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The post-Money In The Bank edition of WWE SmackDown immediately addressed the WWE Championship picture for Extreme Rules while also addressing other key angles.
The June 19 edition of WWE SmackDown saw a new number one contender for the WWE Championship crowned as well as a SmackDown Tag Team Championship rematch and the debut of one of the best teams in NXT history.
With Extreme Rules just under a month away, the blue brand has a lot of momentum and that momentum keeps adding new layers seemingly each week. Let’s take a look at a few grades from last night’s WWE SmackDown.
5. Opening Segment
Carmella had the biggest challenge of her SmackDown Women’s Championship reign up to this point at Money In The Bank this past Sunday. But through hook or crook, she managed to escape the pay-per-view with her title in hand after a little help from an old friend.
James Ellsworth’s surprising return at Money In The Bank distracted Asuka to the point where Carmella was able to take advantage and get the win to retain her title. And as expected, Carmella was basking in her accomplishment last night to open up the show. The segment went from a fake motivational speech to the usual Carmella before Ellsworth came out dressed as Asuka again.
The two continued to take shots at Asuka and Ellsworth said how Carmella is the greatest woman in history, even better than Mother Theresa. But The Empress Of Tomorrow had finally heard enough and she stormed down to the ring and eventually kicked Ellsworth right off his feet. The Princess Of Staten Island would get the last laugh, however.
While Asuka was slightly distracted, Carmella hit her with a huge kick and walked away with Asuka still laying in the ring. It was a pretty good segment and the chemistry between Carmella and Ellsworth has always been effective, just like it was last night. Expect to see Asuka get another shot at Carmella’s title in the near future, however.
The SmackDown Women’s Champion has had everyone’s number lately and apparently, nobody is ready for Ellsworth.
Final Grade: B
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4. Becky Lynch vs. Billie Kay
For the second year in a row, Becky Lynch was fingertips away from winning the women’s Money in the Bank briefcase. And for the second year in a row, she came up just short in the end despite showing out as good or better than any woman in those matches.
Lynch had to refocus last night as she was set to battle Billie Kay of The IIconics in one-on-one action just two days after the Money in the Bank ladder match. It gave Lynch an opportunity to get back on track, but Kay and fellow IIconic Peyton Royce weren’t going to make it easy on The Irish Lass Kicker.
After Kay and Royce’s usual pre-match mic shtick making fun of their opponents, Lynch and Kay would put on a pretty solid match. It got a fair amount of time and saw enough twists and turns with a strong heel vs. face dynamic involved. But Lynch made sure she didn’t come up short in this match and hooked Kay in the disarmer.
That would be all the advantage Lynch needed and Kay tapped out to give Lynch the win. Hopefully the WWE has something planned for Lynch because she has been doing a little bit of nothing for months now. She deserves to be in the SmackDown Women’s Championship picture again and the WWE needs to stop taking her for granted.
If or when she will return to the championship picture is unknown, but The Irish Lass Kicker had a solid start in accomplishing that last night.
Final Grade: B
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3. The Usos And SAnitY Segment
It was announced shortly after the superstar shakeup a couple months ago that one of the most successful tag teams in NXT history would be making their main roster debut on the blue brand. But for the better part of two months, that team didn’t show up.
That all changed last night when SAnitY finally made their SmackDown debut and made a big statement in the process. It was set to be SAnitY vs. The Usos in tag team action, but the match itself never materialized. Jimmy and Jey had strong words for Eric Young, Killian Dane, and Alexander Wolfe just before the match, but SAnitY would have the last laugh.
The trio hit the ring and began attacking The Usos ferociously. Young, Dane, and Wolfe never even let the match get underway and instead, they took out Jimmy and Jey and even made each of them watch while the other one got beat down. It was an attack that helps describe SAnitY perfectly and expect more of the same in the future.
Although we didn’t get to see a match, having SAnitY look strong against The Usos on the trio’s first night on the main roster without actually pinning arguably the best tag team in the WWE makes a lot of sense. It protects both teams and probably will further set up a feud of sorts between the teams.
Tuesday nights will never be the same now that SAnitY has arrived and The Usos are already feeling that first hand after a relatively solid segment.
Final Grade: B-
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2. The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Luke Gallows And Karl Anderson
Harper and Rowan have run roughshod over the tag team division on Tuesday nights since becoming the SmackDown Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania 34. They have turned back team after team since becoming champions and no team has shown they can beat The Bludgeon Brothers.
However, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson set out to prove they can dethrone The Bludgeon Brothers and after earning a tag team title opportunity at Money In The Bank, they pushed Harper and Rowan to their limits even in defeat. The Good Brothers got another shot at the gold last night when they faced The Bludgeon Brothers for the second time in two days.
The match started out emphatically in favor of Harper and Rowan after they took Anderson out of the equation for a while. But Gallows and Anderson got back in the swing of things and turned the tide in their favor for a while. It legitimately seemed like they could actually win the match and dethrone The Bludgeon Brothers, but it wouldn’t go that smoothly.
Despite a more than valiant effort, Harper and Rowan emerged victorious and once again retained their titles. This was a very solid match even if it didn’t go very long. But now that The Bludgeon Brothers have knocked back another team, who could step up and challenge them now? They have proven to be too much for everybody so far.
The Good Brothers put up a good fight last night, but in the end, it just wasn’t quite enough to knock off the destructive Bludgeon Brothers.
Final Grade: B+
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1. Five-Man Gauntlet Match
The WWE Championship has been the focal point of a feud between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura for a few months. But after Styles defeated Nakamura in a Last Man Standing match at Money In The Bank to retain his title again, it was announced that a new challenger would be crowned last night.
But instead of a normal match to determine the number one contender, the winner would have to emerge victorious from a five-man gauntlet match. The participants were Daniel Bryan, Big E, Samoa Joe, The Miz, and Rusev and what a match it would end up being. It started with Bryan and Big E and these two stole the show and the match itself.
Big E showed how great he can be as a singles competitor and Bryan did his thing, but the number of creative moves in this match were really surprising. Bryan outlasted Big E only to see Joe join the match next. He took it to Bryan in a big way, but Bryan’s craftiness got him the win after he won via count-out. However, The Bludgeon Brothers made a surprise appearance and laid out Bryan, just in the nick of time for The Miz to enter the match and pin Bryan.
It then came down to Miz and Rusev and after another very good battle, Rusev got arguably the biggest win of his career by making The Miz tap out and he became the new number one contender for the WWE Championship. It will be Styles vs. Rusev at Extreme Rules, but this match was outstanding. The Bludgeon Brothers involvement was a bit odd, but it should lead to the sought-after Bryan vs. Miz feud.
Next: WWE SmackDown Review For June 19 Show
Rusev Day will be celebrated in a big way at Extreme Rules when The Bulgarian Brute challenges for his first-ever world title.