Smackdown Live (7/23/2019): Recap & Results

The Mix brings you Ringside Intel’s recap and results for tonight’s Smackdown Live (7/23/2019) broadcast. Show starts at 8 pm EST. Who will WWE Champion Kofi Kingston face at SummerSlam? Tweet and follow @RingsideIntel on Twitter.

Smackdown Live (7/23/2019): 8 pm EST

Shane McMahon comes out to cut a promo. In regards to Kevin Owens’ challenge at SummerSlam, Shane ultimately accepts. Owens comes out to interrupt, looking for a fight tonight. Shane McMahon says Owens will have a fight… against Roman Reigns later tonight.

***

Shane is talking backstage with Elias and Drew McIntyre, who are praising his match-making abilities. Shane says tonight’s match is special. Such a match needs a special referee. He chooses McIntyre. It also needs a special timekeeper. He chooses Elias. And the special ring announcer will be, of course, Shane himself.

***

Singles Match: Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews

Nakamura lays Crews out with a Kinshasa for the win.

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura continues to batter Crews after the match and hits him with another Kinshasa at ringside.

***

The Miz comes out for an edition of Miz TV. His guest tonight is HBK Shawn Michaels. As they start to get going, Dolph Ziggler comes out to interrupt. Ziggler says it’s about enough with all the legends, limping their way out to the ring and just being happy to be there. Ziggler says to kill him if he ever gets like that. Miz threatens to punch Ziggler but Michaels says to let him get it off his chest. Ziggler says he does have something to get off his chest. He says he used to idolize Michaels, but his return last November was embarrassing. Ziggler says Michaels broke his heart that night.

Michaels admits it was embarrassing. He was embarrassed. But what’s more embarrassing is going through a whole career and being nothing more than a second-rate Shawn Michaels, he says. Ziggler replies that there’s only one second-rate Shawn Michaels out there and it’s Michaels himself. Miz cuts in and tells Ziggler to just do something already. Ziggler ends up swinging at Michaels, who ducks, and hits Miz instead. Michaels nails Ziggler with a punch and then goes to check on Miz. Ziggler then catches Michaels as he turns back around with a Superkick and lays him out.

Ziggler dips out of the ring and leaves up the aisle as Miz stays with Michaels.

***

Singles Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Ember Moon

Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley comes out and causes a distraction for Charlotte and Moon capitalizes to pick up the win.

Winner: Ember Moon

After the match, Moon turns on Bayley and hits her with an Eclipse.

***

WWE Champion Kofi Kingston comes out to the ring and calls Randy Orton out to join him. Kofi reminds Orton of some history they have. Back in 2009, Kofi recalls a Raw match they had where he drove Orton through a table. Kofi shows the clip. Then he says that moment was supposed to be the moment he moved up to the main event scene. But the real-life truth is that Orton used his influence to hold him down. But now Kofi has become everything Orton never wanted him to be. Orton says, “You’re damn right I did” in regards to holding Kofi back.

And he says he did Kofi a favor because he wasn’t ready back then. But Orton also says he was earning his own way to the top, and he never had to shake his ass or throw pancakes like Kofi. The people liked him for him. Orton says Kofi doesn’t deserve the championship, and he can take it from him whenever he wants. Kofi challenges Orton to a match at SummerSlam to prove it and Orton accepts. Then Samoa Joe comes out for his scheduled match with Kofi.

Singles Match: WWE Champ Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Joe

Orton tries to go for an RKO during the match but Kofi evade. The ref sees, however, and calls for the DQ.

Disqualification

After the match, Joe grabs Orton for interfering in his own attempt to beat up Kofi. Orton hits him with a sudden RKO out of nowhere. Kofi then nails Orton with a Trouble In Paradise as he is getting up.

***

After being attacked by The Fiend recently, Finn Balor comes out to the ring and challenges “Bray Wyatt, or the Fiend, or whatever you want to be called now” to a match. The Firefly Fun House music plays and Bray appears on the screen with his puppet pals. Bray tells Balor he’s very brave and that’s why he’s such a huge fan of him. The Fiend, however, isn’t such a fan, he says. But Bray informs Balor that the Fiend is accepting his challenge for a match at SummerSlam.

***

Charlotte is furious that she’s not on SummerSlam and demands to be given an opponent.

***

Singles Match: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Shane, Elias and McIntyre all come out to assume their duties as special ring announcer, timekeeper and referee respectively. McIntyre starts asserting his authority as referee too often and Reigns uppercuts him. Then a brawl breaks out as eventually McIntyre, Elias and Shane end up taking both Owens and Reigns out of the equation. Then they beat down Reigns and set him up for a Spear from Shane. Owens grabs Shane’s leg and then it’s Owens and Reigns who gain the advantage. They hit Spears and Stunners to everyone, Shane last of all.

Then Reigns and Owens eye each other down. The crowd starts to chant “One more time!” Owens obliges, nailing Shane with a Stunner and the crowd cheers.

***

That concludes the recap for the Smackdown Live (7/23/2019) broadcast.