WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from June 25

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.

The great thing about not having a pay-per-view every two weeks is that feuds have time to build into compelling storylines.

The bad part about not having a PPV every two weeks is that sometimes things can get a little repetitive and boring.

Luckily, this week's SmackDown managed to provide some good entertainment while addressing just about every feud that will make up the Battleground card.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on Thursday's show.

Opening Segment

The show opened with Seth Rollins coming to the ring with Joey Mercury and Kane. He talked about how they took out Brock Lesnar on Raw and basically spent all his time kissing Kane and Mercury's butts.

They dedicated SmackDown to Jamie Noble after he suffered three broken ribs at the hands of Lesnar. For some reason, they chose to focus on Big Show and Ryback after that.

Ryback came to the ring and talked some trash, calling Rollins a gutless coward, among other things. The Big Guy challenged the WWE champion to a match, but he was told he would be facing Kane instead.

As the Authority was leaving up the ramp, Rollins turned back and yelled at Ryback for disrespecting him. He took exception to being told he didn't deserve to beat Dean Ambrose at Money in the Bank, so he announced that he would be facing his former Shield compatriot later in the show.

It was a pretty basic opening segment for SmackDown, but Rollins is so good on the mic he was able to keep things interesting. Ryback also gave a good performance during his rant, but the real star here was Rollins.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Seth Rollins pronounces "integral" in a weird way.
• Kane does a halfway decent impression of Paul Heyman when saying Brock Lesnar's name.
• Is Big Show in the Authority or not? It's hard to tell because he never seems to appear with the group but has their support in most matters.
• WWE didn't put this on YouTube, so you can watch Adam Rose and Rosa act weird instead.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler

The first match of the evening is one we have seen many times over the years, but Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler work so well together it's hard to be mad about it.

Sheamus is so much better as a heel than he is as a babyface. His personality and wrestling style just fit better with a bad-guy persona.

As always, Ziggler sold everything like he was being hit with a wrecking ball. He was able to get in plenty of offense in the second half of the match, but in the end, Sheamus took the win.

Having Ziggler take a clean loss was a strange booking decision, but at least it makes Sheamus look like he deserves to be Mr. Money in the Bank.

Rusev came down during the match in an attempt to win back Lana, but she wasn't having any of it. Summer Rae was shown consoling the Bulgarian Brute backstage, telling him Lana wasn't worth it.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• What did Rusev mean when he said he would kiss Lana the right way? Has he been doing it wrong all this time?
• Ziggler should use the sleeper hold more often. He had great success with it a few years ago, but he stopped using it for some reason. It's a great old school submission maneuver.
• Lana should start wearing different clothes to make it seem like she is loosening up while dating Ziggler. Her suits still make her look like an uptight Barbie doll.
• Sheamus should take a week off just so all his bruises and scrapes can heal.

Alicia Fox vs. Naomi

Alicia Fox was accompanied to the ring by Nikki and Brie Bella for her match against Naomi, who obviously had Tamina in her corner.

This bout just proves WWE has no reasoning when it comes to booking the Divas division. If you put two heels in a match against each other, the fans don't have anyone to cheer for.

A few sloppy moments kept this from being a great contest, but the level of physicality made up for some of the shortcomings. Tamina superkicking both Bella was especially brutal looking.

Foxy picked up the win with what appeared to be a new finisher. It wasn't a very long match, but we still got a few entertaining moments out of it.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Strangely, Jimmy Uso was on commentary for this one, which might be a sign that Naomi and Tamina will turn babyface in the coming weeks.
• It's great that WWE is giving Jimmy something to do while Jey is healing from his injuries. He is actually pretty entertaining on commentary.
• It was kind of funny when Jerry Lawler made it pretty clear he doesn't watch Main Event. Uso is filling in for Byron Saxton on Main Event, but fans in the U.S. probably don't know that because we don't get that show until it's available on the WWE Network a few weeks later.
• If Uso wants to see a superkick party, he should watch a Young Bucks match. They use that move like it's going out of style.

Backstage Segment

Jojo interviewed the New Day backstage about the group's recent troubles, but they were soon joined by the Prime Time Players and Bo Dallas.

Titus O'Neil did a perfect impression of Big E when he is in sermon mode, Xavier Woods' reaction to being told they suck was hilarious and Bo Dallas pleaded to join New Day, which seems like a good fit.

Dallas and the New Day are all about positivity, so their gimmicks mesh well. Dallas probably won't end up joining the group, but it was kind of fun to see them all interact.

As always, PTP was entertaining, even in a short burst like what we saw here. The tag team division has some great talent, and WWE is finally starting to use some of them the right way.

Jojo is progressing nicely as a backstage interviewer and ring announcer. She seems more comfortable with a mic in her hand than she used to, and this seems like the best role for her moving forward.

Overall, this was an entertaining segment that managed to push the tag title feud in a very short amount of time. Now we just have to wait and see if Dallas' offbeat clapping will keep him from joining New Day.

Grade: B+

Ryback vs. Kane

Ryback was attacked by Big Show during his entrance, and he took quite the beating before making it to the ring. Kane ordered the ref to ring the bell despite Ryback being all but knocked out.

Ryback rallied and looked like he was going to win, but Big Show caused a disqualification. The Big Guy, despite being beaten down, looked like a resilient competitor.

Some uninformed fans will look at this as Ryback being buried, but it is the exact opposite. Taking a beating from two of the biggest Superstars in the company and not giving up makes him appear tougher than the average competitor.

The match itself wasn't anything to write home about, but the segment did a good job pushing the feud between Ryback and Big Show.

Grade: C

Notes and Highlights

• I ask again, is Big Show in the Authority or is it just a loose affiliation?
• Uso was still on commentary, so it looks like he might be filling in for Saxton whenever he is needed. He brings a new energy to the table, which is needed after having the same group of guys calling matches for the past few months.

The Lucha Dragons and Prime Time Players vs. Bo Dallas and the New Day

As with any eight-man tag team match, nobody spent too much time in the ring, but everyone had a chance to shine for a little while.

The babyfaces controlled the first half, while the heels took over after the commercial break. Sin Cara took the most damage from New Day and Dallas, but Kalisto was able to win the match for their team with a springboard 450 splash after getting the hot tag .

The pacing was good throughout the match, and just like any bout involving this many people, there was a flurry of finishers right at the end.

Having a person who isn't actually involved in the tag title feud get the win was the right move in this scenario. It helps the Lucha Dragons look good while they wait for their shot at the belts.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• The new attire Sin Cara and Kalisto were wearing was pretty cool. A good color scheme goes a long way.
• O'Neil is a star just waiting to go supernova. He is charismatic and has great instincts in the ring.
• Kalisto makes Xavier Woods look tall, and that is not easy to do.

Roman Reigns

Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns were backstage talking about Bray Wyatt. Ambrose offered to help Reigns take him out, but the big man said he wanted to do this on his own.

After he found a picture of himself left by Wyatt, he began searching for the Eater of Worlds throughout the arena. Kane told him he was becoming a liability and kicked him out of the building.

It was a quick way to keep pushing this feud, but nothing was really accomplished. A video package would have been just as effective.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights

• Who else wants to know what Ambrose's plan with the sock and five-pound weight was?
• Reigns looked like he was getting ready for a match, but he wasn't booked, so it made no sense. He should have been wearing street clothes.
• Did you know WWE's online shop actually has a Kane shirt for sale? You would never know it because he doesn't wear it.

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose work so well together that it seems impossible for them to have a bad match. It's just too bad they can't ever have a clean finish.

Mercury interfered to give Rollins the win, but the rest of the match was as entertaining as you would expect. The crowd loves Ambrose, and you could see that during the match.

This is a feud that could go on for the rest of the year and never get old, but for now, Ambrose will have to take a back seat while Rollins feuds with Lesnar.

This was a great way to cap off what ended up being a decent episode of SmackDown.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• WWE should sell a J&J Security shirt. With a decent design, people would buy it.
• Ambrose's new shirt is basic in the best possible way. He doesn't need some flashy design.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

SmackDown has been very hit-or-miss in recent months, but this week had more hits than misses. Almost every match had something to like about it.

Rollins and Ambrose stole the show, but Sheamus and Ziggler also put on a good bout. Fox and Naomi had some highlights, but it was still too short to be anything special.

Battleground is slowly turning into a show worth seeing, but there is still a lot of work to do to make it unmissable. As long as Brock Lesnar continues to appear each week, things should get more interesting.

Predictions

• Bo Dallas will continue to associate with the New Day.
• The Lucha Dragons will get the next title shot after PTP finishes with the New Day.
• Lesnar will go ballistic and destroy at least half a dozen people on Raw.
• John Cena will stop having the weekly open challenges until he is done with Kevin Owens.
• Naomi and Tamina will turn face and align with Paige.

What did you think of this week's SmackDown?

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