WWE Smackdown 8/22 Results: John Cena & Logan Paul Battle It Out On The Mic

Paul, to his credit, held his own and even dug deep with some solid shots, like telling Cena he would not sign a ‘cohabitational agreement,’ a clear knock on Cena , famously requiring Nikki Bella to sign a 75-page contract upon moving in with him. He did not stop there as Logan mocked Cena for ‘getting naked at the Oscars’ and suggested that John was nothing more than a ‘corporate sellout.’

Before Cena got his turn, Paul harped on the “five moves of doom” moniker that the record-breaking world champion was gifted in his tenure at the top. Still, the crowd finally got to Paul as he exploded on them to ‘shut up.’ It was some of his most impassioned promo work.

Cena started by saying he believes Logan has it in him to be a world champion and a WrestleMania main eventer before going for the throat. He said Paul is an ‘outsider,’ a theme of Logan’s rant, and then he rolled out of the ring to illustrate his next point concerning ‘branding.’ Paul is a branding master, as is Cena, and so he pointed at the PRIME partnership with WWE and accused Logan of using the WWE Universe to sell more beverages—with visual aids.

Cena was cutting, he poked at the perceived insecurities in the young, brash talent, claiming he’d use his money to ‘buy another Pokémon card.’ The crowd lost it.

The number 23 was significant because Cena pointed out that Logan has only had 23 matches in WWE compared to Cena’s 23 years in the business. The theme was that Paul is trying to take from the business while Cena has always shown up asking ‘What can he give,’ calling Paul a parasite. When Cena went over the list of Logan’s opportunities in the form of opponents’ names—Dom Mysterio, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, The USOs—and put into perspective for the fans just how much Logan has taken (and who he has taken from).

Fans were off the charts, going wild by this point, and that is when Cena hit Logan with the “Fatality” as the fans began chanting the name “AJ Styles.” Cena delivered the deathblow.

“They want to see those legendary matches, and they think I am wasting my time with you,” Cena unleashed on the mic in the middle of the ring.

“You know a lot about ‘hustle,’ but you know nothing about loyalty and respect,” Cena said before acknowledging he has ‘learned the hard way’ that this house belongs to the fans—a potential acknowledgment to the fans that the final run should have been more.

This promo battle was epic without Cena bringing up Logan’s “legal troubles,” but he did it anyway as he closed out strong. The entire segment harks back to another idea entirely. When Hulk Hogan turned heel and launched the NWO, he did it under contract with WCW—a contract that gave him ‘creative control.’ A lot of things did not work for Hogan in those days, brother, and many believe that his creative control, along with Kevin Nash booking the show (which is creative control on steroids), is what led to WCW’s downfall.

Yet, in this regard, Cena has a far better understanding of his character and what fans expect from the ‘finality’ of his career. So, perhaps in Cena’s case, having creative control would have saved the storyline (and the entire summer of bookings).

At the close of SmackDown, Aldis approached Cena to inform him he’d spoken to Brock Lesnar, but before we could get the details, Paul snuck up on Cena to deliver a sucker punch.

Hats Off For Jimmy Uso, Street Profits Score Big

The Street Profits defeated MFTs in tag team action, even with Solo and co. involving themselves. Jimmy Uso and Sami Zayn showed up to help out, and the Profits were able to t ake advantage of the aid. With the Solo-led MFTs still ‘hunting’ Zayn at the same time he hunts for singles gold, it is not clear the direction of any of the parties, and the entire program is starting to feel like a desperate attempt to continue a “B-level” Bloodline feud.

Becky Lynch Baits Crowd, Then Gets Too Messy

Intercontinental champion Becky Lynch launched this week’s show in front of her home countrymen. The champ was born in Limerick, which is about two hours from Dublin, and it was the right call by a mile. Becky was not responsible for the great crowd, but she was able to bring just that much more out of rowdy fans. She built them up, made them think she was dropping the heel schtick for her dear countrymen, but it was all a setup to begin bashing fellow athletes from Ireland.

The promo was perfect, even if the crowd started chanting for boxing superstar “Katie Taylor,” whom Becky was forced to admit is a great boxer before claiming “she can’t cut a promo.” It might have gone a little long as the cr owd turned in a way that rambunctious crowds can sometimes turn.

Tiffany Stratton came out to confront Becky, followed by Nia Jax, before Jade Cargill entered the chat. GM Nic Aldis booked the tag team match for later in the evening.

MAIN EVENT: Tiffany Stratton & Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jaxx & Becky Lynch

The match was decent, but the mission was to get over Jade. She received the hot tag and nailed her intended spots. Jade was impressive, but Becky played her role well enough to brighten that spotlight. The win came off the “Prettiest Moonsault” from Stratton, followed by a frog splash from Jade, who set the whole sequence up with a powerbomb on Jaxx.

Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action

• Drew McIntyre was given the exact same segment as last week, and he still crushed it, but at least this promo ended with an RKO from Randy Orton… yes, out of nowhere.
• Melo Don’t MIZ defeated Motor City Machineguns in tag team action tonight in what ended up being as quality a match as any we have seen in the stacked division. Before the match, Fraxiom was once again stirring the pot between Mello and Miz by pointing out Mello’s ability in the ring and Miz’s ability to steal the spotlight. For now, the team is on the same page and winning, but there is only one Miz relationship that has ever stood the test of time—Maryse.
• Piper Niven pulled off the upset victory over Charlotte Flair in “singles action” as Chelsea Green and the other half of her Secret-Hervice aided in her victory. The match was well received by the fans and made for an excellent TV match with the well-paced action giving way to an old-school ‘rake of the face’ from Green onto Flair for the Niven win. With a Razor Ramon V 1-2-3 Kidd vibe, the win for Niven elevates her while
• R-Truth distracted Aleister Black long enough with a prerecorded video for Damian Priest to put hands and feet on Black. The feud seems to be stuck in a weird triangle, pitting two on one; a rare position when it is a pair of faces taking on a single heel.