6 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 15)
Nakamura vs. Styles IV highlights another big blue night.
Good weekly television has become SmackDown's new norm. The blue brand was already rolling prior to WrestleMania, and while a truer gauge of the Superstar Shake-Up's success will come further down the line, Tuesday nights are already reaping the benefits of WWE's latest mini-draft. The shows are delivering. It's now over two months since SmackDown's last dud episode, and yesterday's was right along the brand's recent line of best fit, with strong in-ring action carrying another two hours of fun.
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura were booked for the night's main event, with the winner of their latest singles clash allowed to name the stipulation of their next. Elsewhere, we got a couple more Money In The Bank qualifiers, both of which offered unique story hooks, as a double-act's bond was stretched to breaking point in the women's division, and two of SD's premier tag teams jostled for a single ladder match spot.
There were memorable angles, too, with Daniel Bryan addressing the crowd after last week's loss to Rusev, and Carmella unleashing her "Royal Mellabration" on the London crowd. On top of all this, Andrade 'Cien' Almas finally showed up on the main roster, though Sanity remain on the sidelines.
But it wouldn't be a WWE show without inconsistencies, so let's dive into it...