SmackDown results: July 23, 2021

Roman Raines didn’t give John Cena an answer to his SummerSlam challenge
John Cena started SmackDown in search of the answer to his world title at SummerSlam. Returning to the blue brand in epic fashion, the 16-time world champion known as the universal champion Roman Tsarstv failed before calling the head of the table.

Instead, he received a special advisor from Universal Champion Paul Hayman, who made it clear that Raines would answer Cena’s challenge at a convenient time for him.

Finn Balor def. Sami Zayn
After Finn Balor cut short Sami Zane’s shocking comeback last week, Prince defeated the self-proclaimed Master of Strategy in his first SmackDown match in two years.

In a very physical battle, Balor caught fire near the end, ending his attack with a Grace Strike to defeat Zane.

Angelo Dawkins def. Chad Gable
When his Street Profits partner Montes Ford returned to his corner, Angelo Dawkins finally got some retribution from Alpha Academy coach Chad Gable when he emerged victorious in a match held at the Rolling Loud Music Festival in Miami, earning a top three after the brutal Spinebuster. …

Women’s SmackDown Champion Bianca Belair won. Carmella
For the second straight week, the self-proclaimed Most Beautiful Woman in the entire WWE lost to SmackDown champion Bianca Belair with KOD in another title match. But this time it happened in front of a huge crowd at the Rolling Loud Music Festival!

Edge hoped to get revenge on Seth Rollins for costing him the universal title.
Edge showed up to get Seth Rollins’ retribution for paying him for his versatile title match against Roman Raines at WWE Money in the Bank. After calling Rollins into the ring, there was an intense verbal exchange between the two and the two superstars soon entered the fray, causing the SmackDown Savior to retreat after the R-rated Superstar stabbed the edge. …

Tony Storm def. Zelena Vega
After weeks of watching videos of her appearance on SmackDown, global superstar Tony Storm made her in-ring debut against Zelena Vega, one of the blue brand’s toughest rivals. While Vega was certainly more motivated than ever after failing to capture the Money in the Bank contract, Storm still reigned supreme with a new and improved finishing maneuver, Storm One.

Jimmy Uso, def. Dominic Mysterio
After Uso defeated Rey and Dominic Mysterio at WWE Money in the Bank Kickoff to become SmackDown Tag Team champions again, Jimmy Uso defeated Dominic in singles with a fast super kick after a hard-fought battle that saw Rey Mysterio and Jay Uso in their corners. …

Roman Reigns rejects John Cena’s challenge in favor of Finn Balor
Refusing to accept John Cena’s challenge to a universal title match at SummerSlam, Roman Reigns expressed his opinion that the Senation leader did not deserve it and stated that Cena only wanted the match to use Relevance Island as a way to promote his films. This prompted Finn Balor to appear and challenge the Universal Champion, which Raines eventually accepted.