WWE SmackDown Live Review - May 28, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

WWE Champion Kofi Kingston def. Kevin Owens (Non-title)

I assume this match was designed to definitively blow off their feud considering it likely won't be continuing post-Super ShowDown. Owens' pre-match promo was good, but he didn't say anything we haven't heard before from him. That said, this was another quality encounter between them. They received an ample amount of time and delivered. It was also refreshing for a wrestling show to open with a wrestling match for once.

Heavy Machinery Confronted SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan and Rowan

Bryan and Rowan calling SmackDown Live's tag team division a joke could not have been more accurate. There are virtually no other tandems on the blue brand, and while it's cool to see Heavy Machinery stepping up to the plate, they haven't been featured on WWE TV in over a month and a half. I'm looking forward to them eventually challenging for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but fans have no reason to take them seriously at the moment.

Mandy Rose def. Carmella

The last match these ladies had was thrown out due to outside interference, and I don't think anyone was clamoring for a rematch. On the bright side, this was kept short and sweet with Rose going over in clean fashion. This wasn't anything memorable in the slightest, but it is worth noting that Rose and Sonya Deville went up to Ember Moon backstage beforehand, so that could be Rose's next feud. I'm happy that there's other stories going on in the SmackDown women's division outside of the title picture, but where are Liv Morgan and Mickie James at? They were drafted to the blue brand in the Superstar Shake-up yet haven't been seen since.

Elias def. R-Truth to Win the 24/7 Championship

This was supposed to be a celebration of Shane McMahon, but aside from the video package, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Truth and Drake Maverick came out of the crowd and Truth beat Maverick in an impromptu match to retain the 24/7 title before Shane, Drew McIntyre and Elias took turns beating him up. Elias is officially a champion for the first time in WWE, but aside from that, this was a fairly flat segment.

SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley def. Lacey Evans (Non-title)

I realize that Bayley and Evans faced off in tag team action last week on SmackDown, but there was no other reason for this match. Evans is a Raw Superstar and will not be contending for the SmackDown Women's Championship. In fact, she's still feuding with Becky Lynch, so it wouldn't have made any sense for her to win here. The loss didn't help, either, especially considering she lost three straight matches last week. If nothing else, it was well-wrestled, and Evans and Charlotte Flair going at it afterward was interesting.

Roman Reigns and R-Truth def. 24/7 Champion Elias and Drew McIntyre; Truth def. Elias to Win the 24/7 Championship

Shane announced earlier in the evening that the 24/7 Championship wouldn't be defended until after the match, which completely defeats the purpose of the title. And as soon as he said that, you had to know that Truth would win the belt back after it was over. The tag match was serviceable yet formulaic with Reigns standing tall once again. How anyone could possibly be invested in this Reigns vs. Shane feud is beyond me. It's been dreadful. Hell, even McIntyre has been worse off because of it, and I find it hard to believe that it'll end at Super ShowDown. Prepare for many more weeks of this nonsense.

Overall Show

Although there is more to like on SmackDown than Raw these days, it feels like I'm watching a Raw rerun on Tuesday nights with this stupid Wild Card Rule. SmackDown is slowly returning to what it once was before the Brand Split was brought back as a Raw recap show, and most weeks, half of the roster isn't even featured. Where was Ali, Buddy Murphy, Finn Balor, Chad Gable, Morgan, Lars Sullivan, and Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev? Meanwhile, the stuff with Shane and Reigns is terrible TV, though the other half of this SmackDown show with Kingston vs. Owens, Bayley vs. Evans and the tag team segment was solid. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I could not care less about Super ShowDown coming up next Friday, so a lot of the build for the event does nothing for me.