SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS
JULY 17, 2026
ALBANY, N.Y. AT MVP ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY ERIC CORBRIDGE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett
Ring Announcer: Mark Nash
Attendance: WrestleTix reports as of today 6,928 tickets were distributed so far. The arena has a capacity of 17,500 spectators when configured for concerts.
JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS…
PWTorch editor Wade Keller will be joined by PWTorch’s Eric Corbridge to review WWE Smackdown LIVE on YouTube. We’ll be incorporating live viewer comments into the show so join us LIVE!
Email our post-show at wadekellerpostshow@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Smackdown. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
If you can’t join us live on YouTube, stream the show on demand later at YouTube or listen or stream later on a podcast app. Subscribe to all of our free podcasts by searching “wade keller” and “pwtorch” in your podcast app of choice including Spotify and Apple Podcasts and most other iOS and Android apps.
VIDEO CALLER CODE: CLICK HERE
LINK TO BE A CALLER: https://streamyard.com/dpu5c5fvij
Click that link during the post-show to enter the waiting room as “live video caller” (or just audio if you turn off your cam, which is fine).
OPEN TO EVERYONE – LINK TO WATCH LIVE RIGHT AFTER WWE SMACKDOWN TONIGHT: CLICK HERE
[HOUR ONE]
-They opened with a video recap of recent headlines including the CM Punk win over Sami Zayn for the WWE Title, the Cody Rhodes challenge for Summerslam that Punk accepted, and then the incidents with GM Nick Aldis and Gunther.
-Gunther made his ring entrance as Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett introduced the show. They hyped the Saturday Night’s Main Event tag match with Cody Rhodes & CM Punk vs. Gunther & Sami Zayn. Fans booed as Gunther scowled. “Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we?” he said. He said during his entire career, he has prided himself on being an outstanding professional, but since joining Smackdown, he has been mistreated. He said he should be WWE Champion right now and the fans know it. More boos rang out. He said teaming him with Sami is a punk it is beneath him and “enough is enough and I won’t stand for it.”
Acting Smackdown GM Adam Pearce walked out and said he’s heard enough. He told Gunther to “feel how you want.” He said when it comes to Aldis, what he should be saying is “thank you.” Gunther asked for what. Pearce said Aldis saved his job. He said he kicked Cody’s head in a car door, cost him a title match in Chicago, and then put his hands on Aldis who is his boss and choked him out. He said if it were up to him and this had happened on Raw, “you would be fired!” He said the decision was made well above both of them for reasons he doesn’t yet understand. He said Aldis made sure his title match goes on as scheduled tomorrow night, including the stipulation. Pearce said if he hadn’t choked out Aldis last week, he would have told him that if he and Sami win the SNME tag match, they’re added to Summerslam’s WWE Title match and it becomes a Fatal 4-Way. Cody’s music then played and he walked out.
Cody played to the crowd as his pyro blasted and then he chaged to the ring and tackled Gunther and punched away at him. As Gunther retreated to ringside, Cody asked where the logic was in the stipulation. He yelled that Gunther couldn’t expect anything other than him whipping his ass on sight after what he did last week. He said he has no chance to win tomorrow night. He said he is ready and he challenged him to a one-on-one match tonight. He said he just needs Pearce to “give it the okay.” Pearce said it is official. Cody let out a roar as Gunther protested at ringside.
(Keller’s Analysis: I really appreciate them addressing potential massive logic holes here. They established that the tag match stipulations were made before Gunther attacked Cody, Pearce made it clear he’d have fired Gunther, and he said the decision not to fire Gunther came from higher up for reasons he didn’t understand. Cody stormed out, understandably raging at Gunther for taking him out of his rematch against Sami in Chicago, and demanded getting his hands on Gunther tonight. Pearce, of course, granted it since he is siding with Cody and is outraged at Gunther’s actions last week. This all makes as much sense as it could, with the only mystery being who the higher-up is who rationalized not firing Gunther. But at least the storyline accounts for the idea that what Gunther did last week would deserve more ramifications if Pearce had his way. Cody, Gunther, and Pearce were all really good here. I do not expect Sami & Gunther to win and turn it into a Fatal 4-Way at Summerslam, but I’m not entirely ruling it out if they want to save Cody-Punk one-on-one for another show and then also save Aldis vs. Gunther for another time.)
-A pre-taped statement with Adam Pearce aired. He addressed Rhea Ripley’s injury, a torn meniscus. He said she is close to returning, but due to the tricky nature of the injury, she won’t be able to compete at Summerslam. He said due to the uncertainty of her timetable, there will be a ladder match at Summerslam to determine the new champion. He said there will qualifying matches.
(Keller’s Analysis: These first two announcements explain why WWE didn’t release much in the way of matches scheduled for the show tonight, as it was better to reveal them live on Smackdown.)
-Tessitore announced Nia Jax vs. Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton vs. Jacy Jayne.
-Finn Balor began his ring entrance. [c]
-They showed an aerial view of Albany, NY.
(1) FINN BALOR vs. TALLA TONGA
Talla’s ring entrance aired. The bell rang 21 minutes into the hour. Talla towered over Balor, which the announcers noted. Talla overpowered Balor against the ropes. When he charged, Balor ducked and Talla tumbled over the top rope. Talla attempted to chokeslam Balor on the ring apron. Balor blocked it, but Talla clotheslined him. As Talla gloated to the crowd, they cut to a break. [c]
Balor rallied after the break and pumped his fist to the crowd. When he turned back to Talla, Talla lifted him onto his shoulders and gave him a Samoan Drop. Balor made a comeback and climbed to the top rope. Talla grabbed him for a chokeslam, but Balor countered with a DDT. When he charged at Talla, Talla gave him a big boot. (Tessitore said, “That could be it,” with a tone of resignation, which is the right way to cover a near fall rather than saying “That’s it!” definitively, which is code for “he’s about to kick out.”)
Tama Tonga came out and the ref turned to him. Talla crotched the top rope and Balor yanked on the top rope. Balor then gave a charging Tama a Sling Blade at ringside. Balor delivered a shotgun dropkick on Talla back in the ring and followed with a Coup de Grace. He delivered a second one and then scored a three count.
WINNER: Balor in 10:00.
-Punk told Pearce backstage that he didn’t like the chance of the match becoming a Fatal 4-Way. “I hate it,” he said. “I’m not chicken, I’m more old school, I like one-on-one.” Pearce said he doesn’t like it either, but the decision is made. Punk sid he knows Gunther is going to try to hurt Cody tonight. Pearce said Cody wants his receipt and tonight is his chance. Punk said he was going to go talk to Cody. When Punk turned around, Damien Priest was standing there. He told Punk he appreciated him mentioning him last week. He said if Punk beats Cody at Summerslam, he’s waiting for his turn. Punk said if he and Cody win, they might go after Priest and Truth and their tag titles. They fist-bumped and smiled. When Punk turned to leave, R-Truth showed up and startled Priest. Truth asked Priest what he was talking about. Priest asked if he was there the whole time. Then they cut away.
(Keller’s Analysis: I’m glad Punk protested the potential of having three challengers at Summerslam instead of one, framing it as more of a case of him being a traditionalist than being “chicken.” I’m also glad we didn’t get “WWE Math” where he said his chances to win went from 50 percent to 25 percent.)
-A vignette aired with Jade Cargill speaking about her chance to win the title Rhea has been stripped of. Then Nia Jax said she’s not feeling pressure tonight; she said the other women should feel pressure being in the ring with her. She said she’s been on top before and she’s feeling it’s time for her to be on top again. Jayne said Fatal Influence shook things up when they arrived and now they’re going to show everyone who they are. Tiffany talked about wanting to win in Minnesota and said something about Tiffy Two Belts sounding good.
-Tiffany made her entrance. [c]
(2) TIFFANY STRATTON vs. JACY JAYNE (w/Fallon Henley, Lainey Reid) – Summerslam Ladder Match Qualifier
Tiffany fended off Henley and Reid. Barrett this was technically legal since the bell hadn’t rung yet. Brie Bella and Paige ran out for the save. They yanked Henleuy and Reid out of the ring. They brawled to the back. The ref checked on Tiffany and Tiffany said she was ready, so the ref called for the bell 44 minutes into the hour.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.