7 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 31)

6. Triple Trouble

Shinsuke Nakamura Jeff Hardy Randy Orton
WWE.com

The United States division has become a regular highlight on SmackDown. The insertion of evil Shinsuke Nakamura, Randy Orton's recent psychotic break, and Jeff Hardy's face-painted babyface fire are transforming what was, up until a few weeks ago, one of WWE's most lacklustre scenes, and it continued last night.

Fed-up with Randy's tormenting and lost without the US Title, Jeff hit the ring, cutting another solid promo. He called 'The Viper' out as part of this. Orton emerged, but so did Nakamura, who jumped Hardy from behind, and almost came into confrontation with Randy himself. He didn't, though. 'The Viper' allowed the United States Champion to nail Jeff with a Kinshasa, and Orton didn't leap until action until Nakamura had departed, flogging Hardy's dead horse in a prolonged beatdown that concluded with him washing the former champion's face-paint away.

The segment was entirely effective in pushing the characters forward, continuing recent themes, and drip-feeding the Nakamura/Orton strain without diving in head-first. It's working, and it'll almost certainly culminate in a Triple Threat match at SummerSlam.

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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.