WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Before SummerSlam (2024)

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on August 2.

This was the final show before SummerSlam, so it was the last chance to put a bow on all of the big feuds to hype the PLE.

Here is what WWE advertised for Friday's show:

Let's take a look at what happened on Friday's show.

SmackDown opened with Sikoa and Rhodes each coming to the ring along. Loud "We want Roman" chants echoed in the building.

After some of the usual trash talk, the rest of the Bloodline showed up. Solo said he wants a Bloodline Rules match. Rhodes agreed to it and Sikoa said he wouldn't have his men attack The American Nightmare tonight.

This was a pretty basic segment to set up a title match. Nothing surprising happened, but they did what they could.

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

Andrade and Carmelo Hayes met for a rematch this week. Two weeks ago, El Idolo defeated his young rival, so Hayes was looking to even the score.

Just like last time, they immediately turned this into a fast-paced fight. Both guys were giving it their all and managed to up the level of aggression from their previous bout.

They told a fun story with some of their counters. Both men clearly learned from their first match and came prepared to reverse some of each other's signature moves.

This was a fantastic display between a veteran and someone who is still getting his feet wet on the main roster. They were given lots of time and wrestled through two commercial breaks, so as they progressed, they began taking time to sell big spots.

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Andrade beat Hayes for a second time, leaving Melo stunned and disappointed. The young gun clearly needs to reevaluate his approach and WWE is using Andrade to teach him that lesson.

Result: Andrade defeated Hayes

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin have had some success against Legado Del Fantasma recently, so Santos Escobar was looking to lead by example in a singles bout against Crews this week.

The leader of LDF took control and scored the first near-fall after a flurry of offense, but Crews didn't go down easy.

After a few more minutes, Escobar scored the win with some help from Angel and Berto. This was decent but not long enough to be memorable.

Result: Escobar defeated Crews

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

Logan Paul came out and unveiled a championship banner to hang from the rafters, but it ended up being defaced by LA Knight's signature catchphrase.

Knight ended up taking a Prime truck from the back and driving off with it as Paul chased him. Up next was the women's tag title match with Belair and Cargill looking to regain the belts from Fyre and Dawn.

The champs tried to attack before the bell but were thwarted with simultaneous fallaway slams. The EST and Cargill also hit gorilla press slams at the same time to send us into a break.

As it looked like Belair was making a comeback, Blair Davenport showed up and attacked Cargill to cause a disqualification. This was an unsatisfying ending to a title match, but it was done to create a trio, so at least it had a purpose.

Result: Cargill and Belair won by DQ

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

This week's main event was a tag title match between DIY and the duo of Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano got a somewhat special entrance with a short segment backstage with the Gargano family.

Ciampa and Tama started with a very fast-paced exchange. The Blackheart was sent into the ring post as the show cut to a break.

With the rest of the Bloodline at ringside, this match obviously ended up having some interference. Sikoa hit Ciampa with a Samoan Spike at ringside while Gargano was trying to fight off everyone else.

Jacob Fatur ended up getting the win for his team with his fisher to bring the titles to The Bloodline.

This match was a bit overbooked, but most of what we saw was fine. A title change so soon after DIY won the titles is disappointing, but they will get more chances.

Result: The Bloodline defeated DIY

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

Other than Andrade vs. Hayes, this week's SmackDown was anything but must-see television.

The two tag title bouts ended in controversy even though only one set of belts changed hands, and Crews vs. Escobar also included some interference.

It felt like WWE was just trying to fill time before SummerSlam and used some cheap swerves to accomplish that, but it led to a lackluster go-home show.

SummerSlam will likely be a great PPV based on the lineup, so all SmackDown needed to do was hype the event. It did manage to do that in some ways, but nothing of note happened other than Rhodes agreeing to a Bloodline Rules match on Saturday.

Grade: C+