It didn’t get as much time as that epic Gauntlet match on Monday Night Raw earlier this year, but this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Toledo gave us a roughly 45 minute main event to crown the next number one contender to the WWE championship.
Happy Rusev Day!
It started with Daniel Bryan vs. Big E, and they had one hell of a showdown before Bryan pinned E following the Busaiku knee. That brought Samoa Joe out, who came out firing. He and Bryan beat the trash out of each other, working a brutally physical match that included a scary spot where Bryan spiked Joe on his head. Somehow, he managed to survive this and go on to win the fall over Joe when he beat a 10 count and Joe didn’t.
Of course, the Bludgeon Brothers showed up just after and put the boots to Bryan. That left him ripe for the picking. And, wouldn’t you know it, The Miz was the next guy into the match. He hit the Skull Crushing Finale and pinned Bryan to eliminate him from the match.
That brought Rusev out, with the winner earning the match against AJ Styles at Extreme Rules on July 15, 2018, in Pittsburgh. They also had a fun match, that included greatness like this:
Hey pal. Whatcha thinking about? pic.twitter.com/tDjAWU0EVD
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) June 20, 2018
They went back-and-forth, but in the end, Miz ran right into the Machka kick before tapping to The Accolade. It’s really going to happen, folks.
Here’s the updated Extreme Rules match card:
- AJ Styles vs. (WWE championship)
- Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax (Raw women’s championship)
- Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley vs. TBA vs. TBA vs. TBA vs. TBA