WWE SmackDown Live Updates, Results and Highlights From MITB Qualifiers, US Title Match, More

Back from the break, the babyfaces shook off a punishing attack from Gunther and downed him. They applied a double Boston Crab to the Ring General, who screamed in agony but was ultimately able to break free.

Balor took down Punk and looked to be en route to a big win but the former WWE champion caught him in Go To Sleep and delivered the finisher, seemingly ending his night.

Gunther drove Punk to the mat with a powerbomb, but could not keep him down as chants of "this is awesome" poured from the stands.

The babyface and heel traded reversals before Gunther trapped him in the sleeper. The Best in the World countered a powerbomb attempt, but The Career Killer fought out of Go To Sleep and stunned him with a chop to the back.

He reapplied the sleeper but Balor came out of nowhere with a Coup de Grace. An alert Punk rolled through, pinned Gunther, and earned the victory, sending him to New Orleans.

WINNER: CM PUNK

After the match, tension between Punk and Balor was clear, but they exchanged a nod of respect and acknowledgement while an irate Gunther looked on from the arena floor.

A great match to close one of the strongest episodes of SmackDown in months. Everything meant something; the in-ring action was mostly great, and there are multiple layers at the top of the card. Big thumbs up.

An angry, fed-up Gunther, disgusted that he has to be in a qualifying match for a "ladder climbing competition" in the first place, took his frustrations out on Balor and Punk early in Friday's main event.

Balor, his chest welted and driven to get back to the top of the card, shook off the bruising attack of The Ring General. As he took off across the ring, though, Gunther trapped him in a sleeper hold.

He fought out, sent Gunther to the floor, and wiped both opponents out, heading to the break.

Backstage, the busy Cathy Kelley caught up with Gunther and asked the former World Heavyweight Champion about his Money in the Bank Qualifying Match.

Gunther condescendingly said Finn Balor has the most win in tonight's match and credited his right hook from last week.

Danhausen interrupted the proceedings and realized fairly quickly that Gunther would not be splitting any prize money with him. When he tried to curse The Ring General, the Austrian grabbed him, shoved him against a wall, and warned him not to try that *audio bleeped on the telecast* with him.

Danhausen vs. Gunther is going to SLAP.

Back from the timeout, the heels controlled the action, working over Stratton.

A hot tag to Green sparked the babyface comeback. She leveled all three members of Fatal Influence before tagging Paige in. The former NXT and Divas champion exploded into the match, delivered the Paige Turner to Jayne, and nearly scored the win.

On the arena floor, Stratton wiped out Reid and Henley to the delight of Green.

With Paige in control, Nikki Bella appeared out of nowhere, tripping her up and allowing Jayne to deliver the Rolling Encore for the pinfall victory.

WINNERS: FATAL INFLUENCE

Jacy Jayne may be the Women's United States Champion, and the duo of Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid may be the reigning Women's Tag Team Champions, but it was first time trio of Paige, Stratton, and WWE Women's Champion Green who rolled early on Friday night.

The babyfaces downed the heels and stood tall in a mid-match embrace as the show headed to the break.

Commercial break.

In his sit-down interview with Cole, Orton claimed that there is one man in WWE who has never changed: him.

He claimed that he has always been true to himself, while Cody Rhodes has a long history of changing, from the second-generation star to Dashing to Stardust and, finally, the American Nightmare.

He claimed that if Rhodes does follow through with his promise to kick his head off, the former WWE champion will have to come to grips with the reality that he has, in fact, become consumed.

This was another outstanding bit of business from Orton, who has not missed on the mic since returning back at SummerSlam.

Backstage, WWE Champion Sami Zayn ranted to Cathy Kelley about the injustice facing him, with Nick Aldis trying to take the title away from him last week by putting him in the ring with Kevin Owens with no notice.

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae appeared and questioned where the former's title shot is, considering he helped Zayn again last week.

In true disingenuous fashion, Zayn lied about campaigning for Gargano's title shot and, instead, claimed he got the husband and wife Money in the Bank qualifiers next week.

That was enough to keep the gullible Gargano content.

At least for the time being.

That babyface turn is going to be a moment, though.

Disappointed following her loss, Giulia made her way through the backstage area until Blake Monroe appeared.

She antagonized The Beautiful Madness, resulting in another brawl between them.

Referees separated them until the SmackDown general manager arrived on the scene and officially announced their match for next week's show.

After Michael Cole interviewed Cody Rhodes last week, Randy Orton cut him off during the pre-show cut-in and demanded he do the same for him this week.

Flair fought back from underneath coming out of the commercial, laying out Legend with a big clothesline.

From there, she hoisted Giulia in a fireman's carry and scaled the ropes, only for the heel to powerbomb them both to the mat. The big spot didn't prove effective, as she still only managed a two-count.

Legend tossed Flair with a fallaway slam but The Queen recovered and delivered a Backstabber. Giulia rocked The Queen, stunning her, only to be thrown to the floor as the Bougie Bully sought to regain control of the match.

Flair, though, rocked Legend, then tossed Giulia from the top rope onto her.

A moonsault to both opponents failed to earn her a victory as Legend kicked out. She added Natural Selection, but only to Giulia.

Legend recovered but quickly found herself in the Figure Eight, a submission move quickly broken up by Giulia. When it looked like the Beautiful Madness might get a momentum-building victory, Legend delivered the Lash Extension and won the match to cash her ticket to the high-stakes ladder match.

WINNER: LASH LEGEND

With that win, Legend continues this year's trend of fresh, new faces in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match as all but Roxanne Perez have never competed in the gimmick bout before.

A good match, with some interesting dynamics, Legend winning was somewhat of a surprise given how prominently featured Flair has been this year.

Legend showcased her strength early on, steamrolling her opponents.

Flair seized control momentarily, laying the former basketball player out on the arena floor.

It was the Beautiful Madness, though, who entered the break with momentum on her side as she laid out The Queen to grab the upper hand.

Commercial break.

Backstage, WWE Women's Champion Chelsea Green stressed over the possibility that someone will be coming to cash in Money in the Bank, expressing her concerns to Tiffany Stratton and Paige.

When her tag team partners for later in the night left the room, Nikki Bella appeared and reiterated her threats to take the title off of Green, regardless of who she has watching her back.

After consecutive weeks of interfering in each other's matches, SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis met with Punk and Owens backstage.

Seeing as how he can't have their issues bleeding over to more matches and shows, he demanded they bury the hatchet.

"He's got nothing I want," Punk said, so if Owens stays out of his way, he will stay out of the Prizefighter's.

Before she battles for champions Charlotte Flair and Giulia for a chance to compete in the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match, Lash Legend and her Irresistible Force teammate, Nia Jax, joined Cathy Kelley for an interview.

Legend gave props to her opponents but reiterated that she plans on leaving tonight with a win and becoming Miss Money in the Bank.

Back from the timeout, champion and challenger battled atop the steel structure.

A huge superplex brought both crashing to the mat.

Corbin took a shot at Lil Yachty at ringside, one that the rapper repaid moments later when he slammed the cage door on the heel's face.

Williams delivered a Trick Shot, but Corbin shockingly kicked out at two, something no other Superstar had done to that point on the main roster, per Michael Cole on commentary.

The Nomad recovered and delivered the Deep Six, but similarly failed to keep his opponent down.

Still seeking revenge after months of torment, Williams fought back, delivered a trifecta of Book Ends, and pinned Corbin to retain his title.

WINNER: TRICK WILLIAMS

Not nearly as good as their previous encounter at Sunday Night's Main Event, this was still an electric start to the show and one that, hopefully, puts this feud in the rear view mirror for both men's sake.

Williams fed off the crowd's energy early, taking the fight to Corbin and beating him down in the corner as chants of "whoop that trick" rained from the stands.

The heel recovered, however, and drove the champion to the mat with a Death Valley Driver for a two-count as the show headed to picture-in-picture commercial break.

A hot start from Williams, coupled with an appropriately timed takeover by the villain, led to a strong start in our first match of the night.

Commercial break.

Finn Balor was shown arriving at the arena ahead of his triple threat main event against CM Punk and Gunther.

From there, the entrance videos transitioned to the women's match, with Charlotte Flair, Lash Legend, and Giulia shown entering the building.

In the arena proper, a steel cage lowered from the ceiling and a video package hyped the ongoing rivalry between Trick Williams and Baron Corbin over the United States Championship as the match kicked off the show.