Welcome to Bleacher Report's live cover of WWE SmackDown on July 19.
Here is a look at what WWE advertised for this week's show:
- Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes
- Tiffany Stratton vs. Mia Yim
- Logan Paul returns to SmackDown
- Cody Rhodes kicks off the show
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Friday's show.
Cody Rhodes Kicks off the Show
The show opened with a recap of The Bloodline fighting Rhodes and his friends last week. The American Nightmare came out in a sleeveless shirt instead of his usual suit and tie, so you know he meant business.
Boxer Terrance Crawford was shown and acknowledged in the crowd, which led to Corey Graves plugging his next fight. For some reason, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory decided to interject. They blamed Cody for Jacob Fatu hurting Theory last week. As soon as they got into the ring, Rhodes started fighting them.
Crawford gave Rhodes a chair so he could regain the upper hand after being tossed out of the ring. The segment ended with the WWE champion standing tall. It was fun to see Rhodes being more aggressive.
Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes
The first match this week featured the two guys who stole the show in the men's MITB match, Andrade and Hayes.
They immediately went from 0-60 and started trading takedowns and counters at a brisk pace, but the show cut to a break after only a couple of minutes.
Both men brought their A-game and were looking to make this as exciting as some of their MITB spots. They were working hard, but they definitely could have used to slow down in some spaces so each move looked a bit smoother.
That minor complaint aside, this was a fun display of agility and athleticism. Melo came close, but El Idolo put him down for the pin with his finisher.
Result: Andrade defeated Hayes
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- It's funny that Graves will call Andrade the WWE Speed champion but he isn't allowed to carry the belt on non-Speed shows.
- There was a moment when it looked like Hayes almost forgot he was supposed to do a jackknife cover, so Andrade was just lying there with his legs up.
- Hayes hit a knee to the face that looked absolutely brutal.
Bianca Belair vs. Chelsea Green
A backstage moment from earlier in the day led to a singles match between Chelsea Green and Bianca Belair taking place this week.
Green slapped The EST to get things started, but Belair slapped her right back. They quickly escalated to enziguiris and German suplexes, but then Belair suddenly won with a counter into a pin after about a minute.
The two or three moves we saw were good, but this felt way too much like a glorified squash. To be clear, Green and Belair are incredibly talented, so the grade here is a reflection of the booking, not the performers.
Result: Belair defeated Green
Grade: D
Notable Moments and Observations
- Piper Niven is sneakily funny sometimes. Little facial expressions and body language allow her to stand out next to Green.
- Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn gave a quick promo after the match.
Tiffany Stratton vs. Michin
Paul and Knight came out to sign their title match contract, but it naturally turned into a verbal exchange. Nick Aldis tried to keep the peace and had Paul leave the ring, but he ran back in and attacked Knight. A music video for Stratton followed this segment to set up her match against Michin. Nia Jax was at ringside to support Tiffy.
Ms. MITB scored the first takedown, but Yim immediately recovered and took control. She hit a nice cannonball for a one-count before Tiffany tried to take a timeout.
They battled through a break into the next segment. Yim was still showing signs of life, but Tiffy was dominant and seemed to have things well in hand. They had some great spots, but some transitions between big moments showed a lack of established chemistry between these opponents.
Certain individual moments made us want to give this a higher grade, but as a whole, the match was not as stellar as some of the highlights. Bayley showed up and distracted Tiffany by taking out Jax at ringside and trying to destroy the MITB briefcase.
Yim took advantage of the moment and rolled Tiffany up for the win.
Result: Yim defeated Stratton
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Paul called Knight by his real name as if it were supposed to be an insult.
- There was a funny moment when Paul was arguing with a fan.
- Stratton's delayed senton from the apron looked awesome.
A-town Down Under vs. Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens
After the opening segment, Rhodes was granted a match against Theory and Waller if he could find a partner. Kevin Owens was happy to oblige.
Waller and Theory looked to be on the same page despite a lot of friction in recent weeks related to Waller's penchant for leaving his partner high and dry.
Theory and Rhodes started with a basic lockup exchange, but Owens tagged in and ended up spending a lot of time in the ring.
This match was a solid main event that showcased two young stars and two veterans who all seemed to work well together. KO and Rhodes won, but their celebration was cut short by The Bloodline.
The American Nightmare and Prize Fighter took the fight to them, but they were violently taken out by all four members of the group.
Result: Rhodes and Owens defeated Theory and Waller
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- KO being able to come back after his mom got some good news about her recovery was really nice.
- The crowd seemed happier to see KO than anyone else. He got a pop every time he was tagged in.
- Owens is unable to be superplexed by anyone. He always counters it somehow.
The Final Word
This week's SmackDown only had one match you should go out of your way to see and very little in the way of storyline developments.
Andrade and Melo absolutely stole the show with ease, but unfortunately, they didn't have much competition, especially since one of the matches barely lasted more than a minute.
The Bloodline story is SmackDown's bread and butter, but relying on attacks to end every show is a slippery slope. We're not saying it's like the nWo, but it's not unlike it either.
Green and Belair should have had more time, and it would have been nice to hear from the new tag team champions after their recent title win.
Grade: C
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