By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Smackdown Hits
Team Hell No reunion: An angle that made up for an otherwise slow show otherwise. I viewed Bryan feuding with the Bludgeon Brothers as a temporary thing to get him through Extreme Rules, then I assumed the build would begin for the long awaited match against The Miz. I suspect Team Hell No is going to be around beyond Extreme Rules so we may have to wait even longer for the Bryan vs. Miz showdown. It’s bizarre that they haven’t come up with a reason that Bryan isn’t going after Miz, but I have faith that they will be able to heat it up again when the time comes. In the meantime, the Team Hell No reunion is fun. A Bryan vs. Kane feud would be the opposite of that, so here’s hoping we don’t get a Kane heel turn.
Jeff Hardy and The Usos vs. Sanity: An entertaining match even if the outcome that resulted in Sanity losing early in their run surprised me. I’ve never viewed Sanity as major players so it’s not disappointing on that level, though it was surprising to see them lose in a six-man tag just a week after they debuted.
James Ellsworth and Paige: A fun set up with Ellsworth generating heat before being put in his place by Paige and booked in a match against Asuka for next week.
Becky Lynch vs. Sonya Deville: A quality match between the talented Lynch and the rapidly improving Deville. They need to start doing more to establish a persona of Deville and give her some wins so that her matches start to mean more. This wasn’t the match for her to win, though, as Lynch needs to continue to build momentum.
WWE Smackdown Misses
Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper: The Miss is all about the tired finish, which was a repeat of the finish to the Intercontinental Title match that headlined Raw the night before. It was softened to some extent by the Team Hell No reunion that followed, but it was quiet the groaner when Erick Rowan interfered just as Drew McIntyre did the night before.
Rusev vs. Xavier Woods: A minor Miss in that it felt like Rusev should be made to look more dominant heading into his title match with AJ Styles. The fans love Rusev, but his in-ring credibility was severely damaged by his long stay on the undercard. The storyline reason for a sudden resurgence could simply be that his confidence has been restored since becoming the No. 1 contender.
The best thing they could do for the talented Deville is separate her from the pointless eye-candy Mandy Rose, and reboot her character so she doesn’t come across as Rousey-lite. I understand WWE wanting to use her legit MMA background as the basis for her character, and 2-3 years ago that would have been a great gimmick, but with Rousey and Shayna Bayszler around, she suffers from the comparison.