The Hayes/Corbin KotR match will be on SmackDown, and sponsored by Max

No word on how Peacock or AEW feel about this WWE/WBD team-up.

Coming into today (May 10), two first round matches from the SmackDown side of the King of the Ring tournament bracket were confirmed for tonight’s episode of SmackDown. With time limited and three Queen of the Ring bouts already set for the show, it wasn’t clear whether the other two opening round mens matches would make the cut for this week.

But this afternoon, WWE announced that at least one more would — Carmelo Hayes vs. Baron Corbin. Former NXT champion Hayes has been featured prominently on the blue brand since being drafter there earlier this month, so it’s not too surprising they want HIM on TV.

That may not have been the deciding factor, however. It might be the fact Melo’s match is sponsored by Max, which is paying WWE to spread the word that the acclaimed Von Erichs biopic premieres on the streaming service today.

Even before they moved under TKO, marketing tie-ins were playing an increasingly important role in WWE’s business plan. As far as I can recall though, this is the first time a TV match has been “presented by” an advertiser.

This one is also interesting because WWE’s future lies with two Max competitors in Netflix and Peacock… the latter of which shares a parent company (NBCUniversal) with Raw’s current and SmackDown’s future home USA. And we can’t help but wonder how AEW owner Tony Khan feels about his favorite streamer — and preferred home for his wrestling library —working with his mortal rivals.

Thoughts?