wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 5.20.22
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hello everyone, it’s Friday so it’s time for another episode of WWE Smackdown. Tonight we’re scheduled to get the tag team title unification match when RAW tag team champions RKBro battle the Usos. At the moment that’s our only announced match, but we’re almost certain to get Ronda Rousey’s next opponent soon, plus they’re still building up Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn continues to exist and his budding feud with Shinsuke Nakamura might continue, and WWE might remember that Ricochet is the Intercontinental champion. There’s obviously still a fair bit up in the air after Naomi and Sasha Banks had their issues with management, and we might be able to get some clarity going forward. Well there’s a lot of possibilities for tonight, so let’s see what happens.
Up first is Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns with the full entourage in tow. As Roman heads to the ring we get a recap of the tag team challenge from last week and Riddle hitting a knee on Roman. Roman gets a mic from Heyman and gets Grand Rapids, Michigan to acknowledge him. Tonight is a special night, the crowd isn’t only acknowledging Roman, but his cousins the Usos, and that means we’re all acknowledging the Bloodline. Roman hands the mic to Heyman to continue. Heyman welcomes us to the biggest night in the history of tag team wrestling, tonight is the moment of truth for the Island of Relevancy. Roman is the greatest of all time, not Bruno, or Hogan, or Austin, or Cena, or the Rock, or Cena, they all fall short of Roman Reigns. And while we sit here with our insecure cheers we have to acknowledge that Roman defends the position of being the greatest every single day. Because that’s what it takes to be the Tribal Chief. So what does it take for the Usos to become the greatest team of all time? Heyman brings up the lineage of the Usos, and the Usos have a chance to do something Afa and Sika never did, to unify the tag team titles. Be the only team ever to be both RAW and Smackdown tag team champions at the same time. Heyman puts over RKBro as the best tag team in RAW, maybe even the best tag team in the history of RAW. But the Usos cannot be yesterday’s news, they wont just be the cousins of the Tribal Chief, they will come home the unified tag team champions or they wont come home to the Island of Relevancy at all. Tonight the Usos become the greatest tag team of all time, and that’s not just a prediction. . . that ladies and gentlemen is a spoiler. Roman gets the mic back from Heyman, he rallies the Usos saying he expects them to deliver, the only reason he has high expectations is because he loves them, then we get a group hug. Heyman and Roman are incredibly good at this kind of thing.
In the back Sami Zayn is inspired and considers himself part of the Bloodline.
Back to the ring here comes Shinsuke Nakamura, he’ll wrestle Sami Zayn after this break.
Post break here comes Sami Zayn in his Bloodline t-shirt.
Match #1: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn
Sami grabs a side headlock then a shoulder blocks Nakamura down. Sami goes after the arm with an arm wringer, Nakamura counters into one of his own then gets a side headlock before shoulder blocking Sami down. Nakamura starts laying in kicks to the chest and head of Sami before getting Good Vibrations in the corner. Sami counters an Irish whip and snaps Nakamura down by the hair then goes to some mounted punches. More punches from Sami then a clothesline. Sami heads up top but Nakamura meets him there with strikes then climbs up and tries a superplex but Sami fights him off with strikes. Again Sami looks to posture on the top rope, but Nakamura crotches him. Sami avoids a Kinshasa then sends Nakamura to the floor as we head to break.
Sami is landing elbows and working a chinlock as we come back. They hit the ropes and Nakamura lands a jumping side kick to drop Sami. Nakamura starts laying in strikes in combination, then hits the sliding German suplex and a diving knee from the second rope which gets a 2 count. Another head kick from Nakamura connects, then he looks for the Kinshasa but Sami rolls out of the ring. Nakamura follows Sami but runs into a Michinoku Driver on the floor. Sami’s back in the ring and he’s looking for another count out win but he doesn’t get it this time. They head back out of the ring again, and Nakamura slams Sami into the ring post then tosses him into the time keepers area. Nakamura is back in the ring and when Sami barely beats the 10 count he’s met with a Kinshasa from Nakamura and Nakamura pins to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Shinsuke Nakamura won
Rating: 3 stars
These two can turn in a really good match when given the chance, this was just good but they told a good story of Sami trying once again to back door his way to victory only to be hoisted with his own petard.
We get a hype package for the Usos.
Happy Corbin heads to the ring, after this break we’ll get a Happy Talk segment.
We come back to Corbin hanging out with the Andre trophy. Corbin says this is the happiest he’s ever been, none of us will know how good it is to be him and claims his hat is worth 12,000 and rid the WWE of the mouth breathing moron Madcap Moss. Well one of the writers discovered alliteration. We get a recap of Corbin attacking Moss from behind last week then Pillmanizing his neck. Corbin says he was fined a lot of money for that, well a lot of money to most people, but you can’t put a price on art and that was a work of art. And just like all great art you appreciate it more over time, so let’s watch that same thing again. The fake boos are becoming more obvious as this goes on. Corbin says we should appreciate what we have, show our bosses respect, never try to improve your station in life. Moss had it good, but Corbin was footing the bill and now if Moss wants to eat steak it’s got to be pre-chewed. Moss wanted to rise to the top, to be a big shot, and he didn’t appreciate all the great things Corbin did for him. Corbin repeats the “Big bald wolf” line, the crowd doesn’t bite in any real way on that set up. Well Corbin is laughing now, because he huffed, and he puffed, and he put Moss in an ambulance. That ends the promo, but Corbin gets the Andre trophy and proceeds to smash it to pieces, only keeping the Andre figure at the top. Cole trying to put over the importance of the Andre the Giant Battle Royal is amusing to me. This was pretty basic stuff from Corbin, but he didn’t stumble anywhere, and while this bordered on being overlong it didn’t cross that line.
We get a recap of GUNTHER chopping the lungs out of Drew Gulak last week. That chop still hurts.
Back live and Ludwig Kaiser is here to introduce the Ring General, GUNTHER. GUNTHER will take on Drew Gulak again after this break.
Match #2: GUNTHER w/ Ludwig Kaiser vs. Drew Gulak
We join the match in progress. Gulak avoids a chop and lands strikes but that just fires up GUNTHER who then boots Gulak down. GUNTHER lands a wicked chop, then another one. That second one was a thud. Another chop from GUNTHER connects. Folding powerbomb from GUNTHER and we’re done.
OFFICIAL RESULT: GUNTHER won
Rating: Crown Prince. . . SQUASH
More angle than match, but watching a GUNTHER squash has value.
Post match GUNTHER grabs a Boston Crab and makes Gulak tap before Ricochet makes the save. GUNTHER just heads out and lets Ricochet tend to Gulak.
In the back Max Dupri (Eli Drake/ LA Knight) introduces himself to Adam Pearce. Dupri is the CEO of a male modeling company and wants to find talent that could headline fashion week as well as WrestleMania. Pearce is just hearing about this for the first time, turns out Sonya Deville hired him. Dupri agrees this is awkward, but he has a signed contract, so Pearce will be looking into the legalities of this. To close this Dupri tries to get Pearce to pronounce his last time with the appropriate accent. Well, I mean he could have been named Butch.
After this break we’ll get an interview with RKBro.
Post break Kayla interviews RKBro. Riddle heard the Usos earlier and feels it was just false bravado, and Riddle has beaten the Usos for weeks and RKBro 4:20 says they smoked their asses. Orton takes over, he thinks the Usos were sweating bullets because they know that when it’s all said and done Roman will look down on the Usos in disappointment and shame. Not great but rock solid stuff from both men selling the main event.
We get a recap of Raquel Rodriguez challenging Ronda Rousey for the Smackdown women’s title last week.
After that Aliyah and Shotzi argue at gorilla, Raquel walks up and Shotzi insults Raquel, calling her six feet of disappointment, and Shotzi will make her pay in their match, you absurd amazon. Raquel just tells Shotzi that Shotzi is dead, then heads to the ring. Shotzi follows then we head to break.
Match #3: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shotzi
The match gets going as we return from break. Some yelling from Shotzi, but Raquel drives her into the corner and lands shoulder blocks. Now Raquel hoists Shotzi up by the arm then drops her down and hits a shoulder block. Shotzi tries to fight back with strikes but that just makes Raquel mad. An enziguri from Shotzi connects but Raquel tosses her into the corner. More kicks from Shotzi then she tries a sleeper hold but Raquel slams her way out of it. Rolling elbow from Shotzi then a few kicks to the head, Raquel no sells this and lands a headbutt. Shotzi tries a hurricanrana, Raquel catches her, repositions her, then hits a fall away slam. Another fall away slam from Raquel then her twisting Vader Bomb. Chingona Bomb from Raquel and we’re done here.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Raquel Rodriguez won
Rating: 2 stars
This wasn’t great, Shotzi was the wrong person here to try and make Raquel look good because it got sloppy in places and Shotzi hasn’t been seen on TV doing anything in several weeks.
Kayla is hanging out at gorilla and welcomes in Xavier Woods, who will be wrestling Butch. Dear God, can this stupid feud end already? We get a recap of Butch scoring his first win last week. Woods wants to know if Butch can do it on his own, or is he Butch made? He’s happy to fly solo and asks Butch to do the same, then the entire world will know what kind of man Butch is. Woods then heads to the ring. That match will be up after the break.
Post break Xavier Woods is doing crunches in the ring. The Eastie Boys are at gorilla, Ridge Holland and Sheamus fire up Butch, but they do let him go it alone to the ring.
Match #4: Xavier Woods vs. Butch
Butch attacks early and works on the mat, as Michael Cole calls Woods Kofi. Butch with some stomps to the ribs then grabs a bulldog choke. Woods fights back to his feet and lands body blows, then Butch lands a slap. Rolling clothesline from Woods connects and gets a 2 count. Woods lands a chop, he’s building momentum but Butch starts attacking the eyes and mouth then lands an elbow and a pump kick. Butch lands some Kawada kicks as Woods is draped on the top rope, then misses a diving knee. Woods lands a gamengiri but runs into an elbow on his way back into the ring. A bevy of strikes from Butch on the mat, but he’s caught in the Back Woods and that gets the three count.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Xavier Woods won
Rating: 2.5 stars
I really don’t know what they’re doing at this point, this just keeps dragging on with 50/50 booking and I don’t think anyone is benefiting from this.
Post match Butch retreats through the crowd, per usual. Woods celebrates on the entrance stage, Sheamus and Ridge Holland menace him then Butch comes flying from off screen with a knee strike and lays out Woods.
We get a video hype package for RKBro. That match is up after the break, so theoretically they’ll get plenty of time.
In the back Xavier Woods is pissed about being on the wrong end of the numbers game, but he’s got someone in mind to have his and Kofi’s back next week in a six man tag team match.
Commentary claims Sasha Banks and Naomi let us all down on Monday. Cole runs down series of events from Monday, and because of those actions both Sasha Banks and Naomi have been suspended indefinitely and we’ll get a tournament at some point in the future to crown new women’s tag team champions.
RKBro head to the ring for our main event. This week we’ve got gold fish for Riddle’s part of the visual effect.
Next here come the Usos, in their 305th day as tag team champions. We are getting super special ring announcing for this one, and Paul Heyman has joined commentary as we head to break.
Match #5 – Tag Team Title Unification Match: (c) The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) vs. (c) RKBro (Randy Orton and Riddle)
Riddle and Jimmy get things started. Single leg from Riddle then he goes for a straight ankle lock and Jimmy gets to the ropes to force a break. Mat return from Riddle then he tags in Orton. Orton starts laying in stomps to Jimmy. Riddle comes back in for the assisted twisting which gets a 1 count. Chop from Riddle, but Jimmy slams him into the corner then lays in punches. Bit of a face lock from Jimmy then he slams Riddle down to the mat by the hair. Things stall out right there as Riddle is down and the doctor comes in to check on him as we head to break.
We come back as Jey tags in and Riddle takes a double spinebuster. They’re claiming Riddle suffered a bruised hip on the whip into the corner before the break. Jimmy lays in a cheap shot on the outside then tags back in. Riddle takes some tandem offense, the Usos are targeting the lower back and hip of Riddle now. Stomps to the hip from Jimmy then he grabs a reverse bearhug. Riddle tries to fight free and get a tab but Jimmy cuts him off with a back suplex and quiets the crowd before tagging in Jey. Jey lays in a few stomps, but Riddle avoids a punch and hits a Final Flash and both men are down. Riddle crawls to the corner and tags Orton as Jimmy tags in, and Orton is the proverbial house on fire, hitting snap powerslams to both Usos. Orton hits the hanging DDT to Jimmy and wants the RKO, then it connects but Jey breaks up the pin. Jey drags Jimmy to his corner and tags in. Jey avoids an RKO, super kicks Orton but Riddle tagged in and hits a rolling kick. Riddle is fired up and lays in running elbows then an exploder suplex but when he tries the broton Jey gets the knees up then hits a pop up neckbreaker for a near fall. Riddle hits a back elbow, but when he goes up top Jey sweeps the legs and drops him to the mat. Jey heads up top now, but Riddle is up in time to meet him there and look for a super RKO. Heyman distracts the ref and Roman grabs Jey to stop the RKO and Riddle eats the mat. Jey hits the Splash and pins to win and unify the titles.
OFFICIAL RESULT: The Usos became the NEW Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions
Rating: 3 stars
You could see the potential for more between these teams but this was good and the finish sets up the rematch, likely in Hell in a Cell.
Post match Roman attacks Riddle, payback for the shot last week. The Usos hit Orton with a double super kick to nullify him. Roman takes apart the announce table as the Usos drive the ring steps into Orton over and over again. Guillotine from Roman to Riddle, he chokes him out then sets him on the table and Jey climbs to the top rope for a very long range Splash that kind of connects and blows up the table. Heck of a jump from Jey. Roman then Guillotine’s Randy and tells him to run his mouth now. Officials are out here to try and break this up. Ultimately The Bloodline stand tall with almost every title the WWE has to offer as we end the episode.
More Trending Stories
- Janel Grant Spokesperson Criticizes Rock, John Cena For Staying in Touch With Vince McMahon
- More Details On Incarceration Of Man Suing WWE & AEW For Plagiarism
- Update on Life for Vince McMahon Post-WWE, Maintaining Contact With Donald Trump, WWE Employees Less Fearful Now
- Eric Bischoff Praises Kenny Omega, Thinks AEW Made Mistake With Mercedes Mone
