WWE SmackDown results, highlights (May 23): Wyatt Sicks return, ruin tag-team title main event
The go-home "WWE SmackDown" before Saturday Night's Main Event heavily focused on the continuation of the Money In the Bank ladder matches and the tag-team division. Regarding the latter, Savannah, Georgia, was treated to a surprise return at the end of the night.
In typical 2025 WWE fashion, however, it was more of what we've become accustomed to seeing.
Viral, viral, viral
I'm almost at a loss for words after this one, for good and bad, but it's about to come off pretty poorly. The Wyatt Sicks are back, and ruined what was once again a stellar match — the main event — between the Street Profits and Fraxiom. This time in a WWE Tag Team Title match.
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It was simply maddening to see The Street Profits retain by disqualification when attacked by The Wyatt Sicks. If Triple H's awful obsession with completely ruining great matches with these types of ending wasn't enough, it was with this act, which fizzled out mightily the last time it was seen — after losing to The Final Testament, mind you. The latter of which doesn't even exist anymore. The Wyatt Sicks failed so tremendously that WWE randomly moved them from "WWE Raw" to "WWE SmackDown."
Listen, I like and very much appreciate the type of acts that The Wyatt Sicks are, but when they don't work, they don't work. And there is absolutely zero reason to believe they'll work again here or become tag team champions. Honestly, "WWE Raw" needs them even more than it did when they were around because of how loaded "WWE SmackDown's" tag team ranks are.
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So, why did this happen? Because today is the late Windham Rotunda's (Bray Wyatt) birthday, and there was the nod to that in the closing shot with the birthday cake in the ring. That was an undeniably and incredibly wonderful gesture. For this type of spot, and where it came to close, the show was poor timing, though. There's no way around it. We have to be brutally honest. It was only there for the moment, at the expense of a fantastic match.
Sadly, at this rate, that's how I will remember this year in WWE: Consistently ruining great matches with awful endings.
Thankfully, other tag team-related matches had more to like overall.
👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑
It's easy to forget how good Tommaso Ciampa and Chris Sabin are as singles competitors because they've been so caught up in the tag team scene. But make no mistake, these guys can go one-on-one, and their match on this show was a firm reminder. It was excellent.
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The match came after a great video package from DIY, and there were brief outside shenanigans from Alex Shelley and Johnny Gargano in each corner. Neither mattered, though. Instead, Gargano's wife Candice LeRae returned and reunited with the duo by getting a hold of Sabin, allowing Ciampa's knee to win. This was some good, needed progression in the tag team saga on "WWE SmackDown," and most importantly, something different. I'd love to see Shelley in a singles match next, but I'm curious to see where this goes with DIY.
Who's got the money?
I'm pleasantly surprised Giulia qualified for the women's Money In the Bank ladder match by beating Charlotte Flair and United States Champion Zelina Vega. However, the latter was problematic because Vega took the pin after a Northern Lights Bomb.
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Why does WWE insist on having mid-card champions in matches like this after all these years? A blind man can see that the champion will never win, and occasionally, is the victim of the pin, which further devalues their title and champion status. Their involvement in the match is enough as is, making the title they hold seem not good enough. I just don't get it, especially when plenty of other options exist.
The match kicked off the night after some teases between the Women's WWE Champion Tiffany Stratton and Alexa Bliss. Their brief promo was a fantastic reminder of how natural Bliss is on the mic. I'm all on board with Stratton. She's excellent, but her mic work sometimes feels very forced and overly scripted, especially opposite someone like Bliss.
In the match, Giulia felt like a big star out of the gate and wasn't afraid of Flair, which was kind of the story throughout. There were some nice little dynamics here, ranging from someone trying to pin both of the other two when down, to great double spots like Flair's moonsault. A sequence near the end saw Giulia caught in the Figure-4 before taking a Code Red, with each of her opponents stopping the other from beating her. This was quality stuff. I just wouldn't have booked Vega into the match, let alone eating the pin.
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One must think Flair will now prevent Bliss from winning the ladder match after the subtle jab Bliss took before the match.
There has been much less story around the men's Money In the Bank match so far. However, the more I think about it, having the winner cash in and dethrone Cena like Edge did all those years back would be awesome. It doesn't even matter who did it, but there are undeniably some fun elements to play with there.
Between LA Knight, Aleister Black and Shinsuke Nakamura, Black was flowing with flawless execution in every sequence of this match. Despite his MVP-like effort, Knight stole the win when he pinned Nakamura off a Black Mass. You know it had to be one of those two winning, and I love Knight, so I'm not complaining. But I do wonder what this means for Black's immediate future.
👍 FRIDAY NIGHT FIRE 👍
1. Jacob Fatu and JC Mateo beat Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix in a tag team match. The slow breakaway from Solo Sikoa keeps unfolding for Fatu. The U.S. champ explained why he didn't trust Mateo before the match, and doesn't need their help. At this point, I'm leaning toward Sikoa and Mateo turning on Fatu next week, and I'll explain why as we continue down the lineup here.
2. While I don't like R-Truth vs. Cena, or Cena's current run in general, Truth cut a pretty solid promo on "WWE SmackDown" to preview the match. It was a bit more serious than the usual comedy we get from him. Who would have expected that one of Cena's final opponents as the Undisputed WWE Champion would be someone older than him? (R-Truth is 53, Cena 48.)
3. It was good to see a Bianca Belair video package, talking recovery and the past six months. She'll be back on "WWE SmackDown" for the first time since her WrestleMania 41 loss.
👎 DOWN & OUT 👎
1. After Vega's loss, her feud with Chelsea Green and friends continued backstage — ot only that feud, but also Michin's. Other people can be slotted into the U.S. title scene, Triple H. Ultimately, The Secret Hervice lost to Michin and B-Fab as a result. I've also realized that Alba Fyre joining Green and Piper Niven never had an explanation — then Green got a random title shot against Vega for Saturday Night's Main Event. Despite only losing since. Amazing stuff.
2. The "This is awesome" chants have officially become overused. Fans should let it be known when they enjoy good matches, but I feel like we hear them all the time now. I remember when they only broke out for an epic instant classic. It's a nit-pick, but hey, this is my recap. Leave me alone.
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3. John Cena's very brief recap video of his title reign thus far was immediately — and I mean immediately — followed by a pop-up Arby's ad. Seeing some beefy little sandwiches after Cena's mug was as hilarious as it was ridiculous.
4. Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre brawled all night. As said last week, there's nothing new to this, man. These guys couldn't be any more directionless right now.
5. Pro wrestling often gets laughed at as a soap opera, and when you see things like the Legado Del Fantasma video, that's exactly why.
Now, this almost isn't fair because it's very much a case of preference. It had great production and played into the AAA style, as it set up the trio's upcoming match. It just wasn't for me, and I know I'm not alone. In general, the act has grown stale for me as is.
6. Look back at what I said about the women's Money In the Bank qualifier match on this "WWE SmackDown" and apply it to the men's side. Because Fatu will be in the final qualifier match next week. A lot has been built around Carmelo Hayes recently, and in Fatu's match, they'll be joined by Andrade. So expect Hayes to win that.
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This is clearly using the ladder match as a vehicle to break them apart, but the U.S. title does not need to be involved.
👑 Without the triple treat matches, this "WWE SmackDown" is hurting very, very badly. I give this show a Crown score of: 5/10. 👑
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