5 Takeaways from this week's WWE SmackDown Live (3 July 2018)

Five matches took place as WWE SmackDown Live emanated from Omaha, Nebraska this week.

The show began with the reunited Daniel Bryan and Kane arguing over their previous rivalries, only to be interrupted by The Usos, who were informed by General Manager Paige that they would be added to the SmackDown Tag Team title match at Extreme Rules if they could defeat Team Hell No in the main event.

In the first match of the night, Jeff Hardy celebrated Independence Day by successfully defending his United States Championship against The Miz, defeating him with a Twist of Fate followed by a Swanton Bomb.

Next up, all three members of The New Day competed in a pancake-eating contest. However, just five seconds into their allocated five minutes, they were attacked by SAnitY and the segment ended with Eric Young sending Xavier Woods through a table following a top-rope elbow drop.

Elsewhere on the show, Asuka’s match against James Ellsworth ended in a double-countout when Carmella’s sidekick ran away from “The Empress of Tomorrow”, while Becky Lynch recorded her sixth consecutive SmackDown Live victory by defeating Peyton Royce.

In the night’s featured matches, AJ Styles warmed up for his Extreme Rules match against Rusev by defeating Aiden English, and Team Hell No put their differences aside to defeat The Usos in the main event.

Let’s take a look at five things that stood out from this week’s episode.

---

#5 Credit to WWE for acknowledging Team Hell No’s storied history

Kane lost all four of his previous televised matches in 2018

When Daniel Bryan and Kane reunited with a hug at the end of last week’s SmackDown Live, it looked as though the duo would immediately be back on the same page ahead of their upcoming SmackDown Tag Team Championship match against The Bludgeon Brothers at Extreme Rules.

However, long-term WWE viewers with good memories will know that things didn’t exactly end well when Team Hell No split last time, with Kane hitting Bryan with three tombstones on an episode of Raw (as well as trying to abduct his wife!) during their WWE Championship rivalry after WrestleMania 30.

WWE often rewrites history (or neglects to mention it at all) when two people are involved in a storyline together after a long period of time, so credit to them for getting old and new fans fully up to speed on Team Hell No’s drama-filled history throughout this week’s SmackDown Live.

#4 This is the SAnitY WWE fans wanted to see!

The pancake-eating contest didn't go according to plan

On last week’s episode of SmackDown Live, WWE was forced into a last-minute change after the pre-arranged United States Championship match between champion Jeff Hardy and challenger Shinsuke Nakamura had to be cancelled due to the latter’s injury.

Jeff still competed on the show, teaming with The Usos to defeat Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe and Eric Young, but many fans expressed their displeasure at seeing SAnitY lose their first match as members of the blue brand.

This week, however, the former NXT Tag Team champions looked like the dominant force that fans grew to appreciate during their time in Triple H’s ‘developmental’ brand, with Dain looking especially impressive.

#3 Asuka needs to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship

Asuka will face Carmella at Extreme Rules

Carmella has been an entertaining SmackDown Women’s champion since she cashed in her Money In The Bank contract to defeat Charlotte Flair for the title on the first SmackDown Live after WrestleMania 34.

However, as good as she is on the microphone and as much as her character has progressed over the last year, there’s no denying that the likes of Asuka, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Naomi can all produce superior matches to “The Princess of Staten Island”.

Ideally, Asuka will defeat Carmella for the SmackDown Women’s title at Extreme Rules before going on to feud with the best of the best of the blue brand’s women’s division, starting with a WrestleMania rematch with Charlotte at SummerSlam.

#2 WWE should start planning an AJ Styles heel turn

AJ Styles became a babyface in April 2017

Don’t get us wrong, AJ Styles is amazing. The WWE champion produces high-quality match after high-quality match and there’s an argument to be had that, after back-to-back years as WWE Superstar of the Year, he is on course to be the company’s top guy again over the next six months.

However, it feels like there’s something missing with “The Phenomenal One” right now. Yes, he maintains plenty of fan support as a babyface, but audience reactions are nowhere near as loud as they were for him in 2017.

Remember when CM Punk held the WWE Championship for 434 days? He turned heel midway through the reign, which kept his title storylines fresh and exciting, and it feels like Styles – one of WWE’s best heels in recent memory – would benefit from undergoing another change of attitude by the end of this year.

#1 SmackDown Live’s Extreme Rules matches are unpredictable

Jeff Hardy defeated The Miz on this week's SmackDown Live

So far, four SmackDown Live matches have been announced for Extreme Rules: AJ Styles vs. Rusev (WWE Championship), The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Team Hell No (SmackDown Tag Team Championships), Carmella vs. Asuka (SmackDown Women’s Championship) and Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (United States Championship).

As of the time of writing, and before reading any spoilers that are too obvious, it feels like there is a very real possibility that any of the four championships could swap hands at the PPV, which is a refreshing change after several months of predictable title match outcomes.

Of the four, the most likely change appears to be the United States Championship, simply because Nakamura is yet to hold a main-roster title, but then Asuka finds herself in the same situation in the women's division… so will she defeat Carmella?

Whatever happens, the SmackDown Live build to Extreme Rules continues to impress more than Raw.