WWE Smackdown LIVE took place from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Here’s all the action that went down.
Shinsuke Nakamura was a guest on Kevin Owens’ Highlight Reel
Having taken Chris Jericho’s United States championship and his career away from him, Kevin Owens decided to go for a hat trick on Smackdown LIVE by stealing Y2J’s own talk show away from him: The Highlight Reel. The first guest on the pilfered talk show? Shinsuke Nakamura, whose interview quickly devolved into Owens waxing lyrical about how he’d be champ at Money In The Bank.
A statement which of course resulted in Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn entering the scene as a brouhaha erupted and the first impromptu tag team match of the night was set up.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin
And what a match it was. Strong style and top-rope athleticism versus ruthless aggression as the four men in the ring got to work. Zayn would manage to keep Corbin out of action long enough for Nakamura to fly in with the Kinshasa on Owens, giving the Money In The Bank competitors a solid win to kick off Smackdown with.
The New Day confronted The Usos and made a major WWE Money in the Bank announcement
In the Smackdown tag team division, The Usos have managed to defeat everyone who has challenged them so far…Or so you’d believe, as Big E and the rest of The New Day returned to Atlanta and declared that the power of positivity was indeed back on team blue. Not only was The New Day back, they were hungry toonce again hold the tag team titles as they made their intentions clear that the Usos would be challenged at Money In The Bank for their gold.
The 5-Way Elimination Match to determine the No. 1 contender to the SmackDown Women’s Championship never began
Instead, we got absolute chaos from Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Natalya and Tamina. The five ladies involved in the chase for the title of number one contender found themselves involved in a ringside melee that ended with Charlotte powerbombing Natalya through the announce table, while SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon attempted to restore order the only way he knew how: By declaring that all five ladies will compete in their own ladder match for the golden briefcase at Money In The Bank.
Breezango def. The Colons
They may have lost out last week to The Usos, but Breezango managed to stage a comeback against the Colons, trapping Primo with an Unprettier to seal the deal on a win.
Randy Orton spoke for the first time since WWE Backlash
Missing in action ever since Jinder Mahal dethroned him of the highest rated championship on Smackdown, the Viper returned with a focused mindset as he vowed to reclaim his WWE championship from the Modern-Day Maharaja at WWE Money in the Bank. Appearing on the massive Titantron then, Mahal counter-claimed that Orton would lose and bear witness to a new golden age for the championship, as Mahal had no intention of letting it go so soon after winning it.
Dolph Ziggler def. AJ Styles
The final match of the night featured two more Money In The Bank competitors going head to head: Dolph Ziggler and AJ Styles. Both men were on fire, trading blows and top-rope techniques as they sought to build up momentum ahead of MITB, but it was Ziggler who would emerge victorious as he escaped a Calf-Crusher by gouging the eyes of the phenomenal one. That led to a superkick that resonated throughout the arena, giving the showoff a victory that closed off Smackdown for the night.
Last Updated: May 31, 2017
