5 Takeaways From SmackdownLive - 7/10/18

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!

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"We're gonna have ourselves a tag team match, playa!" is the statement that best represents the Smackdown brand. Former General Manager Teddy Long has been known for coming out during four man brawls or in-ring arguments and simply announcing a tag team match between those superstars. It was so common during his era, that it became a running joke online, and eventually developed into memes.

Paige did this tonight after Rusev caused a disqualification in the AJ Styles/Shinsuke Nakamara match, and Jeff Hardy made the save. It's not a major complaint, it's just something that I (along with everybody else who's watched Smackdown over the last 12 or so years) have noticed. It's interesting how they want to keep the tradition alive.

Something we've been lacking on WWE tv has been a good ole faction vs faction, 3 on 3 rivalry. A feud between trios has so much possible creativity in it.

The New Day has been on of the most popular acts for so long now, and they haven't had anything meaningful to do as of late. However, Sanity could be that spark to reignite that serious side we saw in New Day in their incredible feud with The Usos.

I can imagine the many singles matches we'd get from the three, such as Big E vs Killian Dain, and Kofi Kingston vs Eric Young. It's going to be hard to screw up this feud. WWE, please DO NOT screw up this feud...

The exchanges between WWE champion AJ Styles and challenger Rusev have been pretty good. I must say I am excited for their title match at Extreme Rules. The buildup has been solid, but what really got me was the commentary during the AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura match on Smackdown.

The match itself was pretty good, but the real standout was Rusev on commentary. From his "four different ways to escape the Calf Crusher" to inviting everyone to check out his calves on Instagram, the Bulgarian Brute was absolute gold on the mic.

It's a shame he's being forced to play the heel, when he has such natural charisma, but at least he's being given a title opportunity at all. I suppose we should be thankful for that, although it's obvious that a main eventing, face Rusev is where we should be.

This may be a bit bold, but I've seen all I need to. Andrade Cien Almas is very good in the ring, and Zelena Vega adds that "heater" element to get a reaction from the crowd.

One thing I will say, is that I hope he keeps the Hammerlock DDT as his finisher. His running knees in the corner are nice, but that's more of a set-up move.

I know it's still very early in his main roster career, but in my opinion, an early run with the United States championship would be great for Almas.

James Ellsworth is a very entertaining heel, but from a booking perspective, you don't want to be anywhere near that guy (unless you're Carmella). The fact that Asuka was once a feared, undefeated NXT superstar, and is now fighting Ellsworth in a Lumberjack match is very telling about creative and their inability to use the Empress of Tomorrow properly.

If Asuka wins the Women's title at Extreme Rules, some slack can be given, but if Carmella retains again, then Asuka may be going down a road no one wants to go.