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WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
MAY 10, 2024
WILKES-BARRE, PA. AT MOHEGAN SUN ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON FOX
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reported earkier today that 7,424 tickets had been distributed so far; arena set up for 7,640.
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[HOUR ONE]
-After “Then, Now, Forever, Together,” a three minute video package aired on Backlash from last Saturday in France.
-Corey Graves and Wade Barrett introduced the show and noted Bobby Lashley was out of the King of the Ring tournament due to a training injury.
-Nick Aldis stood mid-ring and introduced Cody Rhodes. Graves said Cody’s match against A.J. Styles has been called an instant classic. Graves said the fans in Wilkes-Barre got the memo from the French fans and are showing tons of enthusiasm and energy. Aldis congratulated Cody on his win at Backlash. He said he knows Cody wants to defend his title against the very best as often as he can. He said his next challenger has been determined. He said there’s no better time to introduce him than right now. Logan Paul then stepped out with his U.S. Title belt.
Aldis shook Logan’s hand as they crossed paths in the aisle. Logan smiled and stepped into the ring as Graves and Barrett talked about Logan’s title match against Roman Reigns and how much more experience he has now. Cody said: “So, Logan Paul, I think I know what you want to talk about.” Logan said they’re headlining the King & Queen of the Ring PLE which will kick off “the Logan Paul Levesque Era.” Fans chanted, “Logan sucks!”
Cody said champion vs. champion is a challenge he likes. Logan said he is the longest-reigning champion in WWE, the greatest attraction in the company, had the greatest rookie year of all-time, “and I am a superstar.” He wished a kid in the crowd a happy birthday. He turned back to Cody and said that Cody might’ve won the Royal Rumble, but what people remember is his epic collision with Ricochet.
He said three years ago, they both debuted at WrestleMania. Fans interrupted him with a chant of “Prime sucks!” Logan snapped back with a list of ingredients that was supposed to be a retort, but it more of a self-own. He called the fans “virgin in-breds.”
He said since they debuted three years ago, he has been the rocket fuel for WWE. “How can you finish the story when it’s not even your story?” he said. He verbally painted a picture of him pinning Cody on his energy drink logo and walking out as WWE Undisputed Champion.
Cody said: “I bet a lot of people stand across from you and assume just what a dumbass.” He listed some of Logan’s bullet points on his resume including winning the U.S. Title in his fourth or fifth match. Cody said if he were to win the U.S. Title, that would make him a WWE Grand Slam Champion. Logan didn’t like that and raised his mic. Cody pressed his mic down and said, “I am not done.” He said Logan is disrespectful, delusional, and self-centered and he can’t get through a match without grabbing brass knux. He told Logan he’s on a team and he’ll find out at the PLE where he stands at that team. Cody raised his belt. Logan raised his belt.
(Keller’s Analysis: This feels like a big match for WWE right now and it’s a great foe for Cody this early in his reign. Both Cody and Logan were really good here in terms of building up their titles, building the stakes, and building personal conflict.)
-Kayla Braxton interviewed A.J. Styles backstage. He said he had Cody on the ropes at Backlash and he had him beat, but the fans’ chants and sing-alongs distracted him. He said it should be him defending the WWE Title. He said the next time they compete, he will beat Cody. He said he’ll earn another title match, starting tonight.
-Naomi made her ring entrance. [c]
(1) NAOMI vs. NIA JAX – Queen of the Ring Tournament match
Graves welcomed Alicia Taylor, the new ring announcer for Smackdown. He said they are happy she’s there. He said Mike Rome is the new voice of NXT. Nia made her ring entrance. The bell rang 25 minutes into the hour. Naomi went after Jax aggressively early, but Jax brushed her off and knocked her down. Naomi side-stepped Jax as she charged, so Jax hit the ringpost shoulder-first. Naomi leaped through the ropes and tackled Jax, but Jax countered with a hard shove and then a Samoan Drop on the floor. They cut to a break at 3:00. [c]
Back from the break, Naomi rallied with a flying elbow to Jax’s chest and then a springboard roundkick. Jax dropped to one knee. Naomi leaped at Jax, but Jax caught her. Naomi drove Jax head-first into the ring apron and then landed a split-legged moonsault for a near fall at 8:00. They battled on the second rope next. Naomi delivered a top rope hurancanrana for a near fall. Jax caught a Naomi kick and then legdropped her back. She followed with her Annihilator for the win.
WINNER: Jax in 10:00 to advance to the second round.
-They showed the tournament brackets. Jax will face the winner of Piper Niven vs. Jade Cargill.
(Keller’s Analysis: Solid match that gave Naomi fans some hope for an upset a couple times. Jax looked powerful and resilient against a strong challenge.)
-Backstage, Byron Saxton interviewed Baron Corbin. He asked what has changed since the last time they saw him on Smackdown. Corbin said he was lost and didn’t know if he was happy or sad or a king of a constable, so he went to NXT and now he’s himself. Carmelo Hayes interrupted and asked when he got called up. “I must’ve missed it,” he said. Corbin said he has jokes. Corbin said with a head as big as his, he’ll be an easy target. When Corbin was going to offer advice, Hayes said the last person to offer him advice pulled out of the tournament, and Corbin should have pulled out also. He said he’s going to run circles around him tonight. When Carmelo left, Corbin looked at Saxton and asked, “Seriously?”
(Keller’s Analysis: It’s a small thing, but I’m glad he talked about his last personas before NXT and that he went to NXT to find himself. I’m not sure if the average viewer will have any idea who they’re supposed to root for.) [c]
(2) CARMELO HAYES vs. BARON CORBIN – King of the Ring Tournament match
The bell rang 44 minutes into the hour. Graves said these two have wrestled numerous times in NXT. Carmelo took early control. Corbin scored an early near fall after a Michinoku Driver. They cut to a break right afterward. [c]
The ringside barricades were advertising “The Iron Claw” movie on the Von Erich pro wrestling family now streaming on Max. Carmelo was in control after the break, but Corbin came back with a flurry of offense for a near fall at 5:00. Barrett said Corbin accepts his negativity from the past and respect his grit. Carmelo fought back and leaped off the second rope and took Corbin down. He leaped off the top rope, but Corbin moved. Corbin then hit a lariat and a cutter for a believable near fall. Corbin went for End of Days, but Carmelo escaped and then small packaged Corbin for the win.
WINNER: Carmelo in 7:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: It wasn’t easy to predict who’d win this one going into the match and they played that up with near falls and back-and-forth momentum. Carmelo benefits from the win after coming up short against Cody, but this defines Corbin down out of the gate on his main roster return. We’ll see if this plays into his attitude and course he chooses from here.)
-Braxton interviewed Bayley backstage. She said she’s interested in how far Jade goes. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven walked up to her. Green said she forgot about Piper, who is going to kick Jade out of the first round. Piper stared down Bayley and then turned to leave.
-They showed Jade walking backstage, wearing her tag title belt. [c]
-Saxton told Randy Orton backstage that a lot of people see him as a favorite in the tournament. Orton said he’s accomplished many things in WWE, but not becoming King of the Ring. He said Styles is great, but it’d feel phenomenal to take out Styles with an RKO out of nowhere. He told Byron to stay tuned. Orton then said that reminds him of something. He said Tama Tonga took out his friend Kevin Owens at Backlash. He said he hasn’t forgotten about that. He said something tells him that they’ll cross paths and it won’t be just an RKO for him. He said he’ll make sure his ass sees it coming.
[HOUR TWO]
(3) JADE CARGILL vs. PIPER NIVEN – Queen of the Ring Tournament match
As Jade made her entrance, Graves said her confidence has been a strength, and that surely got a boost winning the tag titles. They had a mid-ring trash-talking session. They collided and barely budged. Jax knocked Piper down. Piper followed up with an elbow to the chest on a rebound off the ropes. Jade side-kicked Piper and then dove at her in the corner. Piper caught her and slammed her, then landed a senton for a two count. Barrett compared Green’s voice to a calf being castrated. Green slapped Jade at ringside. Piper lifted Jade and bodyslammed her. She delivered a short-arm clothesline and Jade took an awkward bump. Piper flexed her arm.
Jade blocked Piper’s next clothesline. Jade threw some forearms to Piper’s head followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count at 4:00. Jade landed two Stinger splashes in the corner. Green stood on the ring apron. Jade punched her to the floor. Jade turned back to Niven and went for Jaded. Graves said there’s no way she could do that. Piper broke free and head-butted Jade. She followed with a running cannonball into the corner for a two count. Piper set up a swing splash out of the corner, but Jade got up and landed a pump kick and then Jaded for the win.
WINNER: Jade in 6:00 to advance to the second round.
-As Jade returned to the back, Bianca Belair’s ring entrance aired and she twirled her braid and skipped to the ring. [c]
-A Shinsuke Nakamura vignette aired. He said he was on Smackdown to claim what is rightfully his. “And now that I am here, no one is safe,” he said. He called himself the Master of Strong Style and told everyone to watch closely because everything was about to change.
(4) CANDICE LERAE (w/Indy Hartwell) vs. BIANCA BELAIR – Queen of the Ring Tournament match
The bell rang 13 minutes into the hour. Barrett said Belair will be motivated to advance after seeing her tag partner advance right before her. Hartwell swept Belair’s leg early in the match. Belair recovered quickly with a vertical suplex and a shoulder charge in the corner. She followed with punches in the corner as fans counted along. Belair clutched her knee, though, after moonsaulting over LeRae. LeRae went after her knee and scored a two count. Belair cut off LeRae’s stretch of offense by catching her mid-air and delivering a KOD.
WINNER: Belair in 3:00 to advance to the second round.
-They showed the tournament bracket with Jax vs. Cargill set up now for round two.
-Graves and Barrett commented on clips of the Kevin Owens & Orton vs. Bloodline match at Backlash with the debut of Tanga Loa.
-Backstage, Tanga, Tonga, and Solo Sikoa were in a locker room. Heyman nervously walked up and asked for a moment with Solo alone. Heyman said Solo is making decisions by himself. He said he is Roman’s Wiseman. Solo said Heyman made a mistake by pulling Reigns from the draft, which dropped them to the third round. He asked Heyman if he was costing him money. He asked if he was trying to signal to Jey last week that he needed help. He said he knows Heyman is trying to protect them, but he hasn’t spoken to Roman since WrestleMania. Solo said, “Well, I have.” He said until Roman comes back, he’s in charge of The Bloodline and he calls the shots. “And you will be my Wiseman, by orders of the Tribal Chief.” Heyman got wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Solo asked for a hug. Heyman hugged him. Solo comforted him and said he loves him.
-The Street Profits with B-Fab made their ring entrance. [c]
-A vignette aired with Andrade who spoke about being a third generation Luchador. He said the Era of Andrade has begun.
(5) ANGELO DAWKINS (w/Montez Ford, B-Fab) vs. TAMA TONGA (w/Solo Sikoa, Tanga Loa, Paul Heyman) – King of the Ring Tournament match
Graves said Tanga and Tonga have been around for years and there’s a reason they weren’t signed to WWE before. Barrett said WWE management wouldn’t sign them because they are out of their minds and untrustworthy. He said they are part of a publicly traded company and they have to act in a corporate manner, whether they like it or not, and the sons of Haku had no interest in that.
The bell rang 26 minutes into the hour. Dawkins knocked Solo off the ring apron with a slap. Ford then flip dove off the ring apron onto Tanga and Solo. Dawkins hit a Sky High seconds later for a near fall that popped the crowd. Tanga threw Ford into the ringpost. Dawkins watched as Solo gave Ford a Samoan Spike. Tonga then gave a distracted Dawkins leaping faceplant for the win. Solo gave a Samoan Spike to Dawkins afterward.
WINNER: Tonga in 2:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: They fit quite a bit into two minutes. Heyman is doing such impressive work making Solo, Tonga, and Loa feel so ominous.)
-A vignette aired on Blair Davenport. She said she will be feared.
-Styles made his ring entrance. [c]
-Graves and Barrett hyped upcoming tournament matches next week.
(6) A.J. STYLES vs. RANDY ORTON – King of the Ring Tournament match
Orton’s full ring entrance aired. The bell rang 40 minutes into the hour. Graves quoted JBL’s (awful) quote that if you were to build a “sports entertainer” (ugh) from the ground up, it’d be Randy Orton. (Vince McMahon isn’t around, so they can eliminate the term “sports entertainer” forever from their lexicon.) They cut to a break second into the match after he knocked Styles out of the ring. [c]
Orton got the better of Styles at ringside. Styles took over back in the ring and he went after Orton’s knee. Orton rolled to ringside. Styles charged a clipped him knee from behind. They cut to another break. [c]
Styles snapped Orton’s leg over the middle rope as he dropped to the floor. Orton clutched his knee in pain. Styles went for a Phenomenal Forearm, but Orton knocked him off balance. Styles then applied a Calf Crusher. Orton powered out. Styles quickly charged, but Orton turned it into a snap powerslam for a near fall.
Orton caught Styles on the top rope. He set up a superplex, but Styles knocked Orton off balance. Orton came back with a draping DDT. Both were down and slow to get up. Styles landed a Phenomenal Forearm for a dramatic near fall, but Orton grabbed the bottom rope to stop the count. Styles then signaled for the Styles Clash, but Orton slipped free and landed an RKO out of nowhere for the win.
WINNER: Orton in 17:00 to advance to the second round.
(Keller’s Analysis: Really good TV main event with a cool finishing sequence and plenty of drama in the lead-up to the finish.)
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