 The Street Profits def. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in a Championship Contenders' MatchThe Usos beat Street Profits in their first match back earlier in the summer and it was a great match, so I'm happy they're revisiting that rivalry and doing it over the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. There was no reason to give this away without any prior advertisement, so I had no problem with The Usos getting themselves intentionally disqualified. What we got while it lasted was good and I'm looking forward to the eventual rematch. SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch Denied Bianca Belair's ChallengeThe verbal exchanges between these two continue to be excellent. Belair can absolutely hold her own on the mic (she's always been able to dating back to her days in NXT) and Lynch hasn't missed a beat as a talker, either. This was strong stuff and set the stage for next week's contract signing nicely. The only thing I didn't like about the segment was how Lynch had to force the narrative that fans are slowly turning on her, which isn't true in the slightest. I maintain that WWE attempting to turn her heel in the long haul will be a dumb decision. Rick Boogs def. Dolph ZigglerToni Storm finally resurfaced in a backstage segment beforehand when Ziggler asked her to accompany him to ringside, only for Storm to tell him that she was actually a Rick Boogs fan. I think Storm can do just fine on her own without being involved with either Ziggler or Boogs, but at least she's back on TV in some sort of a role. Boogs vs. Ziggler was short and sweet, though Boogs beating Ziggler wasn't too impressive because he hasn't been positioned as anyone important in ages. Cesaro def. Seth Rollins by DisqualificationYes, Rollins and Cesaro have already had a handful of matches this year and I don't know if it's been long enough since their last encounter for this to feel fresh, but I can't complain when they work as well together as they do. This was an entertaining affair that basically served as a backdrop for what happened afterward, though I could have done without a second disqualification finish on this show. Edge coming out to save Cesaro was a pleasant surprise and I'm really excited for Edge vs. Rollins II next week on SmackDown in Madison Square Garden. Kevin Owens Hosted The Kevin Owens Show with Happy Corbin and Logan PaulIt's a shame that WWE has had nothing of note for Owens to do since his feud with Sami Zayn ended earlier in the summer. He took part in Money in the Bank and has been involved in the Corbin storyline, but that's about it. I assume he's headed back to Raw in the upcoming Draft to continue the trend of him switching shows every year. Hey, at least WWE knew well enough to portray Paul as a heel this time unlike when he was on Raw last month. This accomplished what it needed to in likely setting up another Corbin vs. Owens match. I'm digging the Happy Corbin character, but surely WWE can find something else for Owens to do eventually. Sami Zayn def. Dominik MysterioThis was a rematch from last week when Zayn was introduced as Dominik's mystery opponent (not Adam Cole, thank God). The story was that Dominik had time to prepare and still lost, so it looks like he'll be the one to go heel in his storyline with Rey. I have no idea how convincing of a heel he'll actually be, but admittedly, I'm intrigued by this whole thing and how it will play out. This was a nice little match and Zayn was able to pick up another victory, but I'm not sure where you go with him from here aside from facing Rey. Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. Finn BalorI loved how this was handled. The Usos ambushed Balor beforehand and Reigns cheated toward the end, so Balor had an out for losing and was protected in defeat. He fought like a valiant babyface and came close to winning at one point, so the crowd was hot for the nearfalls and ate all of this up. For a television main event, this was very enjoyable and left me wanting to see more from them which I assume is the plan based on that tease for The Demon afterward. The question is, do they really feed The Demon (its first appearance in over two years) to Reigns at Extreme Rules? Overall ShowRaw is a mess most weeks and NXT is about to undergo a significant overhaul apparently, so I appreciate SmackDown's consistency as far as remaining the best brand in the company today. Not every episode is a home run, but the two hours are easy to watch, there's enough compelling storylines to keep viewers invested, and there's usually an above-average match here and there. I thought this was a terrific effort and it's awesome they're making next week's return to MSG out to be so big with Brock Lesnar appearing, Edge vs. Rollins II, and the SmackDown Women's Championship contract signing.
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