WWE SmackDown Live REVIEW: Full Results, Grades & Highlights for 06/27/18

Team Hell No

One night after Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler waged a terrific contest over Raw’s secondary singles title, SmackDown has lost the opportunity to match its rival brand. Shinsuke Nakamura has been pulled from his scheduled U.S. title match against champion Jeff Hardy. That bout (and likely victory) looked to offer a soft landing to Nakamura after he came away empty-handed following 42 televised matches against WWE Champion AJ Styles during the past three months. Yes, that’s an approximation. Regardless, Hardy is coming to SmackDown for a fight, and will issue an open challenge for his U.S. championship tonight.

Intro: We join Miz TV for the cold open. His guests are the Bludgeon Brothers, whose evisceration of Daniel Bryan allowed Miz to win a cakewalk in last week’s Gauntlet. He refers to the SmackDown tag-team champions as soul-devouring, “woolly mammoth carnivores.” As they walk to the ring, Corey Graves pays tribute to the journalistic prowess of Miz, comparing him to a modern-day Maury Povich. That is not a news reporter we learned to emulate in my university journalism program.

The Bludgeon Brothers step into the ring. Miz gets visibly scared and moves as far away from them as he can. He asks why they attacked Bryan, then fearfully holds out the microphone at full extension while leaning the other way. They stare at him. I like seeing normal heels like Miz, who can clearly function in the real world, get frightened by killer heels. His anxiety puts over how dangerous Harper and Rowan are. In lieu of eliciting an actual response, Miz throws to footage of Bryan walking between the Bludgeon Brothers as he made his entrance last week, then getting spike-powerbombed by the duo after beating Samoa Joe via count-out.

Miz offers the Bludgeons positions as grips on his new film, “Ruff Ruff Ref.” Harper declines by smacking the microphone from his hand. The Bludgeon Brothers start toward Miz, who is saved by Bryan’s music hitting. Bryan steps onto the entrance ramp, and asks which of the Bludgeons is going to fight him first. Rowan restrains his partner. He barks that Bryan never learns. “But you’re gonna… tonight.”

Backstage, The New Day urges Mr. Bootyworth to make haste in blending a pancake shake for Xavier Woods. He wrestles Rusev next. Graves protests that liquefying pancakes just makes them batter again.

Xavier Woods vs. Rusev

Rusev prevents a side-headlock takedown, then stands tall as Woods bounces off him and hits the mat on a shoulder-block attempt. Eschewing the power game, Woods snaps Rusev over with a flying head-scissors, sending him throat-first across the middle rope. New Day gets cartoonish as Big E holds up a cut-out word-bubble reading, “OUCH!” next to Rusev’s mouth at Woods darts into him with a running dropkick. The slapstick ends when Rusev catches Woods going for an Honor Roll and drives him into the mat with a spike slam.

Rusev thrashes Woods outside the ring, then brings him back inside and grips a reverse chin-lock. His thickness and strength make the hold look more painful than it would if most wrestlers applied it. Woods counters and throws a dropkick, then runs into a boot in the corner. He sells that move like it was a Machka Kick. A Rusev back-elbow sets Woods down again. Rusev locks in a bear hug. The lack of commentary, or any real chance the match is going to end during a commercial break, saps these bouts of drama when watching them on a split-screen.

Woods comes to life as the ads end (coincidentally, I’m sure). He frees himself from the bear hug, hits Rusev with a side-kick, then laces into Rusev with chops and a discus forearm. Xavier dazes Rusev with an enziguri, then hits his springboard DDT off the bottom rope for a two-count. Woods lands another side-kick, then runs into a Samoan Drop. Rusev gets a near-fall. Tom Phillips points out that Woods is facing the same size-disadvantage that Styles will confront at Extreme Rules.

Rusev perches Woods on the top turnbuckle. Woods knocks him off, then dodges a running shoulder-tackle. Going for it all, Woods goes up top for the rope-walk elbow-drop. The Bulgarian Brute won’t stay down, so Woods lands on his feet and goes for another discus forearm. Rusev beats him to the punch with a thrust kick, then clocks him with a Mackha Kick. He applies the Accolade for the tapout.

Result: Rusev beat Xavier Woods by submission via the Accolade.

Grade: B-

After the match, Rusev says tonight was about AJ Styles. He warns that his win is a preview of Extreme Rules, which would mark a “great Rusev Day.”

We go backstage to Jeff Hardy. Jeff informs us that his adrenaline is bonding with his membrane receptors, heightening his awareness and increasing his threshold for pain. He says he’s ready to take flight and fight.

Lana and Naomi argue over the true winner of their dance-off. Lana has no Russian accent again. Naomi squees over seven cast members of the Netflix series GLOW showing up. I’d have the same reaction if Alison Brie sauntered into my line of sight. Naomi and Brie reference Lana’s here today/gone tomorrow Russian accent. Naomi concedes that Lana is a good dancer, and suggests they get on the same page as tag partners. If that happens, the women’s division will (cue group chant), “Feel the glow!”

Hardy waits mid-ring for his opponent to reveal himself. A helicopter noise signals that he’s going to deal with three of them, as Sanity make their way to ringside.

U.S. Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Eric Young

Eric Young gets the title shot for Sanity. He immediately attacks Hardy with clubbing forearms. Jeff reverses an Irish whip into the turnbuckle, sending Young tumbling over the top rope to the apron. EY slides under the bottom rope to reenter the ring. He gets caught, however, in a Twist of Fate attempt. Young appears to successfully fight off the finisher, but Hardy then drops to the mat anyway (making no contact with his opponent’s head or neck), and Young decides to sell the move. Ugly botch. Jeff climbs the top rope, and Young rolls to ringside. We go to commercial in order to forget that garbage sequence.

Back live, Young tries to tear Hardy’s head off his body with his bare hands. Jeff creates separation, only to run into a back elbow. He brings Hardy to the corner, then pulls him completely off the mat with a dragon sleeper as Young sits on the top-turnbuckle. Young repeatedly twists Hardy’s neck, a la Chong Li from Bloodsport. He tosses Hardy to the mat by his hair, gets a two-count, then goes back to his neck grip. When Hardy fights out, Young throws him hard into the turnbuckles, getting another two-count.

Jeff executes a schoolboy pinning combination for his own two-count, but Young regains the upper hand with a clothesline. Young returns to that neck-hold. Jeff feels our boredom, and counters with a sit-down jawbreaker. Hardy hits Young with a running forearm, inverted atomic drop, and a double leg-drop. A basement dropkick gets Jeff a two-count. Hardy goes for a Twist of Fate; Young turns through it, and they collide with a double clothesline.

As both men collect their senses, the Usos walk through the crowd to the ringside area. They brawl with Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe. The fight spills into the ring, as the Usos and Hardy dispatch their foes to cheers.

Result: No contest between Jeff Hardy and Eric Young.

Grade: C

Jeff Hardy and The Usos vs. Sanity

In the spirit of Teddy Long, this match has evolved into a six-man tag-team bout. Jimmy Uso makes the tag to his brother, who clobbers Young and Wolfe as they stand on the apron. He enjoys no such luck against Dain, who blasts him with the Divide. The powerhouse tags Wolfe, who drives Jey into the barricade, then dumps Uso face-first onto the ring apron. He tags Young, then delivers a gut-buster, holding Uso in that position as Young dives off the turnbuckle with an ax-handle.

After failing to pin Uso, Young goes back to that neck grip. When Uso fights out, Young hits a back elbow to put him down again, then chokes him against the bottom rope. Dain cheap-shots Uso, then tags in to throw a pump kick into Uso’s gut. He delivers a vertical suplex for a two-count, then follows Young’s example by twisting Uce’s neck. Young tags back in and slaps Uso with an open-hand strike. He goes for a back suplex, which Jey counters by backflipping out and just shoving Young out of the ring. As Uso tries to make the tag, Young runs over and trips Hardy off the apron, then bashes Uce with a forearm.

Young and Dain gang up for a double-team maneuver. Dain whips Young toward Uce in the corner. Uso back-drops him to the floor, then side-steps a Dain charge, sending the big man crashing into the ringpost. Wolfe tags in as Jey tags Jimmy, who levels the German with clotheslines, an uppercut, and a Samoan Drop. Jimmy belts Wolfe with a big right hand, then goes up for a top-rope cross-body-block that nets a two-count. He nails Wolfe with a spin-around enzirugi and a running hip-block. When he goes for the pin, Young leaps off the ropes with an elbow to break up the pinfall.

Hardy clears Young from the ring with a dropkick, then gets tossed by Dain. Jey hits Young and Dain with superkicks. Dain won’t be deterred, however, seizing Jey by the neck. Jimmy saves his brother with a superkick, then the twins rock superkicks in stereo to send Dain to the arena floor. Jey leaps over the top rope onto Young and Dain. Meanwhile, Wolfe rolls up Uso for a two-count. Jimmy kicks out, only to get German-suplexed (how apropos) into his own corner. That’s a tactical mistake, as Hardy tags in while Jimmy blasts Wolfe with a superkick. Hardy drops the Swanton Bomb (with his discarded shirt hanging off his left wrist) for the victory.

Result: Jeff Hardy and The Usos beat Sanity when Hardy pinned Alexander Wolfe following a Swanton Bomb.

Grade: B

We revisit a WWE.com video that aired earlier today in which Dasha Fuentes interviewed Becky Lynch. Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose crash the interview to debate the legitimacy of Lynch’s “winning streak.” Lynch invites one of them to square off in a match tonight.

Becky Lynch vs. Sonya Deville

Becky ducks two big kicks to start the match, then trips Deville and goes for a quick cover. They engage in a test-of-strength, which Lynch wins, powering Deville to the mat. Deville breaks the hold with a knee strike, then hits Lynch with a shoulder-block. Becky bridges out of the subsequent pinning attempt, kicks Deville, then does the Latino Heat shoulder swivel for some reason.

Deville cuts out the nonsense, stifling an O’Connor Roll and striking Lynch with a sidekick. She takes Lynch to the mat, controlling her with amateur wrestling. Becky uses leverage to send Deville through the ropes to the floor. A frustrated Deville grabs Lynch’s legs and pulls her to ringside. Lynch quickly corrals Deville, however, and flings her over the announce table. Becky rolls back into the ring and invites Deville to join her.

A chastened Deville returns to the mat. Lynch snares her with a drop-toehold, and executes an Oklahoma Roll. Deville responds with her own version of that pinning combination. Lynch kicks out, then knocks Deville from the ring with a one-footed dropkick. When she tries to catch Deville sleeping at ringside, Sonya avoids Lynch’s running kick, then drives her back-first into the ring apron. She hurls Lynch into the barricade, then brings her back inside the ring.

Deville lights up Lynch with strikes, then traps her in a body-scissors. When Becky bridges backwards to go for the pinfall (forcing Deville to kick out and release the hold), Deville gets up and double-legs her opponent, slamming her for a two-count. Deville sticks to wrestling by hooking a backslide for another two-count, then just kicks Lynch in the chest. Deville returns to the body-scissors, wrapping her arms around Lynch’s jaw. When Lynch makes it to her feet, Deville throws her into the turnbuckle. Becky avoids the follow-up attack, and nails her bottom-rope springboard kick. The Lasskicker lands two clotheslines and a leg lariat. A Becksploder gets a two-count.

Deville tries to fend off Lynch in the corner by throwing another kick. Lynch catches the boot, only for Deville to drive her into the mat by using that leg. A frustrated Deville can’t get the pin, then whiffs on a sliding knee. Lynch hits her own flying forearm, getting a two-count. Deville fights to regain the offensive, rolling up Lynch for a pinning attempt, then cracking her with an enziguri. Deville charges at Lynch in the corner. Becky boots her away, then gets distracted by an interfering Mandy Rose. When Lynch focuses on Rose, Deville swipes her leg off the middle-rope, getting a two-count.

Sonya bashes Lynch with forearms as Becky tries to recover under the bottom rope. When Rose tries to jaw with Lynch, the Lasskicker sends Deville tripping into her teammate, then locks in the Dis-Arm-Her for the tapout.

Result: Becky Lynch submitted Sonya Deville with the Dis-Arm-Her.

Grade: B

James Ellsworth admires himself in a mirror backstage. He tries to greet Tye Dillinger, who grades Ellsworth as a 1 (out of 10) and takes his leave.

In a backstage video, Zelina Vega said that Andrade “Cien” Almas sent a message three weeks ago by putting Sin Cara on the shelf. She warns the SmackDown locker room to stay out of their way.

Ellsworth gets a full entrance. This is the closest WWE has come to signing Kevin Federline full-time. He complains about Asuka attacking him last week for “no reason”, and challenges Asuka to try it again. Instead, SmackDown General Manager Paige surfaces. Paige divulges that Asuka is visiting family in Japan, which is the only reason Ellsworth has the guts to call her out on live television. The GM grants Asuka another title match against Carmella at Extreme Rules.

Ellsworth sneers at this booking decision, then asks Paige if she just came out to ask him for a date. Paige plays along, asking Ellsworth if he is free next Tuesday. He accepts without hesitation. She then clarifies that their “date” will actually be a match in which he competes against Asuka. Ellsworth looks burned at this booking decision made by the woman he just called “Paige-cess.” This guy sucks, and it’s fun for everyone to watch him get beaten down.

The Bludgeon Brothers inhabit that black pit of hell backstage. Harper just glares at us. Meanwhile, Bryan warms up by sparring with Luke Gallows while Karl Anderson counts his abs.

Daniel Bryan vs. Harper

Bryan spends the opening seconds evading Harper inside and outside of the ring. He ducks a swipe in the corner and kicks Harper until being slapped by an open-hand strike. Harper ejects Bryan from the ring for the second time in the first 30 seconds of the match. Again, Bryan rolls back into the ring to avoid a brawl, then attempts a wrecking-ball dropkick. Harper snags his legs and sends Bryan head-first into the barricade. He rips at Bryan’s face before lifting him onto his shoulder. Bryan dips out and pushes Harper into the ringpost. He kicks away at Harper outside, then inside the ring. One shot from Harper, however, sends Bryan to the mat.

Harper grips Bryan in a modified camel clutch as he claws at Bryan’s face. Bryan kicks Harper to counter a back-body-drop attempt, then pulls down the top rope to send a charging Harper sprawling to ringside. Bryan dives through the ropes onto Harper, who catches him and sends him crashing face-first onto the announce table. Harper unloads a big boot into Bryan, who falls over the barricade into the timekeeper’s area as we go to commercial.

Back from break, Rowan has Bryan wrapped up in a modified Cobra Clutch. Bryan fights out and backflips over Harper in the corner. His flying clothesline attempt is stymied by Harper, who crushes him with a spinning spike slam for a two-count. Harper drives a forearm into Bryan’s lower back, then slingshots himself over the top rope with a senton for a two-count. He returns to his modified Cobra Clutch. Bryan breaks the hold with a jawbreaker, then dropkicks Harper’s left arm. He delivers two corner dropkicks, then sprints directly into a Michinoku Driver for a two-count.

Another modified Cobra Clutch from Harper, who utilizes a body-scissors to add variety. A wearied Bryan refuses to stay down, breaking the hold and slicing into Harper with kicks to the body. When he bounds off the ropes, though, Harper stops him with a dropkick. He places Bryan on the top rope and attempts a superplex. Bryan punches his way free, then smashes Harper with a tornado DDT off the turnbuckle. He pelts Harper with Yes Kicks. Bryan counters both a powerbomb and discus clothesline attempt, then bars Harper’s left arm, applying the Yes Lock. Rowan hits Bryan with a double-axhandle, prompting the DQ.

Harper delivered a quality performance tonight in a big showcase. Credit for gutting out what had to be his longest singles match by far this year.

Result: Daniel Bryan beat Harper by disqualification when Rowan interfered.

Grade: B+

The Bludgeon Brothers pound away at Bryan in the corner. Harper and Rowan set him up for a spike powerbomb. An explosive sound rings out, and Kane marches to the ring. He uppercuts the Bludgeon Brothers, then grabs both men around their throats. When they overpower him, Bryan climbs the top turnbuckle and dropkicks Harper and Rowan simultaneously. Bryan wallops Rowan with the flying knee. Kane ducks a Harper roundhouse and chokeslams him. Kane steps up to Bryan menacingly, then holds out his arms for a hug. Bryan considers it, shakes his head, then remembers the teachings of Dr. Shelby. The gladiators hug it out. Team Hell No reunites!

Paige interrupts the moment to book a SmackDown tag-team championship match at Extreme Rules between the Bludgeon Brothers and Team Hell No. More hugging, cheering, and finger-pointing ensue.

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