WWE Friday Night SmackDown Results: News And Notes After Jeff Hardy Returns

WWE Friday Night SmackDown featured blue brand talent currently booked for Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, including an excellent eight-man tag team match pitting The New Day and The Lucha House Party against The Forgotten Sons.

WWE continued to tease the mystery hacker, Jeff Hardy and Sheamus came face-to-face for Hardy’s return and the main event saw the team of Otis, Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak take on King Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro.

Last week’s broadcast of Friday Night SmackDown drew 1.885 million viewers and was the lowest viewership of 2020.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown Viewership—Last Five Weeks

• May 1, 2020—1.885 million viewers
• April 24, 2020—2.014 million viewers
• April 17, 2020—2.187 million viewers
• April 10, 2020—2.317 million viewers
• April 3, 2020—2.398 million viewers

From the Forbes WWE Vault

WWE Friday Night SmackDown Key Competition

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Mainstream News Coverage

WWE Total YouTube Viewership for WWE Friday Night SmackDown 

4,454,074 views (Down from 6,767,370 )

• Most-Viewed: Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler—Money in the Bank Qualifying Match (871,418 views) 
• Least-Viewed: Tempers Flare between Bryan and Corbin ahead of Money in the Bank (130,491 views)
• Median Viewership: 471,769

WWE Friday Night SmackDown: Friday, May 8, 2020

Sonya Deville def. Mandy Rose

It’s way too early to be having this match for the first time. This feud was trending toward a big payoff, maybe inside a Steel Cage. But at this clip, the blowoff will be Mandy Rose winning with a Sunset Flip on free television.

Good on Sonya for picking up the win. She’s a heel, and given her recent promo work, turns out she was the star of this duo all along.

The Miz, John Morrison and The Forgotten Sons def. The New Day and The Lucha House Party

The Lucha House Party may do jobs every week they’re on television, but when they’re allowed to even get in limited offense, it’s always exciting.

The action in this match did not stop for one second, and that’s not even close to an understatement.

This was a great commercial for Sunday’s Fatal 4-Way Match, which will be competed under no-disqualification rules. I’m all the way in.

Jeff Hardy Returns, Confronts Sheamus

This feud feels like “who is the best wrestler who should have assumed the throne in 2009?”

Jeff Hardy and Sheamus were arguing over who had more false starts. That’s an argument they need to take up with their ADHD Chairman.

Bray Wyatt Tells Braun Strowman to “Come Home”

If the plan is for Braun Strowman to drop the WWE Universal Championship the way I think it is, coming home might not be a bad way for Braun Strowman to save face. A reunion might feel better than being world champion for a month.

Braun Strowman vs. The Fiend may need significant editing to pass as a decent match.

Tamina and Lacey Evans def. Bayley and Sasha Banks

You know a tag team is on the rocks when they can’t even do Rock, Paper Scissors without something going wrong.

WWE seems to be finally taking its time with a Bayley-Sasha Banks split, probably because they really want to do this match in front of a full crowd.

King Corbin, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura def. Otis, Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak

Daniel Bryan may do pelvic thrusts better than Otis.

I keep trying to picture Otis winning Money in the Bank. As much as I want it to happen, I can’t picture him not filling the briefcase with steaks at some point, which could sink his ship as a potential world champion before it even takes off.