WWE SmackDown Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Aug. 21

We might be getting another edition of Saturday Night's Main Event in a couple of weeks, but all eyes were on SmackDown this week due to the big main event.

After making his surprise return at SummerSlam, Kevin Owens earned a shot at the WWE Championship held by CM Punk, and he chose Toronto to host the match.

After several months of video packages and backstage segments, Blake Monroe's in-ring debut on the main roster was hyped for this week, too.

We also saw Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes continue their story as they prepare to do battle at SNME on Sept. 6.

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

Why Wait Two Weeks?

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Sami Zayn was shown yelling at Nick Aldis backstage about how it should be him with the WWE title in the main event. He blamed Aldis for allowing Owens and Gunther into his No. 1 Contender's match.

Randy Orton walked by, and then Cody Rhodes appeared in the ring with a mic and called him out for a fight. Aldis left to go talk Cody down, but The Viper followed.

Aldis said he is sick of these two putting officials in danger, so if either of them attacks the other before their SNME match, they will never get another shot at the WWE title. Orton said he will be Mr. Professional, but he also ripped into Rhodes for being too cowardly to finish him when he had the chance.

With these two having already gotten physical in this feud, this segment was a good way to keep the story going without needing to rely on another fight. Aldis adding the stipulation that they can't touch each other made perfect sense, especially with these two.

This segment didn't overstay its welcome and did a good job building tension for their eventual match in two weeks. They didn't add anything to their story, but they used what was already there well.

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• Calling Rhodes "The American Daydream" was pretty clever.
• It was nice to see Aldis being more assertive and people actually listening to him for once.
• Rhodes used one of Paul Heyman's lines during the exchange.

The MFTs vs. Damian Priest and R-Truth

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Last time in action: MFTs defeated Damian Priest and R-Truth (SD, August 14)

Damian Priest and R-Truth were given a rematch against Tama and Talla Tonga for the tag titles in the opening match. The War Raiders were shown watching from backstage.

The MFTs got an early advantage by attacking right after the bell, but it didn't take The Archer of Infamy long to gain the upper hand.

This was a pretty physical encounter with some good moments. They didn't burn the house down, but they made the match feel hard-fought. All four men put forth a good effort and had the crowd chanting and cheering.

No longer having to be muscle for Solo Sikoa has given Tama and Talla a little freedom, but adding Haku is the icing on the cake. Anyone familiar with him knows he is considered one of the most legit tough guys to ever work in WWE, so his presence adds something to the presentation.

Truth came close to winning to regain the titles, but Talla and Tama were able to overcome it and pick up the win to retain their belts.

Result: The MFTs defeated Truth and Priest

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• Having Haku back on television is great. He adds some legitimacy to the Tongans.
• Truth is keeping the jorts alive now that John Cena has retired.
• Truth is 54 and still doing slingshot crossbodies out of the ring. He seems to age slower than most humans.

Blake Monroe vs. Giulia

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Last time in action: Blake Monroe lost to Tatum Paxley (NXT, April 21), Giulia lost to Michin (Main Event, August 14)

The long-awaited SmackDown in-ring debut for Blake Monroe finally took place this week when she faced her former STARDOM contemporary, Giulia. Or at least that was what we thought was going to happen.

As The Beautiful Madness was making her entrance, Monroe attacked her from behind. The ref couldn't get her to stop the attack so he could ring the bell, and he eventually told her to just leave.

So after four months of waiting, Monroe's first SmackDown match still didn't happen. At this point, it feels like WWE management is messing with her because this is the most haphazard way to introduce someone we have seen in years.

We can't justify this in any way. There is no upside to how Monroe is being booked whatsoever. She clearly wants to wrestle, and she is good at it, but most of the WWE Universe probably has no idea about that because we never get to see it.

Result: The Match Never Started

Grade: F

Notable Moments and Observations

• Orton told Punk backstage that he is coming for his 15th championship.