4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (1 Aug - Results & Review)

1. Giulia Retains (And Zelina Vega Works Hard)

Good lord, what a fun Women’s United States Title defence for Giulia against ex-champ Zelina Vega.

The current champion looked great out there, and Vega was a scampering, desperate challenger who badly wanted to reclaim the gold it shattered her heart into a million pieces to lose. That dynamic between them worked, and they didn’t even need to burn through some Kiana James interference from ringside. Talk about a bonus! That's still in Giulia's back pocket.

On Friday, the story was that Giulia could ultimately handle Zelina on her own. More of this, please. Managers/valets don't need to get involved in every single match they're out there for. Sometimes, it's lovely if they don't do a thing, because then they can speak to that in promos and brag about having supreme confidence in their clients. It's win-win to temper predictability sometimes.

There was a really good near fall towards the end as well after a “triple whammy” (Wade Barrett’s words) of moves from Giulia. Her facial expression once Vega kicked out, and the booming pop from the crowd, made that moment special. Some in the audience started to believe that they might even see a shock title change. Deep down, they probs knew that wasn't happening, but the fact everyone got sucked into this match is a credit to the workers.

So, there you have it: Zelina worked her best match in a while, and Giulia looked every bit the accomplished champion who knows when and where to tease weakness. This match was way better than expected.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out WWE SummerSlam 2025: 10 Things That Must Happen and WWE SummerSlam 2025: 12 Nightmares That Could Come True!