TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – SMACKDOWN 5/22: New Day Play Coy, Last Man Standing, Bryan Earns His MITB Slot

NEW DAY PLAY COY…

Recap: A MizTV segment led off the show. Miz announced the debut of his new reality show, to cheers from the crowd. He then called New Day down to the ring.

Miz asked the New Day who would be taking their Money in the Bank slot at the pay per view. They avoided answering the question, to which Miz responded that despite having accomplished so much as a team, by sticking together they hold each other back.

Xavier Woods disagreed. After rattling off a list of Miz’s accomplishments, Xavier said that despite all of said accomplishments, Miz was disliked because he always put himself first.

Miz then referenced Kofi Kingston’s six MITB appearances without a victory, saying it should be someone else’s turn. Miz then turned to Big E, who he said should not take the spot because he could not be taken seriously, as he does not even take himself seriously. Xavier Woods on the other hand, does take himself seriously according to Miz. Miz recounted Xavier’s success with his YouTube channel.

Miz then asked New Day again who would take the MITB spot. The guys then all selflessly recommended each other take the slot. Miz became infuriated, saying he was tired of their games, and that he could beat any of them any day of the week.

Kofi then told Miz, “it would be Big E.” Miz assumed this meant that Big E was taking the MITB slot, however he was quickly corrected by Xavier, informing him Kofi was referring to Big E taking on Miz tonight.

Miz declined the match, stating that if Miz didn’t get what he wanted (an answer as to who would be in MITB), then the they don’t get what they want. The New Day then chanted “shame” as Miz was pelted with pancakes.

Miz ran backstage, where he was informed by Paige that he would in fact face Big E, immediately.

During the match, Kofi and Xavier rotated through guest commentary. Both refused to answer Corey Graves’ questions about who would participate at MITB.

At one point Big E went outside the ring and his “corner” shot maple syrup into his mouth and put Vaseline on his face.

Sheamus and Cesaro attacked Kofi and Xavier outside the ring, which distracted Big E. The distraction allowed Miz to hit Big E with the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin.

Later in the show, the commentators stated that Paige had set a tag match for next week: New Day vs Miz and the Bar.

Evaluation: The New Day’s goofy antics are tired to me, but I’ve learned to accept that I’m not the target audience. Kids seem to love it, and it sells a ton of merchandise, so I can’t argue.

Nothing about this segment interested me, but the crowd seemed to disagree.

Forecast: So far there seems to be zero dissension among New Day as to who will take the ladder match slot, so it appears this is not being used to break up the group. The gimmick still makes a lot of money, and the guys seem to enjoy it. Rather than be used to sow discord, the anticipation of who will take the spot will likely instead be used as fodder for more silliness over the next several weeks.

BRYAN EARNS HIS MITB SLOT…

Recap: In storyline, Big Cass’ knee injury from last week was sold as being severe enough to require cancelation of his scheduled match with Samoa Joe. Instead, Paige set a “second chance match” between Jeff Hardy and Daniel Bryan. The winner would face Samoe Joe next week for a spot in the MITB ladder match.

In a backstage interview, Bryan expressed gratitude at the second chance to qualify. He said that if anyone understands second chances, it’s him, and that he now treats every match like the biggest match of his career. He was enthusiastic at facing a legend like Jeff Hardy, but promised to make him tap out.

Jeff also had a backstage interview, where he stated his “synapses had been firing” in excitement for this match. His language was sort odd and bordered on the Broken Universe.

Daniel Bryan was victorious when Jeff Hardy tapped out to a knee bar which followed a dragon screw. After Daniel Bryan’s victory, Samoa Joe (who had been on commentary) came to the ring to stare down Bryan.

Evaluation: This was solid, straightforward, old fashioned booking. Two guys were put in a TV match, they told the cameras why they wanted to win, and went out and had a good match.

Forecast: Cass not interfering in this match makes me hope plans have changed and the Bryan-Cass feud is over. However, the prospect of giving away the first Samoa Joe-Daniel Bryan match in WWE on television makes me think otherwise. Pessimistically, I would guess that next week’s match is interrupted early on by Cass, leaving Joe the victor. Bryan would then have the final match of his feud with Cass at the pay per view.

LAST MAN STANDING…

Recap: AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura met in the ring for the reveal of the stipulation at the next pay per view. Shinsuke continually delayed revealing the stipulation, instead taunting AJ.

Shinsuke then jokingly revealed the stipulation as a pillow fight. AJ responded by laughing and saying he always knew Shinsuke was the king of “soft style.”

Shinsuke responded that he jokes because he has the upper hand, while AJ jokes because he’s afraid. He then said when he looks into AJ’s eyes, all he wants to do is put his knee through them.

As it became clear that Shinsuke would not be revealing the stipulation, AJ stated he didn’t care and went to leave. Before he could, he was attacked by Shinsuke. AJ saw it coming, however, and blocked the attack and turned the tables on Shinsuke. The two brawled outside the ring until Shinsuke hit AJ with a steel chair as he attempted a Phenomenal Forearm from the barricade. Shinsuke then slammed AJ onto the announce table and followed it up with a Kinshasa.

Nakamura then proceeded to count to ten as AJ was on the ground. He then grabbed a mic and announced the pay per view match stipulation would be Last Man Standing.

Evaluation: I previously predicted this would be the stipulation, so I am not surprised.

Shinsuke came across better than AJ in this segment. AJ seemed kind of goofy, making a dumb joke, while Shinsuke came across as intense and serious with his mind games. Since Shinsuke’s heel turn, Shinsuke’s character seems to have improved tremendously while AJ’s has regressed.

Forecast: As much as this matchup still feels cold to me due to the prior lousy finishes, Shinsuke does seem to be heating up as AJ cools down. This is leading me to believe that Shinsuke leaves the pay per view with the title.

RANDOM THOUGHTS….

When Lana was first reunited with Rusev a few weeks ago, it seemed she’d be a heel. However, tonight she was a clear face positioned against the IIconics. She got a strong face reaction from the fans as well. Hopefully this means WWE has reconsidered splitting up Rusev Day and will keep them all positioned as faces…..

Considering how poorly they’ve been utilized until now, it was nice to see Gallows and Anderson be put over tonight in a good match….

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – SMACKDOWN 5/15: Shinsuke Gets to Pick the Stipulation, Bryan Has Had Enough, Becky Lynch Qualifies for MITB