WWE SmackDown Smacks/Downs: Braun Strowman receives a chilling threat

With one last show before tomorrow’s Money in the Bank event, how did WWE SmackDown garner interest for their respective matches?

What came of the first face-to-face encounter between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt since this feud began? Here are the “smacks” and “downs” for the May 8 episode of WWE SmackDown.

As advertised, last night wasn’t a bad card for a go-home show considering most of the matches at WWE Money in the Bank are already finalized.

Still, there were three bits of intrigue heading into last night’s show. First, after weeks of what I feel has been the best build for a match at MITB, did the face-to-face between Universal Champion Braun Strowman and challenger Bray Wyatt work to bolster interest, detract from it, or keep it level?

Second, who would be the mystery partner to join Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak against the trio of King Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro?

Third, Jeff Hardy returned! With Sheamus having so many issues with the timing of Hardy’s comeback videos the past month, did Sheamus do anything to spoil “The Charismatic Enigma’s” return?

We received answers to all three questions last night, but what about the other happenings from the show? What garnered a “smack” or “down” from me as we head towards a pay-per-view on Mother’s Day?

An aside since I don’t have space here, but give me more of “Daddy Deville” and Mandy Rose. It shouldn’t be surprising they have great chemistry in the ring, and giving Deville cheap victories over Rose will ultimately lead to Rose’s shining victorious moment.

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 well-told story with a hook for part two

Week after week after week after week I have praised the story between Universal Champion Strowman and his challenger, Wyatt.

Make that a fifth consecutive week.

While Wyatt has done the bulk of the promo work as we build towards tomorrow night’s match, last night Strowman showed he can play mind games a little bit. He also showed he might have found his comfort level on the mic.

Wyatt as the maniacal, creepy, exuberant kids show host, particularly when juxtaposed to the complete opposite in The Fiend, is one of the better characters in WWE. Wyatt’s facial expressions as he speaks (look at that smile as he offered Strowman the black sheep mask) are superb, and really reinforces what we’ve all been thinking: what a deranged man.

Wyatt having two goals in the match is also coherent. His first goal, as Wyatt, is for Strowman to “return home,” possibly as the enforcer reminiscent of his days under the former “Eater of Worlds.” Remember, he told Strowman last night, “All I ever really wanted was for you to say you’re sorry.” By defeating Strowman and bringing him back under his “guidance,” Wyatt would receive the ultimate “I’m sorry” from Strowman.

His second goal isn’t actually his, but The Fiend’s: recapture what The Fiend believes is rightfully his in the Universal Championship. Speaking presumably for The Fiend (or maybe Wyatt does want the Universal Championship?) Wyatt told Strowman, “I just need to remove that burden right there that you’re keeping around your waist.”

(I guess if anyone knows the “burden” of having the title, it would be Wyatt/The Fiend who unceremoniously had to drop the championship to Goldberg because reasons.)

In previous interactions, Strowman seemed to a little too pumped up on the mic. Last night he found a great balance. When he responded to Strowman and the puppets telling him to “come home,” he was calm yet serious. “Bray, I am home, and I got the Universal Championship. This Sunday, I’m gonna keep it, and you’re going to be stuck playing with your puppets.”

The look in Strowman’s eyes made me believe that he believed the words he spoke (I wrote why I think Strowman should retain here, so I’m expecting a Strowman victory).

Then he threw me off (in a good way) as he stared at Wyatt and laughingly said, “Bye, see ya Sunday! Hahaha!” as he exited the ring. To me, that moment was one of those “How the turntables have…” I mean table-turning moments.

Strowman’s intention seemed to have worked as Wyatt looked legitimately disappointed (again with his great facial expressions).

Then Wyatt said, “I tried, Braun. I tried, I’m sorry, I tried!” Uh oh.

Here’s where the hook for part two comes into play. I’ve predicted that Wyatt loses and realizes he needs to be The Fiend in order to defeat the “black sheep” that is the “Monster among Men.” Wyatt enters Sunday trying to bring Strowman back to his flock only to realize that’s futile. He loses, probably clean.

Next Friday, I expect we’ll see a certain horror-clown mask wearing individual make his presence known, possibly putting Strowman to sleep with a surprise Mandible Claw attack.

My concern? Extreme Rules is the next PPV on the schedule, so the match between Strowman and The Fiend will probably be a gimmick match. Please, please just don’t make it a Hell in a Cell match.

Whatever the case, this has been the best-told story on SmackDown at worst and WWE at best. The match might not be a mat classic, but at least they’ve done their part to garner interest.

Smack: the continued push of Otis

There are generally two schools of thought in the mystery partner reveal. One is to have the reveal when their music hits; the other is to show them earlier in the show.

It seems WWE tried to do both last night by showing Bryan and Gulak speaking with Otis earlier in the night, and then having the three heels look dumbstruck when the music for Heavy Machinery hit (seriously, go find a picture of Nakamura’s face).

The shocked heels didn’t really work since viewers already knew it would be Otis, but regardless, this continues what has been a gradual push to the upper tier of the card for the Big Doze.

After successfully defeating Dolph Ziggler at WrestleMania and being partnered with Mandy Rose (seemingly just kicking Tucker to the curb), Otis has performed well in and out of the ring. He defeated Ziggler again in a qualifying match for Money in the Bank while providing endearing humor on the mic.

It’s hard to deny that Otis has charisma. I’m just not sure how to describe his charisma beyond unique. Magnetic? Alluring? Captivating? A uniquely alluring and captivating magnetism?

Regardless, Otis teamed alongside top babyface Bryan and emerging face Gulak against the top three non-Wyatt heels in Corbin, Nakamura, and Cesaro. I know what you’re thinking: the roster on SmackDown isn’t very deep.

Still, what a rub for Otis.

He was able to have some shine, including hitting his signature Caterpillar elbow (with accompanying hip thrusts, of course). He also didn’t take the pin.

In the post-match scuffle, WWE also foreshadowed what could be a major impediment for Otis when he destroyed the bottom two rungs of a ladder trying to climb. Granted, he not-so-subtly stomped the bottom one-off, but that story at least has a prologue.

I’m guessing he pulls out a massive reinforced ladder that I believe happened with The Big Show. He probably won’t win, but if he does, I believe the fans will enthusiastically support and cheer Otis, who would presumably be an honorable briefcase holder. We can have a nice, slow build where Otis maintains control of the briefcase while defeating stiffer and stiffer competition in singles matches to build up his credibility.

Maybe he could cash-in ahead of time to schedule a WWE/Universal Championship match at WrestleMania, and with how fans receive him now, I believe this could be a viable path forward for Otis.

Smack: a slow, strong build for a battle of recently-returned veterans

Last week, I discussed how I liked that Sheamus and Jeff Hardy were set for a feud mainly because as long-term veterans, keeping them away from younger talent and/or talent with less star power would help elevate those talents by not losing to either wrestler.

I also predicted that Sheamus would do something to ruin Hardy’s return, most likely a sneak attack culminating with a Brogue Kick. I was wrong, and I’m glad.

The angle worked well because instead of being the perpetually stupid babyface, Hardy was the one to call out Sheamus before the latter could do any spoiling. Psychologically, this is a good strategy to cause a diversion in plans for his adversary.

Smartly, Hardy attacked Sheamus as he entered the ring instead of letting Sheamus enter and prepare an attack. He hit his signature moves with the Whisper in the Wind, Twist of Fate, and Swanton Bomb. Sure, going to pose on the turnbuckle immediately after is cheesy and ill-advised, but I guess it worked.

WWE smartly (and unexpectedly) has been engaging in some long-term stories, including this feud. For four weeks, we had comeback videos for Hardy play after a Sheamus match. Sheamus, himself returning not too long ago, took offense to the hype for Hardy when Sheamus made a comeback and was making an impact by winning his matches.

Now we have a feud, but I’m not sure for how long. It seems likely we’ll see this build to an eventual payoff at Extreme Rules, which would probably mean some sort of attack to write Hardy off television for a few weeks (I know he just came back). This probably also means some sort of gimmick match, maybe a tables match considering their histories in matches involving tables.

There’s even a possibility this extends to SummerSlam, though I find it unlikely.

I just hope there isn’t a match next week that ends the feud and thrusts the two into angles with the likes of Mustafa Ali or Chad Gable for Sheamus, and Cesaro or Nakamura for Hardy, who will face Cesaro on the MITB kick-off show.

At least there’s been a nice story if it does end next week, but one that would be missing a few chapters to make it truly great.

Down: formulaic angles to “excite” fans for Money in the Bank

Seeing Corbin atop the ladder with the briefcase is an obvious message that he won’t grab either briefcase on Sunday, right? Right? Please say I’m right.

(I’m sorry I even put the idea of Corbin grabbing the women’s briefcase into the universe.)

Then again, we all knew the show would end with Corbin atop the ladder with the briefcase to build hype for Sunday.

When the bell rang with six minutes left until the top of the hour, ladder shenanigans were predictably coming. This is where Otis had his ladder-climbing issues I mentioned earlier. Bryan took a nasty bump to the side of his head when he was thrown into a hinge connecting the two sides of the ladder.

It’s all so predictable and so formulaic. “We need to show fans what a ladder match can be like so they buy the pay-per-vi- I mean subscribe to the WWE Network!” It’s not like this event happens every year, or that there are multiple ladder matches every year…

Further, The Forgotten Sons are winning the Tag Team Championship, aren’t they? They once again decimated the champion The New Day in an eight-man tag match involving all four teams for Sunday’s match.

Readers know how much I dislike The Sons, and it’s not because they’re good heels; it’s because their time in NXT was nothing short of bleh. Their gimmick doesn’t help either…except to the one person that matters in WWE.

They’re going to get the push in the men’s tag division as the hot new act that should have gone to Shayna Baszler on RAW in the women’s division. The best way to put over how strong an act is and how seriously we should take them is to have them dominate and become champions early. That seems to be the route we’re taking with The Sons, unfortunately.

Again, formulaic, and it’s not necessarily positive.

Lastly, while it seems like a similar build for Tamina, I’m fairly certain she is losing Sunday. Unlike The Sons, Tamina isn’t a new act, so her complete domination of Women’s Champion Bayley and her partner Sasha Banks since just before WrestleMania serves a different purpose.

Mainly, she is fodder for Bayley’s continued title run (with the eventual match against Banks).

In one aspect, this is wonderful for Tamina because she is in high-profile feuds and Women’s Championship matches in consecutive PPVs. This may be the most prominent spot on the card Tamina has occupied in WWE, especially in recent years.

In another aspect, however, the timing couldn’t be worse.

Tamina has finally been given the space to show more of her personality, particularly on Twitter. It started with Tamina tweeting she’s working on her “anger issues,” then another about going to therapy. Her biting humor, sarcasm, and personality shine through in these videos! My first response was, “Where has this been on television all these years?!”

Further, she just seems to be a genuine individual. Look at these videos from The Usos cheering her on and telling her it’s “her time” to become champion. Look at her reaction and listen to her words.

Look, Tamina probably shouldn’t become champion tomorrow. That’s OK! Use the videos from Twitter and her genuine character as a basis to build her over a couple of months (coupled with consistent victories) and then she could conceivably become champion.

What we have are three truly formulaic and predictable builds for tomorrow night’s event. As long as Corbin and The Sons don’t win, however, I’ll be fine.

Hopefully, I didn’t damper your enthusiasm for Money in the Bank, at least, any more than WWE already has with both on and off-screen issues. Still, please enjoy the show should you watch, stay healthy, and see you all next week!