5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (22 May - Results & Review)
Sami Zayn won't help Cody Rhodes; Blake Monroe's mediocre debut; Melo and Trick produce scorcher.
There were real shoots of recovery on SmackDown's midcard this past Friday night. The women's division as a whole went up a notch, and a fantastic clash between old NXT running buddies turned rivals also handed a blue brand newbie some purpose as a villain. On top of that, the program served up a cracking main event and post-match angle.
Sadly, the 3 hour format is proving troublesome to SmackDown's writers, and there's definitely something to be said for moving things along a bit storytelling-wise in WWE generally. Triple H seems to like taking his time with plot lines, but there's a difference between pacing and just drip-feeding some boring reveals/moments that ultimately feel inconsequential.
Speaking of which, an undercard plot appears to have been abandoned following months of teasing. That'll make it more difficult for some fans to get invested when the announcers try to sell something as compelling. After all, if you don't get rewarded for that intrigue, then why bother paying attention to what's going on?
There's also the not so small matter of Blake Monroe's much-anticipated main roster debut. If this is all Hunter and gang have in mind for the one-time Mariah May, then she might be tempted to ring up Tony Khan and see if he has anything going. Maybe not, but this introduction really was a slap in the face - especially if WWE claim Monroe is going to be a major player. Fatal Influence, this was not.
Back on the plus side, the woman Blake shared screen time with looks like she's heading for something meaningful. Chelsea Green can do it all.
Here's every single bit of good and bad from Friday's last hurdle before SNME!
Downs...
4. Snoozer Of An Opening Segment
Material for WWE's front-loaded, show-opening promo trains is typically on the weaker side, so they only really come to life if the workers asked to deliver dry lines inject their own passion into them. Unfortunately, Rhea Ripley didn't do that when she was flying solo and challenging Jade Cargill to a title rematch at Clash In Italy next week.
That's a boring development, not least because their feud was sucking wind before WrestleMania. Neither woman needed to continue the story, sp Rhea's announcement fell flat with the live crowd on Friday. Then, the set up for Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss (or so we thought) vs. members of Fatal Influence was monotonous and the segment fizzled out badly.
Delivery from Rhea and Charlotte, in particular, wasn't great. However, it’s also worth saying that the writing is so uninspired and lazy for these sorts of skits. Also, did this sort of match need this kind of set up? Did it really? WWE could've got away with announcing Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid vs. Charlotte and Bliss/Ripley via a match graphic. Hell, Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett could've delivered the news with a smile and it would've been just as exciting.
Of course, WWE's creative team know they've got 3 chunky hours to fill every week on SmackDown, so they pretty much told Rhea, Charlotte, Alexa and the Influence crew to go out there and chew through words for the sake of words. Splice in a PLE challenge that nobody wants and this entire deal sagged.
The only thing it had going for it was fans popping for Ripley's entrance.
3. So, The Tama and Nakamura Stuff Was Pointless?
The intro chastised WWE for failing to reward fans who pay attention to even the most peripheral stories on programming, and rightly so. Case in point: This business involving Tama Tonga and Shinsuke Nakamura. The latter has been trying to talk sense into Tama for months and months now. Shin hasn't kept it a secret that he thinks Tonga should leave Solo Sikoa's side and move away from the MFTs so he can reignite a career that was on fire in Japan.
That's a truly fun narrative, so leave it to the braintrust seen on WWE Unreal to fudge things by making a mockery of a story they themselves kicked off. On SmackDown, Tama stopped Solo from hitting his Samoa Spike on Nakamura before...hitting Shinsuke himself. For no reason. With no context. OK then. Remember this next time the company asks you to invest in a sub-plot.
Maybe there’s more to come and we'll get an explanation after all, but it kinda felt like the writers just washed away months of their own booking with this and don't plan on following up. That's a crying shame, 'cause Nakamura worked hard to make Talla Tonga look good in the opening match, and there was something to his tale with Tama.
Apparently, WWE disagrees with that sentiment. Do they realise how amateurish it looks when they spend months layering these stories then don't bother concluding them? Some may argue that Tama hitting Naka is his answer. Nah, not having it. Stories that linger as long as this one has need some proper payoff.
2. Precious Little Of The MFTs Fare Is Interesting
Damian Priest and Solo Sikoa worked hard, but they didn’t hit the heights of another match involving the MFTs group earlier in the show. Not only that, but the whole story is just so painfully dull. Why doesn’t Priest trust Royce Keys when he’s been given no reason to doubt him? Why do WWE view Solo’s MFTs idea as important enough to dominate airtime every single week? More questions than answers, people. More questions than answers.
Triple H would presumably argue the point that he's trying to turn Sikoa into some younger version of Roman Reigns, but he should be laughed out of the room if he dares bring that up. Solo has already shown that he lacks the true menace needed to be a top villain in WWE. Most of his best characteristics as an onscreen personality are comedic, and that's just the way it is.
The dude's screaming to break out into a role that fits him better than 'Wannabe Tribal Chief'. Just how long will creative bang that drum before they realise the skin's flapping around and it's barely making any sound? They should've learned their lesson long, long ago, put it that way.
Spare a thought for Priest too. He's gone from credible headliner to someone who's barely getting a response from live crowds on the undercard unless he's teaming with R-Truth. That pair's tag title run is also in real jeopardy of sinking in a hurry unless something dramatic happens sooner rather than later.
Yeah, in a nutshell this wasn't very good.
1. This Was Blake Monroe’s Debut?!
Oh no. Oh no!
Blake Monroe has been teased as a big deal for weeks via carefully-constructed vignettes. Those who don't watch AEW or NXT but exclusively Raw and SmackDown knew right away what to expect from the Brit after watching those. She's an elitist bitch, but a damn talented one; and she knows it. Someone with that snobbery would demand a grand debut then, right? Right?!
Nah, Monroe walked in on Chelsea Green strolling backstage and said she wished she hadn’t bothered watching Chelsea out there with Tiffany Stratton. That’s it?! Good lord, could Triple H have come up with a less impactful way to introduce Blake to a bigger audience? Taking creative baby steps is one thing, but this was surely the least impressive way WWE could've debuted Monroe beyond having her stare at the lights for Giulia in 90 seconds or something like that.
It's like everyone kinda forgot that Blake was meant to debut this week, scrambled and came up with something last minute. Was she just sitting around in catering waiting to find out what she was going to be doing, then someone sprinted up breathless and said: 'Catch Chelsea, mumble some nonsense, then disappear'?
Nothing about this skit sold Monroe as a must see star who's ready to leave her mark on the women's division. Spare us all the trouble if she's gonna become a female version of early Dolph Ziggler by going around introducing herself to everyone. Surely the writing team have more for her than this tripe?!
Ups...
5. Shin Does Everything To Make Talla Monstrous
Shinsuke Nakamura knows his role in WWE these days. His career with the company is largely petering out, but he’s still over with fans so comes in handy when making others look good. There was nice pacing to his bout vs. Talla Tonga on Friday. Personally, yours truly thought this was as good as Talla has looked in-ring since signing too. No, there was nothing earth shattering here, but it was rock solid.
Talla’s scoop power slam looked awesome before the chokeslam for the finish too, and that went a long way to selling him as the monster Joe Tess and Wade describe on commentary. Somewhat remarkably, especially when taking into account how crap the MFTs thing has been overall, this was a decent match, and it's the kind that's perfect for TV.
Credit to Tonga for listening to Shin out there. Neither man rushed through whatever spot was next, and they gave everything plenty of room to breathe from first bell to last. It does blow that WWE don't seem all that into the thought of paying off Naka's story with Tama Tonga, but hey - this is a match that'll stand the towering Talla in good stead going forwards, so at least Shinsuke's evening wasn't completely wasted.
Also, Talla needs to hit that massive elbow drop as much as possible. The big guy gets some impressive height on it, as pictured above, and he lands with a satisfying thump. Don't laugh, but that could easily become a finisher if he comes off the corner turnbuckles in the future.
Nice TV match.
4. Women’s US Title Twist Works
Tiffany Stratton beating Lash Legend with Chelsea Green’s help worked a treat.
There's something intriguing brewing between Tiffany and Green, although it looks like Stratton will be the one going heel in that equation. Realistically, she kinda has to. Green is portraying someone good natured who simply wants to get along. Meanwhile, Stratton is giving her dirty looks and rolling her eyes like some bratty teenager.
Lash was also a better choice to answer Tiff’s ‘Open Challenge’ than WWE booking Tiffany vs. Nia Jax for the zillionth time. Not many have much desire to see that match happen again anytime soon. WWE did it to death in 2025, put it that way. Yep, this was solid work all round, and there’s some fun story stuff to concentrate on coming out of it. It's tough to be mad at that sort of 1-2 punch.
The Women's United States belt has replaced the men's version in the 'designated banger match' spot weekly, but it remains to be seen how long they'll run with that idea. There's certainly a bit more value to Tiffany turning heel on Green and seeing what happens there, but this bout vs. Legend worked for what it was.
Next stop: Put the Women's Tag straps back on The Irresistible Forces. They were way better as champs than Paige and Brie Bella, let's be honest. Trips has a chance to correct that at Saturday Night's Main Event. Being real, that's precisely what he should endeavour to do over the weekend.
Then, double down on Tiffy and Chelsea's odd couple chemistry for a while by booking them as challengers before Stratton's turn.
3. Title Match Teaser & A Fun Tag Sprint
Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid lost to Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley (who replaced a "sick" Alexa Bliss), but they looked good despite that defeat. Thankfully, Fatal Influence won’t lose much steam because of this, because their loss was handled well. On top of that, we’re clearly building towards Rhea vs. Charlotte for the Women’s Title heading deeper into summer, and that’s a good thing.
Yeah, this was just really good content overall: The tag match was a hoot, there was some story context hiding within, and we’re putting building blocks in place for a massive title showdown that hasn't been seen in years. Perhaps the only downside is that whole Jade Cargill, Michin and B-FAB thing. WWE are botching Jade badly these days. Missing out on that Bianca Belair feud has been brutal for her, and her heel group is the least interesting on SmackDown.
Bummer.
Back to the positivity before getting bogged down in all of that noise. Fallon and Lainey more than held their own against 2 top stars in the division, so they should be proud of their Friday night's work. Listen, everyone has to lose at some point, and there's defo no disgrace in staring at the lights for names like Flair and Ripley. Fatal Influence will be fine. In Jacy Jayne we trust!
See, SmackDown's creative team can construct compelling matches that push good stories along when they want to. Where has this fire been in the women's division over the past couple of weeks? Hopefully, SmackDown in Lexington is a sign of things to come.
2. Trick & Melo Produce Gold
Well now, this was all just really, really good.
Carmelo Hayes talking Trick Williams into giving him a match by playing off Lil Yachty as “a secretary” and their NXT history made sense. Then, the actual match itself was the best thing we’ve seen on SmackDown’s midcard in a while. There was some top promo work, they wrestled a top match, and WWE even kept Ricky Saints and Melo burning by having Ricky get involved come the end.
That duo didn’t exactly smash it last week, but maybe they just need some time to build chemistry. House shows would help with that. Y'know, just saying. This guy could go with seeing Trick and Melo run this sort of action back on PLE at some point in the future. Why wasn’t this on SNME, for example?! Glad we got it on SmackDown regardless.
Further, the live crowd in Lexington seemed split between these guys, which just shows how far Hayes has come as a babyface. He struggled as a heel when he landed on the main roster a few years back, but a spirited United States Title run, some of the best TV matches around and forging a connection with fans as a baby has rescued him from that hell.
Take notes, Saints.
Trick vs. Hayes was one of the best pure babyface vs. babyface bouts you're likely to see on modern wrestling telly. It was slick, fans badly wanted to see it in their town (a rarity when wrestlers ask that question), and it kept Williams busy whilst simultaneously pushing another midcard rivalry.
1. Top Main Event & Sami The Scumbag
Cody Rhodes vs. Sami Zayn in the main event slot was predictably excellent. Workers this slick can produce bangers like they come easy, but that doesn't put enough respect on Cody or Sami's names. In execution, Zayn's heelish desperation is working for him mid-match, and Cody selling an injured leg after spilling over the announce desk was good, old-school presentation.
Also, a post-match sleeper from Gunther led to Zayn ditching the chance to help his “friend” Rhodes, so that was great character work from everyone. All in all, this match into angle was a super strong way to end the episode. It could well be the best closing stretch SmackDown has had for ages. Maybe that's not as high praise as it seems depending on how you've viewed the blue brand lately, but there was a lot to like as the show went off the air on Friday evening.
Sami's little conflicted/sad walk back down the aisle as Gunther posed with the WWE Title over a fallen Cody made for an ace visual too. Don't forget that the 'Ring General' is somebody Zayn previously fought tooth and nail against, so it can't have been easy for his character to walk away as Gunther pasted Rhodes (a man Sami hoisted up once he won the title at 'Mania 40).
That Gingerbread Man sideshow was a regrettable slice of so-called comedy during Zayn's heel turn, but it looks like he's getting right back on track. A Triple Threat like Cody vs. Sami vs. Gunther could work after Clash In Italy too. Again, just putting that out there incase the universe is listening.
What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 10 WWE Jobbers Who Became Wrestling GAME-CHANGERS and The Hardest WCW Quiz EVER - Test Your Knowledge!