5 Predictions for SmackDown Live - 22nd May 2018

The May 22nd, 2018 episode of SmackDown Live will emanate from the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. As we move nearer to the Money in the Bank PPV, the blue brand will hope to set things straight for one of the biggest PPV's of the year.

With the big news of WWE's new TV deal with FOX to air SmackDown Live on the network for an astounding 1 billion dollars, the Blue brand has all the momentum.

Only Sportskeeda gives you the latest Wrestling News, rumors and updates.

Which Superstars will qualify for the men's and women's MITB ladder matches? What stipulation will Shinsuke Nakamura choose for his WWE Championship match against AJ Styles? Either we find out the answers or get one step closer to doing so on this week's episode of SmackDown Live.

With all these things in mind, let's look at the five predictions for this week's episode of SmackDown Live.

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#5 Daniel Bryan defeats Jeff Hardy

A Dream Match on SDL!

Samoa Joe and Big Cass were supposed to square off on this week's SmackDown Live to determine who will get the final spot in the's men's MITB ladder match.

But the plans have changed and it will be Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy will go one-on-one in their second chance to qualify for the MITB ladder match. Big Cass got a beat down from Daniel Bryan last week, and it's likely that his injury is a work to sell the beatdown he received last week.

It's clear that Cass will go up against Bryan at Money In The Bank and we can expect Bryan to defeat hardy and move on to face Joe next week only to get screwed over by Big Cass.

That should clear Samoa Joe's path, and he will qualify as the last person to the men's MITB ladder match.

#4 Andrade Cien Almas gets another squash match

Almas made his SmackDown debut last week.

Andrade Cien Almas was one among the NXT graduates to get called up to the main roster on this year's Superstar shake-up. Almas got drafted to SmackDown Live and made his debut on Tuesday night last week.

Almas squashed a local competitor in his debut match, and we can expect the same to continue on this week's episode.

Reports say he will get into a feud against Randy Orton once the latter returns. Orton is out of action after undergoing successful knee surgery, and we can expect the Viper to return in two months.

Almas has no proper storyline going into MITB, and it's also clear he will not be a part of the MITB ladder match. Hence it is likely that he will compete in another squash match in this week's episode of SmackDown Live.

#3 Sonya Deville qualifies for the women's MITB ladder match

Sonya Deville will get another opportunity.

Sonya Deville failed to qualify for the women's Money In The Bank ladder match a week ago when she went up against Mandy Rose and Becky Lynch in a triple threat match.

Deville will have another opportunity this week when she takes on former SmackDown women's champion Naomi. Deville is one of the talented superstars in the SmackDown women's division, and we can hope the WWE creative team gives Deville a good singles push later on.

The MITB ladder match can be the starting point of Deville's singles run, and it's likely she will defeat Naomi and qualify for the women's MITB ladder match.

#2 New Day chooses Big E to be in the MITB ladder match

Big E might get the opportunity!

Last week the New Day took on the Bar in a tag team match where one person from the winning team qualifies for the men's MITB ladder match.

New Day won the match after Xavier Woods pinned Cesaro. The question now is which member of the New Day will compete in the men's MITB ladder match?

Reports say that Vince McMahon is high on Big E and looks to give him a singles push soon. The MITB ladder match might be the perfect opportunity for the WWE to kick-start Big E's singles push.

Xavier Woods was the one who got the win for his team last week, and it will interest the fans to see how Big E finds his way into the MITB ladder match.

#1 Shinsuke Nakamura Chooses a Last Man Standing Match

Will Nakamura Low Blow his way to the WWE Championship?

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated AJ Styles in a non-title match a week ago, and he will now pick the stipulation for their match at MITB.

The Universal championship not being featured on the PPV adds an extra burden to Styles and Nakamura as this will be the main world title match on the card.

With two MITB ladder matches on the card, it will bode well to have Nakamura pick a 'last man standing match' as the stipulation. Nakamura will make the official announcement on this week's episode of SmackDown Live.

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