5 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Aug 1)

Downs…

2. Grim Glimpses Of The Future

Last night’s SmackDown was all about two things: delivering great in-ring action, and setting the brand’s path for SummerSlam. They were largely successful in doing both, but the show also sowed a couple of worrying seeds for two of the brand’s more enjoyable wrestlers.

Shane McMahon was installed as the special guest referee for Kevin Owens’ SummerSlam rematch with AJ Styles. The former United States Champion demanded a competent official for the bout after losing to AJ through another ref botch, and this was the Commissioner’s answer. Unfortunately, this would appear to be WWE’s way of once again halting one of SD’s biggest stars’ progress by shoving him in a McMahon family vanity feud.

Later in the show, Rusev demanded stronger competition after defeating Chad Gable, and he found it in Randy Orton. ‘The Viper’ laid ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ out with an RKO to close the segment, and while working alongside Orton so soon after feuding with Cena sounds like a vote of faith, these matches invariably turn into burials whenever Rusev’s involved. He’s going to lose in the most dismal way imaginable, because that’s what WWE do.