WWE SmackDown Live Updates, Results and Highlights From September 18

We returned to see them fighting on the top turnbuckle. Owens knocked Zayn down and hit a swanton for the closest two-count of the match.

Gargano ran to the ring and got on the apron to distract the ref. LeRae came in and hit Owens with a tornado DDT to set him up for the Helluva Kick.

Zayn lined up and nailed the kick, but KO kicked out at two. Sami tried to set up for a second Helluva Kick, but he ran into a Popup Powerbomb. Owens hit the Stunner, but Zayn was too close to the ropes, and Gargano was able to get his foot on it to break the pin.

Owens went out of the ring and took out Gargano by throwing him into the barricade. He cleared off the announcer's table and ended up slamming Zayn through it when Zayn tried to help Gargano.

CM Punk showed up and nailed Owens with the title belt right before Zayn knocked Punk off the apron. Sami crawled over and covered Owens, but it was a weird moment because the ref stopped counting at three even though Owens clearly did not kick out.

Zayn lined up and hit the Helluva Kick to finally get the win.

WINNER: SAMI ZAYN

Punk immediately got into the ring and hit Zayn with a GTS. Punk hit KO with a GTS to end the show.

We returned from the break to see Zayn having made a comeback and taken control of the action. He beat Owens into the mat, but he only got a one-count when he made the cover.

Sami argued with the ref for a moment before hitting a double axe handle from the middle rope for a two-count. The Prize Fighter started to throw some punches, but Zayn raked his eyes.

KO fired back with a superkick out of nowhere. He hit a couple of running sentons as the crowd started to cheer him on. He hit a cannonball in the corner, followed by a John Cena AA complete with Cena's hand gesture, but it wasn't enough for the pin.

Zayn recovered and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for another near-fall as the show went into its final break.

This week's main event saw Sami Zayn defend his newly-won WWE title against his former best friend, Kevin Owens.

As soon as the ref called for the bell, Owens went after Zayn. The show quickly cut to the first break of the match as they fought outside the ring.

We returned moments before Bliss started building up a head of steam. Jayne put a stop to her momentum with a running knee to the face for a two-count.

Alexa took down both opponents with a crossbody from the top rope. When they got back into the ring, Cargill hit Bliss with Jaded, but Jayne kicked her and tossed her out of the ring so she could pin Alexa for the win.

WINNER: JACY JAYNE

This had a very similar ending to the men's match from earlier in the night.

The next match was another MITB qualifier with Cargill, Bliss and Jayne fighting over the open spot in the Ladder match.

They took a moment to size each other up before Bliss went after Jayne unsuccessfully. Jade scared Jacy out of the ring, but Bliss didn't back down from her. Jayne got on the announce table and gloated until Alexa tripped her off the table.

Jayne got some revenge when she yanked Bliss out of the ring a moment later, but she looked intimidated by Cargill as she got back into the ring. The former champion slammed her, but Jacy answered back with a hurricanrana.

Nikki Bella ran into Chelsea Green and Tiffany Stratton backstage. She said she is coming for the title.

We also got a sit-down interview with Cody Rhodes and Michael Cole. Rhodes talked about his history in WWE and how things have been going for him lately.

We returned to see Kyoki still unleashing his chaotic style of offense against Tama. Talla tagged in, but when he went for a chokeslam, Kyoki turned it into a DDT.

He took out both Tongans with a dive from the top rope to the floor. Nakamura tagged in and slammed Kyoki onto Talla for a two-count.

Tama attacked Kyoki at ringside. When Nakamura took him out with a sliding German suplex, he ended up outside the ring. Haku hit him with his walking stick to cause a disqualification.

WINNERS: KYOKI AND NAKAMURA WON BY DQ

This match had weird pacing, and the ending did not help matters.

The tag titles were on the line when Tama and Talla Tonga faced Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki in the next matchup. Haku was at ringside to support his family. Tama and Kyoki started for their teams.

Kyoki went after Talla on the apron before trying to fight Tama. He was laughing a lot and running all over the place. He took out both Tongans with a dropkick from the apron as the show went to a break.

Zayn tried to recruit Gargano to help him out tonight in a backstage segment. We also got quick promos from Tama and Talla Tonga, and Bakusai.

We returned to see Orton setting up Williams on the top turnbuckle for a superplex. Fenix came in with a springboard to hit Orton with a sunset flip at the same time. He hopped to the top rope for a frog splash to score a near-fall.

The Viper ate a spin kick from Fenix and sold it in the funniest way possible. Then he immediately ran Fenix over with a clothesline as he started to build some momentum.

Trick took control, but a kick to the face of Orton wasn't enough to get him the pin. Fenix ended up jumping from the top rope right into an RKO, but Williams took out Orton and then pinned Fenix to steal the win.

WINNER: TRICK WILLIAMS

Orton took on Rey Fenix and Trick Williams to determine which one would get a spot in this year's MITB match. Before the match, WWE touted its success in South America and Mexico during its recent tour, including Stephanie Vaquer winning the world title at a house show in Chile.

Trick and Randy had a huge size advantage over Fenix, so they pushed him aside at first, but he quickly came in and showed them why he is not to be overlooked. He took down Williams and sent Orton into the ring post.

Rey hit a huge crossbody from the top rope to the floor, followed by a moonsault for a quick two-count. Trick Willy propelled him into the air and let him drop hard on the mat as he started to talk some trash.

Orton ended up suplexing both men onto the announce table back to back. Lil Yachty got in his face, so The Viper did it to him, too. Even if you find Yachty's presence annoying, you gotta give the guy credit for taking as many bumps as he does.

KO said he deserves a title match, but Candice LeRae said it should be Johnny. Owens hilariously delivered a stunner to Gargano out of nowhere and went back to asking Aldis for a shot.

Aldis kept agreeing with every point Owens made as he laid out his argument. The GM said he is the one who gets to make matches, not Zayn or Owens. After Sami got in his face, he booked Owens vs. Zayn for the title tonight.

As Zayn was pleading with Aldis to change his mind, Randy Orton made his way to the ring. He took a good long look at the title as he passed Sami in the aisle.

Zayn said it must have been hard for Aldis to give him an introduction as the undisputed WWE champion. He said he is a little surprised to hear so many boos from the crowd.

He said this has never been just about him, but all of us, and he did this for us, which did not seem to win anyone over. Sami said he believes very strongly in equality, which means he expects others to be treated how he has been treated with obstacles in his way. This brought out Johnny Gargano.

Zayn embraced Gargano when he got the ring and thanked him for helping last week. Johnny Wrestling said he wouldn't miss Sami's celebration, but he is also out there to make sure Zayn sticks to his word and gives him a title shot.

Zayn tried to backpedal and said there was no deal in place. An angry Gargano challenged him to put the belt on the line tonight. Aldis stepped in and said Gargano lost his title shot a few weeks ago before Kevin Owens joined the party.

SmackDown is officially on the air. The show opened with shots of Corpus Cristi before we went inside the arena to see shots of various Superstars backstage.

After a video showing how Sami Zayn regained the WWE title last week against CM Punk, we went live in the arena with Nick Aldis in the ring to welcome Zayn to the ring, although Aldis did not seem too happy about it.