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WWE SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (July 9, 2021) with its final show from inside the ThunderDome at Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for July 18 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Set for tonight are two Money in the Bank qualifying matches: Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins, and Kingsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin. WWE officials Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce will presumably give further consideration to Liv Morgan’s case to be added to the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match.
WWE has also teased that Roman Reigns will have retaliation in mind after Edge’s brutal attack on Jimmy Uso last week.
Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on FOX. 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 9
Speeding down the motorway, let slow life pass us by. Another mile another day, get some action in our lives. We’re on our way, living for today, and I’m here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with a recap of last week’s Edge and Jimmy Uso business.
Paul Heyman is hanging outside of Roman Reigns’ office when Jimmy rolls up and he has to block him from seeing his cousin. Paul says Reigns is gonna go handle something else right now but Uso will get his full attention, tonight. Jimmy seems to accept this and walks off.
Thence to the intro video.
Roman Reigns is in Gorilla when Paul Heyman rolls up to take the title belt and accompany him for his entrance.
He takes his time before speaking, taking issue with Edge’s statements last week. He’s an honest man, and he’ll tell the truth— for one moment, and you can ask any any fighter, ask Brock, fear can happen, so for maybe ten, twenty seconds he might have had some fear. But what did that do? It gave him the will to push through, smash ‘em, stack ‘em, and pin both of ‘em.
They printed a shirt! So don’t ever come out here and say you’re in his head, because that’s not possible. The only reason he got to him a few weeks ago was because he was distracted with family business.
Enter Jimmy Uso.
He asks Roman where he was last week, and Reigns asks when he told him to make decisions for them, and if anybody earned a vacation, he did, but he doesn’t take vacations, and he was busy doing what Jimmy couldn’t, doing his job.
Enter Jey Uso.
He comes out and says it’s time to get back to what they’ve been meant to do, become tag team champions again. Roman says that’s all he ever wanted for them, to be together on the same page, all three of them. Nobody can touch them if they do it his way. They embrace and close the segment united.
Baron Corbin is interviewed backstage about his match tonight.
He says he needs to win because his life has been a mess lately. He’s trapped in a box and he’s lost his money, his crown, his car, and he’s about to lose his house. He has to win Money in the Bank to get a championship payday, and that’s the only shot to turn his life around.
He makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Big E makes his entrance to join the commentary team for this one.
We get footage of Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogz rolling up to the arena earlier in Baron Corbin’s repossessed car.
Corbin attacks Nakamura during his entrance but Boogz makes the save and we go to break before the match!
Baron Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Money in the Bank Qualifying Match)
Back from commercial, the match is joined in progress.
Corbin turns the tide, knee lifts, suplexing him into the ropes, beating him down, but Nakamura blasts him with a single-leg dropkick! Hanging him in the corner, running knee, single leg lungblower! Falling gamengiri sends Baron crashing to the floor, Boogz has him distracted but he’s able to regain control and suplex Shinsuke into the announce desk as we go to break!
Back from commercial, Nakamura whip to the corner, Corbin slings him off but eats a kick for his trouble. Off the ropes, Shinsuke gets caught by Deep Six... NO! Up in the turnbuckles, Nakamura with a flying triangle, Baron posts to his feet and counters... POWERBOMB BUT SHINSUKE HANGS ONTO THE HOLD! Fired up, waiting for it... BUT CORBIN LAYS HIM OUT WITH A LARIAT!
Nakamura gets back together...
Shinsuke Nakamura wins by pinfall with Kinshasa to qualify for the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.
We see the Usos chatting in a nice room backstage with Jey’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in Memory of Andre the Giant trophy behind them.
Jey affirms that brothers fight but pitches Jimmy on taking care of some business before Roman has to ask, and he seems receptive.
Natalya and Tamina make their entrance, they’ll be in action against a debuting team, after the break.
Back from commercial, Natalya and Tamina are in the ring and on the mic.
Nattie complains about being booked against mystery opponents who want to take on the champs, and Tamina tells whoever it is to hurry up and get out here.
It’s Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox!
Natalya & Tamina vs. Shotzi Blackheart & Tegan Nox
Neidhart and Nox to start, bit of light mat grappling, Tegan with an arm drag and the tag. Blackheart in, double whip, drop toehold into a Camel Clutch dropkick, Gedo Clutch... NOPE! Nattie gets away and makes the tag, Tamina in with a boot and a whip to the corner, big lariat, short-arm lariat, clubbing blows and a big mat slam!
Into the corner, tag to Neidhart, catapult into a superkick that goes kind of south, Nox breaks it up, the match breaks down, Shotzi with a lariat and she goes up top...
Shotzi Blackheart & Tegan Nox win by pinfall with the diving senton from Blackheart on Natalya.
Edge is interviewed backstage.
He says he’s gonna save his comment for later when he goes to the ring and calls Roman Reigns out. But he’s curious to see if Roman has the balls to come alone, but no matter what it’s not gonna be happy for him.
Sonya Deville makes her entrance, she’ll announce the woman who is replacing an injured Bayley against Bianca Belair at Money in the Bank, after the break.
Back from commercial, Sonya Deville announces Bayley’s knee injury and that she’ll be out nine months.
We get the YouTube footage of Bayley announcing her injury (and blaming the fans for it) as well.
Sonya wishes her a speedy recovery and says after careful consideration she’s appointed a new opponent. Bianca will no longer be defending at Money in the Bank, and instead she’ll defend the title next Friday on the first touring show! And her opponent is a former champion, a two-time Money in the Bank winner... Carmella!
She makes her entrance and gets on the mic.
She says she gets it, she’s hot and we’re mad, and she thanks Deville for the long-overdue honor but corrects her, insisting that she also be given the accolade of “most beautiful woman in WWE.”
Enter Liv Morgan.
She’s here to complain about the way Sonya runs the women’s division again, accusing her of blatant and inexcusable favoritism. Deville tells her to shut up and says she was about appoint her as Carmella’s replacement in Money in the Bank, and she has thirty seconds to get the hell out of the ring before she changes her mind.
Liv accepts but wastes time telling Carmella that she hopes she wins next week, because she wants to cash Money in the Bank in on her. Fortunately for her, Sonya doesn’t call her on taking longer than thirty seconds to leave the ring.
Enter Bianca Belair.
She’ll gladly accept Carmella as her challenger, but if Bayley’s injury isn’t real, shame on her for stooping this low. But if it is real, she respects her competitive skills even though she doesn’t like her, and she’s looking forward to finishing this up when she gets back.
Paul Heyman rolls up on Roman Reigns backstage and says that Edge might be a problem tonight.
He apologizes and clarifies that Edge questioned his manhood, which just makes Roman mad. Boys, whatcha gonna do?
Seth Rollins makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Kevin Owens is on commentary for this one.
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins (Money in the Bank Qualifying Match)
Cesaro right in with a waistlock, side headlock, just jamming for any advantage he can, shot off, leapfrog but he catches it into a backbreaker for two! Charging in, back body drop to the apron, up top, Seth tries to join him but eats a diving crossbody for his trouble and a nearfall! A frustrated Rollins rolls to the floor and stamps his feet and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Rollins takes the momentum by smashing Cesaro’s face into the announce table, throwing him back inside, running knee lifts and a big arm drag for two. Clawing at the Swiss Superman’s face, jockeying for position over a backslide, kick to the knee, off the ropes, Black Magic connects! Choking Cesaro in the corner, arguing with referee Charles Robinson at length.
Cesaro recovers with uppercuts, windmilling them in, whip across, charging uppercuts! Discus, Seth ducks, looking for Death Blow but Cesaro hits Alpamare Waterslide... NO! CESARO SUPLEXES HIM OVER THE ROPES AND TO THE FLOOR AND WE GO TO BREAK WITH BOTH MEN DOWN AND OUT!
Back from commercial, Giant Swing turns into the Sharpshooter but Rollins gets the ropes! Small package, no dice, pop-up... SWISS DEATH! NOT ENOUGH! Roll-through, leg pick, Seth scrambles to the corner but Cesaro yanks him so hard that he tears a turnbuckle pad off and gets a nearfall off a short powerbomb! Looking for the Neutralizer, back body drop counter, land on his feet, springboard corkscrew uppercut but Rollins counters!
Charging in, counter powerbomb countered into a Frankensteiner, Cesaro goes face-first into the exposed turnbuckle but won’t stay down! O’Connor Roll with a handful of rope, only two, Death Blow... SO CLOSE! Cesaro bleeding from the forehead, rolling to the floor, Seth follows after and beats him down, looking for the countout!
Robinson counting, Cesaro beats it, Seth gets the Death Blow again, taking Cesaro to the floor... DDT ON THE STEEL! CESARO BACK IN, HE BLOCKS BLACKOUT, SCHOOLBOY! Sharpshooter denied, Cesaro wearing the crimson mask, Seth maneuvers around him...
Seth Rollins wins by pinfall with Blackout to qualify for Money in the Bank.
Backstage, the Usos roll up on Edge’s dressing room.
Jimmy wants to knock on the door but Jey convinces him to wait for Edge to leave on his own, and we go to break.
Back from commercial, the Usos are still waiting.
Jimmy is tired of waiting and insists on busting in the door, and when they get in the locker room, Edge is nowhere to be found.
Jey says he’s lucky he’s not in here and we cut away.
A sweaty Seth Rollins is celebrating his victory when an interview rolls up.
He says he knew he was gonna win and that nincompoop Cesaro didn’t stand a chance, because he’s just not on his level. He talks about his cash-in plans, pitching various possibilities, before saying he should be fighting Roman Reigns directly.
Edge rolls up right behind him and he turns around to see him.
Edge says he heard this droning nasally whine and he had to see where it was coming from. The difference between the two of them is that Seth complains about title shots but he takes them.
American Alpha are backstage.
Chad Gable talks up his number one guy, the human wrecking ball, Otis Dozovic, who looks like a thumb now that he’s clean-shaven. It doesn’t matter who you are, you step to the Alpha Academy, the result is the same. Otis says he’ll destroy anyone.
Edge makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial we get some hype for next week’s big return to touring shows.
Edge is in the ring and asks if Roman Reigns and the Usos are registered anywhere so he can get them leis, and he doesn’t care how many family members they have, he’s exposed the cracks in the table and he’s gonna take the title and leave anyone who gets in his way looking like Reigns and Jimmy did when he choked them with the chair bars.
Those eyes scream fear, and he feeds off of fear. He’s gonna take the Universal Championship at Money in the Bank, and he wants Roman’s “punk ass” down here right now.
We see Roman sitting with the Usos and Paul Heyman backstage. He rises and tells everyone to stay there because he’s going to handle this on his own.
Reigns makes his entrance, still alone, and strides to the ring.
The Usos decide they don’t like how things look and they leave the room to come to their cousin’s aide. They make their entrance and Roman eyeballs them, berating them for disobeying his orders, again insisting that he’s gonna handle this. Reigns gets up on the apron, staring Edge down the entire way, and Edge gives the universal “come at me, bro” sign.
They square up and start trading punches in the center of the ring! Edge pushes him back into the corner— AND REY AND DOMINIK MYSTERIO ARE HERE WITH CHAIRS TO TAKE THE USOS OUT! Jimmy takes Dom out with a superkick, the Rated-R Superstar is still beating the Big Dog down, the Usos manage to come to Roman’s defense but the Mysterios are right behind them... 619! Edge spears an Uso!
Roman got away in the chaos and is recovering on the stage while the Mysterios hold Jey down and Edge looks to complete the set, breaking a chair strut off to choke Uso out! Wrenching back, he chokes the life out of Jey, calling attention to the fear in his eyes the whole way!
Edge points the strut at Roman and tells him he’s coming in one week, before reapplying the crossface and choking Jey again! Shifting gears, back to Jimmy, who taps furiously! Back to Jey again while Reigns watches helpless!
That’s the show, folks.