WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from July 23

The march to SummerSlam on August 11 continued Tuesday on USA Network with WWE SmackDown Live, a show featuring the continuation of Kevin Owens' war against authority and the revelation of WWE champion Kofi Kingston's opponent at The Biggest Party of the Summer.

What went down when Owens and Shane McMahon were in the same building? Who would emerge as the No. 1 contender to Kingston's gold?

Find out now with this recap of the July 23 episode.

Xavier Woods and Big E joined Tom Phillips and David Otunga for a makeshift commentary team to kick off the show, followed by the arrival of Shane McMahon to a chorus of boos.

McMahon accused Owens of hiding behind social media, then accepted KO's challenge for a match at SummerSlam at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Shane-O-Mac reminded fans that Owens has vowed to quit before—ironically, in the same venue this year's PPV will take place in—so his promise to quit if McMahon defeated him was hollow.

McMahon claimed he wanted Owens' promise in writing. That brought out The Prizefighter, who said the version of himself from a year ago is not the hell-raiser he is today.

A little back-and-forth gave way to McMahon announcing Owens vs. Roman Reigns for the night's main event.

Grade

B

Analysis

This ran a bit long, but it did on a high note, with McMahon wisely booking his top two foes against each other in a high-profile main event.

Given the response when he walked into the arena, the Owens push and babyface turn is working wonders for a guy who was relatively stale this time last year. Now, he is as hot as he has been since the Chris Jericho storyline, with a ton of potential to emerge from SummerSlam with momentum on his side.

One can only hope this is not another excuse to put McMahon over someone he has no business sharing the ring with.

Fresh off an intercontinental title victory over Finn Balor during the Extreme Rules preshow, Shinsuke Nakamura squared off with Apollo Crews in a non-title match to kick off the in-ring portion of this week's show.

Crews started hot, scoring a near-fall and wiping Nakamura out with a moonsault to the arena floor. During the break, though, the champion grounded his opponent and applied a front face lock.

Crews fought back into the match just as the show returned from break, but his comeback was cut short by a sliding German suplex from the champion. He shook the effects off and delivered an Angle Slam for a near-fall. A missed standing moonsault allowed Nakamura to catch him with the Kinshasa for the hard-fought victory.

After the match, Nakamura kicked a prone Crews to the floor and stomped on him. He followed with another Kinshasa before the official checked on the fallen babyface.

Result

Nakamura defeated Crews

Grade

B+

Analysis

Crews got more out of this one by fighting hard and losing valiantly than he would have by winning a non-title match and losing a week later when the gold was on the line. He was competitive, showcased his incredible offensive arsenal and had fans thinking they might just witness an upset.

The commentary team put over the effort of Crews and how close he came to pulling off the big win, perhaps hinting at an upcoming push for the immensely talented, incredibly underutilized in-ring phenomenon.

Here's hoping, if the post-match beatdown was not meant to ignite a rivalry between him and the champion, it sets him up for an uninterrupted run sometime after SummerSlam.

A recap of Monday's Raw Reunion special kicked off this week's edition of "Miz TV," with special guest Shawn Michaels.

The Heartbreak Kid drew an enormous reaction as he joined The Hollywood A-Lister in the squared circle.

Miz wasted little time asking his guest for his take on the argument that Raw Reunion took opportunities away from younger Superstars. Michaels conceded to having been in those shoes before but having a ton of fun with his buddies at the show.

Dolph Ziggler interrupted the proceedings and said that if he ever becomes one of those "happy to be there" guys, he should be put out of his misery. The Showoff said it was embarrassing to watch Michaels and the other legends trot out to the ring and wave to the crowd.

HBK voiced some embarrassment but not as much as working an entire career just to be known as a second-rate Shawn Michaels.

Ziggler ranted on Michaels until Miz interjected and dared his longtime friend to do something about it rather than complaining and whining.

A scuffle ensued, Miz got knocked down, and in the confusion, Ziggler dropped Michaels with a superkick before hightailing it up the ramp.

Grade

B

Analysis

Michaels is a jedi of the squared circle, a virtuoso performer who can take even the weakest material and make it infinitely better. Here, he said the same thing everyone has been thinking for years but did it with a tone and twitch of seriousness that instantly elevated it.

He nailed the line about Ziggler being a second-rate Shawn Michaels wannabe and then proceeded to sell the hell out of The Showoff's superkick.

Yes, this segment was designed to add heat to Miz vs. Ziggler, but all it did was make me want to see The Showoff and HBK steal the show on a major pay-per-view.

Back from the commercial break, Ember Moon scored a pinfall victory over Charlotte Flair after a momentary distraction from Bayley.

Instead of celebrating, Moon shoved SmackDown women's champion and SummerSlam opponent Bayley into the ring. The stunned titleholder endured a big boot from Flair, which allowed The War Goddess to scale the ropes and drop The Queen with an Eclipse.

She followed with another, this time to Bayley, before standing tall to close out an obviously abbreviated segment.

Grade

C

Analysis

This should feel like a character development of sorts for Moon, but instead it feels like a cheap and easy way to eventually insert Flair into the SmackDown women's title match at SummerSlam.

After all, what are the odds WWE holds its second-most prestigious event of the year without The Queen on the card?

Yes, it was nice to see Moon portrayed as a calculating and cunning competitor, but it also feels destined to be forgotten in favor of a renewed Flair push.

WWE champion Kofi Kingston hit the ring and wasted no time calling out his handpicked No. 1 contender: Randy Orton.

The Viper answered the call, stalking toward the same squared circle he pinned Kingston in a week ago.

Kingston recalled November 16, 2009, the night he drove Orton through a table in Madison Square Garden and aired footage of the moment. He accused The Viper of using his influence to hold him back, which the prospective challenger confirmed.

Orton claimed Kingston wasn't ready and still isn't. Instead, he was himself, not someone who faked accents, threw pancakes or shook his ass. He followed up by taking credit for the champion's success, reminding him he was the one who injured Ali, thus opening up an opportunity for himself.

Kingston formally issued the challenge to The Viper, who accepted and vowed to end his "11-year fairy tale" courtesy of the RKO.

Samoa Joe passed The Viper on the way to the ring for his Extreme Rules rematch against Kingston. An intrigued Orton made his way to the ring, apparently poised to watch from the floor.

Grade

A

Analysis

And with that, we have a WWE Championship match with backstory and intrigue.

There was not a contrived or overly complicated setup. There was no stage demolition or overwritten police angle. It was two guys whose own history provides the foundation for them to tell the latest chapter of their rivalry.

It is a welcome change of pace from the overthought storyline developments we are typically exposed to on WWE television.

Kingston and Orton held up their ends of the promo to perfection, and as a result, their impending title match is suddenly as anticipated as anything already announced for the SummerSlam pay-per-view.

May the crack creative staff behind lesser successful segments and angles learn from this, understand why it worked and replicate it going forward.

A fired-up Kingston took the fight to Samoa Joe early, wiping him out at ringside before returning to the squared circle.

He fired away at The Destroyer with a flurry of hard right hands to the face, but Joe dropped Kingston face-first into the turnbuckle to seize control of the bout.

Joe controlled the pace during the break, grounding Kingston in an attempt to negate the WWE champion's speed and agility advantage. The resilient New Day member fought out and delivered a springboard chop to the face.

Just as Kingston built momentum, Orton slid into the rope for an RKO, but the champ dodged it. Joe grabbed hold of The Viper and ate an RKO of his own.

As Orton made it to his feet, Kingston delivered Trouble in Paradise to send a message of his own to his SummerSlam opponent.

Result

No-contest

Grade

C

Analysis

The preceding Kingston-Orton segment was so strong that it should have been left to breathe. Instead, WWE Creative did as it typically does and booked Kingston in a match right afterward, in which Orton ran in to draw the DQ and essentially unravel everything that was accomplished minutes earlier.

Throw in another lackluster match between the champion and Joe, and you have a segment that floundered rather than built on the momentum of its predecessor.

After two weeks away, Finn Balor returned to SmackDown Live, where he addressed his attack at the hands of Bray Wyatt's The Fiend persona.

The Extraordinary Man appeared shaken but reminded fans he had stared down fear before and would do it again.

The latest edition of "Firefly Fun House" interrupted him, though. Wyatt said The Fiend is not a fan of Balor and is officially accepting the challenge for a match at SummerSlam.

His tone changed, though, and he said The Fiend remembers. The masked monster appeared and ended the video with the call of "let me in."

Grade

B+

Analysis

How many times has Balor intimidated opponents with his Demon persona, leaving them uneasy ahead of a major pay-per-view encounter? There is something almost poetic about him finding himself on the receiving end of that, forced to confront uncertainty in the face of The Fiend.

Why the Irishman would not dust off the red and black face paint and confront The Fiend with his own unstable and unpredictable alter ego is a question WWE Creative has no interest in answering.

As it stands, expect The Extraordinary Man to be the proverbial sacrificial lamb as Wyatt embarks on the latest push of his much-maligned main roster career.

The main event of the night may have featured Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens, but Shane McMahon served as the guest ring announcer, Elias as guest timekeeper and Drew McIntyre as special referee, stacking the odds against the babyfaces.

Before the match could get started, McMahon made his presence felt. Owens and Reigns chased him into the ring, where McIntyre and Elias attacked.

A three-on-one beatdown of The Big Dog commenced, but KO interrupted it, sending Shane-O-Mac into the barricade and dropping McIntyre with a superkick. A stunner to Elias followed before Reigns sent McMahon back into the squared circle.

Reigns rocked the prodigal son with a Superman Punch, and Owens finished with the stunner to send the fans home happy.

Result

No-contest

Grade

C

Analysis

History dictated the heels would beat down the babyfaces in a show of force, so this was a nice surprise.

With that said, nothing was accomplished by this segment. Owens and Reigns remain the top two thorns in the heels' sides, McMahon is still overexposed, and his lackeys are miscast in the worst imaginable role.

Status quo is never the way one wants to end a show, but it at least set up a scenario where McMahon and Co. seek revenge, perhaps putting the screws to the babyfaces next week as the road to SummerSlam continues.

Even then, though, it feels like more of the same. Hopefully, Owens can put Shane-O-Mac out to pasture at the PPV, bringing his oppressive run as the lead authority figure to a fitting and long-awaited conclusion.