Huge Match Set for SmackDown Live Next Week

Daniel Bryan announced on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live that John Cena will face Nakamura on next week’s show. The winner of that match will be the #1 contender for the WWE Championship and will face Jinder Mahal for the title at SummerSlam.

As of this writing, no other matches or segments have been announced for next week’s show but we will keep you updated.

WWE Battleground Results – 23 July 2017

Welcome to WWE Battleground 2017!

The Punjabi Prison makes a (hopefully) triumphant return after a decade in a match that sees Randy Orton get one more shot at regaining the WWE Championship from Jinder Mahal. It’s no secret that the Punjabi Prison hasn’t had a good track record in WWE, particularly because it’s a weird match with silly rules, but tonight’s definitely has the chance to be the best ever! We’re hoping a decade will allow Randy and Jinder to learn from the mistakes of those before and build a pretty decent match. If nothing else the Prison is always a spectacle.

Also on tonight’s show, John Cena makes his triumphant return to the ring to face Rusev in a Flag Match. This match doesn’t feel all that important because we’ve seen this feud before and because flag matches are generally silly. Regardless, John Cena wrestling is always worth checking out because he’s become an attraction in WWE and here’s hoping his current run will last a while. Rusev’s return has been a very long time coming and fans were hoping that he would be given a strong run upon return and maybe that will be the case if he can eek a win tonight!

There’s a small truth in the women’s division that few people want to acknowledge: Naomi hasn’t had a real contender since winning the title at WrestleMania. Other than fighting Lana on a weekly basis, Naomi’s title run has been marred by a lack of competition. This has happened because the SmackDown ladies have been embroiled in a multi-woman feud for months and months. Tonight the company aims to end this long-running battle royal with a five-way match with the winner becoming the number one contender to Naomi. I don’t think there is a clear winner for this match because the two strongest challengers, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, are both babyfaces. The idea of Lana winning is painfully possible.

Also on tonight’s card, Shinsuke Nakamura takes on Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn looks for revenge against Mike Kanellis, The New Day get another shot at The Uso’s Tag Team Championships, and Kevin Owens will look to regain his US Championship from AJ Styles! Tonight’s Battleground is a pretty stacked card with some crazy match stipulations and it all starts with Tye Dillinger Vs. Aiden English on the Kick-Off Show at 7pm EST. And don’t forget, you can watch Talking Smack after Battleground! Download the free Ringside News app for all your wrasslin’ news, and the Ringside Talk app to join your fellow marks in conversing about the show. Enjoy!

WWE SmackDown Live Results – July 18 2017

Welcome to our SmackDown Live results, less than a week away from WWE Battleground!

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal brings the Punjabi Prison structure to SmackDown Live! It’s been a decade since we’ve had a Punjabi Prison match in WWE, so I’m curious to see if the structure itself will have changed at all. It’s unclear what Mahal will do with the Prison but Randy Orton is scheduled to return on tonight’s SmackDown!

The main event for tonight’s SmackDown Live gives us a preview to two of Battleground’s biggest matches as AJ Styles teams with Shinsuke Nakamura to face Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin. SmackDown Live has unfortunately been featuring quite a few tag matches recently, which always feels like lazy booking, but I expect these four guys to put on a heck of a match. Sparks should fly between the combatants as Owens faces Styles for the US Championship in less than a week, and Corbin also faces Nakamura at the PPV.

We get a big in-ring debut on tonight’s SmackDown Live, which sees Mike Kanellis take on Sami Zayn. For weeks Sami has unintentionally crashed the romance between Mike and Maria Kanellis, which led to Mike finally bursting last week and smashing a glass over Sami’s head. I figured this match would be kept until Battleground but we’re getting it tonight, which will probably end in a no contest or some form of screwy finish that leads to a Battleground rematch.

And finally, The Fashion Police will take one step closer to finding out who was behind their attacks, and John Cena is set for a sit-down interview ahead of his Flag Match with Rusev! Are you excited for the show? Let us know on the free Ringside News and Ringside Talk apps, and enjoy the show!