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WWE SmackDown has generally been good in terms of quality compared to Monday Night RAW. The tradition continued this week as the Blue brand delivered an entertaining episode just before WrestleMania Backlash.
The latest edition of SmackDown may have dragged on a little during various instances. But as a whole, the show has featured a solid buildup on the Road to WrestleMania Backlash, mostly thanks to the Roman Reigns saga.
Which show did you think was better this week, RAW or SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from WWE SmackDown (May 14, 2021).
#5 Cesaro looked strong amidst Roman Reigns-Jimmy Uso drama in WWE
Inner conflicts can be WWE's biggest strengths, and the Anoa'i family storyline is a shining example of the same. This week, SmackDown kicked off with a segment between Jey Uso, Roman Reigns (w/ Paul Heyman), and Jimmy Uso.
Jimmy still didn't seem to be on board with acknowledging The Tribal Chief, and the latter had a specific plan in mind. Since Jimmy thought he could be on the same level as The Head of the Table, Reigns prompted him to prove the same and beat Cesaro in the main event.
But later in the night, Reigns ambushed The Swiss Cyborg during the match, leading to a disqualification finish, which indirectly halted Jimmy's goal to stand out on his own. Thanks to the family conflict involving Reigns and the Uso twins, Cesaro eventually got the upper hand in the post-match brawl.
As The Swiss Superman attacked Jey Uso, Roman Reigns didn't help out his right-hand man at the end of the night. This just proved Jimmy Uso's point about Reigns' selfish interests.
Although The Tribal Chief is still heavily favored to defeat Cesaro at WrestleMania Backlash, one has to wonder if the Samoan family conflict will lead to a significant development this Sunday.
#4 Shinsuke Nakamura stole King Corbin's crown on WWE SmackDown
Shinsuke Nakamura and King Corbin wrestled each other in a singles match during this week's WWE SmackDown. What initially seemed like a filler match led to a bizarre development between the two men.
As Corbin successfully pinned Nakamura to win the match, the latter's frustrations prompted him to attack the victor with a Kinshasa. The Japanese superstar even stole Corbin's crown and then posed with it in some of the weirdest ways possible.
In the long run, perhaps this entire subplot revolving around a crown could result in a stipulation match to determine the "true king" between King Corbin and The King of Strong Style. It's been almost two years since Corbin won the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Chad Gable, and his stint with the crown could end soon, thanks to Nakamura.
Many believe that Corbin needs to change his gimmick, and WWE may have recently realized the same. Because other than a gimmick change, what else could King Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura's silly crown warfare possibly accomplish on SmackDown?
#3 Rey Mysterio followed in his son's footsteps on WWE SmackDown
With a legendary father like Rey Mysterio, one would think that Dominik has to follow in the former's footsteps throughout his WWE career. However, SmackDown temporarily reversed that trope this week.
Dominik Mysterio had previously defeated Dolph Ziggler in the "throwback" edition of SmackDown. This time around, Rey Mysterio fought him in a singles match. Just like his son, Rey picked up a victory over Ziggler on the Blue brand.
The Showoff's overconfidence has led to his downfall on two consecutive occasions, and he could very well lose the SmackDown Tag Team Championship alongside Robert Roode at WrestleMania Backlash.
After all, Rey and Dominik Mysterio are the favorites heading into their SmackDown Tag Team Championship match against Roode and Ziggler at Sunday's pay-per-view. The "first-ever father-son tag team champions" narrative has been heavily advertised by WWE in recent memory, which is exactly why Rey and Dominik will likely become the new champions soon.
Alternatively, WWE could delay this significant outcome and execute it in front of a physically present live crowd later this year.
#2 The WWE Intercontinental Championship scenario will lead to a fatal-four-way showdown next week
The main WWE Intercontinental Championship storyline revolved around Apollo Crews and Big E not too long ago. However, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens' WrestleMania feud has now been added to the Intercontinental title picture as well.
During this week's WWE SmackDown, Apollo Crews presented the Nigerian Medal of Honor to Commander Azeez. Starting with Big E, other stars entered the fray and interrupted the ceremony.
A brawl erupted on SmackDown as Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens appeared with their own agendas. While Big E emerged dominantly from the brawl, Crews escaped at the last second.
Later in the night, Apollo Crews approached Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to demand justice for what happened in the ring. However, Pearce announced a fatal-four-way contest between Big E, Crews, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens for next week's episode.
The WWE official only booked a multi-man match when Deville slightly mocked him about the same in front of Commander Azeez and the Intercontinental Champion. As a result of this development, Pearce warned Deville never to undermine him in front of other superstars.
Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce's tense partnership has now led to unfavorable outcomes for champions on both RAW and SmackDown. Their conflict often results in random consequences for WWE's main roster talent, which certainly adds more spontaneity to the current product.
#1 Tamina won her first major WWE title on SmackDown
WWE is all about moments, and Tamina finally got rewarded in the spotlight for her efforts. Veterans are often credited with putting over younger talent, but it seems as though Tamina has been doing that for most of her WWE career.
This week, she won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship alongside Natalya, bringing an end to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler's 103-day reign.
As many have pointed out already, Tamina had only won the 24/7 title before her latest accomplishment. A 24/7 title victory isn't considered a huge moment, except for someone like R-Truth, who will always be remembered for winning that title way too frequently.
Tamina and Natalya's feud with Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler isn't a masterpiece in terms of in-ring action and storytelling. Despite Tamina receiving her well-deserved WWE moment, there's no telling if the women's tag team division will drastically improve during her reign alongside Natalya.
But WWE's strategy to execute this title change on SmackDown instead of WrestleMania Backlash was a smart decision. After all, if this match took place on Sunday's event, Tamina's major accomplishment would have been overshadowed by the top world title matches on the card.
On the subject of WrestleMania Backlash, how excited are you for the upcoming pay-per-view on a scale of 1-10? Sound off in the comments section below.
Do catch the latest edition of 'Smack Talk' in the video linked above, as the legendary Dutch Mantell joins Rick Ucchino and Jeremy Bennett to recap this week's WWE SmackDown.
