WWE Smackdown LIVE Coverage & Discussion - September 4th, 2018

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Who will move one step closer to a SmackDown Tag Team Title opportunity?

The road to a SmackDown Tag Team Title Match continues this Tuesday on SmackDown LIVE with a Triple Threat Match featuring The Usos vs. SAnitY vs. Rusev & Aiden English. Who will advance to face The Bar for the right to challenge The New Day at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view?


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- We're live from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan as tonight's WWE SmackDown opens up.

- Renee Young is in the ring. She introduces Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella. They come out to a pop. Tom Phillips welcomes us and he's joined by Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.

Renee asks about things getting personal with The Miz and Maryse. Fans chant for Bryan. We see footage of what happened last week. Bryan jokes that Renee just made the entire arena upset. Renee also shows us the video from earlier today of Miz and Maryse taunting Bryan and Brie in the empty arena. Bryan and Brie agree that we don't have to wait until Hell In a Cell. Bryan says tonight is the night to fight. Brie calls Miz and Maryse to the ring right now. Fans chant "yes!" but Renee says The It Couple have left the building. Fans boo. The music interrupts and out comes Andrade "Cien" Almas with Zelina Vega.

Vega and Almas speak from the stage, taunting Bryan. Vega says Almas wants to come finish what he started. They march to the ring as Bryan gets ready for a fight. We go to commercial.

Daniel Bryan vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas

Back from the break and the bell rings. Almas takes Bryan down first and they tangle on the mat.

They get up and Almas drops Bryan with a shoulder. They run the ropes again and Bryan tries to mount some offense. Bryan with kicks while focusing on the arm. Bryan takes Almas down for the Yes Lock but Almas scrambles to the bottom rope as Vega cheers him on. Almas fights back with forearms but Bryan rocks him with an uppercut. Bryan charges but Almas drops him with a huge elbow for a 2 count. Almas applies an armbreaker on the ropes now but its broken. Almas charges and knocks Bryan off the apron into the barrier, right in front of Brie.

Almas follows and works Bryan over on the outside. Almas brings it back in and covers for a quick pin attempt. Almas ends up missing a knee and flying out to the outside. Bryan recovers on the mat as the referee counts. Bryan runs and leaps off the apron with a flying knee but Almas dropkicks him in mid-air. Bryan lands hard on the floor and the referee checks on both Superstars. Almas brings it back in and covers for a 2 count. Bryan ends up dumping Almas over the top rope to the floor. Bryan runs the ropes and nails a dive, sending Almas into the barrier. Bryan clutches his arm on the floor as we go to commercial.

Back from the break and Bryan cuts Almas off on the top. Bryan turns Almas upside down in the corner in a Tree of Woe. Bryan delivers kicks as fans chant along with him. Bryan charges in with the low dropkick to the face while Almas is upside down. Bryan climbs up with Almas but Almas knocks him to the mat with an elbow. Almas goes for a moonsault but has to land on his feet. He immediately nails the moonsault but Bryan kicks out at 2.

Bryan with uppercuts to Almas now. Almas fights back with kicks. Bryan unloads with kicks. Almas counters and sends Bryan's neck into the turnbuckle. Vega cheers Almas on as he runs in with the double knees in the corner. Bryan blocks the Hammerlock DDT and drops Almas. Bryan starts a "yes!" chant from the corner. Bryan charges and hits the flying knee for the pin.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

- After the match, Brie hits the ring to celebrate with Bryan as Vega checks on Almas. Brie turns and drops Vega, then hits her with a running knee to the face. Brie and Bryan lead a "yes!" chant until The Miz and Maryse appear on the big screen, taunting them. They have taken the night off to have date night, right here in Detroit at the finest Italian restaurant. Miz says they were at the arena looking for Bryan and Brie earlier but it looks like they will have to wait until Hell In a Cell to embarrass them again. They taunt Bryan and Brie some more before signing off. Bryan and Brie head to the back as Bryan's music starts up.

- Still to come, The Usos vs. SAnitY vs. Rusev Day to determine who will face The Bar next week. Also, an exclusive interview with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Back to commercial.

- Back from the break and the announcers plug Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.

- Dasha Fuentes is backstage with Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan. They're leaving the arena and are headed to have dinner at the same Italian restaurant that The Miz and Maryse are at.

- The announcers discuss the feud between Becky Lynch and SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair. Tom says SmackDown General Manager Paige has insisted they both conduct this interview from separate locations. Fans chant for Becky when she's introduced on the screen. Flair goes on about how Becky threw away their five-year friendship. She dares Becky to do the same in her face. Becky promises she will because she's all about taking now. Becky says it was a full time job being Flair's friend. Becky is all about taking back her spot at the top. Becky doesn't care what it takes, the title will come back where it belongs. Flair says Becky will get her wish at Hell In a Cell. Flair says Becky was never second best as her friend but she is in the ring. They have more words and Tom thanks them for their time. Tom confirms the match for Hell In a Cell but it will not be inside the Cell. They also plug Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton, which takes place inside the Cell.

Naomi vs. Peyton Royce

We go to the ring and out comes Naomi as Greg Hamilton does the introductions. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and out come The IIconics, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay. They taunt Naomi on the mic. The bell rings and Naomi immediately goes to work on Peyton. Peyton fights back and drops Naomi, mounting her with strikes. Peyton works Naomi over some more, dropping her against the ropes. Billie talks trash in Naomi's face. Peyton taunts Naomi while keeping control.

Naomi hits a baseball slide between Peyton's legs, dropping Billie back on the floor. Naomi turns it around on Peyton and comes in with a roll-up for the quick win.

Winner: Naomi

- After the match, The IIconics immediately attack Naomi and double team her. The music interrupts and out comes Asuka to a pop. Asuka rushes the ring and dropkicks Peyton. She also takes out Billie. Peyton grabs Asuka but gets dropped. Asuka clears the ring and stands tall for a pop. Asuka goes to the floor and checks on Naomi, helping her to her feet as The IIconics look on from the ramp.

- The announcers lead us to a video package on the feud between Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy.

- Paige is backstage when The Miz and Maryse walk in. Miz says they cut their dinner short because Detroit serves bad food and because they wanted to try and confront Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella one more time. Paige books Miz in a match tonight, against anyone that wants to face him. Miz complains about not having time to prepare. Paige says they are free to go but if they do, don't ever come back. The It Couple walks off and we go back to commercial.

- Back from the break and R-Truth approaches Maryse backstage, getting her confused with Carmella. The Miz and Truth have words and Truth still believes Maryse is Carmella.

- We go to the ring and out comes Samoa Joe.

Joe takes the mic and yells out "Wendy!" to taunt WWE Champion AJ Styles. Joe says it seems like the Styles family has started to take his threats serious. Joe pictures how the Styles family, AJ included, are locked up in the house waiting on Joe to show up. Joe says that's not going to happen because he's not a monster. Joe continues to address Wendy and says he has delivered AJ back home on a Tuesday night. Joe's actions have forced AJ to actually care about his family, to actually go back home and look after his family. Joe wants the Styles clan to enjoy tonight. Joe says there will be a lot more nights just like this soon because a very bad man is coming to take AJ's title at Hell In a Cell, then make AJ go night night. AJ appears on the big screen and fans pop.

AJ understands threatening another man but threatening another man's family is when the talking stops. AJ's music hits and Joe waits for a fight. AJ comes walking out to the stage, stopping to stare Joe down. AJ rushes the ring and Joe decks him as he enters. Joe unloads now. AJ turns it around and fights Joe into a corner. Joe pulls AJ to the floor and tosses him over the steel ring steps. Joe grabs a steel chair but AJ leaps off the steps with a Phenomenal Forearm. AJ grabs the chair and swings against the ring post but Joe moves. Officials run down and hold AJ back. AJ runs into the ring and leaps out to the floor, taking Joe and a few referees down. Paige runs down and tries to calm AJ. Paige and referees back AJ up the ramp as his music hits.

- R-Truth is backstage with Tye Dillinger, still looking for Carmella. They find her but Truth doesn't realize it's her. Carmella tells Truth to leave her alone. Truth asks if she wants to call a truce for one night only. He wants Carmella to accompany him to the ring tonight to face The Miz because the other Carmella will be at ringside. Truth says the other Carmella (Maryse) called her trash. Carmella disses Maryse and gets fired up. It looks like she will be at ringside with Truth tonight. Truth says he's trying to teach Tye something - like how to get into the main event of SmackDown.

- Still to come, The Usos vs. SAnitY vs. Rusev Day. We go to commercial.

- Back from the break and R-Truth vs. The Miz is confirmed for tonight.

- We get another video package for the Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton feud.

The Usos vs. SAnitY vs. Rusev Day

We go to the ring for the final mini-tournament Triple Threat. The winners will face The Bar next week to determine Hell In a Cell opponents for SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day. The Usos are out first. Out next comes SAnitY - Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain. Aiden English is out next with a mic, performing the introduction for Rusev Day. Rusev is out next with Lana. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and Rusev goes at it with Jimmy Uso. English tags in for some double teaming. Jey Uso tags in and drops English for a 2 count. Uso with more offense for another 2 count. Dain tags himself in and levels Uso on the outside. Dain and Young double team Uso now and keep him in their corner with quick tags. Dain keeps control of Uso for another 2 count.

Dain continues to punish Jey and try to get the pin. Dain sends Jey to the floor with a big dropkick. Young tags in and leaps off the apron with an elbow drop to the floor. We go back to commercial.

Back from the break and Jimmy unloads on Young. Rusev tags himself in and goes to work on Young. Rusev unloads and hits a big spin kick. Wolfe gets dropped. Young blocks the Machka Kick. More back and forth. English makes the save on a close 2 count. Dain takes out English and Jimmy. Jey superkicks Dain out of the ring. Jey runs the ropes and leaps out onto Wolfe and Young but Rusev tagged himself in.

Rusev runs the ropes now but Jey rocks him at the ropes. English drops Jey on the apron. Young rolls Rusev up with his feet on the ropes but it's broken. Rusev drops Young with a Machka Kick for the pin.

Winners: Rusev Day

- After the match, Lana hits the ring to celebrate with Rusev and English. The music interrupts and out comes The Bar, Cesaro and Sheamus. These two teams will face off next week to crown new #1 contenders.

- The Miz and Maryse are backstage getting ready for the main event.

- Tom leads us to another video for Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.

- Back from the break and the announcers hype the return of Mixed Match Challenge.

The Miz vs. R-Truth

We go to the ring for tonight's main event and out comes The Miz with Maryse. Miz cuts a promo on Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella, calling them out to the ring. Maryse says they're not coming because they're afraid. Miz goes on until Carmella's music hits and out she comes. R-Truth is out next. Carmella sings "what's up!" with Truth as they head to the ring. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and the match is underway. Truth hits a big hip toss and more offense for a 2 count as Carmella looks on. Truth mounts Miz in the corner with strikes. Truth counters and tackles Miz for more offense. Miz drops Truth with a shot to the gut as Maryse cheers him on. Miz drops Truth again and covers for a 2 count.

Miz keeps control and hits the backbreaker/neckbreaker combo for a 2 count. Miz keeps grounded now. Miz takes his time with Truth and sends him to the corner for the Yes Kicks as fans do the "no!" chant. Miz with the running corner dropkick. Miz poses as fans boo him. Miz with a corner clothesline. Miz goes to the top and hits the double ax handle. Miz with more kicks while Truth is on his knees now. Miz keeps control but Truth gets a boot up in the corner. Truth looks to make a comeback now. Truth with a running splash in the corner, a kick to the gut and a shout-out to the crowd. Miz comes back and hits a DDT for a close 2 count.

Fans chant for Truth now. Miz charges with a running knee but Truth takes him down for a close 2 count. Miz counters a move and takes out Truth's knee. Miz goes for the Figure Four but Truth rolls him up for a 2 count. Miz with a big boot to the face. Miz waits for Truth to get up but Daniel Bryan's music distracts him in the middle of a Skull Crushing Finale. Truth takes advantage of the distraction and rolls Miz up for the win.

Winner: R-Truth

- After the match, Daniel Bryan immediately hits the ring and beats on Miz. Bryan applies the Yes Lock. Brie Bella stalks Maryse on the outside, chasing h er in the ring. Brie drops Maryse. Brie goes to deliver the running knee but Zelina Vega trips her from the outside. Andrade "Cien" Almas pulls Bryan out of the ring and sends him into the steel steps. Vega brings Brie in the ring while Almas brings Bryan in. Miz and Maryse retreat up the ramp. Bryan and Brie counter at the same time, dropping Almas and Vega into double Yes Locks as Miz and Maryse look on. Brie and Bryan won't let up. Miz runs back down to the ring but stops as Bryan stands up. Bryan's music hits as the two teams face off. Bryan and Brie lead a "Yes!" chant in the ring. SmackDown goes off the air.