WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights from June 28
WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights from June 280 of 7
SmackDown.WWE
Welcome to Bleacher Report’s live coverage of WWE SmackDown on June 28.
Money in the Bank is next weekend, so a lot of time was spent setting up the matches that will occupy the card.
Here is a look at what WWE advertised for Friday’s show:
The Bloodline welcomes Jacob FatuJade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Candice LeRaeLogan Paul vs. Santos Escobar vs. LA KnightNaomi vs. Blair Davenport vs. Indi HartwellLet’s take a look at what happened on this week’s show.
The Bloodline Kicks off the Show1 of 7
WWE @WWE”Where’s @jacobfatu_wwe?”
We’re wondering the same thing, @HeymanHustle… 😬
#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/F4c7WY7QIb
Tama Tanga, Tonga Loa and Solo Sikoa have arrived in MSG.
WWE @WWEThis is WILD!
@CodyRhodes, @RandyOrton, and @FightOwensFight are just looking for a fight with ANYONE 😳
#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/Cu0XIJeDlH
This week’s show opened with shots of Superstars arriving at MSG and a video recapping Jacob Fatu’s debut last week. We saw the new Bloodline arrive backstage sans Fatu. Solo Sikoa didn’t answer when Paul Heyman asked where he was and walked right to the ring.
Kevin Owens, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton attacked them before anything could happen. After a break, the trio was still in the ring and ended up taking out the security team as Nick Aldis looked angry. He returned later with cops to escort them away.
The crowd seemed hot for all of this and it got the show started with a lot of energy. The Bloodline will be back later in the show, so Orton, Rhodes and Owens probably won’t be far away.
Grade: B
Jade Cargill vs. Candice LeRae vs. Tiffany Stratton2 of 7
SmackDown.WWE
The first match of the night was a triple threat MITB qualifier with Cargill, LeRae and Stratton. All three women looked up at the briefcase before engaging.
Before the show cut to a break, Nia Jax and Bianca Belair showed up at ringside but hadn’t interfered in any way yet.
This was a strong performance for all three competitors. LeRae’s veteran experience came in handy, but Stratton and Cargill didn’t need help looking good.
Belair prevented Jax from attacking Cargill, butt Indi Hartwell shoved her into the ring post while The EST was talking to the ref. This ended up leading to Tiffy hitting her trademark moonsault on the Poison Pixie for the win.
Result: Stratton defeated LeRae and Cargill
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
WWE always makes a big deal out of shows at Madison Square Garden. Owens took a big bump through a table to take out Tama Tanga. It took over 25 minutes for the first match to begin. That is not uncommon for Raw, but SmackDown is usually quicker to get to the first bout. Stratton had some great moments when she was going on a little rampage. Her power and agility are a great combination. Santos Escobar vs. Logan Paul vs. LA Knight3 of 7
After a video hyping Knight and Paul’s feud, both men and Escobar competed in another three-way MITB qualifying match.
Paul brought out Tyrese Haliburton from the Indiana Pacers to be in his corner, which naturally upset the NY crowd.
Paul and Escobar formed a tenuous alliance to team up on Knight, but it only lasted a couple of minutes. The Social Media Megastar turned on the leader of Legado Del Fantasma and tossed him out of the ring.
This bout lasted two segments and gave all three competitors time to shine. Paul wasn’t going for as many high-flying spots as usual, but that gave him a chance to show off some of the other skills he’s picked up.
WWE @WWE.@LoganPaul 🤝 @TyHaliburton22
Watch out, @TyHaliburton22! @jalenbrunson1 is watching you 👀#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/4bHSyz1HcS
The ending wasn’t as easy to predict as most bouts because all three men would make sense to include in MITB this year. Haliburton and The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, who was seated at ringside, had a standoff at ringside before Knight picked up the win by reversing a roll-up from Paul to get the pin.
Knight and Brunson stood side by side and made Paul and Haliburton back down.
Result: Knight defeated Paul and Escobar
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
Paul looked like he was going for an Evil Knievel look with his gear.
Knight’s dropping through the ropes to Escobar looked awesome.Paul doing a reverse powerbomb to drop Escobar on top of Knight was a good spot. WWE had to cut the feed and mute the crowd several times to avoid some not-so-family-friendly chants. Rest in Peace, Sika4 of 7
SikaWWE
WWE aired a video to pay tribute to the late Sika Anoa’i of The Wild Samoans.
Public Enemies Podcast @TheEnemiesPE3The memorial video for Sika was beautiful. WHO IS CUTTING ONIONS!?!? #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/pCdZgZoeZj
Blair Davenport vs. Indi Hartwell vs. Naomi5 of 7
SmackDown.WWE
The third MITB triple threat included Naomi, Davenport and Hartwell fighting for one of the open spots in the ladder match.
Naomi took control early with a dropkick to both opponents, but her lead was short-lived. Davenport showed some serious aggression as she took the upper hand heading into the break.
Hartwell was using her size to her advantage when we returned and she was almost able to pin both women after hitting a spinebuster to Davenport on top of Naomi.
All three Superstars came close to winning in a highly competitive match, but when it was all over, it was Naomi who won thanks to some help from Cargill, who was getting some revenge for what happened to her earlier in the night.
WWE on TNT Sports @wweontnt🌈 FEEL THE GLOW AT MONEY IN THE BANK! 💰
Naomi picks up the W!#SmackDown | Live on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/bu0ZusUi9a
Much like the other two MITB qualifiers we saw, this gave everyone some time in the spotlight. There was a clear lack of chemistry in some spots, but not enough to keep this from being a solid performance.
Result: Naomi defeated Hartwell and Davenport
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Naomi’s gear is always awesome, but her old entrance music was definitely better. Davenport’s offense looked a bit more brutal than Naomi and Hartwell’s. She fights ugly in the best way. Naomi looked like she landed on Hartwell a bit awkwardly during her split-legged moonsault.Hartwell is so tall that she had to bend over to properly swing Davenport into the ring steps. The Bloodline Acknowledgement Ceremony6 of 7
The main event segment this week was the Bloodline Acknowledgement Ceremony to officially make Heyman the Wiseman for Sikoa. The new Tribal Chief promised Heyman that Fatu was not there and he took his advice about him being too violent for the group.
As soon as they got to the ring, Sikoa welcomed Fatu to the ring, revealing he was lying earlier. Hey stared right at a shocked Heyman as Fatu came to the ring.
Fatu, Tama and Loa acknowledged Sikoa, but Heyman hesitated. He said he loved Solo but said he is not his Tribal Chief. Sikoa attacked him with a Samoan Spike and ordered Fatu to hit a flying headbutt. They put Heyman through the announce table with a triple powerbomb.
The show ended with the new Bloodline standing tall as the crowd chanted something WWE had to censor out. This was a great way to kick off the next chapter of this story. Now, Reigns is going to have to get revenge for his Wisema.
Grade: B+
The Final Word7 of 7
Shows in MSG always have a lot of energy and great crowds, but WWE having to cut the feed to censor so many things made the show tough to watch in places.
While all three matches we saw this week were fun, only having three on a two-hour show feels wrong. There was more than enough time to book a random singles match or two and still do everything else WWE wanted to do on this episode.
As a whole, this was a good episode that was a match or two away from being a great episode. Thankfully, each segment advanced a story in some way and helped continue filling up the MITB card.
Grade: B
