"SmackDown Live" was kicked off by "The Maharaja" Jinder Mahal where he celebrated India's Independence day by organizing a "Bhangra" dance event. There was also a recitation of India's national anthem "Jana Gana Mana" after the "Bhangra" dance. After that, when Jinder started ranting about his greatness, he was suddenly interrupted by Shinsuke Nakamura. Shinsuke claimed to win the WWE championship title at Summerslam.
Women's division
Followed by this was a match from women's division where Natalya squared off against Becky Lynch where Natalya was able to make Becky submit by giving a sharpshooter submission lock.
Natalya continued to attack Becky even after the match got over. WWE women's champion Naomi came to save Becky Lynch from Natalya. After this, Carmela also came out along with James Ellsworth and showed off her Money In The Bank briefcase.
Rusev was in competition against Chad Gable in a match. But the match ended in a no contest as Rusev kept attacking Chad till the 10 count. After the match, Rusev took the mic and as soon as he was about to speak regarding Randy Orton, he got a thrilling "RKO outta nowhere" from Orton.
Styles, Owens & Shane segment
AJ Styles came out to apologize to Shane McMahon for inadvertently attacking him last week and called him out. Shane answered the call and said that there is no need for an apology.
Kevin interrupted and there was a scuffle between Styles and Owens. Shane tried to stop both of them and was superkicked by Owens this time. The match between Styles and Owens with Shane as a referee is getting exciting week by week.
Followed by this, there was a tag team match between The Usos and New Day(Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods with Big E in the ringside).
The Usos successfully picked up the win fair and square.
Historical main event
In an epic main event, Jinder Mahal faced John Cena in a non-title match. This was a highly competitive match between them. Jinder got some help from The Singh Brothers too, who were in the ringside. After giving two attitude adjustments to Mahal, Cena was about to win the match but then Baron Corbin interrupted and attacked Cena.
Corbin then cashed in his Money in the Bank contract against Jinder Mahal for the WWE championship. As soon as the match started, Corbin got distracted by Cena and Jinder took this opportunity to pin him 1 2 3. Baron Corbin lost the match and a golden opportunity to win the championship. The event ended in a disappointment for Corbin.