SmackDown LIVE results, Aug. 29 2017: Nakamura and Orton reign supreme before The Viper strikes on The Artist
Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton worked together to take on WWE Champion Jinder Mahal & Rusev despite them competing against one another for an opportunity to obtain a title match next week. Elsewhere, Kevin Owens and SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon's personal problems continued to escalate.
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SmackDown Results : Quick Hits
- Jinder Mahal and Rusev got into a wild brawl with Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura
- Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable def. The Ascension
- United States Champion AJ Styles def. Tye Dillinger
- Bobby Roode def. Mike Kanellis
- Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon got into a war of words prior to Aiden English def. Sami Zayn
- The Usos def. The New Day allowing themselves to choose the stipulation for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Rematch
- Tamina def. local competitor
- Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton def. Jinder Mahal & Rusev
SmackDown Results : Full Details
Jinder Mahal and Rusev got into a wild brawl with Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, flanked by The Singh Brothers, kicked off SmackDown LIVE to make it clear that he was ready to vanquish Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura alongside Rusev in the tag team main event tonight. He also made it clear that he would not stand for the disrespect that Nakamura showed him last week and that someone would have to pay. Well, someone turned into someone(s), as The Singh Brothers took full responsibility for last week, after failing against Nakamura in the 2-on-1 Handicap Match. The two then began to bow to The Modern Day Maharaja, looking for forgiveness before Nakamura’s music hit to break up the apologies.
WWE’s Rockstar bowed up to Mahal and his associates, but the numbers game quickly took over. However, The Viper then rushed out to even the odds, beginning to neutralize The Modern Day Maharaja and The Singhs. Their offensive flurry was short-lived when Rusev appeared out of nowhere to blindside both Nakamura and Orton. The four then used their numbers advantage to keep The King of Strong Style and The Apex Predator down … at least for now.
Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable def. The Ascension
He’s back.
Shelton Benjamin made his long-awaited return to SmackDown LIVE last week to form a new tag team with Chad Gable. Gable, who could not have been more excited to team with Benjamin, kept that enthusiasm up in this tag team contest against The Ascension.
Benjamin & Gable looked crisp in their first outing as a team, but Konnor & Viktor were not looking to fade quietly into the night and wore down Gable. However, once Benjamin was able to find his way into the match, The Gold Standard fired up, fending off both members of The Ascension, and then caught a clutch assist from Gable, leading into him hitting Paydirt on Viktor for the win.
United States Champion AJ Styles def. Tye Dillinger
United States Champion AJ Styles was ready to re-open the United States Open Challenge on SmackDown LIVE, a challenge that rising Superstar Tye Dillinger seemed more than eager to accept. However, before The Perfect 10 could walk down the ramp to take on The Phenomenal One, he was blindsided by Baron Corbin.
The Lone Wolf had stated in an interview minutes prior that he was going to be the one to answer the call tonight, but Dillinger had beat him to the punch. This led to Corbin and Dillinger getting into it and The Lone Wolf attacking him from behind when it was clear that The Perfect 10 did indeed plan on accepting the challenge. However, Corbin, so blinded by rage, allowed himself to wait too long to officially begin the match with Styles, leading to Dillinger being able to recover, slip into the ring, temporarily take Corbin out and begin the match with The Phenomenal One himself.
Dillinger was all over Styles in the early goings of the contest, rallying strongly despite suffering the attack from Corbin. However, Styles was able to weather the storm and defeat Dillinger with the Calf Crusher for the submission victory.
After the contest, Corbin reemerged and took out The Perfect 10. He then attempted to go after Styles, but The Phenomenal One knocked him to the arena floor. Corbin, now unbelievably annoyed, chose to walk away and fight another day.
Bobby Roode def. Mike Kanellis
Following his undeniably glorious debut on SmackDown LIVE last week, Bobby Roode looked to continue the glory in his match against Mike Kanellis.
Maria Kanellis’ husband attempted to use The Power of Love to bring the fight to The Glorious One, but Roode rolled to another victory, defeating Kanellis with the Glorious DDT for the win.
Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon got into a war of words prior to Aiden English def. Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens, frustrated over how his defeat to AJ Styles in the United States Title Match went down last week, interrupted Aiden English mid-song to make it clear that he believed SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon screwed him out of the win (and the championship).
Not willing to stand for that, Shane-O-Mac made his way to the ring to retort Owens and tell him that this was neither the time, nor place, for this discussion. He then asked KO to leave the ring as English’s match against Sami Zayn was occurring next.
An enraged Owens left the ring but remained at ringside and joined the commentary table. In the heat of the action, KO got in the ring and forcefully removed the referee shirt from the official and told him to get lost. Confused, but intimidated, the referee left, prompting Owens to put the striped shirt on himself. This led to Owens interjecting himself into the contest and hitting the Pop-Up Powerbomb onto Zayn, allowing English to pin Zayn with Owens administering a fast three-count.
Owens then called for the bell and told the ring announcer to proclaim The Drama King the winner, then raised English’s hand and disdainfully threw the referee shirt back at the official.
After the match, Shane McMahon declared that Owens' decision was not final and that it would not be reflected in the records book that English defeated Zayn.
The Usos def. The New Day allowing themselves to choose the stipulation for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Rematch
Following their recent series of thrilling matches and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship volleying back and forth between them, tonight the SmackDown Tag Team Champion Usos took on The New Day with the winning team getting to choose the stipulation for their eventual title rematch.
In the latest chapter of their incredible rivalry, The Usos caught The New Day by surprise, defeating Kofi with a rollup after a blind tag. Jimmy & Jey were now in the driver’s seat when it came to determining whatever stipulation would be next for this classic rivalry … but what are they going to choose?
Tamina def. local competitor
With Lana by her side, Tamina is looking to become an unstoppable force in the SmackDown LIVE Women’s division. Beginning her ascent tonight against a local Arkansas competitor, Tamina heeded The Ravishing Russian’s advice and crushed the local, defeating her with a superkick for the win.
After the match, Lana brought in several photographers to take pictures of Tamina, continuing her evolution as a more complete Superstar.
Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton def. Jinder Mahal & Rusev
Following their brawl to kick off the show, Jinder Mahal & Rusev rekindled their old alliance to take on Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton for the first time ever on Team Blue.
The team of Nakamura & Orton combatted Mahal & Rusev with valor, fending off their underhanded tactics and The Singh Brothers at ringside. Ultimately, WWE’s Rockstar was able to defeat Rusev with the Kinshasa for the win.
Earlier in the night, it was announced that The King of Strong Style and The Viper would face off next week for the first time ever in singles competition, with a WWE Championship opportunity hanging in the balance. With the tag team victory and celebrations out of the way, Orton shockingly laid out The Artist with an RKO, showing that only one thing matters to him: getting the WWE Championship back.