WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from July 14

Erik BeastonJul 14, 2023

The battle for supremacy in SmackDown women's division continued Friday night on Fox as Asuka defended the WWE Women's Championship against Bianca Belair.

Given the events of late, Charlotte Flair and Damage CTRL's Bayley and Iyo Sky were sure to be lurking, but did any make their presence felt before a winner could be determined?

Elsewhere on the show, what response did Roman Reigns have for his cousin, Jey Uso, after a blockbuster challenge from The Right Hand Man at the conclusion of last week's show?

Find out with this recap of the July 14 episode, live from PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Match Card

1 of 8

Announced in advance for Friday's show were:

WWE Women's Championship Match: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka (c)
The fallout from Jey Uso's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship challenge
United States Championship Invitational Fatal 4-Way Match: AJ Styles vs. Butch vs. Santos Escobar vs. Grayson Waller*
Sheamus and Ridge Holland vs. Pretty Deadly

*Winner faces the winner of next week's Fatal 4-Way for a shot at Austin Theory's US title.

Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair Make A SummerSlam Pact

2 of 8

Credit: WWE.com

Ahead of her WWE Women's Championship match against Asuka later in the show, Bianca Belair kicked off the broadcast and was interrupted shortly thereafter by Charlotte Flair, the other top contender to the gold.

A back-and-forth teasing a championship match between the two, if Belair wins later in the show of course, came to an end with an agreement for a showdown at SummerSlam.

This was a fine way to lay the groundwork for what will come later on in the show but it did not offer much new in the ongoing rivalry between The EST and The Queen.

They both fancy themselves as the tops of the division, almost taking Asuka for granted. That will likely backfire and if it does not, then there is the real possibility that Money in the Bank winner Iyo Sky will as The Genius of the Sky looks for the opportune time to cash in her guaranteed title shot.

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

"Man, it is hard to wait when you want something so bad," Belair said of her women's title opportunity later in the show.
"Tonight, I will show Asuka that now only is patience a virtue but revenge is sweet."
"I'm actually manifesting a victory tonight in Flair Country," The Queen said, expressing her desire for a showdown with The EST.
"What would be bigger than The EST of WWE vs. The Queen for the WWE Women's Championship at SummerSlam?" Belair asked.
Asuka watched on a monitor backstage, apparently amused by the in-ring exchange that had just unfolded.

Sheamus and Ridge Holland vs. Pretty Deadly

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Credit: WWE.com

After having his shot at the United States Championship sullied by Pretty Deadly last week in Madison Square Garden, Sheamus and partner Ridge Holland sought revenge against Elton Prince and Kit Wilson in tag team action.

A solid, physical tag match concluded with the heels scoring the win, further frustrating The Celtic Warrior and ensuring the feud continues.

Austin Theory, the beneficiary of the heels' interference a week ago, was nowhere to be found and that was somewhat surprising, but no so much if he is present for the four-way match later in the show.

It will be interesting to see what the endgame ultimately is in this feud but Sheamus is bulletproof at this point in his career and Holland has yet to be hurt by suffering these losses. Meanwhile, Pretty Deadly continued to build momentum. That, on top of a quality match, makes this a successful segment.

Result

Pretty Deadly defeated The Brawling Brutes

Grade

Top Moments and Takeaways

It is still impressive how seamlessly Pretty Deadly made the transition from NXT to the main roster. They have not missed a beat and though they are not yet tag team champions as they were in the black and gold brand, one can already see a path toward more success for Prince and Wilson on Friday nights.
"This is exactly the mistake people make with Pretty Deadly: do not judge a book by its cover," Wade Barrett said on commentary, summing the entire act up in one sentence.
Holland has improved as a worker exponentially since working closely with Sheamus and Butch. He is crisper and more importantly, more confident between the ropes. It is apparent in how freely he moves now as opposed to the stiffer approach earlier in his career.

Zelina Vega vs. Bayley

4 of 8

Credit: WWE.com

The match between Zelina Vega and Bayley was secondary to the promo that proceeded it and it felt every bit of it.

A rushed match with little substance, it put Damage CTRL and Vega in front of the audience but gave them little to do en route to The Role Model scoring a victory off of a momentary distraction from Iyo Sky.

The post-match promo from Shotzi, in which she reacted to Bayley disrespecting her by cutting her hair by shaving her own head, was an interesting development if nothing else.

While it is nice to see The Ballsy Badass having something to do other than being the tackling dummy for a more prominent star, fans should be hesitant until it is apparent that WWE is really invested in presenting Shotzi as a force in the division.

Result

Bayley defeated Vega

Grade

C-

Top Moments and Takeaways

Following her emotional performance at Backlash, WWE has made it a point to keep Vega on screen. While it would be nice to see her involved in something with some actual substance, keeping her in front of the audience is a step above what she was (or was not) doing before.
Of course, it would be nice to see her win on occasion.
After the match, Shotzi appeared on screen and cut a promo in which she claimed Bayley had no control over her, then proceeded to shave part of her head.

Jey Uso Promo

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Credit: WWE.com

Jey Uso did not get the answer to the challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match that he was looking for but he did get a measure of revenge on Paul Heyman, rocking the special counsel with a superkick in response to a scathing rant that blamed him for the injuries suffered by his brother, Jimmy, a week ago.

The crowd was red-hot for the segment, especially after they stopped with the incessant "what" chants and Jey clearly fed off of them.

Heyman, the master puppeteer, continued his attempt to manipulate the family but Uso had none of it. He fought with his other brother, Solo Sikoa, and stood in the center of the ring as his own man.

"Main Event" Jey Uso.

He is undoubtedly going to challenge Roman Reigns for the top prize in the company at SummerSlam but the question is less about what is next for The Right Hand Man and more about whether WWE should pull the proverbial trigger and make him the competitor to finally dethrone Reigns.

The answer? A resounding "yes," especially if the reaction from the fans to this segment is any indication.

Grade

A+

Top Moments and Takeaways

There have been a ton of inventions and innovations in pro wrestling over the last two decades. The worst, by far, is the "what" chant.
Uso is the top babyface in WWE right now and it is almost to the point that the company has to put the title on him at SummerSlam. He is the right choice and has been since the moment this storyline began three years ago. More importantly, the fans believe in him.
The superkick to Heyman drew a big pop but it would have been even more effective had things had a moment to breathe. The teased chair shot was great, but could have been held off for a week.
"The puppeteer just had his strings cut!" Michael Cole said after the kick to Heyman, a killer line by the best in the business.

United States Championship Invitational 4-Way

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Credit: WWE.com

AJ Styles, Santos Escobar, Butch and Grayson Waller battled for the right to advance in the United States Championship Invitational, each hoping to move one step closer to challenging Austin Theory for his title.

Escobar scored what may be the most significant victory of his main roster career to this point, capitalizing on a distraction caused by Karrion Kross and advancing to the finals of the invitational in two weeks.

The match was great. The pace was fantastic, the physicality and drama were on-point, and Escobar winning was a nice surprise, especially since the LWO has been heavily featured but rarely wins.

The attack by Kross advances the rivalry with Styles which feels like it is unsettled given how quickly The Phenomenal One defeated the former NXT champion a week ago in New York City.

WWE Creative will have to work overtime getting fans to care about a program that it has not, to this point, put any real effort into. Hopefully, this is a sign of that changing.

Result

Escobar defeated Styles, Butch and Waller to advance to the finals

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

Theory sat ringside for the high-stakes match.
Escobar delivered a sunset flip bomb that triggered a double superplex from Styles and Butch to Waller.
The Aussie youngster never looked out of place despite sharing the ring with three acclaimed in-ring competitors. Matches like this, against guys like Styles, Butch and Escobar will only help him grow and evolve as a worker, thus expediting his path to the top.
Styles delivered a Phenomenal Forearm to Escobar but before he could capitalize, Kross appeared on the video screen as he attacked The OC's Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows backstage. The distraction set up the finish.

WWE Women's Championship Match: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka

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Credit: WWE.com

The SmackDown women's division is thriving entering SummerSlam, as evidenced by the main event segment of this week's show.

The match between Bianca Belair and Asuka for the WWE Women's Championship was rushed, likely due to time restraints and the need to pack all of the different pieces of the finish into the segment, but it was still good stuff that demonstrated the chemistry between The EST and The Empress of Tomorrow.

The extracurricular activity involving Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Iyo Sky add an air of uncertainty and drama, which also helps.

All of this would seem to suggest that Asuka, Belair and Flair will clash at SummerSlam, with Damage CTRL's involvement hanging overhead like a dark cloud.

And where does Shotzi fit into this following her threatening message to the heels?

That there is this much going on in the division is a major plus for the blue brand given the last year of one-dimensional creative.

Result

Asuka defeated Belair via disqualification

Grade

Top Moments and Takeaways

The field for next week's US Championship Invitational 4-Way was revealed: Rey Mysterio, Cameron Grimes, Sheamus and LA Knight. The latter cut a promo to a huge ovation and claimed that fans will soon be calling him "champ."
The Street Profits welcomed Bobby Lashley back to SmackDown in a backstage vignette that felt like the first seeds planted for an eventual Hurt Business revival.

Flair, with ticket in hand, made her way to ringside to catch the action between Belair and Asuka up close. Bayley and Sky did the same on the other side of the ring.
Flair jumped the guardrail, booted Bayley but inadvertently speared Belair, costing her the match via disqualification. Sky blasted The Queen with the Money in the Bank briefcase and teased cashing it in on Asuka, who had endured the Kiss of Death on the announce table from Belair.
Asuka misted Bayley, preventing the cash-in and standing tall to close the show.

Final Grade

8 of 8

This was a good show.

A really good show.

The Jey Uso stuff was fantastic and built on last week's show-dominating angle, the women's division took center stage and there finally feels like there is action in the midcard with the United States title.

The show could use more LA Knight, but the introduction of an edgier Shotzi and the tease of a renewed Hurt Business should have fans plenty excited about the short- and long-term future of wrestling's hottest show.

More of this.

All of this.

Grade: A+