WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from June 4

Credit: WWE.com

The June 4 edition of SmackDown Live was never going to be about wrestling. With WWE Super ShowDown just three days away, this was a night of final statements.

Goldberg was set to make his first-ever appearance on SmackDown to address The Undertaker. With so little time spent building their main event match in Saudi Arabia, this needed to be a big moment.

Shane McMahon also wanted to make his final remarks to Roman Reigns, calling out The Big Dog one last time before they fight on Friday.

Even Lars Sullivan got in on the final statements, promising his first interview in a WWE ring to address The Lucha House Party.

While all these segments were promised, actual matches were at a premium. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn sounded like a main event contest, but it was hard to tell how much time they would actually get with Dolph Ziggler looming in the background.

This week's SmackDown had serious ground to cover for Super ShowDown with so little hype behind Friday's event, but few expected it to succeed.

Credit: WWE.com

Kingston opened the show with Woods to show off a video of his trip to Ghana, celebrating his ability to go home and represent his country as WWE champion. Ziggler interrupted with a video package of his own career accomplishments.

The Showoff stated that he never got anything back for his work. The WWE champion showed respect to one of his greatest rivals, but he also called out Ziggler for always walking out when he didn't get his way. The #Heel's final rebuttal was a promise that after Friday, he would be champion.

KO and Zayn came out for their match and managed to isolate Woods early, but it was over quickly once the WWE champion got the hot tag. He knocked out Zayn with Trouble in Paradise for the win.

Afterward, The Showoff laid out both men with superkicks.

Results

New Day def. KO and Zayn by pinfall

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was an uneven opener for SmackDown. The Showoff repeated himself a bit too much, while the liberal use of video packages and past footage bordered on parody. The overall sentiment made an impression despite this.

Ziggler and Kingston's history was on full display, as well as their decade of experience. The wealth of story behind this match will allow them to put on the best work of their careers together.

The match that followed was fairly one-note. WWE has protected Kofi so heavily that at times it feels like he is squashing his major challengers. He was only in this match to win, which felt a bit disingenuous to the threat the heels should pose.

After complaining about her coffee, Bliss seemed entirely uninterested in interviewing Bayley. The SmackDown women's champion lost her cool and knocked The Goddess' drink out of her hand.

Carmella interrupted the two as they looked poised to fight, followed quickly by Charlotte Flair.

The Queen announced that Carmella, Bliss and herself would fight Tuesday night to determine the No. 1 contender for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WWE Stomping Grounds on June 23.

Grade

C

Analysis

This was a sloppily executed setup for a good match. Bliss and Bayley barely even started talking before Carmella and Charlotte interjected their way into a No. 1 Contender's match.

Moreover, this segment seemingly missed the point of the story The Goddess was telling on Raw. She was back to her most generic heel jabs with no Nikki Cross to balance her out.

Panicking backstage, R-Truth got a call from Shane McMahon on Carmella's phone. He informed him he would be defending his 24/7 Championship against Elias in a lumberjack match.

With a quick high knee, The Living Truth captured his second 24/7 title, but the lumberjacks immediately went after the new champion.

As Elias attempted to escape, Truth caught him under the ring for a pinfall to reclaim the championship.

Results

Elias def. Truth by pinfall to become the new 24/7 champion; Truth def. Elias to become the new 24/7 champion

Grade

B

Analysis

It would have been nice to see the 24/7 Championship defended in a more competitive match after weeks of roll-ups, but this segment was genuine fun. Once again, Truth managed to escape everyone with his title in hand, now a four-time champ.

He has added so much to the new championship, showcasing fresh ideas with each appearance. Hopefully, he will get more chances to shine outside of Raw and SmackDown as well.

Credit: WWE.com

Shane-O-Mac called out Reigns with The Revival by his side. While The Big Dog managed to wipe out both Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, Drew McIntyre took him down with a Claymore.

The Scottish Psychopath then held up the former world champion so McMahon could hit a mocking Spear.

Grade

D+

Analysis

This segment was unnecessary. While fans who missed Raw did not get to see the fun six-man tag match lead-in, they still ended up watching the near-identical fallout.

Hopefully, this feud will end after Super ShowDown, with Reigns and McIntyre allowed to move on. They are both better than this and should be feuding on their own terms.

Credit: WWE.com

Carmella seemed poised to return to the title scene in this Triple Threat match, fighting for every inch against the two conniving heels. However, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville made sure she could never focus.

After Rose and Deville stopped The Princess of Staten Island from capitalizing on a superkick to Charlotte, Bliss caught Carmella with a DDT to take the win.

Results

Bliss def. Carmella and Charlotte by pinfall to become the new No. 1 contender to the SmackDown Women's Championship

Grade

B

Analysis

As expected of the talent involved, this was a quality match. Everyone got a moment to shine. All three were working overtime to maximize their minutes, as they didn't get as much of a spotlight as they should have given the importance of the match.

In the end, it was an odd decision to go with Bliss over the bevy of challengers on SmackDown, clearly the more stacked women's division. It does make sense, though, to delay a potential money rematch between Bayley and Charlotte.

Kayla Braxton tried her best to interview the intimidating Lars Sullivan. The Freak stated that he hurt people because he had accepted the role he had been given, as a monster everyone feared.

Grade

C+

Analysis

Sullivan is a fine mic worker, putting him a step above many monsters WWE has attempted to push. However, he is still not all that interesting. His "rivalry" with The Lucha House Party will not get anyone invested in seeing him stopped.

Andrade attacked Apollo Crews as he attempted to get into the ring for their match. He never let the fight start, which sent Finn Balor charging to the ring.

Balor took down El Idolo with a standing double foot stomp. However, Andrade stopped The Extraordinary Man's attack short with a hammerlock DDT.

Grade

C-

Analysis

Andrade and Balor have had no chance to build their feud in recent weeks. This rushed brawl did nothing for either man. It did even less for Crews.

This would have been a perfect opportunity for Crews to at least showcase his athleticism in a short match. However, this week's SmackDown had no space for wrestling.

Credit: WWE.com

Goldberg made his first appearance on SmackDown to talk about how much it meant for him to finally get a shot at The Undertaker.

He said he was leaving the "family man" Goldberg behind for this match, as he planned to win as the legend Goldberg.

The Deadman suddenly appeared to stare down his Super ShowDown opponent, but he just as quickly disappeared.

Grade

B

Analysis

This was a simple and effective set up for Undertaker vs. Goldberg. The two each made their statements this week, and 'Taker got to play some mind games just before the show.

While it is unlikely they will be able to execute on the hype behind this legendary clash, there is no doubt that seeing the two in the same ring, even far past their primes, leaves a lasting impact.