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‘WWE SmackDown Live’ Results: Daniel Bryan Talks About ‘WrestleMania 32’ Documentary On ‘Talking Smack’

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 11:17 PST, Sep 20, 2016

The return of John Cena to SmackDown Live last week brought along some unexpected changes to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship scene. Although Dean Ambrose is still due his contractually-obligated rematch against A.J. Styles, blue brand Commissioner Shane McMahon booked a Triple Threat Match for WWE No Mercy 2016. Perhaps more surprisingly was how suddenly the focus seemed to be on the heat between Cena and Ambrose. Cena and Ambrose went one-on-one in this week’s SmackDown main event, and General Manager Daniel Bryan followed that match up with a big announcement about the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Another surprise from last week’s SmackDown was Alexa Bliss becoming the new No. 1 contender for Becky Lynch’s WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship. The competitors came face-to-face this week as Daniel Bryan hosted their official contract signing. Additionally, Nikki Bella and Carmella aren’t finished with their feud, which was apparent in the tag team match pitting Naomi and Nikki Bella vs. Carmella and Natalya.

Finally, things between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt didn’t get resolved at Backlash, since The Viper wasn’t cleared to compete. With all signs pointing to a showdown between the two at No Mercy, Bray Wyatt had another message for Orton after his match with Erick Rowan on this week’s WWE SmackDown Live.

WWE SmackDown Live Results

The following includes the results of all the matches and segments from SmackDown Live on September 20. This episode of SmackDown aired live from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Although they came close last week, SmackDown Live hasn’t won the ratings war with Monday Night Raw since the week the blue brand hosted the WWE Draft. With John Cena back in the world title hunt, will this week’s SmackDown be the first time Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan’s show defeats WWE Raw?

Carmella attacks Nikki Bella [Image via WWE]

SmackDown Pre-Show On The WWE Network

The regular team of four was back for the half-hour warm-up to SmackDown Live, airing exclusively on the WWE Network. Scott Stanford was joined by three WWE Hall of Famers: Lita, Booker T, and Jerry “The King” Lawler.

For members of the WWE Universe who don’t follow WWE on Facebook, they aired a video recorded by The Miz about his match against Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship on this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live. Later, Alexa Bliss joined the pre-show via Skype to talk about her upcoming match against Becky Lynch. The official contract signing took place on SmackDown Live. Also on the pre-show, Bliss admitted that DC Comics character Harley Quinn is a direct influence on her current look.

Becky Lynch And Alexa Bliss Contract Signing Opened SmackDown Live

As with any WWE contract signing, things didn’t go down without incident (despite GM Daniel Bryan’s insistence to the contrary). Alexa Bliss claimed that Becky Lynch wasn’t born to be a champion, and Lynch argued back that she earned her championship. Before the segment ended, Bliss knocked Lynch down and tossed the table on top of the SmackDown Women’s Champion.

Daniel Bryan And The Miz Discussed His Contract

The Miz was incredibly upset that he had to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler on this week’s SmackDown. Daniel Bryan told him that the match could be cancelled, but if they so, his contract would be null and void. With this new, The Miz agreed to face Ziggler.

The Usos Defeated American Alpha

In a match to determine the new No. 1 contenders for Heath Slater and Rhyno’s SmackDown Tag Team titles, Jimmy and Jey were able to take advantage of Chad Gable’s knee to earn a match at No Mercy.

Baron Corbin Defeated Apollo Crews

Corbin continues to dominate his matches with fellow NXT alumni Apollo Crews. With Jack Swagger providing guest commentary, a match-up between the two will likely happen at WWE No Mercy next month.

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The Miz Defeated Dolph Ziggler

In the midst of this very competitive match, the referee sent Maryse back to the locker room when she tried to spray Ziggler in the face like she did at Backlash. Unfortunately for The Showoff, the IC champ got his hands on the substance and used it when the referee wasn’t looking. The Miz retained the WWE Intercontinental Championship once again, but Daniel Bryan obviously won’t be happy about how he did it.

Randy Orton Defeated Erick Rowan

Orton made relatively short work of Bray Wyatt’s associate. After the match, as expected, Bray Wyatt had another cryptic message for The Viper that aired on the big screen. When the lights briefly went out and came back on, Orton found himself alone in the ring with a sheep mask.

Women’s Tag Team Match Ended In No Contest

The match barely got under way before Carmella’s hatred for Nikki Bella brought the bout to an early end. Natalya had Nikki Bella in the Sharpshooter, but Carmella couldn’t wait to get her hands on the Bella Twin. She pulled Nikki out from under Natalya’s hold, dragging her outside the ring and continuing to beat her. It cost her and Natalya the match, but it was well worth it to Carmella.

Dean Ambrose Pinned John Cena — Title Match Announced For Next Week

Dean Ambrose had a huge night on SmackDown Live this week. After getting a clean win over John Cena in the main event — reversing the Attitude Adjustment into a roll-up — GM Daniel Bryan came out to announce that Ambrose would receive his one-on-one rematch for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on next week’s episode of SmackDown. As AJ Styles tried to attack Ambrose, the Lunatic Fringe laid out the Phenomenal One with Dirty Deeds.

Talking Smack On The WWE Network

The first guest to join Renee Young and Daniel Bryan on the SmackDown post-show was Carmella. She joined the show somewhat abruptly and make it clear that she would leave on her own terms. Dean Ambrose also showed up to talk trash about John Cena.

More interestingly, Daniel Bryan talked about a documentary that WWE started recording leading up to Daniel Bryan’s potential match at WWE WrestleMania 32. He urged fans to use #ReleaseTheBear on Twitter to try to get WWE to release the footage. It was unclear whether Bryan was legitimately asking for something WWE really wants to keep under wraps, or if the whole thing is simply a work.

The above SmackDown Live results will be corroborated by WWE’s official SmackDown Live page.

Updated WWE No Mercy 2016 Card

  • AJ Styles (c) vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena — WWE World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs. Alexa Bliss — SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
  • Heath Slater & Rhyno (c) vs. The Usos — SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
  • The Miz (c) vs. TBD — WWE Intercontinental Championship Match (unconfirmed)
  • Nikki Bella vs. Carmella (unconfirmed)
  • Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt (unconfirmed)
  • Baron Corbin vs. Jack Swagger (unconfirmed)

Unless otherwise noted, the matches above were confirmed on WWE’s official No Mercy preview page. WWE No Mercy 2016 will air live from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.

Where To Watch

On October 9, No Mercy will air exclusively on the WWE Network at 8/7c. The No Mercy Kick-Off Show will begin at 7/6c.

WWE SmackDown Live airs Tuesdays on the USA Network at 8/7c. Replays of WWE SmackDown aren’t made available on the WWE Network until several weeks after the original air date. However, a replay of SmackDown Live is available to stream on-demand Wednesdays with a Hulu subscription.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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