{"id":79701,"date":"2019-05-14T17:45:21","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T22:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=79701"},"modified":"2019-05-14T17:45:21","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T22:45:21","slug":"wwe-smackdown-primer-5-14-spoiler-free-hey-champ-we-need-to-talk-mitb-mens-fatal-four-way-fire-desire-vs-the-empress-the-princess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/05\/14\/wwe-smackdown-primer-5-14-spoiler-free-hey-champ-we-need-to-talk-mitb-mens-fatal-four-way-fire-desire-vs-the-empress-the-princess\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 5\/14: (SPOILER-FREE), Hey Champ We Need to Talk, MITB Men\u2019s Fatal Four-Way, Fire &#038; Desire vs. The Empress &#038; The Princess"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1962477498\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER<br \/>\nWILD CARD EDITION II<br \/>\nMAY 14, 2019<br \/>\nLONDON, ENG. AT THE O2 ARENA<br \/>\nAIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR<\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Arena and Items Advertised by WWE<\/h3>\n<p>WWE Smackdown, as I mentioned in yesterday\u2019s primer, will emanate from the O2 Arena in London, Eng. This is the finish of a two-night stay as WWE has done for the last 11 years in the arena\u2019s existence. Last year, Raw &amp; Smackdown emanated from this arena during the same week in May.<\/p>\n<p>Like yesterday, this episode will be pre-taped. There may or may not be spoiler reports available.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what\u2019s advertised by WWE for tonight\u2019s show:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Matches &amp; Segments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Will Kofi Kingston accept KO\u2019s invitation to come on The Kevin Owens Show?<\/li>\n<li>Smackdown LIVE\u2019s Men\u2019s Money in the Bank Ladder Match participants to throw down in pivotal Fatal Four-Way Match<\/li>\n<li>Can Fire &amp; Desire scorch Asuka &amp; Kairi Sane on Tuesday night?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Storyline Follow-Up<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Nothing specific.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Kofi Kingston Invited to Kevin Owens Show<\/h3>\n<p>Kofi Kingston of New Day will defend his WWE Championship against Kevin Owens at Money in the Bank in less than one week.<\/p>\n<p>These two gentlemen have had an interesting 2019 going back to when Owens returned from injury back in February. He was appointed by Vince McMahon to challenge Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at Fastlane, when that match was originally planned for Kofi Kingston. Fast-forward just three months and of course Kofi is now champion having defeated Bryan at WrestleMania.<\/p>\n<p>We all thought Owens was aligning himself with New Day until he turned on Kofi three weeks ago. He explained last week that he felt being champion was a huge burden on Kofi and wanted to relieve him of that burden. As Kofi was defending his title against both Sami Zayn and A.J. Styles, both of whom arrived on Smackdown via the Wild Card rule, Owens attacked Xavier Woods. He had done so after Xavier jumped him from behind two weeks ago after Owens interrupted Kofi\u2019s interview with Michael Cole. Here\u2019s that clip and a clip of Kofi\u2019s title defense last week which shows the Owens interruption:<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3967750400\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kevin Owens attacks Xavier Woods: SmackDown LIVE, April 30, 2019\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lPQXfc2Ec9E?list=PL6C6A4475B56EC5B1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kofi Kingston vs. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn - WWE Championship Match: SmackDown LIVE, May 7, 2019\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DtMX21oU5n0?list=PL6C6A4475B56EC5B1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Tonight, Owens has invited Kofi to the Kevin Owens Show in advance of their match at Money in the Bank.<\/p>\n<p><i>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I didn\u2019t think about something until listening to Wrestling Night in America, in which this week regular host Greg Parks had Torch contributor\u00a0and PWTorch columnist and podcaster Zack Heydorn. WWE didn\u2019t connect the factor of McMahon appointing Owens to replace Kofi a few months ago to what\u2019s happened between these two recently. We frequently talk about story continuity in WWE and there was certainly an opportunity to link those situations. Owens could have explained how Vince appointed him knowing Kofi couldn\u2019t handle the burden of being champion, but Owens held back because he wanted the pleasure of beating him rather than Daniel Bryan. Either way, hopefully Owens can bring out a toughness in Kofi. Thus far I\u2019m personally not happy with Kofi still doing the New Day antics while being champion.<\/i><\/p>\n<h3>Fatal Four-Way: Andrade vs. Ali vs. Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor vs. Randy Orton<\/h3>\n<p>Similar to last night, we will get a fatal four-way match with the Money in the Bank participants this time from the Smackdown side with the aforementioned men in the headline.<\/p>\n<p>There is some history amongst the four men involved. Ali and Randy Orton did have a one-on-one match pre-WrestleMania which saw Orton come out on top. Ali was close to victory, but as he was attempting his 450 Splash, Orton hit an RKO to score the pin. Ali last week battled Andrade to a no-contest when Orton attacked him mid-match (technically that\u2019s Ali winning via DQ, but you know, that\u2019s WWE not acknowledging it for whatever reason).<\/p>\n<p>Andrade defeated Balor in a non-title match on Raw the week of the Superstar Shakeup (Andrade\u2019s only Raw appearance) before both moved to Smackdown and Balor got his win back. Balor and Ali defeated Orton and Andrade two weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a handful of history between the men involved and in advance of Money in the Bank, they go at it in a fatal four-way tonight. Bear in mind from the Raw side now, Sami Zayn has replaced Braun Strowman as a result of Sami\u2019s winning his falls count anywhere match last night.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I don\u2019t much to add as this is typical WWE booking in advance of matches like this. They like to give you variations to give you a taste of what you\u2019ll see. I don\u2019t have a favorite for Money in the Bank. I like Ali winning and turning heel eventually, as he\u2019s not the type of babyface Vince McMahon likes to push. Andrade is a sensible choice and fits the MITB profile. I don\u2019t really see Balor, not so much because he\u2019s IC Champ, but he\u2019s like a mechanic in these matches. Orton has won it before, and it\u2019s not out of the realm of possibility he wins, but WWE would be wise not to go in that direction. You have plenty of other options even from the Raw side. Drew McIntyre is a definite favorite. Sami Zayn could actually win now that he won his match with Braun Strowman last night to get in and kick Strowman out. It\u2019s not crazy to imagine Strowman showing up tonight via the Wild Card rule. Ricochet strikes me as another mechanic in this match. I think I\u2019d rather watch paint dry than sit through another time period where Baron Corbin holds MITB although I worry Vince wouldn\u2019t mind seeing him win.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Fire &amp; Desire (Mandy Rose &amp; Sonya Deville) vs. Asuka &amp; Kairi Sane (with Paige)<\/h3>\n<p>Last week on Smackdown, Mandy Rose &amp; Sonya Deville defeated Carmella and Ember Moon in what was essentially a squash match. They won when Mandy hit Ember with a face-plant (God forbid they name the move) and scored the pin. Mandy is set for the Money in the Bank ladder match along with Carmella and Ember as well as Bayley.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-862605769\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Following the match, Asuka &amp; Kairi Sane came out with their (manager?) Paige. Paige talked about previously representing Mandy &amp; Sonya (it was more like teaming with them in Absolution, but whatever) and how she traded up. She then said Asuka &amp; Kairi are ready to rip through the tag division (all two-three teams of it) and it starts next week with them (according to &#8230; Yeah, I don\u2019t know either). Asuka &amp; Kairi take on Mandy &amp; Sonya tonight. Here\u2019s the clip of the match from last week which shows Paige issuing the challenge:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ember Moon &amp; Carmella vs. Mandy Rose &amp; Sonya Deville: SmackDown LIVE, May 7, 2019\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xrmFPxHSrkk?list=PL6C6A4475B56EC5B1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Frank\u2019s Analysis: Ember Moon is obviously low on the totem pole; otherwise why would she take the pin in basically a squash match against Mandy Rose? You have Carmella in the match, and I don\u2019t see big plans for her unless I\u2019m missing something. Correct me if I\u2019m wrong but they just moved Ember to Smackdown in an attempt, I would think, to give her a push. At least have the match go a little and have Mandy work for the win. It\u2019s hard to know anymore what they\u2019re doing with the women\u2019s division and whom they view as top stars other than Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and apparently Lacey Evans. Mandy could be heading up that totem pole.<\/p>\n<h3>Not Advertised for Follow-Up:<\/h3>\n<p>Daniel Bryan and Rowan won the Smackdown Tag Team Championship by defeating the Usos, who arrived on Smackdown via the Wild Card rule. Heavy Machinery (Otis &amp; Tucker) would stare down the new champs in the back.<\/p>\n<p>Miz attacked Shane McMahon as he was about to make an announcement in regard to Money in the Bank. The B-Team (Curtis Axel &amp; Bo Dallas), Miz\u2019s former MizTourage partners, helped Shane as the brawl went to the stage.<\/p>\n<p>Start Time &amp; Matches Advertised on the Arena Website<\/p>\n<p>The O2 Arena\u2019s website is advertising a start time of 7:00 p.m. local with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. By the time this report drops the event will likely be underway. They advertise Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton.<\/p>\n<p>205 Live will follow.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1630627752\"><div id=\"pwtor-3927954400\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER WILD CARD EDITION II MAY 14, 2019 LONDON, ENG. AT THE O2 ARENA AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR Announcers: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/05\/14\/wwe-smackdown-primer-5-14-spoiler-free-hey-champ-we-need-to-talk-mitb-mens-fatal-four-way-fire-desire-vs-the-empress-the-princess\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 5\/14: (SPOILER-FREE), Hey Champ We Need to Talk, MITB Men\u2019s Fatal Four-Way, Fire &#038; Desire vs. The Empress &#038; The Princess\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4403,27,5893,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-smackdown-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Owens_3x2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79705,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79701\/revisions\/79705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}