WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from August 1

The No. 1 contender to Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship would be determined Tuesday night in a blockbuster main event that would have fit right in on pay-per-view.

Franchise star John Cena battled "The Artist" Shinsuke Nakamura in a dream match, with the opportunity to move on to SummerSlam in Brooklyn and compete for the top prize in sports entertainment at stake.

That was not the only major, pay-per-view-quality match to unfold during Tuesday's USA Network broadcast.

One week after AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens to win his second United States Championship, The Phenomenal One defended it against The New Face of America.

Would they finally bring their rivalry to a close in fitting fashion or would controversy ensure the program continues into the August 20 spectacular?

The WWE Universe found out during the latest episode of SmackDown Live.

United States Championship Match: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens

The United States Championship was up for grabs Tuesday night in the opening match as AJ Styles defended against Kevin Owens.

Controversy reigned supreme late in the bout as referee Mike Chioda was bumped, leaving Owens somewhat distracted as he prepared Styles for the Popup Powerbomb. The Phenomenal One countered and rolled KO up.

The referee, still dazed, counted the pin despite Owens' shoulder clearly being off the mat.

Styles was declared the winner, and KO was left frustrated and inconsolable as he watched the replay of the botched decision.

Result

AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens to retain the United States Championship.

Grade

B+

Analysis

The match itself was the same, quality bout fans have come to expect from Owens and Styles. They leaned heavily on dramatic near-falls and had the crowd in the palms of their hands.

The controversial finish played perfectly into the Battleground finish and understandably infuriated Owens, whose backstage confrontation with Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan should go a long way in setting up a potential showdown between The Prizefighter and Shane-O-Mac if that is the direction management opts to take.

Given McMahon's influence as referee in the newly announced United States Championship match between Styles and Owens will be significant, expect that to be the case.

Owens was fantastic as he lost his composure, unleashing an enormous tantrum following the match. An angrier, nastier, more focused and unforgiving KO will be a welcome addition to SmackDown Live after months of WWE Creative taking the wrong tone with the character.

Sami Zayn vs. Aiden English

Sami Zayn rode a two-match televised win streak into this week's show and sought to continue his winning ways against Aiden English in singles competition.

The former Vaudevillain serenaded the WWE Universe for what felt like an eternity before the match between NXT alumni got underway.

Zayn seemingly had English under control early, trapped in an arm bar, but the silver-tongued singer scored a shocking rollup that earned him a much-needed victory.

After the match, Mike and Maria Kanellis appeared on the stage, laughing at Zayn's misfortune.

Result

Aiden English defeated Sami Zayn

Grade

B

Analysis

In terms of building the star of English, this worked.

His long, opening song helped get the character over, while his surprise pinning combination put him over as an underrated in-ring competitor.

For Zayn, continued mind-numbing, flat bad booking decisions have left him damaged goods in need of a serious re-evaluation by the writing team. He is simply too talented a babyface to constantly be weighed down by losses and subpar creative.

Naomi and Becky Lynch vs. Natalya and Carmella

Credit: WWE.com

Naomi and Natalya will do battle for the SmackDown Women's Championship on August 20 at SummerSlam, but they found themselves two partners Tuesday night and did battle in tag team competition. Naomi partnered with Becky Lynch to fight Natalya and Miss Money in the Bank, Carmella.

Champion Naomi found herself beaten down and trapped in the unforgiving clutches of her No. 1 contender's vaunted Sharpshooter. An unexpected tag by Carmella proved the downfall for the heels, though, as Naomi delivered a devastating sliding slap and forced a tapout moments later.

Natalya looked infuriated as she stomped off to the locker room, her shot at victory foiled by a selfish Carmella and a well-timed Bexploder by Lynch.

Result

Naomi and Becky Lynch defeated Natalya and Carmella.

Grade

C

Analysis

From an in-ring standpoint, this was merely OK. It felt rushed at times, and Lynch's involvement was minimal.

The story here was Carmella's stubborn selfishness and Natalya having Naomi's number for the majority of the match. Now, The Queen of Harts can make the argument that had it not been for Carmella's error, she would have tapped Naomi out in the center of the ring.

That creates doubt about Naomi's ability to retain the title come SummerSlam, generates heat for Nattie and keeps Carmella at the heart of the title picture—her and her briefcase always lurking.

Chad Gable vs. Rusev

After several close calls against United States champions like Kevin Owens and AJ Styles, Chad Gable looked to breakout Tuesday as he battled another U.S. titleholder, Rusev.

Gable stunned The Bulgarian Brute early, outwrestling him, but he fell victim to a gut wrench suplex. Back from the break, though, the American delivered his own suplex to seemingly shift control in his favor. A big moonsault by Gable scored a near-fall.

The Olympian tried for a rolling German suplex, but Rusev reversed and delivered a big kick for a near-fall of his own.

Rusev grounded Gable and attempted The Accolade, but Gable slid out and applied an ankle lock. Rusev escaped, blasted him with a superkick and applied his trademark submission for the tapout victory.

After the match, Rusev cut a promo demanding competition.

Enter, Randy Orton.

The Viper dropped Rusev with an RKO to end the segment and ignite their rivalry.

Result

Rusev defeated Chad Gable

Grade

B

Analysis

This was a fun, energetic sprint of a match with the right outcome.

Gable is still finding himself as a singles competitor whereas Rusev has been there, done that and won the championships. Putting Gable over The Bulgarian Brute would have been a disastrous decision that would have wasted Rusev's last shred of credibility on an uncertain Superstar.

The start of an Orton-Rusev rivalry may give both something to do come SummerSlam, but if anyone suspects this will someone benefit Rusev, or that The Bulgarian Brute is actually going to win a feud for once, they can forget it.

This is Orton's bounce-back from the Mahal program. Rusev is just there to put him over.

No. 1 Contender's Match: John Cena vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Credit: WWE.com

One of the most anticipated matches in recent memory headlined Tuesday's broadcast as Shinsuke Nakamura and John Cena made the dreams of fans across the globe come true in a No. 1 Contender match.

A back-and-forth, hotly contested match saw Cena rolling late.

After Nakamura controlled the heart of the match, Cena fought back with his trademark stuff to a chorus of boos.

One Attitude Adjustment was not enough to put down The King of Strong Style. He delivered another and tried to roll through and deliver a third, but Nakamura fought out of it and and stunned Cena.

A Kinshasa straight to the face of his opponent cashed Nakamura's ticket to SummerSlam and earned him the biggest win of his fledgling main-roster career.

Result

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated John Cena.

Grade

A+

Analysis

For a first-time meeting, this was everything the viewing audience could have hoped for.

Is there room for improvement? Of course. Is there a Match of the Year to be had between these two? It seems that way. Given the 15 minutes of television time they had to tell their story and take the audience on an emotional roller-coaster ride, they delivered beyond expectations.

Nakamura going over clear was a pleasant surprise and makes him look like the heavy favorite to dethrone Jinder Mahal in Brooklyn at SummerSlam. After a massively disappointing showing in Philadelphia for Battleground, The Artist is back on track and headed toward the most important moment of his WWE career.

If he lays an egg as he did at the most recent pay-per-view event in Brooklyn, the criticism will grow louder, with the audience unwilling to accept mediocrity under the brightest lights and on the biggest stages.