WWE SmackDown Grades: Mandy Rose has to be enraged

SmackDown Eight-Man Tag Match

This match was pretty much a throwaway before the Pay Per View to give these men some screen time, because all four tag teams in the match will be competing for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Titles on Sunday anyway. The difference here is that the babyfaces, The New Day and The Lucha House Party, teamed up to face The Forgotten Sons and Miz and Morrison.

Miz and Morrison picked up a victory via The Miz’s Skull Crushing Finale on Lince Dorado, who didn’t see Miz tag in. The Lucha House Party were the most impressive members of this match, putting on a show with their big moves before Miz swooped in for the win.

Grade: C

Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman Promo

Once again, Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman were fantastic, even though WWE continues to hamstring Strowman on the mic by forcing him to speak super-scripted lines. Juxtaposed with Wyatt’s confident, free-flowing speech, Strowman’s lines feel that much more constrained.

Still, the promo was effective, leaving us with plenty of questions for Sunday. Why is Wyatt so desperate to get Strowman back on his side? Does he not want to fight Braun or is he genuinely worried about what The Fiend, if unleashed at the PPV, will do to Strowman?

It was also interesting to see that while Strowman showed quiet confidence, he was not his usual loud self. And at one point, he seemed genuinely conflicted about joining Wyatt, perhaps acknowledging that the man was indeed a mentor to him at one point.

Grade: A-