WWE Smackdown Results
May 23, 2017
Report by Mike Killam for Wrestlezone.com
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In-Ring Opening Segment
Shane McMahon is out to start the show. The Commissioner announces that Randy Orton has invoked his rematch clause, and will face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship in four weeks at Money in the Bank. The crowd responds with a mix of lukewarm clapping and boos. Shane also announces that there will be five participants in this year’s MITB ladder match, and introduces them one by one. They are: AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and… United States Champion Kevin Owens? Shane tells the production truck to kill his music, and says that Owens knows he isn’t in the MITB ladder match, and introduces the actual fifth man, Shinsuke Nakamura.
After all five have made their entrances, Kevin Owens gets on the mic and trashes McMahon for his decision-making. He says that he understands Nakamura and Sami being in the match, because they won their matches at Backlash, but it doesn’t make any sense that Styles lost to him and the U.S. Champion has been overlooked. Owens says Shane is just jealous that he did what he couldn’t do at WrestleMania, beat AJ Styles. McMahon thinks about it, and decides that he’s right, and adds Owens to Money in the Bank. Baron Corbin tells him to stop talking – his mic isn’t working, so he takes Kevin’s mic; nice move. He tells everyone that they don’t have a chance, and they should just lower the briefcase now and hand it to him.
AJ Styles is done listening to everyone. He asks if Corbin is done huffing and puffing, so he can continue blowing, then calls Kevin Owens the Eric Cartman of Smackdown. There’s a brief face-to-face with Nakamura which gets everyone excited. Sami Zayn tries to talk but is cut off by Corbin, and they go back and forth. Owens tells them to shut the hell up, which brings in Dolph Ziggler to tell them all to shut up. He brings up that he’s the only one in the ring who has actually won Money in the Bank, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t do it again. Last up Nakamura, and the crowd starts chanting his name as soon as he pics up the microphone. He introduces himself for those who don’t know him, but says they can all refer to him as Mr. Money in the Bank.
