WWE SmackDown Winners, Grades and Reaction From July 10

SmackDown has its third champion in as many weeks as CM Punk returned to the blue brand as the new WWE champion after beating Sami Zayn for the title on Monday.

Zayn's short reign ended after just nine days, so it's going to be interesting to see how WWE handles him moving forward.

Friday's show also featured Carmelo Hayes taking on Trick Williams in a non-title match, and Finn Balor took on one of the men who attacked him last week, Tama Tonga.

Let's take a look at what went down on Friday's show.

Returning to SmackDown as the Champion

Melina Pizano/WWE via Getty Images

After a video recap from Raw, Nick Aldis welcomed us to SmackDown. He talked about what happened with Gunther at Night of Champions and his subsequent suspension before welcoming CM Punk to the ring to celebrate being the new WWE champion.

Punk said he missed the crowd before saying anyone is welcome to try to take the title from him because he is a fighting champion. He also said he would give Sami Zayn a rematch if he wanted one.

He named some people like Gunther, Finn Balor, Royce Keys, Damian Priest and Trick Williams before he was interrupted by Cody Rhodes, who was obviously upset about what happened on Monday when he was attacked and unable to have his scheduled title match against Zayn.

They had a respectful exchange for the most part, and it led to Rhodes laying out a challenge for SummerSlam, which Punk immediately accepted. Aldis made it official on the spot.

Punk's solo part of this segment was relatively tame. He did the same thing every babyface who wins a belt does and said he would be a fighting champion. He didn't say anything controversial or unpredictable.

Rhodes being his first challenger isn't surprising, and their exchange was a little on the uneventful side, so it's going to be interesting to see how WWE fills time with this feud between now and SummerSlam.

Punk and Rhodes are both good on the mic, but this segment didn't do either of them any favors. It wasn't bad, but nobody is going to be talking about it tomorrow.

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Joe Tessitore mispronounced the name of Lou Malnati's in Chicago. Giordano's and Rosati's are better anyway.
• Aldis standing in the corner for the whole promo made it obvious something was going to happen.
• The juxtaposition of Rhodes in his fancy clothes and Punk in jeans and a shirt with the sleeves cut off is exactly the kind of image WWE loves.

Finn Bálor vs. Tama Tonga

Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: Bálor lost to Jey Uso (SD, June 12), The MFTs lost to Priest and Truth (SD, June 19)

Following the attack from Talla and Tama Tonga last week, Bálor got a chance to get some retribution when he and Tama had a singles match on Friday.

Not only did they waste no time getting right to the action, but they turned this into a fast-paced fight immediately.

You could see their years of experience working together on full display. They had great chemistry and knew how to make each other look good, so they had no problems making this a fun contest.

Talla's interference almost gave Tama the win, but Finn was able to get the victory in the end. Tama is trying to put his past behind him, but that doesn't appear to be as easy as he had hoped.

Result: Bálor defeated Tonga

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• While it's nice that WWE is acknowledging the history between these men from before WWE, it would be even better if they worked with NJPW to license some footage so fans could be filled in on everything.
• Tama and Talla can be a decent tag team if WWE books them right, but they have been so involved with the MFTs story for so long that some fans may have no interest in them holding the titles again.
• It felt like the announcers didn't know the commercial break was coming.

Jimmy Uso vs. Royce Keys

Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: Keys lost to Jey Uso (SD, June 12), Uso defeated LA Knight (Raw, June 29)

Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu were in the ring after the break to call out Solo Sikoa, but it was Royce Keys who showed up instead. He said Big Jim's family business was starting to affect him.

Fatu said he is friends with Keys and warned him not to say anything bad about Roman Reigns. Keys said family is about loyalty, not blood, and Fatu has been like a brother to him.

Jimmy and Keys ended up agreeing to a match, but Fatu opted to sit this one out. Royce sent Big Jim out of the ring before the match got started during the break.

Keys is definitely a fresh rival for The Bloodline, which is sorely needed after years of the same feuds, but WWE might be telling the story too slowly, especially when it comes to Solo and Keys.

The match we got here felt off in some ways. It was a little slow in certain spots, and it never felt like Keys and Uso had much chemistry. They had some moves that were mistimed, but it wasn't completely devoid of entertainment.

Sikoa showed up and attacked Jimmy, but Fatu came back to fight him. They brawled at ringside while Jimmy got the win with a Spear. It's a little sad that the most exciting part of Uso vs. Keys was the fight between Sikoa and Fatu, and then Fatu turning on Keys after it was over.

Result: Uso defeated Keys

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

• Gunther found Aldis backstage and told him he wanted a title shot. Aldis said he would take it under consideration.
• The way WWE is telling this story with Fatu is so strange. It's not quite inconsistent, but it's getting there. Having him only be loyal to Reigns but not the Bloodline could be interesting if WWE leaned into it more.
• Jimmy's caution gear was a nice nod to Naomi.

Alexa Bliss vs. Jade Cargill

Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: Bliss lost a tag match (SD, June 23), Cargill won a six-woman tag match (SD, July 3)

The next matchup saw Alexa Bliss take on Jade Cargill. Charlotte Flair was in his partner's corner, and Michin and B-Fab were there to support Jade.

We have seen several different matches featuring these two teams in recent weeks, with Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green also being involved in many of them, so it was starting to feel repetitive. In fact, we just saw this same pairing have a singles match at the end of May.

The size difference between them put Bliss into the underdog role, which isn't a problem since she usually ends up being the smallest competitor in the ring, but it does add to the repetitiveness we mentioned.

The first half of this bout was a little sloppy, but the second half was much better. Alexa put up a good fight, but Jade won with her finisher.

Result: Cargill defeated Bliss

Grade: C-

Notable Moments and Observations

• WWE has the foundation for a good women's tag team division, but inconsistent booking has kept it from reaching its potential.
• Cargill went with the Canadian tuxedo look for her gear this week.
• Jade shouldn't be making some of the mistakes she still makes at this point in her career. Sometimes a move won't land but she will still try to sell it instead of moving on, and other times she doesn't sell for long enough.
• It will always be disturbing when Bliss uses her double jointed elbow to fake an injury.

Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes

Brien Adams/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: Williams defeated Ricky Saints (Night of Champions), Hayes defeated Axiom (Main Event, Jun 23)

Hayes had a chance to fight Williams this week, but the United States title is on the line. Melo would have to win here to earn another shot at the belt.

Putting this match in the main event spot was smart because WWE knows it can rely on these two men to put on a great show every time they work together.

Even with as many times as we have seen them fight, it never feels like too much because they always find a way to make it feel fresh. The most interesting thing is how the roles have reversed.

Back in NXT, Melo was the big dog and Trick was his hype man. These days, it feels like Williams is the bigger star and Hayes is fighting to keep up, which makes their storyline much more intriguing.

Rumors of Baron Corbin returning to WWE have been swirling for weeks, but we got confirmation when he showed up and attacked both men to end the match prematurely.

It's never ideal to have an inconclusive ending, but everything up to that point was great. The return of Corbin is going to be met with mixed reactions from fans, but the way WWE did it definitely gave him some momentum right out of the gate.

Result: No Contest

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Lil Yachty gave Trick a special title with white fur on the belt. It's going to be so hard to keep that thing clean.
• The backhand Williams used to knock Hayes down looked like it probably hurt for real. He did not hold back.

The Final Word

Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images

The show ended with Aldis telling Gunther he would be teaming with Zayn to fight Rhodes and Punk at Saturday Night's Main Event instead of the title match he wanted. This led to The Ring General attacking the GM.

Friday's SmackDown probably looks like an average episode on paper, but it ended up being on the disappointing side. Almost everything we got this week either felt like a repeat of something we just saw or wasn't interesting enough to keep our attention. 

Balor and Tama had a decent showing in their match, but the main event stole the show with ease. Williams and Hayes are the kind of rivals WWE can rely on for strong performances every single night, and we will likely see this feud revisited many times in the coming years. 

The return of Corbin is the kind of thing that will depend on how you personally feel about him. Some might be excited, others might be scratching their heads in confusion, and others might even hate it.

WWE is in a weird spot these days. The show is rarely bad, but more often than not, it's forgettable, which is just as bad for the product as a whole. Fans have so many options for wrestling these days, so WWE needs to find a way to stand out again. 

Grade: C