The annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view is fast approaching, and for the second consecutive night, WWE came to us live from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the site of next year's SummerSlam weekend.

Since this past SummerSlam, much of the attention on the blue brand has been on the heavily-criticized heel turn of Becky Lynch. Further proving just how much attention Lynch's turn has been receiving, the next chapter in her saga with Charlotte Flair received the main event treatment on this week's show. 

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Becky Lynch makes an emphatic statement

Earlier in the night, prior to her title defense against Carmella, Flair was interviewed backstage by Renee Young. The champ said that she won't roll over for anyone, not even her former best friend. After she's done with Carmella, she'll give Lynch the spotlight she wants. 

SmackDown Women's Championship -- Charlotte Flair (c) def. Carmella via submission to retain the title: Flair got the win by making Carmella submit to the Figure Eight. Immediately afterwards, Lynch attacked from behind before asking for a microphone. She grabbed the SmackDown women's title, stood over Flair and stated, "Come Hell in a Cell, I am taking my title back ... you bitch!" as she was serenaded with chants of her name by the live crowd. 

At this point, WWE just needs to embrace the fact that they've created the ultimate anti-hero in the form of Lynch. Despite another attempt to present her as a heel, all Tuesday night's events accomplished was to endear her even more to the crowd that's longed for success for her for so long. Botched heel turn aside, it's become more and more enjoyable to witness this more intense side of Lynch, and she'll only grow more organically popular as time goes on. Grade: B- 

Samoa Joe gets under AJ Styles' skin ... again

The WWE champion's mission on SmackDown this week was to put an end to the harassment of Samoa Joe. Styles cut right to the chase and called Joe out to the ring, saying it wasn't a request, rather a demand after noting what a coward he is for all the sneak attacks. The challenger appeared on the Titantron and said he's not going to come to the ring, pointing out again what a poor family man he is. Joe pulled out his cellphone and acted as if he was calling Styles' wife, Wendy, and said that maybe he'll stop by the champ's house next Tuesday. Styles immediately bolted from the ring, headed towards the parking lot in search of his rival. Prior to the main event, cameras showed Styles in the parking area screaming for the whereabouts of Joe, who was nowhere to be found. 

Well, Styles completely failed in his mission to put a halt to the harassment. These two have set the bar high for great segments in their feud, but this was not one of them this week. It seems, though, that next week will bring some interesting drama to the rivalry if Joe does indeed find himself at the Styles' residence. Pairing these two together for a feud has been positive to this point, but not every segment can be a victory. Grade: C-

Miz & Maryse get their revenge amid dream match

Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan came out to their respective entrance themes for an in-ring promo. Bryan brought up the events of last week, calling Miz out as a bad actor before recalling Bella coming out to punch Miz in the face. Bella talked about how she's sick of Maryse getting involved all the time, then both proclaimed that neither Miz or Maryse could hide behind the other come Hell in a Cell. Andrade "Cien" Almas & Zelina Vega emerged to interrupt the promo. Vega introduced she and Almas to Bryan -- running down Almas' main roster accomplishments thus far -- before proclaiming that it's time her man out-wrestles Bryan. Paige, at the request of Bryan, came out to make the match official. 

Daniel Bryan def. Andrade "Cien" Almas via disqualification: Mid-match, Miz made his way down to the ring in an attempt to distract Bryan but to no avail. Bryan locked Almas in the Yes Lock, and it appeared as if victory was in his grasp before Maryse surprised out of the crowd to attack Bella. Miz then pounced on Bryan in the ring, causing the disqualification. Almas, Vega, Miz and Maryse took turns brutalizing Bryan and Bella, culminating with Miz locking Bryan in the Yes Lock and making him endure Maryse planting Bella with a DDT. 

The thought of Bryan wrestling Almas was but a pipe dream at one time, especially when the latter was tearing up the globe as La Sombra. We got a small glimpse of what they can pull off together in the ring on Tuesday, and man, this will be something special when given ample time and not serving as a means to progress another storyline. It also made perfect sense for Miz & Maryse to get their vengeance this week considering how they were embarrassed on last week's episode, and this segment served as further proof that this feud gets even better with the wives fully involved. Grade: A-

What else happened on SmackDown Live?

  • Booker T joins the New Day celebration: Following their tag team championship victory over the Bludgeon Brothers last week, New Day held a celebration to kickoff SmackDown Live on Tuesday night. Just as Big E was rattling off the fact that they've now earned tag team gold five times as a team, they were interrupted by who else but five-time WCW champion Booker T. Dressed in full King Booker garb, the WWE Hall of Famer proceeded to knight each member of New Day before welcoming them to the five-time champions club. The segment ended with all four men in the ring hitting the spinarooni. Although, Big E needed some assistance when it was his turn. 
  • The Bar def. The Good Brothers & The Colons via pinfall to advance: Cesaro earned the victory for he and Sheamus with the pinfall on Luke Gallows after executing a blind tag on Primo Colon. This moves The Bar into the finals of the three-match No. 1 contendership tournament. New Day remained at ringside to provide commentary during the match, and the two teams faced off afterwards. Following the bout, Paige informed Rusev & Aiden English backstage that Rusev Day will be facing off with SAnitY and The Usos next week for the right to face The Bar. 
  • Jeff Hardy gets his Hell in a Cell dream: Hardy came out for an in-ring promo with "RKO" painted down the entire left side of his face. He brought up Orton's obsession with him before replaying the events of last week that saw Hardy plant the "Viper" through a table with a Swanton Bomb. He called out Orton, who immediately obliged. Just as Orton was once again reminding everyone to refer to him by the three most destructive letters in sports entertainment, Hardy interrupted to inform him they'll be squaring off inside Hell in a Cell. Hardy -- who somewhat shockingly has never competed inside the structure -- has stated in numerous out-of-character interviews that he's always yearned for a Hell in a Cell bout. He'll now be able to add that accomplishment to his storied career. 
  • Billie Kay def. Naomi via pinfall: With the assistance of Peyton Royce and a kick to Naomi's head from the outside, Kay rolled up Naomi for the win. That's now victories over Naomi in consecutive weeks for The IIconics, so it'll be interesting to see where this story is headed.