WWE SmackDown takeaways: Tiffany Stratton retains; Alexa Bliss, Solo Sikoa win MITB spots
WWE SmackDown takeaways: Tiffany Stratton retains; Alexa Bliss, Solo Sikoa win MITB spots
WWE Friday Night SmackDown on May 16 took place at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., and featured a women's title match between Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax.
This week, we saw Fraxiom continue their hot streak by defeating DIY to earn a title shot against the Street Profits, R-Truth land a match against John Cena at Saturday Night's Main Event, Drew McIntyre accept a challenge from Damian Priest, and the first round of Money in the Bank qualifiers.
Check out the top takeaways from this episode:
Tension rises between Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu
Kicking off the show was a promo segment featuring Solo Sikoa, United States champion Jacob Fatu, and newcomer Jeff Cobb, who was dubbed "JC" by Sikoa (officially named JC Mateo). Despite Sikoa leading the way to the ring and standing front and center on the mic, the crowd chanted for Fatu.
Sikoa introduced JC as the man who helped keep the US title in the Bloodline. Then the mic got yanked away when Sikoa started to recite Fatu's taglines. The champ can speak for himself, after all. But when Fatu got to his "yadada mean" line, Sikoa hilariously joined in with him. Sikoa then wanted to hear something from Fatu he hasn't heard in a while.
Fatu said, "I love you, Solo," but it wasn't in the enthusiastic manner he used to say it. Sikoa playfully asked him to do it the old way, but quickly ramped up to a sterner tone, along with a push. Fatu removed his sunglasses and appeared to bed fed up with Sikoa, but then LA Knight's music hit. Knight dragged JC out of the ring, got a few licks in, and then escaped before the numbers game could catch up.
Eventually, Fatu is going to snap on Sikoa, and the pop for that will be insane. This was a solid opening segment because Sikoa is great on the mic when he starts acting silly, and we saw a lot of that here. When that snap eventually happens, expect to see Fatu vs. JC first, which will be an incredible match.
Alexa Bliss wins Money in the Bank qualifier
The first match of the night was a women's Money in the Bank qualifier between Alexa Bliss, Chelsea Green and Michin.
These triple-threat matches provide an opportunity for creativity, and the crowd appreciated what these ladies offered with "this is awesome" chants. We saw a double Long Back Attack from Michin, but that wasn't enough to get the job done. Bliss became the first to qualify for MITB by hitting the Sister Abigail DDT on Green for the pin.
This one wasn't a surprise. Even Joe Tessitore commented on Bliss' two big returns this year during her entrance. Despite the great work Green has recently done with the women's US title and Michin improving as well, fans would probably riot if Bliss didn't get the win here.
The Miz ruins another Carmelo Hayes vs. Aleister Black match
It appears we're getting what I hoped for in recent weeks: a series of matches between Carmelo Hayes and Aleister Black. Hayes even directly addressed it (not my previous takeaway column, unfortunately), as he said he and Black were in the playoffs.
With two of the roster's most talented wrestlers repeatedly going at it, who could get upset? Well, fans could if these matches keep getting ruined by outside interference from The Miz.
For the second time in a row, The Miz directly led to a premature ending to a Hayes vs. Black match.
The match was cooking. The fans were chanting. But then, The Miz happened.
I get it, though. It prolongs the series and helps form a story. Hopefully, wherever the story takes us, it will lead to a clean match between Hayes and Black, which will be sure to tear the house down.
Solo Sikoa qualifies for Money in the Bank
The second MITB qualifier of the night was for the men's side of things, between Rey Fenix, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso. This one wasn't as predictable as the women's match earlier.
Fenix and Uso worked together to take Sikoa out early, but quickly broke that alliance after he was down outside of the ring. Sikoa returned to regain control a few moments later. As the back-and-forth ramped up, the referee missed a rollup pin attempt by Fenix on Sikoa. Everyone, including Wade Barrett on commentary, wondered why the ref fell asleep at the wheel.
A few moments after Jacob Fatu caused interference, Sikoa hit Fenix with a Samoan Spike out of nowhere for the pin to qualify for MITB. Immediately after the match, LA Knight appeared again to attack JC, which led to Nick Aldis creating a match to take place on the spot.
While it would have been nice to see Fenix enter the MITB fray as a high-flying thriller, it's also nice to see things make sense. Sikoa had support from Fatu and JC outside of the ring, so naturally, the numbers game should help him find the victory, and it did. To be clear, it would have been better if JC and Fatu were banned from ringside, but since that wasn't the case, heel tactics prevailed.
Jeff Cobb, aka JC Mateo, wins impromptu debut
JC Mateo, formerly known as Jeff Cobb, had his debut match on SmackDown take place against LA Knight immediately after the men's MITB qualifier.
This was a grueling match in which JC showed off his power and durability while dealing with Knight's explosiveness. He also broke out a standing moonsault, which drew a shocked reaction.
Knight was hunting for a finish, but of course, he was distracted by Sikoa and Fatu, and decided to launch himself onto both with a springboard crossbody. The distraction left an opening for JC to recover, and he was able to catch Knight with a Tour of the Islands, his twisting powerslam finish.
It was good to see JC Mateo (I'm not feeling this new name at all, for what it's worth), get plenty of time to work against a well-established name for his debut. He looked great, and the win helps solidify the trio of him, Sikoa, and Fatu as a real force – even if it's short-lived, as the Fatu fracture is very apparent.
Tiffany Stratton retains title
Once again, Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax met with the Women's Championship on the line. The match served as the main event of this week's episode.
Despite the frustration from some online ahead of this, Stratton and Jax turned in probably their best match together yet. This match also featured something that hasn't happened before: a kick out of The Prettiest Moonsault Ever.
Naomi attempted to interfere in the match. Her music hit, and she marched to the ring with a chair in hand, but was promptly chased away by Jade Cargill. The chair was left behind, though. After Jax failed to get a pin after hitting an Annihilator, she went for the chair while the referee was distracted, but Stratton countered by kicking the chair into her face, and then hit another moonsault finisher, this time for the pin.
You have to give it up to Stratton and Jax here. It wasn't a perfect match, to be clear. There were a few timing issues, but it was still good, and the crowd stayed invested. The Annihilator connecting was a legit false finish that popped the crowd, and Jax's reaction to the rope break was great. Some may be over the idea of seeing Stratton and Jax go at it, but they can put on solid matches together. To the IWC's point, though, let's keep them separated for a while now.
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