WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 5/28: Kevin Owens takes on Kofi Kingston in a non-title match, more 24/7 Title shenanigans expected but nothing else advertised

WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER
WILD CARD WEEK III
MAY 28, 2019
TULSA, OK. AT THE BOK CENTER
AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Smackdown Viewership Last Week: Average 1.983 million, up .056 million from previous week.

Arena, Items Advertised by WWE, and Show Start Time

WWE Smackdown returns to the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK. The arena last hosted the show in September of last year in the days following Hell in a Cell. The BOK Center first opened in 2008 and has hosted events for WWE since 2009 including the early version on NXT.

The arena’s website shows a start time of 6:45 p.m. local time for the house with doors opening at 5:15 p.m. 205Live will follow Smackdown proper.

As of 12:00 p.m. EDT today, WWE.com does not have a preview of tonight’s Smackdown up. By the time this report drops it may or may not be available. Only one match is known, and that was announced on Raw last night. I will work with what I have, as I do every week for the great website that is PWTorch.com. We continue to get ready for Super Showdown, which takes place on June 7 in JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA.

Matches & Segments:

WWE Champion Kofi Kingston to take on Kevin Owens in a non-title match.

Storyline Follow-Up

Nothing advertised

Non-Title Match: WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston have been on the dance floor since Owens’ return from injury at Fastlane earlier this year. Owens was Vince McMahon’s replacement for Kofi in a WWE Championship match that ended up being a triple threat which also involved Ali against then-champion Daniel Bryan. Bryan now holds the Smackdown Tag Team Championship with Rowan.

Following Kofi winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, Owens became an honorary member of New Day only to turn on Kofi & Xavier Woods just one week later. That led to a match between Kofi and Owens at Money in the Bank, in which Kofi retained the title.

Multiple reports have come out that Kevin Owens does not wish to travel to Saudi Arabia. It isn’t known if he was to get another championship match. A returning Dolph Ziggler is set to challenge Kofi for the title at the “international event.” Ziggler attacked Kofi following his non-title match with Sami Zayn last week and did the same last night on Raw to Kofi and Xavier Woods. Ziggler’s claim is that the success Kofi is having should have been his. He said so last week and last night in his promos. Kofi had quite a simple response to Ziggler’s challenge last week:

That’s the business between Kofi and Ziggler. As far as Owens and Kofi, they continue their story tonight in a non-title match.

Frank’s Analysis: You wonder if Owens will be punished for not wanting to go to Saudi Arabia, and you wonder how long it’s been known. I thought it was odd he jobbed clean to Kofi at Money in the Bank. It’s hard to say overall. Daniel Bryan felt the same way in advance of Crown Jewel last November and he ended up being WWE Champion shortly after that event until WrestleMania. He now co-holds the Smackdown tag titles with Rowan. It really depends on how important Owens is to Vince McMahon as far as how he’s treated going forward. If Owens jobs clean again tonight, it could indicate he’s being punished.

Not Advertised for Follow-Up:

As I said earlier, nothing is advertised except for the Kofi vs. Owens match. Here’s the other happenings from last week’s show:

• Big E celebrated his return with his New Day brethren Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. He was shown clutching his knee later in the back. He said it was Owens and was taken to a local medical facility.
• Ali defeated Andrade in a very good 12-minute match.
• Mandy Rose fought Carmella to a no-contest when pretty much the entire WWE undercard chased 24/7 Champion R-Truth through the crowd. Truth was in Carmella’s corner, like a moron.
• Throughout the show Jinder Mahal, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel all attempted to pin Truth. He also wore a wig at one point.
• In a previously unadvertised match, Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch & Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair & Lacey Evans. Before the match Becky told Bayley after the tag match, she’s coming for her title. Why isn’t Seth Rollins pursuing Kofi Kingston then? Hawkins & Ryder pursuing Bryan & Rowan?
• Roman Reigns defeated Elias, with Shane McMahon in his corner. Following the match “Best in the World” Shane went after Roman. When that failed, Drew McIntyre showed up and hit Roman with a Claymore Kick. I don’t even know at this point if WWE exceeded their Wild Card rule. I should know typing this report, but I sadly don’t care.
• Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor was not on the show last week following taking a brutal bump in the Money in the Bank ladder match. Here’s a WWE.com exclusive with Balor:

I’m not sure what Balor was going to say at the end of the interview, but it certainly felt like he was going to say enough was enough. We’ll see if he’s on the show tonight.

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!