WWE SmackDown Live Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for April 18
By Grant Mannis
WWE United States Championship Match
Kevin Owens (c) vs Gary Gandy
Result: Kevin Owens wins via pinfall
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
In the first installment of his new open-challenge, Kevin Owens decided to give a local talent an opportunity at the United States Championship. The contest itself was an absolute joke, as Owens made short work of Gary Gandy with the Pop-Up Powerbomb.
Following his victory, the champion decided to insult the fans before turning his attention to Chris Jericho. Going as far to say that he is the face of America, Owens promises that this will continue to be accurate as long as he is the United States Champion. Believing that the main event could use a bit of his expertise, he decides to join the commentary team. Before doing so, he graces the live audience with a bit of French to close the segment.
While the match featured tonight shouldn’t have been taken seriously, this could be a great thing for Owens and SmackDown Live going forward. Similar to how John Cena brought prestige to the belt back in 2015, this could serve a purpose as well. It would certainly give the less-developed superstars on the Blue brand a chance to shine, and it would give Owens something to do each week. This is of course assuming that he retains against both Chris Jericho and AJ Styles. A victory against Jericho is likely, but the same cannot be said when he faces the Phenomenal One.
Right before the main event, Austin Aries appears to hype up his appearance on 205Live tonight.