WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights After MITB
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on June 13.
Naomi and Seth Rollins emerged from Money in the Bank as the winners of the titular briefcases. Rollins celebrated his win on Monday, and Naomi took some time on Friday to rub her win in everyone's face.
Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Friday's show:
—Jacob Fatu addresses his actions at MITB
—John Cena makes an appearance
—Naomi celebrates winning MITB
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.
The Farewell Tour Continues
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SmackDown opened with a quick rundown of what is scheduled for the show and a recap of Money in the Bank before Cena made his way to the ring.
The 17-time champion claimed the Mt. Rushmore of pro wrestling is just his face four times because nobody compares to him from the past, present or future.
Cena talked about how he has been a step ahead of everyone the whole time, and he said that he put Punk in a corner by making him fight in Saudi Arabia.
Cody Rhodes came to the ring and said Cena was right about everything he said, but he also reminded Cena that he pinned him at MITB. Randy Orton came to the ring and said he is determined to get another title shot by winning the King of the Ring tournament.
LA Knight also came out to voice his opinion, which led to Cena leaving without saying another word. As he was walking up the aisle, R-Truth attacked him and beat him down.
Cena's heel turn hasn't exactly been the history-making run WWE was hoping for, but he did a good job making himself sound like a good tactician by listing off everything he has done in recent months with justifications for everything.
The rest of the segment was somewhat bland and predictable. This took up way more time than it needed, too.
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—If you wanted to collect every Cena shirt, you would go broke. He literally has a new shirt for every single city he visits.
—They didn't bring it up specifically, but Cena referenced Punk's famous tweet to The Miz about Saudi Arabia.
LA Knight vs. Randy Orton vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Aleister Black
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Knight and Orton remained in the ring through the break because their Fatal 4-Way with Carmelo Hayes and Aleister Black.
Melo and Black started trading shots while Knight and Orton just sort of sat back and watched. They eventually locked up once Black took Hayes out of the ring.
The first break happened shortly after the match got started. When we returned, Melo was taking it to everyone with a flurry of fast-paced offense.
The best part about this match was that it was unpredictable. All four guys would have been logical winners, so it kept everyone on their toes as it played out.
Even though everyone had moments to shine, it felt like Hayes stood out a bit more than his three opponents. His agility and speed helped him have some of the most exciting spots in the match.
Toward the end, Black, Orton and Knight had a very awkward exchange. It looked like all three guys had trouble figuring out what was supposed to happen next. Other than that, this was a solid outing for all four competitors.
As Knight was preparing to hit an elbow drop, Bronson Reed showed up out of nowhere and yanked him off the top rope. Bron Breakker followed up with a Spear. Melo tried to hit a frog splash but he jumped right into an RKO from Orton, which allowed him to pin Knight for the win.
Result: Orton defeated Knight, Black and Hayes
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
—It took until 34 minutes into the show before the bell rang for the first match. That seems excessive, even for WWE.
—The way Knight knocked Hayes down with a dropkick through the ropes looked brutal. Hayes sold it perfectly.
—The exchange all four men had near the announce table was fun.
Jade Cargill vs. Piper Niven vs. Nia Jax vs. Michin
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Jacob Fatu came out to talk about why he turned on Solo Sikoa at Money in the Bank. Sikoa eventually appeared on the screen and said Fatu made a mistake at MITB, but he can forgive him if he says "I love you, Solo" next week.
Next up was one of the Queen of the Ring quarterfinal matches. Jade Cargill was out first to take on Piper Niven, Nia Jax and Michin.
Jax and Niven took each other out temporarily, so Cargill and Michin squared off in the ring. The announcers mentioned Jax eliminating Cargill from the tournament last year, but it was by disqualification, so it wasn't as if it was a decisive victory.
Niven and Jax formed a brief alliance to beat on Jade until Michin took everyone out with a moonsault.
Most of this match felt very by the book. Other than a couple of standout spots, mostly from Michin, this felt pretty uneventful until Cargill was tossed over the announce table into Wade Barrett by Niven and Jax.
Cargill ended up getting the win by pinning Niven with Jaded.
Result: Cargill defeated Niven, Michin and Jax
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—The crowd has really embraced Fatu. He is already over as a babyface after less than a week.
—Sikoa used the same line about bringing Fatu into this world and taking him out of it that every dad used as a threat during the '80s.
—Zelina Vega had a funny moment backstage with Nick Aldis when asking for a match with Giulia.
—Michin has a nice hurricanrana. She actually hooks her legs around their head instead of just putting her legs over their shoulders.
—Piper and Nia could be a decent tag team.
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Motor City Machine Guns vs. Wyatt Sicks
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Naomi cut a promo to celebrate her Money in the Bank victory. She indicated that she plans to go after Tiffany Stratton's title, which brough the women's champion out to respond.
As Naomi was about to leave, Jax attacked Stratton from behind. The champion tried to fend her off, but she ended up getting hit with the Annihilator. Naomi was about to cash in but Jax stopped her because she wants to be the one to beat Tiffy.
After the break, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin took on Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis from The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Uncle Howdy and Erik Rowan watched from the aisle.
Lumis and Gacy took control immediately by rushing to the ring and attacking both men. It took until after a commercial break for MCMG to begin making a comeback.
Unfortunately for Sabin and Shelley, it was too little, too late. Lumis hit a huge leg drop from the top rope to get the pin and the win. This match didn't have much to it, but at least we are seeing the Wyatts more often after an extended absence.
Result: The Wyatt Sicks defeated Motor City Machine Guns
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Lumis is such an underrated performer. It would be nice if he got some chances to show off in singles matches.
—Gacy's moonsault was a little off center but still looked good.
The Truth Shall Set You Free
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Cena came storming to the ring after a break to call out R-Truth. He said Truth crossed the line and disrespected him, so he called him out for a fight. Instead of Ron Killings, CM Punk showed up.
Punk tried to tell Cena that he needs to stop what he is doing and give the crowd a happy ending to his run. Punk said they were starting to sound like each other because Punk is making childish insults and Cena is threatening to leave with the belt.
As Punk was leaving, Truth attacked Cena from behind again. He locked Cena in the STF while Punk said "The truth hurts" to mock Cena. It took several security guards to pull Truth off of Cena.
The end of this segment was entertaining, but the rest of it felt like territory that was already covered in Punk and Cena's previous promos. Punk didn't address Saudi Arabia at all. It was a missed opportunity.
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—It seems like some of what Cena is saying during these heel promos is him venting some real feelings sometimes.
—Punk looked like he was having more fun than usual when insulting Cena.
Charlotte Flair vs. Alba Fyre vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Candice LeRae
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The second Queen of the Ring quarterfinal match saw Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Alba Fyre and Candice LeRae compete for a spot in the semifinals.
Fyre and LeRae formed an alliance immediately and went after Flair and Bliss to get an early advantage. The Queen fought back until Bliss took her down with a crossbody from the top rope.
We returned from a break to see Bliss take out all three opponents with a Tower of Doom. She went on a rampage until Flair put her in the Figure Eight.
This match was more predictable than the previous women's QOTR bout on this show, but it had some decent action and good energy. Bliss was definitely the standout with some of her high-flying offense.
The winner may have been easy to call, but how the match ended was pretty creative. As Flair had Fyre locked in the Figure Eight, Bliss hit her finisher on LeRae and got the pin before Alba could tap out. Surprisingly, Flair walked away without making a big deal out of it.
Result: Bliss defeated Flair, Fyre and LeRae
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Truth asked Nick Aldis for a match against Cena next week, and Aldis agreed to it.
—Something looked off about the sequence when Flair countered a double back body drop from Fyre and LeRae. It seemed like someone forgot what they were supposed to do but it was hard to tell who it was.
Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Andrade
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This week's main event was another King of the Ring quarterfinal match featuring Cody Rhodes, Andrade, Damian Priest and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Nakamura tried to leave the ring so everyone else had to fight, but Rhodes hit a suicide dive to take him down. This left Andrade and Priest to fight in the ring until The American Nightmare came back in.
This match had plenty of time at the end of the show, so all four competitors were able to get in a good amount of offense without anything feeling rushed.
Rhodes was sent through a Slim Jim sponsored table in a spot that felt like it was designed solely to get the table with logos on screen for a couple of minutes.
After a few close calls, The American Nightmare hit Nakamura with Cross Rhodes for the pin and the win.
Result: Rhodes defeated Andrade, Priest and Nakamura
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Rhodes and Punk had a brief interaction backstage. They shook hands but indicated they will likely end up facing each other down the line.
—The running knee Nakamura hit to send Andrade from the top rope to the floor looked brutal.
—Nakamura tripping both Rhodes and Priest on the top rope with one kick was funny.
The Final Word
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Friday’s episode of SmackDown spent most of its time on the quarterfinal matches for the Queen and King of the Ring tournaments.
Bliss, Cargill, Orton and Rhodes all advanced to the semifinals. Each will face someone from Raw in the next round, but it feels like the finals for the men's tournament is obvious. Orton vs. Rhodes appears to be the play.
Even with all of that taking up most of the show, the story between Cena and Truth was the most intriguing thing on the episode.
Truth asked for and received a rematch against Cena on next week’s show. With the title not being on the line, the outcome is not as predictable as their MITB match. It probably won’t end with a clean win for Killings, but it might not end with a victory for Cena either.
This was a three-hour show with only five matches, so it felt like WWE relied a little too much on filler. The main event was the best thing on the show, so if you don’t have three hours to spare, make sure that is the one you watch.
Grade: C+
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