WWE SmackDown Results (08/12) - Intercontinental Championship Match, Clash At The Castle Contract Signing

This is Wrestling INC.'s results of "SmackDown" for August 12, 2022!

Current Intercontinental Champion Gunther, with his partner Ludwig Kaiser, will put his title on the line against the King of Strong Style Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura took on Kaiser in a match last week in order to earn his title shot after the three men have had their issues over the course of the past few weeks. This includes Gunther and Kaiser, as Gunther has been punishing Kaiser for not meeting his standards, screwing up opportunities, and losing matches by hitting him with some brutal chops across his chest.

Liv Morgan and Shayna Baszler will sign the contract to make their match official for the "SmackDown" Women's Championship at Clash At The Castle on September 3 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Morgan has been champion since Money In The Bank after she won the briefcase and cashed it in on Ronda Rousey later that same night. Meanwhile, Baszler became the new #1 Contender after winning a Gauntlet match last week, conquering five other women after she entered the match and managed to take down Raquel Rodriguez with the Kirifuda Clutch.

Speaking of Rodriguez, she will be teaming up with Aliyah to take on Xia Li and Shotzi in a first-round match in the Women's Tag Team Titles Tournament. The tournament was announced during last week's "SmackDown". The titles have been vacant since Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of the May 16 edition of "Raw" and were subsequently stripped of their titles and suspended from the company.

The show is coming to you live from North Carolina! Michael Cole and Pat McAfee greet audiences at home. 

Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah head to the ring, followed by Shotzi and Xia Li.

Shotzi and Rodriguez begin the action. The bell rings and the two lock up. Shotzi delivers a kick to Rodriguez's head, then looks for a Tornado DDT but Rodriguez counters it and slams Shotzi into the mat. Aliyah and Li both tag in. We cut to Natalya and Sonya Deville watching the match from ringside, as they will face the winners in the second round next week. Aliyah slams Li to the mat, then delivers a crossbody off the apron. Rodriguez and Shotzi take out Natalya and Deville before the two women begin brawling.

Back from the break, Li has the upper hand on Aliyah. Shotzi tags in and she drops Aliyah on her head. Li tags back in and goes for a pin, but Aliyah kicks out. Shotzi tags back in and sends her to the mat. Li tags back in and looks for a vertical suplex, but Aliyah counters it into a neck breaker. Aliyah makes the hot tag to Rodriguez as Shotzi tags in. She delivers two Fallaway Slam to Shotzi, followed by the Spinning Elbow Splash. Shotzi sends Rodriguez into the middle turnbuckle, then delivers a suplex. She goes for a pin, but Rodrioguez kicks out. Li tags back in and delivers the Texana Bomb for the win.

Winners: Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah

We then head to a video of the main event last week and Karrion Kross' return to the company. 

We then head backstage to Karrion Kross and Scarlett. He says last week was the re-birth of a darkened soul and it must be nice for Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre to be the chosen ones. He says they waited for the perfect time to strike and in the end, everyone pays the toll. He says Tick Tock as we see him spy on Drew McIntyre.

Drew McIntyre then comes to the ring.

McIntyre says it's an exciting time in WWE and a time for new faces. McIntyre addresses Kross following his attack last week and says that he took a major opportunity. He says the only problem is that the #1 Contender happened to be him and says he has three choices: knockout, hospital or graveyard. He says he will send him back to the dungeon he crawled out of. McIntyre then addresses Reigns before saying he isn't there tonight and says he believes his hype. He says it took multiple people to beat Brock Lesnar at Summerslam, but he did it alone with his bare hands.

Kross' music hits and Scarlett comes to the ring as the screen goes black and white. She gets into the ring before the Usos come out of nowhere and attack McIntyre from behind. They begin firing down forearms before McIntyre fights back. The two then deliver a super kick, followed by the 1-D. They look at Scarlett and tell her to tell Kross that if he steps up to the Tribal Chief, they will put him down. Scarlett says he will do the same to Reigns.

Back from the break, we get a video hyping up the Intercontinental Championship and the match set for later tonight.

We head backstage to Shinsuke Nakamura, where he addresses Gunther and tells him to "come on!"

Back at ringside, The Viking Raiders come to the ring for a scheduled match between Ivar and New Day member, Kofi Kingston. 

As he heads down the ramp, Kingston appears out of nowhere and assaults them with a kendo stick. Erik uses his shield to protect himself as Ivar throws his shield at Kingston. The two beat him down with right hands. They send his face into the shield before Ivar delivers a splash off the barricade to Kingston.

Back from the break, we see Sami Zayn at Roman Reigns' locker room. He knocks on the door and the Usos answer. Zayn says he's been thinking about what they said before McIntyre comes out of nowhere and assaults them. He says every single week they get involved, he will beat them.

Back at ringside, Brandon Scott and Trevor Irwin are waiting in the squared circle. Hit Row then makes their surprise return as B-Fab, Ashante "Thee" Adonis and Top Dolla make their way to the ring!

The bell rings as Scott and Dolla begin the action. Dolla delivers a shoulder tackle, followed by a cannonball in the corner. Thee tags in and sends Scott face first into the mat. He whips Scott into the corner as Dolla tags back in. Irwin tries to attack Dolla, but Dolla catches him and slams him to the mat. The pair hit the Heavy Hitter for the win.

Winner: Hit Row

After the match, they grab mics and B-Fab asks if the audience missed them. They re-introduce themselves and say they are the OG Three and if fans didn't know, now they do.

WWE then send their condolences to Gene LeBell before we head to a video re-capping the #1 Contender's Gauntlet match from last week.

Back from the break, we head backstage to Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser. Gunther says Nakamura will suffer at the hands of the Ring General.

Back at ringside, Ronda Rousey comes to the ring through the audience with a bag in hand. She grabs a mic and says she knows she isn't supposed to be here as the crowd cheers her on. She says she was fined a lot of money and dumps a whole bunch of cash out of it. She says it probably won't be the last time and being the baddest is expensive. Security comes down to the ring before Rousey meets them and taunts them. She delivers a hip toss to one of the guards and teases locking in an arm bar. Shayna Baszler comes to the ring and says you have to play by the rules here in WWE. Rousey tells her she used to be a killer and walks off.

Baszler enters the ring and grabs a mic. She sifts through the money on the desk before she addresses the crowd. She says everyone watched her win the gauntlet match last week and says Morgan will be the next one to fall. She signs the contract and calls Morgan to the ring. She says she will tear Morgan apart limb by limb and says she will step over her lifeless carcass to walk out of there as the new champion.

Morgan then comes to the ring with her title in hand. She grabs a mic and tells Baszler she won't beat her. She calls her a bootleg Ronda Rousey and says she knows that because she beat the real deal twice. She says she will beat Baszler in Cardiff and signs the contract before holding up her title.

Baszler loses it and slams Morgan's injured arm into the table. She then twists her arm as Morgan screams out in pain. Baszler stomps on her arm before delivering a kick to it into the corner. She sends it bouncing off her shoulder, then gets Morgan up on her shoulders. Morgan counters it into a Bulldog and sends Baszler through the table.

We head backstage to Sami Zayn. The Usos approach him and ask where he was when they were attacked. Jey says that if he doesn't step out, they will leave him behind.

We then head to a video of the WrestleMania 39 launch party from last night. Back at ringside, the Usos head down. They grab a mic and tell Drew McIntyre to pick a partner of his choice and get out to the ring. McIntyre's music hits and he heads to the ring.

The bell rings and McIntyre goes straight after Jimmy. He beats him down, then sends Jey into the barricade on the outside. McIntyre delivers a chop to Jey and sends him into the ring. McIntyre delivers an elbow to Jey before Jimmy delivers a super kick from the outside. Jey delivers a series of stomps before Jimmy tags in. Jey delivers a cheap shot to McIntyre and tags in.

Madcap Moss' music hits and he takes down the Usos with a shoulder tackle. He delivers a Fallaway Slam to Jimmy and both him and McIntyre clothesline the Usos out of the ring as Moss officially becomes McIntyre's partner!

Back from the break, the Usos have the upper hand. Jey delivers a splash to Moss in the corner, but Moss fires back with a spine buster. McIntyre tags in and gets the upper hand. He beats down Jey before Sami Zayn enters the ring. This allows Jey to pin McIntyre, who kicks out. Jimmy tags in and the two look for 1-D, but Moss pulls Jey out of the ring and whips him into the barricade. McIntyre pulls out a Glasgow Kiss before Jimmy hits him with a super kick. McIntyre manages to hit th eClaymore Kick for the win.

Winners: Drew McIntyre and Madcap Moss

Jimmy tries to surprise attack McIntyre, but McIntyre hits him with the Future Shock DDT. McIntyre looks for the Claymore Kick, but Zayn pushes him out of the way and takes the kick.

We head backstage to a photo shoot with Maximum Male Models. Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo approach and ask to join the agency. Max says they aren't model material as they say they weren't talking to him, but Maxxine. They tell her to give them a call.

We head to another video hyping up Gunther and Shinsuke Nakamura ahead of their match. 

Back from the break, we head backstage to Kayla Braxton and Ricochet. We go to a video of the end of the match between him and Happy Corbin last week. He says that he is more locked in now than he has been in a long time. He says it feels like he's been shot out of a cannon and says it doesn't matter who the Intercontinental Champion is because he will be waiting next in line. Out of nowhere, Corbin attacks Ricochet and takes him out.

We then head to a video hyping up Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark as a tag team ahead of their "SmackDown" debut next week. Shinsuke Nakamura then comes to the ring, followed by champion Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser.

The bell rings and Nakamura mocks Gunther. He sends Nakamura into the corner and looks for a chop, but Nakamura moves out of the way. He delivers several kicks to Gunther before Gunther delivers a big boot that stops him in his tracks. Gunther delivers a couple uppercuts, followed by a chop. Gunther locks in a Boston Crab, then counters it into an STF. Nakamura grabs the bottom rope to break the submission. Gunther hits a brutal chop before delivering several brutal kicks to Gunther's midsection. Gunther delivers a vicious chop.

The bell rings and Nakamura mocks Gunther. He sends Nakamura into the corner and looks for a chop, but Nakamura moves out of the way. He delivers several kicks to Gunther before Gunther delivers a big boot that stops him in his tracks. Gunther delivers a couple uppercuts, followed by a chop. Gunther locks in a Boston Crab, then counters it into an STF. Nakamura grabs the bottom rope to break the submission. Gunther hits a brutal chop before delivering several brutal kicks to Gunther's midsection. Gunther delivers a vicious chop

Back from the break, Gunther delivers a German Suplex to Nakamura. Gunther looks for a splash, but Nakamura counters it into a Triangle submission. Gunther is able to counter it and hit a double underhook suplex. Nakamura delivers a kick to Gunther's leg, followed by a knee to his face. He goes for a pin, but Gunther kicks out. Nakamura drives his boot into Gunther's face before he hits him in the back with his boot. Gunther hits a drop kick, but Nakamura fires back with a kick to the back of his neck. He looks for the Kinchasa, but Gunther delivers a vicious clothesline. Gunther locks Nakamura in a sleeper hold, but Nakamura escapes. Gunther delivers a power bomb and pins Nakamura to retain his title.

Winner: Gunther