(Segment 1) Jeff Hardy Kicks Off Raw: Jeff goes off on Nakamura and belittles him. Jeff also mentions he’s ‘broken’. I could tell he is turning more into Brother Nero. This was a very quick opening and ended within 5 minutes.
(Segment 2) AJ Styles vs Andrades Cien Almas: This match was non-title but was a good one. I wish to see more out of these two because they work well together, even though they’ve never worked together. Styles ended up making Almas tap to the Calf Crusher after a very hard hitting match. This match definitely added to tonight and shined very well.
(Segment 3) Becky Lynch vs Mandy Rose: This match was for Lynch to gain momentum when she goes on to face Carmella at Summerslam for the Smackdown Women’s Title. After a pretty quick and not so good match, Becky makes Rose tap with her Disarmher. After this match Paige set up Carmella vs Becky Lynch next week, if Becky wins then she faces Carmella at Summerslam for the title.
(Segment 4) Samoa Joe vs Tye Dillinger: I expected a lot from these two but we got a very short match where Joe destroyed Tye. Samoa Joe made Tye pass out within 5 minutes of the bell. Tye showed heart in the beginning of the match but then Joe killed him. Joe is gaining momentum towards facing Styles at Summerslam for the WWE Title.
(Segment 5) The Miz’s Eulogy For Team Hell No: This segment was made to stir the pot for Bryan and Miz for a future match. WWE went all out by having funeral music and a funeral atmosphere. Miz goes on about how bad the Team Hell No friendship was and that they are dead, this caused Daniel Bryan to attack Miz from behind. Bryan even beat up the Paul Bearers. Miz ran away, then him and Bryan had a stare down. I think we can see this match at Summerslam.
(Segment 6) Eric Young vs Kofi Kingston: It looks like WWE is going to keep this feud going and most likely keep it going until Summerslam. The feud between these teams has been pretty good and hard hitting. These two teams also put in good work on the mic and in the rin, which equals a good feud. This match was a good back and forth match with good spots and comedy from the New Day. Young beat Kingston with the Wheelbarrel Neck Breaker in a good match. I liked how these two worked together and added to the night.
(Segment 7) Shinsuke Nakamura vs Jeff Hardy (US Title): I expected a lot from these two as they got 20 solid minutes for this match. These are two good veterans so I knew their match would be good. It sucks when a good match gets ruined by a bad ending though. Even thought Hardy has been battling injuries, he still put on a good match. Randy ended up pulling Hardy out of the ring after Jeff hit a Swanton Bomb and went for the cover. This caused a DQ finish and Orton beating Hardy very bad.
Overall Smackdown Live Grade: A-
