Bludgeon Brothers Beat Team Hell No as Kane Suffers Injury at WWE Extreme Rules

The Bludgeon Brothers spoiled Team Hell No's pay-per-view return Sunday at Extreme Rules in Pittsburgh, as they defeated Kane and Daniel Bryan to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

Harper and Rowan basically won the match well before it began. They attacked Kane and Bryan backstage early into the show:

As a result, Bryan wrestled by himself for much of the match, and Kane wasn't very effective when he came to the aid of his tag team partner.

The Bludgeon Brothers hit Bryan with a top-rope clothesline-powerbomb combination to defend their titles:

Some praised the match for positively showcasing everybody involved:

Over the past several months, Harper and Rowan have arguably been the most dominant force on SmackDown Live.

After weeks of beating down the competition, they captured the SmackDown Tag Team titles at WrestleMania 34 when they beat The Usos and The New Day in short order.

They went on to crush every challenge in their path after that until they set their sights on Bryan a few weeks ago.

On the heels of The Yes! Man interrupting their exit after a match, The Bludgeon Brothers cost him a chance to become No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship.

They attacked him in the midst of a gauntlet match, which allowed The Miz to pin Bryan and eliminate him from contention.

Bryan then sought to take on The Bludgeon Brothers by himself, but when Harper and Rowan overwhelmed him, Kane made a shocking return and aided his longtime friend.

Initially, Bryan was skeptical of The Big Red Machine's motives. He and Kane had feuded with each other since last teaming together five years previously.

Kane assured Bryan he was there to lend a helping hand, and SmackDown Live general manager Paige granted them a title shot against The Bludgeon Brothers at Extreme Rules.

The Team Hell No reunion was met with glee by the WWE Universe, and it added a spark to SmackDown Live in the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view.

Before locking horns with The Bludgeon Brothers, Team Hell No beat The Usos in a thrilling match on SmackDown to prove it hasn't missed a beat as a team.

For the first time since winning the titles, The Bludgeon Brothers were in serious danger of losing them at Extreme Rules.

Team Hell No pushed Harper and Rowan to the limit, but they still managed to leave the arena as champions on Sunday and maintain their dominance over the SmackDown tag team division.

While Bryan and Kane may branch off into singles exploits after Extreme Rules, The Bludgeon Brothers will be in search of new challengers after having wiped out nearly the entire tag scene on the blue brand.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).