Tag: headline

WWE SmackDown is live from Olimpic Arena in Barcelona, Spain today.

Just one match is official for the show. WWE has announced that The Miz will face Axiom in singles competition.

WWE’s Summer European Tour kicked off in Liverpool on Thursday. After tonight’s SmackDown, WWE will be in Turin, Italy for two straight nights, first for Clash in Italy on Sunday, May 31, then for WWE Raw on Monday, June 1.

On Tuesday, WWE runs a live event in Strasbourg, France before heading to Lisbon, Portugal on Wednesday and Madrid, Spain on Thursday. Next week’s SmackDown will take place from Bologna, Italy on Friday, June 5.

After next week’s SmackDown in Bologna, WWE heads to Rome on Saturday, June 6 and Florence, Italy on Sunday, June 7 before closing out the Summer European Tour with the June 8 edition of WWE Raw in Paris, France.

Our live coverage kicks off at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

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– After the round of wrestler arrivals, we went straight to the arena as Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett introduced themselves, as well as the Spanish team of Miguel Perez and Alvaro Carrera. We then went to a recap of the six-woman tag match from last Saturday Night’s Main Event

Jade Cargill and the Baddies kick off SmackDown

The challenger WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley this Sunday at the Clash in Italy made her way to the ring, flanked by Michin and B-Fab.

As soon as Cargill got into the ring, she soaked all in as the crowd jeered. Cargill said she didn’t ask for permission and that she did what she wanted. B-Fab said that Cargill woild beat Ripley on Sunday and that the future wasn’t coming… the future was now.

The music of Rhea Ripley interrupted the proceedings, and out came the WWE Women’s Champion to a huge ovation. Ripley stepped inside despite being outnumbered three-to-one by Cargill and her Baddies and faced them down.

Ripley said that Cargill was out here every week throwing around her dominance, acting like her successes wasn’t from using people to make herself look better. Ripley pointed out that Cargill forgot one very important detail: when it came to them facing one-on-one, Ripley had her number. She beat Cargill at WrestleMania and she’d do it again this Sunday in Italy.

Cargill responded by stating that Ripley sounded stupid for saying that, claiming that the champion thought the division revolved around her. She called Ripley “weak” for wanting to work with women who didn’t even like her. That was the cue for Charlotte Flair to make her way down to the ring. Of course, Alexa Bliss wasn’t too far behind. The former Women’s Tag Champions made their way down ot the ring with mics in hand.

Flair said that Cargill was out here talking like a Hall of Famer. She respected Cargill, but she thought she got confused with her own successes. Bliss added by stating that Cargill and her crew had the egos of a legend, but they have the resumes of rookies. Bliss warned Cargill that she might end up being embarrassed before Clash in Italy.

Naturally, this brought out Nick Aldis to set up the Bliss vs. Cargill match as he called for a referee. This match would begin after the break.

An alright opening gambit, but this Rhea/Cargill and Baddies/Charlexa story is honestly not moving me one bit.

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Jade Cargill vs. Alexa Bliss

This opening match got underway after the commercial with Bliss going right after Cargill with strikes. Bliss leapt onto the back of Cargill, but got thrown aside. After she headed out of the ring, Bliss toyed with Cargill to get under her skin. She once again went after Cargill with strikes, but got thrown into the corner. The running splash was missed by Cargill as she headed up top. However, Cargill caught her and dropped her for a backbreaker. In the corner, Bliss hit Cargill with a boot to the face, but she was lifted overhead for a press drop down to the mat.

On the apron, Bliss tried to leap at Cargill, but she was caught once more and thrown to the barricade for a powerbomb, as we took a break with Cargill in complete control.

Back from commercial as Cargill continued to punish Bliss on the outside, with Charlotte and Rhea Ripley forced to look on. Cargill dropped Bliss onto the apron, but she took too long on a second attempt, which allowed Bliss to hit where with a dropkick. Bliss avoided a running attack from Cargill, which sent her barrelling into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Bliss mounted her comeback with the strikes to the face, followed by the dropkick. The double knees to the back of Cargill’s neck was followed by the flipping senton and the modified Natural Selection. Cargill managed to kick out at two, however.

Bliss set up Cargill for the Sister Abigail DDT, but that was countered. The Baddies and Charlotte and Rhea brawled to the back in the midst of all this. Back in the ring, Bliss headed up top and whiffed on Twisted Bliss after Cargill got the knees up. The pump kick, followed by Jaded got the three for Cargill.

After the match, Cargill grabbed a chair from under the ring and looked to do more damage to Bliss with another Jaded onto the chair. Charlotte and Rhea ran out a bit too late as a satisfied Cargill taunted her Clash in Italy opponent.

Jade Cargill def. Alexa Bliss via pinfall

Just an okay match between Cargill and Bliss. Like i said at the top of things, I am not feeling this feud, so a lot of my reactions to this will be colored by that. The actual match itself on Sunday should be decent, at the very least.

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– Cody Rhodes was interviewed backstage about his upcoming match against Gunther on sunday, but Sami Zayn interrupted. Rhodes said he had nothing to say to Zayn, who demanded an apology. Zayn said that Rhodes asked for that fight last week and he stated that Rhodes stuck a “knife in his back” with the Crosss Rhodes. The Undisputed WWE Champion was not gonna have any of it as he got mad at Zayn’s refusal to help him when Gunther was choking the life out of him.

Zayn tried to justify his lack of actions because it was the right thing to do, because Rhodes needed to learn a lesson. Rhodes responded, stating that maybe he was when he was done with Gunther, he’d teach Zayn a lesson of his own.

– Elsewhere, Danhausen was told by Nick Aldis that his science equipment was stuck in customs, but the ever-fascinating Danhausen decided to take matters into his own hands. While The Miz barged in to argue with Aldis, Danhausen was seen futzing around with some equipment in the background.

Axiom vs. The Miz

Axiom kept Miz grounded with some chain wrestling to start. The lights briefly went out before turning back on, presumably due to Danhausen’s experiments. Miz mocked Axiom’s agility and paid for it as he was hit with a nice drop kick. Miz decided to run out, but Nathan Frazer stopped him. Back in the ring, Miz tripped up Axiom as we took an oddly-timed break in the action.

We returned from commercial as Miz and Axiom were down and out. The masked Spaniard kipped up and hit Miz with a snap German suplex for the two-count. Axiom headed to the top as he avoided Miz’s attack. The Skull-Crushing Finale was countered, but Miz got Axiom with the DDT for the near-fall. The “It” Kicks were blocked by Axiom, who hit the Dragon Screw. Now Axiom got some kicks of his own on Miz. Flying crossbody only got the two.

Miz had Axiom in the corner as he hit the signature clothesline, but missed with the splash. Axiom turned it into a Crossface, but Miz tried for the cover attempt. Miz did not miss with the powerbomb as he headed to the top. The lights went out yet again, which allowed Axiom to hit the avalanche Spanish Fly followed by the Golden Ratio to pick up the duke in Spain.

Axiom def. The Miz via pinfall

This was a good match and it was nice to see Axiom get the win in front of his home country.

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– Sami Zayn continued to lament his plight to Johnny Gargano as Matt Cardona approached him. Cardona called out Zayn for acting out of line as the Canadian continued to whine about being disrespected. This led to a potential match being set up between the two.

– As Charlotte Flair was checking up on Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley met with her and said that she’d take care of Jade Cargill on Sunday. Flair warned that if Ripley couldn’t get the job done, she’d deal with Cargill herself, because she had a receipt coming.

Damian Priest & Royce Keys vs. Tama & Talla Tonga

Talla and Priest started off this match. Talla withstood Priest’s blows and threw him into the MFT corner. Tama tagged in, but Priest fought out of his predicament as Royce tagged in. Keys dropped Tama and hit a nice powerslam on his foe. A big powerhouse pounce sent Tama out of the ring. Talla entered the fray but found himself taken out of the ring by a double team effort from Keys and Priest as we took a break.

We returned from commercial as Talla had Keys trapped in a resthold. Keys powered out of the submission, but he was still isolated successfully by the MFT duo. Keys created separation with a sitdown powerbomb on Tama as Priest tagged in. Priest unleashed kicks on Tama and Talla, then nailing the two with running splashes on opposite corners. Tama got dropped by a with a Flatliner while Talla was jettisoned out of the ring.

Things broke down as Keys sent Talla put with a clothesline. Samoan Spike by Solo Sikoa with the back turned as R-Trurh ran in to even the odds. Things became chaotic on the outside as the T-Bomb by Talla on Priest got the win for the Tongas.

Talla and Tama Tonga def. Royce Keys and Damian Priest via pinfall

This feud is honestly boring and this match really added to how apathetic I am about another MFT feud.

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– Chelsea Green tried to talk to Tiffany Stratton, who still wasn’t too receptive over her friendship just yet.

Sami Zayn vs. Matt Cardona

Zayn wrenched at Cardona’s arm as things took a methodical pace to start with neither man on top. Zayn with the arm drag on Cardona with the match still in the early feeling-out process. Cardona threw Zayn out of the ring and immediately took him down with the sliding dropkick to the outside. In the ring, Zayn got the upper hand with a series of rights to the face of his foe. The chops to the chest from Zayn as cardona turned it around with some strikes of his own. Cardona sent Zayn retreating with a missile dropkick as we took a commercial break.

Our match returned from the break as Zayn applied a chinlock on Cardona that would make Davey Boy Smith proud. Cardona got out of the hold and dropped Zayn with a facebuster. In the corner, Cardona knocked Zayn down with a punch, which led to the Broski Boot. Zayn stumbled to his feet, but he avoided the Rough Ryder. Cardona did get Zayn with the double-underhook powerbomb for the near-fall. Cardona countered a Zayn suplex into a neckbreaker, but his Rough Ryder was turned into a powerbomb from the Montreal native. Zayn went for the Helluva Kick, but Cardona finally nailed the Rough Ryder on the third try. Zayn got his foot on the ropes to avoid defeat.

Cardona put Zayn on the top turnbuckle and looked for a high-risk maneuver. However, Zayn pushed him down… Exploder Suplex into the corner, was soon followed by the Helluva Kick and the pinfall win.

Sami Zayn def. Matt Cardona via pinfall

This was a good match, and the current Zayn character is interesting. I did find it a bit odd that he won clean here instead of doing some sort of heelish things to continue that story.

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– Nick Aldis was seen talking to Gunther, urging him to keep things civlized when he meets Cody Rhodes later tonight. Gunther said he agrees, but suggested the next time WWE went to Spain, they’d go to Madrid instead (referencing the infamous Barcelona/Real Madrid football rivalry)

Trick Williams speaks

Trick Williams, accompanied by the Trick Stick-wileding Li’l Yachty, arrived to huge cheers from the Barcelona crowd.

Yachty introduced himself as the man with the money, the connections, and who makes it happen. He said that today was the beginning of the Trick Williams campaign. Williams took the mic and said that he was the man holding down the brand for quite some time. The crowd continued to cheer for Williams as the U.S. Champion talked about how he took out The Miz and Carmelo Hayes in the past two weeks. Williams called his shot for King of the Ring, stating that it was only right to declare himself right here in Barcelona, a place that knew a thing or two about royalty.

Carmelo Hayes interrupted Williams and said that his old rival may have been the King of the Entrance and King of the Microphone, but King of the Ring? Not quite. Hayes said once he took care of Ricky Saints, he was going to finish what he started with Wiliams last week.

Williams responded by stating that if Hayes could grow an inch for every excuse he made, he’d be left with no choice but to acknowledge that Trick Williams was better than him. Ricky Saints interrupted and said that Williams thought he’d get the upper and on him last week, but he was going to take care of Williams once he dealt with Hayes.

Saints talked some more trash and got slapped down by Williams for his troubles.

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Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints

This match was joined in progress during the break as Hayes hit Saints with a dropkick after a roll over. Hayes kept momentum going with his reverse legdrop on a prone Saints. A lariat from Saints stopped Hayes’ momentum cold as he took over in the corner with the stomps. Hayes recovered and hit a pair of chops on Saints, followed by the running forearm into the corner. Hayes kept the heat up with the punches in the corner, followed by an attempted springboard attack. Hayes was shoved out of the ring by Saints, who threw him into the barricades as he struck a pose in the ring and we took a timeout.

This match continued from commercial as Saints was still in control. Hayes was put on the top rope as Saints looked for a superplex. Hayes shoved Saints to the mat and lookes for the frog splash. Knees up by Saints, followed by the Northern Lights suplex for the near-fall. Hayes recovered and got the leaping DDT on Saints. Both men back to their feet as they exchanged strikes. Hayes connected with the trademark springboard clothesline. That was soon followed by Dirty Diana for the near-fall. Hayes was hit by the reverse DDT from Saints for the near-fall. Saints got sent out of the ring and hit with Hayes’ Fosbury Flop. Hayes then got on the barricade and hit Saints with the clothesline. However, this match ended with a double countout.

Post-match, Saints attacked Hayes from behind, but the ambush was turned aside as Hayes superkicked Saints and delivered First 48.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints ended in a Double Countout

I quite liked this match, and the double countout was honestly a good call. Not really much to complain about here, just a solid match between two really good workers.

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– We got a vignette from Blake Monroe that took a direct shot at Rhea Ripley. She said that that she was coming soon… despite the fact we saw her last week in a brief backstage cameo.

Nia Jax vs. Chelsea Green

Jax threw Green across the ring to start, but the wily Canadian soon got the advantage as she sent Jax out of the ring and took her down with a suicide dive, which was our cue for a commercial break.

We returned from commercial as Green’s Rough Ryder attempt was turned into a Jax powerbomb. Jax’s missed legdrop allowed for Green to get a momentary respite with the jumping neckbreaker. That was followed by the Rough Ryder for the close near-fall. Lash Legend tried to get involved, but she got kicked aside. However, that allowed for Nia Jax to hit Green with the Samoan Drop. Was it time for the Annihilator? No, as Tiffany Stratton’s music hit and she ended up hitting Jax with the Women’s US Title in the chaos. Green took advantage and got the pin and win.

Chelsea Green def Nia Jax via pinfall

Not really much of a match and more to advance the kinda-sorta alliance between Green and Stratton, so there’s that.

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Cody Rhodes and Gunther’s Final Face-Off

The Undisputed WWE Champion and his Clash in Italy foe made their way down for this final faceoff ahead of their match on Sunday in Turin.

Gunther said he wasn’t here to engage with any of the fans, but he wanted to talk to Rhodes. Gunther said that Rhodes made it all about himself, and that he was a product of the American society that birthed him. Gunther pointed out that Rhodes nickname was fitting as a descriptor of the declining American society. Gunther said his mission was to protect the sacred sport of wrestling from people like Rhodes. He called Rhodes a mark for himself.

Rhodes responded by saying that Gunther didn’t want the responsibility of being a champion and all that it implied. He pointed out Paul Heyman and what he told him to intimidate him. Rhodes said that the world title was addictive and that Gunther was as sick as he was. At Clash in Italy, Rhodes said that Gunther was going to get this close to the title, but we were all going to find out that he just wasnt going to be good enough. “Easy to find, hard to beat,” said Rhodes.

Gunther asked if Rhodes thought he was a liar. He boasted about how he beat Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles. He promised to choke Rhodes out and take the title with him.

Producer credits are up, as well as hype for WWE’s America 250 special, which airs on USA tonight after SmackDown, and we’re out.

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I really have to say that this Clash in Italy show feels really weakly built, and that’s largely on the anemic booking WWE has been partaking in as of late. Nothing on the card grabs my interest and tonight’s go-home show kind of did a poor job in building Sunday’s show.

The WWE Title match doesn’t really feel that intriguing, and unless Gunther pulls off the upset, not sure if a likely Cody Rhodes title retention will move the needle. That being said, the closing promo tonight was an admirable effort to add some spice to this match. Gunther, I felt particularly did well to twist the knife against Cody, who came off as a bit more defensive in his response. Whether or not that will be enough to add a little intrigue on Sunday will be a wait-and-see.

Elsewhere, I do like the Hayes/Saints/Williams dynamic in the U.S. Title picture and a lot of that comes down to the strengths of Hayes and Williams, who are very charismatic and talented in the ring, to the point that they carry a lot of the interactions here.

All in all, kind of a poor final show before Clash in Italy. It’s clear WWE didn’t put their best foot forward here for the go-home show.