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‘WWE Thursday Night SmackDown’ Results And Updated ‘WWE Battleground’ Card

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 06:32 PST, Jul 1, 2016

John Cena’s return from injury didn’t mean much for WWE SmackDown, as he is rarely seen outside of Monday Night RAW. Unless he gets moved permanently to Tuesday nights via the upcoming WWE Draft, it could be a long time before Cena shows up on SmackDown again. The same can be said for Roman Reigns, who is still serving a suspension that will leave him sidelined until just before WWE Battleground and right after the WWE Draft.

On this week’s WWE SmackDown, Dean Ambrose was given the burden of carrying the show on his shoulders. He was the only former member of The Shield to make an appearance (Seth Rollins was on WWE RAW duty only this week) even though all three will be meeting in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WWE Battleground. It’s surprising that the WWE is barely promoting the John Cena vs. The Club angle on SmackDown, and that they would at the same time pay so little attention to Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, even if Dean Ambrose is in attendance.

The full results for last night’s WWE SmackDown and the updated match list for the WWE Battleground 2016 card are below.

WWE Thursday Night SmackDown Results

The following includes all of the matches and televised segments from the episode of WWE Thursday Night SmackDown that the USA Network first aired on June 30. The episode was recorded at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, on June 28. Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, and David Otunga provided commentary from ringside. Jerry Lawler would generally be a part of the SmackDown broadcast team, but he is currently serving a suspension.

  • WWE SmackDown began with Ranallo letting viewers know about the opening match that will determine who challenges for the U.S. Championship later in the show. Pre-recorded comments from all four members of the opening match air before the Thursday Night SmackDown opening played.
  • WWE United States Championship No. 1 Contender Fatal 4-Way Match: Cesaro defeated Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, and Apollo Crews.
  • Following the match, Del Rio attacked Cesaro on the outside of the ring. Taking advantage of Cesaro’s vulnerable state, Rusev and Lana came to the ring immediately to begin the title match.
  • WWE United States Championship Match: Rusev (c) defeated Cesaro.
  • Renee Young interviewed Rusev and Lana backstage and informed them that Titus O’Neil would be challenging the Bulgarian Brute for the title on Monday, the 4th of July, during WWE RAW.
  • A recap was shown of the Special Olympics athletes working out with WWE and NXT Superstars at the WWE Performance Center, and a recap of the plug for Play United from this week’s WWE Monday Night RAW.
  • Dana Brooke defeated Billie Kay.
  • Renee Young interviewed Sasha Banks backstage about her growing rivalry with WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte. She was interrupted by Summer Rae.
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz and wife, Maryse, hosted MizTV and brought out WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose. The two superstars eventually got into a fight, setting up the non-title champion vs. champion main event.
  • The Wyatt Family (Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman) defeated local enhancement talent.
  • After the match, a promo from The New Day aired on the big screen that parodied The Wyatt Family’s own big screen promos. Bray Wyatt continues to suggest that Xavier Woods may be under his spell and not the Power of Positivity.
  • Sasha Banks defeated Summer Rae.
  • A recap aired of the events from WWE Monday Night RAW involving John Cena, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, and their desire to take the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Dean Ambrose.

These results have been corroborated by WWE’s official SmackDown review.

RELATED REPORTS BY THE INQUISITR

Updated WWE Battleground Card

WWE Battleground 2016 is set for Sunday, July 24.

  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
  • Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
  • The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family (unconfirmed)
  • John Cena vs. AJ Styles (unconfirmed)
  • WWE Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks (unconfirmed)

Unless otherwise noted, the matches above were confirmed on WWE’s official Battleground preview page.

Where To Watch

USA airs WWE Thursday Night SmackDown weekly at 8/7c. Episodes of WWE SmackDown are made available to stream on-demand through the WWE Network several weeks after the episodes air on the USA Network. Replays of SmackDown are made available on-demand with a Hulu Plus subscription beginning Friday.

WWE Battleground airs live on the WWE Network on Sunday, July 24 at 8/7c. The Battleground Kick-off Show begins at 7/6c.

[Image via WWE]

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