Following two weeks of near-perfect television, SmackDown Live went the way of Raw this week -- bland and relatively uninspired. While Raw had the excuse of being a go-home show for No Mercy, SmackDown is still building towards Hell in a Cell, which is a few weeks away.

Yes, feuds were advanced and matches were made the WWE pay-per-view, but not to the level one would hope. On the men's side, the WWE championship continued to play third -- or fourth -- string to the Kevin Owens-Shane McMahon rivalry, the United States title picture and the chaos between The New Day and The Usos. Where SmackDown made news on Tuesday was in the women's division, though there were problems with that as well.

Check out my recap and review below, and be sure to subscribe to our podcast In This Corner with Brian Campbell where we will break down the week that was in WWE along with an exclusive interview with Roman Reigns.

Doing it with Flair

Making her long-awaited return to WWE television, Charlotte Flair hit the ring in the middle of the show to thank fans for their love and support as her father, Ric Flair, battled for his life and kicked out at two. She said she has realized how fragile life can be and plans to make every moment count. Natalya's music hit at that point and one after another Flair, Becky Lynch, Naomi and Tamina Snuka challenged the champion, leading to general manager Daniel Bryan setting a Fatal 4-Way main event for the No. 1 contendership.

Flair and Lynch did much of the heavy lifting in the match, while Naomi found spots to display her athleticism. Snuka got a big spot when she hit Lynch with a Samoan Drop followed by a Superfly Smash, but Naomi interrupted the count only to be pulled out of the ring by Lana and superkicked by Snuka. Flair then hit Snuka with a superkick of her own, picking up the victory and opportunity to become champion once again.

The return of Flair was a feel-good moment for sure, though Natalya's interruption was weird and the segment as a whole felt forced. The match, however, was fun, entertaining and unexpected. Flair hit a picture-perfect moonsault late in the contest, Lynch got an opportunity to basically say, "Hey, don't forget about me," and Naomi proved once again she's underrated when it comes to in-ring ability. Flair winning was no surprise, but it was also the right call. It was a good decision to put the title on Natalya, but she's a transitional champion, and it's time to have Flair running the division again.

What else happened on SmackDown Live?

  • An enraged Shane McMahon opened the show saying he sat at home last week and had to witness his kids see their grandfather beaten down by a coward. He promised "massive vengeance" in response. "I condemn you to a ruthless beating at my own hands ... and I condemn you to Hell in a Cell."
  • Randy Orton def. Aiden English via pinfall | Rusev def. Randy Orton via pinfall: Moments after hitting an RKO on a flying English, Orton was greeted by Rusev, who demanded a match after being embarrassed at SummerSlam. Orton bumped into English, who climbed back atop the ring, after being thrown into the ropes, and the distraction allowed Rusev to hit a superkick and earn the quick revenge 1-2-3. After the commercial break, Rusev celebrated backstage and said he'd return to Bulgaria a conquering hero.
  • Jinder Mahal cut the same promo on Shinsuke Nakamura as he did a week ago. It appeared as if Mahal was expanding his mic ability last week when the promo was unique, but we now know that's not really the case. He is failing as champion.
  • Backstage, Nakamura laughed at Mahal but said it would not be funny when he wins the WWE championship.
  • AJ Styles was set to defend his United States championship against Baron Corbin in the U.S. Open Challenge, but Corbin attacked Styles before the bell, leading Tye Dillinger to run in and attack Corbin. As the referee was set to call for the bell, Styles attacked Corbin and tapped him out with the Calf Crusher. Prior to the match, Styles admonished Kevin Owens for attacking Vince McMahon and said Shane would make him pay. After the break, Corbin said backstage that he would not complain but rather get even.
  • The New Day def. The Hype Bros via pinfall: With The Usos at ringside, Kofi Kingston and Big E hit Midnight Hour for the easy victory. The teams will face each other at Hell in a Cell for the tag team titles. A few minutes later backstage, Mojo Rawley told Zack Ryder that if they wanted things to change, they will have to "do something drastic."
  • Kevin Owens joined the show live via satellite and sincerely apologized to all parties except Shane McMahon, who he said had it coming and brought out the rage in Owens. "I have nothing but respect for your father," he said, "... but what I did to your father is nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you."
  • Dolph Ziggler hit the stage and once again called himself the "greatest in-ring performer in WWE history" before mocking the entrances of Triple H, Shawn Michaels and DeGeneration X. It was the same gimmick as the last two weeks that went nowhere and drew very little heat from the crowd.