SmackDown Live Report Card - July 24, 2018
It's amazing to fathom that we are just 13 short weeks away from the historic 1000th episode of SmackDown Live. With as good as this show has been lately, I cannot wait for that episode because Raw 1000 was a tremendous show.
Follow Sportskeeda for the latest WWE news, rumors and all other wrestling news.
The SummerSlam card continued to take shape after this week's episode as we now know who will face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, and it's none other than Samoa Joe. It's the main event many within the WWE Universe wanted and never thought they'd see in this lifetime.
We have also learned that there is a tag team tournament to determine who will face The Bludgeon Brothers, and that tournament includes the return of The Bar.
It was once again a good edition of SmackDown Live, but this week it was more about advancing the storylines for SummerSlam than it was getting spectacular matches and that's not a bad thing.
As always, the best grade that a match or segment can earn is an A+, but on the flip side, the worst grade that can be earned is an F. On the final slide, I'll also give my overall grade for the show.
Let's kick things off with The Viper...
#5 Randy Orton explains his actions
Randy Orton kicked off SmackDown Live this week as the WWE Universe was looking for answers as to why he's brutally attacked Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules and last week's SmackDown.
Orton told the WWE Universe to look in the mirror for the reason why he did what he did to Hardy. He doesn't get the respect he deserves because he's not an indie darling, dives off of cages, paints his face, or change the colour of his merchandise every month.
Orton finished his promo by stating that he is going to write the last chapter in Jeff Hardy's story, as well as everyone else the WWE Universe puts on a pedestal.
Amazing heel promo by Orton here. I missed this Randy.
GRADE: A