Date: 05/22	3:00 PM
Views: 730

This week's SmackDown Live is the first SmackDown after MITB 2019 on May 19, 2019! Enjoy Ian's recap of the latest show.

Smackdown opens with Shane backstage. Elias walks in. He apologizes and says he put all his attention into his musical performance at Money in the Bank. Shane says he'll be in Elias' corner tonight.

Kofi and Xavier come out.

Kofi: "Tonight is a very special night!"

Woods: "Ladies and gentlemen, after six long, hard, cold weeks, tonight marks the return of Big E!"

"So without any further ado, I give to you... (Woods leads someone out covered in a sheet) Drumroll please!"

They pull off the blanket to reveal someone who's clearly not Big E."

Woods: "You are clearly not Big E! You look like Big E got stuck in the dryer!"

Kofi: "And why are your knees so ashy? Going to start a fire with those! Get out! Wait, come back and take the drapery! Get out!"

Woods: "Sorry. Live TV, you all know there's always something going down. Without further ado, introducing the real Big E!"

This time, the real Big E comes out. There are presents and a "Welcome back, Big E!" banner in the ring.

E: "Oh wow. Let me smell you. (smells Woods) You smell good. Kofi, underarm."

Woods: "He's not medically cleared to wrestle, but he is medically cleared to sniff."

E takes a sniff. "How I missed you guys!"

Woods: "We missed you. And let me tell you, you've been crushing it on Twitter."

E: "I'm going to send out a tweet right now!"

Woods: "Look, I told you, Becky's mom is taken!"

E: "But I want her!"

Kofi: "Come on guys, they want me to be serious now. Look, this Sunday, Brock Lesnar became Mr. Money in the Bank."

Woods: "But more importantly, Kofi defeated Kevin Owens to remain your WWE World Heavyweight Champion!"

Kofi: "But tonight is not about me, it's about Big E, baby!"

Owens comes out. Sami Zayn follows.

Sami: "Hey Kev! Can you believe this absolute nonsense? Big E gets a return, how long were you out? Six weeks? I was out for over nine months and I didn't get anything when I got back."

E: "He makes a good point. We didn't get anything. Maybe we should get something. We're going to give you the same thing Kevin Owens got at Money in the Bank, and that's"

They all harmonize on the word "nothing". Owens walks off.

Sami: "You see what you did? The only reason Kevin didn't win in five minutes flat is because he was distracted by the fact that his best friend got a beatdown. This celebration is disgusting. You continue to placate the WWE Universe with your Booty-Os and your pancakes when they should be taking accountability for what a toxic environment they've created. They should (cut off by trombone blast) That's not (cut off by another trombone blast) That's okay, I (cut off by more trombone) Look, that's real funny. Go ahead. Because this night is not going to end with happiness for you. Because I'm going to give you the beating of your career, and you'll be lucky to walk out at all."

Kofi: "Don't let the smiles fool you. When it's time to throw down, we throw down. And not only am I going to walk out, I'm going to walk right through you."

E: "Because!"

The crowd finishes the phrase.

Backstage, Carmella is looking for R-Truth. So is everyone else. She finds him in a wig, and tells him the costume isn't working. He says he needs her help to sneak out.

Match One: Ali vs. Andrade

Lockup, Andrade presses Ali to the corner, break, lockup, Andrade presses Ali to the ropes, Ali with a whip, Andrade does the Tranquilo pose, Ali tosses him to the floor, kicks him in the face as he tries to get back in the ring, Andrade with a clothesline for two, kick, arm breaker, back suplex, blocked, Ali with a reverse 'rana for two, Andrade with a punch, Ali with an elbow from the corner, top rope crossbody, blocked with a dropkick, commercial.

Back on air, Ali rolls out of something, hits a Satellite DDT, Andrade rolls to the floor, Ali with a suicide dive to the back, followed by a suicide seated senton, Andrade tosses Ali into the barricade, rolls back into the ring, ref counts to 8, Andrade with stomps, snap suplex, into another, body slam into the turnbuckle, both men to the floor, Andrade tosses Ali into the barricade, breaks the count, chop, toss into the ring post, toss into the timekeeper's area, rolls back into the ring, Ali breaks the count at 9, Andrade with stomps in the corner, double knees to the back of the head for two, Ali with a rollup for three.

Winner: Ali

Backstage, Carmella has given Truth a full drag makeover. He still has the championship, though. He says something's missing, and she brings in a bra.

They show a video package for Lars Sullivan.

Match Two: Mandy Rose vs. Carmella

Carmella comes out with R-Truth, which I suspect will become relevant later.

Lockup, Carmella with a Thesz Press, punches, Sonya pulls Mandy out of the ring, pep talks her, Carmella walks down, rolls Mandy into the ring, superkick, Sonya distracts, Carmella hip tosses her into the ring, mounted punches, Mandy with a rollup for two, Carmella with a superkick, the locker room empties after R-Truth.

Match Result: No Contest

Truth grabs Carmella on his back and runs off.

Not-Charly asks Bayley about her night on Sunday. She says she's moved past the hugs, and she wants everyone to bring their best.

Truth and Carmella are continuing to run away. They accidentally pop into the women's locker room, then keep running, past Sami Zayn.

Match Two: WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Sami Zayn (non-title)

Backstage, Big E's been attacked. He says it was Owens.

Kofi goes after Sami, clothesline on the floor, rolls Sami into the ring, punches, stomps in the corner, Sami presses Kofi to the floor, tosses him into the ring steps, back into the ring, stomps, stomps in the corner, Kofi with a springboard dropkick, commercial.

Back on air, Kofi is on the top rope and Sami is punching him, superplex for two, Kofi with punches, running forearm in the corner, whip, Sami with a boot, Kofi with a double knee takedown, Sami goes for a Blue Thunder Bomb, reversed into Trouble in Paradise for three.

Winner: Kofi Kingston

Paul Heyman comes out and taunts Kofi with the Money in the Bank contract. Dolph Ziggler attacks Kofi from behind. FUCKING YAWN.

Dolph tosses Kofi into the ring post, tree of woe, gouges the eyes, toss into the table, sticks his head in a chair and tosses it into the announce table, then stomps the hell out of Kofi with the chair still on top of him. Then he Pillmanizes his neck. Kofi is carried off on a stretcher. Kofi gets up off the stretcher by the time they reach the stage and walks off under his own power.

After a commercial, they announce that Kofi is being examined, but no one is allowed in.

Roman is backstage in the parking lot. Elias plays him his doom song from atop a production truck.

Match Three: Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch and Smackdown Women's Champion Bayley vs. Charlotte and Lacey Evans

Before the match, Bayley and Becky playfully talk trash and acknowledge that they'll probably face off in a winner-take-all match later.

Match begins during a commercial. Back on air, Bayley is tossing Charlotte's head into the corner, Charlotte with a punch to the gut, toss to the corner, chop, Bayley drops Charlotte's head across the turnbuckle, shoulder tackle, misses a knee, Charlotte boots her in the back of the head, stomps, hair pull choke in the ropes, Lacey in, stomps, recliner/keylock combo, Charlotte in, stomps in the corner, whip, reversed, Charlotte rolls to the apron, Bayley kicks her off the apron, Charlotte blocks a tag by pulling Becky off the apron, shoulder tackles to Bayley in the corner, Lacey in, stomps, Charlotte in, tussle, Bayley with a clothesline, Charlotte goes to pull Becky off the apron, blocked, Becky tags in, boot, clothesline to the floor, missile dropkick back in the ring, lariat kick, punch, top rope battering ram, t-bone suplex, blocks Lacey's interference and tosses her to the floor, Charlotte with a big boot, Figure Four, blocked, Becky with a rollup for two, Charlotte reverses into a rollup with tights for two, Becky locks in the Disarmer, Lacey with the Women's Right, Becky rolls into Bayley, who tags in, knocks Lacey off the apron, rollup for three.

Winners: Bayley and Becky Lynch

Backstage, Jinder attacks Truth and rolls him up, but Truth kicks out at two and they keep running for the parking lot. The B-Team attack, but they can't agree on who should pin him, and Truth uses the distraction to beat them both down and continue running.

Not-Renee asks Dolph why he did what he did. He says he's going to answer everyone at once, then grabs the mic from her hand and walks toward the ring. "I know, I know. If I was out there right now, I would boo me too, I know. But this goes way back. This goes back when Ali got hurt, and Kofi got an opportunity, and he stepped up, and he knocked it out of the park, and it should have been me. Kofi jumped through hoop after hoop after hoop, and he ran the gauntlet. And after eleven years of earning everything, he became an overnight success, and it should've been me. Kofi walked into the Chamber, the Elimination Chamber, and he walked out the other side a star and it should've been me! And he walked into Wrestlemania and won the WWE Championship while I sat at home, and it should've been me! On that night, he was the better wrestler, he was the better man, and he won the title and it should've been me! And every day since winning the WWE Championship, he's outperformed every critic and earned everyone's respect, and you all respect him and you all admire him, and it should've been me! That's why I did what I did. I had to do it, I had no choice. And at Super Showdown, I'm going to beat Kofi for the WWE Championship because I have to. And I will become WWE Champion, and each one of you will admire me and respect me, and you will love me! Your WWE Champion. This should be me."

They show a video package for HHH vs. Randy Orton. Glad they did that, otherwise it would seem like they threw this match together with no story just to pop an audience with no deeper understanding of the product.

The highlight of the video package was where they showed Orton winning his first world championship without having Chris Benoit anywhere on the screen by having the three-count be audio only.

Shane comes out and introduces Elias.

Main Event: Roman Reigns vs. Elias

Elias tries to attack Roman at the bell, Roman punches him repeatedly, then punches him on the floor, drive-by, rolls him into the ring, goes after Shane, climbs back in the ring, Elias kicks the rope to trip him and covers him for two, stomps, punch, toss into the ring post, commercial.

Back on air, Reigns with clotheslines in the corner, calls for a Superman Punch, Shane grabs Roman's foot, Elias with a knee in the corner, Roman with punches in the corner, sets Elias up top, punch, fireman's carry, blocked with elbows, Elias gets Roman in position for an Electric Chair, transitions to a sit-out powerbomb for two, trading punches, Elias with a knee, Roman with a Superman Punch for two as Shane sets Elias' foot on the bottom rope, Roman hits Shane with a drive-by, Elias with a baseball slide, tosses Roman into the barricade, then into the steel steps, rolls him into the ring, top rope elbow drop for two, mounted punches, Shane hands Elias a guitar, distracts the ref, Roman hits a spear for three.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Shane attacks Roman after the bell, grabs the guitar, Roman hits him with a Superman Punch, grabs the guitar, threatens Shane with it, Drew McIntyre runs in and hits a Claymore. Shane and Drew celebrate over Roman's prone body as Smackdown goes off the air.

Holy shit, Truth made it through the whole show with the 24/7 Title still around his waist?