Brock Lesnar Treated Differently Than Sasha Banks And Naomi After WWE SmackDown Walkout

WWE aired its first broadcast of the post-Vince McMahon era as Vince McMahon retired earlier today via Twitter. In response to McMahon’s retirement, Brock Lesnar, who was previously scheduled to appear, reportedly walked out as well. Lesnar said something derivative of “if he’s gone, I’m gone,” in reference to Vince McMahon. Lesnar returned to the building in time for the main event, where he destroyed Theory before SmackDown went off the air.

Lesnar has walked out of WWE tapings in the past, but usually due to contract disputes and posturing for higher pay. His latest act of defiance, however, seems to be out of solidarity with McMahon and therefore less likely to blow over. As one-half of the SummerSlam main event, WWE will need to—at the very least—have a backup plan for the pay-per-view in Nashville next week.

Roman Reigns has seldom appeared on television in recent months as he takes a reduced schedule, and with no Brock Lesnar either, WWE will continue to hurt for star power across all shows.

A far cry from WWE’s almost instant burial of Sasha Banks and Naomi as “unprofessional,” WWE did not keep that same energy for Brock Lesnar despite justifiable pressure from Black Twitter. WWE moved forward, business as usual, and made no reference to Lesnar’s walkout. Instead, tonight’s broadcast repeatedly advertised Lesnar vs. Reigns in the WWE SummerSlam main event.

One outspoken Black woman, who are unfortunately vilified at ever turn, is enough to make an entire organization nervous. Sasha Banks and Naomi represented a united front, and WWE immediately denounced them for walking out of the company during a taping of WWE Raw.

Brock Lesnar? Not so much. To quote the late, great Paul Mooney, Lesnar clearly has the complexion for the protection.

“I know they are working on getting Brock back to the building to talk this out. We’ll see,” tweeted @WrestleVotes during SmackDown. With Lesnar getting the benefit of the doubt that Banks and Naomi did not receive, cooler heads prevailed between Lesnar and WWE and Lesnar appeared in the main event segment.

SmackDown opened with a brief promo from Stephanie McMahon, who led fans in the TD Garden in a “thank you Vince” chant.

Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown garnered 2.129 million viewers.

WWE SmackDown Ratings

• July 15, 2022 | 2.129
• July 8, 2022 | 2.077 million
• July 1, 2022 | 2.142 million
• June 24, 2022 | 2.231 million
• June 17, 2022 | 2.389 million

• WWE SmackDown Venue: TD Garden (Boston, Mass.)
• WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 6,234
• Available Tickets: 1,489

WWE SmackDown Results | Friday, July 22, 2022

Stephanie McMahon Leads “Thank You Vince” Chants

Fans booed the mention of Vince McMahon’s retirement when Stephanie McMahon brought it up.

Stephanie McMahon’s brief promo referenced “Pat McAfee, and even Michael Cole” as part of the WWE Universe.

Stephanie McMahon appeared to briefly reference Vince McMahon. She became emotional (to a degree) and led the crowd in chants of “thank you Vince.” Fans jumped the gun by chanting “thank you Vince” immediately, and McMahon cut them off.

SmackDown opened with a faceoff between The Street Profits and The Usos. Theory joined the fray, and things popped off after he referenced Bianca Belair.

Between Madcap Moss’ ring gear and music, WWE seems committed to making him as generic as possible. This whole character seems like it’s on hold until they think of something different.

Ludwig Kaiser def. Shinsuke Nakamura

Ludwig Kaiser was supposed to be the setup guy for a match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Gunther. Instead, Shinsuke Nakamura is the setup guy for a budding split between Kaiser and Gunther.

Something about the way Gunther chops Ludwig Kaiser makes it seem abusive.

Liv Morgan and Ronda Rousey Face Off

WWE isn’t subtle at all while building Liv Morgan up as an underdog and a people’s champion.

There needs to be a moratorium on promos that accuse part-timers of not loving this business as much as they do. They just don’t hit the way they used to.

This overly scripted segment did its job but was hard to connect with. WWE should be leaning into Ronda Rousey as the WWE darling, possibly even by turning her heel. This segment was one of many signs that any changes with WWE’s product are going to be implemented slowly.

Pat McAfee Brawls with Happy Corbin

Pat McAfee cut another great promo, and honestly, his match against Happy Corbin just might be the main event if Brock Lesnar stays home.

McAfee and Happy Corbin have been brawling like madmen lately, with limited narrative as to why they’re fighting.

The Viking Raiders def. Jinder Mahal and Shanky

While on commentary, Xavier Woods referenced Ring of Honor. That might have caused Vince McMahon to freak out, but as the saying goes, it’s a new day.

Between Jinder Mahal and Shanky; Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser and Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez, WWE loves splitting people up.

Winning a match against Jinder Mahal and Shanky by countout does little to rehabilitate the Viking Raiders. They’ve really cooled off these past two weeks.

Sheamus Challenges Drew McIntyre to Irish Donnybrook

Drew McIntyre had some biting quotes, including “Sheamus, when did you become such a b—h?” and telling Sheamus that they need to “restore prestige” in WWE.

Sheamus continues to get away with running from a No. 1 Contender match. This week, he avoided another match and was granted the authority to challenge Drew McIntyre to an Irish Donnybrook where “no swords are allowed.” WWE’s (on-camera) management is awful.

Raquel Rodriguez def. Sonya Deville

Raquel Rodriguez smiled her way to another victory. Great as it is to see her rise on the main roster, she feels victimized by micromanagement. Her NXTXT
music fit her like a glove, and was reminiscent of Diesel’s theme, but her current theme sounds like generic salsa music.

Sonya Deville’s current gimmick is mouthing off to Adam Pearce only to end up talking herself into a loss.

Lacey Evans Punches Out Aliyah

After Lacey Evans walked out last week, every second Aliyah let this week’s heel promo continue, without interruption, Aliyah was turning heel.

After a very good heel promo, Lacey Evans simply knocked out Aliyah and walked out. Can you book a babyface any worse?

Backstage, Jeff Jarrett suggested his services could be bought as special guest referee. There were no references to Ric Flair.

Maxxine Dupri, Sofia Cromwell from NXT, announced a summer beachwear collection for next week. There was no mention of Max Dupri appearing, which indicates he may have been replaced. Hopefully, this is not the case.

The Usos and Theory vs. The Street Profits and Madcap

During this match, Pat McAfee noted the Toronto Blue Jays were up 25-3 over the Boston Red Sox.

Madcap has a great comeback, I really hope WWE figures out what to do with him as a complete package.

The Usos were plotting against Theory so they could injure him so he wouldn’t cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Instead of just letting the Usos do their thing, the Street Profits insisted on breaking this up with a big Montez Ford dive.

After 20 minutes, this match ended the same way Theory’s match against Madcap ended: by disqualification. Fans were rewarded, however, as Brock Lesnar returned and destroyed Theory.