11 Ups & 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jul 2)
Kofi & Joe wage microphone warfare and Owens turns babyface ahead of Extreme Rules.
With Eric Bischoff reportedly not set to start as the brand's Executive Director until after Extreme Rules, Vince McMahon fired up the computer housing SmackDown's booking algorithm for an evening of same old, same old last night, yielding a formulaic show relatively low on surprises but with more than enough well-performed content to finish as a net positive.
Raw's explosive start bred hopes of something similar on SmackDown, but alas, the blue brand began as it always does: with a revolving door talking segment. This week, it was Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre guesting on the Kevin Owens Show. Something interesting was amiss with the host, though, and it resurfaced later in the night, providing SD with a big show-closing turn.
Elsewhere, Samoa Joe and Kofi Kingston met for an in-ring confrontation far greater than such segments typically have any right to be. We also got developments in the tag division as new contenders were crowned and Daniel Bryan did battle with Big E, the latest from Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss, Apollo Crews finally getting his hands on Andrade, and a vengeful Ember Moon in action against Mandy Rose.
A solid little show. Let's break it down.