WWE SmackDown 05/22/18: Happy Lana Day
About Last Night is a quick reflection on the matches and segments, or random observations, from a wrestling show that sticks out to us the morning after we watch them. If you would like to get your comments featured, chime in below in our comments section or tweet us. You can also help support us on Patreon.
About Miz TV…
Miz TV kicked off the show, and it set the tone for what kind of show and crowd we were in store for. Miz was about to get the crowd to chant whatever he wanted, and they were generally hot for the whole segment as he had The New Day as the guests. Miz promoted the premiere date for “Miz & Mrs.” and then tried to get them to reveal which member is entering the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. When then failed, Miz continued what he did last week in trying to pull them apart saying they’re better as singles stars, especially Xavier Woods. I appreciate him trying to say Xavier would get more viewers on UpUpDownDown if he streamed Fortnite while wearing the WWE Championship, because I bet that’s true.
This all led up to a match between The Miz and Big E with the rest of The New Day trading off on commentary, and The Bar interfering to give Miz an opening for a distraction victory. Everything worked really well here and was entertaining, plus set up that The Bar and New Day are continuing their feud.
About Lana Day…
Lana had her Money in the Bank qualifying match against Billie Kay, and she was introduced by a singing Aiden English. So it seems like they’re keeping him as part of the group, thank God, because he is a huge part of why it works. The IIconics always work though, as they “sang a duet” to counter Aiden by screeching about how Lana sucks and it just awful (meaning it’s perfect). When the bell rang, instead of trying to put on technical classic they instead hid Lana’s weaknesses by having Aiden English cause a scene with a giant “Lana Day” sign and then after the distraction have her hit two moves for the win. Lana may not be good in the ring, but I still want to celebrate Lana Day and have her win that briefcase. I mean, hell, they let Carmella win it.
About a Pillow Fight/Last Man Standing…
Shinsuke Nakamura had a face-to-face in the ring with AJ Styles to reveal the stipulation for their WWE Championship match at Money in the Bank, and this was the first real time we got a segment that leaned heavily on Nakamura talking for a long period of time. And he kinda nailed it! He did a good job coming us as weird as he gloated about beating Styles last week to earn this opportunity, and then announced that it will be… a pillow fight. I would be totally down to see these two fight with pillows, but this was just a ruse to lead into a fight into the crowd and then back to ringside where Styles got laid out by a Kinshasa. Nakamura then revealed it is actually a Last Man Standing Match, and that’s…. fine?
This match’s purpose is to make sure there’s an actual winner and it doesn’t end in a draw. However, as someone who attended the 2004 Royal Rumble, I know for a fact these tend to end in ties all the time. So if they end up doing that shit again I am done with this feud, regardless of how much I like Nakamura as a heel.
About Letting The Good Brothers Have Good Matches…
Did you know that Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, much like the two people competing in the main event title picture, are popular wrestlers who came over from New Japan and are really good at their job? During their stint on Raw they really tried hard to make you forget and think they’re just jobbers that call people nerds and then hung out with Finn Balor for a month. Now they’re still calling people nerds, but also get to put on an excellent match with SmackDown’s local workhorse team The Usos. The Good Brothers called them out for failing time after time to take the tag belts from The Bludgeon Brothers and a new team deserved an opportunity, and by winning the match they secured that chance at Money in the Bank.
It was refreshing to get to see them have a high energy and smart match against another talented team, but I’m worried about the title match. Maybe we’ll get some hoss-ass fisticuffs, but I don’t know if The Bludgeon Brothers will be able to build a competitive and creative story within the match. Guess we’ll have to see how they handle the lead-up from here.
About Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy…
Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy happened in 2018, and it’s no surprise that is was still great! The winner would face Samoa Joe next week to take the final Money in the Bank slot, and Joe was on commentary to scout his competition while putting them over, but of course pointing out he’s superior to both. It was a neat dynamic seeing Daniel Bryan working a safer style while Jeff Hardy’s stupid ass was throwing himself all over the place. The highlight of the match was the whole ending sequence, with Bryan getting his knees up for the Swanton Bomb and then hitting a dragon screw into the heel hook, a submission hold that damages the knee where Jeff had his injury.
So next week we’re getting Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe in a WWE ring. Please, give this match a half hour and keep Big Ass as far away from this as possible. This could be something special.
What did you think of this week’s SmackDown? Let us know in the comments!
