WWE SmackDown Results 9/1 - John Cena Appears, LWO Vs. Grayson Waller & Austin Theory

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s results for "WWE SmackDown" on September 1, 2023, coming to you live from the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania!

John Cena will be making his highly anticipated return to WWE on the go home show for WWE Payback tomorrow night. Cena last popped up in WWE at the WWE Money In The Bank Premium Live Event on July 1, during which he was confronted by Grayson Waller.

Speaking of Waller, he will be joining forces with Austin Theory to square off with LWO's Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar. Waller has a big night ahead of him tomorrow as he hosts Cody Rhodes on "The Grayson Waller Effect" while Rey will be busy defending his United States Championship against Theory.

Before they collide in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, LA Knight and The Miz will be meeting each other inside the ring tonight. Knight and Miz have had no shortage of issues with one another over the past few weeks, with Miz even going as far as impersonating Knight this past Monday on "WWE Raw".

Jimmy Uso will also be appearing on tonight's show as tensions between himself and his twin brother Jey Uso continue to rise. During his last appearance on the August 11 episode of "SmackDown", he was superkicked by Jey following a tense encounter between the two of them as well as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

Additionally, WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY, and Undisputed Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will be in town tonight per WWE's event page.

We are live! The show kicks off with a video recapping the encounter between Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso, and Jey Uso on August 11.

Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Kevin Patrick greet audiences at home as John Cena makes his way down to the ring.

Cena welcomes fans to "SmackDown" as Hershey gives him a warm reception. He says the fans have given him 20 years of moments and it gets better rather than getting old. He vows to do his best to thank fans every time he appears, and says he's been given a chance by them to be back on "SmackDown" for months, have his first match in India, and host Payback. He gives his word that he will do his best to give back to fans, and that starts tonight. Before Cena can continue, however, Jimmy Uso's (new) music hits and he makes his way down to the ring.

Unlike Cena, Hershey does not give Jimmy a warm reception as they call for Jey Uso. Jimmy asks Cena what he's doing here, then says fans came to see him. He says they came to get the answer to why he pulled Jey out of the ring at WWE SummerSlam, and he says he did it out of love for his brother. He says the funny thing is that he didn't want Jey to be corrupted by Roman Reigns or John Cena, then tells Cenathat while he is one of the greatest, he is standing in his ring. Jimmy says all Cena and Reigns do is take, and the only difference is that Cena does it with a smile.

Cena says he knows Jimmy has a lot on his mind and is trying to make sense of everything. He says he's been wanting to say something for three years, then tells him that the wrong Uso quit.

Jimmy looks to superkick Cena, but Cena catches it and delivers an Attitude Adjustment. 

LWO then heads down to the ring. 

Back from the break, we see an angered Jimmy Uso walking around backstage. 

Back at ringside, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory head down. 

Waller and Escobar begin the action. The bell rings and Waller delivers a right hand to Escobar. Escobar fires back with a dropkick and tags in Rey. Waller delivers a forearm to Rey, but Rey dumps him out of the ring. Theory tries to interfere, but Rey fights him off and sends him to join Waller. He then goes flying over the top rope with some assistance from Escobar.

Back from the break, Waller delivers a suplex to Rey. Theory tags in and delivers a splash in the corner, then tags Waller back in. Waller wears down Rey, then tags Theory back in. Theory and Waller fire off stomps on Rey in the corner as the referee is distracted before Theory lands a right hand and tags in Waller. Waller continues beating Rey down, then tags Theory back in. Waller looks for a forearm on Rey as Theory holds him in place, but Rey ducks out of the way and Waller hits Theory.

Waller becomes legal again and Rey catches him with a Tornado DDT. Escobar tags in and whips Waller into the corner, then follows it up with an enziguri and delivers a crossbody off the top. He sits Waller on the top and delivers a hurricanrana, then goes for a pin. Theory breaks the fall and Rey sends him out of the ring. Escobar does the same to Waller, and the two look to go flying. Theory gets back in the ring and looks to level Rey, but Escobar pushes him out of the way and takes the hit. Rey and Theory go tumbling out of the ring, opening the door for Waller to land a Rolling Stunner on Escobar for the win.

Winners: Grayson Waller and Austin Theory

We then head backstage to Michin meeting with Adam Pearce. Jimmy Uso interrupts them on account of the fact that Pearce wanted to talk to him, and Pearce reprimands him for his recent behavior.

Back at ringside, Bobby Lashley heads down.

Lashley says everywhere he goes, people keep asking him what's happening with him and The Street Profits. He says he's in Hershey with an answer, then says real recognizes real and great recognizes great. He then introduces The Profits, and Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford make their way down to the ring.

Lashley says The Profits are charismatic, athletic, and more aggressive than ever. Ford says tonight is not about them, but rather giving gratitude for Lashley for all he's done for them. Dawkins says since they've formed a friendship with Lashley, he's helped them to see the bigger picture. Ford says they only have two words for Lashley: thank you.

Lashley says The Profits can thank him with their continued success, then says they have a message for fans. He puts everybody on notice, and says himself and The Profits are coming for power, control, and gold.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn then make their way down to the ring. LWO follows.

Zayn and Wilde begin the action. The bell rings and the two lock up. Wilde lands a back elbow, but Zayn fires back with a clothesline and tags in Owens. Owens delivers a Swanton Bomb off the top and goes for a pin, but Wilde kicks out. Wilde lands a dropkick, then tags in Del Toro. Del Toro delivers a running right hand in the corner, then fires off several more right hands. He delivers a kick to Owens' head, but Owens catches him with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Zayn tags in and delivers a Helluva Kick before Owens tags back in and delivers a Stunner for the win.

Winners: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

After the match, Zayn and Owens grab a mic to put Judgment Day on notice ahead of their Steel City Street Fight for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship tomorrow night.

We then head backstage to a confrontation between Jimmy Uso and AJ Styles following the encounter he had with Michin earlier. Things become physical, and Solo Sikoa appears to help Jimmy out. He tells Jimmy he's out of The Bloodline when they say he is, and Jimmy says they can't tell him anything before exiting the arena.

Back from the break, we head backstage to Cathy Kelley and AJ Styles, the latter of whom challenges Solo Sikoa to a match. 

Back at ringside, The Miz heads down to the ring.

Miz says Knight will be competing in the biggest match of his career tomorrow night, and that's fact rather than an insult. He says Knight is nowhere near his level, and not half the star he is.

Knight's music hits, and he makes his way down to the ring. Knight lists off all the cosplays Miz has done, including himself, The Rock, and John Cena. He says all three of them are people Miz wants to be but can't. He says he brought himself out of the sewer to be standing where he is, and worked extremely hard to get to where he is. Knight says Miz wouldn't last a day on his boots, and Miz is right in saying he isn't on his level because he's above him. He says Miz is the one not on his level, and Miz becomes angered. He says Knight was the first to be eliminated from a reality show called The Hero, and he succeeds because he is a star. Knight says Miz takes advantage of everything he has, then says he wasn't even the star of his own show, Miz & Mrs. He tells Miz to give Maryse his regards for sending her a broken and battered husband.

Miz says fans love and relate to him because they are failures. He says they settle for mediocrity, but he is different because he's never given up. He says that Knight has a chance to succeed, but unluckily for him, he crushes hopes and dreams. He says when Knight loses to him, he loses his popularity and he'll go back to his old life. Knight says Miz was right in that he doesn't quit because he doesn't know how. He says Miz's present is trash and his future will be worse tomorrow when he gets stomped out.

Knight and Miz begin brawling, and Miz executes a Skull Crushing Finale. Miz then tells Knight that's his future and looks to leave, but Knight clocks him from behind and rains down right hands. Miz retreats to the back as officials hold off Knight at ringside.

Damage CTRL then makes their way down to the ring. Shotzi follows. 

The bell rings and Shotzi fires off right hands. Bayley lands a right hand on Shotzi's jaw, but Shotzi eats it up and delivers a pair of clotheslines. She rains down more right hands, but Bayley gains the upper hand and fires off stomps in the corner. Shotzi fires back with a step-up enziguri and tosses her onto the floor on the outside repeatedly, then delivers a cannonball off the apron.

Back from the break, Shotzi delivers a jawbreaker. Bayley responds with an elbow drop off the ropes, then drags Shotzi over to the corner and looks for a second one. Shotzi evades the maneuver and sends Bayley crashing to the outside, then delivers a tope suicida and gets her back inside the ring. She lands a Sling Blade and a kick to Bayley's head, then delivers an elbow. She sets up for Bayley-To-Belly, but Shotzi blocks it and lands an Exploder suplex. She follows it up with a senton and ascends to the top, but Bayley pulls her down and calls for IYO SKY's WWE Women's Championship. Before she can take it, Charlotte Flair's music hits and she prevents SKY from giving it to her. She tosses her into the barricade as Kai tries taking advantage. The referee catches her, opening the door for Flair to deliver a forearm to Bayley and Shotzi to plant Bayley with her finisher for the win.

Winner: Shotzi

Back from the break, we head over to a video recapping everything leading up to the World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura at Payback.

Back at ringside, Solo Sikoa heads down to the ring. AJ Styles follows. 

The bell rings and Styles wastes no time. He lands a forearm and fires off chops, but Sikoa fires back with a shoulder tackle and looks for a standing splash. Styles gets his knees up before Sikoa delivers a bodyslam. Styles connects with a dropkick and a splash in the corner as Paul Heyman marches down to ringside. Styles delivers a knee to Sikoa's jaw off the apron, then delivers a right hand over the top rope that sends him crashing onto the floor.

Back from the break, Sikoa whips Styles into the corner. He looks to go flying, but Sikoa catches him with a right hand and sends him colliding with the ring post spine first. He then sends him face first into the announce desk and gets him back in the ring before landing a belly-to-belly suplex and a back body drop. He calls for a Samoan Spike, but Styles prevents him from hitting it and lands a Pelé Kick. He lands a splash in the corner and fires off strikes, but Sikoa catches him with a Samoan Drop. He goes for a pin, but Styles kicks out. Styles lands a clothesline and an Asai Moonsault, then sets up for the Styles Clash. Sikoa escapes and Styles lands a forearm. He calls for a Phenomenal Forearm, but Jimmy Uso trips him on the ropes before he can hit it. This opens the door for Sikoa to land the Samoan Spike for the win.

Winner: Solo Sikoa

After the match, Jimmy hops in the ring to congratulate his brother. Sikoa calls for the Samoan Spike on him, but Heyman stops him from executing it. Jimmy then delivers a superkick to Styles and ascends to the top before delivering The Uso Splash and throwing up the one symbol.