WWE SmackDown 5/23/2025: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show where we're finally adding a fifth match to "Saturday Night's Main Event" at the last minute! The WINC crew actually has some thoughts about that this week, but of course the big story was the return of the Wyatt Sicks, and that can't help but dominate our attention. We also had strong feelings about Candice LeRae re-aligning with Johnny Gargano, R-Truth cutting a heartfelt promo on John Cena, and the winner of the women's Money in the Bank qualifier.

The men's Money in the Bank qualifier, unfortunately, falls by the wayside this week, along with anything else that we don't have enough passion to write about. If you need to know literally everything that happened Friday night, be sure to check out our "SmackDown" results page. If you want to know what Wrestling Inc.'s staff thought about the show, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 5/23/25 episode of "WWE SmackDown."

After a while bemoaning the way she had been booked during her brief stint on "WWE Raw" following WrestleMania weekend, it was a welcome surprise to see Giulia qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank ladder match, not only for that itself but for the fact it came from a win over Charlotte Flair and the current Women's United States Champion. Zelina Vega took the eventual pinfall, because for some reason it would be a cardinal sin to have Flair lose a match if it's not being paid for, and that is a specifically annoying point – champions really should be protected better, from my viewpoint. But you can't win everything, and at the end of the day it was the right decision to have Giulia go over at this stage in time.

The match itself did really well, again unfortunately to the detriment of Vega, in building up the potential of a singles bout between Giulia and Flair further down the line and deservedly on a bigger stage. There were some great exchanges between all three of the competitors and within the vacuum of the bout any of them looked like a deserving winner. In terms of who needed the win on the night more, however, it had to be the debutant. As mentioned, Vega is already a reigning champion established on TV, while Flair is exactly who she is, arguably a walking Money in the Bank contract based on her title resume.

Giulia was already in the conversation for being the best women's wrestler before she joined WWE and took "NXT" over within a short amount of time, so the idea should be to keep her protected as much as possible going forward. She doesn't even have to win the Money in the Bank ladder match, but her just being in the match elevates her standing and it certainly increases the likelihood that it's going to be legitimately exciting.

Written by Max Everett

Look, I am a big fan of Candice LeRae. Anything that gets her more TV time is probably a good thing. But I really don't understand what's to be gained from once again pairing her up with Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.

At one point I was excited about a potential main roster run for a version of The Way with Ciampa instead of Austin Theory, but that was a long time ago and Indi Hartwell still had a WWE deal. Now, it just feels like WWE creative once again has no idea what to do with LeRae, so back she goes to side of her real-life husband. In other words, the same story that has described LeRae's career essentially since she arrived in "WWE NXT." Not that any of LeRae's non-husband creative of late has been inspired — it's basically been a run with the women's WWE Speed title and a stint as Nia Jax's henchwoman — but this decision reads less like a corrective and more like capitulation.

I've been saying for years that it's insane WWE can't find one interesting thing to do with a wrestler as special as Candice LeRae. Maybe this DIY reunion will be the thing that finally sparks something, but it never really has been before.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

I was thinking earlier today how tonight's Money in the Bank qualifier pitting Women's United States Champion Zelina Vega against Charlotte Flair and Giulia wasn't going to go in favor of the women's mid-card champion. I wasn't wrong there, but thankfully, the right woman (Giulia!) won that match and things aren't entirely bad for Vega this WWE Tampa Takeover Weekend. She may not be in the Money in the Bank ladder match, as of right now, as we're still hopeful for a last chance qualifier, but she is going to have a major spot at Saturday Night's Main Event. Tonight, it was announced she'll be defending her title in the only women's match at the event against Chelsea Green.

Green hasn't gotten her rematch for the title since Vega defeated her to win her first singles championship in WWE on the April 25 edition of "SmackDown." The opportunity for the rematch was floating out there, and Saturday Night's Main Event seems like the perfect place for the match. Thinking about it, it could also go either way. WWE could chose to keep the championship on Vega for awhile longer, as her fan base support is so strong, but SNME is also where Green became the inaugural Women's United States Champion, and that fact adds a little more intrigue to their match. The card was desperately needing a women's bout to even things out, and even as a very last-minute addition, Vega and Green both deserve a spot on the network special.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Promos are one of the most important parts of professional wrestling, but it's just as important that they have variety in them in order to make them stand out from one another and linger in the minds of the fans.

There's only so many ways that different wrestlers can express the same sentiment of not understanding why John Cena turned his back on the wrestlers themselves or the fans, as well as wanting him to revert back to his old personality. It's gotten very old to hear very fast, feeling repetitive, uninspired, and uncreative all at the same time. R-Truth's promo from tonight was exactly that: just more of the same old thing once again. Truth's character has been portrayed in recent memory as a fun loving guy who normally has no idea what he's doing, so to hear him cut the same promo that's been cut about Cena before was disappointing whilst also feeling kind of out of place for his character on the whole with the manner in which it was phrased. This was all exasperated by Cena's absence on the whole from "SmackDown," and while he's known for being a part-timer these days, this felt like one occasion where he should've been on the show in order to create some last minute hype and excitement for a lackluster match on Saturday Night's Main Event that could desperately use it.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

For the first time in 2025, the Wyatts Sicks were on WWE television. They picked the perfect date to return: the late Bray Wyatt's 38th birthday. In the closing minutes of the show, they made their return. The title match main event between Street Profits and FRAXIOM had already fallen apart because #DIY and Candice LeRae tried to get involved and then Motor City Machine Guns stopped them. Just the right amount of chaos to draw the Wyatts back in.

The lights went down and when they came back up Uncle Howdy, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Erick Rowan were in the center of the ring with their sights set on Montez Ford. Each member targeted everyone in and out of the ring with Johnny Gargano taking a Sister Abigail from Howdy. They all posed in the center of the ring. A birthday cake with a single lit candle was seen in the middle of the ring as their familiar music blared throughout the arena. Howdy looked to the heavens and yelled, "my life for you!" before blowing the candle out. No, your eyes are getting misty.

If you've read this column in the last year, you'll probably remember my love for Bray Wyatt. For the most part, I have loved all things Wyatt Sicks (with one exception being Howdy's dreadful wig) and this was no exception. It was a beautiful tribute to a man who meant so much to each member of the Sicks and to the fans. It was a reminder that everything they do is for Bray. While they are still carving their own path, he is the light in their lantern, guiding them on their path forward.

It remains to be seen if any of the members will target the tag team titles or if it was an opportunity to take out as many people as possible at once and put the rest of the locker room on notice. With Alexa Bliss (and Lily) also on the Blue brand, hopefully she'll be added soon to become the Six in Wyatt Sicks and finally complete the unit they were always meant to be. What a gift to Bray that would be.

Written by Samantha Schipman

While I'm very excited the Wyatt Sicks are back on WWE programming, the fact that Alexa Bliss seems to be nowhere near reuniting with them is something that's still bothering me. Of course, the faction JUST came back and seemingly inserted themselves (maybe?) into the WWE Tag Team Championship scene, but Bliss still feels about a thousand miles away from where she seemingly should be. Thankfully, Bliss got some of her first in-ring promo time since her WWE return tonight, but she didn't seem too Wyatt Sicks-like spooky and she's very focused on winning the Money in the Bank briefcase.

I haven't been liking wherever the heck Bliss' interactions with Charlotte Flair have been going over the last few weeks, but tonight made even less sense. They interacted a bit in the ring in a segment involving WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton, but they only had yet another very short backstage interaction. I thought that story would be moving a little faster, but it's almost like creative didn't have that entirely fleshed out before the Wyatt Sicks came back. Last week, Bliss wanted to talk to Flair, but this week, she told Flair she was only talking to the Lily doll. Whatever it is, Flair doesn't fit within any of this with Bliss, and I hope it gets dropped quickly if there's no full story that's already been written or thought through for these two women.

Sure, Nikki Cross could get involved and cost Bliss the Money in the Bank contract coming up here in two weeks and at this point, that's probably how I'd start to get the ball rolling to get Bliss into the faction if that's what WWE is actually going to do. It could be a great story, but after all the reports we've been seeing about Bliss being the leader of the faction, something just feels a little off about how different her current character arc really is, and it almost feels like she wouldn't fit in the faction right now. I guess I shouldn't be complaining since both the Wyatts and Bliss are back on WWE programming and they're all amazing, but it feels like connecting these two current stories wouldn't make much sense.

Written by Daisy Ruth