WWE SmackDown Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Aug. 28

Friday's SmackDown may not have been a go-home show before a premium live event, but it would put a heavy focus on hyping up Sunday Night's Main Event next weekend.

CM Punk and Kevin Owens were set to address last week's title match that was ruined by Sami Zayn's interference, and Cody Rhodes was looking to deliver a message to Randy Orton.

In the women's division, Paige was poised to challenge Jacy Jayne for the U.S. title, while Tatum Paxley prepared to make her SmackDown in-ring debut against Michin. Elsewhere, Chelsea Green would team with Tiffany Stratton to take on Nia Jax and Lash Legend.

Let's take a look at what happened on this week's SmackDown at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland.

After a quick recap video, Kevin Owens made his way to the ring. He said he has lost a lot of title matches, but none of them were as bad to lose as last week.

As KO was talking about CM Punk, he arrived and told Owens he would have beaten him with or without Sami Zayn's interference.

Gunther showed up a moment later to make an argument for why he deserves a title shot. It didn't take long for Finn Balor to join the party.

Nick Aldis was already out there trying to keep the peace, so he decided to book a triple threat between Owens, Balor and Gunther for a title shot.

This was a pretty standard segment. Keeping it from boiling over also prevented it from being exciting, but it set up an interesting match for later in the show, so it accomplished its goal.

KO tried to hide a smile when the crowd started chanting.

Owens almost got a little choked up when talking about his mom's health.

Irresistible Forces vs. Chelsea Green and Tiffany Stratton

The first match of the night saw Nia Jax and Lash Legend face Chelsea Green and Tiffany Stratton. Before the match, Tiffy tried to tell Chelsea she didn't have to do this, but the champ had a protective mask to protect her eye, so she was up for it.

Stratton got in a few moves before tagging in Green, and they managed to maintain the upper hand after Jax tagged in, but only momentarily. The powerhouse countered the Unprettier and nailed her with a headbutt that Chelsea sold to make look like it reinjured her eye.

Tiffany was on the receiving end of a lot of offense during the break and into the next segment. Doctors came to check on Chelsea after she took another shot to the face and rolled out of the ring.

The story of this match was better than the execution. Green was great overselling her injury, and Stratton did a good job carrying the in-ring action, but the match itself lacked the needed energy until the end.

Green was being escorted away by doctors, but she ran back and tagged in when she saw Stratton suffering. Unfortunately, her injury was too much of a liability. Jax took advantage and hit her finisher for the win.

Result: Jax and Legend defeated Green and Stratton

The way Tiffany bumped right at the beginning of the match was so weird because Legend didn't do a thing to take her down. It almost looked like a missed dropkick, but she didn't get high enough for it to be that.

Legend has improved a lot since arriving in WWE a few years ago, but there are still moments when she seems to hesitate before moves.

The way Green was selling for her orbital bone was a little over the top, but it worked for her.

Paige vs. Jacy Jayne (United States Championship)

Paige had her first shot at a singles title since returning to WWE when she challenged Jacy Jayne for the United States Championship.

As usual, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid were at ringside to give Jayne some backup, but Paige didn't seem intimidated by them.

The former world champion took control after Jayne scored the first takedown, and she stayed aggressive as they took the fight out of the ring, but that is where Reid was able to interfere with a pump kick while the ref was distracted.

Having Green and Stratton lose the previous match meant they were unable to assist Paige in any way, so even though she is a former champion, it never felt like the title was in danger of changing hands.

This match had a good pace and some decent action, but the predictability hurt its chances. Jayne won with an inside cradle after Paige had to fend off Henley and Reid. This wasn't a bad match, but it's hard to say it was memorable.

Nikki Bella attacked Paige after it was over, which was kind of surprising because it would have made more sense for her to cost Paige the win to prevent her from getting a belt, but the match already had enough interference, so holding back was probably the right call.

Danhausen being a Gunther fan was a funny backstage moment.

Jayne is so good at her facial expressions. She sells every moment perfectly, good or bad.

Reid's pump kick almost looked like it was in slow motion. She needs to put a little more speed on moves like that to make them look convincing.

Cody Rhodes came out to the ring to address what has been going on between him and Randy Orton since SummerSlam.

He talked about how Orton is his own worst enemy and has cost himself so many opportunities over the years. He said The Viper has been protected despite his screwups.

As expected, Orton came out to give his thoughts on the matter. He and Rhodes both looked like they wanted to rip each other's head off, but Orton grabbed a mic and decided to respond to what Rhodes said about him.

Orton did everything he could to get under Cody's skin, including mentioning his late dog, Pharoah. He took a few shots at Cody's family, too, but he wouldn't take the bait. He even turned it around and insulted Orton's dad.

Neither man would take the first shot, so the segment ended without violence, but it did a good job building tension for their showdown next weekend. Orton was especially good in this segment.

Baron Corbin had a quick backstage segment with Trick Williams, but there was no physical confrontation.

Orton has remained largely the same character for a long time, but there is no denying that he is good at it. He makes you pay attention even when he isn't saying anything new because he makes it interesting.

Before the match, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair told Tatum Paxley that the three of them would face Jade Cargill, B-Fab and Michin at Sunday Night's Main Event next weekend, but first, Paxley had her SmackDown debut match against Michin.

To help keep things even, Flair and Bliss accompanied Paxley to the ring since Jade and B-Fab were in Michin's corner.

Tatum didn't look intimidated despite giving up a lot of experience. In fact, she looked almost emotionless at first. Neither woman could get a clear advantage until Michin nailed a kick from the apron.

While both Superstars went through the motions, there was a complete lack of intensity in this match. Even the moments that were supposed to feel that way fell flat. Nothing they did looked especially bad, but the match was listless.

Paxley scored the win with her finisher, but she had to make a quick exit to avoid Cargill and B-Fab.

Whatever Paxley whispered to Jackie Redmond backstage made Jackie run away.

Ricky Saints had a backstage segment with Rey Fenix asking for a shot at his cruiserweight title.

This week's main event was the triple threat that was booked in the opening segment with Owens, Gunther and Balor.

The match didn't get started until there was only about 12 minutes left in the show, so it felt like this might have an inconclusive finish before the bell even rang.

Gunther attacked Balor while he was entering the ring, so the match immediately got off to a hot start. All three men were moving quickly and trying to pack as much into the time they had as possible.

These are three skilled veterans, so there was little doubt that the match would be good. The important part was always going to be how it ended.

As it looked like Balor was going to get the win, Sami Zayn showed up and pulled him out of the ring. He dropped the referee, which also prevented KO from winning. When another ref ran down, Zayn took him out, too.

Punk ran down and started fighting with Zayn. The former champion took out everyone with the WWE title belt to be the last man standing.

Most of what we got here was good, but the ending left a lot to be desired. It obviously set things up for the future, but a no contest finish to the main event is never how you want to see a show end.

Giulia attacked Blake Monroe backstage to get revenge for last week.

Orton and Owens had a really funny moment backstage.

Danhausen and Kit Wilson appear to have gotten better after Danhausen's experiments.

When the best thing on an entire show is a non-wrestling segment with no physicality, it's going to leave a lot of people disappointed.

Friday's show was great for the women's division with three matches and a couple of backstage segments, but the best thing on the show was the exchange between Rhodes and Orton.

They sold the personal nature of their feud with a lot of enthusiasm, and holding back on another fight felt like the right decision in this case.

As far as in-ring action goes, the main event was the best match on the show, but the way it ended kept it from being the best segment overall.

It was a pretty weak episode overall, but it addressed several feuds and storylines, so it wasn't a total wash.