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Every week on Bleacher Report, I take an in-depth look at WWE SmackDown to recap the results, offer analysis and grade the matches, segments and anything else that takes place on the show, as well as make a few predictions for future events. WWE is trying to juggle building the card for the Battleground pay-per-view with the upcoming draft when SmackDown goes live on July 19. Thankfully, the company has found a decent balance and managed to produce a good show this week, with the biggest highlights being Cesaro's back-to-back matches. We also saw the main-roster debut of NXT Superstar Billie Kay. Judging from ...

The flags that wrapped around Sami Zayn's tights when he wrestled for WWE NXT weren't decoration; they told a story. The national emblems for Mexico, Denmark, Australia and Japan represented all the nations where he has stepped into the squared circle during his long career. When he traveled to Saudi Arabia with WWE in 2014, he noted on Twitter that it was the 30th country he has wrestled. Zayn (real name: Rami Sebei) had wrestled for over a decade before WWE signed him to a developmental deal. Before that, he had traversed the globe, working for promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Dragon Gate, taking on ...

With a flooded roster and a limited amount of television time up for grabs, it's little surprise that some WWE stars are struggling to make their presences felt. But lately, Chris Jericho is doing a fine job of getting his latest gimmick across. It's universally known and respected that Jericho is at his best when he's working as a heel. But his latest run—which, judging by his recent stints with the company, has been incredibly long, dating back to this year's Royal Rumble—struggled to have any sort of impact in its early months. A disappointing feud with Dean Ambrose did little for Jericho ...

AJ Styles is a card-carrying member of The Club. But for the veteran duo that suddenly finds itself divorced from the tag team championship division, that may be part of the problem. As of right now, The Club is sitting pretty. Riding the waves of a career renaissance from Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are entrenched in a long-term feud with John Cena. But what happens when it's all over? Once Styles settles into an inevitable role as a midcard veteran, will there even be room for Anderson and Gallows to matter? In their first two weeks on the roster, the duo ...

Crazy Dean Ambrose is world champion, and wrestling hipsters couldn't be prouder. He even gets to carry Raw with Roman Reigns serving a suspension. If that's not enough good news for team Ambrose, the NBA is in its offseason; no more competing with Stephen Curry and LeBron James for ratings. In a related story, Raw's viewership sank last week. Uh oh.   Every Ambrose Has its Thorns? It'll be interesting to see how the ratings are affected with Dean Ambrose atop WWE. With Roman Reigns out of the picture, WWE now gets to see if there's any correlation between Ambrose's drawing power at a ...

Mojo Rawley made it clear on Wednesday's WWE NXT not to give up on him just yet. The eternally hyped powerhouse has largely been a disappointment, not progressing into a well-rounded Superstar. Rawley is still a one-trick pony at this point, but he had his best performance to date. His part in a strong tag team match at Full Sail University had him looking like a prospect worthy of WWE's attention. Wednesday night also featured Noah Potjes' second TV match, an underwhelming showing from Andrade "Cien" Almas and a reminder that Carmella isn't done developing. The following is a look at where all ...

The King of the Ring tournament was once responsible for one of the most exciting and anticipated nights in professional wrestling, a series of matches that would crown a single winner destined to dominate the world of sports entertainment for the next year and beyond. Over time, though, a series of business decisions and WWE's lack of emphasis led to diminishing returns, hurting both the credibility and legitimacy of the once-beloved tournament. July 8 marks 31 years since the inaugural tournament was held in Foxborough, Massachusetts. What happened between Don Muraco's triumphant victory over The Iron Sheik in 1985 and Bad News Barrett's ...

WWE SummerSlam 2016 will be a balance of fresh faces and marquee names, the first true pay-per-view of the New Era.  The major event promises to feature a long-awaited matchup for Charlotte's Women's Championship. Brock Lesnar will face a fellow bruiser. And John Cena and AJ Styles will put their story to rest. SummerSlam will be WWE's means to propel itself in a new direction. The landscape will look much different following the draft on July 19 and the brand split between Raw and SmackDown.  Chances are, the summer blockbuster will see WWE crown a second world champion and introduce a wrestler from NXT ...

Traditionally, good guys are cheered, and bad guys are booed. But when it comes to pro wrestling, it's not always that simple. If you are a member of the WWE Universe, you fall into one of three categories: You always cheer for babyfaces and boo heels. You always cheer for heels and boo babyfaces. You choose who you boo and cheer for based on personal preference. WWE management loves the first group because those people help the company tell stories more effectively, but over time, more people have shifted into one of the other two. When wrestling first became popular in mainstream culture during the '80s, ...

The June 29 episode of NXT on WWE Network may not have had the star power of Samoa Joe, Finn Balor or Shinsuke Nakamura, but it was a focused episode that opted to build the undercard, allowing several young stars in the tag team and women's divisions to earn "winner" status for the night. Alexa Bliss and Carmella kicked things off, each jockeying for position as they chase aspirations of becoming the NXT women's champion. Their match demonstrated their growth both as workers and performers, and neither really lost, despite one suffering a defeat. Elsewhere on the show, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso ...