WWE SmackDown results, highlights (Aug. 15): Sami Zayn targets the U.S. Championship

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Boston played host to a loaded night of tag team action on "SmackDown." With Clash in Paris nearing, the storylines for the big return to France progressed throughout the night, but the entire focus of this show was multi-person-based. From the Women's Tag Team Champions to old teams reuniting, it was largely a great show between the ropes.
🧐Mixed Feelings of the Night
Let's talk about MFT, around which this "SmackDown" was centered around.
I'm over anything even remotely related to The Bloodline story of yesteryear. WWE completely exhausted that storyline, and rightfully so, but it needs a breather. MFT is just the most obvious hang-on attempt that could be done. Also, how about the name? It stands for "My Family Tree," but commentary addresses the members as "MFTs." So, that means they're being called Solo Sikoa's "My Family Trees."
That's just bad English.
MFT ruining Sami Zayn's match against Rusev on "Monday Night Raw" was dumb. However, WWE salvaged it pretty well with Zayn confronting the group to start "SmackDown."
OK, I admittedly rolled my eyes when Zayn's music hit, but his promo was creative, as he thanked Sikoa for giving him pressure relief from his world title aspirations — even though Zayn won the Rusev match by DQ because of him. Therefore, this has led Zayn to seek the only other title he has never held: Sikoa's U.S. Championship. This is a perfectly fine divergent path for Zayn, especially since he doesn't fit into either of the world title scenes right now.
Oh, Zayn also mentioned that he's officially a SmackDown superstar now — like that matters.
To expand on this, we need to highlight the real story, which was ...
👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑
While MFT might be a bust, Sikoa is far, far, far, far from it. This guy has come into his own, surpassing anything that could have been expected from him throughout those aforementioned Bloodline days.
There are still some tweaks to be made to his character for an eventual solo (no pun intended) run that maintains his current integrity. Sikoa's reactions are hysterical. When Zayn thanked him and he happily replied with "anytime" before making fun of Zayn's eyes, I died laughing. He has become so insanely entertaining, and isn't the worst wrestler either. That's why it's ridiculous to have him lose matches and be surrounded by a bunch of goons. At the same time, this is a fitting person to have as a mid-card champion.
Numerous great things can be expanded on for Sikoa, and hopefully, we will get them sooner rather than later.
An interferenceless main event
I mentioned Sikoa and his losses. Well, it happened again when Zayn got the win for his team by pinning Sikoa off a Helluva Kick. The match was fine, and thankfully, it capped off a night of clean match finishes. Who would have thought?
This just further aligns with the mixed feelings though, because it feels way too clear that Zayn will win the title, and this booking indicates it will come by burying Sikoa along the way.
♻️Recycling of the Night
You've got to be kidding me. The Women's U.S. title is so beyond dead in the water it's legitimately unbelievable.
Something interesting appeared to be brewing when Giulia's manager Kiana James approached Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton backstage for a potential alliance. That was until Stratton shut it down — then Michin confronted James to tell her she's next for Giulia.
You mean the same Michin who has been in the U.S. title scene since its inception, who countlessly rehashed matches with the former champion Green?
It doesn't make sense how WWE can continuously overlook half of its female single stars.
👍FRIDAY NIGHT FIRE👍
1. Melo Don't Miz defeated Fraxiom clean when The Miz hit Nathan Frazer with a Skull-Crushing Finale. The Wyatt Sicks randomly appeared in the crowd as the match started, which actually has a nice tie-in with The Miz and their history. Ultimately, I'm stunned that there were no interferences in this match, as the story was clearly intended to advance an eventual fallout between Carmelo Hayes and Miz, thanks to Miz stealing the finish from his teammate.
I'll say the quiet part out loud: Hayes absolutely rules, as does Fraxiom. So, this was a big win, and hopefully, it will get us to a Hayes push very, very soon. But first, a match against Motor City Machine Guns next week.
2. Drew McIntyre cut a promo explaining his "attack" on Cody Rhodes last week. Well, he claimed it wasn't an attack and that Rhodes attacked him, mentioning how he's been screwed out of all his world title opportunities. He went on to speculate whether Rhodes' mysterious health status was a conspiracy, and maintained his unhinged brilliance.
It was a good use of his time, concise and effective. Sadly, McIntyre has fallen into a boat where he's right for the most part and deserves better, but surely won't be the one to dethrone Rhodes.
3. Another clean win came when Street Profits defeated #DIY in a phenomenal match. This was just good old-fashioned tag team wrestling between two of the world's best. OK, maybe not entirely good, clean and old-fashioned, because there were moments that Candice LeRae and B-Fab got involved, of course. But it was another surprisingly well-booked match.
WWE seemingly has too much on its hands with its tag teams now, which is why it's such a shame that the injection of The Wyatts as champions has muddied things a bit. Overall, there's objectively more good than bad.
4. Similarly to John Cena's heel turn, WWE botched R-Truth's comeback. Badly. However, the interaction between Truth and Aleister Black backstage, snapping Truth back into Ron Killings, was well done and interesting. Surely, it will be a vehicle for Damian Priest's return when he saves Killings from being killed by Black next week.
👎DOWN & OUT👎
1. Alexa Bliss beat Piper Niven clean with a roll-up, avoiding Secret Hervice shenanigans. The result was correct, and the match was fine at best. The problem here was primarily what happened afterward, which was The Secret Hervice standing tall over Bliss and Charlotte Flair.
I couldn't be any less interested in a feud between these teams because WWE has given us zero reason to believe The Secret Hervice is a real threat in any way, shape or form. Yet, suddenly, this post-match beatdown made Chelsea Green look like the female Seth Rollins alongside "The Brons."
2. Jade Cargill complained to "SmackDown" general manager Nick Aldis about getting another title shot against Stratton — without doing anything to earn it. This is the worst and most unnecessary way for Cargill's character to act, considering her presentation.
What really made this segment vomit-inducing was Nia Jax's appearance. She actually made great points, jabbing at Cargill, but Jax simply breathing the same air as Stratton after how overextended their rivalry was is lunacy. No one wants to see these two together again.
3. How much money did PJ Byrne spend to get as many commercials and shoutouts as he did throughout this show? I mean, seriously.
👑 I give this show a Crown score of: 7/10.👑