Smackdown – August 14, 2026: A Long, Long Time Ago
Smackdown
Date: August 14, 2026
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett
We’re a week away from the Kevin Owens vs. CM Punk World Title match and that means it’s time for some rather big talking. That should be more than enough for the focal point out here but we also have the Tongans and the War Raiders getting a Tag Team Title shot against R-Truth and Damian Priest. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Here is Nick Aldis to get things going. He brings out the injured Chelsea Green, who suffered a broken orbital bone last week. Green’s injury means she can’t wrestle but she says she’ll do anything to keep going. She gives quite the speech about how she has done everything to get here, missed so many things and done anything asked of her, but she finally made it.
Aldis should understand this, especially after Summerslam. Green and Aldis both proved that it doesn’t matter what others think of them but rather what they think of themselves. Green hands the title away and leaves distraught, but Aldis stops her (the fans like that). As the GM, he can’t do anything….though as Aldis the man, he doesn’t care what medical says. She has thirty days to get cleared, get a mask or whatever it takes to defend the title.
Until someone takes it from her, she is still the champion. Green gives him a big hug but here is Gunther to interrupt. Gunther asks why Aldis pulled that stunt at Summerslam (having a fourth person in the #1 contenders match). He doesn’t think much of Green’s pitiful injury and asks why Owens was added to his match. Aldis: “I added you to Owens’ match.”
Green laughs at Gunther, who tells her to shut up. Green only sees one champion in this ring and here is Matt Cardona (Green’s husband) to run in. Gunther: “All the way from catering!” Gunther asks what Cardona could do to him and mocks Cardona for doing as Green says, meaning the fight is on as we take a break.
Gunther vs. Matt Cardona
Joined in progress and they’re both in street clothes. Gunther fires off the chops and sends him outside for a powerbomb onto the announcers’ table. Another powerbomb onto the apron has Cardona in bigger trouble and a Saito suplex makes it worse. Gunther stops to yell at Chelsea Green though, allowing Gunther to kick him low and hit the Rough Ryder. That’s only for two as Gunther powerbombs him into the Boston (hey) crab to make Cardona tap at 3:41.
Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here but the idea here was for Cardona to fight for his wife’s honor and it went well enough. Cardona isn’t supposed to be able to beat Gunther in the first place so it’s not like this was in any serious danger. I’m not sure what is next for Gunther, but I can go for him being a bully for a bit.
Post match Green checks on Cardona but here are the Irresistible Forces, with Nia Jax saying she wants the Women’s Title. She doesn’t mind the idea of breaking Green’s face again but here is Tiffany Stratton. That’s the extent of Stratton’s positives, as she runs in and is promptly crushed.
We look at Tatum Paxley debuting last week to help Charlotte beat Jade Cargill.
Charlotte and Alexa Bliss are in the back, with Bliss talking about how Paxley is her friend too. Bliss opens a door and finds Paxley in a black room, complete with a bunch of candles and photos of Bliss and Charlotte on the walls. It’s their new locker room and they go inside, despite it being little more than a broom closet. Charlotte isn’t pleased but goes with it anyway.
We look at Randy Orton costing Cody Rhodes at Summerslam and the two of them wanting to fight last week on Smackdown but not getting around to it.
Rhodes comes up to Nick Aldis and wants a match with Orton. Aldis doesn’t know where Orton is but he’ll look into doing it at Sunday Night’s Main Event. Rhodes will take the match anywhere but here is Sami Zayn to interrupt. Zayn wants to know why Rhodes doesn’t have to wait to get anything he wants, which has Rhodes snapping.
If Zayn wants to do something like that, they can do it tonight. Zayn brings up beating Rhodes, who asks if he can do it again. Zayn says he’s hurt (broken hand), so Aldis asks what if he made it more interesting. We’ll make it a #1 contenders match, if Zayn is willing to go through with it. Let Aldis know.
US Title: Baron Corbin vs. Carmelo Hayes
Hayes is challenging and fires off a running flip dive to take Corbin down to start. A nice springboard spinning clothesline drops Corbin again and he misses a charge out to the floor. The Fadeaway connects but the First 48 is countered into a powerbomb. Corbin sends him outside and into the post as we take a break.
We come back with Hayes hitting a springboard DDT into a frog splash for two. The First 48 is blocked again so Corbin boots him in the face, meaning Deep Six can get another near fall. Now a pair of First 48’s can connect but Corbin shoves him off the top and into the barricade. The End Of Days retains the title at 9:23.
Rating: B-. They had a nice speed vs. power match here, which is where Corbin tends to do well. Corbin isn’t looking bad since his return and it’s all but guaranteed that Trick Williams will get another chance at him, if it doesn’t mean that Williams is moving up the ladder. Having Corbin win the title shows that he still has it and that’s a good thing. This worked well, even with Hayes losing again.
Post match here is Trick Williams on the stage but Lil Yachty runs in from behind with a Trick Stick shot to Corbin. Williams runs in with the Trick Shot to save Yachty from destruction.
Chelsea Green thanks Tiffany Stratton for the save and Stratton says she’s good to defend her title tonight. Cue ominous music. Well first find something that can play ominous music and cue that. Then cue the music.
Here are Kevin Owens and CM Punk to go face to face. Punk knows that Owens was about to say something about him so go ahead and say it to his face. Well after Punk hits his catchphrase of course. Owens says the camera caught Punk calling him something close to a fat slob last week. Punk suggests he would say that to Owens’ face, but Owens says their story started twenty years ago. Punk: “Go ahead. Smarten them up.”
Owens talks about how they used to wrestle for an independent promotion, where Punk was the top star. That night, Punk berated him in front of the locker room when Owens was just trying to make a name for himself. Punk can’t believe this is what the whole thing was about but Owens says that Punk has treated Owens’ friends over the last twenty years. Punk’s going to need more than that, because Owens’ friends hate him.
Owens says Punk is probably thinking of three of them (oh here we go) but Owens means all of them. Punk is fine with having losers hate him if it means not being one of them. Owens is the one guy left in the back who doesn’t like him because Punk is a phony. The reality is that Punk has screwed up everywhere else but he’s been in this ring consistently for twelve years without getting hurt until his recent injury. He’s been World Champion and headlined Wrestlemania against Steve Austin.
Punk says that wouldn’t have happened if he had been here, with Owens saying that Punk still sees him as a fat indy slow. Punk: “Is that how I see you or is that how you see yourself?” He called out Oba Femi and got endometriosis instead. When Punk looks at Owens he sees potential but in the form of a bum who avoids the hard work. Punk is always trying to be better and if Owens had put in that work, maybe he could have avoided Goldberg’s spear.
Owens is convinced that Punk hates himself, but Owens doesn’t feel that way when he looks in a mirror. And what about Punk not avoiding that Roman Reigns’ spear at Wrestlemania. Punk sees the same guy he saw twenty years ago, but Owens regrets not hitting him in the face twenty years ago. Owens knows that if he had, Punk would have ruined his career.That’s why he’s waiting seven more days, because he can hit Punk in the face and take the title. Punk is ready to put him to sleep next week.
They had a good idea here, but the “this started twenty years ago” took so much out of me. Not only was it something from another promotion, but it happened backstage so we won’t even know what they’re talking about. Throw in the AEW references and this was a good bit too inside baseball for me. Not everything has to be some big historic moment and that was the case here.
Finn Balor is in Nick Aldis’ office and wants to do….something, but Gunther interrupts. Aldis isn’t happy, but Gunther says he only sees a shadow of Balor. That goes as well as expected, with Balor saying he wants a title shot and will gladly beat Gunther to get there.
Smackdown Tag Team Titles: R-Truth/Damian Priest vs. War Raiders vs. MFT’s
Only Priest and R-Truth are defending (the Raiders’ AAA Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line) and Haku is here with the MFT’s. R-Truth, Erik and Tama start things off, with Talla tagging himself in. Everything breaks down and the challengers go to the floor, with Priest hitting a big dive to take them out.
We take a break and come back with Priest getting a tag to clean house and hopefully bring the crowd back to life a bit. Everything breaks down and Talla chokeslams the champs down. The Raiders give Tama the pop up powerslam for two before Ivar and Priest get together to drop Talla. R-Truth adds in the STF, which is quickly powered off. Erik knocks Priest through the announcers’ table, leaving R-Truth to initiate John Cena’s finishing sequence on Tama. Talla is back in though and the Brother’s Keeper to R-Truth gives Tama the pin and the titles at 9:50.
Rating: B-. It’s kind of hard to get mad at this one as R-Truth and Priest got just about all they could out of what felt like a thrown together title reign. The Raiders already have their own titles so let the MFT’s do something. They’re a pair of monsters with an even scarier manager so this is all good enough.
Women’s US Title: Jacy Jayne vs. Tiffany Stratton
Jayne, with Fatal Influence, is challenging and jumps her to start, with some shoulders to the bad ribs in the corner. A bodyscissors has Stratton in more trouble and Jayne knocks her down again as we take a break. We come back with Chelsea Green at ringside as the two of them hit running hair takedowns.
Stratton is up with the cartwheel Alabama Slam into the Swanton for two. A handspring Stunner sets up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, which hits Jayne’s raised knees. Fatal Influence goes after Green so Stratton dives onto the two of them, only to charge back into the Rolling Encore to give Jayne the (four count, as she moved slightly and the referee restarted) pin and the title at 8:36.
Rating: C+. They’re not exactly being subtle about what’s going on with Stratton and Green and it’s good to see Jayne get some gold of her own to complete the Fatal Influence title trio. They’ve hit the ground running around here and I could go with seeing them as more of a focal point. The good thing is that the women’s division has a bunch of stuff going on and that’s a nice development.
Jade Cargill and the Baddies are fine with having a new victim in Tatum Paxley.
Sami Zayn vs. Cody Rhodes
For the #1 contendership and never mind because here is Randy Orton to jump Rhodes before Zayn ever comes to the ring. Orton hits him in the face with the steps and they brawl into the crowd with Rhodes fighting back. Zayn, cheated again, is ticked as they get back to ringside, with Rhodes having to get in a low blow to block a Pillmaniazing. The chair is taken away from Rhodes to prevent him from doing the same thing to end the show. Given that they had about five minutes left for the match, it was more would the bell ever ring, as Orton pretty much had to come in and do something.
Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where a lot happened, with things going in quite a few directions. They pushed towards Rhodes vs. Orton, with a variety of people not being happy, along with a pair of title changes. That’s in addition to the rather intense Punk vs. Owens segment, though dang they could have done better with less really old outside of WWE history. You don’t get that kind of development on a single show, and if the in-ring action was that much better, the show would have been an even better result. Good show overall, but with some better wrestling, it would have been great.
Results
Gunther b. Matt Cardona – Boston crab
Baron Corbin b. Carmelo Hayes – End Of Days
MFT’s b. War Raiders and Damian Priest/R-Truth – Brother’s Keeper to R-Truth
Jacy Jayne b. Tiffany Stratton – Rolling Encore
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