WWE SmackDown Live Recap, Grades & Opinion: June 4, 2019 -

SmackDown Live Recap: June 4, 2019

A.K.A. The One With The Match Under The Ring

The go-home show for WWE Super ShowDown is upon us. Announced for the show is Goldberg, making his SmackDown Live debut. Alexa Bliss hosts A Moment of Bliss with Bayley on the show as well. Some more shenanigans ahead of Friday are almost guaranteed. Will the 24/7 Championship change hands? Will any other championship see the light of the cameras? Let’s find out!

Results:

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods def. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
Elias def. R-Truth in a Lumberjack Match to win the 24/7 Championship
R-Truth def. Elias under the ring to win the 24/7 Championship
Alexa Bliss def. Carmella & Charlotte to earn a SmackDown Live Women’s Championship match at Stomping Grounds
Andrade def. Apollo Crews

Match of the Night: Alexa Bliss def Carmella & Charlotte via pinfall after a DDT.

All three women in this match got some time in the spotlight. The ending was a little dusty, with a distraction on the outside by Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville allowing Bliss to hit a DDT on Carmella for the win. Charlotte was booked strong as usual, but was taken out by a Carmella superkick. Bliss will challenge Bayley at Stomping Grounds at the end of the month, meaning a Raw superstar will be the top challenger for a SmackDown Live championship.

This #TripleThreat Match is getting INTENSE! Who will come out the winner to face @itsBayleyWWE at #WWEStompingGrounds?! pic.twitter.com/a4ywnjlAee

— WWE (@WWE) June 5, 2019

Three Thoughts:

Lights, Camera, Action

WWE seems to be dipping into the video packages well a little more than usual recently. They were interspersed with Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston’s promo battle, which was unnatural. Did the guys edit them before going out there? Usually these video packages are an exclamation point on the feud, not the fire that fuels it. Hopefully WWE tones down how often they use them going forward.

Latest Wrestling News

Goldberg Still Has It

Hall of Famer Goldberg closing out the night was a no-brainer choice. After Undertaker got the last word on Monday night, it made sense for Goldberg to do the same Tuesday. Undertaker’s surprise appearance was a great moment. It’s a nostalgia pop, sure, and comes likely because of a big payday. Goldberg however is only a few years removed from some quality matches. He and Undertaker may surprise some people on Friday afternoon.

Ep 162: Joe Flacco, Dak Prescott and The MVP, Week 13 Discussion
by Full Press Coverage on December 3, 2023 at 3:58 pm

MORE PODCASTS From FPC

LEGENDARY. #SDLive #WWESSD #Undertaker @Goldberg pic.twitter.com/56LO2AUhyI

— WWE (@WWE) June 5, 2019

New Challenges? Anyone?

Alexa Bliss is a fine first challenger for Bayley, but she’s a Raw superstar. The SmackDown Live women’s roster appeared loaded coming out of the Superstar Shakeup. There are so many talented women who haven’t really been given a chance to shine on Tuesday nights. Asuka, Ember Moon, Zelina Vega, Kairi Sane, or Liv Morgan all could be built up into credible challengers. Instead, WWE seems content to use the top 20% of their women’s roster to use in all matches. It is a disappointing decision overall.

pic.twitter.com/oPeiYtG8Sg

— LIV Morgan (@YaOnlyLivvOnce) June 4, 2019

Grade: B-

An inoffensive show overall that had the same main issue as Raw did this week: too much focus on Super ShowDown and the top few feuds. Shane McMahon and Super ShowDown hype packages took up unneeded airtime. Some midcard feuds got much less time to shine, like Andrade and Finn Balor. Some weren’t featured at all, like the tag team champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan, Asuka & Kairi Sane, and others. Aside from misplaced focus, the show was decent overall.

One More Thing:

Lars Sullivan’s first in-ring interview was bad. This bad.

"Say IT! I've been called this word my entire life, I can take it." – @LarsSWWE #SDLive pic.twitter.com/uiLpOfN0oS

— WWE (@WWE) June 5, 2019

– Evan Gomes is the Managing Editor of Pro Wrestling for Full Press Coverage. Like and follow on Follow @EvanGomes_ Follow @FPC_Wrestling and Facebook.