This week’s SmackDown opened with questions as Renee Young and Kayla Braxton were on the scene covering the news of a suspicious accident that saw Elias being taken to the hospital and Jeff Hardy under suspicion for driving while intoxicated. The news threw the Intercontinental Title Tournament into disarray but the show came up with a solution.
Mandy Rose and Otis got some alone time by the pool, Shorty G returned, Drew Gulak appeared, the blue brand introduced Matt Riddle, and the females of the roster got significant television time.
Here are your winners and losers for SmackDown, May 29, 2020:
Winner / Loser: The Crime Scene?
Some fans won’t love this opening considering the storyline seems to be based upon Jeff Hardy’s real life struggles with alcohol, but this was anything but a typical SmackDown opening. There's an argument this is in bad taste, but it's likely important to remember Hardy probably gave the green light to do the angle. All that said, it was unique and interesting, even if it was a tad uncomfortable.
Elias was being loaded onto a stretcher, Hardy’s rental car had been run into a tree, and Hardy was laying yards away, apparently smelling of booze. Hardy denied drinking but seemed out of it and few witnesses outside of Braun Strowman could say what happened (even he wasn’t sure). Hardy was arrested hinting he’d not be available for his tournament match against Daniel Bryan. Obviously, Elias vs. AJ Styles was off.
As SmackDown came back from commercial, the locker room was filled in on the situation and a number of the Superstars pleaded their case to take the now empty tournament spots. Styles claimed his right to the finals via a bye while Bryan wanted to compete. A battle royal became the solution where the winner would take on Bryan later that night. Not to be overlooked, Drew Gulak was back and part of the show and Chad Gable was part of the Battle Royal hinting he likely isn’t the hacker as some people have guessed.
Winner: Sheamus
The 10-man Battle Royal began and it was a dominant performance by King Corbin, eliminating the first three competitors on his own. But, when he got eliminated by Jey Uso, one of the early favourites was now gone.
The action then focused on Shorty G’s issues with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura, Gable getting eliminated when Cesaro sneaked back into the ring and threw Gable out while the officials were distracted. It was down to Sheamus and Jey Uso, with Sheamus getting the win.
This was a smart move by WWE to ensure Sheamus wasn’t hurt by his loss to Hardy last week. Add to that, there were a few storylines to come out of the match that made sense (including Gable vs. Cesaro) and overall, it was fairly well done.
The big takeaway, was that Sheamus would move on to fight Bryan in the semi-final bout and main event of the night.
Winner: Deville vs Evans
In a match neither competitor could really afford to lose, WWE did the right thing by going the double count out route and setting up a potential rematch. Both women looked strong and the announce crew really tried to sell the progress Deville has been making in recent weeks. The hint here is that she’ll get the eventual win.
The match itself was fairly intense for the short amount of time it was given and these two women may be among the more charismatic of female competitors on the brand.
Loser: A Moment of Bliss
This segment took some time to get going. After some goofing around between New Day and Nikki Cross, the show finally took a turn for the interesting when Bayley and Sasha Banks came out.
Banks was singled out as the only person in the ring without a title, a fact The Boss took exception to. Bayley then volunteered Banks for competition against Bliss. Banks wasn’t pleased. New Day didn't play much of a role here and their contributions could largely be ignored. The good news is, there might be some progression towards friction between Bayley and Banks. However, WWE slow-played it again, having Banks pick up the win.
It was announced that next week, Banks and Bayley will meet the Women's Tag Team Champions for the titles. Maybe WWE will finally make some headway in the riff between The Boss and The Champ.
Winner: Mandy Rose and Otis Poolside
In an ode to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, WWE went full on dream-mode as Mandy got goofy over a steamy Otis who was really anything but steamy. This segment was odd in a can't-take-your-eyes-off-it kind of way. It certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea but there were moments that were amusing and if nothing else, the WWE Universe who spends a lot of time on social media will have memes and .gifs to keep them busy all week.
If you took this segment for what it was, it was kind of funny.
Winner: Chad Gable
If you wanted Gable to be the hacker, this likely isn't great news. If you don't care, it's great to have Gable back in WWE. He's been gone a while and he showed up tonight and played a sizable role in the show.
Picking up a big win over Cesaro, WWE has decided not to change the direction of Gable's character. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
Loser: Bryan Wins, Hardy Returns
In a great match between Bryan and Sheamus, SmackDown closes as Jeff Hardy returns to distract The Celtic Warrior long enough for him to lose his semi-finals match. WWE was clearly trying to provide the show with a cliffhanger but it didn’t quite work.
When you consider that they could leave everyone guessing as to how Hardy was able to return, WWE spoiled that too by taking to social media just a few minutes after the show to say "BREAKING: WWE Digital has learned Jeff Hardy was released from custody by the Orlando police."
Clearly, alcohol wasn't involved and he was set up.
There’s almost a sense that WWE wanted Bryan vs. Styles and needed a way to remove Hardy from the picture without him suffering a loss. The most likely scenario here is that Sheamus is behind it, but that would be too obvious, wouldn't it?
The good news here is, Bryan vs. Styles should be a classic for the Intercontinental Championship. This is exactly the type of match the title needs to make it really mean something again.