WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from June 18

Every week on Bleacher Report, I take an in-depth look at WWE SmackDown to recap the action, offer analysis and grade the matches, segments and anything else that takes place on the show, as well as offer a few predictions for future events.

WWE continued to pay tribute to Dusty Rhodes with this week's show, but other than that, it was business as usual for the blue brand.

Several storylines were given time to grow, but because we are no longer having pay-per-views every two weeks, nothing felt overly rushed.

Cesaro and Kevin Owens easily had the best match of the night, but there were a few other encounters that delivered some entertainment to our screens.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.

Sheamus and Kane vs. Dean Ambrose

The new Mr. Money in the Bank, Sheamus, opened the show with a promo touting his victory in the big ladder match. It's been a long time since he was in the title hunt, but it still feels like he belongs in the main event scene.

He didn't say anything important, but few of these promos have any real substance. This was an excuse to have a confrontation with Dean Ambrose, who came out once Sheamus was done speaking.

He challenged Sheamus to a match and threatened to steal the briefcase and give it to Roman Reigns, and The Celtic Warrior seemed more than happy to face him. Before anything could happen, Kane turned this into a handicap match with he and Sheamus against Ambrose.

The Lunatic Fringe did a good job keeping both men at bay for a minute, but the numbers game became too much for him. Reigns came out to help his buddy and they dispatched both men together, leading to a disqualification.

This ended up being more of a brawl than a match, but it was a good way to kick off the show with some action instead of the usual talking in circles.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights

• It was nice that WWE opened the show with another Dusty Rhodes memorial title card. The company has paid tribute to him several times this week, and it wouldn't be surprising if they continued to honor his memory next week.
• Sheamus' new shirt doesn't look like most WWE merchandise. That's probably a good thing.
• Had Teddy Long been there, this would have been turned into a tag team match immediately, but we had to wait until after the break to get the official announcement.
• Renee Young caught up with Ambrose and Reigns backstage and asked them about their upcoming match. Reigns totally ignored her question and talked about Bray Wyatt.

Paige vs. Brie Bella

Nikki Bella opted not to accompany her sister to the ring for this match to make it seem like it would be a fair fight between Brie and Paige.

Some people think the whole #GiveDivasAChance movement may have already died out, but this match is proof it is still going on. They were given a lot of time to work and did their best to make the most of it.

Paige's physicality always makes her matches a little more entertaining than the rest of the roster. Her strikes always look stiff, and she is willing to take some risks to make her performance more exciting.

Unfortunately, there was still outside interference. Alicia Fox came out and shoved Paige off the top rope, giving Brie the opportunity she needed to pick up the win.

Brie and Paige did a good job making their match look competitive, but we've seen too many controversial endings in Divas matches lately. We need some clean finishes.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights

• Brie's style is so confusing. She wears a headband, flannel shirt around her waist and ripped-up pants. She a hodgepodge of every style from the '90s.
• It's pretty clear the NXT Divas have forced the main roster Divas to up their game. Brie never would have used a sunset flip powerbomb otherwise.
• WWE is wise to downplay the fact that Brie is married to Daniel Bryan. It makes her easier to dislike as a heel if we don't think about the fact that she is married to one of the most popular babyfaces.

Kevin Owens Interview

Credit: WWE.com

Renee Young interviewed Kevin Owens backstage about his attack on Machine Gun Kelly and his match with Dolph Ziggler.

These two have such great chemistry as interviewer and subject. Owens somehow manages to be sarcastic and straightforward whenever they interact.

Cesaro showed up and said he keeps hearing about "Fight Owens Fight" but all he hears is talk. He mocked Owens' Twitter apology to MGK and then gently pushed him just so it was on record that he put his hands on Owens first.

With Tyson Kidd out with an injury, it's good to see WWE is attempting to find ways to use Cesaro. Keeping him as a babyface will help him find his own path and get over with the fans.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• The way Owens forced Young to say he defeated Ziggler into the microphone was a funny little moment that stood out for some reason.
• If WWE plans on putting Cesaro back with Kidd when he returns, Natalya should continue accompanying Cesaro to the ring for his matches.
• You could hear the crowd pop when Cesaro challenged Owens to a match. If that isn't a sign Cesaro can get over on his own, nothing is.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Bo Dallas

Dolph Ziggler and Bo Dallas faced each other in a very quick match that saw Ziggler pick up the win in less than two minutes.

This was all just an excuse to give Ziggler an easy victory and show Rusev freaking out backstage. Ziggler and Lana locked lips in the ring to pour salt in Rusev's wounds.

When Ziggler hit a dropkick right after the bell, it looked like this might be a competitive bout, but it was a glorified squash in the end.

Quick matches can be useful in some situations, but Ziggler is best when he is going the distance with an opponent who is just as gifted as he is.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights

• Lana is finally accompanying Ziggler to the ring instead of just coming out on the stage and then going backstage.
• Does anyone else think WWE Creative has absolutely no idea what to do with Dallas?
• Dallas has been slowly gaining weight for a long time. It's not going to help him get a push anytime soon.

Neville vs. Xavier Woods

The match started off with Xavier Woods stomping on Neville for about 20 seconds, but the high-flyer recovered quickly and used his agility to hit a corkscrew over the top rope to the floor.

It looked like Kofi Kingston and Big E were going to attack the English acrobat, but Titus O'Neil and Darren Young came out to make sure everything stayed fair.

Unlike the match between Ziggler and Dallas, this short bout actually worked. Neville picked up the win with the Red Arrow, and the Prime Time Players continued to build their feud with The New Day.

Adding Neville to this storyline will keep him busy until WWE finds a good angle for him, and it will allow for more six-man tag matches featuring all three members of The New Day.

It would have been nice to have a longer encounter, but with all of the drama outside of the ring, keeping it short was the right move.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Neville has the coolest entrance video of anyone on the main roster.
• Neville needs some merchandise. The crowd responds well to him, so he can probably move a few shirts and other random tchotchkes.

Seth Rollins Speaks His Mind

Seth Rollins came to the ring to address the crowd after a few clips were shown of his confrontation with Brock Lesnar from Raw.

Despite being back in the good graces of The Authority, he was all alone when he came out. He talked about being under a microscope as WWE world heavyweight champion and how he was caught off guard when Lesnar was announced as his opponent.

He somehow equated his cheap win at WrestleMania to Lesnar being afraid of him, and doing things like that makes him such a great heel.

A heel can take anything and spin it to make themselves look good, and Rollins has become a master at doing just that. He said he can't wait to face Lesnar at Battleground before leaving the ring. It was kind of a short promo, but it was effective.

Grade: B+

Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens

Cesaro and Owens' backstage encounter from earlier in the show led to them having a singles match, and they did not disappoint one bit.

These two have faced each other outside of WWE, so they have some preexisting chemistry. Cesaro used all of the tools in his kit to battle the raw intensity of Owens, and it led to them having a great contest.

Everything that came before this match was either disappointing or mediocre, but it was worth waiting through all of it to see these two lock horns.

Both men have become known for putting on great matches, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that they stole the show with ease. Owens picked up a clean win, but it wouldn't be out of the question for these two to have more interactions in the future.

Grade: A-

Notes and Highlights

• What do you think Cesaro is listening to on his headphones during his entrance?
• Cesaro could have killed himself with that suicide dive through the ropes. He almost landed right on the top of his head.
• Owens' tornado DDT off the middle rope was really impressive. You don't often see guys his size doing those kinds of maneuvers.
• Cesaro got some insane height with his dropkick. Owens was on the top rope and Cesaro had no problem reaching him.

Dusty Rhodes Tribute

As mentioned earlier, WWE opened the show with a title card paying tribute to Dusty Rhodes, and then later in the night it played that amazing video package the company put together to honor his memory.

Everyone in the crowd was chanting Dusty's name when we went back to the arena. The love everyone has shown for him and his family since his passing just goes to show you that you don't have to have a chiseled physique or the ability to fly through the air to make an impact in this business.

Rhodes was a big part of the wrestling world for several decades, and he was instrumental in making guys like Ric Flair into the stars they are today. Many people will look back at his life and single out the fact that he wore polka dots during his WWE run as one of the low points in his career, but that is not the case at all.

He took that gimmick and turned it into something you wanted to see every week. Dusty's time in WWE allowed him to reach more people around the world than he ever could have with any other company. His enthusiasm and positivity were infectious. When you watched him, you couldn't help but be entertained.

The fact that he continued to impact others by training people at the performance center is a testament to just how much he loved professional wrestling, and you can see his influence all over the current crop of NXT Superstars.

You hear the term "one of a kind" thrown around a lot in the wrestling world, but nobody was as unique as The American Dream. It's my hope as a wrestling fan that the younger generation takes the time to watch some of his work on the WWE Network, because a great video package can only do so much to show you just how important he was to the business.

It takes someone truly special to leave the kind of mark he did, and to say the world lost a great mind when he passed is a huge understatement. His sons will continue to carry on his legacy while they forge their own, and you can bet he is looking down on them with nothing but joy and admiration for all they have accomplished.

The meaning of life is something man has been searching for since the dawn of civilization, but Dusty found out what it was. All you can hope for in this life is to have a positive impact on the people you care about and attempt to leave the world a little better than you found it. Dusty Rhodes inspired millions of people around the world to chase their dreams, and that is the greatest gift anyone can give.

Rest in peace, Dream.

Kane and Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns

The main event of the evening was a continuation of the opening segment. It was your basic SmackDown tag team match, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Sure, we have seen all of these guys face each other in different combinations many times, but that will almost always be the case in the main event scene.

Adding Sheamus to the mix helped freshen things up a bit. He was out for a long time and was a babyface for even longer, so having him as a main event heel is going to help everyone in the end.

Reigns was starting to build up some momentum when Bray Wyatt came on the big screen to distract him. This allowed Sheamus to hit a Brogue Kick for the pin and the win.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Is Sheamus part of The Authority now? It would create some interesting friction to have both the champion and Mr. Money in the Bank as part of the same stable.
• Jerry Lawler said the monitors went out after Sheamus slammed Ambrose on the announce table. Why are they still using those old monitors anyway? They look like they haven't changed since the '80s.
• Ambrose countering Sheamus with a hurricanrana was a pleasant surprise.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

This was an average episode of SmackDown at best, but the one match everyone should take the time to see is Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens.

Paige and Brie Bella also had a decent encounter, but nobody was able to match Owens and Cesaro's performance. They worked very well together, and it would be a shame if we didn't see more from them in the near future.

It's kind of nice to know the next pay-per-view is still a few weeks away. There's no rush to advance storylines, so we get a bit of a breather from all of the mayhem of the past few months.

The only other thing that can be said about this week's show is there were very few segments that didn't provide some level of entertainment. These days, that's the best we can hope for.

Predictions

• Paige will bring in some Divas from NXT to combat the Bellas and Alicia Fox.
• Natalya will also side with Paige, and it will split the Divas into two factions, leading to a big match at SummerSlam between both groups.
• Damien Sandow and Curtis Axel will continue to be irrelevant for the foreseeable future.
• John Cena will return on the next Raw to address what Owens did to him.
• Sheamus and Lesnar will have some kind of confrontation to tease Sheamus cashing in on Lesnar should he win the title from Rollins at Battleground.

What did you think of this week's SmackDown?

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.