Backstage on Smackdown, the new NXT North American champion Dominik Mysterio was getting interviewed where he called himself a better champion than the United States champion. Butch interrupted him and challenged him for the title. Dominik was not ready to accept the challenge but Shawn Michaels made a shocking appearance and made the match official.
Backstage The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns was seen sitting inside his locker room along with Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman. They didn’t talk to each other, just looked at each other and said nothing. A segment between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso is scheduled for later tonight and they named it Rules of Engagement.
WWE SmackDown 21.07.2023 Results Part 2, Austin Theory Vs. Santos Escobar, NXT North American Championship
Backstage Damage CTRL was attempting to escape the arena. As Bayley was about to take her things, a photo of her was seen with a scissor being pointed to it. It spooked Bayley and Iyo, they quickly escaped. They are building their storyline with Shotzi in an excellent way so far. We are seriously looking forward to it.
Match 3 – Santos Escobar defeated Austin Theory
Austin Theory Loses Clean
This was a big upset as Theory got pinned clean in this match. The match was booked for around eight minutes in it was a pretty good match. Escobar pinned Theory with a Phantom Driver. Good to see a new face receiving a big push. But why was this push not intended for the fan favourite LA Knight? This will always remain a question why WWE is not pushing the current hot favourite?
Backstage Trick Williams and NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes met Bobby Lashley and they had a positive interaction. Fans were waiting to see the next chapter of the faction that was teased last week on SmackDown. But unfortunately there was no mention of it this week.
Match 4 – NXT North American Championship – Dominik Mysterio defeated Butch to retain
This was the shortest match of the night but a lot of things were going on here. This match was booked for five and a half minutes and this week’s SmackDown was really rich by the standards of the matches. The match was totally dominated by Butch, but Dominik is just the perfect heel who can snatch victories out of every match by the help of Rhea Ripley.
During the match, Rhea kept on trying to assist Dominik on a cheeky victory, but Ridge Holland came out to help his partner. Pretty Deadly appeared with Elton Prince remained on a wheelchair. They demanded an apology from Ridge Holland. Butch stood beside his partner and showed same that they had no remorse for whatever had happened last week.