What we learned from the WWE this week: 22nd May, 2017

#5 Money in the Bank might not be the best PPV for Smackdown right now

Too many cooks?

It’s difficult to argue that since the Superstar shakeup, post-Wrestlemania 33, RAW has not only caught up with Smackdown but may have surpassed it, at least in terms of entertainment value. The addition of Dean Ambrose and The Miz have been crucial in padding out Monday night’s mid-card, and despite being early days, Bray is already being portrayed slightly better than he was under Shane McMahon.

Smackdown was the clear loser in the shake-up, only gaining Kevin Owens and Charlotte, in exchange for several of their previous top stars. This has seriously weakened the depth in their roster, which is perhaps one reason why Jinder Mahal is now the brand’s top champion.

One thing Smackdown does have going for it, however, is the potential for some mouth-watering matches in the near future. With AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura all representing team blue, you have to expect at least one or two five-star matches coming out of the WWE before too long.

The problem is, Smackdown’s next PPV will be Money in the Bank, a card built around a six-man ladder match with the aim of retrieving a briefcase. This does not facilitate any one-on-one action between the company’s finest performers, and the build up to the PPV will most likely be made up of four or six men tag matches, like the one we saw on Tuesday.

It feels like Smackdown is not utilising their main asset, especially at a time in which RAW is marching ahead.

Another problem with the upcoming PPV is that the United States Champion, Kevin Owens will be involved. Before Shane’s U-turn, where we assumed KO would not be competing, at least we were given hope that a new US Title feud was on the horizon.

Putting Owens in the match now means that we won’t be getting a US title match at MITB, which leaves the rest of the card feeling pretty sparse. What we do know currently is that Randy Orton will be having a rematch with Jinder, and Naomi will face the winner of the fatal five-way match next week.

Other than that, the rest of the card is probably going to feel too much like filler.