WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from August 30

The Miz was the talk of the wrestling world a week ago when he verbally demolished Daniel Bryan on a special episode of Talking Smack. On Tuesday night, he rolled into SmackDown Live with a few other things to get off his chest.

What would the intercontinental champion have to say to Bryan, the WWE Universe and anyone else who questioned his toughness?

More importantly, would he be able to get through his promo without interruption?

What would AJ Styles have in store for WWE champion Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt for Randy Orton and Carmella for Nikki Bella as WWE Creative put together another solid blue-brand episode?

Find out now with this look back at the Aug. 30 broadcast of SmackDown Live, including results, highlights, analysis and grades for every segment.

Dolph Ziggler Interrupts The Miz

The Miz kicked off this week's show on the heels of an earth-shattering promo on last week's Talking Smack that saw him take aim at Daniel Bryan and explode after accusations of softness.

Not even waiting for his theme music to play, the intercontinental champion made his way to the ring and immediately ran down Bryan while passionately reminding fans that he is one of the biggest workhorses in all of WWE. He attends premieres, makes movies, defends his title and even main-events WrestleMania at the beck and call of his employers.

And he does it all while avoiding injury.

Dolph Ziggler interrupted and claimed that Miz will always be looked at as a joke because all he cares about is being famous. He challenged the IC champion to prove he is not a coward by facing him there and then.

Miz turned tail and left to a huge chorus of boos.

Grade

A

Analysis

This was a fantastic opening segment. The intensity from both men completely changed perceptions of them from a promo perspective. They were engaging and had the fans eating out of the palms of their hands, particularly by the time Ziggler challenged Miz to a fight.

Further proof that fans will invest themselves in a midcard program if given a reason to by WWE Creative and the stars themselves, this was the perfect way to ignite a program between the real-life friends while simultaneously giving the audience a look at what Ziggler will be up to next after his failed attempt to dethrone Dean Ambrose.

Tag Team Tournament Match: The Hype Bros vs. The Vaudevillains

Longtime fans of NXT have seen The Hype Bros battle The Vaudevillains numerous times, but for the fans of SmackDown Live, Tuesday saw their first encounter on the main roster.

Former intercontinental champion Zack Ryder worked over both Aiden English and Simon Gotch early, but a neckbreaker on the arena floor slowed his momentum.

After several minutes of the heels on top, Ryder made a hot tag to Mojo Rawley, who exploded into the match and powered his way through the opposition.

Ryder took Gotch out with a Broski Boot, and the Hype Ryder finished English as the babyfaces advanced to the semifinals of the SmackDown Tag Team Tournament.

Result

The Hype Bros defeated The Vaudevillains.

Grade

C-

Analysis

The burial of The Vaudevillains continued on Tuesday night as they had a fleeting bit of offense before being summarily dispatched by the The Hype Bros.

The booking choice was especially curious given the lack of heels elsewhere in the tournament.

The Hype Bros bring energy to every contest and their post-match promo was very solid, but they stand about as much a chance of winning the titles at Backlash as The Vaudevillains, Breezango and The Ascension do...and none of those teams are even in the tournament anymore.

Apollo Crews vs. AJ Styles

AJ Styles hit the ring for a promo in which he intended to brag about beating John Cena and his future contest with Dean Ambrose.

Then Apollo Crews interrupted and revealed that, per Daniel Bryan, they had a match then and there.

Crews dominated the action early, even showing off some rare personality by talking trash to Mauro Ranallo. Styles escaped a superplex attempt and looked to soar off the top rope but was caught in the arm of Crews and planted with a Samoan Drop.

Styles recovered and, moments later, dropped Crews with The Phenomenal Forearm for the pinfall victory.

Result

AJ Styles defeated Apollo Crews.

Grade

B

Analysis

AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world. Bar none.

His incredible 2016 continued on Tuesday night with a solid match against young Apollo Crews, who was impressive throughout. Some of that should be attributed to the underrated Crews. The rest? To Styles, who has made every single one of his opponents look better, regardless of how wildly talented or untalented they may be.

When one looks back at 2016, it will be Styles who stands head and shoulders above all others as the undisputed WWE Wrestler of the Year.

Renee Young Visits Heath Slater

Renee Young visited Heath Slater for a special interview in the free agent's home.

Young was introduced to Slater's "wife" Beulah and Rhyno, who spent the entire segment eating crackers and Cheez Whiz.

The segment featured the Slater story to this point, including all of the ups and downs The One Man Rock Band has endured to this point.

It wrapped with a car speeding off and Slater heading to chase down "Roscoe" while Rhyno flashed a few looks that left Young uncomfortable.

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was either the best or worst segment in WWE this year, depending on one's opinion of the content.

Was it ridiculously cliched? Absolutely, especially when it came to the portrayal of Slater's on-screen wife. Did it feature tropes right out of a Dukes of Hazzard episode? Of course.

Slater is such a charismatic and engaging performer, and Rhyno is so underrated as the straight man, that it worked when it probably should not have.

More importantly, WWE Creative has made fans care about the criminally underutilized Slater, who has the opportunity to become a legitimate breakout star in The New Era.

Bray Wyatt's Serpent Sermon

Bray Wyatt addressed Randy Orton in his first promo since last week's confrontation.

"You're sick, Randy. You're sick, but that's what I like about you, man," Wyatt started.

He claimed that Brock Lesnar exploited Orton at SummerSlam before The Viper interrupted.

"Newsflash, Bray: I've been damaged for a long time," the 12-time WWE champion rebutted.

Orton recalled the scars he has incurred from battles against Mick Foley and Undertaker, not to mention the internal demons that have accompanied him his entire career. He accepted a challenge for a match with Wyatt at Backlash, then informed The Reaper that he is not scared.

As The Viper hit the ring to fight Wyatt, the lights went out and the heel disappeared.

Grade

B

Analysis

Orton and Wyatt play off each other extremely well. Perhaps it is the darker nature of the characters or the methodical approach of their promo styles, but this worked better than a lot of Wyatt's promos.

That it was shorter and more focused certainly helped.

Orton reminding Wyatt of his previous wars against the most demented stars in the industry was a great touch and something that only serves to strengthen the threat the third-generation star is to his new rival.

Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Natalya and Alexa Bliss

Nikki Bella sat in on commentary for women's tag team action on Tuesday night and was forced to relive last week's brutal attack at the hands of Carmella through replays.

Becky Lynch and Naomi squared off with Alexa Bliss and Natalya ahead of a Six-Pack Challenge to determine the first SmackDown women's champion.

The heels isolated Naomi, keeping her from her tag partner and knocking The Lass Kicker from the apron when possible.

Naomi attempted to fire off a comeback, but Bliss took her back to the mat and unloaded with a series of rights. The babyface fought her opponent off and made the hot tag to Lynch, who unloaded with a series of forearms and a corner clothesline.

Carmella came from out of nowhere and attacked Bella, providing a distraction that allowed Bliss to roll up Lynch for the pinfall victory.

Result

Alexa Bliss and Natalya defeated Becky Lynch and Naomi. 

Grade

C+ 

Analysis

There was not much to the match other than a very basic formula.

The real story here was the sneak attack by Carmella, which sets her feud with Nikki Bella up to be the premier one in the SmackDown women's division—even if Lynch should be the centerpiece of the female roster.

Another solid win for Bliss, though, does help her gain credibility among fans and sets her up as a potential challenger to either Bella or Lynch.

Tag Team Tournament Match: The Headbangers vs. Heath Slater and Rhyno

Fans chanted, "we want Slater" as the hottest free agent in WWE took to the squared circle alongside Rhyno for the tag team tournament match against The Headbangers, making their return to the company for the first time since 2000.

The Headbangers used their tag team experience early, but Rhyno ended their dreams of one last title run with a Gore, helping him and Slater to advance to the next round of competition at Backlash.

Result

Heath Slater and Rhyno defeated The Headbangers.

Grade

D

Analysis

Heath Slater and Rhyno may have made chicken salad out of chicken crap earlier in the night with their interview segment, but there was very little in the way of redeeming qualities in this match other than longtime fans seeing Mosh and Thrasher back inside a WWE ring.

The nostalgia was short-lived, the match unexciting and the outcome never in doubt.

Moving on...

Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin

Credit: WWE.com

Kane emerged from hiding to lay out a no-name competitor nicknamed "The Milkman," then found his exit from the squared circle interrupted by the arrival of Baron Corbin, teasing a feud between the two.

AJ Styles sat in on commentary.

Corbin overpowered Ambrose early, but the champion recovered, taking his opponent down with a dropkick. Unfortunately for The Lunatic Fringe, The Lone Wolf put him down with a clothesline and punished him with a little ground-and-pound offense.

The Lone Wolf even managed to counter Ambrose's Lunatic Lariat, a move no other Superstar had managed to thwart despite taking forever to set up.

A big neckbreaker halted Corbin's momentum, and Ambrose was finally able to land his lariat, netting a two-count. He launched himself through the ropes with a suicide dive and appeared to be on his way to sure victory when Corbin delivered Deep Six for a dramatic near-fall.

Styles confronted Corbin, supposedly to give him advice, but The Lone Wolf wanted none of it.

The Phenomenal One kicked Corbin by accident, leading to a disqualification finish. A brawl between Styles and Ambrose ensued until Corbin broke it up. A Dirty Deeds followed, as did the crotching of Styles on the top rope as Ambrose was left standing tall to close out the show.

Result

Baron Corbin defeated Dean Ambrose by disqualification.

Grade

B 

Analysis

The match between Ambrose and Corbin was getting good right before the finish, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

The outcome keeps fans wanting more out of Ambrose and Corbin. Given the depth on SmackDown, that is a potential pay-per-view main event WWE Creative can revisit down the road.

The brawl between Styles and Ambrose was intense at the beginning before descending into the comedic farce it became after the No. 1 contender was crotched. Still, their match is one of the most anticipated of the entire month of September, and with good reason.