Smackdown comes to us from Miami, Florida.  Thankfully The Rock doesn’t show up just to insult Rusev and Lana.

Killing Time

I think it’s the right thing to do by starting off saying that I really liked this episode of Smackdown.  Does watching Smackdown seem pointless while waiting for the draft?  Was almost the entire roster already in Hawaii?  Yes to both counts.  What they did do was try some different things, which I appreciated.

U.S. Title #1 Contender Match

Smackdown started off with short little promos backstage from each of the matches’ participants.  To call this “trying something new” is disingenuous.  This is actually a classic WWE move.  I almost wonder if one of the writers were watching some old episodes of Raw and got inspired.

It was the cold open.  I hope they continue to do something like this.  Was it a bit awkward?  Absolutely.  But it will only get better, I think.

Cesaro Vs. Sheamus Vs. Alberto Del Rio Vs. Apollo Crews

I don’t think there’s a lot to say about this match.  A lot of guys got their stuff in.  Apollo Crews never had a chance as Sheamus was solely focused on him.  That really just left it to Del Rio and Cesaro.  Del Rio submits to The Sharpshooter from Cesaro making Cesaro the #1 contender for the rUSev Championship (I might be a little biased here).

Let’s talk about Alberto Del Rio

Renee Young in video game form in 2k16 is probably more terrifying than The Conjuring 2.

Since Del Rio came back into the company after a strong run in Lucha Underground and AAA, it has been lackluster.  I wasn’t around for his first run so I have no real clue how that went.  I just figured he came back because he just wanted that paycheck and didn’t really care about getting over.  The Mex-Amercia gimmick was probably one of the dumbest things I’ve seen and the League of Nations didn’t really do anything for any of those guys.

Something changed at Money in the Bank.  There’s an intensity there that I never noticed before.  It was mean and nasty.  He still didn’t care about being over.  He seemed to care about hurting people.  El Patron is here and I think he’s here to stay.

Perhaps it’s frustration because he was supposedly promised a main event run, something that has yet to materialize.  Perhaps it’s just because he’s free of idiotic gimmicks or factions.  I’m not sure, but we now have a new strong heel.  I’m still not convinced he’s main event material, but he’s definitely solidified his spot in the upper mid-card.

After the match, Del Rio gave Cesaro a double-stomp off the apron and threw him into the ring steps.  Not skipping a beat, Rusev comes out to demand the Championship match right away.

As Cesaro starts to walk away, Rusev calls him a coward.  Cesaro’s response reminded me a bit of Marty McFly.

Ladies and Gentleman, we have ourselves a Championship match.

Cesaro Vs. Rusev (C) for the US Championship

Cesaro lived up to the title of Swiss Superman.  I would have liked a little bit more selling of his previous injury but I think it was totally fine.

Rusev retains but Cesaro still looks good in defeat.

Return of the Jobbers

It wasn’t just a one-off on Raw.  We had, not one, but two matches with jobbers straight from the Performance Center.  It makes sense with the tiny roster to pick from but I hope it’s something they continue.

Dana Brooke Vs. Billie Kay

It was a squash to make new Main Roster addition look strong without Charlotte by her side.

She got one move in though.

Some people are calling this a low-key call-up in anticipation for the draft.  I don’t buy it but we will find out soon enough.

The Wyatt Family Vs. …who knows?

I’m not sure if they ever announced their names, really.  This gif is the definition of squash:

It was really more to setup another New Day Family/Wyatt Family promo.  Apparently Woods feels the power of the devil?  Yikes.

On paper this sounds terrible, but it’s one of the better feuds WWE has done in awhile.

“They should rename Independence Day to Rusev Day”

I’m a Rusev mark.  This is what I live for.

And further evidence that the July 4th episode of Monday Night Raw is going to be garbage: Rusev will be defending the rUSev Championship to…Titus O’Neal.  This makes me really sad.

Sasha Banks Vs. Summer Rae

Where was Sasha during those months she was off TV?  Besides working house shows, she was basically having this exact same match week after week on Superstars or Main Event.  Sasha was around if you were looking for her, just not on the flagship shows.  If you’ve watched those matches, this is nothing new.  If you haven’t, this was probably the most enjoyable match during the show.  These two have a great chemistry together.

Summer taps out to a Banks Statement.

Miz TV: Champion Vs. Champion Edition

Here’s what you need to know:  Ambrose shows up early, eating a Cuban sandwich.  He wipes his mouth on Miz’s white jacket, draped over a chair, which sets up the main event match.

They are both very entertaining in this segment.  However, I do take issue with it.  Miz reiterates that Ambrose is an embarrassment, something we heard from Steph on Monday.  Look, I get it.  Ambrose is zany.  He has feuds over anthropomorphic potted plants, he wrestles in jeans, etc.  But it’s what the people want.  I just hope that it’s Steph and Co. just doing heel shit and that it has no bearing on his push.  Either way, you can tell Dean is making the most out of this month, in case it happens to be all there is.

The Main Event

I’m not entirely sure if we’ve seen this matchup before.  If we have, it hasn’t been for quite awhile.  These two had some great chemistry together.  I liked it a lot.  Lots of reversals.  Miz is a good worker and currently a good representative for the Intercontinental Championship.

One nice spot:  Ambrose goes up top for a Elbow and Miz catches him in the setup of a Skull Crushing Finale.  Ambrose fights out of it and tries to lock in the Dirty Deeds and Miz fights out of that too.

Dean hits a Dirty Deeds for the win.

Where was the rest of the Roster?

They were already in Hawaii for the show on Wednesday.  In fact, Dean was the only one that was on the tour that was on Smackdown.  It’s like he was Kevin McAllister.

Look at how much fun the combined NXT and main roster are having!