5 Takeaways From SmackdownLive - 6/12/18

This is my series, simply known as "5 Takeaways", where I will share my personal main talking points coming out of Raw and SmackdownLive.

These are all my opinion, so I may miss a nugget or two. If you have something to add to my list, or a list of your own, feel free to share in the comment section below!

Also, please check out The Enzuigiri podcast, Reddit, and Facebook page!

https://m.facebook.com/groups/theenzuigiri

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheEnzuigiriPodcast

https://m.soundcloud.com/theenzuigiri

We are a group of long-time wrestling fans living in the Tri-State area. We have results, news, and so much more!

It's been a while since he's seen any serious competition, but Shelton Benjamin continues to prove he can still perform at a high level. The veteran took on Daniel Bryan in a good match, which ended in a submission victory for the latter.

This pairing was almost a dream match, but more like "a match you never knew you wanted to see". Benjamin is more than capable of holding the US title, or stepping in as a fill-in heel for the WWE championship picture.

The current WWE champion is a fantastic wrestler - without a doubt top three in the company. However, the past few weeks have seen the "Phenomenal One" continuously cut promos that don't mean anything. A lot of this can absolutely be blamed on the writers, but it's still Styles who delivers these, and it seems like he's just going through the motions.

Don't get me wrong, he's a great superstar, and this has been a really good title run. I just wish I wasn't bored whenever he picked up the mic and shouted "THE HOUSE THAT A! J! STYLES BUILT!"

Let's be honest, if someone from Smackdown wins the women's Money in the Bank match, it's going to be either Becky Lynch or Charlotte Flair. Both of them are big time players in the women's division and former champions. Either one can legitimately win the match and eventually become a strong champion representing their brand.

The other two in the match on Smackdown's side are Lana and Naomi. While the latter is a former champion in her own right, she hasn't been booked nearly as strong as the aforementioned Lynch and Flair. Lana on the other hand isn't even a full-time wrestler (not to my knowledge, anyway). I honestly question why she is even a part of this match at all, when it could have been given to someone like Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, or one of the iiconics.

Now I know, "since when has the US title not been pushed to the back"? While that is indeed a fair argument, I found the title interesting once Jeff Hardy won it. Potential title feuds with Randy Orton, Shelton Benjamin, Rusev, or even a member of the New Day would be interesting to see.

You can't be interesting, however, when you're not even featured on tv. While Hardy did square off against Shinsuke Nakamura, this is the first time we've seen Hardy in weeks, and he's not even defending the belt on Sunday (what happened to the 30 day title defense rule?). If you want the crowd to care about the US title, give them a reason to. That starts with actually featuring the champion on your weekly program. If you're not doing that, then there's really no point in having the mid-card title at all.

Asuka's team (featuring Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Naomi, and Lana) won the main event 10 woman tag match against the team of the iiconics, Absolution, and the women's champion Carmella. She gained some momentum by picking up the victory herself.

Historically, when someone leaves the "go-home show" standing tall, then they usually don't come out victorious in their pay-per-view match. I say usually because this isn't always 100% true. However, I feel this is the case for Asuka.