WWE Smackdown Grades (9th July 2019): Grading tonight’s show, fights and moments

#2 - Return of strong style?

The first match of the night saw Shinsuke Nakamura face off against Intercontinental Champion, Finn Balor, in a non-title match.

Nakamura quickly took control of the match and dominated a large portion of it, besides a brief comeback by Balor that was abruptly shut off by Shinsuke.

Nakamura was physical and aggressive throughout, but Finn fought on valiantly to avoid a count-out loss after a ‘Kinshasa’ on the outside, answering the count at nine.

Balor narrowly avoided a count-out loss again after some more action on the outside but walked straight into a second ‘Kinshasa’ by Shinsuke to give the Japanese star an impressive victory over the champion.

Nakamura was vicious throughout this contest and the match as a whole felt fresh and different to the formulaic matches we normally see on WWE television.

This also sets up a future Intercontinental Title match between Finn and Shinsuke, which will likely take place at SummerSlam.

Grade: B+