WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Another surprise title change; Flair-Lynch, Bryan-Owens square off

While the close of Monday Night Raw was fire, the overall go-home edition of the show left a lot to be desired entering WWE Fastlane on Sunday. Luckily, SmackDown on Tuesday night did not suffer the same issues with the fast-paced show accomplishing a lot in a two-hour block.

Not only was there a stellar Fatal 4-Way match in the middle of the show, the two main SmackDown storylines for Fastlane got beefed up five days before the final pay-per-view on the Road to WrestleMania 35. There’s a lot to get into, so let’s not waste any more time.

U.S. Open Challenge brings great match, title change

United States Championship — Samoa Joe def. Andrade (via pinfall), R-Truth (c) and Rey Mysterio to win the title: Once again, Truth said he wanted to be like his childhood hero John Cena, but he didn’t realize Cena did the U.S. Open Challenge every week. Once Truth opened the challenge, Lacey Evans’ music hit and she strutted to the ring. When she left, the camera caught R-Truth taking a big gulp as Joe’s music blared over the loud speakers and he strutted to the ring. Mysterio and Andrade followed, and a Fatal 4-Way was announced without Truth’s consent.

The match started hot with Joe hitting a tope suicida to take his competitors out. Andrade hit Three Amigos on Mysterio and both men did a Latino Heat shake looking at one another. Truth did a double Five-Knuckle Shuffle on Joe and Mysterio, but Joe got up and locked Truth in the Coquina Clutch. Mysterio broke it up with a 619 and landed on Truth outside the ring with a slide under the ropes, but Andrade took Mysterio out with a powerbomb off the ring apron. Zelina Vega eliminated Truth with a huricanrana off the apron, and Carmella made her pay with a superkick. A Canadian destroyer, 619 and frog splash by Mysterio would have resulted in a pin of Andrade, but Joe broke it up with a running senton and uranage slam for the 1-2-3 to capture his first main roster title.

After the match and a commercial break, Joe said he’s gone to great lengths to get gold, and he will do anything to keep it. He said he was not about “hustle, loyalty, respect” like Cena but only disrespect. He then promised to make any potential challengers “go night night” as he stormed off in a rage.

What a match. What a title change. Finally healthy during WrestleMania season, Joe may well enter the big show with a championship in a featured match. For a multi-man TV bout, this completely delivered. There was constant action, and it continued the development of the Mysterio-Andrade feud. It may not have been ideal for Andrade to take the” fall, but he ate the equivalent of three finishers and two power moves before being pinned, which does not make him look weak. Here’s hoping after some mind-numbing title changes and absences, the U.S. title is in good hands. Joe-Cena at ‘Mania would be fantastic. Grade: A

Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch go face-to-face

In an interview she requested back, Flair asked why Lynch has not been on SmackDown Live and invited her to the show tonight to have a “friendly discussion” about her physical and mental capabilities entering Fastlane. Lynch closed the show by meeting Flair in the ring. The Man said she didn’t think Rousey actually knows what she wants anymore, and despite the beating Lynch took last night, she’s still standing in the ring talking crap. Lynch admitted her ribs are bruised, her arm was nearly broken and her knee is still damaged, but said “damaged people are the most dangerous because they have nothing left to lose.”

An angered Flair kicked Lynch’s crutch out from under her arm, beat her a bit and then poked and taunted Lynch with her own crutch. When Flair attempted to put Lynch in the Figure Four Leglock, Lynch grabbed her crutch and took Flair down before locking in Dis-Arm-Her. Referees had to drag Lynch off of Flair as SmackDown went off the air with fans chanting “Becky! Becky! Becky!”

Not their best. Not their worst. Fine effort as a go-home segment to Fastlane with Flair and Lynch each getting an opportunity to look strong going into their match. It would have been tough to top the final moments of Raw on Monday, so WWE was smart in keeping this simple and safe, not trying to further overbook the storyline. Grade: B

Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens gets a storyline

Bryan opened the show on the mic going after Kofi Kingston, who he said WWE chairman Vince McMahon rightfully removed from a title match at Fastlane to put him where he belonged, as part of a group touring India rather than being a leader in the main event. He then insulted his new opponent, Kevin Owens, saying he was shoving in his mouth all the pancakes that Kingston and New Day were throwing out. Bryan said Owens was a representative of the WWE Universe in how he ate, how he looked and that he should be sitting on the couch rather than in the ring. Owens responded that, while at home, he was sick of watching Bryan on TV acting holier than thou and returned to put him in his place and take his title. When he entered the ring, Rowan stood up to him, and though Owens got in some offense, the champion and his heavy stood tall in the end. Later in the show, New Day was shown in India. Leaving a taxi and entering a Mumbai market, Kingston promised he and his brothers will be at Fastlane. 

Kevin Owens def. Rowan via disqualification: The match barely began as Owens was quickly thrown out of the ring and attacked Bryan, who he heard calling him a coward on commentary. Bryan then jumped Owens a minute later, forcing a DQ. As the duo looked to put Owens through a table, Mustafa Ali ran out to make the save. Owens then returned the favor to Ali and hit Bryan with a stunner in the middle of the ring with the faces standing tall.

The Bryan-Owens storyline makes perfect sense, and it was clear that WWE was planning to go with it for WrestleMania because it had multiple potential layers and could have been told well over a number of weeks. That does not mean they made the wrong decision in switching to Kingston, but there is definitely something between Bryan and Owens, and their promos were fire. The latter part was wasteful, and Ali suddenly showing up did not make much sense at all. Grade: B-

What else happened on SmackDown?

• The Miz def. Jey Uso via pinfall: The Usos made fun of The Miz acting like a dork and complaining to Shane McMahon about losing the titles. They cut a great promo about all the reasons they were better — and actually a real tag team — promising to retain the straps at Fastlane. Miz and McMahon answered with a formulaic promo, and the match was on. Thanks to some help from McMahon taking out Jimmy Uso at ringside, Miz caught a distracted Jey with the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win.

• Ricochet & Aleister Black def. The Bar via pinfall: Before the match, The Bar told the NXT products that they simply do not measure up. There was great action throughout, but a Black Mass from Black and 630 from Ricochet took out Cesaro for the win. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev attacked the NXT duo after the match, and the four heels beat them down until The Hardy Boyz — with Matt in his old tie dye shirt — made the save. 
• Mandy Rose def. Naomi via pinfall: Thanks to a distraction from Sonya Deville on the outside, Rose caught Naomi with a knee and hit her with Kiss the Rose for a 45-second victory. Asuka showed up behind the duo as they walked up the ramp to the backstage area and laid both Rose and Deville out.
• AJ Styles, Randy Orton argue backstage: Styles said he did not blame Owens for taking Kingston’s spot, though he admitted Kingston was “robbed” and claimed the McMahons are not listening to the WWE Universe like they promised. Orton then walked into the interview and laughed that Styles was campaigning for someone other than himself to get a title opportunity. “I see why it took you 15 years to get here,” Orton said with a smirk.