The Usos cemented The Bloodline as one of the most accomplished groups in WWE history by defeating RK-Bro to unify the Raw and SmackDown tag team championships. Their accomplishment may be overshadowed, however, by the news that women's tag team champions Sasha Banks and Naomi have been suspended and that new champions will be crowned.
Weeks of build-up between The Usos and RK-Bro, a feud that was sparked the week after WrestleMania 38, came to a conclusion on Friday night. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso went blow-for-blow with Randy Orton and Riddle to determine the undisputed tag team champions.
The atmosphere was muddied by WWE's very public announcement that Banks and Naomi were indefinitely suspended after walking out of Monday Night Raw. Though the promotion did not confirm reports that Banks and Naomi were frustrated with creative decisions, WWE made it very clear that they were no longer women's tag team champions.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Usos make history, Sasha Banks and Naomi get dragged through the mud
Paul Heyman opened the show and assured that The Usos would defeat RK-Bro to become not only the undisputed tag team champions but also the greatest tag team champions in history. Heyman warned The Usos that they had no home on the "Island of Relevancy" should they lose to Orton and Riddle. Reigns insisted that he only had such high expectations of his cousins because he loved them.
Randy Orton and Riddle, during a backstage interview with Kayla Braxton, reminded everyone that Riddle has beaten Jey and Jimmy in back-to-back weeks. RK-Bro assured that Reigns would look upon The Usos with shame by the end of the night.
Raw and SmackDown tag team championships – The Usos def. RK-Bro via pinfall to unify the titles and become undisputed tag team champions. The four participants hit the ground running, going back-and-forth with high-level offense. Riddle appeared to suffer an injury after hitting the turnbuckle hard but recovered well following a brief doctor's intervention. The ending came after Heyman distracted the referee in the far corner of the ring. While Riddle attempted to deliver a top-rope RKO to Jey, Reigns clutched onto Jey while the referee was distracted, forcing Riddle to plummet by himself. A subsequent top-rope splash secured the win.
Post-match, The Bloodline laid a serious beat down RK-Bro. They dragged Riddle to the outside and laid him across the announcer's table. Jey climbed the top rope and crushed Riddle with a big splash through the hardware. SmackDown signed off with The Bloodline proudly raising their six championship belts.
Just prior to the main event, WWE announcer Michael Cole revealed that Sasha Banks and Naomi were indefinitely suspended, confirming rumors that they had walked out of this week's Raw. Banks and Naomi reportedly left in protest of their creative direction and the direction of the women's tag team division as a whole. Cole added that Banks and Naomi a tournament to crown new champions will take place at a later date.
"Sasha Banks and Naomi let us all down," Cole said. "The WWE women's tag team champions walked off the show and walked out of the building during Monday night Raw. They were supposed to take part in this, the six-pack challenge [a promotional graphic from the planned Raw match was shown] where the winner would be next in line to face Bianca Belair for the Raw women's championship; however, Sasha and Naomi took the tag team championships into the office of our head of talent relations, left them there and then promptly walked out of the arena.
"Their actions disappointed millions of WWE fans and their fellow superstars. So because of what Sasha and Naomi did this past Monday night, they have been suspended indefinitely. We will have a future tournament to crown the new WWE women's tag team champions."
A search on the WWE Shop website turns up no results when searching for Banks or Naomi merchandise, although both women's superstar profiles are still accessible, as of this writing.
The Usos unifying the tag team titles cements The Bloodline as arguably the most accomplished faction in the company's history. All four men delivered the goods in a match with big stakes. Riddle deserves special credit for working through what appeared to be a legitimate injury. A match of this caliber arguably should have been broadcast without multiple commercial breaks. It was also unusual to see Drew McIntyre absent considering his recent allegiance with RK-Bro and the threat of Reigns and Heyman at ringside. Despite the significance of the match and the entire effort put forth by its participants in the weeks leading up, this blow-off, the match suffered under the shadow of Banks and Naomi's suspension. It was a brutal public smearing of the women's tag team champions, made all the more uncomfortable by the fact that Jimmy is Naomi's husband. A shining day for the men's tag team titles and a dark day for the women's champs. Tough to give this one a fair mark. Grade: I (Incomplete)
What else happened on WWE SmackDown?
- Shinsuke Nakamura def. Sami Zayn via pinfall after nailing him with the Kinshasa. Zayn was attempting to defend the honor of The Bloodline.
- Happy Corbin destroyed Madcap Moss' Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy after boasting about crushing Moss' throat last week.
- Gunther (w/ Ludwig Kaiser) def. Drew Gulak via pinfall after planting Gulak with the Tenryu Powerbomb in a short match. Ricochet saved Gulak from a post-match assault.
- LA Knight, going by the name Max Dupri, introduced himself as CEO of Maximum Male Models here to scout superstars. Dupri informed Pearce that he was hired by Sonya Deville.
- Raquel Rodriguez def. Shotzi Blackheart via pinfall after landing a powerbomb. Blackheart mocked Rodrigeuz pre-match for losing to Ronda Rousey last week.
- Xavier Woods def. Butch via pinfall after snatching the Backwoods (small package). Butch assaulted Woods post-match following a distraction by Sheamus and Ridge Holland. Afterwards, Woods promised to bring an equalizer to help him and Kofi Kingston against the villainous trio.