WWE SmackDown Smacks and Downs: Black sheep, lien, and reptilians, oh my!

Money in the Bank is just over a week away. Last night’s WWE SmackDown saw two more wrestlers qualify for their respective ladder matches and continued builds for bubbling feuds. Here are the “smacks” and “downs” for May 1.

With just two episodes before one of the more anticipated pay-per-view events of every year, Money in the Bank, how did WWE SmackDown build their end of the card on last night’s episode?

Concerning stories, it was a pretty good night. The same can’t necessarily be said about the in-ring outcomes.

There were some questionable booking decisions, as well as an announcement that had me saying, “Tell me he didn’t just say that!”

On the other hand, at least the matches were all pretty serviceable to great. We also had further character development for one wrestler in particular, and this only makes me intrigued to see what comes next.

We also had a little story time on the “Firefly Fun House.” As Bray Wyatt might say, “Yowie Wowie!”

As a reminder of my criteria, I’m not going to run through each match/segment. Rather, I will identify a couple of segments that either worked (“smack”) or didn’t for whatever reason (“down”).

My criteria include quality of match/segment and how it starts and/or builds stories. After all, we watch partly to be caught up in the stories. If a great work-rate match happens with no context or bearing on the stories, it’s going to be a miss.

Also, just because something is a hit/miss doesn’t mean it was an overwhelming choice. The selection could be 51 percent hit, 75 percent miss, and so on.

There are other subtleties to my criteria, but those are pretty much the parameters.

Smack: a truthful yet creepy story time with Bray Wyatt

Yet again, I find myself with the highest praise for the build to Braun Strowman vs. Wyatt at Money in the Bank.

Interrupting Strowman, Wyatt held another episode of his hit show “Firefly Fun House” and treated us to a reading of what might be the next bestseller, The Black Sheep.

Wyatt’s creative, but you have to appreciate the simplicity in the analogies Wyatt created in the story to relate to the kayfabe story of The Wyatt Family’s breakup and Strowman’s subsequent rise to the upper part of the card.

Wyatt was “The Shepherd,” which is accurate considering both Strowman and the recently-released Erick Rowan wore farm animal masks. This also happened to be a shepherd who’s “very smart, handsome, and has a ton of sweet muscles.” Just do the Muscle-Man Dance, everyone.

Strowman, the “black sheep,” is the big, stinky, strong loner who found care under The Shepherd. Strowman, in return, “protected” the flock, and according to Wyatt, they had fun! What else could be more fun than wreaking havoc and destruction on other wrestlers?

Then the black sheep left for “greener pastures” (Strowman’s rivalry with Roman Reigns), and he didn’t even say goodbye or leave a note! How selfish!

(Of course, this overlooks Strowman and Rowan eventually being drafted to different shows, but I digress. Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story, right?)

The subsequent departures of the rest of his flock led to a downward spiral for The Shepherd. There was no happy ending. The government placed a lien on his farm (which is a story apt for The Forgotten Sons if you catch my drift). To make matters worse, those damn reptilians took over the farm because “that’s what they do” like a certain Hall of Famer. Watch out for reptilians, people!

I also like Wyatt hypothesizing his own “happy” ending where he finds Strowman (black sheep), takes what makes him happy (Universal Championship), and sends him straight to the slaughterhouse (injury, perhaps?).

Wyatt has been superb in building this feud. You may have noticed Strowman’s time on the mic has been comparatively less than that of Wyatt. That’s fine…for now.

If Strowman remains champion after his feud with Wyatt/The Fiend, that balance on the mic is going to have to be more equal for Strowman to both connect more with fans beyond “RAAAAARRRR I’M LIFTING MY ARMS!” and gain the trust that he can be a top act. Otherwise, he’s going to be more Big Show (which isn’t bad by any means) and less Vader.

I think Strowman retains (as I’ve written before) leading to Wyatt realizing he needs to bring forth The Fiend if he has any chance of retrieving what makes him “happy” in the Universal Championship.

What will next week’s go-home show hold for this feud as they meet face-to-face? I’m roped in, even though the match might be underwhelming.

Down: hotshotting The Forgotten Sons as serious contenders

For a team that did absolutely nothing of note in NXT, unlike recent counterparts Street Profits and Viking Raiders, The Forgotten Sons are being pushed as the next The Fabulous Freebirds (including the social and cultural associations).

I was really hoping WWE would forget them as much as we want to forget The Sons.

With a non-title match telegraphed after their interactions last week, I made a quip in our group chat that “The Forgotten Sons better not go over The New Day clean.”

Welp, close enough.

The New Day is the MOST ACCOMPLISHED TAG TEAM OF THE LAST DECADE in WWE. Yet, this is how they’re treated, unceremoniously losing to a stable with zero accolades 1-2-3 in the middle of the ring? Adding insult to injury, they pinned Kofi Kingston, who was WWE Champion twice removed from its current holder!

(What a precipitous and head-shaking fall for Kingston the last six months. It’s clear now WWE just wanted to capitalize monetarily on Kingston’s run and don’t see him as more than a tag team mid-carder.)

This is so egregious considering there was a much easier way to establish them as legitimate contenders and dominant adversaries: have them face Lucha House Party or a random pairing of lower-card NXT talent like we saw on RAW with Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne.

LHP works not only because they are another tag team on the brand, but they were involved in the four-team faceoff last week involving The Sons. As much as I like Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado, they’ve been booked as nothing more than tag team gatekeepers who provide at least one “holy s**t!” moment in their matches.

A random NXT pairing probably wouldn’t have been as effective, but depending on how ferocious The Sons could make their offense look, it could have achieved the same goals.

Having The Sons decisively crush LHP would have had a similar effect as last night, but with the added benefit of saving The New Day from an embarrassing loss. Since WWE is insistent on us remembering The Sons, this would have been better than forcibly shoving them down our throats.

Let’s hope they receive more character development beyond “We’ve been forgotten!” or “We’ve been overlooked!” Just make sure not to channel their inner MAGA tendencies.

WWE announced there will indeed be a fatal 4-way match for the Tag Team Championship at Money in the Bank as The New Day defend against Lucha House Party, The Forgotten Sons, and The Miz and John Morrison. I hope to see all four teams next week to build to their match.

Smack: the rapid growth of Sonya “Devil”le

When Daria Berenato appeared on Tough Enough alongside her former partner-now rival Amanda Saccommano, I picked Berenato and Patrick Clark to be the winners.

They didn’t win, but it’s almost like they did win. After all, we see them on our television as Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, and Velveteen Dream, respectively.

Do you remember who actually won? (It was Josh Bredl and Sara Lee)

Deville, however, seemed victim to bad timing as other former mixed martial artists began to make their way to WWE, and with impact. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler came in and basically upstaged Deville, helped in part because of their being pushed as legitimate badass champions.

We never had that with Deville. There would be allusions to her background in MMA on commentary, but nothing in her character development really channeled that experience.

Maybe that was the right call, in hindsight, because I am LOVING this character turn to the devil that is Sonya Deville.

Her promo two weeks ago was great, though I did caution her tone was a little too similar throughout. I know she just needs a bit more time to grow on the mic, so I’m not concerned.

I like how she came out in the middle of the match (more on this later) and kept doing her part to distract Rose. What made it even better is her comments were both honest, factual, and justifiable.

Deville discussed how she so graciously gave her spot to Rose in last year’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Not only that, she mentioned how she helped Rose ascend the ladder to the top and yet Rose still couldn’t grab the briefcase.

Add this to her comments two weeks ago and we have the best kind of heel: a dastardly piece of crap that is mostly justified in their actions. When we, as fans, hate a wrestler’s actions but are able to understand why they did such nasty thing, then it makes it hard to hate them. Your loyalties are being pulled in different directions, particularly if you have real-world experience with any given story.

Here’s where Deville’s MMA background, without necessarily being acknowledged, aids in her character because her work can be stiff, and she knows how to bring forth that intensity and ferocity from her real-life fighting experience.

That shining wizard she hit to the back of Rose’s head looked painful, only emphasized by the crash of Rose’s face as she crumbled into the ringside steps. Speaking of knees, her sliding knee to a sitting opponent is both sweet and brutal looking.

I wonder if this will be added to the PPV in a week, or be extended to possibly SummerSlam. I can see Deville continually avoiding Rose or putting obstacles in her way before she gives Rose a match. Either way, I’m really excited that we finally have more to “Daddy Deville” than being Rose’s tag team partner.

Smack: what’s shaping up as great groupings for the ladder matches

Down: they’re happening simultaneously?!

The women’s match is full after Carmella’s victory over Rose last night. She will by joined by our wrestling goddess Asuka, Baszler, Nia Jax, Dana Brooke, and Lacey Evans. RAW is definitely bringing the star power.

The men’s match technically has two more spot to fill even though five have qualified. After last night’s victory by Otis, we know the field includes him, King Corbin, Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, and Aleister Black. Apollo Crews qualified, but injured his knee on RAW and will be replaced, presumably by another RAW wrestler.

If last week is any indication, don’t be surprised if it’s “The Maharaja” himself, Jinder Mahal…then again, if they need a bonafide heel, a “resurrected” AJ Styles might be the choice.

Those are nice rosters for the match, and I was looking forward to seeing what they did as they climbed the “corporate ladder.”

Then Michael Cole said they’re happening simultaneously. Wait, what?

In a way, this makes sense as WWE probably only wants to have one segment of utter office/building destruction.

In every other way, why?

The match is already difficult enough in highlighting each talent involved when it’s six or seven competitors. Making it 12 just calls for even less spotlight for those in the match, particularly lower on the card.

Then you add in that it’s not even a “traditional” ladder match and it’s happening in a building culminating in a rooftop spot and it becomes even more convoluted.

(More on the utter tone-deafness of the promotional posters for these matches here.)

Brooke, Carmella, and possibly Mysterio seem destined to be the victims of some outlandish spots in the match. If Mahal is added, he seems to be the fall guy on the heel side since we all know how much one higher up (the only one that matters, really) loves Corbin.

More concerning, this opens up the possibility of WWE pulling another James Ellsworth as they did in the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. I’m sure we can all see Corbin, infuriated that Black grabs the briefcase (obviously my choice to win), turn to see the other briefcase, see the wheels turning in his head, and grab the women’s briefcase.

*Insert Michael Scott saying “No!” .gif here*

HOWEVER, this also opens up the possibility for either Asuka or Baszler to do the same thing and grab the men’s briefcase after the other successfully grabs the women’s briefcase. Making Baszler a modern-day Chyna could work, especially if WWE allows her to challenge for the WWE or Universal Championship like Tessa Blanchard in Impact Wrestling.

If WWE is truly committed to the “women’s revolution” AND “women’s evolution,” then this is the next step. Give Baszler the briefcase and have her Kirifuda Clutch every man she comes across to sleep to establish her as a legit threat to whoever is champion.

I’d actually start watching RAW again if that happens.

If that’s too much, make her Chyna in the sense that she cashes in the contract to become Intercontinental Champion.

It won’t happen, but I sincerely hope WWE has a woman win their respective briefcase without another Ellsworth situation. This being WWE though, we have to always be prepared for the worst.

-Down: tired, tired booking

Please raise your hand if you thought the Corbin–Bryan match was going to have a clean finish.

Let me count here … well, no hands are raised!

That’s the issue: we all know how these matches end.

I’ve noted before how it makes no sense that heels will wait 10-20 minutes into a match to disqualify themselves and/or have some lackeys make a run-in. Just do it from the beginning!

(I know, I know, they need to fill television time.)

It’s to the point where we, as viewers, are looking for the spot the DQ or run-in will happen. Once I saw Corbin creep towards the ladder on the outside, I knew the DQ was coming.

I wasn’t expecting to Nakamura and Cesaro (Cesaromura? Nakasaro?) to be Corbin’s new cronies (after Ziggler and Robert Roode) considering they form The Artist Collective with Sami Zayn. However, with Zayn reportedly voluntarily staying home amid concerns over the coronavirus (good for Zayn), I guess WWE thought the two needed to be under the wing of somebody else?

They can both give decent to great promos, so why not let them go as a tag team until Zayn returns? Pairing them with Corbin is a bit deflating in my opinion.

Overall, the ending really took away from what was actually an entertaining match involving Corbin; it helps when Bryan is your opponent. However, the DQ/run-in has become far too much of a crutch in WWE. Is it too much to ask for tried-and-true pinfall/submission finishes or more creative endings?

Bryan, Gulak, and a mystery partner face the heel trio next week. Who might the mystery partner be? I hope it isn’t Mustafa Ali only because I want him to be the mysterious hacker!

-Smack: Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy

Let me put it this way: I’m not necessarily excited for the eventual feud, but I have been a fan of how this angle has come together the past month or so.

After a Sheamus match, SmackDown has had their multi-part video series on Jeff Hardy air. This has perturbed Sheamus to the point of physically assaulting Cole at least once, and putting his sweaty face six inches from Cole’s face week after week.

Sheamus has been wondering why they keep talking about Hardy when Sheamus is the one winning matches every week. He has a point.

Why I really like this eventual feud is that it keeps the two away from wrestlers who could use more television time and victories, the latter of which they’re unlikely to gain against the likes of either.

We know what the ceilings are for each wrestler, as well as seeing them both as WWE/World Heavyweight Champion. To be frank, a World Championship run for either would probably be seen as transitional. Giving them victories in feuds over wrestlers like Gulak or Ali for Sheamus or Cesaromura for Hardy only works to define down all competitors involved.

If this feud goes through SummerSlam, cool. The matches will probably be average to above-average at best, and that’s fine. At least I can say I’m looking forward to what happens next week when Hardy is on SmackDown as Sheamus has promised that he will be there as well.

Next week is the go-home show for Money in the Bank. We should have a clear picture of the card, including filling out the men’s ladder match and any secondary title matches (what happens with Zayn and the Intercontinental Championship?). Until then, (Bray Wyatt “Fun House” voice) bye! See ya!