Join 411’s Live WWE Smackdown Coverage

Keep Refreshing For The Latest Results

Hey there people, it’s Friday and time for WWE Smackdown. This event already happened as they’re in Barcelona, Spain, and if you want spoilers they can be found HERE. This is the go home show for Clash in Italy, to that end expect videos for Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu because even though it’s a RAW match we must devote Smackdown time to it. WWE champion Cody Rhodes and Gunther are likely to interact in some capacity after Gunther choked out Cody to end last week and give the final push for their match tomorrow. Women’s champion Rhea Ripley and Jade Cargill will probably have words, though I expect not physicality until tomorrow so Charlotte Flair or Alexa Bliss likely gets beat down. Probably Bliss, Charlotte still seems like she wants a title run again. Sami Zayn is still whining, so something will come of that. Temu Bloodline antics will probably take up time, hometown boy Axiom will battle Miz so expect Danhausen to get some time as well as Miz is still cursed. The midcard is looking like it’s solidifying around Trick Williams, Carmelo Hayes, and Ricky Saints for now. Ilja Dragunov being stuck in catering is a crime by the way. Nia Jax and Lash Legend lost a tag title bout so they’ll need something to do, my hunch is more Jax and Tiffany Stratton because God knows we didn’t see a metric ton of that pairing before. The plus side is the foreign crowds are almost always loud and improve the atmosphere. Hopefully the action delivers, last week was kind of rough but go home shows also always get graded on a curve. So let’s get to the action.

Minor mechanical note, I don’t have a Netflix stream of this so the commercial breaks will be more in line with the terrestrial broadcast since that’s what I’ll be covering. My apologies for any inconsistencies this creates relative to prior coverage when I’m able to get that one working.

Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett welcome us to the show and we get the usual uninteresting arrival of wrestlers to the venue, then we get a recap SNME.

First to the ring is Jade Cargill with her flunkies. Jade is dressed to wrestle, and gets a mic. Michin and B-Fab gets mics as well, that’s usually a mistake. Jade plays with the crowd, B-Fab with some Spanish to them. B-Fab just wont shut up and Jade’s promos don’t need another hurdle to overcome. Jade puts herself over, B-Fab chimes in, then Michin claims the future is now. That brings out Rhea Ripley, who gets a mic and heads to the ring apron. Everyone stands around so Ripley’s music can go all the way through before Ripley gets into the ring, she soaks in the atmosphere as the crowd are vocal for her, then says Jade keeps doing the same thing week after week as though 90% of her success isn’t just using others. But when it’s just Jade and Ripley one on one Ripley beat her. She beat her at Mania and will beat her again at Clash in Italy. Jade asks if Ripley can hear how stupid she is, this division doesn’t revolve around Ripley. Ripley’s so weak she’ll work with women who don’t even like her. That does bring out Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, both with mics because who doesn’t love revolving door promo segments. Only Bliss of the faces is dressed to wrestle so we already know where this is going. Charlotte and Bliss talk to the ring, Charlotte brings up Jade only being here for a short amount of time, and don’t confuse hype for accomplishment. B-Fab tries to talk but sounds like a child and Charlotte calls her just an accessory to Jade. Bliss warns Jade to actually accomplish something before lecturing anyone. Bliss says Jade has the resume of a rookie, Jade calls her Charlotte’s rag doll, and Bliss warns her that she’s gone toe to toe with people way better than Jade and not to get embarrassed this soon into her career. Nick Aldis shows up to a big pop and makes Jade vs. Bliss which will be up after this break. That was a pretty rough segment, B-Fab just comes across as levels lower than everyone else talking and Jade hasn’t done anything new or interesting in months and months of time.

Match #1: Alexa Bliss w/ Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill w/ Michin and B-Fab

Bell rings as we come back from break. Bliss with some early strikes as she avoids the power game of Cargill. Bliss hasn’t had a major women’s title in like 7 years but people still pop for her. Jade throws Bliss out of the ring, then tries to follow but Bliss out maneuvers her and gets back into the ring, then attacks Jade on her way back into the ring. Bliss avoids a corner attack then snaps Jade over the top rope and climbs up top but Jade catches her leaping then hits a Uranage backbreaker. Bliss fights out of a corner, but Jade catches her up top and after some positioning hits a military press to Bliss. Jade misses an elbow drop then gets low bridged out of the ring. bliss to the apron, but Jade catches her and powerbombs her on the barricade to send us picture in picture.

Some more ringside brawling from Jade. Back in the ring Jade with some corner work. Bliss with a slow motion roll up attempt, Jade stalls that and corners Bliss for more corner work. Chin lock from Jade, then a hard corner whip and pushups. Bliss runs into a back elbow as we rejoin the broadcast. Bliss heads out of the ring, Jade follows her and then drops her onto the apron. Bliss fights back with a shotgun dropkick to send Jade into the barricade. Jade charges Bliss but Bliss moves and Jade rams herself into the ring steps. Back in the ring Bliss with her usual striking flurry culminating with a flipping senton and step over Blockbuster for a 2 count. Jade avoids Sister Abigail’s DDT, but Michin trips up Bliss. That leads to Charlotte and Ripley attacking the goobers at ringside and they all brawl up the aisle. Kneeling DDT from Bliss then she heads up top for Twisted Bliss but Jade gets the knees up to block. Jade with a pump kick then Jaded to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Jade Cargill won in 9:34

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: The crowd helped this but this was pretty paint by numbers. Jade can’t do anything but run through her normal stuff and Bliss seems to exist at this point just to be in spots like this.

Post match Jade gets a chair, heads into the ring then hits Bliss with Jaded onto the chair. Bliss had a visible block of the chair with her hands on the way down, production did neither her nor Jade any favors on that one. Charlotte and Ripley run back down and Jade retreats.

We get a recap of Cody Rhodes beating Sami Zayn last week and Sami just letting Gunther choke out Cody.

In the back Cody is with Cathy, but Cathy heads out as Sami crashes the party. Sami wants an apology for last week, he had Cody’s back when Gunther first attacked and Cody repaid him by spiking him with a Cross Rhodes. Cody tells him to shut up, he just wrestled fair and square but Sami just watched as Gunther choked the life out of him. Sami wanted to help, because he’s a good guy, but he didn’t help because Cody needed to learn a lesson. Cody says he’ll teach Sami a lesson after he’s done with Gunther. Cody leaves as Sami continues reeking of garbage.

Elsewhere in the back Aldis tells Danhausen his equipment got tied up so no more science tonight. Danhausen promises to improvise. Miz comes over and is upset Kit Wilson isn’t here and Miz wants his match postponed. Aldis doesn’t care, we can see Danhausen moving stuff around into a closet. Miz gets tricked into just going into his match without Wilson, which is up next. Also the lights flicker, because Danhausen was going into some kind of high voltage marked room. Anyway that sends us to break.

Post break here comes Miz, followed by Axiom along with Nathan Frazer. Miz doesn’t do his stupid spin and point at least, so there’s that. Big response for Axiom.

Match #2: Miz vs. Axiom w/ Nathan Frazer

They tie up, Miz goes for an arm wringer but Axiom counters with one of his own. Miz with a side headlock, but Axiom escapes and the lights flicker. Are we adding the lights go out to the list of like 4 things Triple H does as a director? Lights, hoodie, Bloodline, I’m sure there’s another that’s escaping me. Axiom with some quick athletics to keep Miz frustrated then he lands a lovey dropkick as well. Leg kicks from Axiom then a reaping enziguri sends Miz out of the ring. Miz tries to leave, but Frazer blocks the entrance ramp. Axiom lands a baseball slide, but when getting back in the ring Miz kicks the rope into Axiom’s groin and that sends us to break.

We come back to both men being down. Axiom kips up and starts landing strikes to Miz then hits a half nelson suplex for a 2 count. Axiom goes up top, jumps over Miz then slips out of a Skull Crashing Finale but Miz hits a DDT for a 2 count. Some kicks from Miz, Axiom catches one and hits a Dragon Screw. Axiom with kicks now including a nice Buzzsaw kick to culminate it. Up top for Axiom, hits a crossbody for another 2 count. Miz avoids a Golden Ratio, then mocks the crowd and hits the corner clothesline. Miz then springboards into a triangle choke, Axiom transitions into a LeBell Lock, Miz rolls through that though then counters a hurricanrana with a slingshot powerbomb. Miz goes up top, the lights flicker again and that allows Axiom to recover and hit a Spanish Fly then the Golden Ratio to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Axiom won in 9:54

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Nice showcase for Axiom, Miz was a good dance partner for him. Miz and Danhausen’s stuff, even in the background, remains pretty entertaining.

In the back Damian Priest and R-Truth walk, Truth is still not cleared to wrestle. Truth got Priest a partner for tonight since he can’t be there, it’s Royce Keys. Royce is here, and Priest isn’t happy about teaming with him. Royce knew Priest would just want to go out on his own, and wishes him well getting jumped. They keep bickering but Truth cuts through the noise and gets them to both agree to the match as neither man is afraid of the Island Boys. Truth heads out and Priest follows trying to make sense of things.

Elsewhere human garbage pile Sami talks with Candice LeRae and depressed Johnny Gargano. Sami resumes grievance mongering but here’s Matt Cardona. Cardona and Sami get into it verbally, and Cardona says things might not go Sami’s way but they’re not going his way either and he’s not behaving like Sami is. More bickering and we get the usual match.

Back to the ring, here comes Damian Priest as he and Royce Keys will team up against Talla Tonga and Tama Tonga. Can’t wait for Talla to lumber around like a goof and still get the pinfall win after this break.

In the back Charlotte helps Bliss with ice on her head, then walks over to find Ripley. Ripley promises to handle Jade in Italy, and Charlotte says if Ripley doesn’t then Charlotte will. Charlotte, we all watched you share long meaningful stares with Jade for months last year that led to nothing, this probably wont lead to anything either.

Back to the ring, here comes Royce Keys. After that come our Island Boys. Despite both Tama and Tall having their own music they come out to Solo’s.

Match #3 – Tag Team Match: Damian Priest and Royce Keys vs. Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga w/ Solo Sikoa

Priest and Talla start, Talla with strikes right away. Priest fights back with strikes then runs into a shoulder block. Talla asks for a crowd reaction, and does not get it. Tama tags in and keeps up the strikes, Priest with a right hand then punches Tama into the face corner. Keys has to tag himself in as Priest wasn’t down with that. Keys lays into Tama, then hits a tilt a whirl gutbuster. Corner work from Keys for a bit, Tama gets a boot up but runs into a snap powerslam. Keys then runs over Tama and sends him out of the ring. Talla shows up but Priest and Keys both attack him, showing some team work as they toss Talla out of the ring and send us picture in picture.

Priest gets cheap shotted and the heels take over. Solo talks to Keys, good Lord we’re still doing this? Talla with headbutts to Keys, because he can barely do anything else. Running Samoan Drop from Talla. More control stuff from Tala, which still looks boring. How does he have no connective tissue other than raising his arms and looking desperately for approval from the crowd? Tama tags back in and hits a sliding clothesline. Talla back in and goes with a neck crank. That’s the state of things as we come back. Keys avoids corner rush, Tama tags in though and stops Keys from tagging out. “OTC” chant, because no one cares about anyone in this match, and Tama runs into a Sky High and both men are down. Priest tags in and starts unloading on Tama with punches then a Flapjack. Talla shows up and Priest punches him then unloads on both men with kicks. Discus right hand to Talla then a corner attack for each man. Talla gets knocked out of the ring, Tama attacks Pries but then runs into the lifting Flatliner. Priest goes up top for a clothesline and that gets a 2 count as Talla shows up. Keys clotheslines Talla out of the ring. Solo hops up to hit Priest with a Samoan Spike. R-Truth runs down after that, Truth attacks Solo on the floor but Solo cuts him off. Keys shows up to save Truth and yell at Solo but Tama attacks Keys from behind after tagging out. Talla then hits the chokeslam on Priest to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Tama and Talla won in 9:04

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Talla’s control work is still just terrible, and this whole Islanders thing remains boring, motionless, and uninteresting. Priest has fallen pretty far from grace, from a world champion and feuding in a heated manner with main event talent to this listless Samoan B-team vortex.

In the back Miz threatens to sue Aldis for a hazardous work place. Aldis promises to get to the bottom of the flickering light issue. He and Miz find Danhausen in a room, and Miz then runs into a fire extinguisher blast as Danhausen was putting out a fire. Aldis again tries to touch the covered body that Danhausen is dragging around but Danhausen tells him not to touch it before we head to break.

Post break, we get a recap and hype video for Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu in Tribal Combat. Assuming Fatu is cleared to wrestle as apparently he’s hurt.

Commentary runs down Clash in Italy. How you don’t book Giulia, who’s half Italian, onto the card is a little bit beyond me. But they’ve never had any idea what to do with her.

Chelsea Green walks in the back and finds Tiffany Stratton. Green wants Tiffany with her tonight, but Tiffany says she’s not coming out with her tonight. There’s just nothing deep here between them. Green is hurt. We did this same thing with Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair not too long ago.

Back to the ring here’s Sami Zayn, he’ll be in action after this break.

Post break we get a hype video for Chad Gable vs. Ludwig Kaiser and the battle of El Grande Americano, Mask vs. Mask. It’s quite well done.

Back to the ring and here’s Matt Cardona.

Match #4: Sami Zayn vs. Matt Cardona

Circling to start, then a tie up. Sami goes for an arm wringer, Cardona counters and they trade a few counters with Sami getting the better of things. Another tie up, Sami into a hammer lock but Cardona counters into one of his own then hits the ropes but runs into an arm drag. Cardona misdirects Sami out of the ring and follows with a diving baseball slide. Back in the ring Sami hits Cardona on the apron then suplexes him back into the ring. They trade some corner work with Cardona getting the best of things then following with a second rope dropkick. Sami powders and we head to break.

We come back to Sami grabbing a chin lock. Seems like we had a minor production gaff there. Jawbreaker from Cardona then he fires up with clotheslines and a face buster. Corner attack from Cardona then he hits a Broski Boot, he wants a Rough Rider but Sami slips free only to get caught with a Tiger Driver for a 2 count. Sami counters a Rough Rider with a powerbomb but only finds a 2 count. Now Sami tries a Helluva Kick but Cardona counters with a Rough Rider and Sami has to get a foot on the ropes to save himself. Cardona is beside himself, he puts Sami up top and climbs up with him, they trade elbows but Sami punches Cardona down then misses a flying nothing but catches Cardona with the corner Exploder suplex. Helluva Kick follows and Sami wins.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Sami Zayn won in 11:15

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Solid overall match, I don’t know what we’re doing with Cardona at this point though. The action was solid and the crowd was into this one, but the lack of direction and very very obvious outcome hurt it. I imagine the non-interrupted version was closer to 3 stars.

We’ll be having King and Queen of the Ring tournaments later, the winners get Summer Slam title shots. That leads to a hype package for the tournaments.

In the back Trick Williams and his hype man walk, they’ll talk after this break. Almost certainly saying the same thing as last week.

Post break in the back we find Aldis gives TV time to Gunther and tells him to keep things civilized tonight. Gunther says he’s not an animal, he knows this is important and will not get physical. He’ll attack Cody verbally, then says next time we come to Spain we need to come to a real city like Madrid. That gets heat, because Gunther is a glorious dick. We really do need more heels just reveling in their crapulence instead of demanding justification and believability.

To the ring, here’s Trick and his over chant, he’s got his water craft in tow. Trick and Yachty get mics, Yachty introduces himself then says we’re on the Trick Williams campaign. More chanting, I am rather tired of that chant personally. Trick puts himself over and plays with the crowd. He says he took out the Miz, took out Carmelo Hayes, and they don’t care who’s next. He’s been the best in the business the last six months and announces he’s in the King of the Ring tournament. That brings out Carmelo Hayes, decent reaction for him. Hayes has a mic and talks his way to the ring, he says Trick might be king of the chant and microphone, but not ring. KOTR is grown folks stuff and Trick is too little. He’ll take care of Ricky Saints tonight, then that’ll set him up to take on Trick down the line. Trick says Hayes is making excuses and being melodramatic. All the excuses don’t matter, Hayes is on the apron. Trick says if Hayes grew an inch for each excuse he could look Trick eye to eye. That brings out Ricky Saints to freaking crickets. Man just no pop for him. Ricky talks to the ring and says no one wants to see their crap, they want to see a Ricky Saints. He warns Hayes that he’s three steps ahead and will be coming for the US title after tonight. Trick calls him a bobble head, and as a champion he advises him to shut up. Once those two midgets figure out who’s better that might finally determine who Trick gets to beat down. Ricky says Trick is the king of delusion, and gets back handed by Trick. Trick and Yachty head out and we’ll get Hayes and Ricky after this break.

Match #5: Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints

Joined in progress as we come back. Ricky is in charge and landing strikes. Some rope running and Hayes lands a dropkick. Hayes with an enziguri that sets up Ricky for the fade away leg drop. Ricky cuts off a running Hayes with a clothesline. Some strikes from Ricky as he corners Hayes. Hayes fights back with kicks and corner chops. Hayes with a 10 punch, he gets over that and then stomps down Ricky in the corner. Ricky shoves a bouncing Hayes over the ropes then follows him and rams him into the barricade. Some more ringside brawling from Ricky then heads back into the ring to pose as we go picture in picture.

Hayes struggles but gets back into the ring, so Ricky hits a knee drop then grabs a chin lock. They trade strikes and then Ricky hits a suplex to keep Hayes from building momentum. As we come back to broadcast Ricky puts Hayes up top, Hayes shoves him down though and tries a Frog Splash but Ricky gets the knees up and hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Hayes counters a Revolution DDT and hits a leaping DDT of his own to put both men down. They trade strikes for a bit, Hayes gets the best of that then hits the springboard clothesline. Hayes with Dirty Diana for a 2 count. The crowd think this is awesome, that’s the first of those chants so it carries some weight. Ricky with a swinging Flatliner for 2, then Hayes low bridges him and follows with a dive. They brawl on the floor, Ricky sends Hayes into the crowd but Hayes comes back with a clothesline from the barrier. They just fight until the ref hits 10.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Double Count Out in11:05 shown

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: The finish hurt this a bit but was probably necessary. It’s not surprising to see these two deliver in the ring, they’re both quite good, but Ricky seems like he’s doing to have to do what Hayes did and really work to get over after his NXT call up.

Post match Ricky attacks Hayes in the ring, Hayes fights back and hits First 48 to stand tall.

We get a hype video for Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi 2.

In the back Nia Jax and Lash Legend find Tiffany Stratton and tell her it’s a good idea to stay out of the Green situation. Lash says the US title is finding a new home soon. Because for some reason Tiffany is stuck in the gravitational pull of Nia Jax. We saw this pairing to death, please don’t do this again. That sends us to break.

Post break we get a Blake Monroe video. She was here last week but apparently she’s still arriving soon. This video names Rhea Ripley specifically.

To the ring and here comes Nia Jax along with Lash Legend, followed by Chelsea Green who gets a very favorable pop.

Match #6: Chelsea Green vs. Nia Jax w/ Lash Legend

Jax tosses Green around right away as Green was looking for Tiffany to come out. Slap from Green, that just annoys Jax who gets misdirected out of the ring, then Green follows with a suicide dive to send us back to break.

We come back to Jax hitting a pop up headbutt. Jax grabs a rest hold, Green counters with a jawbreaker then the worlds worst chop block. Jax counters a Rough Rider with a powerbomb for a 2 count. Green avoids a leg drop, but Jax stalls the sliding Flatliner but Green counters a Samoan Drop with a Zig Zag for a 2 count. Jax posts herself, Green then goes up top for a dropkick. Rough Rider from Green, doing that to Jax was not a great idea as it didn’t look all that good. Green tries the Unpretty Her but Jax shoves her off and Green kicks Lash away but then turns into a Samoan Drop. Jax lines up an Annihilator, but here’s Tiffany Stratton’s music. Tiffany comes through the crowd to clobber Jax with the belt behind the refs back. Awkward belt shot there, Green crawls into the cover and gets the pin.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Chelsea Green won in 7:06

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: The crowd bumps this up half a star.

Post match Green wants a hug but Tiffany doesn’t care and was just here to screw over Jax.

In the back Brie Bella and Paige talk with Cathy, Brie and Paige talk about their busy schedule then Fatal Influence come over. Jacy Jayne says she’s in Queen of the Ring, and that Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid will be coming for the titles. OK then.

After this break Cody Rhodes and Gunther will talk in our main event segment.

Post break here comes WWE champion Cody Rhodes. Barcelona sings his entrance with him, then before Cody can get into a rhythm on the mic here’s the Ring General, Gunther. Gunther gets a mic as well and the two men stare off. Gunther isn’t here for the crowd, he’s here to tell Cody what he thinks of him. The show has to be about Cody, Cody has to be the center of attention. Cody is just a product of his culture of egotism, narcissism, nepotism, all of which gets rewarded. He calls himself the American Nightmare, and he’s the perfect symbol of the crumbling American Dream. That’s not a shot at Dusty, it’s the idea of the American Dream. We used to say if you wanted to max out your life you moved to American, had discipline and hard work and achieved it all. Gunther has done that, while everything for Cody was just a phone call away. Want to train, just call. Want a contract, one phone call. Even coming back to WWE after leaving was just one phone call. All that makes Cody an entitled brat. We might have the same profession but are nothing alike. Cody just has to get his ego fueled, and Gunther cares for none of it. All that stuff is unnecessary, all that matters is to be the best professional wrestler in the company and protect the sacred sport from people like Cody. Cody is just a mark for himself. Cody laughs that off and says he’s a fan of himself, while Gunther is a liar. Every kid dreams of becoming a wrestler but not getting attention. You don’t want all the accolades, the media, the talk shows, you don’t want all the weight with the title, the crowd singing your song, you don’t want all that? Of course you do, because if you didn’t I’d be talking to the 330 fat ass with colored hair in front of two people at an indy show. But Cody’s talking to the best version of Gunther, the peak performer. Paul Heyman told Cody all the things that come with being champion, and Cody warns Gunther that the title is a sickness, and Gunther is just as sick as Cody. At Clash in Italy Gunther is gonna be this close to getting everything, but he’s going to find out the worst thing a sporting wrestler can find out, that you’re just not that good. Cody’s easy to find but hard to beat. Gunther stops a retreating Cody and tells him he’s no liar. He promised to choke out Goldberg, AJ Styles, and retire John Cena. Now he’s promising Cody that he’ll choke him out and leave with the WWE title. So Gunther’s losing the choking Cody out post match and stealing the belt, got it. OK, my cynicism aside that was really good stuff from both of them. I really appreciate Cody calling out Gunther’s BS by admitting the things he was right about. Cody’s character is going to turn heel eventually, and they’ve done a really good job very very slowly laying that ground work. That ends the episode.