SmackDown on Fox Episode #32
SmackDown Episode # 1,081
Orlando, FL – WWE Performance Center
5/8/20
We open the show by immediately going backstage to Mandy Rose who is warming up for her match which will be the first match of the night. Otis walks up and asks her if she is ready and if there is anything he can do to help, Mandy says she has got this, and then she kisses him on the cheek and walks off. Elsewhere backstage at the PC, we see Sonya Deville getting ready for her match against Mandy when Ziggler walks up and asks if Sonya is ready and she says that tonight she the beating she will give Mandy is five years in the making, Ziggler asks Sonya to take it easy on Mandy’s face, but Sonya says she can’t make any promises and walks off.
Match #1: Mandy Rose vs Sonya Deville
Mandy charges right at Sonya as soon as the bell rings and takes her down with a bicycle knee and then goes on the attack while Sonya is doing everything she can to get to her feet and once she does Mandy stomps a mudhole into her in the corner and then continues her attack until Sonya is able to kick her off. Mandy shows signs that the leg that got injured last week is giving her problems, but fortunately, it isn’t enough to stop Mandy’s momentum as she ducks a clothesline attempt and hits Sonya with a running forearm and then goes back to some ground and pound on Sonya. Sonya rolls out of the ring for a breather while the referee holds Mandy back. Mandy is showing pain in the leg once again as Sonya gets up on the apron, Mandy tries to deliver a shoulder to Sonya’s mid-section but Sonya side steps and delivers a kick to Mandy’s chest and then delivers a sliding knee style chop block followed by a basement running knee which gets Sonya a 2 count.
A big smile comes up on the face of Sonya as she knows she has Mandy right where she wants her as she kicks away at the injured leg while talking trash to her. Mandy uses the ropes to get to her feet only for Sonya to take her right back down with a waist lock takedown. Sonya locks in a body scissors and then starts talking trash right to Mandy’s face saying that this is an embarrassment and asks Mandy if she really thinks she is better than her. Sonya locks in a dragon sleeper while she still has Mandy wrapped up in the body scissors and then she releases it so that she can pull out Mandy’s fake eyelashes. Mandy leans back to try and get a surprise pinfall, but Sonya kicks out.
Both women get to their feet for a moment until Sonya takes Mandy right back down with another kick to the injured leg. Sonya continues to talk trash to Mandy as she toys around with her and then Sonya delivers a kick that connects to the chest of Mandy and at this point, Mandy’s chances of winning are looking pretty slim. Sonya picks up Mandy and runs off the ropes, but out of nowhere Mandy takes Sonya down with a couple of clotheslines and then Mandy hits another bicycle knee that sends Sonya out to the floor. Mandy goes out after Sonya and slams her head off the announce table and then into the steps. Mandy then sends Sonya into the steps and then she throws her over the announce table. Mandy picks up Sonya and throws her back in the ring and decides she wants to dish out more punishment instead of going for a cover as she serves up her own bit of trash talking to Sonya and then sets her up for the Bed of Roses, but Sonya spins out of it so Mandy immediately tries for a third bicycle knee, unfortunately, three wouldn’t be a charm as Sonya catches Mandy in a rollup out of nowhere and is able to pick up the win.
Winner: Sonya Deville via Pinfall Match Rating: **¾
It’s one thing to start off an episode of SmackDown with a match, but to start it out with a match that is as heated as this one and involves two of the four members of the best WWE story of the year is even better. Not sure what the point of having this match end clean was when it’s clear that this is a feud that should be settled on a PPV, but I guess they will shoehorn the rematch onto the Money in the Bank card which is where Mandy will get her win and then we will have some kind of gimmick match at the Extreme Rules PPV which is the next big show after Money in the Bank. I really liked this match as they did a good job of conveying how much they hate each other and I like the little touch of how all Mandy wants to do is beat Sonya’s ass while Sonya is more focused on embarrassing Mandy which is why she ripped Mandy’s eyelashes off. I loved the finish as I wasn’t expecting the match to end right there, we need more finishes like that because these days it seems like a match can’t end until each competitor hits their finisher three or four times. I also liked the finish for the reason that it played off of Sonya knowing Mandy so well and having a counter for all of Mandy’s big moves. I look forward to their next match against each other.
The announcers hype up the rest of the show before we go to commercial.
We come back and go straight to the next match
Match #2: New Day & Lucha House Party vs The Miz, John Morrison, & The Forgotten Sons w/ Jaxson Ryker
The Miz and Kofi Kingston start out the match with a lock up and they go back and forth trading control of the other’s arm until Miz elbows his way out of a hammerlock and shoves Kingston into the heel corner. Miz tries to take a cheap shot but Kingston moves and starts attacking people in the heel corner and this leads to all eight men coming into the ring as a giant brawl breaks out, the babyfaces clear the ring and then Kingston gets launched over the top and lands on The Forgotten Sons and this is followed by Lucha House Party hitting tope suicidas on Miz and Morrison, the babyfaces stand tall in the ring as we go to commercial.
We come back to Blake stomping a mudhole in Big E as he has him down in the corner. Blake runs off the ropes and we get a drop-down and leapfrog spot from Big E which leads to him catching Blake in an abdominal stretch, Cutler tries to come in but Big E clotheslines him back to the outside and then takes down a charging Blake with a back elbow. Big E tags in Kingston who hits the leapfrog senton splash for a 2 count. Blake counters an Irish whip into the corner but Kingston uses the momentum to spring off the ropes and hit a dropkick on Blake. We then get a sequence where the babyface team hits splashes onto Blake but it’s only enough to get a 2 count when Metalik makes the cover. Metalik wrenches the arm of Blake and tags in Kingston who comes off the top with a double stomp on the stretched out arm of Blake. Kingston whips Blake into the corner and looks to hit a big splash, but Cutler pulls Blake out of the way sending Kingston crashing into the top turnbuckle.
Blake is finally able to make a tag to The Miz who comes in and puts the boots to Kingston and then taunts Big E. Miz hits Kingston with a running boot and then tags Morrison in, Miz and Morrison whip Kingston into the corner and then Morrison whips Miz in Kingston’s direction so he can hit him with his signature corner clothesline. Morrison picks Kingston up and hits him with a rolling Alabama slam followed by a running knee to the face, but this is still not enough to put Kingston away as he kicks out at 2. Morrison gains control of Kingston’s arm and then tags in Cutler who hits Kingston with a back elbow and then chokes him across the middle rope, Cutler distracts the referee long enough for Ryker to be able to get in a cheap shot from the outside. Cutler tags in Blake who rubs his laces into the face of Kingston and then locks in a chin lock near the heel corner, but Kingston is able to get to his feet and elbow his way out of the hold and then hits Blake with a jawbreaker. Blake charges at Kingston in the corner but Kingston evades him and hits him with a kick to the head and then he gives Miz a kick which knocks the A-Lister off the apron, but that distraction buys some time for Blake who hits Kingston with a running knee sending Kingston to the floor and then Blake follows up with a tope suicida that takes out Kingston as we go to break.
We come back to Miz working over Kingston and then he tags in Morrison and they hit an assisted chuck kick for a 2 count. Morrison hits some mounted punches and then tags in Blake who puts Kingston in an abdominal stretch and grinds his elbow and fist into the ribs of Kingston to inflict even more punishment. Blake tags in Cutler and as soon as he does Kingston throws Blake off of him and then hits Cutler with a hip toss. Kingston leaps across the ring to try and get a tag, but The Forgotten Sons catch him and push him into the ropes where he comes back with a kick to Cutler and then he sends Blake to the outside and then he low bridges a charging Cutler and he goes flying to the outside as well. Miz runs in to prevent Kingston from making a tag, but Kingston kicks him away and leaps to make a tag, but as he does all three of his opponents get yanked off the apron. On the outside, Cutler sends Big E into the steps while Kingston hits an SOS on Miz back in the ring. Metalik gets back on the apron and Kingston finally makes the hot tag while Miz tags in Morrison on the other side of the ring.
Metalik takes Morrison down with a springboard crossbody only for Morrison to quickly recover and grab a rear waist lock, but Metalik hangs on to the top rope and then hits Morrison with a back elbow followed by a springboard hurricanrana. Metalik hits a basement superkick and then walks the ropes and delivers a dropkick to Morrison. Metalik ducks a double clothesline from the Forgotten Sons and Dorado goes for a diving crossbody but is caught momentarily but he slips out and then hits a handspring stunner on both members of the Forgotten Sons. Dorado tags Metalik back in who hits Morrison with an overhead kick followed by an attempted springboard dragonrana, but it turns into a sunset flip powerbomb which gets a 2 count. Metalik tags in Dorado and then launches Dorado into the air and when he comes down the spikes Morrison with a hurricanrana but instead of going for a cover Metalik hits Morrison with a second rope moonsault and Dorado follows up with a top rope shooting star press which only gets a 2 count as the Forgotten Sons break up the pin. Cutler throws Metalik out of the ring and then Kingston body scissors Blake out of the ring.
Big E slides in and catches Cutler and hits him with snake eyes in the corner while Kingston hits him with a kick at the same time. Big E holds Cutler and it looks like Kingston is going to springboard in, but is pulled off the apron by Blake, and then Miz throws Big E out of the ring. The Forgotten Sons hit their inverted DDT and diving stomp finisher on the outside on Big E and then they powerbomb Kingston on top of him. Back inside the ring, Metalik hits Miz with a dropkick sending him to the outside and then goes up top, but Morrison catches him with a kick which sends Metalik to the floor. Dorado hits Morrison with a springboard sunset flip which Morrison rolls through and then he attempts to hit a running knee, but Dorado ducks and rolls Morrison up for a 2 count. Morrison counters another attempted sunset flip into a fall away Samoan drop and then Morrison goes for the Starship Pain but Dorado rolls out of the way and Morrison lands on his feet. Dorado evades a charging Morrison and hits him with a poison rana only to be immediately hit with the Skull Crushing Finale by The Miz (who had made a blind tag) to pick up the win for his team.
Winners: John Morrison, The Miz, & The Forgotten Sons via Pinfall Match Rating: ***¼
This was a really fun and action-packed match from the four teams that will be competing this Sunday in a four-way match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. If this match is any indication of what we can expect at Money in the Bank then we are in for a treat come Sunday night.
After the match, we go backstage where Kayla Braxton is standing by to interview King Corbin. Corbin says that he doubts that Bryan and Gulak were able to find anyone to tag with them for tonight and then he talks about how he is looking ahead to Money in the Bank and then runs down all of his opponents on Sunday and how he can inflict torture on them.
The announcers hype up the return of Jeff Hardy which is coming up next after the break.
We come back to Renee Young in the ring as she is set to interview Jeff Hardy. Hardy talks about how he isn’t sure what he has left to do, but he has climbed some tall mountains and jumped off most of them and has also had the lowest of lows, but he is a survivor. We cut to the back to see that Sheamus is watching the interview while also trash-talking Hardy, Hardy says he misses the fans but he can still hear them chanting his name. Hardy moves on to calling out Sheamus since he said he would be there
Sheamus comes out and says this is the saddest thing he has ever seen in WWE as Hardy is an adrenaline junkie that is coming back to beg his dealers for one more hit but they are not even here to give him one. Sheamus continues saying that those same fans who loved the high-flying maniac are now tired of Hardy, but nobody will say it to Hardy’s face because he is a legend. Sheamus says they are tired of Hardy’s suspensions, releases, no-shows, and wasted second chances. Hardy calls Sheamus a hater, but Sheamus says that he is actually the opposite of a hater as he used to really respect him. Sheamus says that everyone knows that Hardy’s next big failure is just around the corner but Hardy is in denial. Sheamus says that since he came back he has been snuffing out SmackDown’s weakest flames and now it’s time for him to put Hardy’s flame out.
Sheamus rushes to the ring but as he is getting in Hardy hits him with a dropkick followed by a Whisper in the Wind and a Twist of Fate and then finishes things off with the Swanton Bomb. Hardy poses in the corner and then walks up the ramp as Sheamus is furious at what happened.
This was a good segment and I especially liked the Sheamus promo about how the fans are tired of seeing Hardy screw up time after time and how he is bound to screw up yet again sooner rather than later and Sheamus is gonna take him out before he has a chance to disappoint the fans once again because he is weak. I am confused as to why they didn’t just make this a match for Money in the Bank rather than the match they announced Saturday afternoon which is Hardy vs Cesaro.
We then go to another commercial break.
We come back and get a hype video for the Undertaker documentary series that will be premiering after Money in the Bank this Sunday.
It’s time for the face to face between the two competitors in the WWE Universal Championship match at Money in the Bank.
Strowman comes to the ring and says that he may have debuted as part of The Wyatt Family, but if Wyatt thinks he is responsible for his success he is wrong, Strowman says that if Wyatt has something to say to him he can say it to his face.
Wyatt comes out and says that all he ever wanted was an apology from Strowman which causes Strowman to speak up and say that he doesn’t owe Wyatt a damn thing. Wyatt says this match at Money in the Bank is going to be hard for him as he has always cared about Strowman. Wyatt says a good creator knows his own creation and then claims that he knows what’s best for Strowman. Strowman says Wyatt knows nothing about him which Wyatt disagrees with as he says he knows that Strowman needs to come home as he doesn’t belong with everyone else and he wants to show him how to be special just like he is. Wyatt says that once he relieves Strowman of that burden that is around his waist then he can come home.
Wyatt says he needs his Universal Championship back and their journey is just beginning. Wyatt says he doesn’t want to spoil the fun but he does have something for Strowman that can be a preview for what’s to come, Wyatt pulls out the black sheep mask and asks Strowman to try it on and then come home and then the Firefly Funhouse puppets are on the screen and repeatedly tell Strowman to come home. Strowman says he is home and he is the Universal Champion and on Sunday he will retain his title and leave Wyatt to play with his puppets. Strowman leaves the ring and Wyatt pleads with him and then tells Strowman that he is sorry but he tried. The segment ends with Strowman staring down Wyatt and saying that Wyatt doesn’t know him.
Wyatt once again sold me on a match that I wasn’t looking forward to and this time he had to carry the entire promo by himself as he wasn’t in there with someone who is an ace on the mic like he was last month with Cena. Strowman is someone who is not helped by the scripted promos as the stuff they give to him to say has to be some of the most basic and boring lines ever uttered in a wrestling ring. They have done a good job of building the feud around the history between Strowman and Wyatt.
We cut to the back where Otis walks up on Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak, Bryan asks Otis how Mandy is and Otis says she is okay. Bryan and Gulak ask Otis if he heard what Corbin said about him earlier and Otis says he didn’t because he was checking on Mandy, they tell him to walk with them and they will fill him in and this sends us to commercial.
We come back and it’s time for more action.
Match #3: Bayley & Sasha Banks vs Lacey Evans & Tamina Snuka
Bayley and Sasha can’t decide who wants to start the match so they decide to do rock, paper, scissors but before they can, Tamina clotheslines them both and this sends Bayley and Sasha rolling out to the floor as they aren’t ready yet. Sasha gets on the apron and tries to distract Tamina, but Tamina knows what is coming and turns around to grab Bayley by the throat before she can attack. Tamina throws Bayley in the corner but runs into a back elbow and then Bayley crawls through the legs of Tamina and kicks her. Bayley tries to make the tag, but Tamina grabs her by the hair and then sends her into the ropes where Bayley ducks a clothesline and then stops herself in an instant so that she can reach over for the tag, but Tamina stops her before she can and hits a big slam on Bayley. Tamina hits Bayley with an avalanche in the corner but makes a fatal error as she turns her back on Bayley which allows Bayley to jump on her back and apply a sleeper, but Tamina slams Bayley into the corner to break the hold but unfortunately for Tamina, she slammed her in the heel corner and this allows Sasha to tag herself in.
Tamina didn’t see the blind tag so she charges at Bayley but Bayley moves, sending Tamina into the corner, but this has little effect on Tamina as she goes to clothesline both of her opponents, but Bayley is able to duck and then deliver a chop block which has Tamina hobbling around. Sasha steps up and delivers a knee strike from the apron and then goes crazy with a flurry of clubbing blows to the back of Tamina. Sasha delivers a series of shoulder strikes into the mid-section of Tamina and then Bayley tags herself in. The Boss N Hug Connection works Tamina over in the corner and then Bayley chokes Tamina with her boot. Sasha tags back in and they duo try to crisscross Tamina’s arms and throw her into the turnbuckle, but Tamina uses her strength and sends her opponents crashing into each other.
Tamina grabs Sasha and sets her up for the Samoan drop, but Bayley saves Sasha and they powder to the outside as Bayley wants to take a break, but they end up backing into Lacey Evans who takes Sasha down with a back elbow and then backs Bayley up next to the ring where Tamina is able to reach over the ropes and grab her hair in order to bring her back into the ring, but as she does this it gives Bayley the opportunity to snap Tamina’s neck off the middle rope. Bayley goes up the middle rope and looks to hit an ax handle, but Tamina catches her with a right hand which sends Bayley back out to ringside into the arms of Sasha as we take a break.
We come back and see that Sasha and Lacey are in the match and Lacey evades a charging Sasha by slipping out to the apron and then dodges a shoulder attack from Sasha and this allows Lacey to deliver a series of knee strikes to the chest of Sasha. Lacey sweeps Sasha’s leg and then hits her with a slingshot elbow from the apron into the ring. Lacey goes for the double jump moonsault, but before she can hit it Bayley distracts her (by making chicken noises and flapping her arms) long enough for Sasha to get back to her feet and crotch Lacey which puts her into the tree of woe position which gives Sasha a perfect opening to hit her with a running dropkick which gets a 2 count.
Sasha tags Bayley in and they send Lacey into the ropes and take her down with double back elbows which gets a 2 count. Bayley chokes Lacey across the middle rope and then provides a distraction so Sasha can take a cheap shot at Lacey. We get another tag by the heels and this time they succeed in doing the cross-armed whip into the corner. Sasha is tagged back in and they are looking to hit another double team move on Lacey, but she starts to fight back only for the numbers game to soon get the better of her as she is beaten back down. Sasha and Bayley send Lacey into the ropes and attempt the hip toss bomb, but Lacey is able to flip out of it and then roll past both of them to finally make the tag to Tamina.
Bayley and Sasha charge at Tamina and knock her off the apron before she even had a chance to get in the ring. Sasha dives off the apron onto Tamina, but she gets caught and slammed into the barricade. Bayley runs around the ring and once again jumps on Tamina’s back but Tamina throws her to the floor with ease. Tamina throws Bayley into the ring and then has Bayley reeling with a clothesline and a headbutt and then hits her with an avalanche in the corner followed by a biel across the ring and a running hip attack in the corner. Tamina pulls Bayley out of the corner and goes up top only for Bayley to cut her off, but Tamina fights back and headbutts Bayley sending her back down to the mat. Tamina tries for a terrible looking splash but Bayley gets her knees up. Bayley gets to her feet and hits Tamina with a Bayley to Belly and then she comes off the top with a diving elbow drop but only gets a 2 count as Tamina gets her shoulder up at the very last minute. Bayley looks to hit her crappy finisher that doesn’t have a name, but Tamina counters and looks to hit Bayley with a Samoan Drop, but Sasha comes to her rescue and kicks Tamina in the leg. Lacey comes in and drops Sasha with a Woman’s Right and then Bayley sends Lacey to the outside with a running knee attack to the back. Bayley walks right into a superkick and then is hit with the Samoan drop and that is all she wrote for the SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Winners: Tamina Snuka & Lacey Evans via Pinfall Match Rating: **
This match was not that great and that is because a lot of the match was centered around Tamina which is never a good thing and needless to say her performance in this match didn’t make me any more excited to see her challenge Bayley on Sunday. On the flip side, I thought Lacey did a really good job during this match and it’s crazy just how much she has improved since last year as everything she does in the ring looks good. I know last week I was saying that I thought someone from Raw would win the women’s Money in the Bank match but after giving it more thought and after seeing that AJ returned on Raw this week I have changed my mind, I am now leaning toward a woman from SmackDown winning the match. My new prediction for the winner of the women’s Money in the Bank match is Lacey Evans the reason for this change of mind is because for the entirety of Lacey’s feud with Bayley and Sasha they have focussed heavily on the fact that she is a mother and she is fighting the two bullies that mocked her daughter so why not have this woman who is portrayed to be a super mom win the Money in the Bank match on mothers day and eventually cash it in on one of the bullies in the future and win the SmackDown Women’s Championship for her daughter.
We go to another commercial break.
We come back to a video on how the Money in the Bank matches is going to work.
We go backstage to Kayla Braxton who is set to interview Dana Brooke and Carmella about the Money in the Bank match. Dana talks about how her beating Naomi was an upset and because of that she thinks she has just as good a chance to win Money in the Bank as anyone else. Carmella talks about how she has won Money in the Bank before and cashed it in to become SmackDown Women’s Champion.
The heels in the main event come to the ring as we take another commercial break.
We come back and before the main event starts we get a hacker video where he once again shows footage of tag teams and then says the thing about anger is that you can always hear it before you can see it and the focuses in on an audio clip where someone is saying “I’ll tell you one thing payback is coming and it’s coming real soon” and that is the end of the video.
Not sure what this is leading to, but I am definitely interested to find out.
Match #4: King Corbin, Cesaro, & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Daniel Bryan, Drew Gulak, & Otis
Bryan hits a running dropkick in the corner on Corbin as soon as the bell rings and then he lands a kick to Corbin’s leg and tries for another, but Corbin catches the leg and shoves Bryan to the mat. Corbin locks in a Boston crab which Bryan quickly rolls out of and kicks Corbin down to the mat and starts delivering some punches to the gut and then a kick to Corbin’s leg. Bryan tags in Gulak who delivers a headbutt to the chest of Corbin only for Corbin to immediately drop Gulak with one right hand. Corbin picks up Gulak and talks some trash and the delay allows Gulak to make a comeback with a flurry of forearms and a running dropkick which sends Corbin rolling to the outside for a breather.
Corbin rolls into the ring far enough so he can make a tag to Cesaro who charges at Gulak, but Gulak takes Cesaro down with a double leg but Cesaro pops right back up and grabs a side headlock only for Gulak to shoot him into the ropes and take him down with a shoulder block. Cesaro gets shot into the ropes once again and it looks like we are going to get a drop-down and leapfrog spot, but Cesaro catches Gulak as he tries to leapfrog only for Gulak to slide out the back and then hits Cesaro with a slam that gets a 2 count. Gulak goes up top but Corbin distracts the referee long enough for Nakamura to push Gulak off the top and into a European uppercut from Cesaro and then Cesaro hits a gutwrench suplex which gets a 2 count.
Nakamura gets the tag and stands on Gulak’s throat and does the good vibrations shake and then he goes for a knee drop, but Gulak moves out of the way and is able to make a tag to Otis. Nakamura tries to hit Otis with a couple of push kicks but Otis shakes them off and then takes Nakamura down with a clothesline and then he knocks Corbin and Cesaro off the apron. Nakamura escapes a slam attempt by Otis and tries for a waist lock takedown but Otis breaks his grip and hits a takedown of his own. Nakamura rolls over to the corner where he ends up getting hit with the avalanche and then Otis follows up with the Caterpillar and elbow drop, but before he can make a cover he takes care of Cesaro by hitting him with a flapjack. All hell has broken loose as Gulak and Bryan toss Cesaro out of the ring and the babyfaces stand tall in the ring as we go to commercial.
We come back to Corbin working over the neck of Bryan and while this is happening we see a replay of something that happened during the break where Corbin cuts off an attempted tope suicida by Bryan and then he throws Bryan over the barricade and that is how he got in control of the match. The replay ends as Bryan is fighting his way back to his feet and fights out of Corbin’s grasp and then knocks Nakamura off the apron only to walk right into a right hand by Corbin. Corbin attempts a back suplex on Bryan but Bryan lands on his feet and then takes down a charging Corbin with a dropkick to the knee. Corbin tags in Cesaro who boots Otis off the apron, Cesaro turns around to go after Bryan, but Bryan leaps past him and tags in Gulak who takes Cesaro down with a boot and then fires away with strikes on Cesaro and then stomps a mudhole in him. Gulak catches the foot of Cesaro and then hits him with an exploder suplex. Gulak charges at Cesaro who is in the corner, but Cesaro catches him and switches the momentum by putting Gulak up on the top rope and delivering a European uppercut.
Gulak comes off the middle rope with a beautiful transition into an arm trapped crossface but Cesaro uses his freakish power to get to his feet and slams Gulak to the mat. Cesaro connects with a back elbow and then Corbin quickly makes a blind tag before Gulak clotheslines Cesaro over the top rope to the floor. Corbin comes in, but Gulak is ready for him as he kicks him in the leg to take him off his feet and then locks in the Gu-Lock only for Nakamura to break it up moments later. Otis comes in and takes Nakamura down with a body attack and then rips his shirt off. Otis absorbs a couple of kicks and jiggles his belly until he is rocked with a big boot to the face, but Otis quickly recovers and backdrops Cesaro over the top rope and to the floor. Corbin throws Otis over the top rope and then gets caught with a rollup from Gulak that gets a 2 count.
Corbin hits Gulak with a shot to the gut and then sends him face-first into the turnbuckle but then runs into a boot from Gulak and then Gulak takes Corbin down with a clothesline off the middle rope which gets a 2 count. On the outside, Cesaro and Nakamura send Otis into the ring post and then Bryan takes Cesaro out with a flying knee off the apron, and then Bryan turns around into a head kick from Nakamura. Nakamura gets on the apron to serve as a distraction but jumps down before Gulak can knock him off. Gulak ducks a clothesline from Corbin and then runs off the ropes and gets caught with the Deep Six which is surprisingly good enough to finish off Gulak.
Winners: King Corbin, Cesaro, & Shinsuke Nakamura via Pinfall Match Rating: **¾
After the match, Cesaro and Gulak hold up Gulak so that Corbin can hit him with the scepter, but before he can Bryan takes Corbin down with the running knee and then Cesaro throws Bryan out of the ring while Otis pulls out Nakamura. Bryan and Otis throw Cesaro and Nakamura over the barricade and all four men start brawling until Gulak runs over and leaps up to the top of the barricade where he comes off with a diving clothesline on all four men. Everyone brawls to the back which leaves Corbin all by himself at ringside,
Corbin grabs a ladder and sets it up in the middle of the ring and then he starts to climb it but before he can get to the top Daniel Bryan is back and he pulls Corbin off the ladder and delivers kicks in the corner and then tries to send Corbin into the ladder, but Corbin reverses and sends Bryan into it instead. Corbin rolls Bryan out of the ring and starts to climb the ladder once again, but this time Corbin has to deal with Otis. Otis hits some jabs on Corbin and then puts the ladder over his head and hits Corbin with it. Otis sets the ladder back up properly and goes climbing it, but when he does the rungs start to break and then Corbin attacks Otis and sends him into the ladder and then sends Otis shoulder first into the ring post. Bryan brings a new ladder into the ring and then catches the leg of Corbin and hits him with a dragon screw. Bryan climbs the new ladder but before he can reach the briefcase Corbin tips the ladder over backward sending Bryan crashing into the ropes. Corbin tosses Bryan over the top and he lands on Otis and this gives Corbin the clear opportunity to climb the ladder and grab the briefcase and that is how the show ends.
I enjoyed the match a lot as all six guys put on a great match and I liked how they had Gulak working a lot of the match as he is so good and that transition into the crossface that he did was a thing of beauty. While I did like the match itself I can’t say the same for the post-match as I felt like it lasted too long for something that was supposed to just tease what is to come this Sunday and on top of that, the fact that those three men fought that hard just to climb a ladder to grab a briefcase when this isn’t the official Money in the Bank match makes them look dumb. I also could’ve done without the Otis ladder rung breaking spot as it felt like a step backward for the Otis character as it was a stupid comedy spot for a guy that has risen above being a complete joke over the past few months.
With the exception of the women’s tag match and everything that went on after the main event I enjoyed this episode of SmackDown and thought it was a good go-home show for Money in the Bank.
That’s it for this week, I’ll be back next week with all of the fallout from Money in the Bank.