5 Biggest news stories from WWE SmackDown (May 1, 2020)

By Kartik Arry
Modified May 02, 2020 16:13 IST
Otis and Mandy's storyline developed further this week
Otis and Mandy's storyline developed further this week

From Otis qualifying for this year's Money in the Bank Ladder Match to Bray Wyatt revealing his vendetta against Braun Strowman, this week's edition of SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.

As a show, SmackDown has been way more consistent with its quality than Monday Night RAW. The Blue brand's characters feel more integrated with the viewer's interests, and as a result, SmackDown is an easier show to watch in times like these.

Last night's show wasn't a perfect episode by any means, however, it was still fun to watch as compared to the three hours of WWE Programming on Mondays.

Which show did you like better this week, RAW or SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE SmackDown (May 1, 2020).

#5: Both Men's and Women's MITB Ladder Matches will occur simultaneously!

The biggest announcement from last night's SmackDown was made just before the main event, where Corey Graves and Michael Cole revealed that both of this year's Corporate Money in the Bank Ladder Matches will occur at the same time.

After watching SmackDown, fans were naturally divided over this whole idea, even though it has the potential to be creatively successful as seen previously during the Boneyard and The Firefly Fun House Matches at WrestleMania 36.

For what it's worth, the premise of having both men and women battling it out at the same time is more creative than confusing. WWE Headquarters is a huge establishment, and there is enough space for both matches to occur without any unnecessary distractions.

Even if that is not the case, we could witness some interesting encounters between both genders. The new development seems way better than having two separate bouts of this kind on the same night.

#4: King Corbin dismantled Daniel Bryan to prove that he is irreplaceable on SmackDown

Now that SmackDown cannot be entirely built around Roman Reigns, their focus has alternated between simultaneous options every week.

Bray Wyatt and Otis have been featured on SmackDown a lot, and the tag team division has closed the show recently as well.

But King Corbin has been that one constant since the last year. Not only is he the most hated heel on the show, but Corbin's presence is essential in this year's MITB Pay-Per-View. After all, he is the only heel Superstar from the men's division to take part in the Corporate Ladder Match so far.

Last night, Corbin and Daniel Bryan kicked off the episode with a singles match. Although Bryan won the bout via disqualification, Corbin got the better end of his opponent by putting him down with help of Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro.

It seems like Nakamura and Cesaro have shifted their loyalties to Corbin until Sami Zayn returns on SmackDown. King Corbin is a favorite to win the briefcase this year, and as one of the few legitimate heel competitors on the show, Corbin could very well become a Champion in no time.

#3: Bray Wyatt wants to add a "happy ending" to his past history with Braun Strowman

Bray Wyatt's segments will always be talking points on SmackDown, even if last night's edition of the Firefly Fun House did not advance his storyline with Braun Strowman to a huge extent.

The Monster Among Men is "The Black Sheep" who abandoned Bray Wyatt. From Wyatt's point of view, Strowman is as equally responsible as several others when it comes to the creation of The Fiend. That is why Bray Wyatt wants to damage Strowman at Money in the Bank. He wishes to create a happy ending for himself in the process as well.

But from Strowman's point of view, Wyatt had him trapped in a mental prison, just like Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, who were a part of the Wyatt Family as well.

Wyatt narrated the story of The Black Sheep on SmackDown this week, but the Universal Champion didn't give in to his opponent's mind games that easily. The segment came to an abrupt end where Wyatt didn't answer Strowman's challenge to come face-to-face.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the actual confrontation between both Superstars takes place on next week's SmackDown.

#2: Sonya Deville got sadistic revenge against Mandy Rose this week

Mandy Rose had a MITB qualifying matchup against Carmella this week.

The Princess of Staten Island is already well-versed on how to win the briefcase, but Mandy's current equation with Otis hinted towards the possibility where Rose and Otis would qualify together this year.

In the middle of the bout, Sonya Deville entered the frame to distract Rose by talking about their relationship in a sarcastic manner.

If you remember, Deville let Mandy have the last spot of the Women's MITB Ladder Match last year. Even then, Rose could not get the job done. Last night, Sonya vowed to take away her ex-best friend's MITB spot.

Carmella defeated Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville promised to destroy her rival's life. Deville proceeded to beat up Mandy in a sadistic fashion.

The Mandy-Sonya storyline is one of the more intriguing aspects of SmackDown, where the biggest takeaway has to be that Sonya Deville finally got to shine in an environment where she isn't overshadowed by Mandy's show-stealing presence.

#1: Otis defeated Dolph Ziggler to qualify for the MITB Ladder Match

After Mandy Rose was beaten down by Sonya Deville, Otis checked up on her backstage. Surely, the scenario of the onscreen couple attempting to win their respective MITB Briefcases together was tarnished.

But Otis earned a MITB opportunity for himself after defeating Dolph Ziggler in the main event.

Ziggler's mixed characteristics were highlighted on the show this week. Although he is a heel by nature, the man can't help but care for Mandy Rose at the same time. This became evident when Otis and Ziggler's paths briefly collided outside the trainer's room, and the silent confrontation was also a great way to set up their eventual in-ring showdown.

But later in the show, Ziggler and Deville looked as if they were concocting an evil, sadistic plan to split SmackDown's sweetest couple.

This storyline keeps getting interesting every week. Usually, feuds of such nature fizzle out after reaching a ceiling point. In this case, however, it's been proved that a cheesy feud can develop into one of the best storylines of SmackDown if the creative heads come up with intelligent scenarios.

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