SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
The New Day (c) vs. The Usos
A feud that’s delivered in every way gets rewarded with a spot on the SummerSlam Kickoff.
The Road to SummerSlam
Both their first two bouts were barn-burners. The finish at Money in the Bank, where then-champs Jimmy and Jey Uso took a countout loss rather risk losing their titles to the longest reigning tag team in WWE history, was a bit of a bummer. But when that was followed by an electric rap battle segment on the Fourth of July and a match of the night at Battleground, where Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston did beat the Twins to claim the belts, we can look past one inconclusive finish.
And especially when that’s followed by sneak attacks and gloating...
Which served as a way to remind us about a side of The New Day we haven’t seen in quite some time...
Heck, even their obligatory non-title match right before their pay-per-view (PPV) title match was really good...
Did it telegraph the ending of their next confrontation this Sunday? We’ll let “reverse momentum theory” sort that out later. In the meantime...
What’s at stake?
Let’s hope that being moved to the pre-show means this isn’t the end of what’s been SmackDown’s brightest spot since the Superstar Shake-Up.
A win by Woods and Big E (Kofi Kingston is sitting this one out after The Usos targeted his leg this past Tuesday) might signal it is wrapping up. Even if two of the wins are on technicality, counting the rap battle, the Trio of Positivity officially comes into this one 3 - 0 against Rikishi’s sons. Jimmy and Jey will be the ones who are paranoid if they lose again and try to get another title shot right away.
The New Day don’t have much to lose. Their place in history is secure, and will always make them viable contenders. But they do have pride on the line, especially after their rivals have been one step ahead of them since the title changed hands last month.
What’s next in this quietly excellent program? Tune in to the SummerSlam Kickoff, and keep it here on Cageside Seats, to find out.