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WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades and Highlights After SNME, Evolution
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on July 18.
We're fresh off a big weekend for WWE following Saturday Night's Main Event and Evolution, so this week's edition dealt with some of the fallout from those shows.
Naomi's successful Money in the Bank cash-in was a big talking point, but the big thing WWE advertised ahead of time for Friday was a contract signing between John Cena and Cody Rhodes.
They are set to square off at SummerSlam on August 2-3, and WWE is jumping right into the build following Cena's win over CM Punk at Night of Champions.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.
Charlotte Flair vs. Raquel Rodriguez
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The show opened with a shot of a car accident outside the arena involving Solo Sikoa's group. B-Fab could also be seen in the background.
The first match of the night got started right away instead of an opening promo segment. Charlotte Flair took on Raquel Rodriguez with Alexa Bliss and Roxanne Perez in their respective corners.
For once, Rodriguez found herself not towering over her opponent, but she still clearly had a power advantage. The Queen found herself on defense almost immediately.
Nothing about what we saw in this match was surprising except for how slow and plodding it felt. There was no intensity or urgency to anything they did. They just sort of went through the motions.
There was a late exchange of strikes that had some good energy, but it wasn't enough to make the match much better. Perez and Bliss both got involved in the ending and it led to Flair winning with a roll-up.
Result: Flair defeated Rodriguez
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—Bliss and Flair had a funny backstage segment before the match and revealed they already have a tag title shot at SummerSlam.
—Flair's hurricanrana from the middle rope looked worse than it should for someone at her level of experience. It didn't look like she could take down anyone with how she did it.
—The way Alexa seemed to scare Roxanne just by walking toward her was hilarious.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Damian Priest
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Carmelo Hayes and Damian Priest had a tense confrontation backstage that led to them having a singles match this week.
Melo tried to get the early advantage by attacking Priest before he even had time to remove his ring jacket, but The Archer of Infamy quickly turned things around and unloaded on his young opponent.
This may have been a powerhouse vs. high-flyer kind of match, but with Priest being as quick on his feet as he is, it never felt like the action slowed down.
These two worked well together and put on a solid performance that highlighted both of their strengths.
Sadly, the match ended when Aleister Black interfered and tripped Priest on the top rope to cause a disqualification. He knocked Priest out with Black Mass and Hayes chose to make a quick exit instead of trying his luck.
Result: No Contest
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Jacob Fatu was shown being questioned as a person of interest in the car accident.
—The Prime display at ringside feels so pointless.
—Melo acting like he was going to attack Priest and then pretending he wasn't was funny. He ended up attacking him a few seconds later anyway.
Someone Call His Lawyer
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Sikoa appeared in the ring with his family and said Jacob Fatu is reckless without him because he doesn't listen to anyone. Fatu was shown backstage being greeted by Jimmy Uso. He was told he was not the man in the footage of the accident and was free to go. He marched straight toward the ring.
Fatu and Jimmy ended up taking out everyone in a brawl, but Tala Tonga didn't go down easily. It took both men to finally take him down.
Adam Pearce came out and announced Sikoa would defend the U.S. title against Fatu inside a steel cage at SummerSlam. Then he brought out the cops from earlier to take Sikoa into custody for trying to frame Fatu.
This was a decent segment that set up a match for SummerSlam that should be a lot of fun.
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Joe Tessitore thought Tanga Loa was Tama Tonga.
—The fact that we are probably going to get Logan Paul vs. Jelly Roll at some point is ridiculous.
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Stephanie Vaquer vs. Alba Fyre
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Stephanie Vaquer was in action this week in a singles match against Alba Fyre of The Secret Hervice.
Vaquer had the upper hand until Fyre hit a superkick to knock her off the apron followed by a suicide dive to take her down at ringside.
After a few minutes, Vaquer won with her finisher in an easy match. She was also able to fend off a post-match attack from Piper Niven.
This was too short to be much of anything, but the little bit of action we got looked good.
Result: Vaquer defeated Fyre
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—Chelsea Green was not at ringside for this match, but Niven was.
—We all know people like when Vaquer does the Devil's Kiss. We don't need Wade Barrett freaking out like he has never seen a woman before.
DIY vs. Fraxiom vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Andrade and Rey Fenix
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Nathan Frazer and Chris Sabin started this Fatal 4-Way tag match, but it took about 30 seconds before it broke down into a big fight with all eight competitors.
This was a fast-paced match that delivered some of the best action of the night. All four of these teams are exciting to watch, and see all of them together led to some entertaining moments.
One of the biggest mysteries is why WWE seems comfortable keeping The Lucha Bros apart. Their history as a tag team has been acknowledged by WWE many times, so it's weird to see Fenix teaming with Andrade.
This match would have benefitted from being commercial-free because the momentum never slowed down. Fenix and Andrade won the match, making them the No. 1 contenders for the tag titles held by The Wyatt Sicks.
Result: Andrade and Fenix won
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Sabin's suicide dive looked awesome.
—Fenix went with a full bodysuit this week instead of his usual tights.
—Tommaso Ciampa hit Fraxiom with a slam from the middle rope to the floor that took out several other people. It was one of the wildest spots and it took place during the break.
The Final Word
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The last segment this week was the contract signing with Rhodes and Cena, but Cena didn't show up until after The American Nightmare gave a promo.
Predictably, Cena and Rhodes eventually got into a fight. The show ended with Rhodes taking Cena out and saying their match at SummerSlam would be a Street Fight.
This week's SmackDown only had one standout match, and it was the Fatal 4-Way tag bout won by Andrade and Fenix.
Most of what we got was predictable and uneventful, but we did get the start of a new feud between Black and Priest that should lead to a fun match, so at least there's that.
Grade: C
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