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‘WWE SmackDown Live’ Results: AJ Styles Vs. John Cena Vs. Dean Ambrose Set For ‘No Mercy’

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 11:13 PST, Sep 13, 2016

Heath Slater and Rhyno became the first-ever SmackDown Tag Team Champions after defeating The Usos at WWE Backlash two nights ago. Tonight, Heath Slater officially signed his contract with SmackDown Live. Given the history of televised contract signings on WWE programming, it’s a miracle he didn’t encounter any problems. The contract was signed just before The Ascension came out to challenge the new tag team champs.

In less than a year, AJ Styles has climbed to the top of the WWE ladder. After defeating the biggest name in the company (John Cena) at the second biggest show of the year (SummerSlam), he went on to defeat Dean Ambrose for the most important title that the industry has to offer. As The Phenomenal One addressed the SmackDown Live audience as their new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he was confronted by both John Cena and Dean Ambrose, who had a few choice words for each other as well.

Of course, Becky Lynch also appeared on SmackDown Live as a champion for the first time, having outlasted five other women in a Six-Pack Challenge Match just two nights prior at Backlash. With at least five women eyeing the title, it was Alexa Bliss that walked away from this week’s WWE SmackDown Live as the No. 1 contender for the Irish Lass-Kicker’s new title.

WWE SmackDown Live Results

The following includes the results of all the matches and segments from SmackDown Live on September 13. This episode of SmackDown aired live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although they’re still doing much better than when the show aired on Thursdays, SmackDown Live hasn’t won the ratings war with Monday Night Raw since the week the blue brand hosted the WWE Draft. Two nights after their first exclusive PPV, will the Backlash fall-out show be the first time Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan’s show defeats WWE Raw?

John Cena, Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles on ‘SmackDown Live’ [Image via WWE]

SmackDown Pre-Show On The WWE Network

The regular team of four was back for the half-hour warm-up to SmackDown Live, which aired exclusively on the WWE Network. Scott Stanford was joined by three WWE Hall of Famers: Lita, Booker T, and Jerry “The King” Lawler. As can be seen on this page through the Twitter video below, the panel has discussed the results of Backlash among themselves. They also aired an interview with Becky Lynch backstage after she won her SmackDown Women’s Championship.

New SmackDown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater and Rhyno joined the panel via Skype to answer some questions about their new titles and Slater’s contract signing on this week’s SmackDown Live. But it was new WWE World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles that kicked-off this week’s episode of SmackDown.

Dean Ambrose And John Cena Confronted AJ Styles

Addressing the WWE Universe on SmackDown Live as the champ for the first time, AJ Styles now wants to be called “the champ who runs the camp.” Before long, he was interrupted by the return of John Cena. The leader of the Cenation was interrupted by Dean Ambrose. While they both have issues with Styles, they eventually got in each other’s faces. SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon came out to announce that the main event of WWE No Mercy would be a Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

The Usos Defeated The Hype Bros

In a rather uneventful match, the cousins of Roman Reigns got another victory over Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder. While American Alpha will undoubtedly want to challenge for the titles as soon as they return, The Usos are likely to be perceived as the leading heel team on SmackDown Live in the immediate future.

The Miz Runs Off With The IC Title

As The Miz was in the ring with his wife, Maryse, he was going on a fairly standard rant about how great he is as the WWE Intercontinental Champion. It wasn’t long before he was interrupted by Dolph Ziggler. As things got heated between the IC champ and The Showoff, SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan made his way to the ring, saying that Ziggler would be given a rematch. The Miz exploded, saying that Dolph didn’t deserve a match and that he still wanted to renegotiate his contract (as he mentioned to the GM at Backlash). He claimed he wouldn’t defend the Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown Live or any other show until he got what he wanted. Then he and Maryse stormed out of the ring.

Baron Corbin Beat Down Apollo Crews, Then Walked Away From Jack Swagger

Baron Corbin was supposed to have a rematch against Apollo Crews, but it never even got started. Before the bell rang, Corbin attacked Crews, sending him to the outside of the ring. Once there, Corbin hit him with the End of Days on the floor and the match never happened. But as Baron enjoyed his moment in the ring, he was interrupted by Jack Swagger, who just recently ended his contract with Monday Night Raw and signed with SmackDown Live. Rather than face Swagger in the ring, Corbin left him alone to give his first promo as a member of the blue brand.

Becky Lynch Welcomes All Comers For The SmackDown Women’s Championship

The new SmackDown Women’s Champion was interviewed about her new title. She said it was very appropriate for “Becky Balboa” to end up in Philadelphia so soon after winning the gold. As the No. 1 contenders match was about to begin, Lynch let the women of SmackDown Live know that she’s ready for whoever wants to come after her.

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Alexa Bliss Becomes The No. 1 Contender

In a five-way battle to determine who would be the first challenger for Becky Lynch’s new title, Alexa Bliss — with her new Harley Quinn-esque look — took advantage of the damage Carmella did to Nikki Bella and got the opportunistic win.

Heath Slater Signed His SmackDown Live Contract, Then Defeated The Ascension

After signing his new contract with no one getting beaten up or thrown through a table, the One Man Band was celebrating his new job by thanking everyone he could think of and saying they were going to be fighting champions. That drew out The Ascension, who challenged the new champs to defend their titles right then and there. With Shane McMahon already in the ring, the match was set. The new champs were successful in their first title defense.

Randy Orton Called Out Bray Wyatt, But Got Erick Rowan Instead

The Viper came to the ring and let Bray Wyatt know he wasn’t happy about how things went down at Backlash two nights prior. A cryptic message from Wyatt aired on the big screen, and when the lights went out and came back on, Wyatt was seated on the announce table. As he distracted Orton, Erick Rowan made his way to the ring for a sneak attack. Before the segment was over, however, Randy hit Erick with the RKO Outta Nowhere. The feud between Randy Orton and the Eater of Worlds is far from over.

John Cena And Dean Ambrose Defeated AJ Styles And The Miz

When the WWE World Heavyweight Champion was unable to find anyone willing to tag with him against Cena and Ambrose, GM Daniel Bryan assigned him the uninspiring James Ellsworth as a partner. Unfortunately for Ellsworth, he was attacked by The Miz on his way to the ring. The IC champ and WHC champ were partners for the night, but it wasn’t a successful pairing. The match ended when Cena hit The Miz with the Attitude Adjustment. After the referee raised the hands of both men, Ambrose hit Cena with the Dirty Deeds, ensuring that the feud will continue to heat up between now and No Mercy.

Talking Smack On The WWE Network

The first guest on Talking Smack with Renee Young and Daniel Bryan was relative newcomer Baron Corbin. The Lone Wolf had disparaging things to say about Jack Swagger, John Cena, and even the SmackDown general manager. Before the show ended, they were joined by Alexa Bliss. She talked about why she deserved a title shot and took offense when Daniel Bryan called her “teeny tiny.”

The above SmackDown Live results will be corroborated by WWE’s official SmackDown Live page.

Presumed WWE No Mercy 2016 Card

  • AJ Styles (c) vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena — WWE World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs. Alexa Bliss — SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
  • The Miz (c) vs. TBD — WWE Intercontinental Championship Match (unconfirmed)
  • Heath Slater & Rhyno (c) vs. American Alpha — SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match (unconfirmed)
  • Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt (unconfirmed)
  • Baron Corbin vs. Jack Swagger (unconfirmed)

Prior to this week’s WWE SmackDown Live, the only information confirmed about WWE No Mercy 2016 was that it is a SmackDown-exclusive show airing live on Sunday, October 9 from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. As more information is confirmed, it will be updated at WWE’s official No Mercy preview page.

Where To Watch

WWE Backlash 2016 can now be streamed on-demand via the WWE Network. On October 9, No Mercy will air exclusively on the WWE Network at 8/7c. The No Mercy Kick-Off Show will begin at 7/6c.

WWE SmackDown Live airs Tuesdays on the USA Network at 8/7c. Replays of WWE SmackDown aren’t made available on the WWE Network until several weeks after the original air date. However, a replay of SmackDown Live is available to stream on-demand Wednesdays with a Hulu Plus subscription.

[Image via WWE]

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