The July 4th edition of WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on the USA Network and will come to us from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Battleground pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for later this month in Philadelphia.
Advertised for tonight: John Cena returns, a SmackDown women’s championship match, a battle royal to determine top contender to the US title, a rap battle, and more!
The show opens with a video package celebrating the Fourth of July both as a national holiday and as an excuse to party.

We are welcomed to the show by Tom Philipps who hypes us up for the 4th of July edition of Smackdown Live.
John Cena comes out to the ring to make his return to TV after taking time off to film his FOX reality show American Grit. The rings are red, white and blue tonight. Cena lets the fans duel “Let’s Go Cena” & “Cena Sucks” chants, before asking if they missed him. Cena says tonight is about celebrating the American Dream and he loves his country. He says the WWE is like America because people come from around the world to be the best here. Cena says other wrestlers have been spreading rumors that he went Hollywood and sold out. Cena says he’s not a part-timer, he’s an all-timer. Cena says the reason why he’s a free agent now, is because if his time in WWE is limited then he wants to go down in a blaze of glory. 
He calls out Styles, Lesnar, Nakamura, Rollins, Reigns, and others, saying you can line ’em up and he will knock them all down. Cena says he’s a man with nothing to lose, the champ is back, and it couldn’t be on a better day because today is our Independence Day. With that, Rusev interrupts, also making his return to TV. Rusev says while Cena was off doing his movie, Rusev was working so hard that he got injured. Rusev is upset that he didn’t get comeback commercials like Cena did. Rusev says Cena won’t take his opportunities away from him, and Cena’s American dream is a lie just like America is a joke. This prompts a “USA” chant from the fans, and Cena invites Rusev to come down to the ring so he can punch him in the mouth. Rusev continues to bash America, and Cena says they won’t back down to someone like Rusev. Cena challenges Rusev to a flag match, which Rusev accepts but not for tonight. Rusev says it’ll happen on his terms when he says. Rusev leaves as Cena leads the crowd in a USA chant.
Commentary hypes up the rest of the previously announced festivities and we cut backstage to Daniel Bryan in his office.

Chad Gable enters the office, Bryan wanted to talk to him. AJ rolls up right after and Dragon says he’s sick of Kevin Owens calling and complaining about how the two of them shouldn’t be in the battle royal tonight, and he has a bit of a point. So he proposes a match where the winner gets into the #1 contender’s battle royal.
AJ says he’s not afraid of a little competition, Gable says he’s more than a little competition, and Bryan informs them that the match is up next, after the break.
Back from commercial and we get the entrances from Styles and Gable.

AJ Styles def. Chad Gable: Gable wrestles AJ down to the mat right off the opening bell, then hits a German suplex. Gable tries to keep AJ grounded but he comes back with a leg kick, then a dropkick. AJ hits some chops to the chest, but Gable grabs him and hits a belly to belly overhead suplex. Gable starts working on AJ’s right arm until AJ fights his way back up to his feet. They trade chops to the chest until AJ ducks one and grabs Gable for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. After a struggle for power in the corner, AJ hits a forearm to the face then hops up to the top rope. Gable pushes AJ off the rope down to the mat. Gable goes up top for a moon-sault and misses, then AJ suplexes Gable into the turnbuckle. Gable comes back with an ankle lock, but AJ gets out and puts Gable in the Calf Crusher. Gable breaks the hold then hits a German suplex on AJ. AJ comes back with a Pele kick, then hits the Phenomenal Forearm for the win after a competitive match.
After the match, Styles helps Gable up with a look of respect on his face.
We go backstage where Mojo Rawley is chilling and contemplating a Hype Bros t-shirt. Zack Ryder enters and asks him if he’s still bummed, and Rawley says it’s nothing. Ryder says it’s something, but they have to put it in their rear-view mirror, and he talked to Daniel Bryan, and they’re in the battle royal tonight.
Mojo turns super serious for a second and asks him if he realizes the mistake he just made before a smile plays across his face and he reminds Zack that he won the Fourth Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in Memory of Andre the Giant at WrestleMania this year. Zack tells him he only won that because he wasn’t in it, and Rawley thanks Ryder for getting them the spot.
Carmella and James Ellsworth are walking backstage, and we go to a commercial break.
Back from commercial and Jimmy says they’re here to celebrate something way more important than Independence Day, and predictably that thing is Carmella. Carmella asks if we thought somebody else was gonna win and makes Ellsworth hold the briefcase for her.
Carmella starts by saying that everybody wanted to right a wrong and rewrite history, but the Rolling Stones said it best, you can’t always get what you want unless your name is Carmella. Because she has the briefcase, she has the power, and she decides when and where Naomi loses her title, and the only glow she’s going to feel is, then Naomi interrupts and comes down the ring.
She congratulates Carmella on winning Money in the Bank, but reminds her that she’s SmackDown Women’s Champion, and that contract gives her the power to get a title match whenever, but she’s not shook or scared because her eyes are always open and her glow is always on.
And as for Ellsworthless, there’s somebody else who has words for him.
Daniel Bryan makes his way down the ring. He addresses James and asks what he’s gonna do with him. Jimmy sputters and Bryan shuts him up, saying that was a rhetorical question, he knows what he’s doing, he’s barring him from the arena. Ellsworth laughs and laughs and asks what he’s gonna do, and Bryan joins in, and says that he will fine him Ten Thousand Dollars.
Jimmy loses his mind, saying he doesn’t have that kind of money, so Bryan also informs him he’s suspended for thirty days without pay. And, if he doesn’t leave the arena this second, or if he disobeys any rules, he’s going to strip Carmella of the Money in the Bank contract.
Carmella hustles Ellsworth away as Bryan and Naomi celebrate, and we go to break.
Naomi (c) def. Lana: Almost as soon as the bell rings, Naomi takes Lana down and locks her in the Rings of Saturn for the win via submission.
Immediately after the match, Tamina runs in the ring and stares down Noami. Tamina turns her attention to Lana, then tells Lana to come leave the ring with her. Tamina tells Lana “let’s go” and walks to the back with her.
Shinsuke Nakamura is backstage for an interview but Baron Corbin blindsides him from behind with the briefcase before his interviewer can get her question out. He draws Shinsuke up and asks if he looks afraid and Nakamura blasts him back as referees run over to break them up.
We are informed that the Usos / New Day rap battle is up next, after the break.
Commentary announces that Daniel Bryan has made the Cena/Rusev flag match official for Battleground.
Wale asks Phoenix what’s up and if they’re ready for this, and he calls the Usos out first and they have a posse.
The New Day make their entrance next, also accompanied by a posse. Theirs is Independence Day themed. Wale gives some basic instructions then they start the rap off.
Big E begins, running the Usos down as having done nothing before the New Day and calls them bums. And speaking of butts, say hi to your pops, because even Rikishi knows New Day rocks.
The Usos say they’re going to talk about Big E’s breasts, Kofi’s resemblence to Whoopi Goldberg, and that Xavier’s shoot height is less than his billed height, but first, welcome to the Uso Penitentiary. E is predictable, everybody knows Rikishi’s their dad, but what about Big’s? Are his breasts real or silicon?
They asked a bunch of folks and still don’t know.
They warn E not to get rated R like his boy Xavier Woods and their posse goes nuts, leading Wale to call for order. They repeat the line about Xavier and say it ain’t paranoia, it’s the Usos. Kofi up next for New Day, he calls out Jim Uso as looking like he’s never worked out, and same for Jey since they’re twins.
When you have abs that pop you can rock a crop top, but the Usos need to make like red hexagons and stop. He continues to rap about their weight and asks why they wrestle in shirts, before answering his own question by suggesting that they look pregnant and have weenie do, which is when your gut hangs out more than your weenie do.
Jey reminds Kofi that he used to be Jamaican, and Jimmy says he was Jafakin’, and gave Jamaicans a bad nap. Fat jokes they best they have, but his forehead looks like the back of a hand and Ron Simmons would say “DAMN!” Superkick and Sharpshooter, best there is best there ever will be, Slammies, Paul Bunyan, I can’t pick a thread out here.
They suggest the Usos are gonna need a fourth member to beat them and tells Wale that if he keeps hanging with New Day he’ll end up in the hospital, and again, it’s not paranoia, it’s the Usos. Xavier up now, he says dress for the job you want, not the job you have, and that’s why the Usos are dressed like recently divorced dads.
The Usos are tag champs, they made people believers, but they were nothing until his wife put them on Total Divas. They used to wear facepaint, bright colors, like showmen, but the New Day were on the horizon like a bad omen, and the Usos should get back to what they do best, and that’s carrying bags for Roman.
That is the line that sets off a brawl, and their posses hold them back. Wale disqualifies the Usos, orders them out of the ring and declares The New Day as the winners of the rap off.
Randy Orton is walking backstage, he has a match after the break.
Back from commercial, Titus O’Neil tells us to get our popcorn ready for 205 Live, since tonight Titus Worldwide is taking over
The match is in progress after the break.
Aiden English is in the ring to sing us a few lines, but Orton again interrupts him. Randy makes his entrance poses and English asks if he was finished, because he’s not done, and he blindsides Orton. He takes him outside and throws him into the steel steps before heading back in the ring to finish his song, and we go to break.
Aiden English def. Randy Orton via DQ: We see Aiden English singing in the ring, but he quickly gets interrupted by Randy Orton’s entrance. Orton poses on the turnbuckle and English asks him if he’s finished. English jumps Orton from behind and hits him in the face with the mic. English beats Orton down around ringside, then takes things back in the ring. The ref finally calls for the opening bell, and Orton fires up and starts beating down English. Orton throws English over the announce table then DDTs him off of it. Orton hits English with the ring steps and gets himself disqualified, then he takes English back in the ring for an RKO.
As Orton is celebrating in the ring, Jinder Mahal’s music hits and he comes out to the stage with the Singh brothers. Jinder says Orton and the fans disrespect him because of he way he talks and he color of his skin, but despite that he is still their WWE Champion. Jinder says if he could he would put each and every one of the fans in the Punjabi Prison and beat tolerance into them. Jinder says at Battleground he will destroy Orton’s legacy. Jinder says he’s about to speak to his people in his language, but Orton interrupts and tells him to shut the hell up. Orton says nobody is going to stop him from punishing Jinder and RKOing him right back to India. Orton says Jinder is right that nobody likes him, but it’s not because of how he looks or where he’s from, it’s because he’s a jackass.
Commentary hypes us up for the WWE Network by talking about Balls of Fire, and then they hype our battle royal to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Tye Dillinger is backstage and he gets approached by Tyler Breeze dressed as a woman. Breeze asks if Dillinger is worried about Breezango in the battle royal tonight. Dillinger says he’s confident going into this match and hopes the teams in the match realize there can only be one winner. Dillinger tells Breeze he’s a ten and leaves.
Renee Young is backstage to interrupt Maria and Mike Kanellis. WWE appears to briefly have some technically difficulties, and when we go back to them Sami Zayn knocks something over off-camera and interrupts the interview. Zayn says he likes Maria and Mike’s message about the power of love. Zayn rants to Maria and Mike until Zayn’s music hits and he has to head out to the ring. Maria and Mike are not happy and say that Zayn ruined their moment. The Independence Day battle royal is up next.
Back from commercial we get a little hype for Talking Smack, which will feature the Kanellises, Naomi, and the winner of this battle royal.
Battle Royal to determine #1 contender for U.S. Championship: Kevin Owens is on commentary for this one. Everyone starts in the ring at the same time, and the first elimination comes early when Luke Harper knocks Dolph Ziggler to the outside. Rowan eliminates Fandango next, then attempts to eliminate Breeze but Fandango catches him and throws him back in. Rowan throws Breeze outside again and this time it’s for the elimination. Rowan pump-handle slams Kalisto to the outside and he lands on Breeze and Fandango. Mojo eliminates Konnor and Harper next. 
Ryder and Mojo now come face to face and shove each other. Rowan hits both Ryder and Mojo from behind and tries to eliminate Ryder, but Mojo saves him. Mojo and Ryder push Rowan to the outside for the elimination, then Mojo eliminates Ryder from behind for the elimination. Ryder looks shocked from ringside. Sami Zany hits the Heluva Kick on Mojo and Mojo falls outside for the elimination. It’s down to AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, and Tye Dillinger. Owens repeatedly tells Phillips to shut up on commentary when he talks. Dillinger works over both Zayn and Styles, then hits the Tye-Breaker on both of them. Dillinger tries to eliminate Zayn and Styles but only gets them on the apron, and Zayn pulls Dillinger outside to eliminate him. It’s down to Zayn and Styles. Zayn T-bone suplexes Styles into the turnbuckle, then sets up for the Heluva Kick. Zayn goes for it but Styles ducks and Zayn falls to the apron. Zayn tries to suplex AJ to the outside, but instead AJ breaks free and hits the Pele kick on Zayn. Zayn falls down to the floor for the elimination, and AJ Styles is our winner. Winner & new #1 contender for the U.S. Title: AJ Styles
Immediately after the match, Kevin Owens hits the ring and beats down AJ Styles. Owens grabs AJ by the hair and holds the U.S. Title in his face, and AJ kicks him in the head out of nowhere. AJ goes for the Styles Clash but Owens escapes and rolls outside. Styles holds up the U.S. Title belt in the ring as SmackDown goes off the air.
 

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