WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Before SNME Tampa
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on May 23.
Tomorrow night is the special Saturday Night's Main Event, so Friday's show did a little work to hype it up. However, this is not as a big as a normal PPV, so the show also focused on Money in the Bank a bit.
Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Friday's episode:
—The Street Profits vs. Fraxiom (Tag titles)
—LA Knight vs. Aleister Black vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (MITB qualifier)
—Zelina Vega vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Giulia (MITB qualifier)
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.
Charlotte Flair vs. Giulia vs. Zelina Vega
1 of 8
After the usual shots of Superstars walking backstage, we saw Damian Priest attack Drew McIntyre backstage. When we went to the arena, Tiffany Stratton made her way out to give a promo. It took about a minute before Alexa Bliss interrupted her.
It didn't take long for Flair to join them. She got a ton of heat from the crowd as she spoke. This was a pretty tame segment that ended with Tiffy leaving as Giulia came out for the qualifying match with Flair and Vega.
All three women traded moves for a couple of minutes, but nobody could get a clear upper hand. Each competitor had brief moments of control that never seemed to last more than a minute.
While the pace was quick, it felt like there was a lack of urgency to the moves. Each spot was done as part of a predictable sequence, so nothing felt spontaneous. It was surprising to see three talented wrestlers have a match like this. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as it could have been.
The last few minutes picked up quite a bit and everyone came close to winning at different points, but in the end, Giulia scored the win to earn a spot in the MITB match.
Result: Giulia defeated Vega and Flair
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Just once, it would be funny if mentioning the name of the city they were in got a boo from the crowd.
—Charlotte's robe had evil Disney queen vibes.
—It was hard to even hear Vega's music, but not because of the crowd. It was just played way too low.
—The neck cracker Giulia did looked way too slow.
—Flair was screaming in pain pretty well to sell Giulia's rings of Saturn submission.
Chris Sabin vs. Tommaso Ciampa
2 of 8
The second match on this week's show featured Chris Sabin taking on Tommaso Ciampa, but Alex Shelley and Johnny Gargano were also at ringside.
Sabin got the better of Ciampa during their initial exchange, but the former NXT champion tapped into the aggression he was known for to take control.
This was a fun back and forth contest between two guys who know each other pretty well. They focused mostly on technical offense and strikes, but Sabin used a couple of high-flying moves to add some excitement.
Shelley took a running boot that was meant for Sabin during a distraction from Gargano. As Ciampa faked a knee injury, Candice LeRae attacked Sabin from behind, allowing Ciampa to hit a running knee for the win.
Result: Ciampa defeated Sabin
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—DIY had a video segment that was pretty good. Tommaso Ciampa is always great with heel promos.
—One of many acts to have been given a worse theme song is DIY. Their old song was superior in every way.
—Sabin somehow managed to fix a headscissor takedown mid-move after it looked like he wouldn't get his leg hooked around Ciampa's head. It was impressive.
Secret Hervice vs. Michin and B-Fab
3 of 8
Priest and McIntyre got into another brawl in the arena after a commercial break. after that was cleared up, Piper Niven and Alba Fyre came out with Chelsea Green by their side to take on Michin and B-Fab in a tag match that was booked following a backstage brawl.
Niven and Fyre took control almost immediately and cornered B-Fab for some double-team action. Michin got a hot tag and took it to both opponents as Chelsea Green tried to provide a distraction. Vega showed up to take her out.
Michin and B-Fab scored the win with back to back finishers on Fyre. This match wasn't very long but it was decent for what it was.
Result: B-Fab and Michin defeated Secret Hervice
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—Jacob Fatu was shown telling JC Mateo that he does not see him as family, but Solo Sikoa tried to play peacemaker.
—B-Fab keeps improving, but she could use some time in NXT.
Jacob Fatu and JC Mateo vs. Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix
4 of 8
Fatu and Mateo were out first for a tag team match against Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix. Sikoa was at ringside to watch his team to see if they could work together.
Fatu and Big Jim started for their teams. Solo kept trying to tell Jimmy he should return to the family. Mateo tagged himself in before contact was made and had a staredown with Fatu.
Uso tried to take advantage but was quickly grounded by JC. Fenix and Uso worked together to take out both guys with a high-flying corkscrew.
A lot of time was spent making sure we knew Mateo and Fatu do not get along. That was the main story of this match, so the outcome almost felt secondary.
This was a decent bout, but other than some of the stunts Fenix pulled off, it was relatively simple. Mateo ended up hitting his finisher on Uso for the win, which seemed to shock Sikoa.
Result: Fatu and Mateo defeated Uso and Fenix
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Legado Del Fantasma had a video package that implied they would be in action at Worlds Collide.
—The corkscrew from Fenix was awesome. He only got a couple of rotations but the speed made it look like more.
R-Truth talks John Cena
5 of 8
R-Truth came out to give a promo about facing John Cena on Saturday. He said the man he is fighting is not the same man he idolized.
The crowd gave him some "What?" chants, but Truth did a decent job controlling the crowd and getting some pops along the way.
This was the most mic time Truth has had in what could be years, and his upcoming match against Cena will be his biggest spotlight in years. Let's hope he pulls it off.
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—No matter what ridiculous stuff WWE gives him to do, it's impossible not to like Truth.
LA Knight vs. Aleister Black vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
6 of 8
The men's MITB qualifier was up next with Black, Nakamura and Knight competing for one of the open spots.
At first, Black and Knight formed a brief alliance to take out Nakamura, leaving them to focus on each other for a little while.
Nobody seemed to have a clear advantage over anyone else, so it was pretty hard to tell who was going to win until the end, which made it more engaging.
With Black and Nakamura both incorporating martial arts into their style, Knight almost felt like the odd man out in this match, but they all did a good job working together to make this fun.
Knight was able to toss Black out of the ring after he hit Nakamura with his finisher to get the win and move on to MITB.
Result: Knight defeated Black and Nakamura
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Nakamura has such a cool character and it still feels like WWE doesn't quite know what to do with him.
—Knight almost slipped when he jumped to the top rope for a superplex, but he and Black saved it.
The Street Profits vs. Fraxiom
7 of 8
This week's main event saw Nathan Frazer and Axiom take on Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins for the WWE Tag Team Championships.
The match started with about 20 minutes left in the show, so they had plenty of time to make sure they made this as entertaining as their previous encounter.
Dawkins pushed Axiom to the mat to establish his strength during their initial lockup as Ford taunted him from the apron.
They quickly turned up the intensity and made this just as competitive as their last match. Dawkins played a great base for the high-flyers while Ford was able to keep up with Fraxiom's speed and agility at every turn.
Both teams came close to winning with their finishers, but after a few close calls, DIY and LeRae ran to the ring. The Motor City Machine Guns came out to fight them at ringside. Ford took out all four men with a huge dive.
As Ford prepared for his Frog Splash, the lights went out. When they came back on, The Wyatt Sicks were in the ring. They took out everyone to make the match a no contest. Even with the dirty ending, this was a lot of fun to end the show.
Result: No Contest
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
—There was an interesting moment with the Profits and Sikoa backstage earlier in the show, but it might not lead to anything.
—Fatu was shown being told he was in a MITB qualifier next week thanks to Sikoa asking Nick Aldis. Fatu was very happy and told Solo he loved him sincerely.
—The way Frazer and Axiom do some double-team moves specifically designed for fighting larger opponents is awesome.
The Final Word
8 of 8
Friday’s SmackDown saw Knight and Giulia qualify for the MITB matches and a few other developments, but for the most part, this was the definition of a filler episode.
Saturday Night’s Main Event was addressed mostly with R-Truth’s promo, so it didn’t feel as if WWE was hyping it the same way it would with a PLE.
The matches we got were all relatively entertaining, but once again. The Street Profits and Fraxiom stole the show with their performance.
WWE has found something special with the duo of Axiom and Frazer. They have worked well with every single team they have fought, and they continue to be one of the biggest highlights on the blue brand every week.
Ending the show with the return of The Wyatt Sicks seems to indicate they may go after the tag titles, but Fraxiom has an argument for deserving another shot at the gold, so let's hope they get a rematch at some point.
Grade: B-
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