wins by pinfall with the hammerlock DDT.
Backstage, Kevin Owens wants to talk strategy with Dolph Ziggler, but Dolph wants to do everything himself. KO wants to be honest, they haven’t had a great track record separately but maybe Shane has a point teaming them. They’re both pretty good on their own but maybe together they could be something, and it’s worth a shot. Why not try, what’s the worst that can happen?
Ziggler tells him fine, just go out there, be professional, and they’ll win. They shake on it, Dolph snarks about hot dogs, and KO comes back to be like “be cool, man”
Ember Moon is walking backstage when she runs into Carmella, who gives her a finger gun and a wink ahead of her match, which will be after the break.
Back from commercial, Aleister Black is in the dark room.
No one was there when he answered the door last week, but he applauds whoever knocked, because they’re fighting on a spiritual plane now. At this point he cares little for his reveal, only for him showing up, and where? At Extreme Rules, for if they shall fight in the heavens, they’ll fight through the seven layers of hell, and if they were to meet in purgatory, fighting they shall.
Ember Moon vs. Mandy Rose
Moon looking to get Sonya Deville out of the picture right away, big elbow to Rose, whip reversed, rolling solebutt caught into a back suplex for two! Hammer whip, running knee strike into a folding press... NOPE! Japanese stranglehold applied, wrenching Ember around in it. Moon to her feet, she eats a forearm, whip to the corner, off the second with a diving Codebreaker!
Back up top, war cry...
Ember Moon wins by pinfall with the Eclipse.
Shelton Benjamin is asked who’s going to win the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules but he looks around wordlessly and smiles.
And so to break.
Back from commercial, Daniel Bryan, Erick Rowan, and New Day have all joined commentary for our main event.
Dolph Ziggler & Kevin Owens vs. Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight)
Ziggler and Dozovic to start, Dolph picking a leg but he can’t take the big man off his feet. Otis gets a waistlock, picks Ziggler up, waistlock takedown, Dolph breaks the hold with an elbow and follows it with a dropkick! Whip blocked, New Day get sick of Bryan talking shit on commentary and attack! Dan lays E out with the knee, Rowan runs Woods over and clears the New Day table... the clawslam puts Xavier through the table!
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, the match has been restarted due to the ringside chaos just now.
Owens and Knight to start, Tucky with a side headlock, shot off, shoulder block, cover for one. Drawing KO up, side headlock, shot off, drop down, dropkick, again just a one count! Back to the headlock, off the ropes and Ziggler low-bridges Knight to the floor! Back inside, Owens puts boots to him, big splash, only a nearfall! Tag to Dolph, neckbreaker into a senton... NOPE!
Cutthroat choke applied, grinding his knuckles into Tucker’s eye, shifting to a front chancery as he struggles, smashing his face into the turnbuckles, chopping away, mocking him but Knight gets a back elbow and a huge turning crossbody out of the corner! Tags made, Otis runs over Dolph with a series of lariats, off the ropes with a big headbutt and he follows it with a spinning body slam!
Fallaway slam follows, only a nearfall! Big DDT connects, Ziggler has some separation and he makes the tag! Superkic connects, off the ropes, Dozer passes him to the floor and then shrugs off a Zig Zag! Stinger splash, Otis is feeling it... CATERPILLAR! But KO is the legal man and comes back in, superkick, kick to the gut, Stunner blocked, Otis ducks and Ziggler nails his partner with a superkick!
Knight in, scoop him up...
Heavy Machinery win by pinfall with the Compactor on Kevin Owens, earning a spot in the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship match at Extreme Rules.
Post-match, KO hits the Stunner on Ziggler and loses his mind!
That’s the show, folks.