11 Ups & 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jul 2)

6. Otis & Tucker Punch Their Tickets

Otis Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

Though hampered by its dopy restart, the main event pitting Heavy Machinery against Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens was a well-worked tag match between an established duo and a thrown-together unit, with Otis and Tucker earning a rightful victory.

The singles wrestlers should rarely win bouts like this. It makes a mockery of tag teams as a concept, so it was good to see Heavy Machinery pick up a credible victory over two wrestlers with good reputations (despite their unflattering win/loss records). Both teams looked good, too. They worked well within the runtime's limitations and the match felt like a mini-showcase for Otis, who spent plenty of time in the ascendancy, splattering Ziggler and Owens with his fun offence, nailing the crowd-popping Caterpillar, then scoring the decisive fall on Owens after 'The Show-Off' had accidentally kicked his partner in the face, leading to the Compactor.

WWE are doing a good job of building Otis and Tucker up, and this entry gets a supplemental Up for Daniel Bryan's commentary work prior to the restart. As for KO blasting Ziggler after the bell? It got over huge. Kudos.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.