If you were watching WWE SmackDown May 23 2025, you probably still have that ringing in your ears from the Savannah crowd. Honestly, it was one of those nights where the wrestling was great, but the vibe was just... weird. In a good way. We were sitting there at the Enmarket Arena—or watching at home on the USA Network—expecting a standard "go-home" show for Saturday Night’s Main Event. Instead, we got a glimpse into the near future of the Blue Brand that felt a lot more like a fever dream.
Chaos.
That’s the only word for it. From Money in the Bank qualifiers to a tag team title match that didn't even have a winner, the May 23rd episode was a frantic sprint.
The Return That Actually Mattered
Let’s just get to the point. The main event featured The Street Profits defending their WWE Tag Team Championships against Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer and Axiom). It was a banger. Like, seriously high-speed stuff. But then everything went sideways. DIY and the Motor City Machine Guns showed up, which felt like a standard "everyone wants the belts" brawl.
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And then the lights died.
When they came back, it wasn't a standard run-in. The Wyatt Sicks were back. It’s been a minute since they really felt like a cohesive threat, but seeing Uncle Howdy and the crew dismantle four of the best tag teams in the world in under three minutes? It was brutal.
What’s wild is the timing. May 23rd would have been Bray Wyatt’s 38th birthday. WWE didn't lean into it with a sappy video package; they let the Wyatt Sicks light a single candle on a cake in the middle of a ring full of broken bodies. It was chilling. It shifted the whole energy of the show from a sports broadcast to a horror movie in seconds.
Money in the Bank Starts Taking Shape
While the ending stole the headlines, the actual "work" of the night focused on the upcoming Money in the Bank PLE. We had two massive triple-threat qualifiers.
- Giulia vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Zelina Vega: This was Giulia’s big "welcome to the main roster" moment. Zelina is the current Women's United States Champion, and Charlotte is, well, Charlotte. The finish was clever. Charlotte had Zelina in the Figure Eight, looking like she was seconds away from a tap, and Giulia just dropped a top-rope move to break it up and followed with a Northern Lights Bomb on Vega. Seeing a newcomer pin a champion and outsmart a legend in one move? That’s how you build a star.
- LA Knight vs. Aleister Black vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Talk about three different styles. Nakamura and Black were basically trying to kick each other's heads off for ten minutes. Black finally hit the Black Mass on Shinsuke, but LA Knight—being the opportunist he is—dumped Black out of the ring and stole the pin. The "Megastar" is officially in the ladder match, and the pop from the Georgia crowd was deafening. YEAH.
The Bloodline's New Civil War
We need to talk about Jacob Fatu and JC Mateo. This pairing is... tense. They faced off against Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix. You can tell Fatu and Mateo don't really like each other, or maybe they just don't trust the hierarchy Solo Sikoa is building.
They won, sure. Solo provided the distraction, and Mateo hit the Tour of the Islands for the three-count. But the way Fatu looked at Mateo after the match? That’s a ticking time bomb. It’s not a matter of if they turn on each other; it’s when. Jimmy Uso looks like a man on an island right now, and Rey Fenix brings some incredible athleticism to the mix, but they just couldn't overcome the raw power of the "New" Bloodline.
Short Hits and Surprises
- Tommaso Ciampa beat Chris Sabin in a match that actually got "This is Awesome" chants. Ciampa is leaning hard into the heel role, using Candice LeRae as a distraction while he feigned an injury. It was vintage DIY-era nastiness.
- Tiffany Stratton opened the show with a promo that basically set the world on fire. She’s the Women’s Champion, and she spent ten minutes insulting Alexa Bliss and Charlotte. Tiffy Time is definitely the peak of the women's division right now.
- R-Truth gave a promo about facing John Cena at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Truth being Truth, he seemed to think he was actually John Cena’s father or something. It was the perfect comedic palate cleanser before the Wyatt Sicks destroyed everyone's mood later.
Why This Episode of SmackDown Matters Long-Term
If you’re trying to track where WWE is heading in mid-2025, WWE SmackDown May 23 2025 is the blueprint. It confirmed that the tag team division is no longer just about the belts; it's about surviving a supernatural threat. It also solidified Giulia as a top-tier player immediately.
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Usually, go-home shows feel a bit "placeholder-y." This didn't. It felt like a reset button.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
If you missed the live broadcast, you need to go back and watch the final ten minutes. Don't just look at the results. The storytelling with the Wyatt Sicks is visual, and the atmosphere in that arena shifted in a way that Twitter screenshots can't capture.
Also, keep an eye on the Money in the Bank betting odds for LA Knight. He has the momentum of a freight train right now, and his win on May 23rd suggests the "Megastar" might finally be getting that career-defining push.
Moving forward, watch for how WWE handles the fallout of the Tag Team Championship "No Contest." We’ve got a vacuum at the top of the division, and with the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments looming in June (heading toward Riyadh), the roster is thinner and more desperate than ever.
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Key Next Steps:
- Check the replay on Netflix or the USA Network app to see the Wyatt Sicks entrance—the lighting cues were incredible.
- Follow the updated Money in the Bank brackets; LA Knight and Giulia are the first major "locks" from the Blue Brand.
- Prepare for the Saturday Night's Main Event results, as the R-Truth vs. John Cena match and the Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre Steel Cage match were set up perfectly by tonight's segments.