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

Monday's edition of Raw revealed what a Paul Heyman-led WWE show would look like. This left fans eagerly awaiting what the July 2 edition of SmackDown Live would be like under new executive director Eric Bischoff.

The show didn't promise much up front. Daniel Bryan vs. Big E was announced, but the rest of the card was left up in the air.

With Extreme Rules rapidly approaching on July 14, though, this was an important episode for WWE. The blue brand had already announced a few key matches for the pay-per-view that needed more hype.

Samoa Joe made Kofi Kingston pass out to the Coquina Clutch on Raw in a dominant display. With a few more shows before Extreme Rules, the WWE champion had to know The Samoan Submission Machine would take every opportunity to get an advantage in their title clash.

After a surprise loss to Nikki Cross last week, Bayley was set for a rematch with Alexa Bliss, though no one could ignore the rumblings that The Twisted Sister deserved the title shot more than The Goddess.

This episode had the potential to turn around SmackDown's streak of underwhelming shows, but it needed to start with a truly fresh direction.

'The Kevin Owens Show' Features Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre

Credit: WWE.com

Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre were the guests on "The Kevin Owens Show" this week.

As the host continually antagonized the pair about their fear of The Undertaker, The Scottish Psychopath looked ready to hurt KO before Dolph Ziggler arrived.

The Showoff came out to demand another shot at Kofi Kingston from Shane-O-Mac. Owens taunted Ziggler and demanded McMahon give him the next shot. Instead, Boy Wonder decided to put them in a tag team against Heavy Machinery.

The winner would be added to the SmackDown Tag Team Championships match between New Day and Bryan and Rowan at Extreme Rules.

Grade

C+

Analysis

Starting with McMahon talking was far from a fresh opening, but at least Owens kept it entertaining. In fact, it felt like he was leaning into his role as antagonizer. You would have assumed he was a babyface here. Perhaps WWE has pivoted back with his direction.

He and Ziggler have fascinating chemistry together, at least on the mic. However, it made little sense for the two to team together. Last week, Heavy Machinery vs. KO and Sami Zayn was teased. Unless The Critics of the Critics was injured, it was an awkward decision to replace Zayn with Ziggler.

Daniel Bryan vs. Big E

Credit: WWE.com

Backstage, both The Planet's Champions and The New Day stated how disappointed they were that their title match was turned into a Triple Threat.

The power of Big E was on display early in this bout, but Bryan kept him on his toes. The former WWE champion managed to distract the referee, which allowed Rowan to attack Big E and then Xavier Woods.

The attack set up Bryan to hit the running knee on E to take the win.

Result

Bryan def. Big E by pinfall

Grade

B

Analysis

This match felt like a good sign for what New Day can do with Bryan and Rowan.

While E and Bryan never quite got a chance to go all out, they have solid chemistry and showed how much more they have to offer.

It would be great to see the pair wrestling for a major title down the road. Right now, they're just gearing up for a great tag team title feud.

Big E and Woods have added so much to a division that lacked for challengers just a month back.

Nikki Cross Hosts 'A Moment of Bliss'; Bayley vs. Cross

Credit: WWE.com

Alexa Bliss gave Nikki Cross the honor of hosting "A Moment of Bliss." After an uncomfortable start, the guest host showed some fire as she questioned Bayley about her derisive comments toward The Goddess.

The SmackDown women's champion asked Cross why she didn't want to compete for the championship instead of Bliss. The Scot quickly pivoted, challenging the champ to a match, and Bayley accepted.

While Cross fought hard and pushed the champion, The Hugger managed to catch her with a Bayley-to-Belly for the win.

Result

Bayley def. Cross by pinfall

Grade

C-

Analysis

What a bizarre booking decision. After spending the past week selling the idea that Cross should be contending for the SmackDown Women's Championship rather than Bliss, she loses an impromptu match against the champion clean.

While the Scot hosting "A Moment of Bliss" was a great idea, the only way she should have lost to Bayley was thanks to a distraction from The Goddess.

This defeat makes clear how WWE really sees Cross right now.

Samoa Joe and Kofi Kingston Stand Face-to-Face Before Extreme Rules

After Kayla Braxton introduced Kofi Kingston and Samoa Joe, the challenger told the announcer to leave.

The two men then traded shots until The Samoan Submission Specialist made the WWE champion an offer.

He told Kingston to shake his hand as an acknowledgment of the future champion, promising not to go after anyone the current champion cares about if he did. Kofi refused and planted Joe with Trouble in Paradise.

Grade

A+

Analysis

This was a testament to how good Joe is on the mic. He added layers to this feud with just a few sentences without overshadowing Kingston. It felt like these two were shifting over the course of the promo from casual rivals to true enemies.

The handshake was a great final moment. Joe was able to mock and threaten his rival at the same time. While the WWE champion refused to play Joe's game, he may end up coming to regret it, as the challenger has one more week to go after anyone Kofi cares about.

Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

Apollo Crews finally got his rematch against Andrade, and he refused to let it slip by.

He kept El Idolo off-kilter. His athleticism and power seemed to be too much for Andrade, but Crews could not put away the match.

Zelina Vega caught Crews with a headscissors right into the announce table while the referee was distracted. This set up Andrade to hit the hammerlock DDT for the win.

Result

Andrade def. Crews by pinfall

Grade

B-

Analysis

This was a solid showing for Crews, who has rarely been able to stand out. His main problem has been stringing together impressive moves into a full match. His work with Andrade was better than most of his recent efforts.

Unless this is going somewhere, though, El Idolo should move on quickly. Crews may be a fine athlete, but Andrade is one of the best wrestlers in the company. He needs a legitimate spotlight again.

Mandy Rose vs. Ember Moon

Mandy Rose dominated this match to start while Sonya Deville watched closely.

However, a motivated Ember Moon found her moment. She knocked down The Golden Goddess and connected with the Eclipse for the win.

Result

Moon def. Rose by pinfall

Grade

C+

Analysis

While this wasn't too involved as a contest, Rose showed off her continued improvement in a short bout with Moon. The two could likely have a much better match with time. For what it was, though, it worked.

The War Goddess took an important victory, while WWE continued to delay Moon and Carmella working together to take down Deville and Rose.

Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens vs. Heavy Machinery

Credit: WWE.com

As Otis and Tucker competed for a title shot against Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan and Rowan got into a back-and-forth exchanged on commentary with Xavier Woods and Big E. This launched into a full brawl that ended with the SmackDown tag team champions laying out the babyfaces.

Once the two teams were thrown out, The Showoff and The Prizefighter seemed to show their chemistry as a unit. However, it was not enough, as Ziggler accidentally superkicked Owens to set up his partner to take the Compactor for the loss.

In anger, KO laid out The Showoff with a stunner and declared SmackDown still his show.

Result

Heavy Machinery def. KO and Ziggler by pinfall

Grade

B+

Analysis

While far from surprising, the main event ended SmackDown on a solid high with fast-paced action and the right result. Otis and Tucker get a second chance to prove why they should be seen as one of SmackDown's top teams.

Whether WWE continues to build up KO and Ziggler as a team or has them feud, they are not ready to take over the tag team division. It will be interesting to see what direction the two take from here.