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Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Paul Heyman kicked off SmackDown, and after a recap of their encounter with RK-Bro from last week, The Tribal Chief said that The Bloodline would ascend to the Greatest of All-time tonight.
Heyman compared Reigns to legends like John Cena and Brock Lesnar and said that The Usos will join him at the top of the food chain by beating RK-Bro to become the Undisputed Tag Team Champions.
Heyman even added that if The Usos did not win tonight, they would not be coming back to the "island of relevancy." Reigns wished his cousins luck and we saw Sami Zayn in a Bloodline t-shirt, joining in on the celebration before heading out for the first match.
WWE SmackDown Results (May 20th, 2022): Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Sami Zayn started off with a headlock but Shinsuke Nakamura reversed the hold and got some kicks in. Nakamura got a knee drop but took a clothesline. Sami Zayn was caught on the top rope before dropping Nakamura but the latter dropped Zayn as well before he could hit a move.
Zayn dodged the Kinshasa but took an elbow before we headed for a break. Back on SmackDown, Nakamura got a rope-assisted sunset bomb before Zayn tried to run away. The latter managed to hit a Michinoku Driver on the outside before trying to get the count-out but Nakamura got back to the ring.
Shinsuke Nakamura sent Sami Zayn into the timekeeper's area and then set up for the Kinshasa, waiting for Zayn to get back in the ring. He barely beat the referee's count but took the Kinshasa to the face before going down for the three.
Result: Shinsuke Nakamura def. Sami Zayn
Grade: B
Happy Corbin was out next on SmackDown and he gloated about hurting his former best friend. He posed with the Andre the Giant trophy before running the footage back from last week after mentioning that he was fined for it.
Corbin called Madcap Moss ungrateful and said that he really was The Big Bald Wolf before smashing the Andre the Giant trophy, but only the base of it, before posing with the top statuette.
Ludwig Kaiser and his comical German accent was back to introduce Gunther, who was set to face Drew Gulak next on SmackDown.
Gunther vs. Drew Gulak on SmackDown
The match began during the commercials and Gunther was in control early on, tossing Drew Gulak around the ring and hitting some devastating chops.
Gulak tried for a chop of his own but got struck down right away. Gunther hit Gulak with more chops before driving him into the mat with a powerbomb and picking up the win.
Result: Gunther def. Drew Gulak
After the match, Gunther locked in the Boston Crab on Gulak. Ricochet came out to stop him, but Gunther and Kaiser fled the ring.
Grade: C
A man who looked suspiciously like LA Knight from NXT walked into Adam Pearce's office and introduced himself as Max Dupri, CEO of some strange talent agency. He claimed that he had a contract with WWE but Pearce knew nothing about it.
It turned out that Sonya Deville had made the deal when she was still in charge and Adam Pearce was probably going to have to go along with it.
Backstage, RK-Bro was very confident about the tag team title unification match tonight.
Shotzi and Aliyah were arguing backstage when Raquel Rodriguez came in and Shotzi got in her face and they headed for a match.
Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shotzi on SmackDown
Raquel Rodriguez lifted Shotzi and took her to the corner before lifting her with one arm and dropping her on the mat. Shotzi came back with a kick but was dropped on the turnbuckles. She climbed on Rodriguez's back and tried for a hold but was driven into the corner.
Shotzi got some big kicks but her diving Rana was caught into a Fallaway Slam. Rodriguez knocked Shotzi around the ring before before getting the Chingona Bomb for the win!
Result: Raquel Rodriguez def. Shotzi
Grade: B-
Xavier Woods vs. Butch on SmackDown
Xavier Woods had the early advantage and sent Butch to the floor before getting a dive. Butch got some moves of his own and locked in a headlock before Woods broke free and hit the Honor Roll.
Woods tried for a springboard move but caught a big strike before going down. The King of the Ring came in with the Backwoods off a counter and got a small package cover for the win.
Result: Xavier Woods def. Butch
Butch attacked Woods after the match on the ramp before his team dragged him away.
Grade: B-
After a break, Woods said that he wanted to pick a partner to join him and Kofi Kingston and face Fight Night in a six-man tag match.
We learned that following Sasha Banks and Naomi's walkout incident, the two had been suspended indefinitely and there would be a tournament to crown the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions soon.
RK-Bro vs. The Usos - Tag Team Title Unification Match on SmackDown
Riddle and Jimmy Uso kicked off the match and The Original Bro got the first few takedowns. Riddle took Jimmy into the corner before the latter finally came back with some strikes. Riddle seemed to have had an injury as the match was paused and we headed for a break.
Back on SmackDown, we learned that Riddle had a bruised hip as the bout continued. Riddle was isolated but managed to make the tag to Randy Orton who came in and got the RKO on Jimmy for a near fall.
Jey Uso came in and so did Riddle, with the latter hitting a senton but taking a neck breaker from Uso. Riddle tried for a top rope RKO but Roman Reigns came in and dropped him while the ref was looking away. Jey got the frog splash off the distraction and picked up the win.
Result: The Usos def. RK-Bro and became the Undisputed Tag Team Champions
RK-Bro were being brutalized by Reigns and the Usos after the match, and The Tribal Chief set Riddle up on the announce desk before Jey hit him with a frog splash through it.
Grade: A
Episode rating: A
We got a great opening match from Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura and the debut of Max Dupri on SmackDown tonight. The Usos picked up the undisputed tag team titles with a controversial finish while Sasha Banks and Naomi were suspended indefintely.
Watch: Sportskeeda Wrestling discusses WWE Friday Nights Smackdown episode on 'Smack Talk'.
