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WWE Friday Night SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Aug. 11, 2023) with a live show emanating from Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, featuring all the fallout from the SummerSlam premium live event that went down just this past Saturday night in Detroit.
Advertised for tonight: After turning on his brother Jey at SummerSlam, Jimmy Uso will be on hand for a Hail to the Chief segment with WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Also on the card: Austin Theory defends the United States championship against LWO member Santos Escobar, AJ Styles has another match against Karrion Kross, and much more!
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. (Note: Links to illegal streams are prohibited. Pics and GIFs are allowed.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR AUG. 11
It’s a loaded dice that you throw this time. If you turn the ace, it’ll turn out fine. When you spin the wheel and you get your call, south of the line well, the loser gets it all, but me? I’m just here to liveblog this pro wrestling show for you, folks.
Commentary hypes tonight’s show up and we get right into it!
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Wristlock, flip near the ropes, Asuka reverses, Flair breaks free and the Empress nails her with a quick combo. Off the ropes, a shoving match breaks out, trading forearms, Asuka with kicks, Charlotte catches one and trips her up, laying her out with a kick! Whip to the corner, Flair Flip, up top, Asuka meets her and takes her down!
Missile dropkick follows, sliding kick, cover for a nearfall and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Flair knocks Asuka to the floor and back inside, off the top with a crossbody! Chops, knocking Asuka down, drawing her back up, fallaway slam connects and the Queen kips up! Handspring lariat... STILL NO! Waistlock, back elbow to break, off the ropes, Flair gets the spear!
Spinning toehold but Charlotte is distracted by Damage CTRL making their entrance, Asuka with a small package... NOPE! Flair nails her with a boot, both women down and out as Damage CTRL surround the ring! Trading forearms, Bayley up on the apron, Flair peels off to knock her down and Asuka takes advantage with a Codebreaker!
SKY springboards in, double dropkick...
The match goes to a no-contest, presumably.
Post-match, Bayley and IYO beat Flair and Asuka down more and Dakota Kai plays hype woman for SKY.
We get a video package for TRIBAL COMBAT and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Santos Escobar is interviewed.
He talks about how he’s gonna beat Austin Theory tonight and Theory blindsides him, attacking him and smashing his leg in a road case!
We get a video package from Karrion Kross all about how time is running out on AJ Styles.
AJ Styles makes his entrance, flanked by “Michin” Mia Yim.
Back from commercial we get some hype for Edge’s 25 years celebration next week.
A hype reel of Japanese press coverage of IYO SKY’s successful cash-in follows.
We get an update on Santos Escobar, who is touch and go as to whether he’ll be cleared or not.
AJ Styles vs. Karrion Kross
Boot in the corner, Styles cuts him off and puts him in a Muta Lock! Kross shoots him off, back body drop, corner lariats and elbows, cover for a nearfall. Right hands backing AJ into the ropes, in the corner, hard whip sternum first and Styles spirals out! Setting AJ up top, chopping him down, Death Valley Driver on the announce desk and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Styles goes for the Phenomenal Elbow but Karrion catches him into the KrossJacket! Struggling, stepping up the turnbuckles to counter into a pin, but Kross holds on and chokes the life out of the Phenomenal One! AJ rams him into the turnbuckles to break, going for the moonsault inverted DDT but Kross is too big and badly positioned!
Kawada kicks, off the top with a 450 splash... SCARLETT PUTS KARRION’S FOOT ON THE ROPES! Mia Yim comes over to neutralize Scarlett but Bordeaux takes her out! Saito Suplex connects, AJ ducks the Krosshammer, enzuigiri connects, looking for the Styles Clash but Scarlett is on the apron! Mia pulls her off and throws her over the desk!
Back to the Styles Clash...
AJ Styles wins by pinfall with the Styles Clash.
We get a recap of Cody Rhodes beating Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Edge makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Austin Theory is interviewed.
He mocks Santos Escobar as being made of tissue paper, Rey Mysterio takes offense, and road agent Kenn Doane has to hold the greatest of all time back from cleaning the United States Champion’s clock!
Edge is in the ring, mic in hand.
He says next week is his big celebration but he knew he needed an excuse to get out here to Calgary, so here’s his excuse.
Next week, he wants a match in Toronto against a man he’s never faced one-on-one before, in all the time they’ve been in this company together, and that man is Sheamus. They have a lot of history together that we probably don’t know about, and Sheamus is probably the reason he’s standing in this ring.
He’s the guy that lit the fire under Edge’s butt that he could do this again after nine years retired and triple neck fusion. Sheamus has a workout show and invited Edge on it, and Edge wiped out on his mountain bike and knew people would see it and ask “if he can do that why can’t he wrestle” and that’s when the light bulb lit.
So Sheamus was the first guy he called and they got in the ring together every day and kicked the crap out of each other, and after that he realized he was ready.
Brawling Brutes make their entrance.
They roll footage of the bike mishap, Edge is upset his butt got shown, and Sheamus reminds him he’s shown a lot more than just his butt on TV. Edge spars back with a picture of Sheamus on his daughter’s tiny bike, Sheamus joshes him a little more, Edge wants to know if he’ll have the match, and the Celtic Warrior talks about some of his history.
He speaks of being at a crossroads as to whether he’d keep wrestling or go back to IT or whatever when WWE came to town and he went backstage and everybody gave him the cold shoulder. Everybody, that is, except for Edge. And not only did he give him his time, but he gave him the best advice he ever got, and bought him a pint of Guinness, and where he comes from that’s a big deal.
Then and there he knew Edge was a world-class act, and the fact that they’ve never wrestled is astonishing, because if Edge thinks being on the bike was the catalyst to get him back in the ring? That conversation with Edge years before is why Sheamus is standing in the ring.
Edge is appreciative and asks for an answer, Sheamus admits he’s a little deaf in his left ear and wants to hear what Calgary thinks, and accepts the match! He shakes Edge’s hand and pulls him in close to tell him he hopes he isn’t making a mistake.
LA Knight makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get some hype for noted racist Hulk Hogan’s 70th birthday.
LA Knight vs. Top Dolla
Knight sidesteps a charge, chops and right hands, whip reversed, interference from Hit Row and Dolla freight trains him and chokes him in the ropes! Ashante Adonis with a cheap shot, Top stepping on LA’s neck, fireman’s carry, Knight lands on his feet with big right hands but Dolla biels him into the corner!
Boot up, LA with a diving bulldog and he’s fired up! Clear Ashante from the apron, People’s Elbow...
LA Knight wins by pinfall with BFT.
Post-match, Knight gets on the mic and says it doesn’t matter where you go or who you are, at the end of the day you’ll know it’s his game.
Backstage, Adam Pearce checks on Santos Escobar.
He tells Santos he’s technically cleared but he wants to look him in his eyes and hear from him that he can go, and Escobar says he’s good.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a media hype reel for SummerSlam.
In a backstage lounge, Bobby Lashley is hanging out with the Street Profits to celebrate their alliance and the future and they have a nice little chat and toast to the future.
Santos Escobar makes his entrance and Austin Theory blindsides him with a chop block!
Austin apologizes for all of us being unable to experience a title defense tonight because Santos is just too weak.
There’s lots of chatter between Escobar, Adam Pierce, and Rey Mysterio, and Adam makes it official— Rey has the match now!
Mysterio hits the ring and knocks Theory out of it, tijeras on the floor, the match hasn’t begun and we go to break!
Austin Theory (c) vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE United States Championship)
Back from commercial, match in progress, Mysterio with a tijeras that puts Theory into the turnbuckles! Rey up top, diving seated senton, off the ropes, springboard crossbody, cover... SO CLOSE! Mysterio running hot, cover, only two! Fireman’s carry from Austin, A-Town Down denied, enzuigiri and a 619!
Setting him up for another, off the ropes, Theory catches him and hosses him up! Mysterio slips out, corkscrew tijeras sets it up, 619...
Rey Mysterio wins by pinfall with a springboard splash, becoming your new WWE United States Champion.
Post-match, an emotional Santos Escobar celebrates with Rey Mysterio and most of the rest of the Latino World Order.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Roman Reigns makes his entrance.
Before he speaks, we go right back to break.
Back from commercial, the Bloodline stand in the ring— Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, and Solo Sikoa.
Reigns hesitates for a long moment before asking Calgary to acknowledge him. He asks Heyman where Jimmy Uso is, and Paul has to admit that he hasn’t seen him and when they spoke this morning, Uso was “rather salty” with him.
Jim Uso is at ringside wearing a hoodie and a sour expression. He gets in the ring and Roman tells him not to worry about the crowd because they mean nothing, and he laughs a bit before getting serious and says he wants to be real about it— he owes Uso one.
So name your price, anything Jimmy wants, it’s done. New car? Done. Boat? No, a yacht? Done. A jet? Done! But Jim doesn’t want anything from him, because what he did at SummerSlam has nothing to do with Roman. Reigns laughs it off and says he must be confused.
Does he not want material items? Does he want power? A position? To be Main Event Jim Uso? He can make that happen.
Enter Jey Uso.
He gets in the ring and snatches the microphone out of his brother’s hand, staring him down, squinting at him, trying to find something in his eyes. He says he’s about to throw 37 years (...in a row?!) down the drain if Jimmy doesn’t tell him why he did it.
Uso collects himself for a moment and says he did what he did at SummerSlam because he loves Jey. He attacked Jey not out of jealousy, because he was afraid of losing him. If he won at SummerSlam, Jey would have been Tribal Chief, and what does that mean for the Usos? He would have inherited some kind of power to make him like Roman, corrupted!
He refused to let his brother become a belligerent asshole like Reigns! That’s the damn truth, he was afraid, and if he hates him it’s fine, he just needed to tell him to his face he was afraid of losing him and he loves him and if he needs to kick 37 years of pain into his face right now, he’ll take it.
Jey considers it but decides to turn his back on Jimmy, and Jimmy slowly, hesitatingly, leaves the ring.
Roman laughs and laughs about it and literally tells Jey he told him so. He calls Jey a stupid hothead who thinks with hhis emotions, and tonight it ain’t about the Usos, nobody cares anymore, it’s about one thing, it’s about acknowle— JEY SUPERKICKS ROMAN!
Solo attacks Jey and lays him out, drawing him up, but Jey ducks the Samoan Spike and lays him out with a superkick! Roman takes Uso out with a Superman Punch and lies in wait... BUT JEY TAKES HIM OUT WITH A SUPERKICK AND SPEARS HIM AFTER!
Jey gets on the mic and tells Jim to hold up! He leaves the ring and asks Jimmy to come join him at ringside... AND TAKES JIMMY OUT WITH A SUPERKICK!
Jey tells the camera he’s out of the Bloodline, out of SmackDown, out of WWE. Deuces, Uces!
He leaves through the crowd.
That’s the show, folks.
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