The June 18, 2019 Edition of Smackdown Live is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's Smackdown brand, which took place on June 18, 2019 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
Summary[]
Only five days away from stepping inside a steel cage to defend his WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston arrived on SmackDown LIVE alongside The New Day with one message: He was going to retain his title against The Showoff on Sunday.
Ziggler refused to hear that message in silence though, and he hit the scene vowing to defeat Kingston, get the respect he always deserved and finally become WWE Champion.
The Showoff concluded his rant by promising to make an example out of Xavier Woods in an imminent singles bout.
With the animosity between Ziggler and The New Day at a fever pitch, Woods squared off with Dolph, as Kingston and Big E watched from ringside. Ziggler was clearly on a mission to make Woods pay for his actions at WWE Super ShowDown, which arguably cost Dolph the chance to win the WWE Title.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn suddenly rushed down to ringside and blindsided Kofi & Big E while Woods was in high gear. Xavier wiped out Kevin & Sami with an awe-inspiring crossbody from the top rope, but Ziggler took advantage of the distraction by dropping Xavier with a ring-rattling DDT.
The official banned KO, Zayn and New Day from ringside, leaving Woods and Ziggler to tangle one-on-one. The Showoff shut down a flurry from Woods by connecting with a superkick square to the jaw that sent Woods spiraling to the floor. Ziggler followed up with a Zig Zag that seemingly would have gotten the job done, but Dolph was hellbent on punishing Woods. He tied up his foe in the rope before delivering another precision superkick that sent Xavier crumpling to the mat for the 1-2-3.
Ziggler's message was yet again clear: He was coming for the WWE Title this Sunday.
With the SmackDown Women's Championship Match between Bayley and Alexa Bliss at WWE Stomping Grounds just five days away, Bliss welcomed The Hugger as her guest on “A Moment of Bliss.”
With her new bestie Nikki Cross by her side, Alexa continued to stress to Nikki that Bayley isn't as friendly and caring as she seems. Bayley retorted to Nikki that Alexa is using her and then redirected her attention to Bliss, telling The Goddess to say what she's been saying behind her back to her face. The Goddess claimed that Bayley was mean to her when she arrived to NXT, and Bayley called Alexa “an entitled princess who doesn’t deserve a damn thing.”
After Alexa claimed that The Hugger peaked in NXT, Bayley shoved Bliss to the ground to spark a massive brawl. Nikki pried Bayley off of The Goddess and began to berate her, allowing Bliss to blindside the distracted champion from behind. Cross didn't quite seem to know what to make of Alexa's actions, but the two still walked off together while Bayley seethed as she recuperated.
With SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan at the commentary table and The Beard ranting about how he and his towering partner are in a league of their own in the tag team division, Heavy Machinery looked to take down former Raw Tag Team Champions The B-Team to prove once and for all that they've earned the right to challenge the titleholders on Sunday.
Otis & Tucker continued to impress with a barrage of punishing strikes before finishing off the duo with their staggering Compactor double-team for the win, gaining another convincing victory before challenging the champs at WWE Stomping Grounds.
The B-Team had little time to recuperate though, as Universal Champion Seth Rollins slid in to the ring and attacked them with a steel chair. Rollins, as he had been doing all last night and tonight, targeted Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas due to Baron Corbin's overture to see if either was interested in being Special Guest Referee for his Universal Title Match against Rollins this Sunday.
With Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania rematch at WWE Stomping Grounds only five nights away, Shane McMahon, McIntyre & Elias arrived on the blue brand seemingly with the intention of just running down Reigns’ name one last time before the pay-per-view event this Sunday.
However, The Miz interrupted the trio and replayed the footage of Reigns getting the best of Shane the night prior on Raw. Shane-O-Mac became incensed when The A-Lister said that he felt responsible for Shane becoming “Best in the World” but would also be responsible for putting an end to it. Shane soon broke out in a smile though, strategically placing Miz in a match against McIntyre & Elias and telling The A-Lister he would only have 10 seconds to find a tag team partner.
However, fate, and the absurdity that is the 24/7 Championship chase, would be on Miz's side, as R-Truth slid out from under the ring within that 10-second window, prompting Miz to declare Truth as his partner. And good thing too, as that match, which Shane declared was a Tag Team Elimination Match, was next.
The Miz continued to bring the fight to Shane McMahon and crew in this impromptu Tag Team Elimination Match, as he and R-Truth (who had the 24/7 Title sanctions suspended for the duration of this contest) battled Drew McIntyre & Elias. The former “Awesome Truth” unit squared off against the imposing duo of The Scottish Psychopath & The Living Truth, but fortunes changed for The A-Lister when Shane interfered behind the official's back, taking down Miz and causing enough of a distraction for Elias to catch Truth with a flush knee to eliminate him.
Truth's elimination left The Miz vulnerable to Drew & Elias, but Truth first had to get out of dodge as yet another gaggle of WWE Superstars chased him immediately following his elimination. The Miz would now go it alone, having to deal with not only McIntyre and Elias, but also Shane's consistent interruptions whenever the referee was distracted. Miz looked like he was making significant strides against Elias, but the numbers game caught up to him, with McIntyre finishing him off with the dastardly combo of a massive headbutt and the Claymore Kick for the win.
Unsatisfied, Shane-O-Mac called for two more Claymore Kicks on the now defenseless Miz, clearly attempting to make a statement to The Big Dog ahead of Sunday.
With Universal Champion Seth Rollins continuing to terrorize any Special Guest Referee options Baron Corbin entertains, The Beastslayer's arrival on the blue brand via the Wild Card Rule put him in the crosshairs of Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, prompting The Architect to team up with WWE Champion Kofi Kingston to take on the meddlesome duo in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match.
Kingston wasted no time, catching Sami off-guard with a picture-perfect Trouble in Paradise for a three-count right at the opening bell to give his team a 1-0 lead. After an intense fight, The Architect finally caught KO with an emphatic stomp for the three-count and the 2-0 sweep, sealing a monumental victory for the champions en route to their must-see title defenses at WWE Stomping Grounds.
Results[]
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Dolph Ziggler defeated Xavier Woods (11:56)
- Heavy Machinery (Tucker & Otis) defeated The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel) (3:34)
- Elias & Drew McIntyre (w/ Shane McMahon) defeated The Miz & R-Truth in a Tag Team Elimination Match (9:53)
- Drake Maverick defeated R-Truth (c) to win the WWE 24-7 Championship
- Kofi Kingston & Seth Rollins defeated Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn [2:0] in a Best Two Out Of Three Falls Tag Team Match (10:33)
Other on-screen talent[]
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Image Gallery[]
Dolph Ziggler minced no words toward Kofi Kingston ahead of WWE Stomping Grounds[]
Dolph Ziggler v Xavier Woods[]
Chaos broke out on “A Moment of Bliss”[]
Heavy Machinery v The B-Team[]
Shane McMahon threw yet another curveball at The Miz[]
Elias & Drew McIntyre v The Miz & R-Truth[]
Kofi Kingston & Seth Rollins v Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn[]
See also[]
External links[]
- WWE Smackdown Live #1035 at CAGEMATCH.net
- WWE Smackdown Live #1035 at WWE.com
- Smackdown #1035 on WWE Network