Grading The Matches on SmackDown Live this Week (9/18/18)

Image result for aj styles vs andrade cien almas — Andrade 'Cien' Almas faced AJ Styles in one of SmackDown Live's big matches of the night.

This week on SmackDown Live the likes of AJ Styles, Andrade 'Cien' Almas, Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Rusev were in action. This week also featured an episode of Miz TV and Becky Lynch's championship coronation.

#4 Kofi Kingston (w/ Big E & Xavier Woods) vs Cesaro (w/ Sheamus)

Image result for kofi kingston vs cesaro — The buildup to the New Day vs the Bar at Super Showdown began.

Result: Cesaro defeated Kofi Kingston via pinfall with the Neutralizer.

Grade: B-

Analysis: This was a pretty decent match, however, it was too much of a quick match to get a better grade. This match did well to show that The Bar is a threat to the New Day's Tag Team Title Reign.

It is also nice to see Cesaro get an opportunity to showcase his excellence in the ring in a singles match. Cesaro's strength and Kofi Kingston's speed was a good combination. While it is great that Cesaro is helping to bolster SmackDown's tag team division, it would be nice to see him get opportunities as a singles superstar more often.

#3 US Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Rusev

Image result for shinsuke nakamura vs rusev us championship — The United States Championship was defended on SmackDown Live.

Result: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev via pinfall with a roll up. Aiden English then attacked Rusev from behind with a microphone.

Grade: A-

Analysis: Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura have a lot of chemistry together. This was proven during their matches with each other at Fastlane (where Rusev was the heel and Nakamura was the face) and their match against each other on this week's SmackDown Live (where the roles were reversed).

Shinsuke Nakamura did great as the heel that always kicked Rusev down when he thought he was going to win. Rusev performed excellently as the explosive Superstar that wanted to win the United States Championship back.

It was a pleasant surprise that it was Aiden English who turned heel and not Rusev. It seems like the table was set for Rusev to turn heel as Aiden English just kept costing Rusev victories.

However, Rusev will be a full-fledged face for the first time of his career. This feud certainly has a lot of potential as I have no doubt that these competitors can have great matches and even better promos.