WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Analysis from August 5

This was a fun, somewhat unexpected way to kick off the show.

McAfee is so likable and is a mainstream media personality, so it would make sense that the creative team would want to capitalize on his popularity among the WWE fans and feature him early.

It came at the expense of a top heel who is perpetually over with fans and featured Ricochet, one of the many underutilized talents of his generation, scoring a much-needed win.

The One and Only is one of Triple H’s guys dating back to his days in NXT. He is the former United States and Intercontinental champion, but somehow, it feels like he has only scratched the surface of what he is capable of achieving in WWE.

His utilization in hyping the crowd and creating energy from the opening match may prove telling of the new Head of Creative’s plans for him moving forward.

Result

Ricochet pinned Corbin

Grade

B

Top Moments

Credit: WWE.com

For Shinsuke Nakamura, a win over Ludwig Kaiser Friday night would earn him a shot at Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship. For Kaiser, a loss would net him another verbal dressing down and a few breathtaking chops from his charge.

A sense of urgency set in for both men, and they engaged in a hard-fought match that saw the German competitor establish control on a few occasions, only to have the grizzled veteran Nakamura fight his way back into the match.

Ludwig presented one last late-match surge, but Nakamura put him down with the Kinshasa to set up the championship clash against Gunther next Friday night.

The match was perfectly acceptable wrestling that was hampered by the untimely commercial break midway through. Kaiser never had the chance to establish a real heat period because so much of his stuff occurred off-camera.

Nakamura winning not only sets up the title match that had been teased for the last month but ensures Gunther’s mistreatment of Kaiser will continue. It and Kaiser eventually standing up for himself is the real money program, not the Nakamura match. Hopefully, Triple H and Co. recognize that.

This was the second longer match on the show, something a long time coming. The talent is there, why not let them do what they do?

Result

Nakamura defeated Kaiser to earn the IC title opportunity

Grade

C+

Top Moments

Credit: WWE.com

SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan attempted to defend the outcome of her SummerSlam title defense against Ronda Rousey and was soundly booed out of the building by fans who sided with the injustice suffered by The Baddest Woman on the Planet.

Sonya Deville made her way to the ring and cut a heel promo on Morgan that segued into the start of the Gauntlet Match to determine the champion’s next challenger.

Deville established herself as a threat early by pinning Aliyah following Deville’s Advocate finisher. From there, though, it was all Raquel Rodriguez, who entered the match third and proceeded to eliminate the former WWE official, then Shotzi, Xia Li and Natalya, all with variations of a powerbomb and while fighting a banged-up knee.

The arrival of Shayna Baszler brought about the end of Rodriguez’s run as The Queen of Spades scored the win off a pinfall counter.

Baszler has been such a non-factor outside of a so-so tag team title run that it is easy to forget that she was once one of the most dominant women in the industry. Her run in NXT ranks as one of the best in that brand’s history and helped further elevate its women’s title.

Her main roster struggles have more to do with how management viewed her than her ability to thrive on Raw or SmackDown. Her win here, achieved by outwrestling an opponent who was red-hot and coming off a slew of wins over the course of the gauntlet match, should be a sign of renewed interest in pushing her from the new creative regime.

The match itself, as a whole, was fine. Some of the falls were a bit too short to matter and Rodriguez’s inconsistent selling hurt the psychology at times, but the story of her dominance and Baszler outwrestling her in the final seconds made up for it.

Result

Baszler defeated Rodriguez, Natalya, Li, Shotzi, Deville and Aliyah to earn a shot at the SmackDown Women’s Championship

Grade

C+

Top Moments

Credit: WWE.com

The new, vicious Viking Raiders made short work of Tommy Gibson and Jim Mulkey Friday night but quickly found themselves on the receiving end of a sneak attack by the kendo stick-wielding Kofi Kingston.

Seeking revenge for the beating that left him lying and partner Xavier Woods out of action, the former WWE champion battled Erik in a singles bout after a short break.

The bigger, stronger Erik utilized his advantage, but Kingston scored the victory, keeping the rivalry between the Raiders and New Day alive for another week.

The Raiders obliterating the jobbers was a fun throwback, as were the last names of the opposition. It was straight out of ’80s and ’90s Saturday morning wrestling, and it worked in establishing them as the vicious entity the commentary team keeps hyping them as.

It was great to see Kingston pick up the win over Erik, especially since singles victories are few and far between for the former WWE champion of late, but it probably should have happened a week from now, if only to give the Raiders’ wins from last week and tonight time to breathe.

Result

The Viking Raiders defeated Mulkey and Gibson
Kingston pinned Erik

Grade

C

Top Moments

Credit: WWE.com

Roman Reigns and The Usos made their way to the ring to wrap up tonight’s show, with The Tribal Chief scheduled to address his Clash at the Castle match against Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Instead, he was interrupted early on by the No. 1 contender, who saw no reason to wait until September 2 and expressed his desire to fight tonight.

Instead of a physical showdown between The Scottish Warrior and The Head of the Table, a familiar theme played throughout the arena and black and white engulfed the television screen.

From out of nowhere, Karrion Kross made his debut, attacking McIntyre and leaving him lying before expressing his desire to be champion.

That is how you make an impactful debut.

Not by overhauling a character that worked in NXT by throwing a skirt or a helmet on him, but by letting him explode from out of nowhere and beat the hell out of a top star.

Kross instantly staked his claim to the main event scene and a potential shot at the top prize in the company all in one fell swoop. That Scarlett was by his side rights another wrong with the presentation of the character during his last run on the main roster.