9.06 WWE Smackdown Taping Results ** SPOILERS **

Dark Match

Great Khali beat Arya Davairi and Kraven Knight in a handicap match. Hornswoggle was with Khali.

Smackdown

Wrestlers out on the stage for the town hall meeting. Christian is among the onstage talent. Hunter, Vickie, and Maddox in the ring. Highlights of Orton beating Cody on Raw shown. Lots of boos for Cody being fired. The opening music played.

Triple H says he didn't want to fire Cody, Cody fired Cody. Hunter gave him a chance to fight for his job. He doesn't want anyone to fear for their jobs so he set this up as an open forum. He opened it up for wrestler questions. None would step forward. He said he wants to grow together. Sandow stepped forward and said he supports the firing of Cody. Hunter said he doesn't want them to kiss his butt like that. Kofi stepped up and said the locker room is living in fear because Cody was fired and he doesn't see how that's best for biz.

Heath Slater stepped up and complained about Show not stepping up. Hunter thanked him for emptying what he is sure is the entire content of his mind. RVD stepped up and said what's happened hasn't been cool, dude. Hunter said he has waited since 2000 to hear RVD call him dude. Ryback complained about being called a bully. Hunter booked a Ryback vs. Dolph rematch.

Hunter noted that Daniel Bryan was not onstage. He said it's because Bryan's ego is out of control. Hunter said Bryan can pick any member of The Shield to face tonight. HHH booked Kofi vs. Axel in a non-title match, and RVD vs. Randy Orton as rewards for speaking up. HHH introduced Orton. Oh, Shield have been standing guard at ringside.

- Rob Van Dam (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Randy Orton. Alberto Del Rio sat in on commentary. No crappy intro from Ricardo. Del Rio ran Ricardo into the post, then RVD did a flip onto ADR, who spent the rest of the match shaking his hand/arm. Orton won clean with the RKO. ADR looked fine when he beat up RVD afterward. Big RVD chant afterward.

- A Los Matadores vignette aired.

- Backstage interview with Renee Young and Daniel Bryan, who said he was told by management not to attend the town hall meeting. He said he would let The Shield decide which one of them will face him since he knows it won't be 1 on 1.

- AJ told Layla, Alicia, and Aksana she would rather put her title on the line against one of them than Total Divas cast members.

- Dolph Ziggler vs. Ryback is up next. Dean Ambrose attacked Ziggler during the match and then Ryback got the win.

- Curtis Axel (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Kofi Kingston in a non-title match. Kofi won with the SOS.

- The Wyatt Family video from Monday aired.

- Backstage, Paul Heyman was interviewed by Renee Young. Renee asked if he is scared of C.M. Punk at Night of Champions. Heyman said he and Curtis Axel will not underestimate him again. Heyman looked frazzled.

- Naomi (w/Carmen) vs. Brie Bella (w/Nikki). Crickets in the crowd. The Divas that AJ riled up earlier attacked both women for a no contest. Layla introduced AJ.

- Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro come out with Zeb Colter as a Los Matadores vignette airs. Their opponents are The Usos. Cesaro and Swagger get the win.

- Triple H is forcing Big Show to face 3MB in a handicap match. Show squashed all three members and hit the knockout punch on Heath Slater for the win. Slater was helped to the back by referees.

- The Shield come out to a big pop and surround the ring. They have chosen Seth Rollins to face Daniel Bryan in tonight's main event. Great yes/no dynamic in punch exchange. Bryan with a wicked German, then a great missile drop kick. Bryan tossed to the floor, where Reigns clotheslined him to boos. Rollins went up top, Bryan caught him in the Yes Lock on the way down. He released it because he was distracted, but Bryan came back with the running knee for the win. Bryan went to the ramp to celebrate and was struck with the title belt. Orton stood over Bryan to end the taping.

Dark Match

Vickie came out and mocked Bryan. She said he better get up because she promised the people a championship match.

- Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. Bryan locked in the Yes Lock and Orton teased tapping, but The Shield ran in for the DQ. RVD, Dolph, and Kofi made the save. RVD frog splash capped off the crowd pleasing finishers on Rollins to end the show. RVD chants followed. Faces shook hands at ringside as Bryan's music played to end the night. 

WWE Main Event Results, September 4

Main Event on Ion Television
Taped earlier in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
By Kumar Anubhav Jha

[Q1] 1. Fandango (w/Summer Rae) vs. Justin Gabriel.Gabriel outpaced Fandango in the early going, and Fandango had to roll to the floor to regroup several times. Gabriel landed a dive on fandango and the two men sold on the floor... [C]

Back from the break, Gabriel was in control briefly, but Fandango shoved him from the top turnbuckle to the floor. Fandango began to focus his assault on Gabriel's neck.

[Q2] Late in the match, Gabriel fought out of a rest hold with a belly-to-back. Gabriel began to turn the match in his favor and scored a spinning back kick and a springboard cross body for a near fall. Fandango battled back with a spinning heel kick for a near fall of his own.

Fandango threw Gabriel with a German suplex, but Gabriel landed on his feet and went for the same move. Fandango slipped out of Gabriel's grip, floored him with a kick, and followed with his top tope leg drop for the pinfall victory… [C]

Fandango defeated Justin Gabriel in 13:23.

Ryan's Reaction: Solid match, but they really held back compared to most Main Event openers. I've seen both men hit a higher gear before, and the late match never really achieved a good level of intensity.

A recap of Triple H, Randy Orton, and Stephanie McMahon's latest assault on Daniel Bryan aired…

[Q3] [C] Damien Sandow cut a brief promo on the way to the ring saying that he is an uncrowned World Heavyweight Champion and he would decimate each of his opponents before he achieved the apex of his profession and cashed in the Money in the Bank contract.

2. Damien Sandow vs. R-Truth. The two men traded several rollups early. Truth got in some offense and Sandow rolled out of the ring. Sandow baited R-Truth to the floor and pounced on him when Truth tried to make his way back in the ring. Sandow settled into wearing down Truth with his offense.

Truth battled back and clotheslined Sandow to the outside... [C]

Back from the break, Sandow was back in control. Sandow worked over Truth's midsection with a series of suplexes and holds. Truth got in a few hope spots, but Sandow remained firmly in control for the majority of the match. Sandow hit the Elbow of Disdain for a near fall.

[Q4] Sandow missed an awkward moonsault and Truth capitalized on the opening and began to work through his moveset. Truth scored with a scissor kick for a near fall of his own.

Sandow set up Truth for his finisher, but Truth reversed it into a rollup for two. Truth hit the Lie Detector (which thankfully is no longer called Little Jimmy). Truth covered Sandow and got the pinfall victory…

R-Truth defeated Damien Sandow in 12:50

Sandow grabbed a mic after the match and referred to himself as the Uncrowned World Heavyweight Champion and his music started to play…

A recap of Cody Rhodes' standing up for Daniel Bryan, his match with Randy Orton, and his subsequent firing aired… [C]

Ryan's Reaction: That's absolutely ridiculous. There is no reason for Sandow to be losing as much as he has since gaining the briefcase, especially when he loses matches with WWE's undercard acts like Truth. The briefcase does nothing for wrestlers if they are treated like a joke while they are holding it.

3. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper (w/Bray Wyatt) vs. The Prime Time Players. Rowan left his mask on as they entered the ring and O'Neill slapped it off his face. O'Neill managed to get the better of Rowan early, but Rowan threw O'Neill in the corner and flatted him with a splash and a series of headbutts.

Harper tagged in and wore O'Neill out with a series of clubbing strikes. O'Neill managed to tag in Young, and Young hit a flurry of offense on Harper. Rowan entered the ring, but O'Neill fought the man to the floor. Young was distracted by the brawl, however, and when he turned around Harper walked right through his face.

Harper scooped Young off the mat and hit a discus clothesline before covering him for the 1-2-3...

The Wyatt Family defeated the Primetime Players in 3:09

After the match, Bray Wyatt entered the ring and hit Young with his finisher. The Wyatt Family posed over Young to close the show.

Ryan's Reaction: The running big boot Harper hit on Young towards the end of the match looked positively viscous. Quick and chaotic match, but it managed to be entertaining. There was an air of desperation from Young and O'Neill that added more to this short match than we usually get from WWE squashes. Overall, this was an entertaining edition of Main Event that ended on a high note. Thanks for following along with me.