WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 26

Every week on Bleacher Report, I take an in-depth look at WWE SmackDown to recap the results, offer analysis and grade the matches, segments and anything else that takes place on the show, as well as make a few predictions for future events.

Shane and Stephanie McMahon announced the return of the brand split Wednesday along with the news of SmackDown going live on Tuesday nights starting July 19.

This means the blue brand only has seven more weeks before it becomes a separate entity again. The move was met with mixed emotions from fans on social media, but the roster looks a lot different than it did when the brands reunited in 2011, so it could work.

For now, everyone's main focus is setting up the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.

Opening Segment

The show opened with Michael Cole conducting a rare interview in the ring with Dean Ambrose. The main topics of discussion were the Asylum match against Chris Jericho and the upcoming Money in the Bank PPV.

Kevin Owens came out to rain on everyone's parade after only a few minutes, and the first thing he did was insult Cole for being at SmackDown and make him leave the ring.

Predictably, Sami Zayn came out to add his two cents. We see this kind of thing a lot leading up to multiperson bouts, and we should expect to see more over the next few weeks.

Alberto Del Rio came out before he even had his qualifying match to compete in the Money in the Bank match. Ambrose, Owens and Zayn got into a fight while Del Rio watched from the ramp.

It wasn't a bad segment in any way, but it didn't do anything to make Money in the Bank more exciting.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights

• Cole does weekly interviews for WWE.com, but he rarely does them on Raw or SmackDown anymore. It was a nice change of pace to see him in this role.
• Ambrose trying to hit Dirty Deeds on Zayn is exactly what he should be doing. Ambrose should be like Stone Cold Steve Austin where he attacks both heels and babyfaces.
• WWE should have a women's Money in the Bank match this year. There is more than enough talent to fill up all the spots, and it would be a good way to bring up someone from NXT for a surprise debut.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Zack Ryder

Despite losing, Zack Ryder came out of this match looking better than usual. His job is usually putting other people over in quick bouts, but this one was given two full segments and Ryder got in plenty of offense.

WWE likes to throw Ryder a bone every now and then, and he is still riding the wave of emotion following his shocking win at WrestleMania.

This wasn't a show-stopper by any means, but both men put on a solid performance. Unfortunately, Ryder wasn't able to mount enough of a comeback to get the win. Del Rio is officially in the Money in the Bank match, and Ryder goes to the back of the line once again.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights

• It looks like someone designed a jacket in a WWE video game and Ryder decided it looked cool enough to make into a real jacket.
• What was the point of giving Ryder a pre-match promo if he was going to lose?
• Ryder taking the double stomp from the barricade to the floor looked brutal.

Rusev vs. Kalisto

Kalisto faced Rusev for the United States Championship in the first of two title matches to take place on this week's SmackDown.

Kalisto put up a decent fight, even slamming Rusev with an impressive show of strength from WWE's smallest male competitor. However, it wasn't good enough to get his title back.

This feud has gone on long enough, and judging by how this bout ended, Kalisto will go back to being a tag team wrestler with Sin Cara while Rusev finds a new challenger.

Titus O'Neil came out to defend Kalisto from a post-match attack, which is weird since Kalisto is supposed to have a tag team partner. This is a fresh feud which could help Titus establish himself as a legit singles star, and anything original is worth trying.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Why doesn't Sin Cara accompany Kalisto to the ring more often? Isn't that what a good partner would do?
• Seeing Eden as the ring announcer makes me miss her and Cody Rhodes already. It's weird how she flubbed the introductions and WWE didn't edit it out.
• Lana should have a mic in her hand more often. She used to be the best part of Rusev's character, but now she is just an accessory.

Natalya vs. Dana Brooke

After a video recapping how Charlotte disowned her father on Raw, the women's champion came out to watch Natalya take on Dana Brooke.

Natalya was about to win in under three minutes when Charlotte rushed the ring and attacked her. Natalya turned things around and locked the Sharpshooter on Charlotte, but Brooke and Charlotte together proved to be too much for her.

The match was too short to be anything worth watching, and all this segment did was let us know Charlotte and Natalya are still feuding. A quick interview would have accomplished the same thing.

Grade: D+

Notes and Highlights

• Turning on her father was the best thing Charlotte could have done for her character. She can finally start to build her own legacy. WWE should downplay her last name going forward so people will just think of her as Charlotte instead of Charlotte Flair.
• Natalya always looks like she is smiling when she is trying to show pain. It's her one flaw.
• It's hard to tell if associating with Charlotte will help Brooke in the long run. She is being used as a lackey right now, but the exposure could be just what she needs.

Fandango and Tyler Breeze vs. Golden Truth

R-Truth and Goldust gave their partnership another shot with a rematch against their respective partners, Tyler Breeze and Fandango.

Just like last time, a miscommunication led to Golden Truth taking the loss. If WWE has an endgame in mind for this storyline, nobody can see what it is.

This was a formulaic tag match. Everyone played their part without making any mistakes, but there was nothing memorable about it.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights

• It sounded like R-Truth was making up his rap on the spot. He should have planned it out ahead of time.
• Does this count as a winning streak for Breeze and Fandango?
• Breeze and Fandango should have been the main focus of this storyline. They are a much better combination.

Seth Rollins Returns

Seth Rollins made his triumphant return to SmackDown. And just like with the Raw crowd, the fans in attendance gave him a warm welcome.

They should have known better. Rollins did exactly what he did on Raw and turned on them as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Rollins is one of those guys who will always have loud fans, even when he is a bad guy, but he did a great job getting the WWE Universe to turn on him with a few insults. Keeping his promo short and sweet ensured he would get the reaction he wanted.

Having Rollins back opens up the door for a lot of feuds with Superstars who have been called up since he was injured. Hopefully he ends up on a brand with some opponents he has never faced in a WWE ring.

Grade: B

The Miz vs. Cesaro

Cesaro got another chance to win the Intercontinental Championship with a match against The Miz in the main event.

Cesaro was aggressive from the moment the bell rang, and he was firmly in control when the mid-match break came around.

The Miz was able to take control, and he focused on the arm Cesaro has had taped up since he returned. The Swiss Superman tried his best with one good arm, but this was not his night to win the IC title.

This was easily the best match of the night, and with any luck, this feud will continue through Money in the Bank.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• It's surprising to see WWE giving The Miz a real push. He deserves it, but it's still unexpected.
• How long will it be before The Miz has photographers for his entrance so it's a complete copy of John Morrison's entrance?
• Cesaro's knee pads never want to stay up.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

This week's SmackDown was average as a whole. Yet, we did get a few good matches and storyline developments along the way.

Del Rio won a spot in the Money in the Bank match, Rusev and The Miz retained their titles and Rollins returned to the blue brand after several months away.

With the announcement of the brand split returning, a lot of questions need to be answered. Will there be two world champions? Do the women and tag teams only compete on one show? Who gets drafted to which brand?

Because this is such a huge change for WWE, all of this week's predictions will revolve around the possible ramifications of separating Raw and SmackDown.

Predictions

• The big gold belt will return as SmackDown's world title.
• The tag team and women's division will span both shows.
• The IC title will be on Raw and the U.S. title will be on SmackDown.
• At least two NXT Superstars will be called up during the draft.
• Stephanie will run Raw while Shane runs SmackDown.

What did you think of this week's SmackDown?

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter: @BR_Doctor.