8 Ups & 0 Downs From WWE SmackDown (21 June - Results & Review)

7. Another Slight Surprise

Carmelo Hayes
WWE.com

Carmelo Hayes pinning Randy Orton, even with the roll up gimmick, wasn't on this writer's bingo card either. Truthfully, it seemed more plausible that Hayes would get the pin on Tama Tonga if he was going to qualify for MITB. Nope, Melo proved he's money by getting a bit of revenge on Randy and securing his spot in Toronto.

Orton seemed like a shoe-in for MITB (if only for star power reasons alone), but Trips decided to put his faith in Hayes and keep Randy's Bloodline hunt alongside partner Kevin Owens alive. The actual match was another fun, zippy three-way that didn't overstay any welcomes and focused on building a new face on WWE's main roster.

Excellent stuff.

Both Orton and Tonga will be fine coming out of this one. Randy is Randy, and Tama has menace due to his association with Solo Sikoa's vicious Bloodline offshoot. Keep an eye on Carmelo at MITB. It could be a star-making night for the guy, and the PLE that gets his SmackDown stint up and running properly.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.