WWE SmackDown live results: CM Punk & Kevin Owens segment, Paige vs. Jacy Jayne title match

WWE SmackDown is a taped show tonight.

This week’s episode was filmed Monday at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

A segment with CM Punk and Kevin Owens is advertised for tonight’s show, coming off their Undisputed WWE title match in Toronto last week. Cody Rhodes is also set to have a message for Randy Orton ahead of their match at Sunday Night’s Main Event.

There are three advertised matches for the show as well, including WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green teaming with Tiffany Stratton to face Nia Jax and Lash Legend, The Irresistible Forces, in tag team action.

Women’s United States Champion Jacy Jayne will put her title on the line against Paige, while Tatum Paxley will make her SmackDown in-ring debut against Michin.

• CM Punk and Kevin Owens segment
• Cody Rhodes has a message for Randy Orton
• Chelsea Green & Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax & Lash Legend
• Women’s United States Championship: Jacy Jayne vs. Paige
• Tatum Paxley vs. Michin

Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.

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– Our show opened with a recap of CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Championship from last week’s SmackDown in Toronto, as well as the chaos involving Sami Zayn at the end and after the match.

Kevin Owens kicks off SmackDown

After the recap, we went straight to “live” action in Ottawa as Kevin Owens made his way to the ring. Owens got a warm reception from the Ottawa crowd, a short two hour drive from his hometown of Marieville, Quebec.

Inside the ring, as Owens got ready to talk, the crowd sang “Ole Ole Ole” before he started by saying that this wasn’t the way he was hoping to come back to Ottawa. He said that in the last twelve years, he had lost many WWE Championship matches, but none of them felt as bad to lose as the one last week in Toronto against CM Punk. Owens said that last week, everything was perfect. He got himself ready to be cleared for action in nine days just so he could be at SummerSlam. Owens said that he did it so that he could win the WWE Championship not just because of he wanted to win in front of other Canadians. He picked Toronto because he wanted his parents to see him win, as he recounted about how two years ago, Owens’ mother was fighting for her life. She kicked out, but travelling became impossible since then. Owens said that his mother did the impossible as she drove to Toronto just to see her son win. Unfortunately, Sami Zayn prevented that.

Owens admitted that he had done so many bad things to Sami over the years, but what Zayn did to him last week was unforgiveable, as it robbed him of a perfect scenario. Owens said that he was going to deal with Zayn in short time, but he acknowledged that Punk was beat by him. Owens vowed that he and Punk weren’t done, as Punk himself walked down in the ring.

Punk threatened to send Owens packing from Ottawa as if his last name was Tkachuk (referencing Brady Tkachuk leaving the Ottawa Senators to join the Florida Panthers). At that moment, Gunther’s music played and out came the self-appointed “Ring General”. Gunther said that enough was enough and that he figured it out why Owens and Punk hated each other so much. He said that the two saw their arrogant, obnoxious selves when they looked at one another. Gunther said that he was glad that Owens’ mother kicked out, it was just unfortunate that Owens himself didn’t. The carousel of challengers continued as Finn Balor stepped in.

Balor said that everyone was getting real tired of Gunther’s antics, and that neither him or Owen has a win over him. Nick Aldis booked Gunther, Owens, and Balor in the main event of SmackDown tonight, with the winner becoming the No. 1 contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

This was a fine segment. I liked Owens acknowledging his motivations of facing Punk in Toronto and tying it in to wanting his mother see him win the big one after so many near-misses. The triple threat match will surely have a screwy finish, unfortunately.

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– Backstage, Chelsea Green was seen with a protective mask, as Tiffany Stratton asked if she was really going to go out there in her condition right now. Green said that she was cleare,d and she’d be there to back up Stratton against Nia Jax & Lash Legend.

Chelsea Green & Tiffany Stratton vs. The Irresistable Forces (Nia Jax & Lash Legend)

Stratton tried to run at Lash to start the match, but she found herself in a bad predicament, caught in a reverse bearhug. Stratton got out of it and attempted to fight back, but the backbreaker put a stop to that. Lash attempted to choke Stratton, but that failed as the former Women’s U.S. Champion connected with the handspring stunner. That caused Lash to stagger right into a neckbreaker from Green. Jax tagged in and found herself hit with a double dropkick from Stratton and Green. Jax then got blasted with the double knees to the back of the neck. Samoan Drop attempt by Jax was countered, but Green couldn’t capitalize with an Un-Pretty-Her. Jax then delivered a hard headbutt to the face of Green as we took a commercial break.

Back from commercial as Lash slammed Stratton after taking advantage of some hesitation on Stratton’s part to tag in Green. The cover, but Green broke up the pin Jax stepped in and drove Green’s face to her knees to cause even more pain to the broken orbital bone. Green rolled out of the ring and was being checked on by WWE medical staff. Meanwhile, Lash had Stratton locked in a bearhug deep. Stratton tried to escape, but she ran into a right-hand strike from Lash for the near-fall.

Jax tagged in, but she missed with the running splash. Stratton again tried to fight with all she had, but Jax took her down with a clothesline. The Irresistable Forces continued their isolation of Stratton, but Stratton avoided Jax’s leg drop. Stratton broke free from Lash’s grip and used Jax as a launching pad for a reverse Shiranui on Lash. With some needed separation, Stratton tried to tag Green in, but she was being escorted by the medical staff. Green ran to the ring and tagged in. She then hit a nice missile dropkick on Jax upon entering the match. Lash got sent to the outside, while Green hit another dropkick on Jax. On the top rope, Green hit a big crossbody on Jax to the outside. At ringside, Legend caught a leaping Stratton and tossed her to the barricace. In the ring, Jax punched Green in the face and got her with the Samoan Drop.

Nia then got the pin with an Annihilator.

The Irresistable Forces def. Chelsea Green & Tiffany Stratton via pinfall

Standard “challenger pins the champion” to get a title match booking. Other than that, not really much to write home about. Just a middle of the road match. That said, Green being booked as a valiant babyface worked well.

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– In General Manager Nick Aldis’ office, Danhausen stepped in and began to talk friendly with him. That’s when Gunther (or as Danhausen called him, “Gooner”) entered the scene. Gunther complained about being made to jump through hoops just to get a title shot. Aldis assured him that there’d be no other changes to the triple threat match later. As Gunther left, Danhausen asked Aldis if Gunther was being literal when he said “the ghost of Finn Balor”, but Aldis told him it was a figure of speech.

WWE Women’s U.S. Championship: Jacy Jayne (c) vs. Paige