The road to SummerSlam is quickly reaching its destination with just 12 days to go until the second-biggest event of the year in WWE. The SmackDown Live brand is not void of entertaining and intriguing feuds headed into Brooklyn, and prior to this week's offering from the blue brand, a match years in the making was set in stone with an announcement from The Miz that he has accepted Daniel Bryan's SummerSlam challenge despite initially declining. 

One of the highlights of last week's SmackDown tied to one of those feuds was the scathing, personal promo Samoa Joe cut in the absence of WWE champion AJ Styles. Tuesday night, Styles returned to the house that he built to respond. 

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AJ Styles fires back at Samoa Joe

Styles soaked in the chants of his name before immediately bringing up Samoa Joe taking things to a personal level last week. The champ said he wants to be the greatest superstar of all time for his family, and he makes sacrifices -- even missing his wife's birthday recently -- because that's what a real man does. The WWE champion then turned angry, reminiscing about his longtime friendship with Joe and the challenger -- who was watching from a monitor in the back -- throwing it all away by crossing the line in recent weeks. Styles finished the rebuttal off by proclaiming not only will Joe not walk out as WWE champion at SummerSlam, but he simply won't walk out under his own power at all.

This was a fine promo by the long-reigning WWE champion here, just as Joe's was last week. But with less than two weeks to go until SummerSlam, I'm growing increasingly annoyed that this isn't necessarily being treated like the feature feud on the blue brand that it rightfully should be for the top prize in the company. Nonetheless, as anyone who's been familiar with these two over the years expected, they're making the most of the opportunities to they're given to present this as a big-time prizefight you won't wanna miss. Grade: B+

Daniel Bryan blindsides The Miz

Byron Saxton appeared in the middle of the ring to interview The Miz, who was advertised as on location on the set of "Miz and Mrs." After talking up the success of his new reality show, Saxton asked him if he had a message for everyone now that the grudge match with Bryan is set for Brooklyn. Instead of offering up a direct answer, Miz once again plugged his show while throwing in a jab that Bryan -- a star on "Total Bellas" -- should definitely tune in. 

Miz finally fired off, admitting that he's been thinking about Bryan for eight years now. He said he's done sharing the spotlight with someone who doesn't deserve it, and he's tired of Bryan calling him soft. Miz predicted that he will show everyone at SummerSlam that Bryan is beneath him. Just as Miz was getting even more fired up, Bryan appeared out of nowhere to launch an all-out assault on his rival.  Miz, flanked by personal security, ended up fending off Bryan by nailing him in the head with a vase, and Bryan staggered off after him to end the segment. 

You sometimes worry about WWE booking as it pertains to feuds you've waiting a long time for, but as much as the company is criticized on a regular basis, everything involving Miz and Bryan thus far has been tremendously done. The intensity these two exhibit on a weekly basis brings such a great element to this blood rivalry that you could almost make a case for it being the main event of SummerSlam. It won't be, of course, but few would probably argue if it was the last match seen in Brooklyn. Grade: A

What else happened on SmackDown?

  • Randy Orton still wants respect: Orton opened up SmackDown on Tuesday night by referencing the attack on Jeff Hardy last week after he called him out, replaying the video on the Titantron. The former WWE champion once again called out the fans for still holding out hope for their hero Hardy, but he won't be here help because he erased the enigma last week. He ran down his list of accomplishments once again, and was still furious over not getting the respect he deserves. He proclaimed he's headed to take out everyone's favorites, before concluding by reminding the fans to simply refer to him by the three most destructive letters in sports entertainment: R-K-O. 
  • Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch def. The IIconics via submission: Despite the distraction of having SmackDown women's champion Carmella at ringside, as well as the usual mind games from Billie Kay & Peyton Royce prior to the bout, Flair made Royce tap to the Figure Eight for the win. Backstage, Flair expressed her excitement in teaming with her best friend, but Lynch quickly brought the mood down by reminding her that things will be different come SummerSlam when they're vying for the title. 
  • Zelina Vega def. Lana via pinfall: Aiden English was told by Rusev to stay back for this one, but of course that's not what took place. After Andrade "Cien" Almas took out Rusev on the outside, English came out for retaliation on Almas, but the brawl ended up knocking Lana off the top rope. Vega hit the running knees for the 1-2-3. 
  • Shinsuke Nakamura def. R-Truth via pinfall: Nakamura pinned Truth in a relatively short match after hitting the Kinshasa. 
  • Bludgeon Brothers def. 3SK (three jobbers) via pinfall: A showcase squash for Harper and Rowan, the champs got the quick victory after the Doomsday Device. 
  • New Day def. The Bar via pinfall to become No. 1 contenders: In what was an entertaining main event, New Day is now headed to SummerSlam to face The Bludgeon Brothers for the tag team championship after hitting the Midnight Hour on Cesaro. Big E and Kofi Kingston were fantastic in this one.