SmackDown Cliff Notes 5-22-20

Charlotte [c] vs Bayley [c]

I just can’t get interested in either one of these wrestlers right now. Of course this match is good when there is no pressure and no one around with one of the best workers in the business, Bayley. Bayley wanted to prove that she could do things along and ordered Sasha to stay backstage. Bayley got the win with a little help from the ropes.

AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura

AJ Styles being traded to SmackDown was a great idea, the blue brand needed a bit of a shakeup. A better match than the others they’ve had and much shorter, I liked this. AJ was going to win of course and now he’s going to wrestle Elias. If Elias doesn’t have a really good match with AJ he is done.

Mandy Rose & Otis vs Sonya DeVille & Dolph Ziggler

Sonya dominated Mandy to victory even though Otis and Mandy had a bit of a comeback at the end. Mandy Rose may have been dominated but she still looks a hell of a lot better than she did before this feud. I don’t where Dolph will end up after this but perhaps he will be elevated to the title picture again. Dolph is so underrated it’s absolutely ridiculous.

The Miz and Morrison and Braun

The former tag team champs have beef with Braun Strowman over his career. Miz and Morrison roast Braun Strowman and hate him for being handpicked to replace Roman at Wrestlemania and for tagging with Otis last week. The Dirt Sheet segment was pretty cool. Morrison talks Braun into a match with Braun when Strowman abruptly came out during the show. After Miz loses, Morrison challenges Braun in a handicap match at Backlash. I like this pitstop before Braun faces the Fiend.

Sheamus vs Jeff Hardy

This match was probably supposed to be on the MITB PPV but it worked even better as a SmackDown main event with high stakes. Sheamus is underrated in every category. He punished Jeff Hardy for the entire match until the very end, telling the story expertly. Jeff Hardy moves on in his quest to bring his career full circle with an Intercontinental Championship with a last minute victory over Sheamus.

Honorable mentions

1. Forgotten Sons promo.

Final take

The tournament looks awfully predictable with no wildcards in it to make things remotely interesting. The AJ Styles trade is much needed but ultimately it’ll be inconsequential if he doesn’t win the IC title. I am looking forward to Styles vs Hardy though. A good episode, not a home run but definitely a double if not a triple. SmackDown isn’t just getting on base, it’s actually driving some runs in as well. This stripped down version of SmackDown has actually worked much better than the silly Hollywood Fox version.

#AJstyles #JeffHardy #smackdownonfox #BraunStrowman #SmackDown #WWE