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The Independence Day edition of SmackDown Live was plenty patriotic with red, white and blue ropes, a stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner by Lilian Garcia and the return of Mr. America himself, John Cena. Though the returning promo from Cena was solid, the segment itself left much to be desired.

However, the rest of the episode was solid with the tag team rap battle exceeding expectations (Wale was good as the host), a couple fun backstage segments and a decent battle royal with some great spots and a predictable result. It also set up some feuds for Battleground, which is just three weeks away.

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WWE SmackDown results

Confrontation -- John Cena and Rusev: Cena opened the show with a fiery promo, noting that contrary to what his critics say, he is not a part-timer but rather an all-timer. He promised to take on all comers on both SmackDown Live and Raw, saying that if his time as an active competitor is all limited, he's going to go out in a blaze of glory against the best competition in the world no matter the brand. This brought out a returning Rusev, who demurred that Cena's return was promoted for weeks while he could not get a call back from the SmackDown authority figures despite sending in video messages about his demands.

Rusev said the American Dream is fake because he's not getting opportunities, so Cena challenged him to a flag vs. flag match considering it's Independence Day. The Bulgarian Brute agreed to fight Cena, just not tonight, so Cena started a "U-S-A" chant as Rusev walked to the back. An hour later, in the middle of the show, WWE announced Cena and Rusev would fight in a flag match at Battleground.

So this went almost exactly as I predicted on last week's In This Corner podcast, except instead of Rusev getting heat by attacking Cena, he cut a bad promo. Cena was heated at the start of the segment, calling out every big name in the company --AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns (among others) -- only for the crowd to bet let down with Rusev challenging him first. This looks to be a holdover feud due to the short time until Battleground.

Backstage -- Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles and Chad Gable: Bryan said Kevin Owens has been bothering him all day about excluding Styles and Gable from the battle royal because Owens has defeated both of them in title matches. The general manager's solution was to not have both wrestlers in the match but one -- the winner of a head-to-head "win and you're in" bout.

AJ Styles def. Chad Gable via pinfall: The shine continued for Gable, who enjoyed his share of highlights in this match just like he did a week ago. He locked Styles in an ankle lock for a near fall, though Styles eventually reversed it into a Calf Crusher. Eventually, Styles hit a relatively easy Phenomenal Forearm for the 1-2-3 to advance to the No. 1 contendership battle royal main event. The two shook hands after the match with Styles giving an accepting nod of respect.

Gable wrestled as a singles competitor for the second straight week; however, he was announced as "one half of American Alpha," which is at least somewhat reassuring that the team has not split. Though he's talented on his own and put on a nice match with Styles, Gable and Jason Jordan are a needed tag team on this show.

Backstage -- Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder: A dejected Rawley was looking at his Hype Bros T-shirt when Ryder entered and told him to cheer up. Rawley said that a change was needed, seemingly beginning to imply that they should split up, but RydeRar cut him off to let Rawley know he got them both entered into the battle royal. This obviously pleased Rawley, who won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 and was having success as a singles competitor.

Man, 2017 really looks to be the year of tag teams splitting up. Rawley and Ryder's split appears inevitable, and American Alpha has not been wrestling together on TV. Granted, the Hype Bros were just reunited a few weeks ago after Ryder's return.

The Carmellabration with Naomi and Daniel Bryan: Carmella put herself over before Naomi's music hit and the women's champion entered with her new glowing title. Naomi said her eyes will be on Carmella constantly and introduced Bryan to speak to James Ellsworth. Bryan barred Ellsworth from the arena, leading Ellsworth to joke that he'll just get back in. That led Bryan to fake laugh, fine Ellsworth $10,000 and suspend him for 30 days. He also cautioned that if Ellsworth does not leave immediately or breaks any of the rules he outlined, he will strip Carmella of the Money in the Bank briefcase.

Women's Championship -- Naomi (c) def. Lana via submission: This was a third opportunity for Lana after it was revealed her shoulder was up during the pinfall last week. The match lasted less than 10 seconds as Naomi imediately tapped her out. After the match, Tamina Snuka hit th ering and encouraged Lana to stand up and leave with her.

Backstage -- Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin: In the middle of being asked a question, Nakamura was attacked by Corbin, who said he said he was not afraid of the King of Strong Style. Nakamura broke Corbin's grip and the two were soon separated.

Rap Battle -- The Usos vs. The New Day hosted by Wale: The Usos hit the ring with eight other guys dressed in black hoodies and bandannas; they were named "The Day Ones," presumably guys who had been with The Usos since the beginning. Next up was New Day, entering in American flag spandex along with people dressed up as a sailor, unicorn, the Statue of Liberty, Uncle Sam, a bald eagle, Elvis and President Abraham Lincoln. Wale would disqualify The Usos for getting physical at the end, though they clearly won. Wale actually did a great job in the segment. These are the best lyrics below.

Big E: "Speaking of butts, say hi to your pops / Cause even Rikishi knows 'New Day rocks'"

The Uso: "The Usos and New Day in a rap off, I was like, 'It can't be' / What the hell they gon' talk about Uce? I don't know, unicorns and stampedes / What we gon' talk about Uce? Big E's double Ds, how you look like Whoopie, and how you say you 5'5" but you really 5'3" / ... Hey, Big E, let's just keep it PG, you know what's good / Just don't get all Rated R like your boy Xavier Woods"

Kofi Kingston: "Look, when you have abs that pop pop, you can work a crop top / Y'all need to make like red hexagons and stop stop / You think they even know what hexagons are? Probably not not / Y'all ain't go not abs, no cuts, y'all ain't buff at all / Look at those bellies, muffin tops / Now I see 'em getting irked, look I ain't trying to be a jerk / Just tell me why you came to work and started wrestling in shirts / Y'all got that first trimester pooch, what's that mean for you two? / Means y'all are rocking weenie do / Y'all don't know about weenie do? They don't know about weenie do? / That's when your gut hangs out more ... than your weenie do"

The Usos: "I said, 'Hey maaaan, ain't you Kofi Kingston?' Didn't you used to be Jamaican? / You was Ja'fakin, but he stayed in the lane, ran around the whole world giving Jamaicans a bad name"

Xavier Woods: "Now Jim, you and your brother, you're tag champs, you turned the universe into believers / But please always remember you were absolutely nothing 'til your wife put you on 'Total Divas' / ... I said we don't use our cell phones when we're international cause that's roaming / I said, y'all should get back to doing what you do best, and that's carrying bags for Roman"

Aiden English def. Randy Orton via disqualification: Orton's music interrupted a singing English, who decided to attack the former champion and took him out at ringside thanks, in part, to the steel steps. English then resumed singing and attacked Orton again when he rolled into the ring, maintaining the upper hand for the entire match inside the ring. Orton eventually recovered and lost his mind, taking English outside and using both the announce table and ring post. Once he picked up the steel steps after nearly a minute outside the ring, referee Charles Robinson threatened Orton with a DQ. Orton chose to ignore him and hit English with the steps before rolling him inside the ring for an RKO.

Confrontation -- Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal: After the match, Mahal came out and cut his typical promo, which has now grown tiresome. Mahal said he would put the entire crowd in the Punjabi Prison if he could, but instead he would simply destroy Orton's legacy and prove he's the only superpower in the WWE. Just as Mahal was about to speak in Punjabi, Orton interrupted and promised no one would stop him from punishing Mahal. Orton than said the reason nobody likes Mahal is not because of his ethniticty but rather because he's a jackass.

So the referee was not concerned with a countout but was there for the DQ? Orton was also booked extremely weak; there's absolutely no reason someone like English should have more than a minute of advantage let alone an entire match. The Mahal promos are getting ridiculous as he literally has nothing unique to say from one week to the next.

Backstage -- Tye Dillinger, Tyler Breeze and Breezango: Dressed up as a female announcer "Tenee Young," Breeze asked Dillinger for his battle royal strategy as Fandango lurked in the background dressed as a construction worker. Dillinger put some doubt in Breezango's heads about having to fight each other in the battle royal and called Tenee a "10."

Backstage -- Mike & Maria Kanellis: The real Renee Young interviewed the couple, who repeated their lines from their other two appearances. Sami Zayn made some noise in the background, accidentally interrupting them for the second straight week. Zayn interrupted the interview to apologize with his quirky personality, and the couple was first accepting before becoming annoyed.

Battle Royal -- AJ Styles becomes No. 1 contender to the United States Championship: After teaming up to eliminate Erick Rowan, Mojo Rawley lifted a celebrating Zack Ryder up and over the top rope. The final three were Styles, Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger, who hit the Tye Breaker on both his competitors before trying to eliminate them simultaneously; he flipped both over the ropes but neither fell. Zayn wound up flipping Dillinger over the top rope from the ring apron, giving U.S. champion Kevin Owens a no-win situation in terms of his opponent at Battleground. The momentum of a missed Helluva Kick by Zayn nearly threw him outside the ring, but he barely saved himself on the ropes. Styles hit him with a mid-air knee and Pele Kick for the elimination, and Owens immediately entered the ring to attack Styles.

Some decent spots in this battle royal considering it only had about 15 wrestlers and was relatively short. There was no chance anyone but Styles would win, of course, but the attack by Owens at least provided some extra umph.