My Thoughts on SmackDown (8/1/17): The Cleveland Screw Job

• AJ Styles (c) vs Kevin Owens-United States Championship-Owens starts off in control with a headlock. The two trade holds and go back and forth before Owens dodges a dropkick and clotheslines Styles out of the ring. Owens follows him out and clotheslines Styles before the commercial break. We come back to Owens booting Styles in the face for a near fall. Styles comes back with a dropkick before kicking Owens in the back and dropping a knee for a near fall. Styles suplexes Owens for a one count before beating Owens down in the corner. Styles tries for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Owens rolls out of the ring to avoid it. Styles is able to connect with a diving forearm to the outside, only for Owens to come back, flapjack him into the barricade, and nail him with a cannonball before another commercial break. We come back to Styles landing on his feet off a back suplex. Styles strikes Owens down and hits a sliding forearm before hitting the Ushigoroshi for a near fall. Styles goes for the Styles Clash, but Owens blocks it and back drops Styles. Styles tries for the Phenomenal Forearm again, but Owens dodges it and superkicks Styles for a near fall. Owens sets up for the Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Styles counters it and locks in the Calf Crusher. Owens brakes the hold by headbutting Styles before dodging a forearm in the corner. Owens goes for a Powerbomb, but Styles lands on his feet and hits a Pele kick. Owens blocks another Styles Clash attempt, but Styles rebounds and locks in the Calf Crusher again. Owens is barely able to get the rope break before superkicking Styles twice. Styles ducks a punch, causing the referee Mike Chioda to get hit in the eye and go down. Owens follows up by superkicking Styles and goes for the Pop-Up Powerbomb again, only for Styles to counter with a roll up. Despite having his shoulder up the entire time, the injured referee counts the three and Styles gets the win.
  
  Great match to kick off the show. Owens goes partially nuts as he knows he was screwed.
• Cut to backstage, where Chioda is getting checked on as Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon tell him he made a bad call. Owens comes over, screaming that he was screwed and shoves Chioda down. Shane gets in his face and says Owens will get a rematch at SummerSlam, but Owens demands the match's referee won't get knocked down so easily. Bryan picks the referee for the match...Shane McMahon. Owens flips a table and leaves.
• AWWWW CLEVELAND...NOPE! The Usos mock the New Day's entrance promo and called them "busted up" before coming out and mocking the New Day. The basically drop a spoken word diss track that is pretty great, mostly because every time the Usos are on the mic it's fire.
• It's Fashion Peaks. With Fandango missing, Tyler Breeze records a message for "Diana" and runs down what has happened on the Fashion Files already. He then realizes he could have just called her instead of making tape recording, and that he also doesn't know how mail works. Suddenly, Fandango & the Ascension show up doing weird stuff. Konnor pours honey on a piece of firewood because Twin Peaks was weird. Breeze notes that this is why the show got canceled the first time. However, it's all a dream, as Breeze wakes up to tell  Diana that he knows who kidnapped Fandango. To be continued. Also, there's another great gag on the background, with Tony Chimel's picture on the corkboard, labeled as "Killer Blob." I love these segments so much.
• Sami Zayn vs Aiden English-So after English's entrance song, which goes on for about 2 years too long, the two lock up before English floors Zayn with a shoulder block. The two trade holds before Zayn hits a few arm drags and locks in an armbar. However, English is able to turn it over and roll up Zayn and gets the three. After the match. the Kanellis come out and say that they love eachother & the fact that Zayn lost. Well...that happened. Did creative look at the script and think "Well, looks like were short by 15 seconds. Send out Mike & Maria!"
• Becky Lynch & Naomi vs Natalya & Carmella-Natalya & Becky start off trading holds to start before Becky arm drags Natalya and kicks her in the gut. Becky follows up with a drop toe hold into a front facelock. Naomi tags in for a sunset flip and a leg drop for a near fall. Natalya calls a time out and tags in Carmella. Naomi kicks her legs a lot before Carmella slaps Naomi. Naomi responds with a dropkick before sliding in and slapping her. However, a distraction by Natalya allows Carmella to take control. The heels double team & get the heat on Naomi before Natalya knocks Becky off the apron and locks in the Sharpshooter on Naomi. Naomi manages to get a rope break before Carmella tags herself in. Carmella locks in the Code of Silence, but Naomi is able to turn it into the Slaymission. Becky takes out Natalya with the Bexploder before Carmella taps out.
• Renee Young interviews Jinder Mahal. He says it doesn't matter who he faces at SummerSlam because he will walk out still the WWE Champion. He says the xenophobia he faces only makes him stronger and that he destroys every hero put in front of him. He ends by saying no one can end his title reign.
• Rusev vs Chad Gable-Gable tries to mat wrestle Rusev down, but Rusev is able to shove him off and get to the ropes each time. Rusev ends up tossing him out of the ring, but Gable gets back in and takes down Rusev with a drop-toe hold. Gable works over the left knee until Rusev catches him with a right knee. Rusev follows up with the Bul-Plex for a near fall before the commercial break. We come back to Gable hitting two huge belly-to-belly suplexes. Rusev blocks the third, only for Gable to hit a huge German suplex for a near fall. Gable goes to the top rope, but Rusev gets to his feet. Gable back flips over Rusev and sends him into the corner, knocking him down and allowing Gable to hit a top rope moonsault, but Rusev kicks out. Gable goes for Chaos Theory, but Rusev blocks, throws Gable over his head and hits a roundhouse kick, but Gable kicks out. Rusev sets up for the Accolade, but Gable slips out and locks in the ankle lock. Rusev breaks the hold and kicks Gable out of the ring. Gable runs back into the ring, only to eat a superkick before Rusev locks in the Accolade for the submission win. This match was lit. Chad Gable is gonna be a star one day. After the match, Rusev grabs the mic and says nobody can beat him. That is a flat out lie. He says nobody wants to face him at SummerSlam because everybody is scared of him. Outcomes Randy Orton. He tries to get in the ring, but Rusev charges him every time he tries. Orton gets a mic and says if he were Rusev, he wouldn't want him to get in the ring either. Rusev allows him into the ring before Orton says Rusev has never beaten him and that he's not afraid of him. Orton says if Rusev wants an opponent for SummerSlam, then he's got one in front of him. Rusev yells something in Bulgarian and tries to hit Orton, but Orton ducks and gives him an RKO for his troubles.
• John Cena vs Shinsuke Nakamura-#1 Contendership for the WWE Championship-Cena goes for a lockup to start. Nakamura walks right past him. Nakamura goes for one, so Cena ducks him and waves his hand in front of his face. The two lock up and fight into the corner, and Nakamura breaks by resting his head on Cena's stomach. Cena locks in a wristlock, but Nakamura breaks it and slaps on a headlock. Nakamura strikes away at Cena before hitting an enziguri and giving him Good Vibrations in the corner. Nakamura tries for it again, but Cena blocks it and hits a belly-to-belly suplex and locks in a headlock before the commercial break. We come back to the two trading strikes. Nakamura misses a roundhouse kick but connects on the follow through heel kick. Nakamura follows up with a single leg dropkick before kicking Cena down and hitting a running knee in the corner. Nakamura hangs Cena on the top rope and hits a knee for a near fall. Nakamura goes for the inverted exploder, but Cena blocks it and hits a shoulder tackle, a shoulder tackle, a spin-out powerbomb, but Nakamura grabs Cena's arm on the Five Knuckle Shuffle and locks in an armbar. Nakamura turns it into a triangle choke, but Cena is able to power out of it. Cena goes for the AA, but Nakamura slips out and hits a facebuster. Nakamura goes for the Kinshasa, but Cena catches him with a drop-toe hold and locks in the STF. Nakamura is able to break the hold and locks in an armbar. Cena breaks the hold by rolling up Nakamura for a near fall before turning Nakamura inside out with a huge clothesline. Nakamura strikes Cena down before hitting a sliding knee. Nakamura goes for the Kinshasa, but Cena side steps it and hits the AA. 1...2...kick out! Cena goes for another one, but Nakamura counters and locks in a guillotine choke. Cena is able to power out into an AA and rolls through for another one, but Nakamura breaks out and hits the inverted exploder, dropping Cena right on his head. Nakamura sets up and hits the Kinshasa for the three and the win. Shinsuke Nakamura beat John Cena...100% clean. Shinsuke Nakamura is the #1 contender for the WWE Championship. Oh my god, yes. Fantastic match, one of the best TV matches WWE has had in a while. Cena & Nakamura shake hands to close the show.