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What's the story?
Jey Uso, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were not present on SmackDown as they were selling their respective injuries sustained at the hands of the Bludgeon Brothers at Fastlane.
In case you didn't know...
The Usos put the SmackDown Tag Team Championships on the line at the recently concluded Fastlane PPV against perennial rivals, The New Day.
The match -- which was expected to be a show-stealer was progressing along nicely with a host of well-worked spots leading up to a moment in the match were all men were laid out by ringside.
The Bludgeon Brothers' music and out came the former Wyatt Family members with the intention to demolish anyone in sight. The beatdown was booked to be so severe that Jimmy, Jey, Kingston, Big E, and Woods were assisted by the officials on their way back to the locker room.
Woods, in particular, bore the brunt of the assault as he suffered a thoracic spine injury and was taken to a nearby medical facility right after the match.
The heart of the matter
Owing to the injuries suffered as a result of the attack, Jey Uso, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were forced to miss the fallout SmackDown episode of Fastlane.
In their absence, Jimmy and Big E formed a temporary alliance in order to gain some retribution against the Bludgeon Brothers. However, they were put away easily by Harper and Rowan for all their troubles.
What's next?
A triple threat match for the SmackDown tag team straps seems like a no-brainer for WrestleMania 34. What seems even more obvious at this point is the inevitable coronation of the Bludgeon Brothers as the new champions in New Orleans in a few weeks.
Author's take
The barbaric beatdown administered by Rowan and Harper have made them the firm favourites to win the SD titles at Mania. Over to the other side on Raw and you have a former brother of theirs looking to win the Raw tag team titles all by himself.
The resurgence of the Wyatt Family is well and truly upon us!
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