Liam Hoofe reviews this week’s WWE SmackDown…
This week’s SmackDown kicked off with the advertised MizTV segment. The Miz makes his way to the ring and talks about his new TV show, Miz and Mrs, which will premiere on July 24th. That isn’t the only thing he is out to talk about though, and he introduces The New Day, to announce their decision concerning who will be entering the Money in the Bank match.
Of course, The New Day tease the announcement and then all say ‘it’s me!’ at the same time. The trio laugh and The Miz goes off on a tirade belittling them. He says that Kofi has lost 6 MITB matches already, so perhaps he shouldn’t do it. He says that Big E has all the potential in the world, but he doesn’t take himself seriously and is being held back. He then praises Xavier Wood’s YouTube channel while mocking him as well. This was excellent from The Miz, and the WWE could always capitalise on this. The seeds of doubt could well have been planted within the group, and The Miz actually made a lot of good points.
Eventually, Kofi says ‘it’s E’ and The Miz thinks he has revealed who is entering. Instead, though, they were simply revealing who would be facing The Miz tonight. I’m fine with the WWE holding off on the announcement, though, it’s clearly going to be Big E. Anyway, The Miz leaves the ring but is forced back through the curtain by Paige, which is interesting, it’s almost like they didn’t want Paige to come out and for the crowd to see Xavier Woods and Paige together. Wise move.
Big E Vs The Miz is a fun match to kick off the night. Big E is looking like a much more polished solo performer than he has at any point during his WWE run, and perhaps now is the right time to give him some sort of singles push. Though, they will have to be very careful how they handle it. The two had some great back and forth action and the match ended when The Bar came down and attacked The New Day, distracting Big E and allowing The Miz to hit the Skull Crushing finale. (Rating:***) This was a good opener, and likely sets up a 6 man tag match next week.
— WWE (@WWE) May 23, 2018
Daniel Bryan is being interviewed backstage about his match with Jeff Hardy later in the night. He talks about crazy it is that this is taking place in 2018, and puts Jeff over.
Lana is out with Aiden English for her Money in the Bank qualifying match against Billie Kay next. Both of their entrances are fun, with English singing about Lana, and The Iiconics being their usual annoying selves. The match goes for about a minute, and Lana picks up the victory. The best thing about this was English getting out a ‘Lana Day’ sign.
— WWE (@WWE) May 23, 2018
Zelinga Vega is backstage talking about how Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas need some real competition. Hopefully, this will all lead to him entering the US title picture.
And he’s out next for yet another squash match. Clearly, the management isn’t listening to Vega’s pleas. Almas makes quick work of his opponent and looks impressive once again. Hopefully, he gets a chance to show the WWE universe what he is capable of soon.
Carmella is backstage being interviewed about her match with Asuka. She talks about how Charlotte broke the myth of Asuka at WrestleMania, and how she managed to beat Charlotte twice, which makes her better than Asuka. Carmella was great here, and she is really excelling as the annoying heel champion. Regardless, I hope Asuka wins the belt at Money in the Bank.
AJ and Shinsuke are out next so that Shinsuke can announce what stipulation he has chosen for Money in the Bank. Shinsuke mocks AJ by replaying a clip of him pinning him last week. AJ tells him to enjoy it because that will be the only time it happens. Shinsuke then teases AJ by saying the two men will face off in a pillow fight. AJ flips and attacks Shinsuke, and the two men brawl to the outside. AJ gets a chair but he is overpowered, and Shinsuke beats him down. With AJ on the floor, Nakamura starts counting and when he reaches 10, he stands on the table and announces that their match will be a last man standing.
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 23, 2018
This was a really good segment, and Nakamura is really excelling in his heel role. Hopefully, the stipulation will allow the two men to finally have the match we all know they are capable of at Money in the Bank.
The Club Vs The Usos is next, and the winners will go on to face The Bludgeon Brothers at Money in the Bank. The two teams have a brief exchange before the match before laying into each other. The match has some good back and forth tag team action, but it feels as though there is little on the line. The Club pick up the surprise win, and will now be fed to The Bludgeon Brothers while we wait for Sanity to arrive. (Rating: ** 3/4) The match had some great moments, but the WWE really need to invest more into their tag team divisions, on both brands.
Money in the bank qualification time. Naomi is out for a match with Sonya Deville. The two women have styles that work well together, but the match isn’t really given enough time to highlight that. Naomi picks up the win with a roll-up. She will no doubt get some big spots in the Money in the Bank match, but she has lost any momentum gained from winning the WrestleMania battle royal. (Match Rating: ** 1/4) The WWE has totally dropped the ball with Absolution since their move to Tuesday nights.
Samoa Joe is out for the main event. The final Money in the Bank spot will be decided next week when the winner of Jeff Hardy Vs Daniel Bryan goes on to face Samoa Joe. The crowd are red hot for Bryan and Hardy, as they always are when Bryan is in the ring and it really helps set a good tempo for the bout. There were some fast-paced exchanges, and Bryan picked up the victory with the heel-lock, which he is now using as a finisher, I guess. Bryan looked great here, though, I do worry the WWE is using him an awful lot so quickly after his in-ring return. (Match Rating: *** 1/4) Joe Vs Bryan next week should be an absolute belter, they are two of the most talented in-ring workers in the WWE, and it is a match that should definitely be worth tuning in for.
Verdict: Last night’s episode of SmackDown was, on the whole, really solid. The women’s qualification matches were so-so but the rest of the matches were really good, and there were plenty of enjoyable segments.