Reports indicate that the following was taped on Tuesday night in Newark, N.J. for the edition of SmackDown that's set to air this Friday as the WWE continues to hash through the fallout of Money in the Bank and builds towards the Battleground pay-per-view with this special Fourth of July episode.
Projected Card For WWE Battleground
In the main event of the evening, Dean Ambrose defeated Randy Orton by disqualification after Seth Rollins interfered and beat him down with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Orton and Rollins attacked Ambrose until Roman Reigns made the save. Reigns hit Orton with the Superman Punch to end the show.
Rollins opened up the episode and was attacked by Ambrose before he could cut his promo. Orton then came out and helped Rollins until Reigns made the save.
Four Huge Matches Planned For WWE SummerSlam
In his Fourth of July United States Championship challenge, Sheamus defeated Alberto Del Rio to retain the gold.
Chris Jericho made his first appearance on SmackDown since returning Monday night and he cut a promo taunting Bray Wyatt. The Miz then came out and interrupted him before taking a Codebreaker from Jericho.
Another person who returned on Monday was A.J. Lee, and she also made an appearance on SmackDown and defeated Eva Marie. Paige was on commentary for the match and congratulated Lee after she won and awkwardly left the ringside area. It was reported that Lee acted as a face while Paige was portrayed as a heel.
Elsewhere on the show, Big E defeated Cesaro via countout and Damien Sandow came out to Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" and was interrupted by Rusev and Lana. Lana cut an anti-American Fourth of July promo until Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter interrupted and did an anti-Russia promo.
This episode of SmackDown had a patriotic theme throughout and continued the build toward Battleground on July 20 from the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Florida.
Quick Results:
--Opening segment with Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns.
--Big E def. Cesaro via countout.
--Sheamus def. Alberto Del Rio to retain the United States Championship.
--Chris Jericho cut a promo on Bray Wyatt and hit a Codebreaker on The Miz after he interrupted him.
--A.J. Lee def. Eva Marie w/ Paige on commentary.
--Segment featuring Damien Sandow, Rusev, Lana, Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter.
--Dean Ambrose def. Randy Orton via DQ.
This episode airs just over two weeks from Battleground, and here is the updated card:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Fatal 4 Way:
John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane
Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal:
Participants: Ziggler, RVD, Ryback, Axel, Big E, Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, Damien Sandow and The Great Khali.
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