SmackDown, September 12, 2014

The Usos, Big Show, & Mark Henry def. Gold & Stardust and Luke Harper & Erick Rowan

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Nine days before Night of Champions, SmackDown featured an International Arm Wrestling Contest, dueling stuntmen, finisher-maneuver-stealing Divas and a huge tag team showdown.

SmackDown opens up with a giant 8-Man Tag match featuring The Usos, Big Show & Mark Henry facing Gold & Stardust and Luke Harper & Erick Rowan.

In the midst of complete and utter bedlam in SmackDown’s opening 8-Man Tag Team Match, Big Show delivered the KO Punch to Goldust, paving the way for Jey Uso — injured knee and all — to drop in with the Samoan Splash off the top rope for the win.

8-Man melee |  The 50 most epic Andre the Giant Photos
 
But will The Usos’ luck continue when they put their WWE Tag Team Championships on the line  against Gold & Stardust at Night of Champions on Sept. 21?

Bo Dallas def. Justin Gabriel

With Jack Swagger ringside, Bo Dallas looks to send a message to the Real American.

Despite his verbal back-and-forth with Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter after the opening bell rang in his match against Justin Gabriel, the inspirational Bo Dallas overcame the South African Superstar with the Bo-Dog. Then, when Dallas taunted The Real American after the contest, the two came to blows and “America’s Sweetheart” was sent packing.

American showdown | Superstar face swaps

Paige def. Summer Rae

Paige plays more mind games with AJ Lee who is on commentary during this Divas match.

With the always unpredictable AJ Lee joining the SmackDown announce team, Divas Champion Paige made Summer Rae tap out using AJ’s finishing maneuver, the Black Widow! When Layla attempted to take issue with the titleholder after the match, though, AJ cut her off at the pass and hit her with her adversary’s Paige Turner!

Stealing Diva arsenals | Best of NXT Summer Divas

What will happen when those “frenemies,” and the dangerous Nikki Bella, battle for the Divas Title at Night of Champions?

Mark Henry def. Rusev in an International Arm Wrestling Contest

It's a battle of strength between Mark Henry and Rusev in an International Arm Wrestling Contest.

Even though The Ravishing Russian Lana dedicated Rusev’s Arm Wrestling Contest against Mark Henry to Vladimir Putin, The World’s Strongest Man defended American by cleanly beating his foreign adversary.

International incident | Night of Champions: Henry vs. Rusev

When The Hero of the Russian Federation challenged him to a rematch with the left hand, Lana threw chalk in Henry’s face, blinding the powerful Superstar and allowing Rusev to execute a vicious attack.

Dolph Ziggler & “R-Ziggler” def. The Miz & “Damien Mizdow”

Dolph Ziggler and The Miz bring their stunt doubles to compete in this tag team encounter.

Taking a page from the playbook of his Night of Champions No. 1 contender The Miz, Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler arrived for tag team action alongside his own “stunt double”: “R-Ziggler.” And in the height of that action, as the referee was trying to get the “Moneymaker” out of the ring, “R-Ziggler” hit “Damien Mizdow” with the Zig Zag, allowing The Showoff to pick up the win.

A real stunt of a tag match | Night of Champions: Intercontinental Title Match

Girl interrupted … and interrupted

All three Divas stand face to face nine days before their big Triple Threat Match at Night of Champions.

AJ Lee, Paige and Nikki Bella came face-to-face nine days before their Divas Triple Threat Match at Night of Champions.

Chris Jericho & Roman Reigns def. Randy Orton & Seth Rollins

An epic tag team battle is the main event of SmackDown!

After unleashing a furious attack on both Seth Rollins and Randy Orton, Roman Reigns engaged “The Architect” in a furious brawl outside the ring — leaving Chris Jericho and Orton to finish the contest one-on-one.

Prelude to Night of Champions? |  Night of Champions: Reigns vs. Rollins | Jericho vs. Orton

But just when The Viper was attempted to hit the hanging DDT on his prey, Y2J countered and rolled the time World Champion up for the huge win, gaining major pay-per-view momentum!