Best and Worst of SmackDown Live Before Extreme Rules

#2 Worst: Champion pinned on live TV

The US Title Picture is not prestigious at all anymore

AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura was billed as a dream match on free television. Only the match would end in a disqualification, setting up a tag team contest thereafter. AJ Styles teamed up with Jeff Hardy to take on Nakamura and Rusev.

MACHKA!!!!! A #MachkaKick seals the deal as @RusevBUL pins the #USChampion @JEFFHARDYBRAND! Will the #BulgarianBrute pin the #WWEChampion this Sunday at #ExtremeRules? #SDLive pic.twitter.com/vSGEXt2Cn1
— WWE (@WWE) July 11, 2018

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A Machka Kick from Rusev would seal Jeff Hardy's fate. While I did not mind Rusev winning, going into the match this Sunday, I'm a little disappointed that a reigning champion had to take the pin. The US Title picture has seemed a little lackluster of late, and this was a nail in the coffin for the once prestigious championship.

About the author

Riju Dasgupta is the most-read active writer in Sportskeeda at the moment, across all sports. Having come on board in 2016, Dasgupta is best known for the 'Best and Worst' column, something that has become a staple for the site!

In addition to his writing responsibilities, Dasgupta is also the Assistant Manager of the Combat Sports division. In 4 years, Dasgupta has conducted over 150 interviews with stars from WWE, Impact Wrestling, PCW Ultra, WOS, UFC, ONE FC and the world of boxing as well.

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Edited by Riju Dasgupta