The final spot in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match was up for grabs in another action-packed episode of SmackDown Live Tuesday night.
Originally slated to be Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe, the match would undergo a drastic change, thanks to the return of a certain seven-foot-tall Superstar with eyes on demolishing the leader of the YES! Movement.
Tye Dillinger battled Shinsuke Nakamura, The New Day took on The Miz and The Bar in a Six-Man Tag Team match, and the Women’s Revolution stopped off in 2002 for a Dance-Off pitting Naomi against Lana.
Find out what else went down and what it means for the blue brand heading into June 17’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view with this recap of the May 29 show.
Samoa Joe Promo
Samoa Joe kicked off the show and immediately claimed he would win Money in the Bank and create an anxiety and fear across SmackDown that the WWE champion will have to endure. He vowed to introduce Bryan to a fate worse than “forced retirement” and brought up Bryan’s wife Brie and daughter Birdie, claiming Bryan will be home with them soon enough.
Bryan appeared and threatened to break Joe’s legs if he mentioned his family again.
Big Cass interrupted the proceedings and had a revelation for fans: The advertised match between Bryan and Joe would not take place tonight. Instead, it will be Joe vs. Cass when the big man is medically cleared, and he will be cleared soon.
Cass eventually laid out both Joe and Bryan with shots from the Money in the Bank briefcase and stood tall, leaving Bryan and Joe seething.
Grade
C+
Analysis
The Joe promo was fantastic, as it usually is, but the bait-and-switch nature of WWE’s booking of Bryan vs. Joe is disappointing. Fans tuned in expecting a dream match of sorts and were informed shortly after this that the match will now be a Triple Threat match involving Cass.
The Cass character is so bland, so unexciting and underdeveloped that it is difficult to get behind him.
That he literally has no gimmick outside of his height does him no favors.
A just slightly above-average promo segment that would have been better if it was limited to Bryan and Joe.
Tye Dillinger vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
The product of a Twitter war of words, Tye Dillinger battled No. 1 contender Shinsuke Nakamura in singles competition.
Heading into the break, Dillinger looked to be rolling, but Nakamura caught him with a knee, and The Perfect 10 crumbled to the floor.
Nakamura played up the Last Man Standing stipulation for his match with AJ Styles, demanding the referee count Dillinger down while he played to the crowd.
Dillinger mounted a comeback but could never sustain his offense. Nakamura scaled the ropes, caught him with a flying knee from the middle rope and finished him with a Kinshasa.
Result
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Tye Dillinger
Grade
C+
Analysis
Nakamura playing up the stipulation of his upcoming match with Styles was a great touch and really added to a match that was much more one-sided than you would hope for.
Heel Nakamura is so much more effective than the babyface version that never truly connected with fans. It remains to be seen if he wins the title in Chicago, but his work, like this against Dillinger, suggests he should get a run with the gold.
Dance-Off: Naomi vs. Lana
Because the writing team apparently forgot this is not 2002, Lana and Naomi met in a Dance-Off as they build to the women’s Money in the Bank match.
Lana went first, drawing an impressive pop while doing whatever it is she does…
