After Otis became one of the most unlikely Money in the Bank winners in history, he found himself in the ring with universal champion Bran Strowman less than one week later. But, unlike most matches involving the briefcase holder and the champion, Otis and Strowman were on the same side as they teamed up to take out The Miz and John Morrison in the SmackDown main event on Friday.
Otis was challenged to a tag match by Miz and Morrison, but Tucker, his Heavy Machinery partner, was unavailable. After a brief search for assistance, Otis’ better half, Mandy Rose, suggested he team up with Strowman. Despite reservations, Strowman went along with the plan and the two formed a successful powerhouse duo. Of course, there was a bit of post-match drama as Otis teased a sneak attack on Strowman only to back down before the show went off the air.
In addition, a huge match was set for next week’s edition of SmackDown with NXT women’s champion Charlotte Flair being challenged to a champion vs. champion match by SmackDown women’s champ Bayley. While titles won’t be on the line for the match, Flair did potentially light the fuse on the long-awaited feud between Bayley and Sasha Banks by asking how long Banks would be willing to play second fiddle to Bayley’s championship reign.
Also of note, an eight-man tournament for the intercontinental championship kicked off with Daniel Bryan and Elias picking up wins over Drew Gulak and King Corbin, respectively, to advance to the semifinals.
Let’s take a look now at everything that went down on this week’s edition of SmackDown.
WWE SmackDown results, grades
Money in the Bank winner Otis opened the show by appearing on Miz TV. Otis addressed his big briefcase win before Miz and John Morrison began making fun of Otis’ baby pictures — and his considerably-sized stomach. Otis said he grew up with a learning disability but his mom helped him keep his grades up because sports made sense to him in ways school didn’t. As Miz’s digs continued, he finally threw down a challenge for a tag match. Otis said Tucker wasn’t available, so Miz told him to find anyone to be his partner as the segment came to a close. Giving Otis time on the mic is certainly necessary if WWE is ready to run with him the way it seems, but I don’t know that the character development couldn’t have been accomplished more effectively with a vignette than having Miz taunt photos of Otis and his mother. Grade: B-
Intercontinental championship tournament — Elias def. King Corbin via pinfall with a small package to advance. Bringing an established rivalry into the first round is classic WWE tournament booking. This was a lengthy match playing off that history, with Corbin dominating much of the bout and earning Elias’ ire after taking the guitar mid-match and strumming it briefly. Elias snapped down the stretch and nearly got himself disqualified after not listening to the referee’s calls for a break. Corbin would break the guitar later in the match, leaving Elias to hit a jumping knee and catch Corbin on the rebound off the ropes for the small package win in what was a surprisingly good in-ring effort. Grade: B+
Dana Brooke def. Naomi via pinfall with a jackknife pin. For the second time in a row, Brooke managed an upset win over Naomi, with the first coming in a Money in the Bank qualifier. This match ended fairly quickly with a counter into a pin for two women who feel a bit without defined directions on the roster. Grade: C
NXT Women’s champion Charlotte Flair cut an in-ring promo. Flair had been invited to SmackDown as one of the four “brand invitations” available. After talking herself up for a bit, Bayley’s music interrupted and the SmackDown champ and best friend Sasha Banks walked to the ring. Bayley and Banks pointed out that they had not seen Flair since Bayley defeated her to become a two-time SmackDown women’s champion. Bayley eventually told Flair to “get the hell out of our ring, right now.” Flair then worked to drive a wedge between Bayley and Banks, pointing out how many “firsts” the two had shared and asked if Banks was truly content to sit in the background of Bayley’s title reign. This all built to Bayley throwing out a champion vs. champion challenge, which Flair accepted before asking Banks to decide if she was her own woman or if she would be happy being an afterthought. In addition to building to a big match, this also seemed to be the spark that is going to really ignite the long-awaited Bayley vs. Banks feud. Grade: B
The Forgotten Sons cut a backstage promo. They explained that they served the country but were not welcomed back with open arms, so they will welcome others with closed fists.
Intercontinental championship tournament — Daniel Bryan def. Drew Gulak via submission with a heel hook to advance. This was, as expected, a brilliant technical showdown. The matches between Gulak and Bryan have been wonderful when given time, and the two training partners and friends managed to do it again. Bryan hit a huge inverted leg whip to soften up Gulak before locking in the heel hook to earn the victory. After the match, Bryan was interviewed in the ring and said his goal was to win back the title he had to forfeit when he retired and make it the title on SmackDown. Grade: B+
Sonya Deville and Dolph Ziggler cut a backstage promo. This came after a match between the two and Otis & Mandy Rose was announced for next week’s SmackDown. Deville threw insults at Rose, saying the only thing she was good at was being pretty before asking if the life she wanted was to have kids with Otis and live in a trailer.
Braun Strowman & Otis def. The Miz & John Morrison via pinfall after Strowman hit Morrison with a powerslam. Unsurprisingly, Strowman took Otis up on a previous offer to be his tag partner, setting up the interesting scenario of the champion teaming with the man chasing him with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Early in the match, Strowman and Otis hit Morrison with a double caterpillar — though Strowman’s form left a bit to be desired. Strowman took over late after some underhanded tactics from Miz and Morrison to catch Morrison with a powerslam for the win. After the victory, Mandy Rose entered as a distraction, but Strowman caught Mr. Money in the Bank creeping up behind him. Otis claimed it was just for a laugh before they bumped fists and celebrated to close the show. Grade: B
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