WWE SmackDown Sets Stage for SummerSlam with Mixed Results in Green Bay

The Resch Center in Green Bay filled with the kind of anticipatory energy that only comes the night before a major wrestling event. WWE SmackDown on July 31st was meant to be a final push toward SummerSlam, a chance to sharpen the angles and lock in the matches that would define the weekend. What unfolded was a show of genuine highs and genuine lows—moments of real wrestling craft sitting uncomfortably next to creative choices that left viewers scratching their heads.

The evening opened with Finn Balor standing alone in the ring, reflecting on a moment from his past that still haunted him. Years ago, he had won the Universal Championship at his first SummerSlam, only to be forced to relinquish it almost immediately due to injury. He spoke about being close to reclaiming that lost ground. Sami Zayn interrupted, and what followed was a conversation about hunger and timing and who deserved to be in the main event conversation. Zayn made his case—he'd beaten Cody Rhodes before, he could do it again, and he wanted a shot at CM Punk, whom he called a hypocrite and a thief. When Balor challenged him to say it to his face, Zayn obliged, and the two men found themselves circling each other with real tension. Then Gunther arrived, and the dynamic shifted entirely. He attacked both men, declaring himself the true number one contender. What followed was a brief melee involving Adam Pearce, Nick Aldis, and security, with Gunther emerging as the aggressor throughout. The segment worked as a way to keep multiple storylines alive simultaneously, though some felt Balor was left as an afterthought in his own opening.

The women's division got its own showcase when Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green faced B-Fab and Michin. The match ended with Jade Cargill attacking Stratton at ringside, allowing B-Fab and Michin to secure the win. Charlotte Flair then appeared, creating enough chaos for Stratton and Green to escape and brawl with their opponents into the crowd. The segment succeeded in building toward Sunday's ladder match for the Interim Women's Championship, but it also felt scattered—too many bodies, too much focus on people not actually in the match, and babyfaces who looked unprepared for the numbers game.

Rey Fenix's defense of the AAA Cruiserweight Championship against JD McDonagh was the night's technical standout. Dominik Mysterio was ejected from ringside and subsequently beaten down by Danhausen and his associates, which added fuel to their own SummerSlam encounter. Fenix finished McDonagh with the Mexican Muscle Buster, and the match earned the show's highest praise for its execution and storytelling.

The tag team title match between Damian Priest and R-Truth against the War Raiders was supposed to be a culmination of weeks of buildup. Instead, the referee threw it out when both teams got physical with him—a finish that felt like a cop-out given the stakes and the time invested. The Tonga brothers then hit the ring and took out everyone, with their father Haku now apparently in their corner. The decision to end such a heavily promoted match in a no-contest left a sour taste.

Trick Williams and Baron Corbin had a brief confrontation where Williams tried to goad Corbin into an early match. Corbin declined, confident he'd take the United States Championship on Sunday. The segment didn't do Williams any favors, and it probably could have been handled backstage.

Lash Legend faced Giulia in the main event qualifier for the women's ladder match. Legend won quickly with the Lash Extension, but the match was so brief that it felt like an afterthought—a puzzling decision given that Giulia had been positioned as a significant talent. The booking of this match drew criticism for wasting an opportunity.

The show closed with CM Punk and Cody Rhodes in the ring together, trading words about mind games and titles and friendship. Punk called the locker room crybabies and dismissed Sami Zayn as a bench player. Rhodes said this was personal, not just business. Punk warned that if it came down to losing a friend or losing a title, Rhodes wouldn't like the outcome. When Rhodes asked what Punk wanted to do about it tonight, the two men attacked each other, brawling until security separated them. It was meant to be the exclamation point on the show, but it landed as a step down from their face-to-face encounter the previous week—competent but predictable, lacking the electricity that had made their earlier confrontation memorable.