The SmackDown Report SLAM!
THE ONLY BLVD WHERE YOUR EMOTIONS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE
The WWE is back in the States after being on a European sightseeing tour for the last few weeks. That means we’re live from the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island, for SmackDown on June 12th. Tonight, the King and Queen of the Ring tournament qualifiers conclude with high-action Fatal 4-Way matches as Charlotte Flair, Sol Ruca, Lyra Valkyria, & Jade Cargill compete, while Jey Uso, Royce Keys, Finn Balor, & LA Knight all battle for that final spot in the semifinals. And Gunther picks the stipulation for his upcoming WWE Undisputed Championship match against Cody Rhodes scheduled for next week’s SmackDown on Friday, June 19th. So, let’s hop on the BLVD and see if SmackDown can continue to live up to the incredible hype and matches these past few weeks overseas brought us.
SmackDown begins with a video recap of the Cody Rhodes vs Gunther storyline, now with more hype with Sami Zayn getting involved.
Cody Rhodes is shown walking backstage as Nick Aldis approaches him. Rhodes asks if Gunther has told him what the stipulation is. Aldis says he doesn’t know yet. Rhodes shook Aldis’ hand and walked by the The Usos as he bumped fists with Jey and Jimmy. Jey tells Rhodes he’s coming for Rhodes’ title after he wins King of the Ring. Rhodes tells Jey if anyone deserves this, it’s him. Then Rhodes told him he hopes this is his decision and not Reigns’.
ANALYSIS: Very good promo by Rhodes and The Usos continuing to set up tension within the new Bloodline. I knew Fatu losing to Reigns in Tribal Combat wouldn’t be the end of it all. Adding The Usos into all this keeps everyone engaged as to where it’s going.
LA Knight, Royce Keys, and Finn Balor are all shown arriving at the show for their fatal four-way tourney match.
The SmackDown commentary of Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett welcomed us to the show. Barrett said that Rhea Ripley has a knee injury and WWE is currently evaluating it.
Meanwhile, Jade Cargill, alongside Michin and B-Fab, were interviewed by Cathy Kelley backstage. Cargill says she won last year, and she’ll win QotR again. Michin and B-Fab trash-talked the other women. Cargill told Rhea Ripley to rest up because she’ll see her at SumemrSlam.
ANALYSIS: Ripley’s knee injury is legit. It happened during her title defense last week at the PLE, “Clash in Italy”, then she aggravated it shortly afterwards. We don’t know the extent yet. All we know is that she’s out for the foreseeable future. Worst case scenario is she may have to vacate the title like what happened to her in 2024. Get well soon, Rhea.
The Final QotR tourney qualifier was our first match of the night, with Charlotte Flair making her entrance first. The Women’s Intercontinental Champion, Sol Ruca, was up next to a strong ovation. Lyra Valkyria was next, even though she lost her IC title shot to Ruca on Raw earlier this week. Jade Cargill made her entrance last. She was booed as the lone heel.
Queen of the Ring Fatal 4-Way Quarterfinals: Charlotte Flair vs Sol Ruca vs Lyra Valkyria vs Jade Cargill
Flair, Ruca, and Lyra started things off by going right after Jade. Michin and B-Fab attacked from the outside until Alexa Bliss ran out to save Flair, then the Women’s US Champion Tiffany Stratton also showed up. Bliss and Stratton fought off Michin and B-Fab to the back as the match in the ring continued. Near the end of the match, Flair and Ruca went up and hit a double superplex on Cargill. Cargill landed on Flair’s shoulder and she nearly lost her hairpiece! Cargill was desperately grabbing it to pull it back on while the ref was trying to help her. Meanwhile, Ruca battled Valkyria. Finally, each superstar (including a one-handed Cargill holding her wig on) tried a finisher while another broke it up. Ultimately, Flair applied the Figure Eight submission on Valkyria, who tapped out to give Flair the submission win.
WINNER: Charlotte Flair (22 minutes)
ANALYSIS: *** ½ by TJR
For the most part it turned out to be a great match that really picked up steam. Unfortunately, Cargill’s hair wig “botch” will likely be the highlight of the internet. Nevertheless, it was still a great match as all the qualifiers were with each women getting their spot.
I like the fact that Flair won. Now she can try to make her way back to the top. “Queen” Charlotte sounds nice. She’s already a queen in most people’s eyes, anyhoo.
After the match, Flair shook hands with Ruca. Flair, and the fans, celebrated the win while Flair was staring at the crown.
With this match, that means the Women’s QotR semifinals are all set up. We will see the Women’s World Champ Liv Morgan vs Charlotte Flair, and IYO SKY vs Raquel Rodriguez. The winner of the two matches will face off at Night of Champions for the crown. Here’s the semifinals bracket:
ANALYSIS: The semifinal brackets pose some very interesting scenarios all the way across the board, especially with the current Women’s World Champ involved. If Flair beats Morgan, that might solidify a future title shot whether she wins the QotR tourney or not. If Morgan beats Flair, that means the finals will be against the current reigning champ. I wouldn’t mind IYO SKY getting a nice push against the World Champ, or even becoming the QotR. But it could go either way on the other side of the semifinals. Lots of ways the stories could go from here.
We watched Tiffany Stratton walk backstage and Cathy Kelley asks her why she helped Flair. She says they’re not always on the same page, but neither of them wants Cargill as QotR. Enter Michin and B-Fab, so Chelsea Green pops in to defend Stratton with a Kendo Stick. B-Fab and Michin are escorted away.
ANALYSIS: Tag-team match incoming in 5… 4…
Cut to The Usos warming up backstage when Jacob Fatu walks in. Fatu says he’s here to speak to Solo Sikoa. Fatu asks why Jimmy is here and Jimmy says he’s here to make sure no one gets involved in Jey’s match. Fatu told them to handle their business, and he will handle his.
ANALYSIS: Separate Bloodline business? C’mon, focus Jey.
A vignette for Blake Monroe plays like a “Dear Diary” video talking about Charlotte Flair. Monroe lets them know “The Glamour” is coming to SmackDown.
ANALYSIS: Monroe just got called up from NXT after WrestleMania. They’re just starting their “COMING SOON” vignettes, so this might be a slow burn until she finally makes her SmackDown debut. Looking forward to what she can do.
We switch to Nick Aldis’ office talking to Gunther and he asks Gunther what his stipulation is. Gunther says he can’t trust the WWE’s officials, so he will pick the special guest referee for his WWE Title match against Rhodes. Aldis asks who, and Gunther says he’ll let Aldis know by tonight.
ANALYSIS: Hm, I wonder who it could be. Hmmm… (If you know, you know. Haven’t you been paying attention to the feud?)
Now we cut to Cathy Kelley interviewing Finn Balor. Balor says he’s excited to be on SmackDown. He has some old friends and old foes here. As Balor mentioned being in the KotR tourney, R-Truth comes in and welcomes Balor to SmackDown. He even calls Kelley “Raquel with fewer muscles”. Truth mentioned other Judgment Day members who were there: Mami, and Tom and Nick Mysterio. Silly Truth. Damian Priest approached, and he and Balor stare each other down while Priest welcomes him to SmackDown. As Balor left, Priest wasn’t happy about Balor being there, but Truth was excited. Priest tells Truth all that matters is their tag team titles and they are against MFTs next week.
ANALYSIS: It makes sense that Priest doesn’t like or trust Balor being on Friday nights. R-Truth was there for the usual comic relief. Silly Truth.
Brie Bella and Page made their entrance for a non-title match as the Women’s Tag Team Champions. They’re in tag team action against Fatal Influence after a break.
Later, it was announced that Tiffany Stratton & Chelsea Green will team up against Michin & B-Fab.
ANALYSIS: Called it! (I watch too much predictable professional wrestling…)
Brie Bella & Paige vs Fatal Influence – Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid (w/Jacy Jayne)
This non-title match happened because Fatal Influence attacked Brie & Paige last week.
Mid-match, Paige applied the PTO on Henley, but Jayne pulled Henley’s arm. The referee caught it, so Jayne gets herself ejected. Henley with a small package, but Bella pushes them over while the ref is tied up with Jayne. The ref turns around and counted the pin with Paige getting the win with the “ROLLUP OF DEATH~!”
WINNERS: Brie Bella & Paige (11 minutes)
ANALYSIS: *** by TJR
Was considered to be a solid tag team match featuring Bella & Paige as the veteran team against Henley & Reid who work very well together. The Tag Team Champs need to start defending their titles more often or at least get into some good feuds.
We go backstage to Sami Zayn talking to Johnny Gargano who is laying on some equipment crates. As Zayn was talking about his own situation, Candice LeRae is shown next to Gargano and asks Gargano when are you going to get up and do something about it. Zayn thanks Gargano for the advice and leaves.
Also backstage, Danhausen talks to Los Garza (Angel and Berto). They give him human money to curse the NY Knicks because they bet on the Spurs. Matt Cardona comes in and asks Danhausen to keep the Knicks un-cursed. Danhausen wanted to be paid, so Cardona pawns his watch and ring. Kit Wilson enters with The Miz who, after being electrocuted last week, looks freaked out and is spouting off his old 2010’s catchphrases. Wilson insists Danhausen uncurses the Miz. Wilson gets upset and tried to trash Danhausen’s lab with a metal rod, ending up electrocuting himself. The Miz thought that was “Awesome!”
ANALYSIS: The Consistent Calamity of Comically Crazy Curses Continues. Now with more Conductive Current 🙂
AMMENDUM: (BTW, the NY Knicks ended an over 50-year championship drought Saturday night by winning the NBA Finals 4-1! Congrats to the Knicks for an unbelievable win and giving us an exciting ending to every Finals game. And props go to the San Antonio Spurs for putting up a great fight. Oh, and thanks, Danhausen!)
We’re back live as Sami Zayn makes his way to the ring to a mixed reaction. Zayn discusses the strange reaction he got and says he doesn’t want to compare the “Ride or Die’s” European crowd to the US crowd and says Europe showed up for him. Zayn says people can either boo him and be miserable or they can ride or die with “The Last Real Good Guy” (just like it says on his new t-shirt). He says as much as he wants to party with the die hards, something has been brewing for months so he needs to clear the air and calls out Cody Rhodes.
The WWE Undisputed Champion comes out to the ring. Rhodes asked, “What do you wanna talk about?” Zayn tells Rhodes he needs him to just be his friend Cody. Zayn says he’s helped Cody over and over again and he’s had to pay the price for it. Zayn says Cody made him feel like the worst person in the world when he walked away while Cody was being attacked by Gunther even though he deserved it. Zayn tells him the second time it happened, he helped Cody and ended up being laid out while Cody stood tall. Zayn wanted the truth and asks Rhodes if this is an accident or Rhodes’ plan as the fans chanted against Zayn.
Rhodes tells Zayn wrestling is a competition. Rhodes says they shouldn’t be standing face to face like this. Zayn said when Cody finished his story at WrestleMania, Zayn was the first one in the ring. He named others like Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, John Cena and Randy Orton. Zayn claimed he was happy for Cody. Then he wondered how many of them are still Cody’s friend now, and if the problem is them or if the problem is Cody? Zayn wanted Cody to be honest, so Cody shouted back that he was being honest.
Cody said that they are booing you and saying Sami sucks because lately, Zayn is whining and crying. Cody said he’s not the Sami Zayn they took a ride with and, if anything, Zayn is desperate. Cody said we shouldn’t pretend it’s about anything other than the WWE Title and not their friendship. Rhodes tells Zayn he’s sorry he’s a champion because that means Zayn will never be one.
Zayn slaps Rhodes. He immediately apologizes to Rhodes for slapping him because he was out of line. Rhodes slaps Zayn back and asks if they’re good. Zayn leaves the ring, grabs a steel chair and gets on the apron. Zayn and Rhodes stare each other down, but Zayn drops the chair and hops off the apron. Zayn walked to the backstage leaving Rhodes standing in the ring.
ANALYSIS: Incredible performance by two veteran wrestlers. Rhodes did great hitting a nerve that Zayn is jealous while he is the champion. Zayn continues to be the confused jerk who thinks he’s in the right when he’s doing wrong. All those superstars Zayn mentioned really did turn on Rhodes since he won the WWE Title. Will Zayn reach his breaking point and finally snap, becoming full-on heel? I wouldn’t mind if he did. He needs something fresh.
Backstage, Jacob Fatu approaches Solo Sikoa and tells him he has a message from Roman Reigns. Fatu tells Sikoa that the Tribal Chief wants him to come home. Sikoa says that It isn’t home, it’s a doghouse and Fatu is Reigns’ lapdog. Sikoa asks Fatu what happened to him. He used to be a killer and now he’s delivering messages for Reigns. Sikoa said that Reigns has done nothing but embarrass him in front of the whole world. That’s not how you treat somebody you love, so Sikoa tells Fatu to tell Reigns to go to hell because he’s not coming back. Fatu tells Sikoa that he understands and gets what he’s talking about, but he’s made his decision. Fatu said if the Tribal Chief sends Fatu to get Sikoa, he’ll come for Sikoa. Sikoa tells Fatu if he wants him to come back home, Reigns should come get him. Sikoa leaves while Fatu stared at him.
ANALYSIS: An intense promo that continues the Bloodline story. Now, it’s hinting at Fatu being used/abused by Reigns as his OTC. I wouldn’t mind if this leads to Fatu vs Sikoa. That would be cool.
We’re back as Rey Fenix made his entrance for a match against Axiom, which is up next.
AAA Cruiserweight Championship: Rey Fenix (c) vs Axiom
Lots of back-and-forth action from the start. The finish can when Fenix kicks Axiom and sits him on the top rope for the Mexican Muscle Buster and the win.
WINNER: Rey Fenix (11 minutes)
ANALYSIS: *** ¼ by TJR
Was said to be a very enjoyable and entertaining lucha match, even though there’s no real storyline behind it. Maybe it’s more of an open challenge. Or trying to give the luchadores more TV time. I think they definitely need to build up more storylines, like what happened with Penta against Rey Mysterio, and need to be on the PLE’s more often even if it’s just the pre-shows.
We now watch Gunther approach Nick Aldis backstage and he tells Aldis he’s decided. Gunther says he’s taken a lot into consideration, and he needs a guy like the “Last Real Good Guy”. He tells Aldis the special guest referee for his match will be Sami Zayn. Gunther told Aldis to make it happen while Aldis wasn’t too happy about it.
ANALYSIS: We all figured where this was headed. Will it ultimately lead to Zayn turning on Rhodes in full heel mode? I see it happening. Maybe after the match, or maybe even another finish that screws Gunther, because I don’t see Gunther winning the title just yet. Maybe something will be set up for Night of Champions. To be continued on SmackDown next week and find out!
A car pulls up and Trick Williams comes out with Little Yachty as we cut to a commercial break.
BREAK…
We come back and the U.S. Champion Trick Williams comes out to the ring with Little Yachty. Yachty tries to introduce Williams but Williams stops him. Williams says today isn’t a party and he has something to get off his chest. Williams admitted he lost in the Fatal 4-Way last week and says something woke up in him and there’s a fire in him now. Williams says he wants to bring SmackDown to new heights and he’s the leader of the new school of talent. Williams tells everyone he’s still the U.S. Champ, Hollywood Trick, Mr. Lemon Pepper Steppers and he’s Trick James.
Ricky Saints comes out for the interruption, but Carmelo Hayes comes out as well and pushes Saints out of the way and comes into the ring. Hayes tells Williams that there’s a problem, but Saints rushes to the ring and grabs a mic. Hayes wanted Trick to pick between him and Saints. Hayes says Williams is all catchphrases and he needs Williams to make up his mind. Is Williams wanting to fight Hayes or Saints? Saints claimed he beat Hayes and he should be the number one contender. Hayes says he beat Saints, too. Saints and Hayes go back and forth, and Williams finally tells them to shut up.
Williams says he doesn’t care who it is. Williams tells them to fight it out who will be the challenger and then to find him. As Williams leaves, Saints shoved Hayes into Williams, knocking Williams out of the ring. Hayes hits Dirty Diana on Saints. Williams comes back and knocks Hayes out of the ring and hits Saints with the Book End.
ANALYSIS: This was more chaotic and confusing than trying to figure out who gets a U.S. Title shot should have been. Maybe it would’ve worked better if Williams attacked both contenders at the end without his chatter. Then, Aldis could’ve come out and, using his GM superpowers, announced a #1 contender’s match. Plain and simple.
We’re backstage with Cathy Kelley talking to Royce Keys. Kelley asks Keys about his upcoming KotR qualifier match tonight. Solo Sikoa interrupts and tells him The Bloodline is here and he knows the type of play they’ll run. Sikoa says they’re here to ensure Jey wins and Jacob Fatu was on board. Sikoa said that Keys doesn’t have to fight for him or with him, but he doesn’t want Keys to be a casualty in Reigns’ war. Keys thought about that.
ANALYSIS: There’s been rumors abound that they’ve been looking to add another member or two into the MFT group. Zilla Fatu has been heavily rumored. But Royce Keys might be a good addition to the story.
Don’t know if they’ll try to keep building up Keys more as a babyface and join the OTC even though he has no Samoan heritage, or if they’ll try to make him a hotter monster heel and join the MFT making the numbers even at 4-vs-4. It could be smart to keep this a secret for now as we get past SummerSlam and further towards Survivor Series: War Games.
We’re off with our next women’s match. Chelsea Green made her entrance first, joined by the Women’s U.S. Champ Tiffany Stratton. Green seemed overly excited, while Stratton wasn’t as we went to a break.
Chelsea Green & Tiffany Stratton vs Michin & B-Fab
The match began with Stratton and Michin, Stratton starting off strong until a slightly botched move. Green tagged herself in and became the babyface being double-teamed. The finish came when Jade Cargill came out of nowhere and pulled Stratton off the apron behind the ref’s back before she could get tagged in. Green avoided a B-Fab attack and hit an Unpretty-her. But Michin was legal and she hit a Styles Clash on Green to win.
WINNERS: B-Fab & Michin (9 minutes)
ANALYSIS: ** ½ by TJR
Was said to not have been a great match. A bit sloppy, no hot tag for the babyface team, interference by the heels. Just a cheap win. The match was just quickly put together because Stratton chased off the heels earlier in the night.
After the match, Stratton gets in the ring and tried to attack Cargill, but Cargill, Michin and B-Fab triple-team Stratton. Cargill hits Jaded on Stratton. Cargill then gets the U.S. Title, looks at it, and lays it on Stratton. B-Fab, Michin and Cargill all leave the ring with Stratton laid out in the ring and Green laid out outside.
ANALYSIS: That’s the cue for a future Stratton vs Cargill feud for the U.S. Title. For the record, Cargill had a headband on to help with her wig.
Backstage once again with Cathy Kelley now interviewing Kiana James. James told Kelley that Giulia needed her for her English, but she was betrayed. Giulia comes in and tells James that her English is better now, so she finally has the words to say… SMACK! Giulia slapped James.
We see Finn Balor walking backstage when Tama Tonga approaches him. Tonga said it’s been a long time and welcomed Balor to SmackDown.
Then we move to Cody Rhodes talking to Nick Aldis backstage about Gunther picking Sami Zayn as the referee for their title match next week. Cody said Zayn is a wreck and is all over the place. Sami Zayn comes in. Cody wanted to know if they’re good. Zayn sarcastically said he’s a wreck and is all over the place, which was his way of repeating what Cody said. Zayn wished Cody luck for next week.
Here’s the current card for next week on SmackDown at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO:
- WWE Undisputed Championship: Cody Rhodes vs Gunther – Sami Zayn as the special guest referee. Joe said the WWE Title match will be commercial-free
- Carmelo Hayes vs Ricky Saints. Winner earns a US Title match at Night of Champions
- WWE Tag Team Championships: Damian Priest & R-Truth vs MFTs
- Queen of the Ring Semifinals: Charlotte Flair vs Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan
And this Monday on Raw taking place at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD:
- The return (again) of Roman Reigns.
- King of the Ring Semifinals: Oba Femi vs Dominik Mysterio
- Queen of the Ring Semifinals: IYO SKY vs Raquel Rodriguez
We go back to Cathy Kelley, who is now interviewing LA Knight. Kelley talks to him about his match and The Bloodline being in the building. Knight complained that they’d all be there. He says he’s in the building and that’s what matters. Knight talks about Jacob Fatu trying to recruit Solo Sikoa and that Jey Uso needs a team to win. Knight says he’ll win and stomp out Reigns.
It’s main event time! Jey Uso makes his entrance for the last spot in the KotR semifinals by entering through the crowd. The entrances then took place for Finn Balor, Royce Keys and LA Knight. When Knight did his entrance, he wanted to “run it back” like Jey does, but Jey attacked Knight.
King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinals: Jey Uso vs Finn Balor vs Royce Keys vs LA Knight
Keys start things off by attacking all three men laying them all out with corner splashes. Knight and Jey are clotheslined over the top. Then Balor sends Keys over the top rope and suicide dives to the outside taking out everybody.
Mid-way through, Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa showed up and Keys tossed Balor into Jimmy. Jey, Knight, and Balor agreed to work together against the dominant Keys, so they cleared off the commentary table after sending him to the outside. Balor and Knight lifted Keys up for Jey and they did a Powerbomb on Keys through the commentary table. The crowd loved that.
As we get near the end, Keys recovered and pulled people out of the ring and tossed them to the floor. Solo cheered Keys on. Then Knight kicked Keys into Solo on the floor and Solo took a bump. Back in the ring, Knight goes for the BFT but Keys counters it. Solo hit a Samoan Spike on Knight while Keys hit The Ultimate Spinebuster on him. Jey suddenly comes off the top and splashes Keys. Jey covers Knight and gets the win.
WINNER: Jey Uso (22 minutes)
ANALYSIS: *** ½ by TJR
Another solid, exciting, and entertaining fatal 4-way match with a dominant monster mixed in with three veterans. Everyone sold well for Keys making him look strong, while the others all got their spots in. These 4-way matches have all been at least 3.5 stars.
It was eventually predictable who was going to win. Knight had his hands full with Sikoa so that’s his feud, Keys is the monster who will likely turn heel and go to the MFTs, so it was either Balor or Jey. Jey deserved it.
The King of the Ring Semifinals are now officially Oba Femi against “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio on Monday, June 15 for RAW. And Je’Von Evans battles Jey Uso on Friday, June 19 for SmackDown. Here’s the updated KotR bracket:
ANALYSIS: I think the left bracket is somewhat predictable as they certainly don’t want a “Dirty” Dom squash. Expect some sort of interference from Brock Lesnar. If not in the semifinals, then Femi might go on and then the interference happens at Night of Champions. Lesnar vs Femi III needs to be set up. Far as Evans vs Jey, I’m not too sure. I really wouldn’t mind Jey going all the way. But remember: the rumored plan for SummerSlam was CM Punk vs Cody Rhodes. So, if Jey does become KotR and gets a title shot of his choice, will he turn on his Tribal Chief and go after the WHC? There are some very interesting possibilities that will begin unraveling themselves in the next few weeks.
Jey Uso celebrates and “YEETS!” his win with his brother Jimmy as they leave Keys, Balor and Knight in the ring. They showed some replays of the key spots in the match as Jey stares at the crown in the glass case.
Roll credits and fade to black.
That was a good SmackDown show, folks. Next time on SmackDown features a most solid card. RAW next week has two of the semifinals. So we’ll see everyone when we SLAM your RAW Report from the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD on June 15th. And stay on the BLVD, folks for everything wrestling!
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