WWE SmackDown Results, Highlights, and Grades For May 1, 2018

Shelton Benjamin and The Miz vs. Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy

As expected, Paige booked a little tag match among these four combatants after their dispute in the opening segment of SmackDown Live.

The action was fast-paced and excellent, and sometimes I forget just how good Jeff Hardy is. The dude is 40, but he moves around better than most of the roster and is an insane seller. Every match he’s pulled since becoming United States Champion has struck a different note, and it’s awesome watching his wisdom in the ring.

Both teams were well-oiled machines. Benjamin and Miz started to get to work on isolating Hardy, making efficient use of frequent tags.

Hardy was so over that Miz got “You suck!” chants for isolating Jeff in the corner, and it only got worse when the A-Lister tried to steal Daniel Bryan’s moves again. Jeff countered and finally tagged in Orton, who started going to work on Shelton Benjamin before dropping The Miz on the announce table.

He then got a nice pop for planting both The Miz and Benjamin with an elevated DDT.

Even though Randy hit the RKO on Benjamin, he tagged in Hardy so he could hit the Swanton Bomb and pick up the victory.

That was short-lived, as Orton struck Hardy with an RKO after the win. We’re in for a treat at Backlash when Hardy and Orton take center stage for the United States Championship.

Grade: A-, good match, loved how the heels isolated Jeff Hardy for so long. Orton’s RKO on Hardy was brilliant, and it’s easy to forget how good Orton is at getting the crowd to pop solely with his moves.