Here are your quick and dirty, editorial-free WWE Smackdown Live results for May 23, 2017. This week’s episode featured Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship celebration, as well as the confirmation of the participants in this year’s Money in the Bank match.
Be back here tomorrow for the full Best and Worst of Smackdown column.
WWE Smackdown Live Results:
— The show opened with Shane McMahon coming out to make some announcements about the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view. He said that Randy Orton would be invoking his rematch clause, and will challenge Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. He then introduced the five participants in this year’s Money in the Bank ladder match. AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, and Kevin Owens came out one at a time, but when Owens came out, Shane said there was a mistake, and then brought out the actual fifth competitor: Shinsuke Nakamura.
Owens took issue with some of the participants in Money in the Bank, and accused Shane of favoritism. Shane then made Owens the sixth person in the match. Corbin said no one else stands a chance against him, so Shane may as well give him the briefcase now. The others took exception to that and rebutted. Shane made a rematch between Zayn and Corbin, and made a main event tag team match of Ziggler and Owens against Styles and Nakamura.
1. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair defeated Carmella and Natalya. James Ellsworth attempted to interfere, but Naomi kicked him off the apron, allowing Lynch to lock in the Disarmer on Carmella and get the submission.
2. Sami Zayn defeated Baron Corbin. Zayn rolled up Corbin and pinned him in less than a minute. Corbin went berserk and destroyed Zayn after the match. Sami was taken out of the arena on a stretcher.
— Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers had their Punjabi Celebration for Mahal becoming the WWE Champion. He said everyone doubted them, but he proved them wrong, and he celebrates this title for India. He finished the celebration by speaking in Punjabi, then posed with the title as fireworks went off.
3. Tyler Breeze defeated Jey Uso. Jey was complaining about having to wrestle Breezango again when Fandango sprayed him from behind with a water pistol. Jey went after Fandango and Breeze rolled him up and pinned him in seconds.
4. Fandango defeated Jimmy Uso. Breeze taunted Jey on the outside with fuzzy handcuffs. Jey chased Tyler into the ring, distracting Jimmy and allowing Fandango to roll him up for the pin.
— Breezango then challenged the Usos for a tag title rematch, and the Usos accepted and said let’s do it right now.
5. Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) defeated Breezango. Fandango didn’t see a blind tag and hit the Last Dance legdrop on Jimmy Uso, then Jey Uso splashed him immediately to get the pin and retain.
— The five non-champions in the women’s division complained to Shane McMahon backstage until he announced next week would be an elimination Fatal Five-Way match to determine a No. 1 contender.
6. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens. Nakamura hit the Kinshasa on Owens and pinned him for the victory.
