WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 20

Undisputed WWE Tag Team champions were decided Friday night on SmackDown when Raw champions RK-Bro squared off with SmackDown titleholders The Usos in a high-stakes, pay-per-view-quality main event.

The much-anticipated bout, originally scheduled for the WrestleMania Backlash premium live event, not only made history, but it also headlined an episode that featured the latest in the rivalry between New Day and Fight Night, as well as a showdown between former intercontinental champions as Shinsuke Nakamura battled Sami Zayn.

Find out what went down Friday on Fox with this recap of the show, complete with grades, analysis and top moments from the night's action.

• Unified WWE Tag Team Championship Match: RK-Bro vs. The Usos
• Xavier Woods vs. Butch
• Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn

Win or don't come back.

The stakes became abundantly clear for The Usos in the night's opening promo in which they remained silent but absorbed the words of Undisputed WWE champion Roman Reigns and special counsel Paul Heyman. 

Heyman told the story of the Samoan Dynasty and The Bloodline's place in it before revealing that if Jimmy and Jey are not successful in the night's Winners Take All, Tag Team Championship Unification Match, they will no longer be welcome on the Island of Relevancy.

Reigns, forboding, warned his cousins that the expectations are high because of his love for them.

This was a great promo that took what was already a high-stakes match later in the show and elevated it even higher. Some will argue that putting that particular stipulation on the match tipped WWE Creative's hand, and maybe it did. What it definitely did was create even more intrigue for a big-time match that probably should have happened at WrestleMania Backlash.

The sly grin on the face of Reigns as he embraced his cousins was one of those little things The Tribal Chief has perfected as a heel, and Heyman is an all-timer from performance and promo perspectives.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• "Welcome to the single biggest night in the history of tag team wrestling," Paul Heyman said to put over the significance of the night's Winners Take All main event.
• Heyman put over The Usos as descendants of The Wild Samoans, highlighting how not even Afa and Sika accomplished what Jimmy and Jey have the opportunity to do in the main event.
• "The Usos will come home as the undisputed tag team champions or they won't come home to the Island of Relevancy at all," Heyman said, elevating the stakes of the battle with RK-Bro.
• "The only reason I have these expectations is because I love you," Reigns said before embracing his cousins.

Sami Zayn, still delusionally representing The Bloodline as some kind of extended member, battled fellow former Intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura in the night's opening contest.

After a particularly nasty fall by Nakamura from the top rope and to the floor, Zayn controlled the match. 

Nakamura fought back but found himself barely staving off a countout. Moments later, Zayn found himself in the same position. The Great Liberator made it back to the ring but rushed right into the Kinshasa as the babyface earned the big win.

The match, like most between these competitors, was a lot of fun and had the fans in Grand Rapids biting on near-falls, including the two countouts. Nakamura winning made sense given the lofty creative plans that exist for him, while the loss continued to set Zayn up as someone trying to defend the honor of The Bloodline but repeatedly failing.

Where that story is going remains to be seen, but it feels safe to say Nakamura is likely up next for The Tribal Chief in what should be a damn good match, if nothing else.

Grade

B-

Top Moments

• Prior to the match, during Nakamura's entrance, the former King of the Ring partook in a tense, momentary exchange with Roman Reigns as a match between them was once again teased.
• The fall from Nakamura prior to the commercial was scary and looked all kinds of awkward.
• The countout teases were great and played up the cowardly element of Zayn's character.

Happy Corbin cut a seething promo on Madcap Moss, taking great pride in his actions from a week ago that landed his former associate in an ambulance. He destroyed the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy to put an exclamation point on the segment.

A week after enduring a wicked chop to the chest, Drew Gulak made the unwise choice to try his hand against "The Ring General" Gunther for a second time. It went about as well as expected, as the Austrian wiped the mat with the outmatched Gulak en route to a one-sided victory. 

Ricochet made the save when Gunther applied a post-match Boston Crab, teasing a feud between the NXT exports. If that is the direction SmackDown's writing team is taking the Intercontinental Championship, fans should be excited.

Ricochet is a fantastic wrestler whose main roster run has been tarnished by sub-par creative. Gunther is responsible for some of the best matches of this generation. Putting the bruiser against the high-flyer with one of the most storied championships in WWE history on the line is a great decision and one that should spawn several really strong matches. 

If WWE books Ricochet to be competitive, that is. 

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Corbin broke the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy in a blatant display of disrespect. 
• Michael Cole rightly pointed out that the same trophy Corbin destroyed was instrumental in him breaking out on the main roster. 

A backstage argument between Shotzi and Aliyah gave way to the former battling Raquel Rodriguez, whom she described as "weak" and "a choker."

Rodriguez silenced her opponent, shaking off an onslaught by the heel and putting her away with a corkscrew splash from the middle rope and a one-handed powerbomb for the win.

This was an extended squash, with Rodriguez heating back up after last week's loss to Ronda Rousey. She impressed a week ago and will look to continue doing so as she stays at the forefront of the SmackDown women's division. 

It is disappointing that the powers that be continue to fail Shotzi, who handed them a character that was marketable, unique and fun, only to watch as it has been replaced by a nondescript heel persona that has done little to improve her spot on the card.

Shotzi is a star, and she should be doing something far more meaningful than competing in matches like this that are designed to make others look good.

Grade

C

Top Moments

• The corkscrew splash into an elbow drop is a fresh and impressive twist on the old Vader Bomb. 

With Xavier Woods unaccompanied by Kofi Kingston, Butch opted to go it alone, leaving his Brawling Brutes teammates Sheamus and Ridge Holland backstage as he sought to avenge his first SmackDown loss to Woods from a few weeks back.

Another competitive match saw Butch dominate by systematically picking Woods apart, only to see his tenacity used against him as Woods scored a second straight victory over him with Backwoods.

Butch jumped Woods as Sheamus and Holland distracted him, ensuring the feud that simply will not end will live to see another week. 

There is no weekly segment less rewarding than that involving these Superstars, and it is through absolutely no fault of the talent themselves. Between New Day and the Brawling Brutes, there is a wealth of talent, including a few future Hall of Famers. The matches are usually good, if not better, and the effort is always there.

Unfortunately, it is the lack of creative effort that has hurt the program. There are no stakes, no new developments and no clear direction. The same competitors wrestle each other every week, sometimes with a special gimmick thrown in there, before coming back and doing it again the next week.

Woods promised the return of Kingston next week and a special mystery partner for a six-man tag team match against Sheamus and Co., and while that will probably be a perfectly fine wrestling match, it fails to drum up excitement if for no other reason than the fact that we have seen the feud beaten into the ground week after week to the point that it has lost all effectiveness.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Pat McAfee referred to Butch, Sheamus and Holland as Fight Night, apparently not getting the memo about the new (decidedly less awesome) Brawling Brutes name. 
• Woods made it 2-0 against Butch with Backwoods, the simple small package proving problematic for the Bruiserweight.
• Sheamus and Holland appeared as Woods celebrated his victory, distracting him and allowing Butch to jump him. The heels stood tall to close the segment.

The Usos made history Friday night in the main event of SmackDown, defeating RK-Bro to become Undisputed WWE Tag Team champions in a hell of a match.

A dramatic match—made even more so by an apparent hip injury suffered by Riddle—saw Randy Orton explode into the ring late and unload on Jimmy and Jey Uso. It would be The Original Bro, and WWE workhorse, who would have RK-Bro's fate in his hands in the closing moments of the match.

As Riddle tried for a top-rope RKO, Roman Reigns appeared from out of nowhere and assisted Jey in avoiding the move. Seconds later, Uso launched himself from the top rope with a splash for the win and both the Raw and SmackDown tag titles.

Bloodline established dominance once again by leaving both Orton and Riddle lying to close the show.

There were seriously high expectations to live up to in this match. The hype was next-level from WWE for the tag title bout, but both teams managed to deliver. On a premium live event stage, without commercials to adversely affect the flow, this would have likely been a Match of the Year contender.

As it was, it was still a phenomenal pro wrestling match that saw the right team go over before escalating the rivalry with Orton and Riddle via post-match beatdown. The issues are far from settled, and following the events of this show, it appears Reigns may be on a collision course with one (or both).

If Riddle and Orton can summon the same energy in singles action that they do together, either one of those prospective matches would be welcome.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• A hard bump in the corner left Riddle nursing a hip injury and the ringside doctor interjecting ahead of the commercial. 
• The hot tag to Orton was phenomenal and brought the crowd to its feet.
• Roman Reigns interfered late, allowing Jey Uso to avoid a top-rope RKO and deliver the splash in the tainted victory most expected.
• Jey leaped off the top rope and drove Riddle through the announce table before Reigns applied the guillotine choke to Orton.