WWE SmackDown LIVE results, Sept. 11, 2018: Brie and Maryse’s one-on-one battle quickly became an all-out melee

Brie Bella and Maryse’s one-on-one showdown quickly turned into a chaotic brawl when Daniel Bryan and The Miz got involved. Elsewhere, WWE Champion AJ Styles and Samoa Joe delivered personal messages to each other ahead of their title clash this Sunday at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.

Brie Bella def. Maryse by disqualification

Brie Bella and Maryse took centerstage just days before they teamed up with their husbands Daniel Bryan and The Miz in Mixed Tag Team action at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event this Sunday.
Set to compete in her first singles match in seven years, Maryse seemed hesitant to engage with Brie, constantly stalling and bailing from the squared circle. Finally, Brie grabbed the microphone, called Miz’s Mrs. a coward and goaded her to get into the ring.
However, The A-Lister (who was at ringside, along with Bryan) took great exception to Brie calling his wife a coward. An irate Miz ranted that The “Yes!” Couple would have to wait until the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event to see them again. Miz & Maryse began to take off, but Brie ran down Maryse and brought her back to the ring.
After each Superstar landed a few haymakers, Brie trapped Maryse in the “Yes!” Lock, but Miz grabbed Brie’s leg and yanked her out of the ring to give Bella the disqualification win. The “Yes!” Man immediately pounced on his rival and started raining fists on The A-Lister. With The Beard continuing to hammer away, Miz tossed Bryan out of the ring right onto an unsuspecting Brie outside.
The chaos would continue with Maryse and Brie brawling once again, and Brie soon claimed the upper hand. Left alone with a furious Bryan and Brie, Miz caught another right hand from Brie Mode before Bryan clotheslined him out of the ring… and this was just a small taste of what’s to come on Sunday.

Rusev Day def. The Bar to earn the right to challenge for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles at WWE Hell in a Cell

With both teams having reached this destination by winning Triple Threat Tag Team Matches, Rusev Day and The Bar collided on SmackDown LIVE for the opportunity to challenge The New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles this Sunday at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
While The New Day provided commentary from their specially designated table, Rusev & Aiden English and Sheamus & Cesaro engaged in a brutal battle for the championship opportunity. Rusev & English continued their recent resurgence and stayed on the same page in the face of The Bar’s barbaric offense.
In the pivotal moments, Rusev appeared to be worse for wear and right in the line of fire for Sheamus’ Brogue Kick. However, Sheamus instead drilled English with the devastating maneuver when The Drama King shoved his partner out of the way and absorbed the blow. Rusev, the legal man, took advantage by catching The Celtic Warrior with a Machka Kick to claim the victory and a championship match this Sunday for Rusev Day.

AJ Styles coldly addressed Samoa Joe

With his battle against Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event slated for this Sunday, AJ Styles addressed Samoa Joe several hours before SmackDown LIVE while the arena was still empty.
A calm but impassioned Styles spoke of the toll it's taken to have Joe repeatedly bringing Styles’ family into their conflict, but The Phenomenal One intently stated The Samoan Submission Machine’s mind games would have no affect at WWE Hell in a Cell because it would be just him and Styles in the house that AJ built… and that house isn’t for sale

Jeff Hardy def. Shinsuke Nakamura via disqualification

With Jeff Hardy wanting to “cleanse his soul” prior to his clash inside Hell in a Cell with Randy Orton this Sunday, The Charismatic Enigma looked to settle his unfinished business with United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in non-title action on SmackDown LIVE.
Hardy’s pent-up aggression was evident from the start, as the daredevil stormed out of the gates, bringing an early onslaught to The King of Strong Style despite Nakamura’s attempts to stall. As the match wore on, Nakamura was able to ground Hardy with his smothering and impactful offense, but Brother Nero flat out refused to quit.
In the pivotal moments, Hardy appeared to be closing in on a victory when The Viper suddenly struck from out of nowhere, and threw Hardy off the top rope. Orton then began a brutal assault on The Charismatic Enigma that saw him smash his head into the ring steps repeatedly and then grab a steel chair and laid Jeff out with several brutal shots. The Apex Predator would not stop there though, attempting to lay Hardy out with an RKO, but Hardy was able to counter, give Orton a taste of his own medicine with the steel chair and then lay him out with a Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb respectively.
Advantage Hardy.

WWE Hell in a Cell Preview

Reigns to battle Strowman inside Hell in a Cell, with Mick Foley as Special Guest Referee

The Universal Championship will be decided inside Hell in a Cell at the Sept. 16 pay-per-view event, as newly-crowned titleholder Roman Reigns will square off against Braun Strowman with WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley donning the pinstripes as the Special Guest Referee.
In true Monster in the Bank fashion, Strowman claimed there was no way he’d cash in his coveted Money in the Bank contract with a sneak-attack. Instead, he came to SummerSlam ready to openly challenge the winner of the Universal Championship main event pitting Brock Lesnar against Roman Reigns. However, thanks to the fallout of a mid-match entanglement with The Beast, he was unable to cash in on Reigns after The Big Dog took down Lesnar to win the title.
The following night on Raw, The Monster Among Men emerged near the conclusion of Reigns’ match against Finn Balor with the intention of cashing in on the winner of the title bout, but the war-torn Reigns and his Shield brothers-in-arms -- Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose – spoiled Strowman’s plans, unloaded on Mr. Monster in the Bank and send him crashing through the announce table with a Triple Powerbomb.
Now, Strowman has opted to trade in his Money in the Bank contract for a Universal Title Match inside Hell in a Cell at the pay-per-view of the same name. With fierce champion and ferocious challenger each completely surrounded by the unforgiving steel structure, the stage is set for a chaotic showdown, as there will be no way for anyone to interfere, not Rollins & Ambrose not and Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre, Strowman’s new cohorts. With Reigns and Strowman set to write the latest chapter of their barbaric rivalry inside the harrowing confines of the deadly cell, both competitors will leave everything on the canvas (if there is any canvas or anything else left when all is said and done).
Just six days before the epic showdown, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley returned to Raw to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of his legendary Hell in a Cell Match against The Undertaker. As someone who truly understands the dangers of the career-altering structure, Foley announced that he would be the Special Guest Referee for the imminent title clash between The Big Dog and The Monster Among Men

WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

After taking a disqualification loss in an out-of-control title bout at SummerSlam and being savagely assaulted by The Samoan Submission Machine two days later at SmackDown LIVE, WWE Champion AJ Styles will once again go to war against Samoa Joe at WWE Hell in a Cell on Sunday, Sept. 16.
Heading into The Biggest Event of the Summer, Samoa Joe came knocking on the door of The House that AJ Styles Built, and the force of relentless dominance sauntered into the title fight having already demonstrated that he had no issues using The Phenomenal One’s family to get inside his opponent’s head. When Joe took the microphone and insulted AJ’s wife mid-match as she sat near ringside during the slugfest, Styles finally snapped and unleashed a rage-fueled steel chair attack on the challenger that cost him the match by disqualification.
The Samoan Submission Machine struck back on the following SmackDown LIVE while The Phenomenal One was being interviewed, putting the champion to sleep with a devastating Coquina Clutch before staring into the camera and once again delivering a chilling statement that AJ would not be home to read his kids a bedtime story.
With their animosity at a dangerous all-time high, Styles and Samoa Joe will once again collide at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event in a championship bout that promises to be a completely chaotic rematch from start to finish.

Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss

Having just won the Raw Women’s Championship, Ronda Rousey will make her first defense of the title at WWE Hell in a Cell against its former bearer, Alexa Bliss.
As revealed on Raw, Little Miss Bliss is medically cleared to redeem her opportunity to reclaim the title she lost to The Baddest Woman on the Planet at SummerSlam. She now looks to use the lessons from her title loss and attempt to hand Rousey her first defeat in WWE.


Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse

At WWE Hell in a Cell, Daniel Bryan will team with his returning wife Brie Bella against the nefarious combination of The Miz his wife Maryse.
The highly-anticipated SummerSlam showdown pitting Bryan against his longstanding rival ended in utter controversary when The A-Lister knocked out WWE’s “Yes!” Man with an unidentified foreign object that his wife Maryse handed to him at ringside.
Backstage, in the wake of the contest, Bryan was nearly inconsolable. Despite Bryan making a heroic return from what was thought to be a career-ending injury, his loss in that match to a competitor he has loathed for many years was extremely difficult to shake. Brie steered her husband back in the right direction by reminding him how much she loved him, how much he had accomplished and how he would win in the end.
Just when Miz looked ready to retire (from competing against The Beard), mocking his rival yet again, an intense Bryan emerged to confront his nemesis, and Brie Bella made a beeline to the ring, clobbering The Miz with a few punches of her own after Maryse berated Bryan. After the brief dustup, it was soon revealed that SmackDown General Manager Paige had approved a truly “must see” Mixed Tag Team Match for the upcoming pay-per-view.

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton (Hell in a Cell Match)

After months of being put through metaphorical hell at the hands of Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy will get his chance to brutalize The Viper inside of hell, literally, in a Hell in a Cell Match at the bout’s eponymous pay-per-view event.
Sporting a callous new attitude since reemerging on the blue brand, Orton has ruthlessly targeted Hardy with several prolonged blindside attacks, even tugging at The Charismatic Enigma’s earlobe, stomping him below the belt several times and wiping the paint off his foe’s face during an uncomfortable assault on SmackDown LIVE. The sadistic Viper, who recently lashed out at the WWE Universe for the lack of respect they’ve shown the 13-time World Champion, has promised to take out all of their heroes one at a time, starting with Hardy.
The Charismatic Enigma finally snapped during a singles match against Orton on SmackDown, taking a disqualification loss to The Apex Predator after delivering a ruthless low blow, beating his nemesis with anything that wasn’t nailed down as they brawled through the WWE Universe and savagely putting The Viper through a table with a Swanton Bomb off of some stage equipment. Hardy followed up on his jaw-dropping assault the next week by challenging Orton to a Hell in a Cell Match, and SmackDown LIVE General Manager Paige made the bout official.
Will Hardy finish what Orton started when the two step inside the unforgiving structure that is Hell in a Cell, or will The Viper strike yet again and take down the first of many heroes to come?