WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Awkward Triple H celebration brings down an otherwise solid show

A fairly solid edition of SmackDown ended on a weak note with a celebration of Triple H's 25 years in WWE

With WWE continuing to build toward its Money in the Bank pay-per-view on Sunday, May 10, SmackDown was a fairly solid show with good in-ring action. Unfortunately, the show ended on a rough note with a "celebration" of Triple H's 25 years in WWE. Joined by Shawn Michaels, Triple H was basically roasted as videos of bloopers and WrestleMania losses were aired until Vince McMahon walked out to declare the segment awful and shut out the lights to end the show.

The segment missed the mark on comedy, timing and generally felt like a waste of nearly 20 minutes of TV time focused on executives having a "good time" with no meaning or importance. It was a rare misstep during recent strong editions of Raw and SmackDown in the "empty PC era."

On a more positive note, Money in the Bank qualifiers featuring King Corbin defeating Drew Gulak and Lacey Evans getting past Sasha Banks were solid bits of in-ring work that also intensified rivalries and characters. In the show's lone title match, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross were able to overcome the challenge of Carmella and Dana Brooke to retain the women's tag team titles.

Let's take a look at all the action that went down on SmackDown from the empty WWE Performance Center.

WWE SmackDown recap, grades

Kofi Kingston and Big E were out to open the show, celebrating Big E winning the SmackDown tag titles for the team last week. Kingston was rattling off the legendary teams The New Day has surpassed with their eight title reigns. They were then interrupted by Lucha House Party members Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado. Dorado threw down a challenge for the titles before being interrupted themselves by The Miz and John Morrison. The former tag champs pointed out their title defenses have all come under odd circumstances with New Day never beating them in a straight tag match. As things heated up among the groups, The Forgotten Sons made their way to the ring as well. The Forgotten Sons laid out their mission statement before attacking the three other teams in the ring. As Miz, Morrison, Dorado and Metalik left the ring, The Forgotten Sons took out New Day and left them laying in a segment that was much better before they got involved. Miz and Morrison were interviewed backstage. They ignored the actions of The Forgotten Sons and blamed Lucha House Party for the situation and challenged them to a match later tonight. Grade: C-

King Corbin def. Drew Gulak via pinfall to qualify for Money in the Bank after hitting End of Days. Daniel Bryan was ringside, supporting Gulak. Corbin took the big man offense to Gulak early, but the technician staged a comeback. The action continued to seesaw until Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura came to ringside and took out Bryan, distracting Gulak. Corbin took advantage, ramming Gulak into the ring post before hitting End of Days for the win, advancing to Money in the Bank in the process. After the match, Cesaro and Nakamura attacked Gulak before holding him up and allowing Corbin to hit him with his scepter. The match was good, as has become the standard for Gulak and things could get interesting as Corbin and Bryan are now both set for the upcoming ladder match. Grade: B

Sheamus def. Daniel Vidot via pinfall with a Brogue Kick. This was a very short squash match stuff after Sheamus felt "disrespected" by Vidot going at him at the start of the match. Sheamus later returned to ringside to intimidate Michael Cole, for the second straight week taking exception to a Jeff Hardy video airing after one of his quick victories. He ripped Cole's headset off during the Lucha House Party entrance. Grade: C+

Lucha House Party def. The Miz & John Morrison via pinfall. Miz and Morrison dominated the early part of the match, wearing out Lince Dorado with impactful offense until a handspring stunner allowed Dorado to make the hot tag to Gran Metalik. Moments later, Metalik was able to score the flash pin to score an upset victory out of nowhere, leaving Miz and Morrison in shock. Grade: B-

Lacey Evans def. Sasha Banks via pinfall to qualify for Money in the Bank after hitting the Women's Right. Banks walked to the ring using a photo of Evans' daughter as a fan. Evans snapped after being dominated early, taking Banks' face and ramming it into the ring post several times. Evans' mouth was busted open early but she was able to hit the Women's Right, seemingly locking up the win but Bayley put Evans' foot on the rope. Banks scored a roll-up in the confusion but the referee was distracted by Bayley. After Banks and Bayley briefly argued, Evans recovered and hit another Women's Right, this time holding the picture of her daughter in her hand as she landed the punch, scoring the win. As Banks and Bayley made their way up the ramp, Tamina came out to hit Bayley with a superkick, completing a very bad night for the champion and her friend. Grade: B

A video package aired covering the history between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt. The video hit the expected notes from Strowman's time in The Wyatt Family to last week when Wyatt gave Strowman a gift containing his old black sheep mask.

Women's Tag Team Championship -- Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross def. Carmella & Dana Brooke via pinfall to retain the title with a 3D-style DDT finisher. Before the match, Brooke jokingly asked Carmella if she would be able to focus on their match with her Money in the Bank qualifier taking place next week, calling back to Carmella accusing her of the same last week. Bliss and Cross scored the win with a move that started like a 3D but finished with Bliss hitting a DDT instead of a cutter, possibly introducing a new finisher for the team. Grade: B-

Triple H was joined by Shawn Michaels to celebrate his 25 years with the company. Michaels and Triple H had an awkward exchange with Michaels pointing out that he did not receive a celebration for his own 25 years in WWE. Michaels and Triple H threw to a blooper reel of sorts, with promo outtakes and a few in-ring moments. Next, Michaels introduced a video covering all of Triple H's WrestleMania losses. Michaels made fun of Stephanie McMahon, leading her to FaceTime Triple H, followed by Michaels bringing up Ric Flair and Flair also FaceTiming. The segment had way overstayed it's welcome at this point, but continued through a commercial break. After the commercial, Vince McMahon made his way out to the entrance ramp. McMahon said if fans were in attendance, they would chant "boring," before talking about the Gobbledy Gooker, Katie Vick and the "Bayley, This is Your Life" segment. After saying he loved Triple H, he again said the segment was horrible and told them to wrap it up as the lights began to shut off in the arena to end the show on a terrible note. Grade: F

[Apr 24, 2020 at 9:57 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Triple H was joined by Shawn Michaels to celebrate his 25 years with the company. Michaels and Triple H had an awkward exchange with Michaels pointing out that he did not receive a celebration for his own 25 years in WWE. Michaels and Triple H threw to a blooper reel of sorts, with promo outtakes and a few in-ring moments. Next, Michaels introduced a video covering all of Triple H's WrestleMania losses. Michaels made fun of Stephanie McMahon, leading her to FaceTime Triple H, followed by Michaels bringing up Ric Flair and Flair also FaceTiming. The segment had way overstayed it's welcome at this point, but continued through a commercial break. After the commercial, Vince McMahon made his way out to the entrance ramp. McMahon said if fans were in attendance, they would chant "boring," before talking about the Gobbledy Gooker, Katie Vick and the "Bayley, This is Your Life" segment. After saying he loved Triple H, he again said the segment was horrible and told them to wrap it up as the lights began to shut off in the arena to end the show on a terrible note. Grade: F

[Apr 24, 2020 at 9:33 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Women's Tag Team Championship -- Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross def. Carmella & Dana Brooke via pinfall after an assisted DDT. Before the match, Brooke jokingly asked Carmella if she would be able to focus on their match with her Money in the Bank qualifier taking place next week, calling back to Carmella accusing her of the same last week. Bliss and Cross scored the win with a move that started like a 3D but finished with Bliss hitting a DDT instead of a cutter, possibly introducing a new finisher for the team. Grade: B-

[Apr 24, 2020 at 9:18 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler and Mandy Rose vs. Carmella are next week's final qualifying matches for the Money in the Bank ladder matches.