WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights for September 12

Every week on Bleacher Report, I take an in-depth look at WWE SmackDown to recap the action, offer analysis and grade the matches, segments and anything else that takes place on the show. I also provide some predictions on the direction of storylines.

This week's SmackDown had the unenviable task of following an incredible NXT Takeover 2 live special. The next generation of WWE stars put on some great matches on Thursday, giving the main roster a run for their money.

We are just over a week away from Night of Champions. The card already seems pretty full, which means that all they can do from this point forward is try to make us care about the programs that will be featured at the pay-per-view.

Friday's show featured somebody from almost every feud making an appearance, with the only exceptions being the rivalries that revolve around the United States and WWE World Heavyweight titles.

Let's take a look at everything that occurred this week on SmackDown.

Better Than Expected

The show opened with a big eight-man tag match featuring the Usos, Big Show and Mark Henry taking on Goldust, Stardust, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan.

Bray Wyatt sat in his rocking chair on the stage, and when he tried to come down to the ring, Big Show was right there to block his path.

Sometimes a match with this many people can seem too crowded, but this one was pulled off pretty well. Everyone had a little time in the ring and there weren't any major mistakes.

The best thing is that the pace did not feel too rushed. That is definitely a testament to how good all eight men are at knowing how to put on a solid match. Having enough time certainly helped, too.

The only thing that seemed like it might not have been planned was Jimmy Uso slipping off the apron after being sent over the top rope. While it could have been a mistake, it actually helped add to the upcoming tag title match.

If Jimmy sells the leg injury the announcers claimed he may have received from the fall, then that would put the Usos at a disadvantage against Gold and Stardust at NoC.

The babyfaces picked up the victory after a KO Punch from Show and a Superfly Splash from Jey Uso.

Grade: B

Some notes from the match:

• Anyone else find it funny when JBL freaked out at Cole for correcting him?
• Big Show is somehow managing to get better with age. A giant like him doesn't need to be doing sunset flips, but he keeps adding to his repertoire.
• Cody Rhodes' performance as Stardust never ceases to amaze. He is somehow weirder than Goldust, which is saying a lot.

Bolieving Is Half the Battle

Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter were at ringside for Bo Dallas' match against Justin Gabriel. While Gabriel had control for most of the bout, Dallas was still able to pick up the win with his finisher.

Dallas seemed like he wanted a confrontation with Swagger after the match was over, but when Swagger came into the ring, Dallas went running like the heel that he is.

In any other situation, this bout would have been given a very low grade. However, the fact that Gabriel actually appeared on the show and had some good offense helped a lot.

Grade: C-

Some notes from the match:

• Did you notice how Lilian Garcia was trying not to laugh during Dallas' entrance?
• The look on Zeb's face when Dallas called himself America's sweetheart was priceless. Comparing himself to Ariana Grande was just icing on the cake.
• Points to Byron Saxton for actually mentioning that Gabriel is a three-time tag champ.
• Why is nobody backstage fighting to give Gabriel a bigger push? His better qualities far outweigh his downsides.
• Gabriel is the kind of talent who can make a springboard moonsault look like a piece of cake. So few Superstars in WWE have that kind of ability these days.

Summer Takes the Fall

AJ Lee joined the commentary team for Summer Rae's match against Paige. Layla was also at ringside, but she opted to walk her fine self around the ring. Sorry to sound a bit chauvinistic, but that outfit Layla was wearing was very distracting. It was so tight that it looked painted on.

Paige picked up a very quick win using AJ's Black Widow submission, clearly intending to send a message to her rival.

Layla looked like she was going to attack Paige after the match was over, but AJ saved her, which only seemed to upset and confuse the Divas champion.

While the bout itself was too quick to be anything special, the way the story was told with AJ and Paige made it more watchable.

Grade: D+

Some notes from the match:

• Is anyone else confused by the booking of Layla and Summer Rae?
• Summer using her legs to apply a full nelson was creative.
• AJ is so good on the mic. If she ever decided to retire from the ring, WWE should give her a shot as a commentator. She has the knowledge, charisma and love of the business to succeed.

Over the Top Part 2

Mark Henry and Lana exchanged some heated words before the arm wrestling began. Henry said he was proud of his time representing America in the Olympics, leading to the crowd getting behind him with a USA chant.

Rusev broke away when they first tried to engage in order to use some powder to help his grip. The first time they locked up saw them use their right arms. As anyone would expect, the man who is known as one of the strongest men in the world won.

Lana complained and asked for a rematch using their left hands. Henry accepted the challenge, but before either man could get the win, Lana threw powder in Henry's face to blind him. Rusev then attacked Henry and took him out while the Russian flag dropped from the ceiling.

This is a hard segment to grade. On one hand, having two powerhouses have an arm wrestle is not that original. But on the other hand, it helped advance the storyline without another random attack.

Grade: C-

Some notes from the match:

• Michael Cole almost looked annoyed that he had to plug the price of the WWE Network again.
• Would you classify Rusev's haircut as a mullet?
• When was the last time someone threw powder in a rival's face? It feels like we haven't seen that tactic used since Mr. Fuji.
• Who else wants to watch Sylvester Stallone's Over the Top after seeing this segment?

It's Like Looking in a Mirror

Dolph Ziggler took on Miz and Damien Sandow in a tag team match that featured R-Truth acting as his stunt double. Ziggler even introduced him as R-Ziggler.

Sandow has been copying Miz for weeks, but Truth did a great job acting like Ziggler as well. This is a good example of something that could have been really bad being good because the performers involved were all doing their part to make it work.

This ended up being a pretty decent match, but the credit for that goes to the two guys who aren't actually feuding over the Intercontinental title. Their dedication to copying Miz and Ziggler made for some very entertaining moments.

Ziggler returned the favor by performing some of Truth's signature dance moves before hitting the Zig Zag on Sandow for the pin and the win.

Grade: B

Some note from the match:

• Seeing the way Damien Sandow is being booked is terrible, but you have to admit that he is hilarious in the role. He mimics Miz's moves perfectly.
• Did the announcers even mention that Miz and Truth were once partners?
• Seeing how well Truth and Sandow performed in this match just proves that the people in charge don't always know how to use great talent the right way.

The Teddy Long Special

The main event of the evening saw Chris Jericho team up with Roman Reigns to take on Seth Rollins and Randy Orton.

Jericho's knee was heavily taped due to taking a huge dive off the top of a steel cage on Monday in his match with Bray Wyatt, but it didn't seem to slow him down.

It's so hard to judge the main events of SmackDown because it seems like we see the same thing every week. It's almost always two sets of rivals paired up in a tag match. The only thing missing was Teddy Long making the match earlier in the show.

Everyone looked good with what they were doing in the bout, but it was a little surprising to see Jericho get the win with a roll up.

Grade: B+

Some notes from the match:

• JBL comparing Rollins to Eddie Guerrero is a huge compliment to Rollins.
• It's so hard to get excited about seeing the same thing over and over every week. SmackDown usually has some good action, but it's becoming too formulaic.
• Roman Reigns and Bo Dallas could make a lot of money selling hair products.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

This week's SmackDown was about as average as average gets. Sure, the action was entertaining and there were a few storyline developments, but that is what happens every week.

Nobody is going to say that WWE officials don't have a huge task to put on several hours of original content every week, but they have a habit of making every show follow a specific pattern.

The only thing that happened that was a bit out of the ordinary was the arm wrestling between Henry and Rusev.

Despite the predictability, there was still some good entertainment to be had, with only one match feeling like something of a let down.

Predictions:

• Randy Orton will put Jericho on the shelf at NoC by attacking his injured leg.
• Mark Henry will appear dominant next week in his feud with Rusev so Rusev's eventual victory seems less expected.
• NXT stars will begin appearing on WWE programming more often.
• R-Truth will make at least one more appearance as R-Ziggler.
• Brie Bella and AJ will take on Paige and Nikki Bella in a tag team match next week.

What did you think of SmackDown this week?

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor