WWE SmackDown 5/15/2026: 3 Things We Hated & 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show that officially crowned a new No. 1 contender for Cody Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Championship! The WINC staff has thoughts on that, as you might expect — maybe a few more thoughts than usual. We also have thoughts about Damian Priest vs. Tama Tonga, Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints, and more!

As always, if you missed the show, you can catch up by checking out our 5/15/26 "SmackDown" results page, which contains all the objective information you could ask for about all three hours of blue brand programming. If you want to know what stood out in a particularly positive or negative way and made the WINC crew have opinions, you've come to the right place! Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 5/15/26 episode of "WWE SmackDown!"

I have no idea what the heck was going on tonight, and I guess maybe it's because WWE will have run three big events by the time May is over, but the fact two women's championship matches (or challenges, at least) were announced out of nowhere, and way too casually, was not it for me tonight. "SmackDown" is still three hours through the end of the month, there is plenty of time to give more thought to these match announcements, at least. I know Saturday Night's Main Event is basically just an obligation WWE has to get through with Peacock at this point, but geez.

The first announcement could have easily been an in-ring promo rather than a super awkward backstage segment that you could have easily missed if you weren't paying attention. The Irresistible Forces, Lash Legend and Nia Jax, seemed to challenge Women's Tag Team Champions Brie Bella and Paige to another match, despite the champions defeating them already in a WrestleMania rematch on May 1, at Saturday Night's Main Event. Paige and Bella already have a title match on Monday against Judgment Day's Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez, though I'd guess Legend and Jax would challenge whoever walks out of "WWE Raw" as champs at the event.

Later on in the night, a newly-returned Jade Cargill just ever-so casually mentioned that she'd be taking the WWE Women's Championship back from Rhea Ripley at Clash in Italy on May 31. And it definitely sounded like a statement rather than a challenge for Ripley. The champion wasn't even around to respond by beating Cargill down tonight, but I can't imagine WWE would have Cargill say that without it actually going forward.

Maybe that ends with Cargill and Charlotte Flair taking on one another to determine the number one contender for Clash in Italy, but now it looks like she and Alexa Bliss will have Ripley on their side to even the numbers game with between Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab, also at Saturday Night's Main Event. The WWE Women's Championships scene, at least, is currently pretty sad if they've waited this long to run back Cargill and Ripley from WrestleMania.

Tonight's episode felt kind of strange to me overall, with a lot of things that had some noticeably timing issues, including in the backstage with the Irresistible Forces and Paige and Bella. Thankfully, we only have two more three-hour episodes of the blue brand left this year, because WWE fails to do much with the time it has now. And, while both of these matches aren't yet official and could technically be only seen as challenges, that doesn't seem likely for WWE.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Not every segment or match is defined by what was said or the action that takes place in the ring. Sometimes, it's the live crowd that can really make or break something and this becomes even more amplified in the hometown of a given star. If you need any proof, look no further than Trick Williams in his hometown of Columbia from this edition of "SmackDown."

Could I have lived without Kit Wilson and Lil Yachty having a slam poetry/rap battle with one another? Absolutely. Could I have also lived with a shorter match between Williams and The Miz? Yes, probably. With that out of the way, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying watching Williams celebrate his hometown of Columbia by recalling several fond memories. The live crowd also brought a super fun energy to Williams' segment and his match with The Miz, keeping their energy up throughout it and giving Williams an incredibly warm reception that made me incredibly happy as a girl who's been a fan of Williams since his days as Carmelo Hayes' sidekick in "WWE NXT." I also loved seeing Williams' parents being present in the crowd, as you could see just how proud of their son they were and it looked like they were having the time of their lives.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Damian Priest and Tama Tonga faced one another in a bout that was never going to be amazing simply for the premise it was born from; MFT want the tag titles that are held by Priest and R-Truth, and because Truth (apparently) wasn't medically cleared to compete, this was the match.

Talla Tonga beat Priest last week after interference and a Truth run in. It was stressed that Truth couldn't interfere because he isn't cleared, there turned out to be no interference in the match itself and Priest won. But then of course Solo Sikoa and Talla took out Priest and left him laid out in the ring. Aside from that, Talla took out Shinsuke Nakamura prior to the match as he continued to commit the cardinal sin of talking to Tama.

It's been months of those segments teasing a break-up that is racing against TKO's periodic budget cuts at this point. And Solo was also present for Royce Keys' match in the main event, because he's stopped pretending MFT is supposed to be the New Bloodline and is looking for new recruits after the mysterious disappearances of JC Mateo and Tanga Loa. But this is, one would guess, supposed to be their main thing they have going on and it definitely leaves much to be desired. The match itself wasn't really great from any way of looking at it.

There isn't that much to it, but it's being drawn out over weeks of singles matches between the one tag champion that isn't perceived as a joke in singles competition and their two challengers. There isn't a really a division to compete for the titles at the moment, that's a problem of the company's own making, and thus there aren't really that many options for this to be booked. But the lack of attempt is really just insulting to anyone who goes out of their way to support or pay in to the company.

The seams are not only visible but they're fraying and flaking from sheer age. Time to embroider anew and come up with something else while you're at it. Provide some drama between the characters other than "guy gets beat in a wrestling ring" or "guy wins and then gets beat up by XYZ." Add more to the supposed tension between Tama and MFT, flesh things out. It really doesn't have to be so formulaic, but it is, and as someone who grew up a WWE fan – for better or very, very worse – it does honestly feel so shallow now.

Written by Max Everett

Ask and you shall receive, apparently, because I was hollering for the newly-called up Ricky Saints to be booked in a stronger match after he went from facing Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in his "SmackDown" debut to facing Matt Cardona last week. I've said somewhere in one of our various columns that he should feud with Carmelo Hayes for the shot at Trick Williams' United States Championships, and tonight, WWE may have kicked off just that. If not that, at least tensions between Hayes and Saints that could lead to a number one contendership feud, and the men had a pretty great match tonight.

Hayes returned from around a month off of television, which I think was probably good for him. He wasn't booked on the WrestleMania card, so in addition to the rest, he was also kept fresh, to keep the people wanting more of him and to keep the #WeWantMelo phenomenon alive. He had a backstage segment with Saints, where they were verbally evenly matched, which then led to the pair squaring off in the ring.

Saints looked great to start off the match, but he was too cocky, and Hayes hit a springboard leg drop to get him off his feet. I noticed Saints heeling it up to those fans in the front row on the ramp during a picture-in-picture break, which I thought was excellent. The longer the match went, the more Saints was getting visibly upset that he couldn't put the former US Champion away, though he hadn't even attempted to hit the Roshambo yet.

I think they got going a little too fast toward the end of the match, however, and Saints appeared to slip on the Revolution DDT, but Hayes recovered it quickly with a First 48, which Saints kicked out of. Saints then hit the move, and Hayes kicked out of that, which evened things out, so maybe that was the plan after all, but the missed DDT just looked sloppy to me.

In the end, Saints heeled it up once more and had his feet on the ropes in an attempt to put Hayes away, and Hayes was able to roll his opponent up as he argued with the referee, which I think could be grounds somehow for Saints to demand a rematch. After tonight, I definitely wouldn't mind these two having a series of matches, or coming back to this eventually for a feud, as they worked well together. If they slow things down just a tad, especially after facing one another already, they could really be on to something great. I was excited to see this match booked ahead of the show, and these guys did not disappoint.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Earlier in the show, a table was set up and flanked by two chairs. Cody Rhodes had a contract for GUNTHER to sign, but he was too busy running his mouth. Royce Keys took his shot and said if GUNTHER wouldn't sign the contract, he would gladly do it. Nick Aldis thought the former champion was too cocky and put him in a match against Keys with the winner getting the No. 1 contendership spot. I liked this because it was something different. So far, Keys' biggest accolade in WWE has been winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale. I am glad to see him still being featured and not pushed to the side. It added another layer with Rhodes and Keys being good friends in real life.

Keys got to prove himself against GUNTHER. He went toe-to-toe with him and showcased what he can do for fans who are still new to him. And then a surprising thing happened in the main event of a WWE show; there was interference! Solo Sikoa slid a chair to Keys and encouraged him to use it on GUNTHER, but instead got hit square in the face with said chair. A shocking turn of events. GUNTHER connected with a clothesline and followed with a powerbomb to win...and become the No. 1 contender. He could've just signed the contract hours before and not had to fight for it.

Keys winning would've been cool for a couple of reasons. It would've added something fresh to the title picture instead of the revolving door of the same men getting into title shots. It would've established Keys as someone to watch and as more of a threat. Instead, WWE relies on multiple crutches; interferences and the same people getting title shots. With as many hits as WWE has taken lately, maybe changing things up once in a while would keep them from being so stagnant.

Written by Samantha Schipman

While I get being frustrated with Solo Sikoa's interference in the main event, I have to say that pretty much every other part of the Royce Keys storyline worked for me this week. I really liked Keys stepping up to try and sign the contract that GUNTHER was refusing to sign. Maybe it was just because I was tired of GUNTHER heelishly not signing the contract, but I thought it made a ton of sense for a big, bad-ass babyface to come down in that moment and be like "F*** you, I'll sign it." It made Keys seem like a character with agency and purpose, which I don't always get from wrestling these days.

Now I understand if you question what the point of this was, given that GUNTHER won the subsequent No. 1 contender's match and Keys didn't. To me, the point was a damn good main event match between two big men who really laid into each other. I highly enjoyed GUNTHER vs. Keys, especially any time they were smashing into each other with clotheslines — it was a fun first-time pairing that utilized a style you don't always see on WWE programming, and it really showcased Keys as a (pun intended) powerhouse. And honestly, even the Sikoa interference made sense to me, as it was used to protect Keys while he took his first non-Rumble loss in WWE.

Even though he lost, this one-week storyline really raised Keys' stock for me. I think he came off looking like a guy who belonged in the main event scene and could have potentially beaten the man who retired John Cena, a guy who would have fit in easily alongside Cody Rhodes in Italy, and a man who isn't afraid to step up and take an opportunity when one presents itself. As someone who hasn't put a ton of stock so far in the dude with the "aight" catchphrase, I became a bit of a believer in Keys tonight, and I think that was by design.

Written by Miles Schneiderman