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From AJ Styles facing Shinsuke Nakamura in a WrestleMania rematch to Braun Strowman accepting a unique title challenge for WWE Backlash, this week's edition of WWE SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.
SmackDown is usually viewed as the entertainment brand of WWE nowadays. But this week's wrestling-based episode proved that the Blue brand can cover both aspects of Wrestling Entertainment in general.
With Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn out of the picture, as well as Bray Wyatt's limited appearances in mind, WWE came up with new ways to fill the star-power void on SmackDown last night.
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 22, 2020).
#5: AJ Styles was officially traded to SmackDown
The first round of WWE's Intercontinental Championship tournament continued with AJ Styles facing Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown this week.
Styles has been a member of the RAW roster for quite a while now, and his appearance on the Blue brand was seen as a part of WWE's brand-to-brand invitational challenge.
People have been split over this idea after witnessing what happened when the "Wild Card" rule was enforced over both brands in recent memory.
But last night, it was confirmed that the two-time WWE Champion was traded to SmackDown, and as a result, there will be someone else from the Blue brand making his/her way to RAW next week.
Styles defeated his WrestleMania 34 opponent and moved to the next round of the IC title tournament, where he will face Elias in their Semi-Finals encounter.
After The Phenomenal One's career-altering encounter with The Undertaker at this year's WrestleMania, it became evident that he needed a change in scenario, and Friday Night SmackDown might just be the best place to start anew.
#4: Sonya Deville & Dolph Ziggler ruined Mandy Rose’s first Mixed Tag Team Match with Otis
WWE's cutest onscreen couple faced Sonya Deville & Dolph Ziggler in mixed tag team action this week.
Sonya Deville has shined in this feud ever since Fire & Desire broke up on WWE SmackDown. Sonya has been one step ahead of her former teammate in terms of in-ring dominance.
This trend remained unchanged last night, where Deville & Ziggler's tricks proved to be too much for Otis & Mandy Rose. The latter team shined in moments throughout the match, but Otis couldn't rescue his partner in time.
On top of that, Ziggler super-kicked his WrestleMania 36 opponent after the bout, just to add insult to injury, as they often say in WWE.
Otis may be the current MITB briefcase holder, but he has several responsibilities to tackle at the moment. On one hand, he is interlinked to Sonya and Mandy's conflict, and at the same time, Otis has to figure out a way to outsmart Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship.
This feud is far from over, but it will be interesting to see what WWE can come up with as Backlash looms in the distance.
#3: Bayley defeated and outsmarted Charlotte Flair in a classic "Champion vs. Champion" match
This week's WWE SmackDown episode had to be a huge deal for Bayley.
The SmackDown Women's Champion faced Charlotte Flair, who is the current NXT Women's Champion in WWE. Charlotte has been notorious for appearing on most brands and defeating Superstars that have the potential to become future Champions.
So it comes off as no surprise that WWE fans have resisted her current exploits on television.
The same was not the case on this week's SmackDown, where it was Bayley who outclassed Charlotte at her own game in singles competition.
Not only that, but Bayley defeated her opponent without the help of Sasha Banks by her side.
With Becky Lynch out of the picture, Charlotte is certainly the woman to beat on any brand, and Bayley's victory has certainly solidified her stance as the most dominant woman on SmackDown.
But Charlotte won't stop her rampage on Monday Night RAW. Because next week, Natalya, Nia Jax, and Charlotte Flair will wrestle in a triple threat match to become the number #1 contender for Asuka's RAW Women's Championship at WWE Backlash.
#2: Sheamus failed to crush Jeff Hardy's comeback in the main event
WWE has huge plans for Jeff Hardy's singles run at the moment. They ran weekly video packages for Hardy's eventual comeback on WWE SmackDown, and Sheamus was the one who objected to it right away.
After a recent brawl, both men were pitted against each other in the first round of WWE's Intercontinental Championship tournament.
The match itself was an enjoyable encounter between both Superstars. At one point, Sheamus had complete dominance over The Charismatic Enigma, but in the end, Hardy dodged a devastating Brogue Kick to roll up Sheamus for the victory.
It seemed like WWE was setting up The Celtic Warrior for a dominant run in 2020, and that is why Hardy didn't put down Sheamus in a definitive manner this week. After all, it would be a premature way to end Sheamus and Hardy's feud right away.
Sheamus looked as if he wasn't done with his rival anytime soon. This animosity could factor into next week's episode, where The Celtic Warrior might cost Hardy in the latter's Semi-Final bout with Daniel Bryan.
#1: Braun Strowman will defend his Universal Title against The Miz & John Morrison at WWE Backlash
This week's WWE SmackDown opened with another entertaining Dirt Sheet episode, where The Miz & John Morrison teased around with "extra" Firefly Fun House puppets and made fun of Braun Strowman at the same time.
A few moments later, The Miz was pressured into a singles match against Strowman, and as expected, The A-Lister got exactly what was coming to him at the hands of WWE's Monster Among Men.
Morrison proposed an interesting challenge after the match, where he dared Strowman to put it all on the line against both of them at Backlash.
We know that Strowman doesn't exactly have the best WWE record in handicap matches, but that is just a simple conflict to draw people towards this program. As The Dirt Sheet co-hosts stated at the beginning of the episode, a certain "Fiend" will take revenge against Strowman soon.
So it would come off as no surprise if The Miz & John Morrison have been pushed to the main event scene as filler opponents leading up to Braun Strowman's eventual showdown against "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
