WWE SmackDown results, highlights (July 4): Drew McIntyre is back, Andrade and Rey Fenix shine
👀Return of the Night
Drew McIntyre is back. But in somewhat of a lackluster fashion.
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Cody Rhodes opened "WWE SmackDown" properly, only getting out a handful of lines before Randy Orton emerged to build this hesitation narrative further, alluding to their match at WWE Night of Champions and Rhodes vs. John Cena at WrestleMania 41. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we're getting a double-turn at WWE SummerSlam.
Orton, golden on the mic as always, demanded Rhodes kicks Cena's ass in their rematch — and that was the magic sentence to bring out McIntyre. He then called them betas to his alpha status, attempting to drive a wedge between the two, eating an RKO for his troubles.
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McIntyre still feels so incredibly lost and directionless because, despite any history he has with either, this felt random as hell. He said he wants Rhodes to win back the title just so he can take it from him, which is essentially the only tease made other than antagonizing Orton just for fun. Now, they'll wrestle at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event next weekend.
😱Swerve of the Night
This "WWE SmackDown" ended in the most stunning fashion imaginable with Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo vs. Jacob Fatu and Jimmy Uso as the main event. You're not going to believe it, but this match went without interference, and Fatu pinned Sikoa clean to get him and Uso the win.
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Is Triple H listening?!
I seriously can't believe it, but it's incredibly welcome, despite the interesting choice to keep Mateo protected rather than Sikoa. I suppose the fallback for that is him being the leader of this "Bloodline 3.0," which he doesn't want to refer to as a Bloodline continuation.
It was a good match, but overshadowed by what came later on. The loss was essentially voided in the immediate aftermath because, of course, there was still the attack from Sikoa's crew, who launched Fatu through the announce table and stood tall to close the show.
😤Coexistence of the Night
WWE is doing the thing. Can they coexist? Everyone telegraphed this with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, and there are both positives and negatives to it. Let's start with the good.
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Flair's absence from a singles title scene for an extended period isn't going to hurt. In fact, it's quickly helping her regain morale with the fans by pairing her with someone who's been consistently over, like Bliss. Additionally, Flair is becoming a meta version of herself. People can get behind that type of approach rather than someone delusional or in denial, so this is the right path to take.
On the other hand, this entire angle between two wrestlers who are polar opposites, single stars, and not a real team, once again fully buries the "real" women's tag teams, just like the Bayley and Lyra Valkyria story. At the same time, there's not even a division at this point; there barely was one before WrestleMania 41, anyway. So, does it really matter?
As for the match itself, the start was clunky beyond all belief, and there was a triple dive spot that had me gritting my teeth for everyone. The second half picked up the pace as everyone got on the same page, including the new frenemies Bliss and Flair, who won their tag team triple threat match against Michin and B-Fab, and The Secret Hervice. They pinned the latter with a moonsault-Twitsed Bliss combo, advancing to the Fatal 4-Way tag team title match at WWE Evolution.
"WWE SmackDown" really has become the tag team show, and while there was good and bad, one, in particular, delivered with flying colors.
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👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑
OK, so Triple H decided to just go and give significant time to the Fraxiom vs. Andrade and Rey Fenix match, and it was one of the best "WWE SmackDown" matches of the year. Uncrowned Gems don't get much easier to decide than this one.
First and foremost, I will say I don't love this new team of Andrade and Fenix being the first team to beat Fraxiom, but the match was so damn sensational that I can give it a pass. It was one of those pairings where you knew a treat was on the way, but this over-delivered.
There are too many great moments to highlight, but if I had to pick one, it was the near finish on Andrade that crescendoed into his team's win. Seriously, if you missed it, just go watch and thank me later.
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👍FRIDAY NIGHT FIRE(WORKS)👍
Two-hour "WWE SmackDowns," how we missed you. This runtime is so, so, so much more digestible.
👎DOWN & OUT👎
1. The Wyatt Sicks beat Johnny Gargano, Chris Sabin, Montez Ford and Berto in an 8-Man tag match. That was "WWE SmackDown" general manager Nick Aldis' solution to everything that's transpired in the tag team division. Like last week though, WWE keeps booking the Wyatts into an overpowered corner. It was a fine match but consider this. They beat a member of all four major tag teams (aside from Fraxiom). They have to win the titles, or this is Fiend-levels of absurd all over again. It arguably already is.
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On a side note, all the Wyatts do is laugh throughout their matches. What a gimmick.
2. Like Iyo Sky, Women's WWE Champion Tiffany Stratton got to pick her Evolution opponent at her leisure, and she went with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. In kayfabe, this makes her look atrocious, as she is picking an inactive legend as her next title defense. It's the equivalent of Dan Henderson's UFC middleweight title shot against Michael Bisping. Because of this, Stratton immediately became a heel again, presumably (and hopefully) just for this match. (Although she has been somewhat of a hybrid-type wrestler since becoming champion.)
Everyone loves Stratus, as they should. However, overall, Stratton's title reign has rapidly declined since that Bayley title defense, and it's incredibly sad to have seen.
👑Another weekly WWE show without a DQ finish. I'm genuinely stunned. I give this show a Crown score of: 7.5/10.👑
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