WWE SmackDown Results and Grades: This was the first SmackDown after the epic Money in the Bank PPV.
Charlotte Flair was to return to action on the Blue brand. Further, a new tournament was to start for the Intercontinental title after Sami Zayn was stripped.
WWE SmackDown also saw Otis make his return, and here are the grades and results from this week’s show.
Miz TV
Otis came out for Miz TV with the Miz and John Morrison hosting the show. The pair first congratulated Otis for his achievements, but as expected, they went on to mock the Heavy Machinery member.
👀👀👀#SmackDown @otiswwe pic.twitter.com/pQBUBgZoLC
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020
They wanted to fight Otis and Tucker, but Otis’ partner wasn’t at the show. Miz and Morrison told Otis to find a partner for later in the evening.
Grade B
Otis going on Miz TV was always going to end up this way or he was to be beaten up. Miz and Morrison challenging him to a fight was a little unexpected but there was a big surprise waiting for the pair.
Elias vs Corbin
Elias and King Corbin continued their rivalry as the SmackDown Intercontinental championship started.
The match went back and forth as both men tried to get the win and progress in the tournament. However, it was Elias who got the win in the end after Corbin smashed the singer’s guitar.
🤘🤘🤘🤘#SmackDown @WWEGraves @BaronCorbinWWE pic.twitter.com/P63Lgt7YLd
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020
Elias beats Corbin
Grade B
This was a surprising result given that Corbin was in Money in the Bank and Elias cost him the briefcase.
The match was also great and it was a pity that one had to win over the other.
Brooke vs Naomi
The second match of the night saw the rising Dana Brooke take on Naomi. The match went off well with both stars having their spots, however, it was Brooke that pulled off a bit of an upset.
.@DanaBrookeWWE picks up another MAJOR victory on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/YOlfOnteMJ
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020
Brooke beats Naomi
Grade B
The match felt too short to begin with, despite both stars actually doing well in recent weeks. The pair might meet later on too but this was a decent enough match, even though it was very short.
The Queen is back
Charlotte came out to speak as Michael Cole explained that a Brand vs Brand invitational was in the works and hence Charlotte was here.
Wait just a minute…#SmackDown @itsBayleyWWE @SashaBanksWWE pic.twitter.com/7XqiIpHbCL
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley came out with Sasha Banks to mock the NXT Champ. However, Charlotte shot back and a future clash between Bayley and the Queen was setup.
Grade B
A Charlotte vs Bayley match should be interesting with both being champions, however, this seems like a desperate measure to bring some relevance to SmackDown.
Charlotte should be on NXT with its packed women’s roster, yet, she has been making appearances on Raw too.
Gulak vs Bryan
The second Intercontinental championship match saw partners Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak go head to head. They shook hands before starting off and this was a fantastic affair.
Escape an ankle lock, get a German suplex.#SmackDown @WWEDanielBryan @DrewGulak pic.twitter.com/9DBwnTbOsS
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020
Both wrestlers showed off their technical and grappling abilities with Bryan just escaping from a submission from Gulak.
Respect.#SmackDown @WWEDanielBryan @DrewGulak pic.twitter.com/yfbJfsdMYv
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020
This was a hard-fought battle with Gulak and Bryan coming close to the win. However, it was Bryan that got the better of his partner.
Bryan beats Gulak
Grade A
The two are the best when it comes to the technical side of things. And they showed it again with this match.
It is a little sad that both had to face off now, but this was an incredible exhibition of quality wrestling.
Otis finds a new partner
Otis came out with his surprise partner, WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman. The pair actually looked good despite wrestling together for the first time.
Miz and Morrison did their best to control the two but it was Strowman who hit Morrison for a Powerslam to win.
Mandy Rose came out to celebrate with Otis and the Heavy Machinery member also joked that he would cash in the briefcase now.
The celebration continues for Mr. #MITB on #SmackDown!@otiswwe @WWE_MandyRose pic.twitter.com/MveLvie8ZW
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2020
Grade B
Another decent match with Otis and Strowman doing well as a pair, surprisingly. It was also fun to see Otis tease cashing in the MITB and Rose coming out to celebrate with him.
SmackDown TV ratings
SmackDown brought in an average of 2.042million viewers over the two-hour show, according to Showbuzz Daily.
This was slightly lower than the previous week’s ratings, which were at 2.043m viewers before Money in the Bank 2020.
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