WWE SmackDown Results, Highlights, Grades For June 5, 2018

On tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live, we’ll get more build for the Money in the Bank Pay Per View on June 17, including a contract signing between WWE Champion AJ Styles and his challenger Shinsuke Nakamura.

At Money in the Bank, AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura for a fourth time. Styles defeated Nakamura, who won the 2018 Royal Rumble, at WrestleMania 34, but his other title defenses against Shinsuke at The Greatest Royal Rumble and Backlash resulted in double count-outs.

Nakamura has chosen the stipulation for their match at Money in the Bank, so The Phenomenal One and The King of Strong Style will compete in a Last Man Standing match. Tonight on WWE SmackDown Live, the two will have a contract signing with Paige presiding over the proceedings, and I can only hope this segment is more entertaining than the Raw Women’s Championship contract signing weeks ago that involved Nia Jax, Ronda Rousey, and Stephanie McMahon.

Carmella must also defend her title at Money in the Bank, and it almost seems like it’s a foregone conclusion for Asuka to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship after losing to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania. It appears Carmella will figuratively “unmask” Asuka. This segment could prove to be disastrous, but there could be a silver lining if Asuka kicks her head off.

Last July, Becky Lynch submitted Charlotte Flair with her patented Dis-Arm-Her, and she will seek a similar result tonight when she squares off against her best friend. But Charlotte has betrayed Becky in the past, using heelish tactics to defeat Lynch in matches. With both of their eyes on the Money in the Bank Ladder Match in two weeks, Becky can’t afford to trust or go easy on Flair, especially since they both want a title opportunity as badly as anybody. Becky, of course, more so than Charlotte, given their histories.

One more match has been announced for tonight’s show, as Lana and Aiden English (but not Rusev) will team up to battle the real-life couple of Naomi and Jimmy Uso. This match favors Naomi and Jimmy, but could Rusev try and get involved? This mixed tag match stems from Lana blindsiding Naomi with a neckbreaker last week following their dance-off, as both Naomi and Lana will be competing in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

Check back here at 8 p.m. ET for live coverage of WWE SmackDown tonight.