WWE SmackDown – May 15, 2020 (Review)

I was going to dedicate the opening refrain of this SmackDown review to the scandalous treatment of one Samuel S. Zayn. The “S” stands for shafted. Because that’s precisely what happened to the man who was forced to relinquish the Intercontinental Championship, which will in due course be passed on to the winner of a knockout-style tournament starting last night.

But we spend too much time dwelling on the nonsense of WWE and not enough celebrating its positives. So instead I’d like to spend a few paragraphs drowning in the wonders of Otis, the most recent Money in the Bank winner.

.@IAmEliasWWE and #King @BaronCorbinWWE kick off the action in the #ICTitle Tournament right now on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/C0Xg5SuI76

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

It’s so rare for WWE to engage in a bit of fan service and accede to giving the audience precisely what they crave. SmackDown in particular is guilty of too often being seduced by the prospect of garnering a bit of heat for one of their favoured heels. So when Otis – long a staunch favourite amongst fans – juggled, bumbled and finally clutched the briefcase after it slipped from AJ Styles’ grasp, it felt like a long overdue moment of happiness. Perhaps the best since Kofi Kingston’s triumph at WrestleMania 35 (or Becky Lynch’s announcement the following night).

But the next question on everyone’s minds soon became: “What would the wrestling Michelin Man decide to pursue next?” As in, now armed with the briefcase and the guaranteed title match contained therein, would Otis decide to go the conventional route and challenge for the Universal Title? Or would he have designs for something else?

A common theory doing the rounds is that the lovable, humanoid marshmallow would instead parlay his opportunity into a shot at the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. It would certainly be consistent with his loyalty to Tucker to share the spoils of his pay-per-view win. But it would be so satisfying to see WWE go one step further in their fan service and have Otis challenge for the brand’s top prize. And maybe even win it? I dare you.

Let’s get to the review!

---

The Best of Smackdown

Otis is Too Good For This World

SmackDown kicked things off with Miz introducing his MizTV guest, Otis. The sentient bowling ball cartwheeled to the ring, clutching his briefcase like it was the most valuable item on the planet. Except it wasn’t the most important thing to Otis – that would be his beautiful peach, Mandy Rose. We don’t deserve him.

Miz and John Morrison attempted to tease Otis about his decision to use the Money in Bank briefcase as a lunchbox and displayed his childhood photos on the Titantron. Otis however shrugged the bullies off. He was proud of his chubby, young self and of his mom for helping him through a learning disability. Could I love this man anymore?

"Hey, Johnny… If you got it you might as well FLAUNT IT!!!"#SmackDown @otiswwe pic.twitter.com/SON9XPhx3l

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

Miz was furious that Otis was one step away from being the face of SmackDown and challenged him and Tucker to a tag team match. Unfortunately Tucker wasn’t there though, as he had contracted “a bout of dysentary playing the Oregon Trail“. So instead Miz gave Otis until the end of the night to find a partner.

This was an excellent opening segment, serving to further endear Otis to the audience while also setting up an intriguing show-long mystery.

The Search for a Partner

Otis spent much of the evening bounding around the backstage area, looking for a partner to take on Miz & Morrison.

First, he asked Sheamus, but the Irishman just laughed him off. It’s weird Otis would start with the heels, but it’s perhaps reflective of the dire babyface situation on SmackDown.

Will @BraunStrowman team up with @otiswwe TONIGHT on #SmackDown???

… He'll "think about it." pic.twitter.com/e7qCRtLles

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

Next, Mandy Rose suggested he approach Braun Strowman, which he subsequently did. Braun was suspicious that Otis may just be luring him into a trap to cash-in the Money in the Bank opportunity. Otis assured him his intentions were pure and so Braun promised to think about it.

Coach versus Student

The second Intercontinental Tournament match saw Daniel Bryan square off with Drew Gulak. This was not just a contest between master and student, but also of two phenomenally gifted technical specialists.

Respect.#SmackDown @WWEDanielBryan @DrewGulak pic.twitter.com/yfbJfsdMYv

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

As such, the focus was very much on submission holds, exploiting leverage and small-joint manipulation. I absolutely loved it, both as an excellent match in its own right but also as a departure from the usual WWE style.

After an extended, largely matt based back-and-forth, Gulak locked in the Gulock. But Bryan fought out of it, nastily twisted Gulak’s knee with a Dragon Screw and secured the submission with a heel hook.

A New Star Is Born

A graphic revealed that next week’s SmackDown would serve mixed tag action featuring Mandy Rose & Otis against Sonya Deville & Dolph Ziggler.

On the back of the news, Sonya delivered another incredible promo aimed at her former best friend. She predicted Mandy’s future with Otis, as a barefooted housewife living in a trailer, serving Otis beers and high-cholesterol meats.

Sorry, @WWE_MandyRose, but @SonyaDevilleWWE is just getting started ruining your life! #SmackDown @HEELZiggler

She has so many plans. 😊 pic.twitter.com/KMcHEqHqLb

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

Because Mandy could never be like her, Sonya contended. Rose didn’t have the strength, the skills or the brain. And next week, Sonya was going to kick her ass again. This may sound rather straightforward – and perhaps it was – but the delivery was stellar. Sonya’s a freaking star, man!

Braun to the Rescue

If you were expecting a serious main event to cap off SmackDown last night, you came to the wrong place. Braun Strowman came to Otis’ aid to combat the dastardly duo of Miz and John Morrison and immediately played right into his partner’s goofiness.

The babyfaces ran wild for a few minutes, ending the opening phase with twin Caterpillars. Although Braun’s looked more like a salmon which had recently been yanked out of a lake. Despite the awkwardness, it was awesome.

🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂#SmackDown @BraunStrowman pic.twitter.com/7ZfWeMuOtq

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

When we came back from commercials, Otis was on the defensive. When he eventually managed to get the hot tag to Strowman, things really got wild. Braun absolutely steamrolled everyone, reminding us of why he’s so much better as a wrecking ball than a Bray Wyatt clone.

After a brief comeback by the heels, Braun powerslammed John Morrison to pick up the win. With the Universal Champion and Money in the Bank briefcase holder celebrating side-by-side, Mandy Rose strode out.

Her presence seemed to trigger something in Otis, who put down the briefcase and moved to ambush Strowman. But Braun soon whipped around, appearing to catch Otis in the act. The briefcase holder laughed it off, assuring Braun he was only joking. He then lifted Mandy in an embrace and gave her a massive kiss on the cheek.

.@BraunStrowman & @otiswwe pick up the win on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/HRhRF0Jdei

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

Was this the start of Mandy corrupting Otis? Or simply a poorly timed bit of humour from the big guy? Either way, I’m very intrigued.

---

The Worst of SmackDown

Intercontinental Tournament

I refuse to get drawn into the injustice which gave rise to the tournament to crown a new Intercontinental Champion. And it seems, neither are WWE. We were simply told that Sami Zayn was “unable to compete” (in truth he’s safeguarding his health), so the tournament was booked.

But that’s not the main reason I disliked the first round matchup between Baron Corbin and Elias. This feud has been running for months without ever going anywhere. Michael Cole insisted on driving home the point that it was a “deeply personal rivalry”. And to a certain extent he’s right. Corbin did try to murder the guitar-carrying crooner, after all.

.@MichaelCole has had about enough of this. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/aQayQCdKp5

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

But just like with Mandy and Sonya last week, the action never lived up to the stakes. This was a match just like any other on SmackDown: Corbin worked over Elias for ages, got cocky and Elias mounted a comeback. Baron smashed the guitar, which apparently angered Elias so much that he pinned Corbin with an inside cradle. There was nothing to separate this supposed “blood feud” from every other regular contests.

The World’s Most Incompetent Hacker

The SmackDown hacker aired another package harking on about how he’s watching everyone and the truth will be revealed. So pretty much exactly what we’ve been seeing for at least a month now. It certainly is a lot of talk for a hacker whose only deed so far was to expose that Sonya Deville and Dolph Ziggler were behind the attempt to break-up Otis and Many… aka “the most obvious reveal in history”.

ꀤ ꍏꎭ ꏂ꒦ꏂꋪꌩꅐꀍꏂꋪꏂ pic.twitter.com/WwdZClRMQh

— The Message (@TheMessageWWE) May 11, 2020

I’m rapidly starting to tire of the hacker repeating the same message over and over. With his supposed unlimited access to SmackDown’s darkest truths, you would think he might’ve exposed one or two scandalous secrets by now. Instead he seems to spend all his (or possibly “their”) time putting together video packages to air on Friday nights.

For the Sake of “Momentum”

Dana Brooke took on Naomi with nothing on the line and with zero build. This was another example of a match that just is.

.@DanaBrookeWWE picks up another MAJOR victory on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/YOlfOnteMJ

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

After literally less than a minute, Dana Brooke reversed a move into a pin and secured the three-count. As good as it is to see Dana get some well-earned momentum, it’s hard to think that this actually means anything. As if to enforce the point that all of this can be safely ignored, the broadcast quickly cut to an image of Charlotte Flair and a reminder that she’s coming up later in the show.

The Queen of Driving People Apart

Speaking of, Charlotte was indeed up next. She openly wondered how it could be that she was working all three WWE shows. Perhaps it’s because they’re currently all emanating from the same building. Many people go to work three days a week.

But she’s a heel, so I’m willing to grant her that indulgence. Charlotte maintained that people should be so inspired by her supreme efforts that there should be a poster in her image hanging in the arena.

Wait just a minute…#SmackDown @itsBayleyWWE @SashaBanksWWE pic.twitter.com/7XqiIpHbCL

— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020

This inspired the natural confrontation with the SmackDown Women’s Champion. Bayley and Sasha trotted to the ring and proceeded to recount all the times Bayley had beaten Charlotte. The ‘Queen’ however was more interested in addressing Sasha Banks. She reminded ‘The Boss’ about how they were the first women to main event Raw and a pay-per-view, before querying whether Banks was content with being Bayley’s second.

Bayley was having none of it though and instead challenged Charlotte to a match. The ‘Queen’ accepted (for next week) but not before asking a final question. Is Sasha her own woman, making her own choices and speaking for herself? Banks looked rather pensive and averted her gaze.

Admittedly, I quite liked this segment from a substance standpoint. I’m just so tired of the teased split between Bayley and Banks though. There’s nothing subtle or nuanced about it. All of the dialogue, Sasha’s body language, it’s all just so on the nose. I’m also not particularly interested in seeing the eventual split, especially in light of the pair’s tumultuous history. We’ve seen Bayley vs. Banks countless times in the past and the truth is, it hasn’t been good since 2015.

---

Overall Rating for the Show (From best to worst: Smacknificent, SmackTastic, Smack Bang in the Middle, SmackDowner and A Smack in the Face)

Breaking from recent precedent, this was a largely enjoyable edition of our Friday Night delight. You heard that right, SmackDown was good this week, catalysed by a compelling show-long narrative.

The driving force this week was easily the carefully plotted arc Otis has been placed on, as well as all the supporting characters in his orbit. And no, that’s not a fat joke.

Far from the grunting, meat-eating Neanderthal he’s been the past few years, Otis has suddenly become the most nuanced, complicated character in WWE. His partnership with Mandy Rose suddenly appears to be an even greater revelation, as the latter gradually corrupts our precious Otis. Or is she? Who knows.

That’s the conundrum. And what makes it exciting. It’s hard to see where this story goes from here, with Otis wrapped up in several storylines alongside Mandy, Miz, Sonya Deville, Dolph Ziggler and Braun Strowman. But one thing is for sure: the longer this uncertainty lingers, the more I’ll be drawn in. And the more likely it becomes that Otis may soon be the Universal Champion.

This week’s SmackDown is a high SmackTastic.

Share all your SmackDown related thoughts with us on Twitter and check out WrestleTalk.com to stay up-to-date with all the latest wrestling news.

• May 15 2020
• review
• Smackdown
• wwe

Share this article with friends