WWE SmackDown Results, Highlights, Grades For May 15, 2018

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Tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live will take place in London, England, and this review contains no spoilers. This is the place for live grades and analysis from tonight’s show.

Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega were called up from NXT to WWE SmackDown Live during the Superstar Shakeup, and they will make their highly-anticipated main roster debuts tonight in London, England. Vega is one of the best managers in wrestling, and she has helped take Almas to the next level as a performer in WWE. In NXT, Almas carried himself like a true champion, and he put together three of the best title matches in the company’s history against Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black, and Drew McIntyre.

Almas’s debut should be the highlight of the show, and it will be interesting to see if he immediately qualifies for the Money in the Bank ladder match. Judging by how long he lasted in the 2018 Royal Rumble, WWE could be serious about making him feel like a big deal on the main roster – but only time will tell.

Carmella is entrenched as the SmackDown Women’s Champion after defeating Charlotte Flair at Backlash, which is a feat she is unsurprisingly gloating about endlessly. Slighting the Royal Family when announcing it, Carmella will throw a #RoyalMellaBration tonight. That should go over well, right? I wonder who will interrupt it. Asuka should have her eyes set on the SmackDown Women’s Championship, and Carmella’s been talking a lot of smack about her…but what if WWE decides to go in an unorthodox direction? After all, Mandy Rose did beat Becky Lynch last week via a surprise (understatement) roll-up.

Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles are still embroiled in a feud over the WWE Championship after another inconclusive result at Backlash. The winner of their match on SmackDown Live tonight will get to choose the stipulation at Money in the Bank. So, obviously, AJ is going to win and make this a “Last Man Standing” match, right? Or could Samoa Joe decide to have his say?

The New Day and The Bar will clash, with the winning team getting the opportunity to send one of its members to the Money in the Bank ladder match. Now, the safe bet is on this wrestler being Big E, but is that really a foregone conclusion?

Speaking of Money in the Bank, we’ll likely get another qualifier from the SmackDown Women’s Division. Charlotte Flair made the cut last week, so we’re due for one more entrant from SmackDown Live this week. Becky Lynch and Naomi stand out as the two most likely options, with Becky due for a pop after last week’s loss to Rose.

Check back here at 8 p.m. ET for all the analysis you could ever want about tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live, as we’ll be updating this piece live during the show.