5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE SmackDown Live (30 Aug)

5. Winners: The Hype Bros

Mojo Rawley’s main roster arrival was met with widescale eye-rolls from the WWE Universe. The hyped-up former NFL player had been spinning his wheels in NXT for years prior to his call-up, and had made little progress as an all-round performer. His Hype Bros tag team with Zack Ryder had failed to gain significant traction in developmental, and when the Draft’s six NXT promotions were announced, names like Samoa Joe were a far more attractive proposition.

Mojo and Ryder’s contributions have been limited on SmackDown thus far, and they’ve competed mostly in multi-team tag team matches without really being given an opportunity to shine. Last night, however, saw them defeat The Vaudevillains to advance in the Tag Team Tournament, before grabbing the microphone, delivering a brief promo, and establishing their role in the pecking order.

The Hype Bros didn’t exactly blow the roof off last night, but there was nothing wrong with their actions. They were dominant throughout the match, and the promo gave them some much-needed exposition for an audience that still don’t really know who Rawley is. The characters can be grating, sure, and Mojo isn’t exactly the most refined wrestler in the world, but there’s a role for the Hype Bros in the tag division’s middle level, and they seemed to find it last night.