5 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 3)
A killer US Title match highlights another middling show.
WWE SmackDown's minor downturn continued with another blasé show last night, strengthening the impression that the company are now deeply entrenched in their annual summer slump.
The reunited Team Hell No understandably bookended the episode. Kicking things off with an in-ring segment, they were booked against The Usos in a big main event, and while their offerings weren't perfect, their interactions at least revived the team's old spirit. Kane and Daniel Bryan are every bit the fun double-act they were in 2012, and long may it continue.
Elsewhere, WWE Champion AJ Styles furthered his rivalry with Rusev by facing Aiden English on the midcard. His United States counterpart, Jeff Hardy, cut another weird promo, then met The Miz in his latest big defence. On top of this, Becky Lynch extended her winning streak, Sanity made their presence felt, and the tedious, tedious Asuka vs. Carmella and James Ellsworth angle continued with a pre-booked intergender bout.
SmackDown is never terrible, but episodes like this are hard work. A handful of the show's deepest problems all came out at once, creating two uneven hours of television that peaked at "pretty good," and bottomed out at "awful." Such is the nature of WWE programming in June and July.
Let's hope for a turnaround next week...