{"id":97128,"date":"2020-05-08T14:21:53","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T19:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=97128"},"modified":"2020-05-08T14:21:53","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T19:21:53","slug":"wwe-smackdown-primer-5-8-final-mitb-hype-face-to-face-for-the-monster-and-bray-a-hardy-return-mandy-and-sonya-to-clash-tamina-lacey-vs-bayley-sasha-six-man-tag-with-a-mystery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/05\/08\/wwe-smackdown-primer-5-8-final-mitb-hype-face-to-face-for-the-monster-and-bray-a-hardy-return-mandy-and-sonya-to-clash-tamina-lacey-vs-bayley-sasha-six-man-tag-with-a-mystery\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 5\/8: Final MITB Hype, Face-to-Face for the Monster and Bray, A Hardy Return, Mandy and Sonya to Clash, Tamina &#038; Lacey vs. Bayley &#038; Sasha, Six-Man Tag with a Mystery"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3261687437\" 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 \/>\nMAY 8, 2020<br \/>\nORLANDO, FL. AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER<br \/>\nAIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST<\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Top 10 Moments from Last Week<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Top 10 Friday Night SmackDown moments: WWE Top 10, May 1, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Yv9xhudliQA?feature=oembed\" 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<h3>Items Advertised by WWE<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt to come face to face<\/li>\n<li>Jeff Hardy\u2019s comeback continues<\/li>\n<li>Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville ready to settle dispute in the ring<\/li>\n<li>Tamina to team up with Lacey Evans against Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks<\/li>\n<li>Daniel Bryan &amp; Drew Gulak await mystery partner to combat King Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Face-to-Face: Universal Champion Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt<\/h3>\n<p>This coming Sunday, Braun Strowman will put the Universal Championship on the line against his former Wyatt Family leader Bray Wyatt. The latest chapter in the build for this match unfolded last week. As Braun came out to talk about their history, Bray interrupted from the Firefly Funhouse. He read him a book called \u201cThe Black Sheep,\u201d akin to essentially what Braun was when he joined the group wearing the black sheep mask. In short, he said Braun and they had a lot of fun until Braun left and didn\u2019t even leave a note. After that, the government took his farm and the reptilians took over. Bray said he would take the black sheep to the slaughter house, and at that point Braun had enough and invited him to come to the ring and if he had more to say to said it to his face.<\/p>\n<p>Bray lost the Universal Championship at Super Showdown to Goldberg, wrestling as \u201cThe Fiend.\u201d It looks as though he will try to regain the title in his Firefly Funhouse character at Money in the Bank. Tonight, Braun and Bray go \u201cface-to-face.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I see them telling a longer-formed story where Braun retains Sunday, but somehow give Bray a path to getting another match only this time as the Fiend.<\/p>\n<h3>Jeff Hardy\u2019s Comeback Continues<\/h3>\n<p>Last week, they continued to tell the Jeff Hardy story as they bring him back into the fold on Smackdown. The latest video referenced his going out for an extended period last year due to a knee injury, while he held the Smackdown Tag Team Championship with (shhhhh\u2026we can\u2019t say) his brother Matt. It showed his reaction to being medically cleared and looking forward to coming back to WWE.<\/p>\n<p>Sheamus will likely reign on his parade as he appears to have a problem with Jeff. He stayed at ringside after defeating Leon Ruff while the video was being played and got in Michael Cole\u2019s face (social distancing?!?!?!?) after he said Jeff would be here next week (tonight). Sheamus said he would be there as well.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: Bear in mind, Jeff has already come back and had a match with King Corbin. I remember because I did the post show that night with Wade Keller. Anyway, it\u2019s not a big deal. I hope they have good use for Jeff, and he keeps his nose clean. I can\u2019t say a feud with Sheamus excites me, but it\u2019s something to do.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville<\/h3>\n<p>The saga between Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville continues tonight as they go one-on-one. The latest chapter in their story unfolded last week as Sonya cost Mandy her chance to get into the Money in the Bank ladder match as she was defeated by Carmella. Sonya was critiquing her performance until Mandy couldn\u2019t take it anymore and called on Sonya to \u201cbring it on.\u201d Carmella super-kicked Mandy to pick up the win. After the match, Sonya attacked Mandy.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4095297789\" 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>It\u2019s been a long and winding road for these two, as Sonya corroborated with Dolph Ziggler to keep Otis and Mandy apart. Their plan is busting at the seams, as Otis defeated Ziggler to get into Money in the Bank. He also won Mandy\u2019s heart defeating Ziggler at WrestleMania. Interestingly, as Otis was checking on Mandy because of the post-match attack, Ziggler approached Otis asking about her condition. He appeared to be sincere. The latest chapter unfolds tonight. Here\u2019s a little Twitter trash talk by Sonya:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I already know what my body is capable of &#8230; it\u2019s my mind that\u2019s far superior then the rest&#8230;..Years of preparation it\u2019s time I show you all what I\u2019ve been working on. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ImTheStarNowBitch?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ImTheStarNowBitch<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OperationRuinMandy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#OperationRuinMandy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wcXP0FBOHa\">pic.twitter.com\/wcXP0FBOHa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Daria\/Sonya Deville (@SonyaDevilleWWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SonyaDevilleWWE\/status\/1256647404012605440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Somewhat related to this match tonight, here are WWE exclusives with Otis and Carmella talking about their qualifying for Money in the Bank:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Otis going to \u201cham and slam\u201d his way to Money In The Bank glory: SmackDown Exclusive, May 1, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3ayfy_19WkU?feature=oembed\" 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=\"Carmella to lean on experience at WWE Money In The Bank: SmackDown Exclusive, May 1, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6fozUqQ5Jww?feature=oembed\" 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>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: It\u2019s been an interesting story between all parties in this story, but I don\u2019t have a ton of expectations for this match. Both women were low-end jobbers as Fire &amp; Desire, and haven\u2019t shown a history of being good wrestlers, so why should I expect the match to be any good? It\u2019s more about the overall story though. We\u2019ll probably end up getting a mixed tag match eventually if not tonight in WWE\u2019s classic \u201creset and restart.\u201d That would probably be better!<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Lacey Evans &amp; Tamina vs. Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks<\/h3>\n<p>At Money in the Bank, Bayley will put the Smackdown Women\u2019s Championship on the line against Tamina. It will be Tamina\u2019s second crack at the title after partaking in the fatal five-way elimination match for the title at WrestleMania. That match involved Bayley\u2019s BFF Sasha Banks, who failed to qualify for Money in the Bank after losing to Lacey Evans two weeks ago. Lacey was also involved in the fatal five-way.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Sasha interrupted an interview Kayla Braxton was conducting with Tamina. Sasha reminded Tamina of their time together years ago (Team B.A.D. in 2015) and how much she meant to her, and they shouldn\u2019t resort to name calling. Bayley attacked Tamina, and Sasha joined the fray. Lacey made the save moments later. (It\u2019s a good thing Lacey knew an interview was being conducted was able to get right in there!)<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of Money in the Bank, WWE\u2019s version of the Best Friends (Bayley &amp; Sasha) take on Tamina &amp; Lacey in a tag team match tonight.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: There\u2019s not much to this. After the brawl last week, you knew they were going to announce a tag team match. They\u2019ll probably have Tamina pin Bayley to show she has an advantage heading into Money in the Bank. I\u2019m more interested in what happens between Sasha and Bayley, as I expect more dissention soon.<\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4265469193\" 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<h3>Daniel Bryan &amp; Drew Gulak &amp; Mystery Partner vs. King Corbin &amp; Shinsuke Nakamura &amp; Cesaro<\/h3>\n<p>In the opening match last week, Daniel Bryan defeated King Corbin via DQ when Corbin threw a ladder at Bryan. After Corbin threw a fit, saying it wasn\u2019t illegal (yes, it is\u2026you toolbag) Bryan put Corbin in the Yes lock. Shinsuke Nakamura &amp; Cesaro, who appear to be Corbin\u2019s cronies these days, came out for the save. They would eventually throw Bryan onto a ladder off the stage.<\/p>\n<p>Later in the evening, it was announced that Bryan &amp; Drew Gulak &amp; a mystery partner would take on the trio of Corbin &amp; Nakamura &amp; Cesaro in a six-man tag team match.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: Normally I\u2019d be excited by a mystery partner, but WWE has persistently wasted this on somebody already on the roster. In the past the mystery partner was usually a return after a long-term absence, a debut, or someone turning. For example, they could shock everyone and have it be Sami Zayn, with the story being Sami not liking Nakamura &amp; Cesaro running around with Corbin. I don\u2019t see that, as there are mixed stories out there as to why we haven\u2019t seen him, but that\u2019s the kind of thing that would be interesting if they were using someone currently on the roster. I don\u2019t see Jeff Hardy because they announced him returning separately.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Other Match Results and News Items from Last Week<\/h3>\n<p>The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake &amp; Steve Cutler flanked by Jaxson Ryker) defeated Smackdown Tag Team Champions New Day (Big E &amp; Kofi Kingston) in a non-title match. Here\u2019s the Sons in a WWE exclusive:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Forgotten Sons deliver emphatic statement to the WWE Universe: SmackDown Exclusive, May 1, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iMWQ7Kc1dlg?feature=oembed\" 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>Michael Cole announced that both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Money in the Bank ladder matches would take place at the same time at WWE Headquarters in Stamford, CT. (I should totally drive up there and try to see the ring and ladders if they\u2019re set up already. It\u2019s only an hour and change from my house and it\u2019s not like there\u2019ll be the usual traffic heading that way!)<\/p>\n<h3>Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n<p>I always look a bit more forward to go home shows for PPVs. There\u2019s potential to add layers to the matches on the card. I\u2019m super curious how the Money in the Bank matches will go with the men\u2019s and the women\u2019s happening simultaneously. I was intrigued to begin with having it happen at headquarters. I can\u2019t help but wonder if they\u2019ll dip their toes in the intergender world, as they did last year with Nia Jax and Dean Ambrose. Perhaps Lacey Evans gets involved with King Corbin? It\u2019s just a thought.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH UP&#8230;<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/05\/01\/leclairs-wwe-smackdown-report-5-1-alt-perspective-detailed-coverage-of-bryan-vs-corbin-otis-vs-ziggler-rose-vs-carmella-more\/\">LECLAIR\u2019S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 5\/1: Alt perspective, detailed coverage of Bryan vs. Corbin, Otis vs. Ziggler, Rose vs. Carmella, more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1799206197\"><div id=\"pwtor-1092926143\"><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 MAY 8, 2020 ORLANDO, FL. AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves Top 10 Moments from <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/05\/08\/wwe-smackdown-primer-5-8-final-mitb-hype-face-to-face-for-the-monster-and-bray-a-hardy-return-mandy-and-sonya-to-clash-tamina-lacey-vs-bayley-sasha-six-man-tag-with-a-mystery\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 5\/8: Final MITB Hype, Face-to-Face for the Monster and Bray, A Hardy Return, Mandy and Sonya to Clash, Tamina &#038; Lacey vs. Bayley &#038; Sasha, Six-Man Tag with a Mystery\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97139,"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-97128","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\/post\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-08-at-2.16.31-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97128","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=97128"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97140,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97128\/revisions\/97140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}