SMACKDOWN SPOILERS 8/2
Punk vs. Fandango and A.J. vs. Kaitlyn for the Divas Title in Kaitlyn's hometown tonight.
- World Hvt. Champion Alberto Del Rio opened the show. Del Rio said Vickie Guerrero has allowed him to pick his Summerslam opponent, just like John Cena. Del Rio ran D-Bryan, who Cena picked, and Booker T, then did a big hype for his opponent being... Ricardo Rodriguez, who appeared via bio pic on the Titantron.
Vickie was not having this. After running down the suspended Ricardo, she said she figured Del Rio would make an immature decision, so she lined up a triple threat #1 contender match - RVD vs. Christian vs. Orton. All three came out on stage to stare down Del Rio. Of note, Orton was without his WWE Title MITB briefcase.
(1) Cody Rhodes beat Jack Swagger at 1:57. The match never really got going, then Rhodes won with a quick sunset flip pin. Beforehand, Colter tried to cut a promo about ol' Sam Houston, but Cody slapped the mic out of Zeb's hand. Also, Zeb's mic cut out for 3/4 of the promo time.
- After a commercial, Josh Mathews interviewed Cody about tossing Damien Sandow's MITB briefcase in the water "last week." Cody said he would have done the same thing Sandow did at MITB, but he got tired of Sandow talking down to him. Sandow then jumped him from behind.
(2) Big E. Langston beat Sin Cara at 2:51. Cara got in enough offense for this to not be a total squash. Cara flew right into the Big Ending for the finish.
- Backstage, Kaitlyn played to the hometown crowd ahead of her Divas Title shot tonight. Layla gave her a big hug to support her. Uh oh.
- In the GM office, Vickie addressed Del Rio, then Raw GM Brad Maddox walked in for a conversation about Del Rio being under his authority on Raw this coming Monday. Of note, Mid-South DVD cover art was on the wall behind Vickie.
- Fandango and C.M. Punk's issues "last week" on Raw and Smackdown were documented ahead of their match up next.
(3) C.M. Punk beat Fandango (w/Summer Rae) via submission at 11:55. For the finish, Punk executed a superplex into the Vice, which Fandango submitted to instantly. Pretty good TV match. Slow-paced, but good.
- Backstage, RVD was interviewed about his World Title chance tonight. Christian interrupted, then Orton interrupted. Orton said he's not complacent with the briefcase, and maybe he'll be WWE champ and World champ. All three agreed to disagree.
- Exterior shot of the Toyota Center, focusing on the big Dwight Howard banner outside the building.
(4) Divas champion A.J. Lee beat Kaitlyn (w/Layla) via submission at 3:30 to retain the Divas Title. A.J. applied Black Widow following an anti-climatic heel turn from Layla, who simply protected A.J. on the floor leading to the submission. The crowd was indifferent, plus it was telegraphed in the backstage segment.
- Video Package on WWE and the National Guard showed Layla hugging military personnel. Back in the arena, Lilian shouted out to Texas military ringside.
- Video Package on Booker T through the years on "Booker T Day" in Houston. It was the long-form 2013 HOF video package. Booker T then came out on-stage for a brief message about the honor.
- WWE ran a promo for the TLC PPV in Houston in December.
- Next up is the #1 contender match to the World Title. Orton was out first, then Christian, who took the mic and asked if he deserves one more match. The crowd was mixed with boos and cheers. He vowed to become #1 contender. RVD was out next, then Del Rio came out on-stage. He said Ricardo could beat any of the "Three Stooges," then vowed to make the winner tap out at Summerslam. "Whatevs," RVD indicated with a nonchalant reaction.
(5) Christian beat Randy Orton and RVD at 15:44 to become #1 contender to the World Title at Summerslam. Excellent match with all of the signature moves. Orton hit the RKO on RVD, but Christian backslid him for a quick three. Afterward, Orton and RVD showed respect to Christian.
After the match, Mathews, who showed up ringside at 10:00 to prepare for the interview, tried to get an interview with Christian in the ring, but Del Rio blindsided him. Smackdown went off the air with Del Rio standing tall over Christian. Refs then spilled out to check on Christian. They eventually helped him out of the ring and Christian sold all the way to the back, even falling down at the curtain.
After Del Rio stole Sign Guy's signature red hat, Dolph Ziggler was introduced to face Del Rio in the advertised bonus main event.
Bonus Main Event: Alberto Del Rio beat Dolph Ziggler at 6:22 in a Street Fight to retain the World Title. Del Rio sent Ziggler head-first into a steel chair for the win.
Afterward, Cole and A-Ry bailed from commentary, then Del Rio said this isn't over until he says it's over, then swung a chair at Zigs, but he ducked and hit Zig-Zag. Ziggler then showed off and took a victory lap on the way out to close the show. Lilian signed off and plugged TLC in December.
: RVD loses clean which is tight.
