WWE SmackDown LIVE results, May 14, 2019: Kofi Kingston withstands Kevin Owens’ assault, wins the night en route to WWE Money in the Bank

LONDON — Continuing their conversation from the night before on Raw, Roman Reigns and The Miz kicked off SmackDown LIVE in London by discussing who was going to get the first crack at Shane McMahon tonight on the blue brand, but their chat was soon re-routed when they were by Shane McMahon & Elias, who seemingly both were eager to have their WWE Money in the Bank matches against Miz and Reigns respectively to come early. 

It quickly became apparent that Shane & Elias had set a trap for Reigns and Miz as Daniel Bryan & Rowan joined Shane-O-Mac and Elias and were clearly ready to pounce. However, just as the quartet attacked and began to lay into Miz & Reigns, the Wild Card Rule struck again, with The Usos dashing out to join the fray. Jimmy & Jey wiped out Shane, Elias, Bryan and Rowan with stereo dives and stood tall alongside Reigns & The A-Lister to kick off SmackDown LIVE in Uso crazy fashion.

Roman Reigns and The Miz find themselves outnumbered when Shane McMahon, Elias, Daniel Bryan & Rowan surround the ring, but The Usos come to their aid and spark a chaotic melee.

With all four Superstars wanting to make a major statement ahead of the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match this Sunday, Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor, Ali, Andrade and Randy Orton collided in a chaotic Fatal 4-Way Match.

The no disqualification nature of Fatal 4-Way Match came into play when a ladder was (fittingly) introduced into the melee. All four attempted to use it as a weapon, and Orton leveled Ali with an RKO after the surging Superstar was unable to connect with his signature 054.

In the clutch, Finn connected with an awe-inspiring dive onto The Viper and Ali, but Andrade capitalized by sneaking up on the Intercontinental Champion, ramming him into the steel steps and hitting his Hammerlock DDT to pick up a major victory.

Andrade began to ascend the ladder to symbolically grab the briefcase hanging above the ring, but his climb was interrupted by Raw’s Ricochet (thanks Wild Card Rule!), who dropped Andrade from the top of the ladder and grabbed the Money in the Bank briefcase before exiting.

Was this a sign of things to come for Ricochet come Sunday night at WWE Money in the Bank?

After The Usos of Raw used the Wild Card Rule to come to the aid of Roman Reigns and sparked a brouhaha with Shane McMahon, Elias, and SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan, Shane decreed that all seven Superstars would run it back in a 4-on-3 Handicap Match. Noticeable by his absence was The Miz, who Shane barred from ringside earlier in the evening, saying that if The A-Lister showed up during the Handicap Match, Shane would immediately cancel their Steel Cage Match this Sunday at WWE Money in the Bank.

When Jey Uso tweaked his ankle after missing a high-risk maneuver, the foursome took advantage of their numbers advantage, with Shane-O-Mac wearing down Jey and the rest of the squad following suit.

Despite absorbing tremendous punishment from his opponents, Jey rallied back and dropped Shane with a pinpoint kick before finding the energy to tag a fresh Big Dog into the matchup. Reigns unloaded on Bryan and eventually tagged in Jimmy, which allowed The Usos to run wild. A flurry of action saw Bryan connect with his Running Knee and Reigns level Rowan with a Superman Punch on the outside. During the melee, Jey Uso found himself in prime position to be hit with Shane’s Coast-to-Coast that secured the victory for the quartet.

Shane seemed ready to continue the attack after the bell, but The Miz put a stop to any such thing when he dashed out with a steel chair to even the odds for Reigns & The Usos, clearing the ring of Shane, Elias, Bryan and Rowan. There will be no escape for Shane this Sunday though, when he and Miz are locked inside the confines of a Steel Cage.

WWE Champion Kofi Kingston arrived for “The Kevin Owens Show” in his usual jovial mood … but it didn’t stay that way for long.

Kingston beat Kevin Owens to the punch and arrived to the ring first for the talk show, going as far as introducing Owens for his own show … except KO was nowhere to be found. With it looking like tonight’s episode would be more appropriately titled “The Kofi Show,” Kingston began to wonder aloud if Owens wasn’t out there tonight because he was scared. KO soon showed up – albeit on the TitanTron -- and claimed that even though Kofi accomplished his dream at WrestleMania, his dream was now over and reality was setting in. According to Owens, Kofi was only WWE Champion because of The New Day and his reign would end when the two collided this Sunday at WWE Money in the Bank. Owens reminded Kofi of just what he was capable of, showing highlights of him terrorizing the WWE roster (including his attack on Xavier Woods last week).

Kofi fired back, clearing the ring of any unneeded objects, ready to fight. When Owens hit the scene but refused to enter the ring, Kofi charged up the ramp, but after only a few blows were exchanged between the two, Sami Zayn showed up via the Wild Card Rule and assaulted the WWE Champion with his friend.

Xavier Woods rushed out to even the odds, but KO and Sami overwhelmed him. Owens trapped Kofi in the corner, screaming that he wasn’t going to do his worst now; he wanted to leave just enough so that he could take his title on Sunday. Kingston fired back against his tormentors and connected with a picture-perfect Trouble in Paradise on Zayn and sent the ultimate message to KO: Kofi was ready for whatever would come his way this Sunday at WWE Money in the Bank.