WWE Royal Rumble 2018: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

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SmackDown Tag Team Championship 2 out of 3 Falls Match

The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) (c) vs. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin

Result: The Usos defeated Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin 2-0 to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championship

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Personally, I like it better when a 2 out of 3 falls match has the first fall happen really early on. Making it so one team has to play from behind the whole time – to me, at least – makes it much more intriguing. But I learned tonight that the counter to that is having one team just obliterate a limb on one of their opponents, because the early part of this match, even with no falls, was terrific.

The leg work on Jimmy at the beginning of the match was picture perfect. 90% of the dude’s offense is superkicks and high flying moves – why not take out his leg? It puts the champs in a tough spot, and it also led directly to Jey Uso cleaning house in one of the best one man sequences in a tag match in a while.

But it didn’t even lead to a finish. In fact, it took a while before the first fall happened at all. Paydirt didn’t get a victory, much to Benjamin’s chagrin. A wild reversal sequence eventual brought us to the Usos picking up the first fall, and it looked like we were heading for another all time great match between these two teams.

Then the rug got pulled out from under everything, and the match hit a screeching halt. Benjamin and Gable took out Jimmy on the outside, leaving Jey by his lonesome in the middle of the ring. Gable went to the top rope, but Jey rolled Shelton up for a pin – Gable was too slow to break it up. So the champs sweep, retain, and killed the momentum of a great match.

I think I get what they were going for with this finish, but I don’t like it. It sounds like it may have been a good idea, but it translated poorly. I don’t know where this feud is going, but that’s two pretty bad finishes in a row. Yeesh.