As the whole of England continues to presumptuously celebrate despite “it” not quite coming home yet, SmackDown Live also took it upon themselves to celebrate an important occasion ahead of the mark. This was the blue brand’s very own Fourth of July special that happened to coincide with the 317th Rusev Day. Yes, I really did work it out. Tweet me and I’ll tell you how. Welcome to the most must-see Vulture Hound weekly review in history; welcome to… The SmackDown Review.
Awwh Hell Nah:
Renee Young opened the show welcoming Team Hell No out for their official reunion. Kane said he’s always had Daniel Bryan’s back to which Bryan was quick to point out he hasn’t. Bryan mentioned the time Kane attempted to end his career and also tried to kidnap his wife.
As the pair began to argue, they were interrupted by The Usos who claimed that the Big Red Machine and the Yes Man don’t deserve a tag team title match. This resulted in general manager, Paige, making a main event tag team match between them. There was also the added caveat that if Jimmy and Jey beat Team Hell No, they’ll be included in the tag team title match at Extreme Rules, making it a triple-threat.
The middle bits:
– Jeff Hardy defeated the Miz to defend his US Title in an Independence Day open challenge.
– The Fourth of July celebrations continued as the New Day would have a ‘third of July pancake eating contest’. Only as they began eating, they were attacked by SAnitY who took out Big E and Kingston before putting Woods through a table.
– Asuka’s match with James Ellsworth ended in a double count out. As he jumped the guardrail to escape, Asuka chased him through the crowd so they both were counted out. They made it back to ringside, where Carmella took out Asuka before she posed with the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
– To stop Ellsworth from not taking his beating, Paige announced the rematch will be Lumberjack Match with every woman from the locker room surrounding the ring.
– It was announced that Jeff Hardy will defend his United States Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura at Extreme Rules.
– WWE Champion AJ Styles defeated Aiden English with the calf crusher before being attacked by Rusev after the match, putting him in the Accolade.
– Becky Lynch submitted Peyton Royce with the Dis-Arm-Her yet again.
It’s Coming Home:
Before their main event match with the Usos, Daniel Bryan listed a number of reasons as to why he still doesn’t fully trust Kane. They eventually patched it out and Kane apologised but Bryan will surely be keeping an eye out.
In the end, Team Hell No saw off The Usos as Kane hit a chokeslam on Jey Uso for the pinfall. The Bludgeon Brothers posed on the entrance ramp as the show went off the air.