An “Awesome” Solution
I thoroughly enjoyed The Miz roasting Elias’s singing ability; I thought it was funny. I also enjoyed the scuffle and the Usos coming in for the save. I still want to know what exactly are we doing with Elias because it seems like we keep building him up for almost no payoff. He’s still popular though so that speaks to his character. All in all, this was a fairly unpredictable “scrap at the beginning of the show sets up a match for the end of the show” formula, but I still liked it.
Grade: A-
Randy Orton vs Finn Balor vs Andrade vs Ali
This match was quite fast paced, even pushing Orton a little bit. As Money in the Bank is this Sunday, there was some ladder use in the match but not so much so that it took away from the match itself. Ali got thrown around as per usual so extra credit to him for taking it like a champ. Though Andrade actually won the match, Ricochet showed up to leap frog onto the ladder and snag the briefcase. I feel like this was done to show how unpredictable the ladder match can be.
Winner: Andrade
Grade: A
The Rivalry
We gt a video package showing the history of Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch’s relationship and rivalry. I thought it was well done and injects a bit more lifeblood into a rather long feud. But at the same time, looking back exposes Lynch in a way. She’s mostly the character while other women have to make her look good in the ring.
Grade: B+
Sassy Southern…Champion?
I find Lacey Evans to be entertaining and I really liked her Becky Black Eye dig, but she spent the better part of seven weeks doing catwalks and hasn’t even had a match on the main roster. Would a title run really be the best for her right now?
Not Graded
Fade to Black
I’ve been enjoying Aleister Black’s dark promos as of late but this one had more of a rambling feeling to it and I had a hard time listening. I think someone is confusing verbal nonsense with character depth when they write these promos. He was able to get over in NXT for almost a year without saying a word, so just let the man wrestle.
Grade: C+
Shane McMahon, Elias, Daniel Bryan, and Rowan vs Roman Reigns and The Usos
The aiga was strong in this match! I felt that the bloodline did a great job here. The pace could’ve been better as it felt a little slow in places. The Miz coming out after the match, and therefore keeping the cage match intact, was great and it showed that McMahon does in fact see Miz as a threat.
Winner: Shane McMahon, Elias, Daniel Bryan, and Rowan
Grade: B+
Kairi Sane and Asuka vs Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose
The opening promos from Paige, Rose, and Deville were very awkward. They seemed so forced. I’m not a huge fan of the name “Kabuki Warriors” but it’s far better than the Japanese Experience or something like that. The match was much better than anticipated and I did like the IIconics throwing in their jabs on commentary. The two main things I got out of this match are that the Kabuki Warriors could be set up as the next tag title contenders and there’s still a feud brewing between Rose and Deville.
Winner: Kairi Sane and Asuka
Grade: B-
Mr. Freak
Kayla Braxton tried to interview Lars Sullivan but got too scared. Admittedly it was great character work for Braxton but I’m already over the Freak.
Not Graded
The KO Show
Only Kofi Kingston can rock a crop top and championship belt like this! I did like the comparison between Owens and Kingston’s championship paths. I was fairly surprised by Sami Zayn showing up but the resulting brawl at the end was fantastic. You can tell Owens and Kingston have a lot of respect for each other in the way that they interact. The build of their feud has also been consistently booked well and looks great going into Money in the Bank.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
Okay so that was the Smackdown go-home show for Money in the Bank! Personally I thought it was a great episode and the Smackdown side of the card looks pretty good as head into the pay-per-view. Money in the Bank is kind of the beginning of a new season for WWE so we’ll see who comes out of the event with their stock raised.
Overall Grade: B+
