5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE Smackdown Live (Aug 23)
6. Up - Ascension Rising
The next match on Smackdown was an opening-round contest in the tournament to decide Smackdown's first pair of Tag Team Champions. In one corner were two-time WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos, and in the other were former NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension.
It's no secret that The Ascension have struggled since joining the main roster, and while they do have limitations, it behooves WWE to book them well - especially since they'll now have a greater spotlight on them courtesy of the brand split.
It looked like there was a bit of rehabilitation on display to that end, as The Ascension were dominant in the early goings of the match. While The Usos ended up winning the bout, unsurprisingly, The Ascension completely mauled them to begin with. The result was a bout that, like Becky versus Bliss, was short but heated. Even moreso than that one, this match was action-packed.
Also of note was that The Usos did nothing to tease any possible heel turn. It's possible that, since the tournament will involve eight teams, one of the incoming tandems will be positioned as the division's heels instead.