7 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 14)

4. Shane & The Goons Prevail

Shane McMahon Roman Reigns
WWE.com

SmackDown's opening segment led to Shane McMahon booking himself, Rowan, Daniel Bryan, and Elias in a handicap bout with Roman Reigns and his cousins, The Usos. The stipulation was that if The Miz interfered, their MITB cage match would be scrapped.

A simple piece of effective heel booking produced a fun second-hour bout. While the first two acts were relatively slow and methodical, things came alive in the third. The heels dragged out an extending heat segment on Jey Uso, and things picked up thereafter, with the bout becoming the always-exciting Big Move Buffet towards the end. The bad guys took advantage from there. Elias put Reigns into the steps, and Shane, that crazy cat, nailed the Coast to Coast on poor old Jey for a clean victory, giving him some heat heading into MITB.

The action came thick and fast towards the end, making this one of the best things on the show. A dirtier finish might have worked better for McMahon's heel character, though.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.