WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights for September 17

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, as well as make a few predictions for future events.

Night of Champions is this Sunday, so all of the segments were designed to sell the feuds heading into the pay-per-view.

Nikki Bella held a celebration for herself for passing AJ Lee's record for longest Divas Championship reign, but things didn't go exactly as she had envisioned them.

Every match had something to like about it, but nothing from the show stands out as truly memorable. Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.

Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins opened the show with a promo talking about his two matches at Night of Champions. He gave credit where it was due and said Sting and John Cena were future Hall of Famers, but he made sure to note that he would crush them on Sunday.

He talked about Sheamus a bit because they were booked to team together later in the show, so the Irishman thought it was appropriate to come to the ring.

Sheamus threatened Rollins by saying he shouldn't make an enemy out of him, so Rollins got a "You look stupid" chant going.

It's always interesting to see two heels have a confrontation because the crowd tends to cheer for whoever they hate the least. Both men did a good job of selling their storyline, but it was an average opening segment at best.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Having the WWE world heavyweight champion actively appear on SmackDown makes the show feel a little more important. When Cena was champ, he almost never appeared on the blue brand.
• Sheamus thinks the phrase "Respect the hawk" is worthy of an acronym. Let's see if anyone brings an RTH sign to any future events.
• Rollins vs. Sheamus would be a fresh feud that could potentially produce some stellar matches. If one of them has to turn babyface for it to work, it would probably be Rollins.
• WWE didn't upload this segment, so instead you can watch a promo from The Cosmic Wasteland.

Paige and Becky Lynch vs. Naomi and Sasha Banks

After Team BAD attacked Becky Lynch and Paige after a match last week, they entered a tag team bout against Naomi and Sasha Banks.

Lynch controlled most of the action before the commercial break, but the heels took over for the second half. Paige got the hot tag and cleaned house, but Naomi ended up pinning her after less than a minute in the ring.

This was a decent bout, but the women involved felt constrained by the structure of the tag team match. They are much better in situations where they are wrestling individually.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Team BAD should use Banks' music when they come out as a team. It's a lot better than Naomi's song.
• Banks was the smallest woman in this match, but her strikes always look the stiffest.
• Tamina is starting to feel out of place in the Divas revolution. She barely wrestles and talks even less.

Kofi Kingston vs. D-Von Dudley

The New Day came to the ring with more protest signs directed at The Dudley Boyz and their penchant for breaking tables with their opponents' bodies.

Before the match, Xavier Woods led a promo that saw the trio present a petition to stop all the senseless table poaching.

D-Von ended up snapping the clipboard in half when Kofi Kingston gave him the petition, and then he proceeded to take the high-flyer apart.

Thanks to a distraction from Woods, Kingston was able to pick up the win with a roll-up. It was a pretty short contest, but combined with the promo, it was a decent segment to push their feud heading into Night of Champions.

The New Day has breathed new life into all three Superstars, and with the way things have been going, they are only going to keep getting better.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights

• I don't understand Big E's "Booty" sign. Has that become a derogatory term?
• The Shaft reference Big E and Woods used was funny, but it likely went over the heads of most young fans.
• WWE had to have edited in boos during The New Day's entrance. The team is too over to get that kind of negative response.

Cesaro vs. Big Show

This match came about after Big Show hit Cesaro with a KO Punch after failing to get his hands on The Miz during a previous encounter.

It's hard to get excited about any match featuring Big Show, but Cesaro is the kind of person who can make any bout worth watching.

The Swiss Superman used some unique offense throughout the match, but in the end, Big Show got the win with the KO Punch.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights

• It's surprising none of the commentators mentioned how Cesaro eliminated Big Show to win the first Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
• Cesaro needs a winning streak. He is booked to lose far too often.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens

Dolph Ziggler was aggressive in the first few minutes of this match, but Kevin Owens eventually used his size advantage to take control.

These two work well together because they are both so athletic. Ziggler has always been known for his athleticism, but Owens is even more impressive because he doesn't look like he should have the kind of ability he possesses.

As Owens was preparing to powerbomb Ziggler into the ring apron, Ryback came out and attacked the former NXT champion, causing a disqualification in the process.

DQ endings are almost never ideal, but in this case, it was a good call. Both Ziggler and Owens are involved in different feuds, and this ending protected both of them heading into the PPV.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• Considering their vast difference in physiques, it's kind of funny that these two use a lot of the same maneuvers.
• Rusev's promo before the match was awkward. He didn't look comfortable delivering his lines.

Bellabrate Good Times, Come on

Throughout the night, Team Bella was shown preparing for Nikki Bella's celebration to honor her becoming the longest-reigning Divas champion.

Brie and Alicia Fox tried to calm her down after nobody showed up, but Nikki was inconsolable. It didn't help that Team PCB came to the party just to mock the champion.

Adam Rose also showed up to express his disappointment in the festivities. Nikki freaked out and threw her cake across the room, inadvertently hitting Brie and Foxy.

Nikki might have caused a small rift in the group with her selfish attitude, but we will have to wait to see if anything comes of it.

There was nothing wrong with this segment, but it didn't leave any kind of lasting impression.

Grade: C+

Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus and Seth Rollins

After what happened in the opening segment, nobody was shocked to see Sheamus and Rollins have issues during this match.

Sheamus tried to leave Rollins high and dry, but Rollins tricked him into getting back on the apron for a tag by stealing the Money in the Bank briefcase.

All four men helped make this the best match of the night, but it was by no means an instant classic. We have seen Rollins team up with a lot of people to battle Reigns and Ambrose, and it's starting to become repetitive.

After Rollins suckered Sheamus into a tag, Ambrose and Reigns finished the Irishman off to get the win. A video package played while they were celebrating that showed how Braun Strowman has dominated Reigns and Ambrose in every encounter.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• It's good that Ambrose has started coming through the crowd with Reigns again. Anything that reminds people of The Shield will get the crowd to cheer Reigns instead of boo him.
• Was anyone even chanting "You look stupid" when Sheamus grabbed a mic and freaked out on the crowd?
• Ambrose and Reigns should have a run as tag team champions. There are so many great teams they could steal the show with.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

While this wasn't a bad SmackDown by any means, it didn't feel like the last show before a PPV. The episode addressed all of the feuds, but there was just something missing.

The only match that was a bit of a letdown was Kingston vs. D-Von, but it wasn't their fault. They didn't have enough time to do anything memorable.

Reigns, Ambrose, Rollins and Sheamus made sure the main event was the best bout of the night, but Owens and Ziggler came close to matching them.

With Night of Champions coming up this Sunday, all of this week's predictions will be about the matches scheduled for the show.

Predictions

• Dolph Ziggler will defeat Rusev.
• Charlotte will win the Divas Championship from Nikki Bella.
• Stardust and The Ascension will defeat Neville and The Lucha Dragons.
• Ryback will defeat Kevin Owens.
• The New Day will defeat The Dudley Boyz, but they will also end up being put through tables after the match.
• Seth Rollins will lose one of his titles.
• Reigns, Ambrose and their mystery partner will defeat The Wyatt Family. 

What did you think of SmackDown, and what are you predictions for Night of Champions?

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter: @BR_Doctor.