Winners And Grades On May 19, 2023

WWE SmackDown advertised a rare back-to-back appearance by Roman Reigns as he enters Day 992 of a dubious WWE Undisputed Championship reign. Reigns and Solo Sikoa faced off against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens headed into their showdown in Saudi Arabia at WWE Night of Champions. SmackDown also advertised the debut of Grayson Waller and the Brawling Brutes vs. Pretty Deadly.

Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown drew 2.149 million viewers.

WWE SmackDown Results | May 19, 2023

• Pretty Deadly def. Brawling Brutes
• Asuka def. Zelina Vega
• Street Profits def. LA Knight and Rick Boogs
• Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn def. Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon
• LWO def. The Usos

WWE SmackDown Ratings

• May 12, 2023 | 2.149 million
• May 5, 2023 | 2.059 million
• April 28, 2023 | 2.473 million
• April 21, 2023 | 2.175 million
• April 14, 2023 | 2.135 million

• WWE SmackDown Venue: Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, SC)
• WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 10,207
• Available Tickets: 236

WWE SmackDown Winners and Grades

Roman Reigns And The Bloodline Kick Off SmackDown

Roman Reigns received a massive babyface pop as The Bloodline kicked off another SmackDown.

Roman Reigns’ new “life’s not fair” t-shirt incorporated an animal that looked a little bit too much like The Rock’s Brahma Bull.

Roman Reigns was showered with “what” chants, which is a far cry of when fans were hanging on to Cody Rhodes’ every word Monday night on Raw. Same with Sami Zayn.

Like a disappointed parent, Roman Reigns said his one regret was Sami Zayn.

The Usos, who did not appear with Roman Reigns, hit the ring and attacked Owens and Zayn. Reigns looked none-too-pleased, and berated them.

Opening Segment Grade: A-

Pretty Deadly Def. Brawling Brutes

Pretty Deadly actually received a good response form this crowd, which even popped when they picked up the win.

Pretty Deadly has to be on th short list of tag teams who will eventually dethrone Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

Pretty Deadly vs. Brawling Brutes Grade: B

Asuka Def. Zelina Vega

The announce team was going on and on about how important it is that WWE rides the momentum Zelina received in Puerto Rico. And they’re absolutely right. But then WWE turned around and had Asuka beat Zelina Vega almost effortlessly, by submission no less.

Asuka’s mist last week was described as an “experimental chili pepper mist.” If WWE started selling Asuka lemon pepper mist, I’d buy it.

Does WWE know that LWO continue to be top merch movers?

Bianca Belair hit the ring and chased Asuka off, but not before Asuka just barely grazed her with mist (by design).

Asuka vs. Zelina Vega Grade: B-

The Grayson Waller Effect With AJ Styles

WWE is now calling Grayson Waller the man with a Triple Platinum Tongue, which makes him sound like a…well, not a wrestler, let’s just leave it at that.

AJ Styles and SethRollins are two babyfaces who can’t appear on the same show, fighting for a tertiary paper championship. I’m sure it will be a good match, but I am not interested in the least.

This really wasn’t much of a segment as it ended with Grayson Waller predicting a Seth Rollins victory.

Grayson Waller Effect Grade: C

Street Profits Def. Rick Boogs And LA Knight

LA Knight remains over, and teamed with Rick Boogs who is as jacked as ever.

Rick Boogs showcased several great strongman spots where the crowd counted along.

LA Knight may have found himself on the losing end of this match, but he is clearly being pushed and he didn’t take the pin. After the loss, LA Knight hit Boogs with a BFT This might be a weekly occurrence of LA Knight looking for partner.

Street Profits vs. Boogs and Knight Grade: B

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn Def. Valentina Feroz And Yulisa Leon

Even though Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn got called up, this still felt like an NXT
XT
match—because it pretty much was against fellow NXT talents Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon, who remain on NXT.

If Feroz and Leon can just show up on SmackDown, what was the point of even drafting the NXT women’s tag team champions? Why waste a draft pick? Why not just draft somebody from Raw and have NXT talent show up when needed? These are the holes that continue to be punctured through the draft.

Women’s Tag Team
TISI
Match Grade: C+

Austin Theory Calls Out Sheamus

Last week, Sheamus was feuding with Pretty Deadly, and even though his boys lost, he’s clearly moved on from that.

Austin Theory called out Sheamus, who promptly hit a Brogue Kick to a big reaction and walked off.

Austin Theory-Sheamus Grade: B-

LWO Def. The Usos

Backstage, Paul Heyman noted that Roman Reigns would not be ringside, and WWE continued to tease tensions between Reigns and the Usos, particularly Jimmy.

Michael Cole described these two teams as headed in opposite directions because the Usos have been losing. If the Usos have been losing, then they’re in the same exact direction as the LWO.

Though the LWO has been on the losing ways, pretty much since their reboot, a win over the Usos could change a lot.

Fans surprisingly chanted “Usos suck,” then “this is awesome” as the match picked up.

The LWO picked up their much-needed upset victory with a cameo from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Of note, Santos Escobar pinned Jimmy Uso.

Main Event Grade: B