WWE SmackDown Grades: RKO Builds World Cup Momentum

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The Oct. 23 edition of WWE SmackDown continued to build on the blue brand’s top storylines and angles with Evolution and Crown Jewel rapidly approaching.

Last night’s WWE SmackDown was a bit of an up and down show at times, but it was an overall important show for the blue brand with several of its storylines taking further shape.

The first-ever all-women’s pay-per-view Evolution is on deck next and Crown Jewel follows with both shows likely to greatly affect Tuesday nights.  With that being said, let’s take a look at a few grades from the Oct. 23 edition of WWE SmackDown.

5. The Usos vs. AJ Styles And Daniel Bryan

A dream match of sorts will take place at Crown Jewel when AJ Styles defends the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan.  In the meantime, however, these two world-class performers are struggling to fight cohesion as a tag team.

Last week saw Styles and Bryan lose to The Usos after miscommunication wound up costing them.  The two would get another opportunity to face Jimmy and Jey again last night and try to work through their issues from last week.  Things started out very well for Styles and Bryan with perfect team cohesion where both men were in sync with each other.

However, that wouldn’t last the entire match and The Usos quickly turned things around.  The finish saw Styles and Bryan look like they were about to get the win, but another bit of miscommunication would spell doom once again.  The Phenomenal One accidentally hit The Yes Man with a Pele Kick, allowing The Usos to take advantage.

Jimmy and Jey once again took advantage of the issues between Styles and Bryan to defeat them for the second straight week after a pretty good match.  Bryan wasn’t so sure it was an accidental kick, however, and he insinuated as much backstage in an interview with Styles.  This angle will likely ratchet up in the next couple of weeks with Crown Jewel approaching.

Great singles competitors don’t always make great tag teams, and that is ringing true with two of the blue brand’s top stars.

Final Grade: B