WWE SmackDown Winners, Live Grades and Reaction After Saturday Night's Main Event

WWE SmackDown on Friday had the job of dealing with the fallout from Saturday Night's Main Event while also hyping next week's SummerSlam PLE.

Cody Rhodes and CM Punk were scheduled for appearances, and so was Gunther after his match against Nick Aldis was booked by Triple H.

We also saw the continuation of a tournament to crown a new women's world champion with two first-round matches.

Let's take a look at what happened on this week's show.

Sign on the Dotted Line

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Fanatics

SmackDown opened with a contract signing for Nick Aldis and Gunther to make their showdown at SummerSlam official.

Adam Pearce told Aldis that as soon as he signs the contract, he is relinquishing all GM responsibilities to him, and that he is also agreeing that WWE is not responsible for anything that happens in the match.

Gunther said this match will be the greatest moment of Aldis' career, but it's beneath him and a waste of time when he should be pursuing the world title. He spent a few minutes talking trash in an attempt to play mind games.

Contract signings are rarely memorable because they are just another excuse for two people to cut promos on each other, but for what this was, Gunther and Aldis did a decent job selling the tension between them.

Predictably, this turned into a fight. Gunther hit a low blow and powerbombed Aldis through the table to end the segment. Next week, Aldis will almost certainly get some retribution on Friday before they have their match at SummerSlam.

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• It's going to be interesting to see how much ring rust Aldis has after not wrestling for a few years.
• Gunther's mic was cutting in and out a little.
• It was nice that they acknowledged Aldis as a former NWA world champion. WWE has no working relationship with NWA right now, so you would usually expect them to avoid mentioning them.

Lainey Reid vs. Brie Bella

Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: Fatal Influence defeated Brie Bella and Paige (SNME)

The first match of the night saw one-half of the new tag team champions face one of the former champs when Lainey Reid took on Brie Bella in singles action.

They got the fight started before the bell, but once the match officially started, Bella had the upper hand at first. It didn't take Reid long to recover and take control.

This might not have been the most technically sound match, but they did a good job making it feel like a hard-fought contest. Bella and Reid both portrayed a lot of aggression. It's too bad the commercial break took such a big chunk out of it.

Brie got the win, but the rest of Fatal Influence attacked as soon as it was over. Nikki Bella made a surprise return to make the save and set up a six-woman tag match for SummerSlam.

Result: Bella defeated Reid

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

• Sami Zayn cut an impromptu promo backstage after the break. Pearce told him he has a No. 1 Contender's match at SummerSlam, but Zayn wasn't happy.
• Jacy Jayne is so much more effortless on the mic than others. She's very natural on camera.

Chelsea Green vs. Kiana James

Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: Kiana James lost to Giulia (Main Event, July 17), Chelsea Green lost a six-woman tag (SD, June 29)

The first qualifier for the women's world title Ladder match scheduled for SummerSlam featured Kiana James taking on Chelsea Green.

These are two women who have been featured regularly on SmackDown, but still feel overlooked by a lot of people. Green has been viewed as comic relief, and James was brought in to help Giulia, so it was nice to see them get the spotlight here.

Green is a solid wrestler, and James is a great athlete who has continued to grow as a performer, so they were able to make this feel competitive right out of the gate. James was especially aggressive early on.

However, they didn't get a ton of time. Green picked up the victory without the show even needing to go to a break. If they had more time, this could have been a lot of fun, but it felt way too short. That takes nothing away from the effort both women put into this though. They worked well with what they were given.

Result: Green defeated James

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Blake Monroe had a quick segment with Tiffany Stratton backstage. It looks like she will be chasing the U.S. title.
• Chelsea makes the Unprettier look great, which is saying a lot because it's one of the weirdest finishers in pro wrestling to set up.

CM Punk and Cody Rhodes

Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images

A quick recap of Punk and Rhodes' win at Saturday Night's Main Event was shown, and it also included the fallout from an appearance at Fanatics Fest.

Punk showed a lot of distrust toward Rhodes due to him saying he owed Punk for hitting him in the face with the title by accident.

Punk said he didn't want the title to come between their friendship, but that seems to be a lost cause. Rhodes admitted he respects Punk, but he doesn't like him.

These are two guys who are known for being great at promos and building feuds, so even if the reason behind their animosity was thin, they still made this segment easy to watch.

Using their shared history was a nice touch, but not being able to mention AEW meant some of their references had to be very subtle.

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• Punk purposely turning his back to give Rhodes a chance to attack just to see if he would do it was a nice touch.
• Rhodes saying he dropped a nuke on the business compared to Punk's pipe bomb was a good line.

Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax

Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: Nia Jax lost to Jade Cargill (SD, July 17), Charlotte Flair lost a six-woman tag match (SD, June 29)

After Charlotte Flair cost Nia Jax in her qualifying match last week, they were booked in another qualifier together so Jax had a fair shot at being included.

Jax was obviously upset after what happened last week, so she went right after Flair as soon as the bell rang. She had control for a few moments, but The Queen didn't take long to start fighting back.

These are two Superstars who have fought many times over the years, so they know each other as well as anyone in that ring. They know how to make each other look good without needing to rely on stunts and too many false finishes.

Jade Cargill, B-Fab and Michin showed up during the match, and that distraction gave Jax a chance to take control, but she also didn't look happy to see them. The Queen fought off Michin and B-Fab, but Jade caused a DQ when she attacked Flair.

Jax has now lost two chances to qualify for the Ladder match due to interference. She ripped apart the announce table out of anger.

This wasn't an exciting ending, but it did work with the story being told. Jax will likely have some impact on the outcome at SummerSlam whether she is in the match or not.

Result: Flair defeated Jax by DQ

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Seeing Jax wrestle with her hair up was a reminder of how few women do that in WWE. You would think it would be more common.
• The powerbomb Jax hit before the break looked good.