WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from July 2

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 make a few predictions for future events.

Reactions to Monday's Raw were heavily mixed. Some people thought the show had a lot of great moments, while others felt it was a terrible show save for one match.

It's unlikely this week's SmackDown will be met with anything but criticism. None of the matches were especially memorable, and with half the roster already overseas preparing for a show in Japan, a lot of regulars were absent.

Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt's bout will be considered the best of the night by many, but even they didn't live up to some of the performances they have put on in the past.

Let's get right into it and take a look at everything that happened on the most recent edition of SmackDown. 

Opening Segment

Seth Rollins opened the show with J&J Security by his side. He talked about this being a historic time because he is going to take down Brock Lesnar.

He put over Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury and Kane for being there for him and helping him demolish the Beat Incarnate. He even said Roman Reigns could never measure up to Kane despite the fact Reigns has defeated him countless times.

He announced that Dean Ambrose would face Bray Wyatt and he would face Reigns in the main event of SmackDown. Ambrose came out with a Kendo stick and attempted to attack all three of them. Rollins and his cronies escaped before any damage could be done and told Ambrose he would be facing Wyatt right away.

Rollins is a good talker, but this segment was totally unnecessary. Nothing Rollins said, other than the two matches he announced, revealed new information. The announcers could have easily told us about the contests from the commentary table.

The promo was longer than it needed to be, but Rollins is good at stretching things out. It just felt like lazy writing to open the show this way.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights

• The song they used during the Raw recap video at the top of the show was hilarious. It fit the scene perfectly.
• Does WWE really have to open every single show with Seth Rollins? Yes, he is the champion, but give someone else a chance to kick things off with a promo. WWE did the same thing with John Cena for years.
• Did Cadillac pay for all this product placement? If not, they received a lot of free plugs this week.
• Rollins' impression of Noble's accent was perfect.
• WWE did not upload this segment, so you can instead watch Lana on SmackDown Fallout.

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

Wyatt and Ambrose traded offense throughout the match, with neither controlling the action for very long. It made them look very competitive because they were constantly countering each other.

These two characters work very well together because they both have that craziness nobody else on the roster can match.

The crowd showed their appreciation with "this is awesome" chants toward the end, but their enthusiasm turned to boos when Wyatt hit Sister Abigail to pick up the win.

It's surprising WWE resisted the urge to have Reigns interfere in the match. It was nice to see a clean finish for once.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• It makes sense to have Superstars wear their shirts to help push merchandise, but Wyatt is the kind of character who shouldn't care about wearing his own shirt to the ring.
• Jimmy Uso is a welcome addition to the commentary table. He has been in the ring with both of these guys, so he can provide good insight into their abilities.
• Who else was surprised Wyatt didn't deliver some kind of promo before or after the match? He gave one later in the show, but it would have been better for him to address Reigns right after his match with Ambrose.

R-Truth vs. Adam Rose

R-Truth came out wearing a spray-painted cape and a duct tape crown with a plunge acting as his scepter. He gave a quick promo about King Barrett during his entrance.

Adam Rose has really changed his character now that he is with Rosa and no longer has the Exotic Express by his side. His demeanor is a little more serious, and his attire has been toned down.

Truth picked up a very quick win in this one. It might seem like a pointless victory, but he probably won't come out on top in his feud with Barrett, so he has to pick up some victories before he is defeated by his rival.

Grade: D

Notes and Highlights

• Having Truth's plunger be wet was a nice touch.
• Is Rose still using the same entrance music? The last two times we have seen him, he was already in the ring when his opponent came out.
• It was surprising WWE didn't have Barrett interfere. That's two matches in a row that could have had someone cause a DQ but ended clean. That is progress.
• WWE is missing an opportunity by not having Truth talk about Prince Little Jimmy.

Ryback vs. Mark Henry

When two powerhouses such as Ryback and Mark Henry collide, you know it's not going to be a wrestling clinic. It's all about power moves and posturing.

Henry got in quite a bit of offense, but Ryback was able to hit Shell Shocked to get the win. This wasn't a very long match, but it was effective in establishing Ryback as a worthy competitor.

The pace was a little slow, but you can't expect things to move quickly when the combined weight of the competing Superstars is more than 700 pounds.

It's sad that Henry is being used to put other people over. He is a monster who should be running over his opponents, and even if you don't like him, you have to admit this is not a good way to use him.

Grade: C

Notes and Highlights

• What's the one thing Henry has in common with most of the Divas? WWE can't decide if they want him to be a heel or a babyface.
• Remember when this was a WrestleMania match? Henry used to be a great character, but since he returned a few months ago, WWE has had nothing interesting for him to do.
• That's three matches in a row with clean finishes. It's actually pretty rare to see something like that these days.

Brie Bella vs. Naomi

Naomi and Brie Bella had a surprisingly competitive match, but it was marred by interference from Alicia Fox.

Right at the end, Fox tripped Naomi, which allowed Brie to hit her finisher for the win. Both women looked pretty good with the offense they delivered, but it was Naomi who looked the best.

It wasn't as lengthy a bout as the Divas match on Raw, but they had enough time to tell a short story. The only thing that seemed wrong was that Naomi wasn't depicted as having a significant power advantage when it's obvious she is a lot stronger than Brie.

Grade: C

Notes and Highlights

• Naomi needs to either stay heel or have a defined face turn. The fans don't know how to react when a heel faces another heel.
• Nikki is in Japan right now, so she wasn't at ringside for this match.
• It was king of funny how Jimmy Uso kept avoiding talking about his wife when Tom Phillips and Jerry Lawler were trying to get information out of him.
• We all knew the trend of clean finishes wouldn't last long. It was nice while it lasted.

The Ascension vs. Prime Time Players

Konnor and Viktor were given a chance to take out the tag team champions when they faced Titus O'Neil and Darren Young.

The Ascension kind of fell into obscurity for a little while, but they have been featured a lot more in recent weeks. They might not be everybody's cup of tea, but they definitely add to the division in a good way.

This was a decent match as far as physicality and pace are concerned. Young and O'Neil picked up the win with the Clash of the Titus and continued to show everyone they are one of the best acts in the tag team division.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• It's great that PTP have gotten so over with the crowd. They are very entertaining and deserve all the success they have attained.
• Viktor talking trash to O'Neil when the match started was funnier than it should have been.
• O'Neil's hot tag has become a thing of beauty. He is great at coming in and cleaning house after Young has taken a lot of damage.
• The Ascension need a manager. It's the only way they are going to be successful.

Summertime in Bulgaria

Rusev limped his way to the ring with his new blond bombshell, Summer Rae. We saw a short clip of the confrontation between Summer and Lana from Raw before Summer addressed the crowd.

She said she wanted to be the bigger person by apologizing for her actions on Raw, but it wasn't the kind of apology you would expect. Instead of saying she is sorry to Lana, Summer said she was sorry she stooped down to Lana's level.

As expected, the crowd chanted for Lana. Rusev accidentally said "I have a better Lana now" when he meant to say "I have a better woman now." He caught himself, but we all heard it.

He told Dolph Ziggler that he would rip out his heart, pull out his intestines and hang them to dry in his backyard. It was a graphic image for a PG show.

This was a solid segment, but it didn't do a lot in terms of advancing the feud. Ziggler and Lana should have come out and taunted them, but it still worked.

Grade: C

Notes and Highlights

• The way Rusev quelled the "U.S.A." chants was great. He has gotten a lot better at delivering promos since he broke up with Lana.
• It's good WWE has kept Rusev relevant while he is injured. They need to do that with more people who are on the shelf instead of just acting like they don't exist until they return.
• It will be interesting to see how long it takes for Rusev to return to action. WWE wouldn't keep him around if he was going to be out of action for more than a couple of months.

Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns

Rollins came out with the impression that Reigns wasn't in the building, so he had the timekeeper ring the bell and told J&J Security to count down to Reigns being counted out.

To his surprise, Reigns made his way through the crowd and went right after Rollins. The WWE world heavyweight champion eventually took control, and Mercury hit a cheap shot behind the ref's back to help him keep it.

We've definitely seen better performances from these two in the past, but it was a decent match while it lasted. Rollins focused on the body with most of his offense, and Reigns did a good job making it seem like the attack from Raw was still affecting him.

It didn't take too long for Noble and Mercury to cause a disqualification. Like always, Ambrose came out to help his buddy fend off the Authority when things got dicey.

Rollins and Noble escaped, but Mercury was caught and hit with a Kendo stick and a Superman punch before finally being finished off with a Spear.

Grade: C+ 

Notes and Highlights

• Who else laughed when Jerry Lawler pointed out that J&J Security were counting up instead of down like they were told?
• It's nice to see Reigns has won over the crowd again. It made no sense for everyone to turn on him after the Royal Rumble, but he has worked hard to get them back on his side.
• A powerbomb should be a finisher, not a signature move.
• Noble just broke three of his ribs. He shouldn't be taking shots from a Kendo stick.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

While there was some entertainment to be had, this was an episode of SmackDown you would not regret missing.

Most of the matches were uneventful, and there was no real storyline development. Everything we saw was a watered down version of everything that happened on Raw.

Wyatt and Ambrose had the best match of the night, but it wasn't nearly as good as what we have seen them accomplish in the past.

This is not to say SmackDown was bad. It just wasn't that good. The biggest surprise was that they did very little to push the show in Japan that will air on the WWE Network on Saturday.

It almost seems like WWE doesn't know what to do with itself with this much time between pay-per-views. Things will hopefully start to pick back up as we get closer to Battleground.

All of this week's predictions will have to do with the Japan event taking place on July 4.

Predictions

• Brock Lesnar will destroy every member of the New Day when he faces Kofi Kingston.
• Finn Balor will win the NXT Championship from Kevin Owens.
• John Cena and Dolph Ziggler will defeat Kane and King Barrett.
• Neville will defeat Chris Jericho.
• Nikki Bella will retain the Divas Championship.
• Cesaro will defeat Diego.
• The Lucha Dragons will defeat Big E and Xavier Woods.

What did you think of this week's SmackDown?

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