WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from September 4

WWE SmackDown continued its march toward Hell in a Cell on September 16 with another episode of television that was greater as a whole than its parts.

The broadcast, primarily focused on Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella vs. The Miz and Maryse, did a strong job of putting its ongoing rivalries over while simultaneously delivering a quality in-ring product.

Not everything was a hit, but there was more good than bad, something that has become a trademark of the blue brand since just before SummerSlam.

Find out now all that went down and how it graded out with this recap of the September 4 episode.

Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella Kick Off SmackDown

Renee Young greeted the WWE Universe as SmackDown hit the USA Network airwaves and then introduced Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella to the squared circle, just 12 days away from their Mixed Tag Team match against The Miz and Maryse at Hell in a Cell.

Bryan addressed Miz and Maryse, calling them out in an empty arena earlier in the night, and Bella insisted they not wait until Hell in a Cell to get their hands on their rivals.

Together, they called out Miz and Maryse, but Young revealed that, unfortunately, the Hollywood It Couple were no longer in the building.

Instead, Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega interrupted the proceedings.

The two talked some trash before issuing a challenge for a match between Bryan and Almas there and then.

Grade

C

Analysis

Can we just end the "opening promo that sets up a match" segment for good?

It is an old, predictable and tired segment of WWE television the company has been doing since the Attitude Era. Get rid of it, announce more matches ahead of time and just go to the ring right away. It would be fresh and keep the attention of fans a lot longer than another useless promo segment.

At least Bryan was fired-up and interesting.

Daniel Bryan vs. Andrade 'Cien' Almas

In a rematch from last week's show, Bryan battled Almas in singles competition to kick off the in-ring portion of this show.

Bryan started hot early, but Almas took him down and gained momentary control. However, the former NXT champion fell prey to a suicide dive from The Beard, who rolled heading into the commercial break.

Almas controlled the match, working over Bryan, who struggled to fight back into the match. When he finally did, he unloaded with a series of kicks to the chest of Almas. Cien answered with his double knee attack in the corner and set him up for the hammerlock DDT.

Bryan eventually delivered his running knee, scoring the victory.

After the match, Brie Bella delivered the same to Vega. From there, Miz and Maryse appeared on the video screen and taunted the happy couple to end the segment.

Result

Bryan defeated Almas

Grade

B-

Analysis

This was kind of a disappointment.

It was so short that it never developed into the match it could have been, and the result was an underwhelming bit of business that hurt Almas and Vega and did nothing to really make fans want to see Bryan and Bella get their hands on Miz and Maryse.

A lackluster start to the show, which is somewhat shocking given the talent of everyone involved.

Naomi vs. Peyton Royce

Naomi battled Peyton Royce Tuesday in the continuation of their ongoing rivalry.

After a week of frustration, the former SmackDown women's champion finally picked up the victory, pinning Royce's shoulders to the match following her Rear View finisher.

After the match, The IIconics double-teamed Naomi until Asuka made her return to television, rushing the ring and clearing it of the loudmouth villainesses.

Asuka checked on Naomi as the segment came to an end.

Result

Naomi defeated Royce

Grade

C+

Analysis

Well, Asuka returning is a positive and Tom Phillips reminding fans that it was The IIconics who caused her first defeat with the blue brand was a nice touch.

With that said, this feels like such a step down for The Empress of Tomorrow that is hard to buy into or get excited for.

At least it keeps all four involved in the show, which was not the case for the majority of the summer.

Samoa Joe Promo

Credit: WWE.com

"Oh, Wendy!"

Samoa Joe grabbed a microphone and addressed his comments from last week, suggesting the Styles family has finally taken his threats seriously, as evidenced by the absence of the WWE champion at the arena this week.

"I have delivered your absentee husband back home, on a coveted Tuesday night," he continued, justifying his actions of late. "I have kept my promise to you, Wendy!"

AJ Styles suddenly appeared on the video screen. Seconds later, his music played, and The Phenomenal One stepped through the curtain. He stared a hole in Joe and then sprinted to the squared circle.

The rivals exchanged strikes, the raw emotion between them boiling over in a brawl. Joe sent Styles into the ring steps, but the WWE champion answered with a Phenomenal Forearm off the steel steps.

Retrieving a chair, Styles swung at Joe, but the No. 1 contender ducked out of the way. Referees rushed to ringside. They tried to escort Joe to the back, but Styles dove off the top rope and wiped out both The Samoan Submission Machine and the officials at ringside.

At the insistence of general manager Paige, and against his greater urge, Styles made his way to the back.

Grade

A

Analysis

The first really strong segment on this show, this continued to build tension between the Superstars while bringing the aggressive, intense side of Styles to the forefront.

Joe using the family barbecue as a red herring was a nice touch, while Styles outsmarting him was even better.

The brawl was eerily similar to their SummerSlam exchange, but it still accomplished what it set out to: demonstrate just how badly Joe has manipulated Styles into letting his emotions get the best of him.

Expect that element to ultimately play into the finish of their title match at Hell in a Cell. Does Styles let his emotions get to him, or does he overcome Joe's manipulation to win the match and retain his title?

The Usos vs. Rusev and Aiden English vs. Sanity

Credit: WWE.com

With the opportunity to face The Bar on next week's show and potentially cash their ticket for a SmackDown Tag Team Championship opportunity against The New Day, three teams took to the squared circle for a Triple Threat match Tuesday.

Sanity (Eric Young and Killian Dain), The Usos and Rusev Day battled for the right to advance in what had the potential to be a show-stealing match.

Each of the teams took turns controlling the pace during the break. The Usos teed off on Aiden English, but the massive Dain obliterated Jey Uso at ringside and isolated him from his partner shortly thereafter.

The tank of a competitor continued to wear down Uso. The smaller, faster Uso fought his way back into the match but had his momentum halted courtesy of a nasty dropkick from the big man and an elbow drop on the arena floor by Young.

Back from the break, Jey made the hot tag to Jimmy, who exploded into the bout, taking the fight to Young. Unbeknown to Young, Jimmy made the tag to Rusev, who unloaded on Young with a shoulder attack in the corner and a spinning heel kick.

The action broke down late, with all three teams represented in the final moments of the bout.

Late in the match, English broke up an attempt at cheating by Young, and Rusev blasted him with a Machka Kick to win the match and advance to next week's showdown with The Bar, who appeared and laughed off its competition.

Result

Rusev Day defeated The Usos and Sanity

Grade

B+

Analysis

It would have been incredibly predictable for The Usos to go over here, so good for SmackDown Live's writing team for going a different direction and giving the win to Rusev and Aiden English. The team is popular, and The Bulgarian Brute has been tearing it up between the ropes in recent weeks.

Giving him and English the chance to battle an established team such as The Bar and potentially fight New Day at Hell in a Cell is already better use of the team than anything the writing staff did last year.

Sanity continues to appear like a team that is just there. There is no character development or explanation as to what its purpose is. They are just guys from NXT who are neither over nor particularly interesting at this point in their stint with the blue brand.

R-Truth vs. The Miz

Credit: WWE.com

WWE set the DeLorean for 2011 Tuesday night, as R-Truth and The Miz headlined this episode of SmackDown Live.

Prior to the match, Miz and Maryse again ran down Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella, accusing them of being cowards. Carmella and Truth interrupted, and the main event, between two Superstars who formerly held tag team gold together and stood side-by-side against the most accomplished stars in WWE history, was underway.

Truth controlled the early portion of the match, shaking off all jokes about his position in the main event by the commentary team to do so.

Miz seized control, working Truth with a headlock and then mocking Carmella's moonwalk. He mocked Bryan's trademark kicks and then followed up with a corner dropkick. Miz continued to kick Bryan, delivering what Corey Graves referred to as "It" kicks.

One too many impersonations of Bryan bit Miz, as Truth cut him off with a heel kick and nearly scored a monumental upset. Truth nearly scored another upset, but Miz answered with a big boot that grounded the former United States champion.

As Miz built momentum, Bryan's music played, and he and Bella appeared. Truth rolled up Miz and scored the win.

After the match, Bryan applied the "Yes!" Lock to Miz while Bella chased down Maryse. Just as she was about to unload with a knee, Zelina Vega and Andrade Almas appeared and attacked Bryan and Bella to close out the show and, presumably, set up a Mixed Tag Team match between the two teams.

That is, until Bryan and Bella trapped them in stereo "Yes! Locks" and sent a message loudly and clearly to their Hell in a Cell opponents.

Result

Truth defeated The Miz

Grade

B-

Analysis

The crowd was red-hot for the arrival of Bryan and Brie, but at the same time, their beatdown on Almas and Vega only served to further delegitimize the NXT exports after The Yes! Man already beat Cien earlier in the show.

Why they had to be sacrificed here is a mystery only WWE Creative can solve.

The upcoming Hell in a Cell match and its participants are getting a ton of airtime on SmackDown, but one has to hope the action will revolve around Bryan and Miz primarily, rather than overexposing the weaknesses of Bella and Maryse.