AJ Styles wins U.S. Title on WWE Smackdown
Wednesday 26 July 2017 10:08, UK
AJ Styles has regained the U.S. Championship on a night of surprises on Smackdown.
The show kicked off with the shock return of Chris Jericho, who joined Styles to both claim their mandated rematches for the U.S Championship.
Both men were granted their wishes by Smackdown commissioner Shane McMahon, who set up a triple threat match against Kevin Owens, who'd only won the belt 48 hours earlier at Battleground.
The result was a fast paced main event that saw each man have the chance for victory.
It looked as though Owens, however, was about to retain the title after hitting Jericho with a pop-up powerbomb and a frog splash, only for Styles to throw Owens out of the ring at the last moment, pin Y2J and walk away with the championship.
Owens got straight on the microphone to demand a one-on-one rematch next week to cap off an extraordinary turn of events.
John Cena's demand for a WWE Championship match against Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam didn't go according to plan.
The 16-time world champion confronted Mahal to insist the pair will face-off next month, only for Smackdown general manager Daniel Bryan to have other ideas.
Bryan told Cena he'd have to earn his title opportunity, setting up a huge match next Tuesday against Shinsuke Nakamura.
The Japanese superstar showed what he can do earlier in the night by knocking off long-time rival Baron Corbin.
Unlike their encounter at Battleground that ended when Corbin hit Nakamura with a low blow, this match had a fair finish, with the Japanese superstar eventually hitting his Kinshasa knee strike for victory.
WWE Late Night Smackdown
Elsewhere, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch teamed up to knock-off Tamina and Lana in a tag match.
It appears the hired muscle of Tamina could be getting sick of protecting Lana after she was quietly seething with her partner after their defeat.
The new Tag Team Champions, The New Day, weren't given the chance to celebrate their title win at Battleground.
The Usos viciously attacked them from behind before they could make it to the ring to send a message that they want their gold back.
