What’s the story?
It has been officially confirmed that the team of Zach Ryder and Mojo Rawley (The Hype Bros.) will be facing off against the reigning WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions, The Usos, in a non-title match next week on SmackDown LIVE. The announcement on WWE’s Twitter account can be seen below:
If the Hype Bros. win this match, they will earn a title opportunity for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
In case you didn’t know...
Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley had become the #1 Contenders to the SmackDown Tag Team Championships in December 2016 after they had won a Battle Royal for the same. However, Zack Ryder had ended up injuring his knee during the match itself, forcing him to undergo a reconstructive knee surgery.
Ryder was out of action for more than six months while Mojo Rawley ended up winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal in the interim. However, Ryder had made his on-screen return on last week’s edition of SmackDown in a backstage segment with Mojo Rawley and had hinted at the duo having “unfinished business” on SmackDown.
The Usos, on the other hand, are the current WWE SmackDown LIVE Tag Team Champions. The brothers won the titles on the 21st March 2017 edition of SmackDown LIVE in a match against then-champions American Alpha, and have held on to the belts ever since.
The heart of the matter
The team of Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley met up with SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan on the blue brand’s latest episode and showed him footage of the #1 Contenders match from December 2016.
Zack Ryder told Daniel Bryan that they had rightfully won the match and it was only due to the unfortunate injury that he had sustained that they couldn’t go on to compete for the titles. Bryan told Ryder that the division had changed a lot since then, but agreed to give them an opportunity regardless.
Also read: 5 things you need to know about Mojo Rawley
Bryan then made a non-title match between The Hype Bros. and The Usos official for next week with the stipulation that if the Hype Bros could defeat the Champs, they would get a shot at the SmackDown LIVE tag team titles. Bryan called it a one-time opportunity and The Hype Bros. accepted the GM’s decision.
What’s next?
The next edition of SmackDown LIVE will take place on 27th June 2017. The show will be held at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California.
Author’s take
It’s great to have The Hype Bros back and in the title mix already! The team of Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley is one of the most over teams in WWE’s entire tag team division and given the right opportunity, can certainly do a lot of good.
The match between them and the Usos promises to be a stellar bout and it will be interesting to see if they can cash in on the chance to possibly become champions!
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