WWE SmackDown Live Results And Grades For July 17, 2018

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Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy For The United States Championship

Ladies and gentlemen, here we are. The main event for the United States Championship, and it is Shinsuke Nakamura defending his newly-won title against Jeff Hardy. It’s incredible to think that on a show where we saw Kofi Kingston vs. Eric Young and Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. AJ Styles, we’re getting a US Title match between two of the best in the main event. SmackDown has been going all out to deliver the goods.

The “mega-clear” and “ultra focused” Jeff Hardy went RIGHT AFTER Shinsuke Nakamura to make sure there were no surprises, and he even mocked “Bad Vibrations” before tossing around Nakamura on the outside. Ticked off Jeff Hardy is GREAT, and we’re in for a hell of a match. Oh, also, Nakamura did go for a low-blow, but Hardy scouted it out.

Nakamura went for frequent pins to try and wear down Hardy, and his strategy paid off. The relentless wrestling machine that is Shinsuke Nakmaura started mocking Hardy, choking him with his boot at the turnbuckles, and then gave him some REAL Bad Vibrations. Hardy looked completely worn out by Nakamura, whose stamina was on display here. But you always get the feeling that Hardy is just one WWE Universe-fueled comeback away from evening things up.

That’s exactly what happened. Nakamura missed a knee strike, giving Hardy an opening that he picked up on immediately. Soaking up “Delete!” chants from the crowd, Hardy hit Nakamura head-first on all four turnbuckles to assert his advantage.

Hardy hits “Whisper in the Wind” for a near-fall, but he’s becoming increasingly desperate to win the US Title back. That desperation could be his downfall, because it seems like a mistake is on the horizon.

Later, he countered a Kinsasha Knee Stike into a Twist of Fate. And he’s about to win! Yes, Jeff Hardy is about to become the United States Champion again! Hardy hits the Swanton Bomb, and just as he’s about to win, someone pulls him out of the ring.

It’s Randy Orton! The evil snake is here! After beating up Hardy for no reason in his return at Extreme Rules, Orton delivered an even more vicious beatdown of the Charismatic Enigma tonight! The crowd was visibly upset, as he even tried to tear Hardy’s ear off! Fans kept yelling, “Stop it!”, as Orton destroyed Hardy on the steel steps. He kept screaming in Hardy’s face, “Do you know why I’m doing this?! Well you’re gonna have to listen a little more closely!”

Next: 3 Challengers For Dolph Ziggler At SummerSlam

Grade: A+, Heel Randy Orton is one of the greatest characters of all-time, and this was further evidence of that. This beatdown was wonderfully evil, uncomfortable, and nauseating. I mean, Orton was cool and all, but we definitely felt awful for Hardy. The tease of Hardy winning back the title was also fantastic, as we never saw Orton coming and ALL believed Hardy had it won. Nakamura and Hardy were delivering a solid match before the interference, too.