8 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 17)
7. Not The Opening We Expected
Well, this was a pleasant surprise.
We expect somebody like The Miz, Daniel Bryan, or AJ Styles to open SmackDown with an in-ring promo, but not Jeff Hardy. The former United States Champion is usually restricted to pre-recorded backstage bits. This is understandable, as he has never been the most convincing talker in the company, but it was refreshing to see him march out to the ring and speak his mind without the segment devolving into the usual revolving door.
Clad in face-paint, Hardy cut a promo similar to the recent dreck peddled by Johnny Gargano (this writer's favourite WWE babyface) in NXT, only without the cringe. He said he looked like himself, but something is missing, and after calling Nakamura out for what happened at Extreme Rules, he promised to make 'The King Of Strong Style' obsolete and take back his belt.
We then cut backstage, where Shinsuke called his foe a "sad clown" who "wears paint to hide his tears," thus adding an extra dollop of heat to the rematch. A solid job by everyone involved.