WWE SmackDown – May 8, 2020 (Review)

Last night’s SmackDown represented the final stop on the road to Money in the Bank. Which means there was tons to talk about. But how about that Karrion Kross entrance, huh? The smoke, Scarlett, the strobe lights, the black & white colour palette, Scarlett, the music, the intense glare, Scarlett… it was awesome!

Oh yeah, right, Money in the Bank. That should be good too. The highlight, of course, should be the duelling ladder matches and the almost boundless potential they present as twelve competitors race to the roof of WWE HQ. Think Rat Race, but good. So Wacky Races.

Tonight on #SmackDown!

🐑 @BraunStrowman and @WWEBrayWyatt come face to face
💥 @WWE_MandyRose to battle @SonyaDevilleWWE
🔵 @JEFFHARDYBRAND's next chapter begins
… and MORE! https://t.co/B5pnE1NwIi pic.twitter.com/unzq7VhD60

— WWE (@WWE) May 8, 2020

The question though was how this final SmackDown could possibly generate more buzz ahead of Sunday’s spectacle. All of the matches were set, there were no further spots up for grabs and, in all honesty, not much needed revisiting.

Be that as it may, the blue brand had some potentially tantalising items on the agenda. Most notably, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville were geared to “settle their dispute in the ring“. WWE’s promise that this marked the final instalment in the weeks-long  feud between Mandy and Sonya could only mean one thing: This was bound to go on for quite some time.

And what would happen when Braun Strowman came face-to-face with his former stable leader, Bray Wyatt? Let’s get to the review to find out.

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The Best of Smackdown

Tamina Loses By Winning

Is Tamina a babyface?

That’s the question that carried me through the first few minutes of the tag match that saw her and Lacey Evans join forces to take on Bayley and Sasha Banks. Because, seriously, when did that happen? They keep telling me that there’s literally no-one meaner than her. And yet… she’s the good guy?

Rock, paper, scissor, @TaminaSnuka!!!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/tiiMKNvbQd

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2020

I still hadn’t quite figured out this ambiguous dynamic when the first set of commercials rolled around. But I used the break the regroup, rebuild and reconsider. And I must say, I enjoyed this match a lot more as a result.

Bayley and Sasha dug deep into their bag of heel tricks to stay in the fight with the physically more imposing duo of Tamina and Evans. But even that wasn’t enough. Evans took out Banks with a Women’s Right, Bayley cleared out Evans, before turning into a Superkick and Samoan Drop. So Tamina pins the SmackDown Women’s Champ ahead of their title clash on Sunday, in the process scuppering her chances of walking out with the belt. Everyone knows that reverse momentum always holds true half of the time.

.@TaminaSnuka & @LaceyEvansWWE pick up the win (and some #MITB momentum) on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/RYYiKTHqFO

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2020

Setting aside the obvious questions – such as why the former tag team champions would lose to a makeshift team – I enjoyed this contest. It seems that the discord between Bayley and Sasha has at least temporarily been set aside, but we’ll see how long that lasts. And it was heartening to see Evans continue to improve.

The Pennsylvanian Superman

Drew Gulak, you beautiful man!

The main event saw six-man action, as Daniel Bryan, Drew Gulak and Otis took on Baron Corbin, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. How did Otis find his way into this bizarre menagerie of oddity, you ask? Well, Bryan and Gulak needed a third, spotted Otis skulking around backstage and just asked him.

But the real heroes here were Drew Gulak and Cesaro, who seemed to be in the ring for most of the match and conspired to put on an absolute show. There were uppercuts, reversals, body slams and pin attempts… the whole thing was like some kind of pain-inducing perpetual motion machine. Ultimately Gulak, after some chaos, walked into an End of Days and took the pin. But man, was he good in this match.

#King @BaronCorbinWWE, @ShinsukeN and @WWECesaro take down @WWEDanielBryan, @DrewGulak and @otiswwe on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/no7az3V76z

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2020

Then things naturally turned goofy though, because you can never have too much good on SmackDown. It’s the ‘Land of Opportunity’, not the ‘Land of Good TV’ after all.

Gulak, Otis, Bryan, Cesaro and Nakamura brawled away from ringside, leaving Corbin on his lonesome. Corbin, despite the fact that Money in the Bank was scheduled to take place two nights and 1,000 miles away, thought this might be a good time to retrieve the briefcase hanging above the ring. So he set up a ladder and started to climb. But Bryan and Otis sprinted back to stop him.

Bryan wasn’t able to climb up either because Corbin intervened. And neither was Otis, because he’s too fat and broke the rungs. Good God.

.@otiswwe may need to reinforce some ladders before #MITB this Sunday…#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/JTJ9iWhiOS

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2020

After some more brawling, Corbin managed to lay out his opponents and unhooked the briefcase. They know it’s just a prop and none of this counted for anything, right?

The post-match frustrations didn’t detract too much from what was otherwise a solid six-man tag. Certainly the high point of another tedious edition of SmackDown.

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The Worst of SmackDown

Everyone’s Worried About Mandy

SmackDown started with something we’re unaccustomed to… a backstage segment. We’re so used to kicking things off with a prolonged (often underwhelming) in-ring promo, that this minor shift was a genuine surprise. And a welcome one.

OHHH YEAAHHHH 😘😘😘

@WWE_MandyRose battles @SonyaDevilleWWE to kick off Friday Night #SmackDown RIGHT NOW on @FOXTV! pic.twitter.com/dvUpXdsde9

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2020

First, Mandy was warming up for her encounter with Sonya Deville, when Otis waddled up. Mandy said this match had been a long time coming. Not sure I agree with that – it’s literally been three weeks. Regardless, Otis offered his help, which Many declined.

Likewise, Sonya was approached by Dolph, who was primarily concerned that Mandy’s face might get scarred.

Sadly that’s where the good ended. This was billed as a blood feud, with Michael Cole calling it “the most personal rivalry in recent memory”. The action didn’t come anywhere near that ambitious description though. The women brawled for a bit, with Sonya largely on top and calling Mandy some unflattering names. Then, just as Mandy started to mount a comeback, Deville scored a surprise roll-up and scampered away as soon as the bell rang.

👀👀👀👀👀#SmackDown @SonyaDevilleWWE @WWE_MandyRose pic.twitter.com/hLBhqQ6bAH

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2020

 

What a remarkably uninspiring end to a promising buildup. I mean, I think we all believe this feud will carry on indefinitely, but this was still a ridiculously limp opening chapter.

Tag Team Parity

The SmackDown tag team titles are on the line on Sunday in a fatal four-way match, pitting the New Day against Miz & Morrison, Lucha House Party and The Forgotten Sons. So, two nights before we see those four teams compete against one another, we saw… those four teams compete against one another.

Admittedly, this was an eight-man tag as opposed to the fatal four-way, but the basic structure is the same. We still got to see all four teams take each other on.

🤯🤯🤯🤯#SmackDown @LuchadorLD @TheRealMorrison pic.twitter.com/SApCFzicjp

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2020

It demonstrates a real lack of imagination if the go-home angle is just to have a match in advance of another match. That isn’t to say that the action was bad – because of course it wasn’t. The pace was absolutely relentless, comprising an almost uninterrupted string of spots. John Morrison, in particular, took two brutal hurricanranas that looked like he got spiked directly on his head.

Ultimately though, Miz got a blind tag and floored Lince Dorado with a Skull-Crushing Finale. That means in the last two weeks we’ve seen Lucha House Party beat Miz & Morrison, Forgotten Sons beat New Day and Miz & Morrison pin LHP. I bet New Day win on Sunday to complete the cycle. Everyone must remain on the same level!

The Return of the Charismatic Enigma

Jeff Hardy made his triumphant return to Friday nights. Although I was almost as happy to see Renee Young introduce him. Bloody love Renee.

Jeff cut a fairly generic babyface promo. The weird aspect here though was that we routinely cut backstage to hear Sheamus disparagingly yelling at the TV,  drowning out whatever Hardy was saying. I suppose the message being that it wasn’t important in the slightest and we could safely ignore the ramblings in the ring.

👀👀👀

.@JEFFHARDYBRAND is bringing the fight to @WWESheamus! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/IrPB4WHL0h

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2020

Eventually Sheamus came out to interrupt with some confusing metaphors about Hardy’s addiction, which could only be satiated by fan adoration. The Irishman claimed that Jeff had come back “begging his dealers for one more swig of the bottle.” What kind of drug dealers serve alcohol? Or were we talking about drugs? In which case, why would Hardy want to drink them?

Things got physical and Jeff beat Sheamus up. So the babyface wins at the first time of asking. Not that I did much before, but now I really couldn’t care about this program.

The Monster Waves Goodbye

Braun Strowman came out to say that he’s not afraid of Bray Wyatt. Which is precisely what everyone always says when they face Bray. Although Strowman should know that those other people didn’t tremble every time they spotted a plastic sheep’s mask.

Wyatt bounced down to the ring next. He encouraged Braun to “come home“. As ‘The Monster Among Men’ contemplated the offer, the Firefly Funhouse puppets popped up, echoing Bray’s words. Braun nervously glanced all over the place, presumably in the direction of the imaginary puppets who weren’t really there. Let’s just say there won’t be any Oscars for this performance. Eventually Strowman replied that Bray didn’t know him and that he “already was home“.

👋👋👋👋#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/2cXwhxEYlR

— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2020

Just when I thought Braun couldn’t possibly look any goofier, he mocked Wyatt’s cheery wave, yelled goodbye and marched off. I truly hated this segment. All it did was remind me of the killer Wyatt / Cena promo ahead of WrestleMania 36 and long for those simpler, more enjoyable times. This accomplished nothing except make me question Braun’s direction as Universal Champion.

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

I know I say this a lot, but this may have been the most boring SmackDown we’ve seen in quite some time. The matches were substandard, the promos were horrific… even the commercials somehow seemed worse than usual.

The show was so utterly devoid of meaning in fact that Money in the Bank could quite possibly have been better served without a go-home show at all. This edition of SmackDown actively dampened my enthusiasm ahead of Sunday’s pay-per-view, arresting some of the momentum of the main role payers and undermining many of the matches.

The only thing that saved the blue brand from the lowest possible ranking was the decent main event and the fact that it didn’t even engage me enough to truly hate it. For that reason, last night’s SmackDown was a low SmackDowner. We can only hope Sunday is better.

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• May 8 2020
• review
• Smackdown
• wwe

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