7 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Aug 7)

by Andy H Murray

1. A Thrilling Tournament Final

Sheamus Big E
WWE.com

It has been a long, long time since SmackDown served up a match of this calibre, even in the main event slot. The New Day vs. The Bar was great - fantastic, even - and a shining example of what this supremely talented tag division can do when given the spotlight.

This had everything anyone could possibly want from it. Recent SD tag bouts have suffered from a lack of time, but The Bar and New Day were given well over 20 minutes. The crowd were red-hot and engaged throughout. The chemistry and layout were both on point, all four wrestlers worked extremely hard, and they built towards a tremendous conclusion that saw Big E power out of a crossface, hoist Cesaro up, then down 'The Swiss Cyborg' with a Kofi Kingston-assisted Midnight Hour.

Kofi took the pin, and his group will now face The Bludgeon Brothers at SummerSlam. This may be a supplemental 'Down' for some, as The Bar vs. Harper & Rowan is a fresher match, but doing heel vs. heel on one of the year's biggest pay-per-views would be very un-WWE.

If only Vince McMahon didn't loathe tag wrestling, perhaps we'd get matches like this on a more regular basis. Regardless, two of WWE's best tandems shone brightly last night.

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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.