WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz ignites, Randy Orton snaps

WWE moves ahead with Daniel Bryan-Miz feud

The Miz gave an eulogy for Team Hell No where he recounted some of their disagreements and asked for a moment of silence. He then turned even more heel, claiming Bryan was never the world-class wrestler everyone claimed him to be. "Daniel Bryan is nothing more than a glory hound, obsessed with setting impossible goal to tug at your heart strings." Miz went on to say Team Hell No was a Hail Mary pass by Bryan to remain relevant and "roll out his greatest hits." He claimed that Bryan's return from injury has been a bust, he's ruining his legacy each week, he will never headline WrestleMania again, and his career is dead.

Bryan's music hit immediately after that final line, and while the pallbearers at ringside attempted to serve as security guards, Bryan entered the ring from behind Miz to take him down. The pallbearers eventually allowed Miz to escape, so Bryan hit one with a running knee and pointed directly at Miz before the crowd erupted in "Yes!" chants.

Nothing much to complain about here other than the corniness of the ceremony, though Miz sold the hell out of it like usual. It's now clear WWE is moving ahead with the long-awaited Bryan-Miz feud for SummerSlam, and with four more shows to go until the event, there is plenty of time to further develop the long-term storyline. Consider this an acceptable first step. Grade: B-

Randy Orton snaps on Jeff Hardy, ruining title match

Hardy opened the show with an in-ring promo where he explained that he did not feel like himself; instead, he said his heart was "broken" without his United States championship. Now, he's solely focused on making Shinsuke Nakamura "fade away and classify himself as obsolete." Standing backstage with Renee Young, Nakamura faked crying while calling Hardy a "sad clown." He said the U.S. title is now officially his, which is "a reason to smile." 

United States Championship -- Jeff Hardy def. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) via disqualification: The multi-segment match was slow for a bit but really picked up late as Hardy reversed one Kinshasa into a slingblade and another into Twist of Fate. However, just after Hardy hit the Swanton Bomb, Orton appeared out of nowhere to pull him from the ring and force the DQ. Orton then slammed Hardy's head back into the steel steps four times, beat him down outside and stomped his head into the steps. With Hardy lying prone on the mat, Orton screamed that Hardy would have to wait to find out why he was doing this; Orton then grabbed the gauge hole in Hardy's ear and began pulling it backwards before throwing him over the desk. Before leaving, he laid Hardy over the desk and hit his elevated DDT.

The Orton heel turn and involvement here is unexplained, but it does seem that WWE ultimately has a plan with Orton teasing that an explanation will come in the future. The Hardy and Nakamura promos to open the show were also extremely well done, and the match was high quality considering Hardy is clearly hobbled. It seems strange that so much attention is being paid to the midcard, but that's a really good thing. Grade: B+

What else happened on SmackDown?

• AJ Styles def. Andrade "Cien" Almas via submission: In a match booked via some social media videos on Tuesday, Styles and Almas put on a barn-burner. Almas dominated a good portion of the match and hit the double knees on Styles in the corner, but the champion kicked out at two. Styles then reversed the Hammerlock DDT into a calf crusher to pick up the victory. Almas stared Styles down from afar after the match, leading one to believe there's more business to be had here at some point in the future.
  

• Aiden English apologizes to Lane: Walking backstage, English approached Lana to express his regret for playing a role in Rusev losing the WWE championship match to Styles at Extreme Rules. Lana said Rusev was mad and that English was only apologizing to make himself feel better; he  would know if Rusev accepts his apology. English responded by asking for a second chance, saying everyone deserves one and he's been a good friend to Rusev.
  
• Becky Lynch def. Mandy Rose via submission: Rose got in her share of offense, but Lynch did not waste much time hitting the Becksploder suplex and Dis-Arm-Her to earn the tap out. With the victory, Lynch continues on her roll and earned a win over the last person to defeat her in singles competition. She got the chance to cut a promo after the match, saying she's been forced to wait too long but is just getting started. Lynch then challenged Carmella, telling her "straight fire is comin' for ya." After the match, Carmella demanded another Mella-bration from SmackDown general manager Paige, who was amenable but only if Carmella beats Lynch next week; if Carmella loses, then Lynch gets a title opportunity at SummerSlam.
  
• Samoa Joe def. Tye Dillinger via submission: Following a short, funny skit backstage with R-Truth, Dillinger hit the ring in hopes of getting revenge on Joe, who attacked him before their scheduled dark match last week. Dillinger attacked Joe as soon as the bell rang, but Joe quickly recovered and locked in the Coquina Clutch.
• Eric Young def. Kofi Kingston via pinfall: Late in the match, the other members of New Day and SAnitY got into it at ringside. The finish came as Killian Dane threw Xavier Woods from ringside into Kingston, who was running into the ropes. That distraction allowed Young to hit a wheelbarrow neckbreaker and pick up the win.