Friday Night Smackdown – May 15th 2020: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s Friday Night SmackDown review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and I saw that new Natalie Wood documentary. Made by her family (Robert’s side with the kids) the film was made to try to discredit Natalie’s sister and the evidence she and others (police included) have presented against Robert Wagner in relation to her murder. What a f—— hatchet job it tried to be, but still failed miserably at. Anyway, Robert Wagner is a —– and SmackDown starts…on Friday.
Match #1: Elias def. King Corbin – Intercontinental Championship Tournament
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Elias returned with a purpose to pay back King Corbin after the most recent attack from the royal competitor silenced the songbird. Corbin brutalized his rival with repeated attacks throughout, but when the King couldn’t help but showboat with the guitar, a fire lit under Elias who pulled a quick roll-up for the win.
My Opinion: 2.3 out of 5 – This went long, but it sure as s— wasn’t that good. There’s a lot of clumsy wrestling that just looked too bush-league for a big-time wrestling league.
Match #2: Dana Brooke def. Naomi
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Dana Brooke was out to prove her first victory over Naomi was no fluke, and she came out and made another statement. Naomi appeared ready to get back on track, Dana Brooke continued to make the most of her opportunities with another crafty maneuver to claim the win.
My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – This was a minute and a half of jack-s—. These two tried, but it just couldn’t come together in so short of time.
Match #3: Daniel Bryan def. Drew Gulak – Intercontinental Championship Tournament
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The two training partners came in with respect but ready to battle for the coveted Intercontinental Championship opportunity. It was a supreme display of grappling skill, until Daniel Bryan schooled the teacher with a vicious heel hook that Drew Gulak could not escape from.
My Opinion: 4 out of 5 – F— it. This was clinical, scientific and technical as it gets, which had me over the moon. Going around thirteen minutes, this match was chock full of all those little things that make a match great. It finally felt like SmackDown again and it’s about damn time.
Match #4: (Main Event) Otis & Braun Strowman def. The Miz & John Morrison
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
After The Miz & John Morrison mocked Otis on “Miz TV,” Mr. Money in the Bank teamed up with the Universal Champion to humble the self-proclaimed “Greatest Tag Team of the 21st Century.” In an entertaining match that featured Otis’s gyrations, the Strowman Express and even a double Caterpillar, Miz & Morrison appeared able to overcome the odds for a brief moment but a earth-shattering Running Powerslam from The Monster Among Men sealed the deal.
My Opinion: 2.7 out of 5 – Otis and Braun were an interesting team that did a couple of big double-team spots that were fun (even without a crowd), but couldn’t bring the goods from bell to bell. M&M were their usual…thing. This match is an example of what happens when you set the stakes real low and don’t wager much either. Overall, this was fun, but was by no means some-thing you’ll remember outside of the double Caterpillar towards the end.
News Of The Night:
- Charlotte Flair appeared and tried to drive a wedge between Bayley and Sasha Banks by attacking Bank’s ego.
- Sami Zayn has been stripped of the WWE Intercontinental Title and a tournament to crown a new champion started tonight.
- Bayley fights Charlotte Flair, next week.
- Otis & Mandy Rose fight Dolph Ziggler & Sonya Deville, next week.
- AJ Styles fights Shinsuke Nakamura in the Intercontinental Title Tournament, next week.
- Jeff Hardy fights Sheamus in the Intercontinental Title Tournament, next week.
- Otis teased cashing in the Money In The Bank contract, but hugged Mandy Rose instead.
Final Verdict: 2.8/5
The Bryan/Drew match got this the .8, while the promo from Sonya Deville on destroying Mandy Rose was great. There’s not much else happening in this show, but at least AJ Styles gets to come back for the Intercontinental Tournament.