Sports
WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 15
0 of 6Credit: WWE.comThe post-Money in the Bank episode of SmackDown featured all of the fallout from the pay-per-view while beginning the buildup for Backlash on June 14.Otis celebrated winning the men’s MITB briefcase this week by appearing on MizTV. We also saw Charlotte Flair return to the blue brand after spending the last couple of…
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Credit: WWE.com
The post-Money in the Bank episode of SmackDown featured all of the fallout from the pay-per-view while beginning the buildup for Backlash on June 14.
Otis celebrated winning the men's MITB briefcase this week by appearing on MizTV. We also saw Charlotte Flair return to the blue brand after spending the last couple of months focused on winning the NXT Women's Championship.
Following WWE stripping Sami Zayn of the Intercontinental Championship, a tournament began this week to crown a new champion.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on the May 15 episode of WWE SmackDown.
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After a video package showed what happened at Money in the Bank, The Miz and John Morrison welcomed Otis to the ring for a special interview.
The Miz congratulated him on his victory and Otis said the biggest accomplishment of his career is still winning over Mandy Rose's heart.
The A-Lister and The Friday Night Delight mocked Otis's weight and The Miz lost his cool. He yelled at Otis and called him an embarrassment. He demanded Tucker come out for a tag match but Otis said he wasn't in the building.
The Miz told him to get any partner he wanted and wished him luck.
Grade: C
Analysis
Unfortunately, Otis' charm only goes so far. Without Tucker to be his wingman, The Dozer is not as good at being a solo act.
Otis is a great character who is already popular. His charm will get him a long way but he needs to develop his character a bit more if he hopes to be a singles star.
The Miz losing his mind made perfect sense for his character. If Otis gave any indication that he knew he was being mocked, this might have been a better segment.
One interesting thing to note is how Otis talked about growing up with a learning disability. This is a very relatable situation that will likely endear him to more fans who have dealt with the same thing.
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The first match of the IC title tournament saw Elias take on his current rival and the man he cost the MITB briefcase, Baron Corbin.
Elias started off strong but a few lefts and rights from The King put him on the mat. Corbin kept him down in a submission for a couple of minutes.
The singer was able to escape and clothesline him out of the ring so he could recover. He climbed to the top rope and took Corbin down at ringside with a dive.
After the break, Corbin took control and beat Elias down in front of the announcers. The next several minutes was a series of near falls from both men. Corbin smashed Elias’ guitar, which led to the singer rolling him up for the pin.
Grade: B
Analysis
Corbin and Elias are two Superstars who do not get enough credit for their athleticism and versatility. The King is a great heel and Elias is just as good at playing a heel or face.
This rivalry has been a slow burn over the past several weeks. This was a solid chapter but it doesn’t feel like the end of this program.
This bout lasted longer than expected, but not in a bad way. Both men came away from this contest looking like strong competitors. This was the best either competitor has looked in weeks.
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The second match of the night saw Naomi take on one of the standout performers from Sunday’s Money in the Bank match, Dana Brooke.
They kept things civil at first because both women are babyfaces, but Naomi was the first one to throw a few kicks. Surprisingly, Brooke scored a quick win with a sit-down cover.
Grade: C-
Analysis
This bout was too quick to get anything more than a C-. Brooke and Naomi looked like they were prepare for a long encounter by keeping the pace steady, so the fast win was a little jarring.
It looks like WWE is going to keep these two involved with each other for the time being. Naomi looked mad after the loss, so there is a possibility this will lead to a heel turn for her.
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For the first time in weeks, Charlotte appeared on the blue brand. She has been busy in NXT lately but Michael Cole talked about a brand to brand invitational allowing her to appear this week.
It didn’t take long before she was interrupted by Bayley and Sasha Banks. The Role Model and The Boss made fun of The Queen for bragging about being a Flair.
Their bickering led to Bayley and Flair agreeing to have a match down the line.
Grade: C
Analysis
WWE just introduced the Wildcard Rule 2.0 in what appears to be an effort to help with the falling ratings. Time will tell if it has any impact.
Seeing two heels go back and forth is not as entertaining was not as entertaining as it should be because there was nobody to root for.
Bayley, Banks and Flair are all great performers who have worked together countless times over the years, but this was not their best segment.
The seeds have been planted for Banks to turn on her best friend again in the future.
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The second IC title tournament match of the night featured two friends going to battle. Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak have been allies lately, but they set that aside in an attempt to advance to the semifinal round.
They shook hands before going right at each other with simple holds and counters. Their technical precision was on display immediately.
Bryan managed to counter an early attempt at the Gulock and smiled as he recovered in the corner before locking up again. Gulak sent Bryan over the top rope as the show cut to a commercial.
When we returned, the former cruiserweight champion had The Yes Man grounded, but Bryan kept finding ways to kick out and break submissions.
After a hard-fought battle, Bryan won with the Yes Lock to advance to the semifinals.
Grade: A
Analysis
This was everything one would expect from two amazing performers like Bryan and Gulak. They are on a different level than most Superstars when it comes to their pure wrestling ability.
Everybody knows how good Bryan is, so it has been great to see him dedicate time to making sure the world knows that Gulak is just as talented.
This is the kind of match you need to see for yourself. There wasn't a single missed spot or botched moved. Everything looked great.
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Braun Strowman joined Otis as his partner for the evening and gave him a quick pep talk before The Dozer and Morrison kicked off the action.
At one point, Otis talked Strowman into attempting the Caterpillar. It did not look good but they still ended up hitting Morrison with the intended double team attack.
We returned to see The Miz controlling the pace against Mr. Money in the Bank. The former tag team champions did a good job keeping their larger opponents at bay until The Monster Among Men hit Morrison with a Powerslam for the win.
Mandy Rose came out to celebrate and Otis pretended like he was going to cash in on Strowman until he revealed he was just kidding.
Grade: B-
Analysis
This was a predictable match, but it had some fun moments. It's great to see WWE following through with Otis' push by pairing him with the top champion on SmackDown.
Strowman being wily enough to know he should watch his back was a nice detail to add to their first interaction backstage.
This wasn't the best match of the night but it was a good way to end the show.
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