Grading The Matches on SmackDown Live this Week (9/18/18)

This week on SmackDown Live the likes of AJ Styles, Andrade 'Cien' Almas, Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Rusev were in action. This week also featured an episode of Miz TV and Becky Lynch's championship coronation.

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#4 Kofi Kingston (w/ Big E & Xavier Woods) vs Cesaro (w/ Sheamus)

The buildup to the New Day vs the Bar at Super Showdown began.

Result: Cesaro defeated Kofi Kingston via pinfall with the Neutralizer.

Grade: B-

Analysis: This was a pretty decent match, however, it was too much of a quick match to get a better grade. This match did well to show that The Bar is a threat to the New Day's Tag Team Title Reign.

It is also nice to see Cesaro get an opportunity to showcase his excellence in the ring in a singles match. Cesaro's strength and Kofi Kingston's speed was a good combination. While it is great that Cesaro is helping to bolster SmackDown's tag team division, it would be nice to see him get opportunities as a singles superstar more often.

#3 US Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Rusev

The United States Championship was defended on SmackDown Live.

Result: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev via pinfall with a roll up. Aiden English then attacked Rusev from behind with a microphone.

Grade: A-

Analysis: Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura have a lot of chemistry together. This was proven during their matches with each other at Fastlane (where Rusev was the heel and Nakamura was the face) and their match against each other on this week's SmackDown Live (where the roles were reversed).

Shinsuke Nakamura did great as the heel that always kicked Rusev down when he thought he was going to win. Rusev performed excellently as the explosive Superstar that wanted to win the United States Championship back.

It was a pleasant surprise that it was Aiden English who turned heel and not Rusev. It seems like the table was set for Rusev to turn heel as Aiden English just kept costing Rusev victories.

However, Rusev will be a full-fledged face for the first time of his career. This feud certainly has a lot of potential as I have no doubt that these competitors can have great matches and even better promos.

#2 AJ Styles vs Andrade 'Cien' Almas (w/ Zelina Vega)

Andrade 'Cien' Almas had one of the biggest opportunities of his career on SmackDown Live.

Result: AJ Styles defeated Andrade 'Cien' Almas via pinfall with the Styles Clash. Samoa Joe then got into a brawl with AJ Styles before Samoa Joe escaped through the crowd.

Grade: A

Analysis: AJ Styles and Andrade 'Cien' Almas had SmackDown Live's best match of the night. AJ Styles continues to impress as the main Superstar of SmackDown Live. Meanwhile, Andrade 'Cien' Almas has the potential to become one of SmackDown Live's top Superstars.

This match was extremely beneficial for both superstars as AJ Styles continued to thrive as a fighting champion while Andrade 'Cien' Almas continued to benefit from taking top stars such as AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan to the limit.

The brawl after the match was nothing we haven't seen before but still showcased how much of an opportunist Samoa Joe is.

#1 Asuka vs Billie Kay

WWE continued the build for Asuka & Naomi vs The IIconics at the Super Showdown.

Result: Asuka defeated Billie Kay via submission with the Asuka Lock.

Grade: B-

Analysis: It was nice to see Asuka having a match on SmackDown Live for the first time in a while. While the match result was incredibly predictable, at least WWE is trying to rebuild Asuka after extremely detrimental booking throughout the entire spring and summer.

This was a quick effective victory for Asuka that will help Naomi and her gain momentum for the Super Show-Down.