WWE SmackDown Results, Highlights, And Grades For December 25, 2018

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

It has been an underwhelming run with the United States Championship for Shinsuke Nakamura, who has cut entertaining backstage promos, including “Total Divas” themed promos on Rusev, but hasn’t been rewarded with good matchups. The WWE Universe is forcefully behind Rusev, who is celebrating his birthday tonight on this holiest of Rusev Days. So if Rusev wins as a way of avenging his loss to Nakamura at Fastlane, this shouldn’t be seen as an upset.

An amped up Rusev began the match on a roll with some huge cheers from the crowd, but Nakamura wasn’t exactly short on support either. Dueling chants echoed across the arena in Fresno as the two superstars were busy putting on a show, with Rusev barely scrambling out of a Triangle choke before the break. These two have great chemistry, and they were building off of their work from Fastlane early in the year.

Both men traded moves, but the match really picked up when Nakamura went for a surprise armbar with his usual slick skills. He turned it into a triangle, but Rusev fought out of it and eventually tried to throw Nakamura out of the ring. Nakamura, however, kicked Rusev on the side of the head to send him sprawling outside the ring before a second commercial break.

That allowed Nakamura to deliver some heavy knees to Rusev inside the ring following the “intermission”, and he added a big knee to the face, going for the cover to take some more wind out of Rusev’s sails. Rusev, as Graves pointed out, started to have trouble breathing at this point, and he needed the crowd to get behind him with Nakamura locking in some holds to suffocate Rusev further.

Rusev was able to come back into the match with his resiliency and strength, much to the joy of the crowd. After a vicious throw and a spinning kick, Rusev picked up a nearfall and all the momentum he needed – but would he be able to convert this advantage and the boisterous “Rusev Day!” chants into a victory?

Nakamura just barely kicked out of another huge kick from Rusev, and each kick-out seemed to be more laborious for the current United States Champion. But Nakamura still had his wits about him, as he left the ring before Rusev could get the Accolade going. A hopeful Lana watched as Rusev followed up on Nakamura on the outside, but, sadly for Rusev, Nakamura found an excellent counter, using his agility to turn the tables on Rusev and deliver heavy punishment of his own on the outside.

Though Nakamura set up for a Kinsasha Knee Strike, Rusev managed to hit the Machka Kick first in Shawn Michaels-esque fashion, with Graves even invoking Michaels’s “Heartbreak Kick” nickname when Nakamura heartbreakingly kicked out at two.

Frustrated by Nakamura’s resiliency, Rusev called for The Accolade, but Nakamura countered and manage to strap in a submission of his own – the trusty triangle choke.

But Rusev used his prodigious strength to lift Nakamura and slam him for another potential momentum-changing move in a must-see matchup. The drama mounted when Nakamura rolled up Rusev for a nearfall and nailed him in the back of the head aftewards with a knee to the back of the head. Yet Rusev somehow kicked out!

As the crowd chanted “This is awesome!”, Nakamura motioned for his second Kinsasha attempt, dodged the Machka Kick, and then was turned inside-out by a sickening clotheslines from Rusev. Stomping in glee, Rusev hit the Machka Kick to win the United States Championship in dramatic fashion!

Rusev has made the US Title feel important before, and this was perfect timing for his victory. The crowd was fired up, Lana was fired up, and Rusev was ELATED.

Grade: A+, Absolutely a match worth watching. This was one of the best WWE matches in Nakamura’s career, as well as one of the best matches in Rusev’s career overall. They were sensational in the main event, and that was a feel-good moment for Rusev, who has been excellent in 2018. Happy Rusev Day!