WWE Smackdown LIVE Coverage & Discussion - May 30th, 2017

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Who will earn the right to challenge Naomi?

Alliances have been formed over the past few weeks in the SmackDown LIVE women’s division, but friendship will be thrown out the window when Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Carmella and Tamina square off in a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match to determine who will challenge SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi at WWE Money in the Bank.


:smackdown:

– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown opens up with backstage promos from Charlotte Flair, Carmella, Becky Lynch, Natalya and Tamina Snuka about how they will win tonight’s Fatal 5 Way to become the new #1 contender. We go to the SmackDown opening video video.

– We’re live from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia as the pyro goes off. Tom Phillips welcomes us and he’s joined by JBL and Byron Saxton.

– We go right to the ring and Greg Hamilton introduces WWE United States Champion Kevin Owens. Owens is in the ring for another edition of his Highlight Reel. Owens welcomes us to The Highlight Reel and says he’s the new host, the new Face of America. Fans boo.

Owens knocks Chris Jericho and points up at the Money In the Bank briefcase hanging high above the ring. Owens says he will win the briefcase and go on to win the WWE Title, to become the face of the entire WWE Universe as he holds both titles. Owens introduces one of the people he’s gooing to step on on his way to being a double champion. Owens introduces Shinsuke Nakamura and out he comes to a pop.

Nakamura hits the ring as fans continue singing his song after it stops playing. Owens doesn’t care if Nakamura thinks he’s a Superstar, this is Owens’ show and he’s had enough of the stupid little dancing. Owens invited Nakamura on because people want to know who he is, why he’s here and what his future holds in WWE. Fans chant for Nakamura and Owens says that’s real cute. Owens talks about how he sent the last person claiming to be a rock star to retirement – Jericho. Nakamura says Owens’ name but Baron Corbin’s music interrupts and out he comes. Corbin says no one cares about what Nakamura has to say. Corbin says how about we show some actual highlights from a real Superstar. We see a replay of his attack on Sami Zayn last week.

Owens can’t believe Corbin just interrupted his show with a clip of Sami getting beat up. Owens says that’s nothing, he’s been beating Sami up for 15 years. Owens wants Corbin to leave. Corbin calls him Cartman. Corbin knocks Nakamura and says he will continue making highlights before winning Money In the Bank in a few weeks. Nakamura speaks and reminds Owens he pinned him last week. He also reminds Corbin about how quick he lost to Sami last week. Corbin hits the ring and Nakamura fights off a double team but they beat him down. Corbin holds Nakamura down while Owens stomps on him. Sami runs down and makes the save. Sami and Nakamura clear the ring as fans pop. Sami takes the mic and ends up proposing a tag team match. We go to commercial.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin and Kevin Owens

Back from the break and the match is underway after Shane McMahon made it official. Nakamura starts off with Corbin. Back and forth to start. Nakamura takes control and taunts Corbin before taking him to the corner for more. Nakamura with some good vibrations in the corner. Sami tags himself in but Corbin breaks away from Nakamura and retreats to his corner. Corbin tags out and in comes Owens. They go at it and Sami takes Owens down with a scissors. Owens goes to the floor for a breather. Sami chases Owens back into the ring but Owens stomps away and turns it around. Corbin is back in now.

Sami unloads in the corner and turns it around until Owens kicks him in the back of the head while Corbin has the referee distracted. Owens tags in and keeps control of Sami, taking him to the corner again. Corbin tags back in and keeps up the attack. Sami counters in the corner and goes for a tornado DDT but Corbin blocks it and slams him. Corbin talks trash and stands tall as we go to commercial.

Back from the break and Sami nails a Blue Thunderbomb on Owens for a 2 count. Owens tags first. Corbin runs in and knocks Nakamura off the apron to prevent the tag. Sami with a roll up for 2. Corbin takes back control and drops Sami again. Corbin talks more trash and works Sami over. Sami finally gets the tag. Nakamura hits the ring and unloads on Owens.

Nakamura with a running knee in the corner. Nakamura positions Owens over the top turnbuckle and charges with the high knee for a 2 count. Owens fights Nakamura off but takes another knee. Nakamura drops Owens for a pin attempt as Corbin breaks it up. Sami attacks Corbin and unloads on him. The referee backs him off. Sami sends Owens into Corbin in the corner. Corbin yells at Owens. Owens shoves Corbin. Corbin drops him with a right hand. Sami clotheslines Corbin to the floor. Nakamura hits a Kinshasa on Owens for the pin.

Winners: Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn

– After the match, Nakamura and Sami stand tall as we get replays. Nakamura dances as we see the briefcase hanging above the ring.

– The announcers plug the WWE Network and Extreme Rules. Still to come, the Fatal 5 Way to crown a new #1 contender. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos are in the ring.

They talk about how everyone is looking salty tonight because they’re still the champs. They take shots at American Alpha, Breezango and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. They go on about how no other WWE tag team goes as hard as them but the familiar introduction from Big E interrupts. The music hits as The New Day arrive for their SmackDown debuts. Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston head to the ring and get a pop.

Woods announces that they are back. He gives a shout-out to his mother in the crowd and mentions Atlanta being his hometown for another pop. Kofi is interrupted by The Usos, who are watching from ringside now. The Usos say they have the tag team division on lock. They welcome The New Day to The Uso Penitentiary. Big E says they know what goes on in a penitentiary and as far as the SmackDown Tag Team Titles go, they like them and they want them. Woods says they can do this the easy way or the hard way. Kofi says the answer better be yes. Uso says they better wake up from their fairy tale because this is about to get real. The Usos go on but The New Day aren’t taking them serious. Woods says he was told by Shane McMahon that The Usos have special opponents coming up at Money In the Bank but he can’t remember who… who? Kofi reveals that it will be The New Day vs. The Usos at Money In the Bank. The New Day dances around and wraps up their promo as fans join them. The Usos leave while being taunted from the ring.

– Still to come, a look back at Jinder Mahal’s celebration from last week.

– Back from the break and we get a video looking at WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, last week’s Punjabi Celebration and some of the international media coverage he’s received since winning the title.

– Tom leads us to another edition of The Fashion Files from Tyler Breeze and Fandango. Apparently they have their next case, to find who destroyed the Breezango Fashion Files offices.

Fatal 5 Way Elimination Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Carmella vs. Natalya vs. Tamina Snuka vs. Becky Lynch

We go to the ring and out comes Charlotte Flair. The winner of this match will face SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi at Money In the Bank. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and James Ellsworth is on the stage with a mic. He rips the crowd and introduces Carmella. Tamina Snuka is out next. We see pre-recorded video from Naomi and she’s not worried about who wins tonight. Natalya is out next, followed by Becky Lynch to a pop.

They all start arguing before the bell and Tamina decks Charlotte. A brawl breaks out as Carmella takes Becky to the floor. Natalya ends up hitting a suplex on Charlotte and mounting her with strikes. Charlotte turns it around and mounts Natalya with forearms. Tamina makes the save and hits a Samoan Drop on Charlotte as the referee tries to get control of things. Becky and Carmella go at it on the floor as Ellsworth looks on. Becky throws Carmella into the timekeeper’s area. Becky comes flying over the barrier with a forearm. Tamina leaves Natalya down on the floor it looks like. Tamina takes apart the announce table as the referee tries to get her in the ring. Other referees are out now.

Tamina grabs Charlotte but Charlotte counters into the apron, then into the ring post. Charlotte drops Natalya next. Charlotte with a big overhead toss to Natalya on the floor. Charlotte goes to the top and nails a big moonsault on Charlotte and Natalya on the floor. Carmella jumps off the barrier and takes Charlotte down. Carmella turns around to Becky scooping her for a Bexploder on the floor. Tamina drops Becky. Charlotte drops Tamina with a big boot. Natalya decks Charlotte next. Natalya tries to put Charlotte on the announce table but Charlotte sends her into the steel steps. Charlotte grabs Natalya and powerbombs her through the announce table to a big pop. Referees check on Natalya as a “holy shit” chant tries to get going. The bell never rang. The music hits and out comes SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon.

Shane says what’s up to Atlanta and gives props to the women’s division. He says the competition is so crazy he wants to do something really big, a first, something historic. Shane announces Charlotte vs. Natalya vs. Tamina vs. Carmella vs. Becky in a Ladder Match at the June 18th Money In the Bank pay-per-view for the first-ever women’s MITB match. He did not mention Naomi. Shane gets a big pop for the announcement as the Superstars look on from ringside.

Breezango vs. The Colons

Back from the break and out comes Fandango and Tyler Breeze as The Colons wait in the ring.

Apparently Breezango believes The Colons destroyed their office earlier. Back and forth to start the match. Breezango brings out water guns to get some momentum going. They send Primo and Epico to the floor and stand tall as we go to commercial.

Back from the break and The Colons have control now. Breeze gets dropped from the apron by a cheap shot. Fandango looks to make a comeback but Breeze is down on the floor and he can’t tag. Primo with a backbreaker on Fandango for a 2 count. Epico tags back in but they both go down. Fandango looks for another tag but Breeze is down. Epico plants him on his face for another 2 count.

Epico takes Fandango to the top but he fights back. Fandango with a sunset flip powerbomb. Breeze finally reappears in his janitor disguise. He gets the hot tag and unloads on The Colons. Fandango and Primo fight over Breeze’s mop, allowing Breeze to take advantage of the distraction and hit the Unprettier for the win.

Winners: Breezango

– After the match, Breeze and Fandango celebrate.

– Renee Young is backstage with AJ Styles ahead of his match against Dolph Ziggler tonight. AJ says he’s building up momentum for Money In the Bank so he can become a two-time WWE Champion. Ziggler interrupts. Ziggler says this may be the house AJ built but he laid the foundation around here. Ziggler says he’s the only one in this match who already won a MITB match and cashed in to become champion. Ziggler says he’s going to do it again in two weeks but tonight… they have words and are both ready to go. Ziggler tells Styles he will see him out there. Ziggler walks off.

– Still to come, Randy Orton will speak for the first time since losing the WWE Title. We go to commercial.

– Back from the break and out comes Randy Orton to a pop.

Orton, wearing street clothes, introduces himself for those who have been living under a rock for the past 17 years. He talks about how he’s defeated top names over the years and how this is in his blood because his father was in the first WrestleMania main event. Orton says his grandfather would slap him if he were alive for losing the WWE Title to a guy like Jinder Mahal. Orton goes on and says he’s not going to talk about how he’s going to beat Mahal at Money In the Bank, he’s just going to do it.

Orton goes on and says Jinder has earned the right to get a good old fashioned Orton family American ass kicking. Orton says MITB is in his hometown of St. Louis and he can’t show his face if he doesn’t get this one. Orton says winning is the only option. Orton says he’s going to stop talking and become a 14-time champion on June 18th. Orton drops the mic and his music hits as he goes to pose in the corner. Jinder’s music interrupts but he doesn’t appear on the stage. Jinder finally appears on the big screen. Jinder says Orton is just like every other ignorant American, he tells stories of a bygone era, he tells stories of his father and grandfather while the country is in decay. Jinder goes on and raises the title as The Singh Brothers applaud him. They continue clapping as Jinder stares the camera down. The promo ends and Orton goes back to posing in the corner as his music starts back up.

– Still to come, Styles vs. Ziggler in the main event. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and we see Rich Swann and Sasha Banks backstage. They hype tonight’s 205 Live episode.

AJ Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler

We go to the ring and out first comes Dolph Ziggler for tonight’s main event. AJ Styles is out next to a big home state pop.

The bell rings and they lock up as we see the MITB briefcase hanging above the ring. Fans chant for Styles. Ziggler ends up sending AJ ribs-first into the steel. AJ sells the injury outside of the ring as we go to commercial.

Back from the break and they’re going at it. They’re slow to get up but start trading shots in the middle of the ring. AJ drops Ziggler with a clothesline. AJ keeps control and nails a sliding forearm. AJ gets to his feet as fans pop. Ziggler counters but AJ blocks him and slams him on his face for another 2 count. Ziggler ends up blocking a Styles Clash and covering with his feet on the ropes for a 2 count. The referee catches him. AJ comes back and drops Ziggler over his knee from the fireman’s carry. AJ with a 2 count.

Ziggler blocks another Styles Clash attempt. AJ rocks Ziggler with a right. AJ ends up suplexing Ziggler into the turnbuckles. AJ goes for a Styles Clash from the second rope but Ziggler slides out. Ziggler comes right back with a big DDT out of the corner. Both Superstars are down now. AJ blocks a Fame-asser but Ziggler blocks the Styles Clash. Ziggler with a headbutt. AJ blocks the Zig Zag with a backbreaker.

Both are down again. Ziggler comes back with a knee to the jaw. Ziggler takes AJ up top for a superplex. AJ slides out and drops Ziggler face first into the top turnbuckle. AJ misses a splash in the corner. More back and forth. AJ gets the Calf Crusher locked in the middle of the ring. It’s broken. More back and forth until Ziggler hits the Zig Zag for a close 2 count. AJ ends up avoiding a superkick as Ziggler goes down. AJ rocks Ziggler from the apron. AJ springboards up for a Phenomenal Forearm but Ziggler knocks him off. Ziggler nails a superkick and covers for the win.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

– After the match, Ziggler stands tall as we go to replays. We come back to Ziggler having his arm raised while AJ is still down. Ziggler points up at the briefcase as the referee checks on AJ. SmackDown goes off the air with Ziggler celebrating.