WWE SmackDown Results, Highlights, and Grades For May 22, 2018

On tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live, several superstars will have an opportunity to qualify for the Money in the Bank Pay Per View, with Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy squaring off against each other for the first time ever in a second-chance match.

Big Cass may have suffered an injury during WWE’s recent tour of Europe, so WWE SmackDown Live GM Paige had to scrap his Money in the Bank qualifying match against Samoa Joe tonight. Instead, Jeff Hardy and Daniel Bryan, who lost their initial qualifiers to The Miz and Rusev respectively, will face off for a chance to battle Samoa Joe next week. The winner of Hardy/Bryan vs. Joe will qualify for MITB.

Although The Miz has already qualified for Money in the Bank, he will help unveil one of his opponents for the match tonight. On Miz TV, The New Day will appear to announce which member of the trio will fight for the briefcase.

Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch have qualified to represent the women of SmackDown Live in the ladder match, but there are still two vacancies left on the Blue Brand. Either Lana or Billie Kay will fill one of those spots. Lana will hope to join Rusev so that Rusev Day is represented in both ladder matches, while Kay will try to do what Peyton Royce could not do (though Royce had a much more difficult opponent in Charlotte).

There will be another women’s qualifying match, too, as Naomi will make her return to television to take on Sonya Deville. Last week, Deville and Mandy Rose were involved in a Triple Threat match against Becky, who picked up the victory to punch her ticket to Money in the Bank.

With these matches on top, tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live should be an exciting one. It will also be scrutinized heavily by the WWE Universe, because SmackDown has reportedly been signed by FOX to a five-year TV deal worth about $1 billion.

Check back here at 8 p.m. ET for all the live highlights, grades, and analysis of the show, with a special focus on the wrestlers who will be qualifying for both the men’s and women’s ladder matches on June 17.