Welcome to the Smackdown Review for June 26 2018. For both this and Raw, I will go over what the big talking points were, pick the match of the night, and look ahead to the next show
Talking Points
Who’s Afraid of the Bludgeon Brothers
I honestly believed that the Miz sent Harper and Rowan to attack Daniel Bryan last week. That did not seem to be the case as the Miz looked afraid of the two men on Miz Tv. This did not stop him from trying to stir the pot and say that Bryan had disrespected them. It seemed the Brothers were about to attack Miz when Bryan showed up. Challenging both, it was Harper who accepted for a match later. Another solid week of giving a good reason why Miz and Bryan are not meeting in the ring.
Up Goes Down
Xavier Woods took on Rusev with their respective partners looking on. Rusev has the crowd behind him, but he needs to put together some strong wins before his match with AJ Styles at Extreme Rules. This was a good back and forth, showing that Woods has some serious strength as he lifted Rusev on his shoulders at one point. Rusev proved to be too much and Woods tapped out. The promo afterwards showed Rusev walking a line between heel and babyface. He talked up his accomplishments, but did not turn on the crowd either.
The Match of the Insane
Shinsuke Nakamura was not cleared for action, so Jeff Hardy, sporting new face paint and new attitude, offered the US Title in a open challenge. The challenge was answered by Sanity, more specifically Eric Young. Young was all over Hardy, despite the Enigma hitting some big shots. It looked as if Young had the match in his hand when the Usos arrived at ringside to attack the other members. Young actually got himself disqualified by bringing one of the Usos into the ring. If Sanity is the crazy stable, actions like this must continue.
Match of the Night
Danial Bryan vs Harper (DQ)
Bryan and Harper had their match from the setup earlier in the evening. Bryan knew that Rowan would play a part and his actions of getting back into the ring as quick as he could played up that narrative. Bryan took some huge shots, but looked to have the victory in hand when Rowan attacked him. The beatdown commenced until the shocking arrival of Kane. After Kane cleared house, the two hugged it out and Team Hell No was back. Paige made it official by putting these two against the Bludgeon Brothers for the Tag Titles at Extreme Rules
Conclusion
Becky Lynch continued her winning ways against Sonya Deville. James Ellsworth will face Askua next week. The Usos and Jeff Hardy beat Sanity.
