6 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (June 27)

Downs…

1. Unsatisfying Tag Team Action

Having defeated The Colons at Money In The Bank, The Hype Bros continued their slight resurgence with a non-title match against SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos last night. The stipulation was that if they won, they’d get a title shot, but they were unsuccessful in their attempts, and fell to a textbook Usos superkick/big splash combination.

The match itself wasn’t terrible, but WWE crucified the finish. They cut to a commercial break while The Usos were taking control of the contest, and cut right to the finish when we rejoined the action. Standard WWE match structure usually has the losing team mount a brief comeback before the conclusion. The producers presumably chopped that out, leaving The Usos’ victory seeming more one-sided than it needed to, and The Hype Bros looking like jobbers.

The New Day arrived post-match, and after trading verbal barbs with the champs, a MITB rematch between the two teams was set for Battleground. There’s a big logic hole here, as the Hype Bros were just made to fight for a shot, then The New Day strolled up and essentially booked themselves in one. This makes it seem like different teams are held to different standards in the supposed ‘land of opportunity,’ and compounds the segment as a low point.