Cain A. Knight is a hardcore number-cruncher who has analyzed and covered pro wrestling for Cageside Seats since 2014, and followed the sport as a fan going back to the 1980's.
SmackDown airs tonight (May 30) with a live show emanating from Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is the third episode of SmackDown during the four week build towards Money in the Bank, which takes place on June 7.
WWE Champion John Cena and former champ Cody Rhodes are both in the building tonight. Rhodes will certainly try to confront Cena in the ring with roughly one week to go until their tag team match at Money in the Bank that also includes Jey Uso and Logan Paul.
Cody is the one who issued the challenge for this tag match, right after he made his surprise return at Saturday Night's Main Event to prevent Cena from helping a YouTube douchebag steal the world heavyweight title from Uso. What Rhodes may not realize is that this tag match actually helps Cena in his goal to retire as the last real champion and ruin pro wrestling for everyone.
That's because John is a part-timer who only has a limited number of dates left on his WWE deal before he retires for good, and Cody is now wasting one of those dates on a non-title match. The clock is ticking fast, and there should be more urgency for Cody to take back that WWE championship from Cena ASAP.
Will Rhodes be able to explain tonight why this tag team match at Money in the Bank is so important, and what he learned from losing to John at WrestleMania 41? Is Logan Paul lurking in the shadows ready to ambush Cody at Cena's behest? Will this Cody/Cena promo be any better than the ones they cut on the road to WrestleMania? Tune into SmackDown to find out.
Money in the Bank qualifiers continue tonight with a triple threat match between Carmelo Hayes, Andrade, and United States Champion Jacob Fatu. Solo Sikoa is already qualified for the men's ladder match, so it will be interesting to see if he sends JC Mateo to sabotage Fatu's chances tonight in order to remove him as a possible threat in Solo's way at Money in the Bank.
Tonight's women's Money in the Bank qualifying match is Nia Jax vs. Naomi vs. Jade Cargill. Will Naomi and Cargill be too consumed by their own personal war to keep their focus set on also dealing with Jax?
Bianca Belair busted her fingers at WrestleMania, but she returns tonight as the hometown hero in Knoxville. I believe the EST of WWE has some loose ends to tie up in the drama between Naomi and Cargill, so perhaps she'll get an up close look at their match tonight.
- Charlotte Flair failed to qualify for Money in the Bank last week, and then Alexa Bliss rubbed it in her face. Does The Queen plan to do something about it tonight?
- The Wyatt Sicks completely destroyed SmackDown's tag team division when they returned to WWE last week. Does that mean Uncle Howdy's gang of misfits will forget about Alexa Bliss for now and focus on winning tag team gold? Will the group have a steadier presence on SmackDown TV than they did during their initial push last year on Raw?
- Is Aleister Black going to confront LA Knight about stealing his win in last week's Money in the Bank qualifying match, or will Black go back to knocking out low carders like The Miz with Black Mass?
- Does SmackDown's newest star Giulia plan to say hello to WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton after qualifying for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match?
- Will GM Nick Aldis give Fraxiom a rematch for the Street Profits' WWE tag team championship after last week's title match had no finish?
- Which vortex will Damian Priest be caught in next after putting down Drew McIntyre at Saturday Night's Main Event? Is McIntyre taking time off to heal his banged up body?
- Word on the digital street is that Chelsea Green will be wearing a protective face mask after suffering a broken nose at Saturday Night's Main Event. Will Cody Rhodes be thoughtful enough to offer her one that's dashing in a brown paper bag?
- Women's United States Champion Zelina Vega needs a new challenger after beating Chelsea in their rematch. Which woman will step up and try to take the belt from her next? Could it be Jordynne Grace?
- Legado del Fantasma is looking forward to proving they're the best in front of their people at Worlds Collide on June 7. Does that mean WWE won't job them out on SmackDown before then?
- Where the f*** is Randy Orton? John Cena must have really given him a hard blow to the nuts at Backlash.