This week's SmackDown was promoted as a night of championship matches and it kicked off with The Head of the Table standing in the ring and addressing the WWE Universe, while sending a warning to his cousins that they not let him down.
It also included a match between Apollo Crews and Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship, two SmackDown Tag Team Championship matches, Liv Morgan in a singles bout, and a short-lived battle between two kings.
Here are your winners and losers for SmackDown, June 4, 2021:
Winner: Reigns Warns Jimmy "You Better Win"
Reigns addressed his cousin and said that if you're going to say you can win, you better win. That was the motivation he offered as the Usos were set to go up against Rey and Dominik Mysterio on Friday night. The Usos were brought out and Jimmy was psyched about he and Jey's chance to become seven-time tag team champions.
Reigns telling the Usos to get the job done and then bring him the tag team titles suggested that something was going to go off the rails, but it wouldn't take long to find out as the match was up next.
Winner: Mysterios vs The Usos
This was a strong tag match that included back-and-forth action with the Usos finally getting the upper hand when Jey landed a Samoan drop on Rey via the announce table. It took a lot out of both men, but coming back from the commercial break, the Usos were in full control.
Dominik got the hot tag and while he was able to deliver some offense for a while, the Usos got the momentum back and the action was pretty even until the finish. It was the finish that was the real takeaway here. Jimmy Uso took a three-count loss on the roll-up from Dominik but he clearly has his shoulder off the mat and the official missed it. WWE showed the replay multiple times, suggesting this was absolutely part of the storyline.
Reigns demanded Heyman call his cousins into his dressing room and seemed furious, but there are a few things that could be at play here. Did the referee just make a mistake? Is there any way Reigns or Heyman paid off the official as a way to teach the Usos (specifically Jimmy) a lesson?
Adding insult to injury, Reigns berated the Usos backstage, said they lost to a kid and only had a little time to fix it before the show ended. He then called Jey, Jimmy. When Jey went to correct him, Reigns said, "The way things are going, does it really matter anyways?"
Loser: Exclusive Interview With Seth Rollins
What was supposed to be an exclusive interview wasn't much of anything. Seth Rollins didn't give Kayla Braxton much to work with and as soon as she asked about how Rollins will deal with the return of Cesaro, he took his mic off, looked it and dropped in front of her, which resulted in an awkward "thank you."
While this leaves the door open to more and it forces us to wonder why Rollins wouldn't answer the question, this interview could have been a good opportunity for the heel to really sell his new character change before he matches up again with the babyface. We don't really know what's going on with Rollins and why he snaps and goes from A-Z in his emotional range. It would have been nice to see more of it.
Winner/Loser: Carmella vs Liv Morgan
Only a few days after her close friend was released, Liv Morgan got an opportunity in a singles match against Carmella. She was given a ring entrance, a pre-match promo and a new look. All of that suggested that she wasn't just an afterthought. Her dominance during most of the match also indicated she might have a decent future as a singles star. Unfortunately for Liv, she got caught in Carmella's finisher and had to tap out.
This isn't exactly the worst thing for Morgan. Carmella has been treated like a legitimate singles wrestler in recent weeks, picking up some pretty big wins. Morgan got in a ton of offense and losing to a competitor with Carmella's experience isn't a terrible fate. It's what WWE does from here with her that matters.
The match wasn't terribly long, but it was decent.
Winner: Bayley Gets the Last Laugh?
Bianca Belair felt like she struggled a bit with her in-ring promo before eventually challenging Bayley at Hell in a Cell. Belair got all her points out, so it was fine, but the promo really took an interesting turn when Bayley showed up "via satellite" and accepted the challenge.
Bayley was laughing hysterically and while it had a bit of the Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy feel to it, WWE didn't overdo it. Instead, they found an innovative way to use the ThunderDome and echo Bayley's cackle throughout the arena. It was a first and that made it memorable. It was clear that Bayley was the stronger talker of the two, but Belair will improve with more reps.
Loser: Nakamura Loses to Baron Corbin
Clearly a shortened match because the Intercontinental Title bout and a rematch for the Tag Team Championships were closing the final 45 minutes of SmackDown, Nakamura took a quick pin and a loss. Then, as if it didn't matter, Nakamura and Rick Boogs worked together to knock down Corbin and steal the crown again.
There wasn't anything incredibly horrid about this segment, but the idea that Nakamura can lose so easily and doesn't seem to care is growing a bit tired. This is just the latest match between these two and it doesn't feel like there's an end in sight. There was an opportunity here to have a high-stakes match between these two and while WWE might eventually get there, the goofing around in between takes away from the importance of actually becoming the King.
Winner: Crews Retains IC Title Against Owens
After being attacked backstage by Commander Azeez, Owens was fighting an uphill battle. The first 10 minutes was all Crews and Owens was barely staying alive, trying to survive and fight for his shot at the championship. For a while, Owens did mount a comeback, but ultimately, the combination the pre-match attack and Crews being a strong competitor was too much. Owens took a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron and then took the pin in the middle of the ring.
Crews didn't need his bodyguard during the match, but Azeez certainly played his role prior to the bout starting. The Sami Zayn and Owens feud will also continue as Zayn came down delivered the Helluva Kick to a defenseless Owens.
Winner: Reigns Snaps
During the Usos second attempt at the Tag Team Championships, Reigns came down and interfered in the contest causing the Usos to be disqualified. The match wasn't out of reach for the Usos, but Reigns seemed to think it was and yelled that his cousins were about to embarrass him twice in one night. He took to beating on Rey and Dominik just to prove a point.
Reigns destroyed both members of the Mysterios and then began to choke out Dominik. Jimmy screamed at Reigns to stop and said, "he's had enough" and "not this way". When Jimmy left the ring, he told Jey to come with him but Roman wouldn't allow it.
Interesting close to the show and there's clearly friction between Jimmy and Roman, while Jey is conflicted.