Smackdown Live Review 07/03/2018

Hello Misfits. It is time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. Last week on Smackdown Live we witnessed the return of Team Hell No when Kane made a surprise appearance to help Daniel Bryan fight off the Bludgeon Brothers. This made Paige give them a tag team title shot at Extreme Rules. Also since it is a day before Independence Day, Jeff Hardy is hosting another open challenge for the United States Championship. Last week it was also announced that James Ellsworth would be facing Asuka this week. We’ll also see if Becky Lynch can continue her winning streak when she takes on Peyton Royce. Also, we’ll see if the new number one contender Rusev makes an impact tonight. Lets find out how this weeks episode of Smackdown went.

Smackdown comes to us live from the Century Link Arena in Omaha, NE.

–  Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves are on commentary.

Team Hell No
Daniel Bryan says the great thing about his with Kane relationship is they may fight, but when they are together they are unbeatable. Kane says they are back and better than ever. Renee Young asks Kane why decided to come back. Kane says he knows that Bryan has a temper and after what happened with the Bludgeon Brothers he knew Bryan was going to do something stupid. No matter what happens, Bryan always has a demon in Kane. Bryan says not always. Kane says what? Bryan just says he is excited to be back with Kane and they will be the next Smackdown tag team champions. Bryan says the last time he and Kane were in the ring they were enemies. Kane says that’s in the past they were always friends. Bryan says Kane tried to end his career.
Kane tombstoned him on the announce table. Kane says they need to focus on what unites them. Bryan reminds Kane that Kane tried to abduct Bryan’s wife. Kane says he has always had Bryan’s back. Kane and Bryan yell yes and no at each other. The Usos come out and say hello to Bryan and Kane. Jimmy says the tag team division is about to get hot. Jimmy and Jey point out that Kane and Bryan don’t deserve a tag title shot. The Usos have the tag team division on lock. Jimmy and Jey say Team Hell No! got a tag team title shot because they hugged? The Usos hug each other four times. Jey says he guess they get four tag team title matches now. Bryan challenges the Usos to a match. Kane says they will take it under advisement. Paige come out and books Team Hell No! vs the Usos. If the Usos win the tag title match at Extreme Rules becomes a triple threat.
Opinion
This was a great opening segment addressing the most talked about segment last week which was the reunion of Team Hell No. I’m glad they chose to address the feud they briefly had in 2014 where Kane did indeed try to end Bryans career and abduct his wife rather than pretending it never happened. The Usos came out with the same sentiment I had last week about Team Hell No getting a tag shot right now with an already stacked tag division. If anything this opening segment covered all bases and set up our main event for the night with huge implications. I enjoyed it.

– WWE United States Champion Jeff Hardy is backstage talking about the bald eagle and how it is a symbol of America. Hardy kicks off the Independence Day US Open Challenge as we go back to commercial. I love the face paint Jeff Hardy has been doing these days and visual of his eyes is always great.

– We get Asuka backstage. She says it doesn’t matter who she faces, men or women, they all feel the pain because no one is ready for Asuka, even James Ellsworth.

US Championship Open Challenge
Jeff Hardy (C) def. The Miz
In a solid match Jeff Hardy defeats The Miz after hitting a twist of fate on The Miz who was arguing with the referee followed by a swanton bomb for the win.
Opinion
This was a really good match and great way to get Miz in the mix as he’s been in limbo between hosting Miz TV’s and not really having an official feud yet on Smackdown Live. The only thing he was really involved with was the entire thing between the MITB participants. Also with Shinsuke Nakamura still out of action this was a clever way to keep Hardy busy. I wasn’t expecting Miz to win but they gave us moments where it seemed possible.

– James Ellsworth is backstage looking in the mirror. Ellsworth goes on about men being superior to women and says the battle of the sexes ends tonight when he puts Asuka in her place. Because Mella Is Money and Ellsworth Is Exquisite.

The New Day 1st Annual July 3rd Pancake Eating Contest
Byron Saxton gives each member of New Day an intro. Each member of New Day will have five minutes to eat as many pancakes as they can. Kingston’s pancakes are blue, Woods are white, Big E.’s are red. As the competition starts the lights go out and SAnitY’s music hits. SAnitY attacks New Day from behind. Woods is sent face first into the leg of a table. Dain launches Big E. into the ring steps. Dain picks up Big E. and sends him flying over the announce desk. Young elbow drops Woods through a table.
Opinion
Fun stuff here and it makes more sense for sAnity to be feuding with the New Day since they can have three on three matches. I’m glad they turned what potentially could have been a pointless segment and gave it a purpose.

Asuka vs. James Ellsworth
Before the match, Carmella makes her way out to the ring to join the announce team. Ellsworth does a few push-ups to warm up. Ellsworth gets in Asuka’s face. Asuka pushes Ellsworth down to the mat. Ellsworth runs away. Carmella pushes Ellsworth back into the ring. Asuka puts Ellsworth in a side headlock. Ellsworth runs away again. Ellsworth pulls off his shirt. Asuka unleashes a flurry of strikes. Asuka slaps the taste out of Ellsworth’s mouth. Spinning back fist by Asuka. Ellsworth runs way. Asuka chases Ellsworth into the crowd. Ellsworth and Asuka are both counted out making the match end in a no contest. After the match Asuka chases Ellsworth back into the arena but once they get back to ringside Carmella pushes Asuka into the barricade. Carmella trash talks Asuka and pushes Ellsworth up the ramp.
Opinion
This was more of a segment than a match but it was enjoyable. Ellsworth came out arrogant but ended up getting whooped. Carmella got a hit on Asuka and the story continues that Asuka is basically in a two against one situation. As much as I hate to see Ellsworth back it really was a good way to creatively book towards the Mella and Asuka rematch. I also should mention that Mella is Money.

– We see Kane backstage. Daniel Bryan walks up with papers in hand. Kane asks if those are diagrams for the match. Bryan says they have no time for diagrams, they need to get on the same page and to do that, Kane needs to apologize. Bryan starts reading off various incidents from the paper, incidents that Kane needs to apologize going back to 2012. Kane says he apologizes and Bryan asks for which random incident. Kane says for everything. Kane tries to change the subject and tells Bryan that The Usos are at the top of their game right now but when Team Hell No is on the same page, they create a fire that no one can extinguish. Kane says then they will become SmackDown Tag Team Champions. Kane asks Bryan if he’s ready for The Usos. Bryan tosses the complaint papers to the floor and starts a “yes!” chant as Kane looks on.

– They show AJ Styles backstage

– Its announced that Jeff Hardy will defend his United States Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura at Extreme Rules

AJ Styles def. Aiden English w/ Rusev
AJ Styles makes his way out to the ring for his match but grabs a microphone first. The fans are split chanting “AJ Styles” and “Rusev Day” before Styles can speak. Styles says he will defend his title against a man that is bigger and stronger than him at Extreme Rules but what else is new? That’s what makes this job fun and AJ likes proving people wrong. AJ goes on about Rusev until Rusev’s music interrupts him. The Bulgarian Brute comes out with Aiden English. Rusev starts cutting a promo on Styles as he makes his way down to the ring saying Styles has never beat “this” Rusev and that he is going to kick down the door and move into the house AJ Styles built…and he’ll do it on Rusev Day.
In a pretty quick match, AJ Styles defeats Aiden English by making him tap out with the calf crusher. Rusev attacks Styles right after the match and hits a Machka Kick on him outside of the ring. Rusev throws Styles into the ring and locks the accolade on Styles to make a statement and is left standing tall.
Opinion
This was solid storyline progression. I can’t wrap my head around Rusev beating Styles at Extreme Rules and I would be extremely shocked if he does. I’ll be really happy but shocked.

– Backstage, the IIconics cut a promo. Peyton Royce has her game-face on. Royce says Becky is a has-been who never wins when it matters and is just a sidekick. Billie concurs and Peyton says she is going to finish what Billie started a couple of weeks back. Peyton said she’s going to beat Becky but first she’s going to hurt her and that will make her smile.

– James Ellsworth and Carmella are backstage walking when Paige walks up. Paige announces Ellsworth vs. Asuka in a rematch for next week. This will be a Lumberjack Match with the SmackDown women’s division surrounding the ring.

Becky Lynch def. Peyton Royce w/ Billie Kaye
In a back and fourth match, Becky Lynch defeated Peyton Royce by making her tap out to the disarmHER.
Opinion
The winning streak for Becky Lynch continues and I know this eventually lead to her facing off against Charlotte again but I’m enjoying this. For the first time in months, Lynch feels important. I really enjoy the IIconics and Peyton Royce is solid in the ring. Looking forward to see Becky’s instagram story about tonights match.

– In backstage response, Shinsuke Nakamura wonders why Hardy paints his face. He questions if he is a clown, insane or is he ashamed? Nakamura says he will strip away everything Hardy has at Extreme Rules, including his pride and his title.

Team Hell No def. The Usos
If the Usos win, they get added to the tag team championship match at Extreme Rules. In a competitive main event, Team Hell No defeats The Usos after Kane pushes Jimmy into a knee strike from Bryan and then hits the chokeslam on Jey for the win.
After the match, The Bludgeon Brothers interrupt the hugging and “YES” chanting celebration by appearing on the ramp to stare down Team Hell No with the show going off the air.
Opinion
The match was competitive and fun. I was actually rooting for the Usos because I thought a triple threat would both be fun and get the Usos on the PPV card. There was no interaction between the Bludgeon Brothers and Team Hell No but it build anticipation.

Final Thoughts
This episode of Smackdown was definitely better than last week. The appearances of Carmella and AJ Styles really made a difference for me. There were a lot of things that got addressed on this episode to logically continue storylines which I approve of. There was even a spark of a new one with The New Day and sAnity. Once again the two hours just goes by so much faster than the three hours which always makes Smackdown so much easier to enjoy than Raw. It was a fun episode and was booked exactly how a weekly show should be by successfully progressing all their current storylines without giving away too much on free TV. There were two really good matches while the rest were to further develop the current angles. I dig it.
Rating – 6.5/10