4 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 25)

3. Celebrations? Not Tonight

The Usos New Day
WWE.com

We didn’t get much from SmackDown’s tag team division last night. Breezango were nowhere to be found after seemingly solving their ongoing case at Battleground, and there were no big matches. We were supposed to get a victory celebration from The New Day, who became champions at Battleground, but The Usos weren’t having it.

Jimmy and Jey attacked the popular trio during their entrance. They beat the tar out of their foes, with Kofi Kingston taking the brunt of it after being tossed into the LED board, then dragged to the ring. Big E tried to save him, but ate a superkick for his troubles, completing the former champs’ revenge.

The “new champions’ victory speech” is an overused WWE cliché, so it was good to see the company flip it on its head this time. These things inevitably end with the champs’ promo being interrupted by their enemies, but the company accomplished the same end result in a fraction of the time here. The Usos couldn’t wait to get their hands on The New Day, trashed them as soon as they hit the stage, and created SmackDown’s most time-efficient segment.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. 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.