Tag: tiffany stratton

Names from the past appear on WWE NXT ahead of next week’s Homecoming event

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Surprises galore took place on NXT ahead of next week’s Homecoming event at Full Sail University.

Former NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes was the first to make a surprise appearance, backing up Trick Williams against DIY. However, Carmelo made it clear the former friends had not patched things up, accusing Williams of ‘squatting’ in his house. DIY challenged the two for a match for next week’s show, which will be live at Full Sail.

Later, after Tavion Heights defeated Ethan Page in a flag match, Tyler Breeze made his surprise NXT return, coming out to his old music and wearing his old outfit. He laid down and took selfies next to the laid out Page, setting up a North American title match for next week.

The end of NXT saw Jacy Jayne enraged that Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx failed to win the number one contendership match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles. She berated her two stablemates as two cars pulled up to the Performance Center. After the commercial break, Stephanie Vaquer, Tiffany Stratton, and Rhea Ripley all came out after Jayne declared she was the greatest NXT Women’s Champion of all time. The three NXT veterans headed down to the ring and took out Fatal Influence to close out the show.

During a commercial hyping next week’s show, NXT teased that additional names from the past could be appearing with Bobby Roode, William Regal, and Triple H all being shown.

Tiffany Stratton praises Trish Stratus after WWE Evolution dream match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Getting to face one of her dream opponents at WWE Evolution was a big confidence boost for Tiffany Stratton.

At the all-women’s PLE earlier this summer, Stratton and Trish Stratus faced off one-on-one for the first time ever. The match ended with Stratton defeating her Hall of Fame challenger to retain the WWE Women’s Championship — which she still holds nearly two months later.

Stratton reflected on the match while appearing on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast this week, saying she love Stratus and feels like they have great chemistry together.

“I think Evolution was a confidence boost for me. I was in the ring with Trish Stratus, and we had such a great match, I feel like. We have great chemistry,” Stratton said. “I love Trish so much. I love working with her. She’s amazing.

“But I think being backstage with all of these women — I think it’s amazing that we have so [many] women we can put on Evolution and everyone can have bangers. Like, I feel like everybody can have, you know, main event-level matches, and that’s so amazing. Our women’s division has just evolved so much.

“And I’m happy to be a part of it and be a champion for all these women that we have right now. So it’s a really good time to be a wrestler and a female in wrestling right now.”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Stratus’ WWE debut, and she feels a connection with Stratton given that they’re both blondes who had to overcome preconceived notions of what they can do. Stratus has competed three times in 2025, including teaming with Stratton against Nia Jax & Candice LeRae at Elimination Chamber this March.

After Evolution, Stratton went on to retain her WWE Women’s Championship over Jade Cargill at SummerSlam. She is now feuding with both Cargill and Jax.

Tiffany Stratton addresses criticism of WWE SummerSlam match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Her match received some criticism for how short it was, but Tiffany Stratton was pleased with how things went at WWE SummerSlam 2025.

At night one of this year’s event, Stratton faced off against Jade Cargill with the WWE Women’s Championship on the line. A title change seemed possible, but Stratton instead defeated Cargill in seven minutes to remain champion.

During an appearance on The Babyfaces podcast, Stratton addressed the criticism the match received from fans, saying she felt like seven minutes was all they really needed given that her storyline with Cargill wasn’t some huge blood feud.

“I feel like we didn’t have this like insane life or death story going into SummerSlam, so I didn’t really feel like we needed — like you said — an insane 40-minute long match,” Stratton said. “I thought it was a very competitive match, it was very fast. And I think that’s all we really needed. So I’m actually really pleased with how my match went at SummerSlam with Jade Cargill.”

Stratton noted that she was “so nervous” going into the show because this was her first SummerSlam.

“Going into SummerSlam, I was so nervous. It was my first SummerSlam ever,” she said. “So that alone was just so nerve-wracking. But, thankfully, I pulled through and I beat Little Miss Jade Cargill.”

Stratton has held the WWE Women’s Championship since cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase on Nia Jax this January. Cargill, Jax, and Giulia have been positioned as three of the top potential challengers in the SmackDown women’s division.

On The Babyfaces podcast, Stratton named Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch as dream opponents she is hoping to face at some point in the future.

Tiffany Stratton feels she was ‘justified’ in how she handled controversial Charlotte Flair segment

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tiffany Stratton reflects back on the controversial Charlotte Flair promo from earlier this year.

On Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, the WWE Women’s Champion explained her motivation on going the extra mile in her war of words with Flair, which included bring up Flair’s failed marriages. Stratton did confirm that he had to apologize to Flair over the statements.

“Things were heated, very competitive. I’m also competitive, trying to prove to Charlotte Flair I can go, I can stand up to her, I’m worthy of this title,” she said. “So yeah, s*** got heated, we went off script. It happens. I did have to apologize.”

But while she did apologize, Stratton also feels she was justified in how she handled herself.

“I’m someone that can embrace being wrong. I had no problem apologizing. I think what I did was justified, but maybe I shouldn’t have gone that far. But I do feel that I was justified by what I did.”

At the time, Stratton and Flair were feuding over the WWE Women’s Championship, with Stratton defeating Flair at WrestleMania 41 to retain the title. Since then, she’s continued her reign as champion, defeating Jade Cargill at this past weekend’s SummerSlam event.

Tiffany Stratton retains Women’s title at WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tiffy time managed to weather the storm.

Tiffany Stratton emerged victorious Saturday at SummerSlam, retaining the WWE Women’s Championship over Jade Cargill. The finish had Cargill attempting Jaded off the top rope, but Stratton countered by sending Cargill down with a rana then hit the prettiest moonsault ever for the victory.

The two had seen themselves in different paths heading into SummerSlam. Jade Cargill earned the title match by winning this year’s Queen of the Ring tournament. However, her feud with Naomi continued into last month’s WWE Evolution, where Cargill defeated Naomi in a no holds barred match. Stratton meanwhile continued to defend her WWE Women’s Championship, retaining the title at Evolution over WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus.

On last week’s SmackDown, Stratton made the save for Cargill after she was beaten down by Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice. On Friday’s show, the two met briefly, with Cargill saying she didn’t need any help. Stratton replied that she wanted Cargill at 100 percent ahead of their match.

WWE SummerSlam night one live results: CM Punk vs. Gunther, Jelly Roll in-ring debut

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: August 2, 2025
Location: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ

**********

Show Recap — 

COUNTDOWN SHOW —

The countdown show is three hours long. Follow here for periodic updates, followed by the live SummerSlam recap tonight and tomorrow. 

Michael Cole confirmed that the men’s world title match between Gunther and CM Punk will main event night one of SummerSlam.

The opener will be Roman Reigns and Jey Uso against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. 

Tiffany Stratton did a quick interview with Byron Saxton. She admitted to being nervous because nobody had Jade Cargill’s star power or potential (shouldn’t Stratton think that about herself?), but she still planned on walking out as champion tonight. 

Sam Roberts interviewed Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez. They dismissed Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss as opponents, and confidently stated they would retain their tag titles tonight. 

They killed time by interviewing fans outside the stadium. Two hours to go. 

They aired part one of a Jelly Roll interview with Jackie Redmond. He was a huge fan and really wanted to be a part of this period of wrestling (given its current popularity). He wasn’t there to take someone else’s spot. They also focused heavily on his weight-loss journey. (So far, this Jelly Roll interview is the most anyone has been focused on.) 

Another celebrity, comedian Druski, joined the panel. He spoke more about his own projects than he did about SummerSlam.

Saxton interviewed some fans dressed as wrestlers and had them do impressions. It was so embarrassing, I had to mute it. 

They aired the clip of Triple H doing his water gimmick at the White House. 

Joe Tessitore put over WWE: Unreal and claimed it was widely acclaimed (by whom?). Tessitore interviewed Triple H, whom he called the series’ central pillar.

Big E put over the series as well, while admitting the idea of it was polarizing among fans. 

Cathy Kelley interviewed Sami Zayn. Zayn was angry. He saw posters around the building for all the big championship matches, which made him angry that he was instead fighting Karrion Kross to prove himself. He congratulated Kross on making him angry. Zayn would end this tonight, “one way or another.”

Big E and Redmond plugged Kross’ biography, coming out soon. 

There was a long SummerSlam stats video, which somehow included the number of times Jelly Roll’s album has been streamed. One hour to go. 

There was a video package on celebrities getting involved at WWE shows. 

They aired part two of Redmond’s interview with Jelly Roll. It included footage of him training at the PC and being put over by Undertaker. He spoke about tonight’s match, and Redmond wished him luck.

If that wasn’t enough, they aired clips (for a second time) of Jelly Roll on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast. Stephanie joined the panel to talk about him more. His goal was to be under 300 lbs for tonight’s match, and she announced he weighed in earlier at 299. 

They spoke more about other celebrities and how much they want to be part of WWE now. 

There were clips from Unreal.

After a break, the panel spoke about Jelly Roll again. 

The panel spoke about the rest of the card as the pre-show came to a close. 

SUMMERSLAM 2025 NIGHT ONE —

The footage of wrestlers arriving now has a sponsor attached to it. Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, Randy Orton, Jelly Roll, Gunther, and CM Punk were shown arriving. 

The SummerSlam intro video was narrated by comedian Druski.

Several wide shots showed how packed MetLife Stadium is. It’s 77 degrees Fahrenheit and partly cloudy. 

Cardi B, the host of SummerSlam, entered the ring and she hyped up the crowd (while seemingly reading off cue cards or a teleprompter at ringside). 

******** 

Jey Uso entered first at 6:09 pm. He entered through the crowd and stated, “Damn, I’m tired!” as he hit ringside. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed entered to a new remixed version of their two themes. 

The opening bell rang at 6:20 pm.

Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed (w/Paul Heyman)

Jey and Reign quickly sent the heels from the ring. Jey suggested they play his music again so the crowd could Yeet. Reigns was on board, so they did it. The heels took the opportunity to yank Reigns from the ring, so Jey wiped out every with a dive off the top. 

Reed shoved Reigns into the steel steps while Jey hammered away at Breakker, but Breakker ran him over with a sprinting clothesline and the heels quickly took over. As Reigns was about to get back to his feet outside the ring, Breakker ran him over with a chaotic leaping tackle. 

There was a funny bit where Breakker held Jey in a rest hold while mock-singing Reigns’ name and singing, “You should have stayed in bed!” 

Breakker tried his leaping dive off the apron, but Jey dodged it, and Breakker collided with the announce table. Jey was about to make a hot tag, but Reed pulled Reigns off the apron while Breakker tackled Jey. 

Jey gave Reed a DDT and made the hot tag to Reigns, who hit Breakker with clotheslines. With both heels outside the ring, Reigns did a big Undertaker dive to the outside. Reigns almost landed on his head, but he managed to rotate and avoid catastrophe. 

Reigns hit Breakker with a Superman punch in the ring, but Reed had made a blind tag, and he ran over Reigns. Jey made his own blind tag and ran wild on Reed until Reed cut him off with a clothesline and DVD for two. 

With both babyfaces outside the ring, Reed nailed them with a suicide dive. Reed also took a nasty-looking fall on this one, but he was fine. Breakker decked Jey over the announce table. The heels gave Jey a Steinerizer (with Breakker leaping off the top) for two. 

Breakker began running around the ring, but Reigns cut him off with a Superman punch and speared him through the barricade. (It’s a tired spot, but it looked good.) 

Reed set up Jey for a Tsunami, but Reigns knocked him down with a Superman punch. Reigns and Jey hit Reed with a 1-D, but Breakker broke up the cover. 

Breakker taunted the crowd, put his straps back on before taking them right off. (The crowd popped for that.) Breakker went to spear Jey, but Reigns shoved Jey out of the way and ate the spear instead. 

Jey superkicked Breakker and speared Reed. Jey then hit Reed with an Uso splash for the pinfall win. The crowd popped for the win. 

(The announcers put over the fact that Reigns sacrificed himself for Jey, not something he would have done in the past.)

Match result: Jey Uso & Roman Reigns defeated Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker (21:05) 

This was a perfectly good opener. Reigns’ matches have a certain pattern, and this was no different, but it was at least nice to see some new blood in there—namely, Bron Breakker. Perhaps Bron should have won, but he looked good in the match, and they’ll obviously go back to this soon. 

********

Druski, Breland, and Fat Joe (who got a nice reaction) were shown in the crowd. 

A brand sponsor was also shown in the crowd, and Cole’s ad read was muted on my Netflix broadcast. (The ad reads are usually muted on my feed.)  

********

The show is almost an hour old, and there’s been just one 20-minute match. The second match began at 6:56 pm. 

Charlotte entered first, but remained on the stage for Bliss so they could enter together (to Bliss’ music). 

There were stats shown for Rodriguez and Perez, and even that graphic had a sponsor attached.

Women’s Tag Team Championships: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss 

The heels had the heat on Charlotte almost right away. Bliss made a hot tag and went for Sister Abigail, but Perez raked her eyes. Perez missed a springboard moonsault, but Rodriguez tagged herself in. 

Bliss dropped Perez with a DDT and went for Twisted Bliss, even though Perez was not the legal woman. Perez “got her knees up,” but Bliss missed anyway and landed on Perez’s feet instead. None of it mattered because Perez wasn’t legal, so Rodriguez decked her with a clothesline. 

Charlotte made a hot tag and did her best to fire up the quiet crowd. She hit both opponents with a flying crossbody and followed with chops on Rodriguez. She placed Rodriguez and Perez next to each other and hit a moonsault on both women before covering Rodriguez for two. Charlotte tried to put Rodriguez in a Figure Eight, but Perez hit her with a springboard moonsault. 

Bliss jumped in and tried to deck Rodriguez, but Rodriguez moved, and Bliss clobbered Charlotte by mistake. The heels got rid of Bliss before Rodriguez hit Charlotte with a Tejana Bomb. Perez followed with Pop Rox, but Bliss just barely broke up the cover. 

Bliss set up Perez for Sister Abigail. Charlotte looked like she wanted to boot Bliss for revenge, but she booted Rodriguez instead so that she couldn’t interfere. 

Bliss hit Perez with the Sister Abigail DDT for the pinfall win. 

Charlotte embraced Bliss after the match, and they posed with their new title belts as fireworks went off. 

Match result: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair defeated Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships (13:35)

This match was ok. The crowd didn’t care early on, but they got into it as it picked up toward the end and popped big for the title change. 

********

There was a backstage segment to plug their pizza sponsorship. New Day (and Grayson Waller), Alpha Academy, and LWO argued over who should get the last slice of pizza until Nikki Bella entered with three full boxes. 

******** 

This match did not get a video package (which is fine). 

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross (w/Scarlett)

About five minutes in, Zayn kicked out of a Saito suplex, so Kross turned to Scarlett for assistance. Scarlett handed Kross a lead pipe and distracted the referee, but Zayn ducked a pipe shot and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. 

A frustrated Zayn repeatedly booted Kross in the ropes, and the referee had to force him off. 

Scarlett offered the pipe to Zayn as the ref checked on Kross. Zayn grabbed the pipe and considered using it, but he tossed it out of the ring (which was actually booed). 

Kross tried a sudden schoolboy, but Zayn kicked out and hit an exploder in the corner. Zayn followed with a Helluva Kick for the decisive win. 

Zayn smiled as he made his way up the ramp. 

Match result: Sami Zayn defeated Karrion Kross (8:11)

This was a basic match that was really just about the closing sequence. I think the crowd was expecting a more interesting result, but ultimately, Zayn did what he said he would do and beat Kross straight-up (which was the correct result). 

********

Cole announced an attendance of 53,161. 

Cole honoured Hulk Hogan once more and spoke about his success at SummerSlam. Nick Hogan was shown in the crowd as Hulk’s music played. 

******** 

Psycho Clown and Mr. Iguana were shown in the crowd. 

There was a clip of Jade Cargill meeting some fans backstage and giving them upgraded seats. This was also a sponsored segment. 

******** 

Cargill’s gear were the colours of the Jamaican flag. Both women were cheered during introductions, and they made sure to show Cardi B applauding Cargill. 

WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill 

Cargill had the early edge until Stratton bumped her off the paron and hit a suicide dive. Stratton followed with a great-looking senton bomb in the ring. (It looked like she would land on her head, but rotated just in time to hit the move.) 

Cargill blocked Stratton’s handspring elbow and followed with a boot and spinning slam for two. They traded moves, which led to Stratton hitting a falcon arrow. Stratton hit a handspring elbow and an Alabama Slam. Stratton tried a moonsault, but Cargill got her boots up. 

Cargill hit Jaded and seemed to have the title won, but when she rolled into the cover, Stratton’s foot happened to touch the rope for a rope break. Cargill hit a chokeslam and took Stratton to the corner. 

Cargill set up for a Jaded off the middle rope, but Stratton countered into an avalanche hurricanrana of sorts. Stratton followed with the PME for the pinfall win. Stratton wins clean. 

Match result: Tiffany Stratton defeated Jade Cargill to retain the WWE Women’s Championship (7:05)

A surprising result. There were some clunky spots, but this was better than expected, and the crowd was into it. 

******* 

There was a trailer for The Smashing Machine. 

Tineke Younger, Cardi B, and Stephanie McMahon were in the crowd. (Cole referred to Stephanie as “legendary,” and I believe they called her that on the pre-show as well.) 

******** 

Bunnie XO, Jelly Roll’s wife, was in the crowd. Cole read some stats about her Spotify audience. 

As mentioned on the pre-show, they said Jelly Roll weighed in at 299 lbs (his goal was to be under 300 lbs for this match).

Randy Orton & Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul 

Paul took a cheap shot at Jelly Roll before the match. Orton was going to start the match, but as the bell rang, Jelly Roll tagged himself in to get revenge. 

Paul tried and failed to suplex Jelly Roll, so Jelly gave him a scoop slam instead. Jelly followed with an elbow drop, so a surprised Paul tagged out. 

McIntyre smacked Jelly in the back of the head. Instead of tagging out, Jelly was hyped up by Orton. Jelly got in McIntyre’s face. McIntyre told him that today was the day the music dies.

Jelly hit a few jabs until McIntyre dropped him with a headbutt. Paul tagged in and hammered away at Jelly Roll as the crowd chanted, “F—k you, Logan,” (which was censored). 

The heels beat up Jelly as the crowd chanted, “We want Randy.” Jelly chucked McIntyre out of the ring and made the hot tag to Orton, who hit McIntyre with a powerslam and a draping DDT. Orton set up for an RKO, but Paul pulled McIntyre to safety. 

Orton went outside and gave McIntyre a back suplex onto the announce table. Orton did it to Paul as well, but that distraction allowed McIntyre to hit Orton with a Claymore Kick. Paul attacked Jelly from behind and punched him (with his titanium-plated hand). Jelly didn’t exactly take it flush. 

McIntyre placed Jelly Roll on the announce table as Paul went to the top rope. Paul raised cans of his energy drink before hitting Jelly Roll with a spectacular splash off the rope and through the announce table. The crowd chanted, “Holy sh-t,” as officials checked on Jelly Roll. 

The heels worked over Orton in the ring as the crowd seemed distracted. Officials helped Jelly to his feet and helped him make his way toward the ramp. (The fans cheered when Jelly got to his feet, but they also seemed distracted by something else, to the point where McIntyre banged the top of the ring post to get them focused.) 

With Orton down, Jelly Roll shunned the officials and made his way back to the apron. Jelly made a hot tag and gave Paul a chokeslam. He also gave McIntyre a Bossman slam. The fans—who were all on their feet since Paul’s splash—were definitely into it here, and they cheered as Jelly brought Paul off the top with a powerslam for two. 

McIntyre hit Jelly with a Claymore Kick, and Orton gave McIntyre an RKO. However, Paul chucked Orton into the ring post and hit Jelly with a frog splash for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre defeated Jelly Roll & Randy Orton (17:04)

I wouldn’t call this a good match, but it was laid out well, and they accomplished what they wanted. 

On the pre-show, they really focused hard on Jelly Roll and celebrity appearances in general. Indeed, Orton and McIntyre felt like secondary players here. Paul is a regular now, so it did make sense for him to get the pin, and his splash through the table was incredible. 

********

They showed Triple H at the White House with Donald Trump. 

They ran down tomorrow’s card, which has a cage match, TLC match, street fight and no-DQ match. 

******** 

Punk wore the colours of the Chicago flag. 

World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c) vs. CM Punk

They wrestled back and forth for a few minutes until Gunther dropped Punk with a single chop. Punk got back on offence and targeted Gunther’s left arm. 

Punk went to the top, but Gunther chopped the back of his leg. Punk was helpless upside down in the ropes as Gunther hit several more chops. Gunther followed with more chops, knees to the mid-section, and abdominal stretch. Punk countered out of the stretch and went for a GTS. A series of counters led to Gunther hitting a big boot. 

Gunther beat down Punk for a while until he began fighting back, but Gunther cut him off. (Gunther had a bloody mark on his chest from Punk’s chops.) 

There was a messy spot where Punk seemed to be going for an atomic drop, but Gunther landed as if it was a spinebuster. It didn’t matter because Gunther put Punk in a single-leg crab. Punk countered into an attempt at a Sharpshooter, but Gunther got a rope break. 

(They stalled for a moment here as the ref checked on Punk, perhaps giving him time to recoup.) 

Punk fought back and hit a clothesline, but Gunther didn’t budge. Punk knocked him down with a leg lariat instead. Punk, also bleeding from the chest, went for a running knee, but Gunther caught him and hit a powerbomb for two. 

They traded submission attempts until Gunther hit consecutive chops, but Punk came back with a Russian leg sweep, running knee and bulldog for two. Punk went to the top, but Gunther slammed him off it and followed with a splash off the top for two. 

Gunther clotheslined an exhausted Punk, waited for him to return to his feet, and hit another one. Punk suddenly got Gunther in position for GTS, but Gunther slipped out and hit a powerbomb. Gunther hit a running dropkick and powerbomb for a nearfall. 

The match continued at a slow pace as Gunther continued his deliberate beatdown of Punk. Gunther posed atop the announce table until Punk tripped him from behind. Punk was too tired to follow up and sat against the ring to catch his breath. 

The camera focused on Punk as a distraction, because Gunther reemerged from behind the announce desk and his face was covered in blood. (His face or nose supposedly smashed off the desk to cause this.) 

Gunther begged off from Punk, who hit a clothesline and diving elbow drop. Punk went for GTS, but Gunther slipped out again and applied a sleeper. 

Punk slipped out and hit a GTS. Gunther was dazed but remained on his feet. Punk grabbed him and hit the GTS again for the pinfall win. 

CM Punk is the World Champion. 

The referee handed the world title belt to an emotional Punk. 

Match result: CM Punk defeated Gunther to win the World Heavyweight Championship (30:18) 

— Punk looked around the crowd before finally holding the belt up high. Seth Rollins’ music hit, the crowd popped, and Punk’s expression changed. 

Rollins walked out on crutches with Heyman by his side. Rollins issued a warning to Punk and acted like he was about to leave. However, Rollins ditched his crutches and removed his knee brace. 

Rollins ran down with his briefcase and a referee. Punk attacked Rollins as soon as he entered the ring, but Rollins fought him off and hit him in the head repeatedly with the briefcase. 

Rollins cashed in his contract. 

World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Seth Rollins (w/Paul Heyman) 

Rollins immediately stomped Punk for the pinfall win. 

CM Punk is no longer the World Champion. 

Rollins celebrated with Heyman, Breakker, and Reed as fireworks went off. Rollins sat cross-legged while holding the belt and snickering at Punk. 

Match result: Seth Rollins defeated CM Punk to win the World Heavyweight Championship (0:12)

The main event was good, but not great. It was unnecessarily long, but they probably wanted Punk looking as exhausted as possible for the cash-in. 

Night one was an average show at best (to be generous), the type of show you’d be able to skim through pretty quickly. There was about 90 minutes of wrestling on this three-and-a-half-hour show, and a third of that was the main event.

WWE Unreal addresses fallout from controversial Charlotte Flair, Tiffany Stratton segment

Posted on by Ian Carey

The controversial segment involving Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton last April was addressed in the final episode of Netflix’s WWE Unreal season 1.

On the April 4 edition of SmackDown in Chicago, Stratton and Flair’s promo segment fell off the rails as both made unscripted comments about the other. According to scenes in the Netflix series, Stratton’s comment referencing Flair’s three divorces resulted in her being told to apologize.

“You might be Queen inside of the ring but outside of the ring, you ain’t the Queen of s–t,” Stratton said to Flair during the segment.

“When I beat you at WrestleMania, Charlotte, you are going to be just like you are outside of the ring, alone. What is that record? 0-3? Woooo!”

A few weeks earlier, on the March 21 SmackDown, Flair was accused of “steamrolling” Stratton in a split-screen interview segment and making the champion look bad.

The Unreal documentary then shows what took place backstage after the April 4 segment. SVP of Creative Writing Ed Koskey is seen telling Triple H that the line about Flair’s divorces sent her over the edge.

“Apparently, it was the divorce line that sent her over the edge. She’s upset. It obviously wasn’t written in the promo,” Koskey says.

Triple H responded, “I need Tiffany to understand that’s obviously not how we do this. So, she needs to go to Charlotte and apologize and they need to get on the same page.”

Later in the episode, Flair is interviewed backstage after her Mania 41 match against Stratton.

“I think she has a super bright future,” Flair said of Stratton. “She’s a star.”

Triple H is later seen telling Flair, “That’s how you put someone over,” in response to the match.

All five episodes of WWE Unreal were released on Netflix Tuesday, July 29, 2025.

WWE Evolution preview & predictions: ‘Liv Morgan’s injured, but we did our best’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Image: WWE

It wasn’t a smooth riding leading into WWE Evolution, but there are some decent matches lined up for Sunday’s premium live event.

Of all the people WWE likely didn’t want to get injured before the PLE, it was Liv Morgan. It was either going to be her against Nikki Bella or she and Raquel Rodriguez against Nikki & Brie Bella in the main event. Either way, it would have been the featured angle heading into the show, the one used to sell tickets and such.

Morgan not being on the show hurts, but so does not having Bella in a marquee match. I think some fans underestimate how big of stars the Bellas are. Their Bella Army is massive but not necessarily tied to wrestling all the time. They follow Nikki and Brie wherever they go and there would be far more buzz about Evolution if Nikki hadn’t been relegated to the battle royal.

Still, some good matches and interesting stories could take place on Sunday. Below are previews and predictions for each match at Evolution:

WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Trish Stratus

Stratton is a -2000 favorite to retain and I certainly wouldn’t bet against that.

It’s not hard to figure out why the oddsmakers are so certain Stratton will win. Stratus is a returning legend and while that’s fun for now, she’s not going to be back for the long haul. I don’t think too many fans are going into this one thinking she has a shot. Stratton will win clean.

Naomi cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase could be teased here, but I’m not sure it will happen. If she does attempt it, I’d expect Stratus to help Stratton fight her off before the two babyfaces share a passing of the torch moment in the ring together.

Prediction: Tiffany Stratton retains

WWE Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Rhea Ripley

It was good sportsmanship of SKY to pick Rhea Ripley as her title challenger for Evolution, but it’s likely going to cost her the championship.

Ripley is listed as a -500 favorite to win and I would even go higher than that. There could always be some outside hijinxs to cause an upset, but I think it’s time to put the belt back on Ripley and I believe WWE knows this as well.

Similar to the other babyface vs. babyface World title match on the show, it will likely be a clean finish and there could be an angle at the end when they fight off some interfering heels such as Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez.

Prediction: Rhea Ripley wins the title

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bayley and Lyra Valkyria in a three-way

Lynch is listed as a -2000 favorite to retain and she probably will, but those odds are too high for me.

Obviously, it’s a triple threat match for a title and Lynch is the only heel in there so this appears to be set up for her to retain by stealing a pin or some other type of under-handed chicanery.

Triple H doesn’t always do things right by the book, however. This is the guy who will have the babyface team get the advantage in WarGames matches after all, so just because it’s set up like this doesn’t necessarily mean Lynch will win.

Bayley (+350) hasn’t exactly been a true blue babyface leading up to this match, either. She could easily do something underhanded to get the win and it wouldn’t be inconsistent with how she’s been acting lately. There is a big part of me that thinks she could do exactly that, leading to Lynch and Valkyria (+600) both blaming the other and continuing their feud without the Intercontinental title involved.

Is it as likely as Lynch stealing a pin to get a cheap win? Probably not.

Prediction: Becky Lynch retains

NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne defends against Jordynne Grace

As of this writing, Grace is a -250 favorite to win the NXT Women’s Championship at Evolution but I would rate her as a much heavier favorite than that.

This match currently has the closest odds of any on the show. I feel pretty confident Grace is walking away with the title, however, likely after Blake Monroe helps her fend off Jayne’s run-in buddies.

With Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer up on the main roster, this is Grace’s division now and her crowning takes place at Evolution. I’m not certain how long of a reign she will have as she probably can’t be kept away from the main roster for much longer either. And Monroe is right there to take the title off her when that time comes.

Prediction: Jordynne Grace wins the title

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defend against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Asuka & Kairi Sane, and Sol Ruca & Zaria in a four-way

The oddsmakers have Rodriguez and Perez listed as -500 favorites to retain.

The next highest odds are Bliss and Flair at +300 who are my picks to win. I don’t know if their story needs the titles, but they need a reason to continue teaming together and winning the belts accomplishes that.

I read Flair’s Players Tribune article and I listen to a lot of her interviews. It’s clear she really wants to be liked. You can tell it would mean a lot to her. There is pain there, too. Some of it from being a celebrity who is criticized constantly, some of it from her brother Reid’s passing, and some of it from her failed marriages. I don’t know how much real life is feeding into the on-screen story, but it almost seems as though Bliss’ character sees what’s happening with Ashley Fliehr too.

I’m interested in seeing where this goes. If the story blends in real life and becomes about a constantly criticized celebrity trying to find peace, I’m down for it. It seems like a very relevant story for our times.

Asuka and Sane are listed as +500 underdogs and Sol Ruca and Zaria at +900. I’ve really enjoyed Ruca and Zaria so far and, obviously, the Kabuki Warriors are great, so this should be a fun match.

Prediction: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair win the titles

No holds barred: Jade Cargill vs. Naomi

Cargill is listed as a -2000 favorite and I don’t disagree with that at all.

WWE sees a big star in Cargill and I don’t think she is going to lose a singles match (other than a MITB cash-in scenario) in a long, long time. This won’t be a squash match, however. They will want Naomi to make this a competitive bout. That’s likely why it’s no holds barred.

Naomi will use various weapons, including her MITB briefcase, but in the end, Cargill will just be too much for her.

Cargill likely defeats Naomi here, but Naomi likely cashes in sometime soon, probably around SummerSlam, setting up a rematch.

Prediction: Jade Cargill

Battle royal for a title shot at Clash in Paris — Nikki Bella, Stephanie Vaquer, Natalya, Maxxine Dupri, Nia Jax, Ivy Nile confirmed entrants

There are no odds listed for this match but if Nikki Bella doesn’t win, I will be very surprised.

The winner of this bout gets a title shot at Clash in Paris and that seems like a fitting spot for The Bellas to be in the spotlight. There will be surprises, legends returning, and the whole nine yards. It will be a chance for the live crowd to cheer names that they haven’t seen in years while getting as many names as possible on the card.

Prediction: Nikki Bella

Trish Stratus challenging Tiffany Stratton for WWE Women’s Championship

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus is returning from hiatus to challenge for the Women’s Championship at Evolution.

As confirmed during Friday’s taped SmackDown episode, Stratus will challenge Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women’s Championship at the Sunday, July 13 Evolution event in Atlanta.

During an in-ring promo with Queen of the Ring winner Jade Cargill, Stratton revealed that she had been granted the opportunity to choose her challenger at Evolution and had chosen Stratus. Cargill will face the winner at SummerSlam set for August 2 and August 3.

Stratus and Stratton teamed at the Elimination Chamber event in Stratus’s hometown of Toronto earlier this year.

A former seven-time Women’s Champion, Stratus was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013. Stratus has held the WWE Women’s title since January 3 of this year when she cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Nia Jax on SmackDown.

The updated Evolution lineup following SmackDown:

WWE Evolution, Sunday, July 13, 7 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock in the US and Netflix internationally —

  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Trish Stratus
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Rhea Ripley
  • NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne defends against Jordynne Grace
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defend against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss and two teams TBD in a four-way
  • No holds barred: Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
  • Battle royal for a championship match at Clash in Paris

WWE SmackDown live results: Night of Champions fallout

Posted on by Marc Quill

WWE SmackDown makes its return to two hours tonight with the fallout from Night of Champions, where a new King & Queen of the Ring were crowned.

Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton in the King of the Ring finals to earn himself an Undisputed WWE Championship rematch against John Cena, while Jade Cargill bested Asuka to become Queen of the Ring and Tiffany Stratton’s SummerSlam challenger for the WWE Women’s Championship. Both Rhodes and Cargill are set to appear tonight.

Also scheduled for tonight is Stratton herself as she selects who she will defend the title against at Evolution.

A new United States Champion was also decided at Night of Champions with Solo Sikoa capturing the belt from Jacob Fatu with the help of Tala Tonga, the former Hikuleo and newest member of Sikoa’s faction. Fatu will certainly be looking to get even on tonight’s broadcast.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– Following the WWE signature, we saw Solo Sikoa arriving to the arena with J.C. Mateo and the United States Championship in tow. As Sikoa noted that it was time to celebrate, Jacob Fatu jumped into the scene and attacked both Sikoa and Mateo in an ambush. Fatu took Mateo out of the car and threw him against the door as security led by SmackDown GM Nick Aldis appeared to get Fatu to back off.

Cody Rhodes opens SmackDown

The 2025 King of the Ring, Cody Rhodes, made his way to the ring to a huge ovation from the crowd, Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett recapped Rhodes’ victory over Randy Orton at Night of Champions to ssecure the crown.

With his crown in one hand and a microphone in the other, Rhodes asked the Pittsburgh crowd, ‘what do you wanna talk about?” Before starting, Rhodes gave a shout out to Cam, a young fan sat in Club 66, who was battling Leukemia. Once that was done, Rhodes said that the King of the Ring crown represented where we’ve been, mentioning past King of the Ring winners like Bret Hart, Booker T, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. He said it also stood for where we were going: the Main Event of SummerSlam in the form of a WrestleMania rematch against John Cena.

Before Rhodes could go on any further, “Voices” signalled the arrival of Randy Orton, the man who Rhodes defeated at Night of Champions. Orton started by reminding his friend that for weeks and weeks, he told Rhodes that he wouldn’t hesitate. But, at Night of Champions, he had Rhodes “dead to rights” and ready to rearrange his skull with a punt, but he hesitated. However, Rhodes pulled the trigger instead, something that Orton respected. Orton told Rhodes to promise him that he not squander the opportunity earn to go on to SummerSlam and kick John Cena’s ass.

Drew McIntyre made a shocking return for the first time since Saturday Night’s Main Event a couple of months ago. With mic in hand, McIntyre mocked Orton and Rhodes for having “beta male energy”, stating that “the alpha” — as in himself — has returned. McIntyre said Orton lost the psychological battle due to Rhodes supposedly “buttering him up” for months and stabbing him right in the back. He then turned his attention to Orton’s surgically repaired back, and pointing out how Rhodes targeted that surgically-repaired back.

McIntyre lambasted Orton for losing his edge as the Legend Killer, because that legend of Randy Orton was “dead”, as far he was concerned. McIntyre then turned his attention to “Super Cody”, stating that he wanted him to win at SummerSlam, because this was a match he was looking forward to, and because he wanted to be the one to rip that title off of Rhodes’ hands. As McIntyre turned, Orton delivered an RKO to him out of nowhere. Orton and Rhodes shared a tense staredown as the segment ended.

Very interesting opening segment, with Drew McIntyre’s big return and the gears being turned for a potential Randy Orton heel turn, which is kind of hitting the same beats as the Kevin Owens’ turn against Cody Rhodes last year. Still, when that turn does happen, it should be a good story, nonetheless.

**********

– Earlier Today footage showed Charlotte Flair talking to Nick Aldis, learning that she’ll be in a Women’s Tag Title qualifier match against the Secret Hervice and Michin & B-Fab, with the winner going on to Evolution II. Alexa Bliss appeared and revealed that she was going to be Flair’s partner for the match.

– Backstage, Drew McIntyre walked up and demanded a match against Randy Orton, but was informed by Aldis that Orton had left. However, McIntyre will get his shot at Orton next week at Saturday Night’s Main Event, which worked for him. McIntyre turned to see Jacob Fatu, and then left. Aldis informed Fatu that if he wanted a shot at Solo’s Bloodline, he could find a partner to take on two of them in tag team action. Jimmy Uso appeared and stepped up to be Fatu’s partner.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Qualifier Triple Threat: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. Secret Hervice (Alba Fyre & Piper Niven) vs. Michin & B-Fab

The match got underway with Bliss, Michin, and Niven starting off for their respective teams. Before Bliss could do anything, Flair blind tagged herself in as she then kicked B-Fab off the apron. Flair chopped away at Niven, but got hit with some chops by Michin. It was a kick frenzy by Michin that got stopped short, at least until Michin took out Flair outside the ring. Niven then took flight to take down Michin & B-Fab. Fyre then got her turn as she leapt from the top to wipe out Flair and B-Fab with a dive to the outside, which took us to a break.

We returned from break with Niven landing on Flair with a senton, but only getting a two count. A missed senton on Michin allowed B-Fab to enter the match with a tag. B-Fab took down Flair and Niven with kicks galore on both. Flair countered a neckbreaker attempt and tried for a Figure-Eight. B-Fab shoved Flair into her corner, which allowed Bliss to get the hot tag. Bliss was on fire and almost had B-Fab set up for Sister Abigail, but Michin made the save with a kick. Fyre caught B-Fab offguard with a Canadian (or Scottish?) Destroyer, as Niven then connected with the Black Hole Slam.

The Secret Hervice’s attempted double team was intercepted by Flair and Bliss. Flair condescendingly tapped Bliss on the head, which was counted as a tag by the referee. This allowed Bliss to enter as the legal woman and hit Twisted Bliss on Fyre to get the pin and win, qualifying for the Women’s Tag Title match at Evolution II.

Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss def. The Secret Hervice and Michin & B-Fab via pinfall

A decent match, but the finish with Charlotte’s attempt at being condescending towards Alexa Bliss kind of backfiring on her was a nice touch.

**********

– Earlier Today footage showed Nick Aldis admonishing the SmackDown tag division for causing chaos in the Wyatt Sicks vs. Street Profits WWE Tag Title match last week. This would end up with Andrade & Rey Fenix vs. FrAxiom booked for tonight, as well as an eight-man tag match being booked with the Wyatt Sicks against four stars from the SmackDown tag division.

Eight-Man Tag Match: The Wyatt Sicks (Uncle Howdy, Joe Gacy, Erick Rowan, & Dexter Lumis) vs. Berto, Johnny Gargano, Chris Sabin, & Montez Ford

Berto and Gacy got things going, as the latter blasted the former with a clothesline from the corner, followed by a running senton. Gacy looked to continue the momentum, but Berto caught him with a springboard elbow strike. Lumis got the tag and threw Berto around before Gargano entered the match. Gargano tried to make “peace” with Lumis, but ate a punch, followed by a slam for the two-count.

Uncle Howdy stepped into the ring, which led to all competitors stepping into the ring as things descended into chaos. Rowan tried to chokeslam Gargano and Berto, but got a stereo superkick from Sabin and Ford for his troubles. The SmackDown tag division stalwarts then kicked Rowan to the outside as Ford looked to get some momentum going. Rowan recovered and caught Ford before he threw him into a superkick by Lumis, leading to a commercial break.

We returned with the Wyatt Sicks working over Ford in their corner, as Lumis and Gacy did their “powerbomb into the opponent” spot. Lumis held Ford in a submission, but couldn’t maintain it. Chris Sabin got the tag and floored Lumis with a missile dropkick. Sabin used his speed to take out the entirety of the Wyatt Sicks in their corner, as he then unexpectedly teamed up with Gargano for a double kick on Gacy.

More chaos unfolded as we saw Ford take flight to wipe out Gacy and Lumis just near the entrance ramp outside the ring. Berto looked to soar, but got taken out by Uncle Howdy, who threw him over the ropes. In the ring, Howdy had Sabin right where he wanted him with the uranage as he then tagged in Rowan. The former Bludgeon Brother did what he does best and went on the attack, but Sabin dropped him with a slam. As Sabin looked to get a tag, Gargano had second thoughts and backed away from the apron as he locked eyes with Rowan. This left Sabin at the mercy of Rowan’s Iron Claw Slam to give the Wyatt Sicks the win here.

The Wyatt Sicks def. Chris Sabin, Johnny Gargano, Berto, and Montez Ford via pinfall

This was an alright tag match, though I enjoyed the concept of #DIY’s attempts of marshalling the SmackDown tag division to unite against the Wyatts unraveling because of the two (or at least Johnny Gargano in this particular match) actually being afraid of the Sicks.

**********

– We got a vignette from Giulia as she talked about her Women’s United States Championship victory last week on SmackDown. She stated that we were about to witness her beautiful madness as the Women’s U.S. Champion.

Tiffany Stratton chooses her Evolution II opponent

The WWE Women’s Champion made her way down to the ring to make an important decision regarding her opponent for Evolution II. Stratton said that since she became the Women’s Champion, she’s had a target on her back, but Nia Jax’s revenge wasn’t enough to stop her from becoming the Last Woman Standing. She turned her attention to Jade Cargill, the woman she’ll face at SummerSlam… but only after she defeats the opponent that she’l choose to face at Evolution II.

Stratton was interrupted by the 2025 Queen of the Ring herself, Jade Cargill. With a mic in hand, Cargill talked about how she was crowned Queen of the Ring by beating one of the best in Asuka. Cargill warned Stratton that she had a choice to make, and that if she chose wrong, Stratton might not make it to SummerSlam. But, it didn’t matter to Cargill, because she’d beat whoever she’d end up facing at SummerSlam. Stratton interrupted and revealed she a surprise for everyone… in the form of the WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus.

Once Stratus entered the ring, Stratton talked about how she invited her to the ring, stating “what would Evolution be without some Stratusfaction?”, as she then issued a challenge to the Canadian for title match at Evoltuion. Stratus talked about how the women had to fight just to have a single match on the card, but now at Evolution II, we’re going to have a card of incredibly talented women. Stratus gave thanks to Stratton for letting her kids see her in the ring, but those kids of hers haven’t seen their mom as a champion.

Stratton said that this wouldn’t be easy because this isn’t the Attitude Era anymore, and that whether it was Stratus at Evolution or Cargill at SummerSlam, the WWE would still run on Tiffy Time at the end of it all.

Trish returning as Stratton’s Evolution opponent borne out of a respect the two had when they teamed up at Elimination Chamber is at least a nice thread to follow up on for this match.

**********

– Solo Sikoa spoke from his “office” as he introduced the newest member of his family, Tala Tonga (the former Hikuleo), Sikoa said that this group was nothing like a bloodline, but it was now stronger than ever. Sikoa said that he and JC Mateo would join forces in their tag match later tonight, as he concluded that “his” family was now complete.

– Backstage, Trish Stratus was met by Jade Cargill, who warned her that if she defeated Tiffany Stratton at Evolution II, she’d be facing her at SummerSlam. As Stratus left, Naomi snuck up on Cargill with a shot using her Money in the Bank briefcase. SmackDown GM Nick Aldis, who’s had quite the busy night, checked up on Cargill afterwards.

FrAxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom) vs. Andrade & Rey Fenix

We got started with Andrade and Frazer mixing it up in the middle of the ring and neither getting a n advantage. Frazer dodged Andrade before he made the tag to Axiom as Fenix leapt into battle with a dive. Fenix landed on his feet after an attempted DDT from Axiom. All four men began to trade blows in the ring as Andrade got sent to the outside. Frazer and Axiom blasted Andrade and Fenix with repeated dives to the outside, which took us to the break.]

SmackDown resumed with Frazer having Fenix caught in a submission hold. FrAxiom used their unorthodox tag team offense to keep Fenix grounded at the moment. Fenix escaped out of an Axiom hold as he kicked Frazer off the apron. Fenix then took down Axiom with a flipping DDT before Andrade got the hot tag.

El Idolo was a house of fire against both Frazer and Axiom, as he then paid tribute to Eddie Guerrerro with the Three Amigos suplexes. Fenix followed up the homage to Eddie with a Frog Splash that only got a two-count. With a cry of “Animo!”, Fenix headed up top, but was intercepted by Frazer. A dogfight at the top rope saw Frazer floor Fenix with the superplex, followed by a supkerick. Cover by Axiom was broken up by Andrade, who shoved Frazer into the pin.

After another commercial break, we resumed with Frazer’s Phoenix Splash being adeptly dodged by Fenix as Andrade entered the match. With Frazer stunned in the corner, Andrade crushed him with the corner Meteora for the two-count. Andrade had Frazer in his sights for a high-risk maneuver and connected with the double moonsault. Axiom broke up the pin just in time as he then took Fenix out from the apron.

FrAxiom had Andrade caught with the Spanish Fly & Phoenix Splash combination maneuver. Rey Fenix made the last-second save by leaping onto Frazer followed by a codebreaker on Axiom. The makeshift team of Andrade and Fenix soon took advantage with the latterr hitting an Adios Amigo kick on Axiom, and the former blasting Frazer with a vicious spinning elbow. The finish came when Fenix leapt over a prone Frazer in the ring right into Axiom at ringside. This gave Andrade the opening needed to deliver The Message to Frazer for the three.

Andrade & Rey Fenix def. FrAxiom via pinfall

Just some fun and fast tag team action between two high-flying teams. I really enjoyed this one from start to finish. Just a lovely showcase for the SmackDown tag division.

**********

– Damian Priest confronted Aleister Black, wanting to talk to him about Ron Killings, as he revealed to Black that he’d be facing Killings next week on SmackDown. We also learned that at Evolution II, it’ll be Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus for the WWE Women’s Championship, as well as Jade Cargill vs. Naomi.

Next Week on SmackDown

  • WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits vs. The Wyatt Sicks’ Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis
  • Ron Killings vs. Aleister Black

Solo Sikoa & J.C. Mateo vs. Jacob Fatu & Jimmy Uso

Sikoa tagged in Mateo to avoid Fatu’s wrath early on. Mateo took the brunt of the punishment from Fatu and Uso up until a thump brought Jimmy down to the ground. Sikoa entered the match and felt brazen enough to mock Fatu’s signature dance while he had Uso grounded with the Spinning Solo, which led to one final break in the action.

Our main event resumed from the commercial with Sikoa and Mateo having the advantrage over Jimmy Uso. Mateo got the tag and flattened Uso with a standing moonsault. In the corner, a prone Uso was squashed by a splash from Mateo. Another attempt at a splash by Mateo was missed, as Uso dodged and then delivered a Samoan Drop, which created some needed separation. Fatu got the hot tag as he unleashed an assault on Sikoa with the senton, followed by a splash in the corner.

Fatu cracked Sikoa with ten headbutts in the cornered, as he then caught his foe with a spinning elbow. Fatu blasted both Mateo and Sikoa with superkicks, which left them stunned in separate corners. Fatu took both men out with consecutive hip attacks. Uso and Fatu flew through the ropes with dives that ook out Mateo and Sikoa.

In the ring, Sikoa kicked Fatu with a superkick, as he had the Samoan Spike loaded. Fatu countered and planted Sikoa with the Impaler DDT. Fatu then brought an end to this match with the jumping moonsault from the top and the three to get the pin on the new U.S. Champion.

Post-match, Fatu wanted to continue his revenge on Sikoa as he cleared away the commentary table before he kicked Sikoa onto it. Fatu headed up to the top, but got intercepted by Tala Tonga, who emerged from the ring. Tala slammed Fatu from the top rope, as Tanga Loa soon joined in on the attack against Jimmy Uso. Tala crushed Uso with a superkick, as Mateo hit the Tour of the Islands afterwards.

This “family” soon turned their attention on Fatu, as Sikoa dropped him with the Samoan Spike. Sikoa ordered his men to drag Fatu towards the commentary table as they delivered the Shield Triple Powerbomb through the reinforced announce table. The Paul Levesque & Lee Fitting producer credits popped as SmackDown ended with Sikoa’s “family” standing tall.

**********

Pretty much a standard main event and big beatdown segment from Solo’s not-quite Bloodline group to end this two-hour SmackDown.

All in all, just a run-of-the mill episode of SmackDown, but the FrAxiom vs. Andrade & Fenix match was at least exciting and it’s always nice to see Drew McIntyre back in the fray, as well as the teasing towards a Randy Orton heel turn.

Christopher Daniels reacts to Tiffany Stratton’s Prettiest Moonsault Ever: ‘Very cool of her’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Christopher Daniels appreciates Tiffany Stratton paying homage to him with her signature move.

Stratton — the current WWE Women’s Champion — uses the Prettiest Moonsault Ever as her finisher. It’s a takeoff of the Best Moonsault Ever that Daniels made famous, and he likes the fact that Stratton is keeping the move alive and putting her own spin on it.

“Which I thought was very, very cool of her,” Daniels said about the Prettiest Moonsault Ever name while appearing on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet. “I don’t know Tiffany at all. I’ve never met her. But the fact that she didn’t just copy it, she sort of adjusted it, which is what the greats do. I feel like they don’t just steal — if we are inspired by something, we try to put our own little spin on it. And so the fact that she goes from the bottom all the way up and then to sort of like, pay homage, call it in that same vein, PME, I was like, that’s pretty cool. I can’t be mad at that.

“That was very cool of her. I appreciated it. Thanks, Tiffany.”

Daniels said he was inspired to do his own version of a moonsault by watching The Great Muta. Because Daniels is a fan of The Simpsons, he came up with Best Moonsault Ever as the name based on the Comic Book Guy character from the show.

WWE star Jacob Fatu also does his own version of the BME, which Daniels likes as well.

“The fact that Jacob is doing it and the fact that Tiffany’s doing it, it’s pretty cool,” he said. “And a lot of people are sort of pointing at me and going, ‘Oh, that came from you.’ And I’m like, okay, that’s nice. That’s a nice sort of feeling to have.”

Daniels, who retired as an active wrestler earlier this year, works behind the scenes in AEW as the promotion’s Head of Talent Relations. He was a champion for TNA and ROH during his three decades in the ring.

WWE SmackDown live results: Night of Champions go-home show

Posted on by Marc Quill

Editor’s Note: This is a live post for the international airing of WWE SmackDown on Netflix. If you do not want to be spoiled before the U.S. airing at 8 PM Eastern, you have been warned.

The final WWE SmackDown before Night of Champions takes place tonight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with three title matches and an appearance by John Cena ahead of his WWE title defense Saturday against CM Punk.

Tiffany Stratton renews her rivalry with Nia Jax when she defends her WWE Women’s Championship in a Last Woman Standing match.

The Street Profits will look to retain their WWE Tag Team Championships when they take on the Wyatt Sicks’ Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis.

Women’s U.S. Champion Zelina Vega will defend against Giulia who is looking for her first title run.

Plus, the King and Queen of the Ring finalists (Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Jade Cargill and Asuka) will look to make a final impression before their matches Saturday.

Join us for our live coverage at 1 PM Eastern.

**********

– Over a live shot of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Michael Cole welcomed us to tonight’s show. We then got an elaborate pyro display inside the Kingdom Arena to kick off the night.

– Tiffany Stratton, Nia Jax, the Street Profits, Zelina Vega, Giulia, Jade Cargill, and Asuka were all shown arriving in the arena.

Cody Rhodes kicks off SmackDown

“The American Nightmare” arrived to a great ovation from the Riyadh crowd as he headed down to the ring to open up SmackDown. The King of the Ring crown was on a podium in the middle of the ring.

Before Rhodes could say a single word, his King of the Ring opponent, Randy Orton interrupted as the fans sang along to his theme song. Orton got himself a microphone and asked the fans if they watched Raw this past Monday and if they saw Cody Rhodes face Jey Uso. He put over the match as a potential Slammy Award candidate for “Match of the Year”. Orton then told Rhodes that he needed to be the King of the Ring, because the crown stood for redemption because he made it to the KOTR finals last year but lost to Gunther.

On the USA Network broadcast of SmackDown, a disclaimer ran stating that the Orton/Rhodes segment experienced technical issues during the initial live broadcast of this episode. The segment, as aired on USA, appeared to be shot with the ringside cameras for the portions that didn’t air on the live broadcast in the afternoon.

Orton said that the crown also stood for retribution against John Cena because what the Undisputed WWE Champion did to him in Backlash in front of his family and friends. He needed to right that wrong as well. Orton told Rhodes that everyone knew how much they respected one another, but he couldn’t let his personal feelings about Cody get in the way in the gold. He said that he would do anything and everything to make sure he’d leave Riyadh as King of the Ring.

Rhodes responded by saying he was thankful for everything that a student could want to hear from his teacher, referring to the kind remarks that Orton said about him a couple of months ago. He said he knew Orton needed to win it, but whether it’s John Cena or CM Punk, he needed to win King of the Ring more. Rhodes concluded by saying that tomorrow, “RKO” will still be the most dangerous three letters in WWE, but Orton wouldn’t be King of the Ring after all was said and done. That’s because, as Rhodes said, he’d win.

**********

– Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo were backstage, as the former gave his ally an order to make Jimmy Uso remember what it feels like to have no backup with him in his match coming up now.

Jimmy Uso vs. JC Mateo (w/ Solo Sikoa)

Mateo used his strength to ram Uso into the corner before he blasted him with repeated strikes as the referee pulled him away. This gave Uso the time to mount a bit of a fightback, but Mateo grounded him right away. Uso kicked Mateo down to the outside and looked for a dive, but Solo Sikoa got in the way and stopped him from taking a dive as we got a break in the action.

We returned from break with Mateo catching Uso after a top rope dive and slamming him down to the math. Mateo impressed with a standing moonsault onto Uso for the near-fall. Mateo then continued to work over Uso’s back with a reverse bearhug submission. Uso escaped and took down Mateo with a corkscrew from the top rope, which created some much-needed separation for him.

Uso began his comeback with strikes a-plenty, but he couldn’t lift Mateo up for a Samoan Drop. Uso answered with a kick to the face instead, before crunching Mateo in the corner with a running hip strike. As Mateo retreated outside, he got blasted by a suicide dive from Uso. At ringside, Solo Sikoa grabbed at Uso’s leg to create a momentary distraction, which allowed Mateo to recover and put an end to things with the Tour of the Islands.

After the match, Sikoa talked with Uso and tried to curry favor with him. An offer for a hug was refused with a slap to Sikoa’s face. This led to Mateo and Sikoa beating down Uso until Jacob Fatu ran in for the save. The United States Champion caught Mateo with his pop-up Samoan Drop before he faced down Sikoa, who wisely backed out. This allowed Fatu to hit his jumping moonsault onto Mateo. Uso and Fatu faced down one another before Jimmy pushed Fatu out of the way to hit an attacking Sikoa with a superkick.

Match Result: JC Mateo def. Jimmy Uso via pinfall

All signs seem to point to Jacob Fatu losing his U.S. Championship tomorrow at Night of Champions, but the stuff with Fatu and Jimmy Uso as uneasy allies is a bit of an interesting story.

**********

– #DIY, the self-appointed leaders of the SmackDown Tag Team Division tried to rally the other teams to do something about the Wyatt Sicks. SmackDown GM Nick Aldis entered the scene and made a match for Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa against Andrade and a mystery partner.

– Giulia and Zelina Vega made separate remarks about their Women’s United States Championship match coming up next.

Women’s United States Championship Match: Zelina Vega (c) vs. Giulia

Vega tried to go for an early pinfall attempt but got met by some pinfall attempts from Giulia as a result. The two women exchanged kicks before Giulia took advantage with a suplex. Vega answered with a knee that sent Giulia to the outside, as she then flew off the top with a moonsault.

SmackDown returned with Vega caught in a submission by Giulia as she then got stomped onto the mat. As Vega rolled to the outside, Giullia looked to continue the punishment, but Vega threw her against the stairs and hit a running Meteora on to the prone Giulia. Inside the ring, Vega went on the attack, as she countered an attempt of the Northern Lights Bomb by Giulia. From the top rope, Vega caught Giulia with another Meteora for the near-fall.

As Vega tried to head to the top, Giulia intercepted and hit an amazing superplex. Vega recovered landed a Code Red, but Giulia rolled on the pin so that her feet touched the ropes. A missed moonsault led to consecutive Arrivederci Knees from Giulia, followed by the Northern Lights Bomb, which brought Giulia the Women’s United States Championship.

Match Result: Giulia def. Zelina Vega via pinfall to win the Women’s United States Championship

A good enough match that seemed rough in some spots, but we got the right winner in all of this as Giulia wins her first main-roster championship title. What comes next for Giulia as a champion on SmackDown should be fun to see.

**********

– The commentators made note of SmackDown heading to two hours last week before tossing to a recap of everything that went down between Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair last week.

Backstage, Charlotte was walking and met by Alexa Bliss, who proposed that they not necessarily be friends, but allies of mutual benefit.

Queen of the Ring Finals Interview

Wade Barrett was in the ring as he prepared to interview Jade Cargill and Asuka about their Queen of the Ring finals match taking place at Night of Champions tomorrow.

Once both women were in the ring, Barrett asked Cargill about what made her so confident that she’d be able to beat Asuka tomorrow. Cargill answered by saying that when she sees Asuka, she sees an opportunity to prove why she belongs here. She said that at Summerslam, she didn’t just plan on taking the title, but taking the whole damn throne.

Asuka replied by saying that Cargill may be strong, but power isn’t everything. She said that she has skills and experience. She said that nobody was ready for Asuka. Before Cargill could provide a rebuttal, Ms. Money in the Bank, Naomi interrupted.

Naomi said that while Asuka and Cargill are fighting for Queen of the Ring, she has all the power. Naomi teased that she could cash in during the Last Woman Standing match tonight or at Night of Champions tomorrow. She said that she had the power to ruin all of Cargill’s dreams just like that. As Naomi walked down to the ring, Cargill got frustrated and pushed past Asuka to go after her. This titled Asuka the wrong way as she laid out Cargil with a kick. Naomi got on the apron and taunted Cargill.

**********

– Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce were backstage talking about their plans for the Women’s Tag Team Championship when Aleister Black interrupted them. Ron Killings stormed into the scene and was still looking for John Cena after what happened last week. Aldis said that Cena was here for CM Punk, but Killings would have none of it, as he left in search of Cena. Black soon left as well, seemingly in pursuit of Killings.

– The cmmentators recapped Los Garza winning the AAA World Tag Titles at TripleMania Regia two weeks ago.

#DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. Andrade & Rey Fenix

Andrade and Ciampa started things off in this match with a lockup exchange. Andrade backed Ciampa into his team’s corner as Fenix tagged in and the two launched a salvo of double team attacks. With both #DIY members draped across the middle ropes, they got rocked by tandem kicks from Fenix and Andrade. Up top, Fenix and Andrade soared and took down Gargano and Ciampa on the outside with stereo dives.

We returned from the break with #DIY looking to take advantage against Fenix, but the speedy luchadore avoided calamity to create some needed separation. Before Andrade could get tagged in, Gargano pulled him off the apron, which opened Fenix to get blasted with a running knee to the back of the head by Ciampa.

On the top rope, Fenix fended off Ciampa and walked across the top rope to kick him square in the face. Andrade finally got the hot tag as he was a house of fire against both Gargano and Ciampa. Andrade caught Gargano’s slingshot spear and hit him with an elbow, followed by a reverse tornado DDT. One, two… not quite #DIY caught Andrade with a Shatter Machine, but couldn’t get the match done as we got yet another break in the action.

We resumed with Andrade and Gargano once again in a standoff on the top rope. Gargano tried to do a rolling powerbomb, but Andrade blocked it and hit his running knees in the corner. Double stomp by Andrade on Gargano wasn’t enough. Fenix took Ciampa out of the equation with a dive to the outside, which left Gargano and Andrade to duke it out in the ring.

Fenix recovered and tagged himself in as he hit an incredible dive/rolling German suplex on Gargano for the close two-count. Fenix lifted Gargano up for a Muscle Buster as Andrade headed up top, but Andrade got pushed off. #DIY took advantage and hit their superkick/Fairy Tale Ending combo, but Fenix kicked out at two.

Wild chaos ensued with Ciampa missing out on the knee, as Fenix hit his Black Fire Driver, followed by Andrade sealing the deal for his team with The Message and the three.

Match Result: Andrade & Rey Fenix def. #DIY via pinfall

A hot tag team match from start to finish. I was thoroughly entertained by the performances from all four competitors. Simply put, just some great tag action here.

**********

– John Cena’s recent appearance on The Late Show was shown before we got a recap of Cena’s rivalry with CM Punk, which included a clumsy edit of Punk’s pipebomb to omit Vince McMahon’s name.

– After the Punk/Cena video was done, Ron Killings showed up at ringside and stated that he was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. He once again called out John Cena for a fight. Aleister Black appeared behind him and he floored Killings with a Black Mass kick. “I guess in a way, we’re even now, Ron,” said Black.

– Backstage, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford were interviewed about their WWE Tag Title defense against the Wyatt Sicks coming up next.

– Aleister Black was confronted by Damian Priest backstage. Priest said that if Black was looking for payment from Ron Killings, that he do it face to face next time. Carmelo Hayes showed up and tried to warn Priest to keep his distance from Killings, but got told to back away.

WWE Tag Team Championships: Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) (c) vs. The Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis)

Lumis and Ford started off in the ring, with the latter doing his creepy crawl, and being met with some fists from Ford in response. After an acrobatic dodge from Ford, Gacy tagged himself in and floored his foe with a running senton. Just then, the rest of the SmackDown tag team division appeared at ringside, as Gacy caught Ford with his somersault clothesline.

SmackDown returned with Ford and Lumis taking each other down with a double running splash. Both men managed to get the tag to their respective partners, with Dawkins using his surprising speed to get the momentary advantage. As Lumis ran across the ring, he got pulled away by Los Garza. #DIY attacked Dawkins at which caused a disqualification.

A mass brawl ensued with Erick Rowan entering the fray, but getting taken down by multiple superkicks from Fraxiom and the Motor City Machine Guns. Uncle Howdy entered and got Axiom with Sister Abigail. The Street Profits went wild with consecutive dives on the Wyatt Sicks and the SmackDown tag division. In the ring, Ford and Dawkins stared down Uncle Howdy, as it was clear that the Wyatt Sicks’ war with the SmackDown tag division was far from over.

Match Result: Street Profits vs. The Wyatt Sicks ended in a no contest

Honestly, not much to say about this match, as it ended in a schmozz before it could truly get going, but I did kind of enjoy the post-match chaos with all the tag teams brawling.

**********

– Jacob Fatu was confronted by Jimmy Uso, as the two talked about that their mutual assistance was just a matter of respect. Jimmy said that what Fatu did to Solo Sikoa was what he should’ve done a long time ago. The two seemed to part on somewhat of a common ground as Fatu left Jimmy alone.

WWE Women’s Championship (Last Woman Standing): Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Nia Jax

Jax went after Stratton right away after the ring announcer’s introductions. She took out a turnbuckle pad cover, which gave Stratton time to recover and fight back outside of the ring. Her attempts were stopped with a steel steps strike to the ribs by Jax. The announce table was cleared aside by Jax, as she then hit a Samoan Drop across the exposed table. Stratton struggled to get back up, as we went to a break.

SmackDown returned with Stratton dropping Jax with a crossbody from the top rope. She headed up the opposite corner and hit a Swanton Bomb. Jax got herself up briefly, but she got blasted with a two-footed dropkick. Jax was able to get back up as she lifted Stratton on her shoulders and dropped her onto the exposed turnbuckle.

Stratton got herself back up on the count of eight, but she was thrown out of the ring by Jax afterwards. While Stratton writhed on the floor, Jax kept her eyes on her championship foe, tossing her into the barricade. Jax placed Stratton on a table setup at ringside as she then headed to the apron. Jax absolutely splattered Stratton with a splash through the table, but the WWE Women’s Champion was able to get up at the count of nine.

Jax pulled out two more tables from underneath the ring while Stratton once again made it back to her feet. We took another break with the two tables being set up and Stratton armed with a kendo stick. During the “break”, Jax tried to run at Stratton on the top of the stage, but she crashed onto one of the screens instead, as the fight found its way back to the ring.

The action returned with Jax hitting Stratton repeatedly with a steel chair. Stratton was dragged across the ring as Jax came down on her with the Annihilator. With a chair draped across Stratton, Jax hit yet another Annihilator. With the referee counting her down, Stratton just made it at nine, but got hit with a kendo stick by Jax. One more table was set up in the ring as Jax hoisted Stratton on her shoulders and headed up the top. Stratton escaped the attempted Samoan Drop and instead hit a powerbomb on Jax through the table. As both women were down, the referee started his count. Both Jax and Stratton made it to the count of nine.

Naomi ran down and tried to cash in, but Stratton intercepted and hit her with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Stratton took advantage and also hit Jax with the briefcase, as she then followed with a Prettiest Moonsault Ever onto both Jax and Naomi. Jax miraculously got herself up at the count of nine.

Stratton fought out of a superplex attempt through the two tables, as she instead struck Jax with the MITB briefcase once, more which sent Jax through the two tables! Jax was left knocked out cold and unable to answer the count of ten, which gave Stratton the win and the successful WWE Women’s Championship defense.

Match Result: Tiffany Stratton def. Nia Jax to retain the WWE Women’s Championship

Kind of a middling match that somewhat picked up by the end with Naomi’s attempt at a cash in and the final table spot. Other than that, nothing much to write home about. But, at least, the feud between Stratton and Jax should be done and dusted now.

**********

John Cena and CM Punk face-to-face

“Get used to it, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this is what a winner looks like,” started off Cena. He said that CM Punk was a loser because he had been outsmarted, outmaneuvered, and outgunned, and there’s nothing that Punk can do about it.

Just then, Cena’s old “Basic Thuganomics” theme interrupted as CM Punk entered dressed as a parody of Cena, jorts, jersey, and all. “Yo, check it, this is Basic Punkanomics,” Punk talked about how he was stealing Word Life. Punk called Cena a “Temu Macklemore” with ‘Mackeless Rhythm” and that he’s buried more talent than the Undertaker.

Punk said if Cena never ate his vitamins or fixed his bald spot, he’d be a Boston mall cop. He called Cena a “fish belly white” Hulk Hogan but somehow more problematic. It should be noted that Punk was speaking this promo in rap. Punk said that in six months, Cena might be a superhero (washing his underwear for James Gunn), but he’ll always be The Marine to him.

“We all see you, and we’re looking at a washed-up bum,” said Punk, who then called Cena a leech, phony, and an ass kisser. Punk said that tomorrow, there was one more wish to make, because Cena was the Drake to Punk’s Kendrick. Punk did a mic dropped and the show ended abruptly (or at least appeared to because the producers’ credits and copyright bug never appeared on-screen).

Well, that was certainly an interesting way to end the final build for this title match, and given what Punk’s been up to since arriving in Saudi Arabia, I’m certain that this promo won’t convince his most ardent haters to start cheering for him, which is understandable. It’s honestly been hard for me to decouple any sort of past comments Punk might’ve made about Saudi Arabia’s government when it’s been kind of made a part of the story for this match based off of Cena’s previous promos. So, with that in mind, I kinda find it hard to get really invested in what was being done with this closing salvo from Punk.

Overall, a very strange SmackDown before Night of Champions, and the bizarre technical glitch that basically erased the opening Randy Orton/Cody Rhodes segment, followed by various other hangups on the production side as I watched the global Netflix feed kinda made things have a weird vibe to it.

WOL: It’s always ‘because of the fans’

Posted on by Jim Valley

Image: WWE

It’s Saturday and that means it’s time for Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

Jeff Cobb impressed in his WWE SmackDown in-ring debut as JC Mateo Friday, but the Greensboro crowd also thought most everything on the show was awesome even when some things weren’t.

On Monday, Becky Lynch turned heel BECAUSE OF THE FANS. Charlotte is upset BECAUSE OF THE FANS. John Cena turned heel BECAUSE OF THE FANS. The Rock is a heel BECAUSE OF THE FANS. Literally, FOUR top stars are mad BECAUSE OF THE FANS ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

Plus, Jim talks AEW Collision Beach Break from Chicago, NWA Crockett Cup from the 2300 Arena, Best of the Super Juniors, and more.

Right Click Save As (sub needed)

WWE SmackDown live results: Money in the Bank qualifiers begin

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: May 16, 2025
Location: First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, NC

**********

Show Recap — 

Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax were shown arriving. 

There was a Backlash recap video focusing on the SmackDown matches. 

Opening segment 

Solo Sikoa, Jeff Cobb, and Jacob Fatu entered to kick off SmackDown. They entered to Sikoa’s music and tron. The crowd chanted for Fatu and booed when Sikoa spoke. 

Sikoa said Roman Reigns losing the title at WrestleMania ruined everything and he was here to take it all back. It would start with Sikoa winning Money in the Bank and bringing the title back where it belonged. 

Fatu grabbed the mic from Sikoa. He already told us he was bringing the U.S. title to the family and would step up to anyone who got in their way. Fatu went to do his catchphrase, but Sikoa interrupted him and mocked him in the process. Sikoa wanted to help Fatu, and the title on his shoulder was proof that Sikoa loved Fatu. 

Sikoa wanted to hear Fatu say, “I love you, Solo.” Fatu said it, but not in his usual inflection. Sikoa wanted to hear him say it the way he used to say it. He yanked Fatu by the shoulder to grab his attention, which Fatu didn’t appreciate. 

LA Knight’s music hit. They turned their attention to the stage, but Knight appeared from the crowd. He briefly attacked Cobb, but bailed through the crowd before they could kill him. 

(They kept referring to Jeff Cobb as “J.C.” during this segment. Sikoa said it repeatedly, and Joe Tessitore called him that, too.) 

********

There was a segment backstage with Michin and B-Fab, along with Chelsea Green and her crew. Basically, Green wasn’t happy to learn that the outside parties wouldn’t be at ringside for their triple threat match. Alexa Bliss appeared to wish them luck, and she entered for the opening match. Green threatened to put tariffs on everyone. 

Money in the Bank triple threat qualifying match: Alexa Bliss vs. Michin vs. Chelsea Green

Early on, Bliss and Michin repeatedly and easily disposed of Green from the ring. They tried double baseball slide dropkicks and Bliss’ connected, but Green was already down by the time Michin tried hers. Bliss and Mchin were way too proud of themselves, and the time spent celebrating allowed Green to wipe them out with a dive. That led to a break two minutes in. 

Green worked over Bliss during a break until Michin dropped her with consecutive German suplexes and a sit-out powerbomb. Michin twerked before hitting both women with a cannonball in the corner. There was a somewhat convoluted triple-down spot that led to a light “This is awesome” chant. 

Michin hit Green with Eat Defeat, but Bliss broke up the cover. Bliss hit Michin with Twisted Bliss, but Green yanked Bliss out of the ring. Green hit Michin with Unprettier, so Bliss returned the favour by yanking Michin out of the ring. 

Bliss hit Green with Sister Abigail for the pinfall win, which, so far, easily got the biggest pop of the night. 

Tessitore called this an outstanding match. It wasn’t. 

Match result: Alexa Bliss defeated Chelsea Green and Michin (9:01)

******** 

Axiom & Nathan Frazer vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa

Fraxiom hit a series of dives early on, and one of them sent Ciampa into some fans in the front row. However, Gargano pulled the ropes down on Axiom as he went for a springboard move, and DIY took over from there. That led to a break three minutes into the match. 

Believe it or not, the heels maintained control during a break, but Frazer made a hot tag and a comeback as soon as they returned. He hit Gragno with a standing shooting star for two. Gargano avoided a Phoenix splash and hit Frazer out of mid-air with a superkick. DIY hit Frazer with a double-team finisher, but Axiom broke up the cover. Ciampa hit Frazer with Project Ciampa for a nearfall. 

Frazer hit Gargano with a superplex, and Axiom superkicked Gargano as Frazer hit a brainbuster, but Ciampa broke up the cover with a running knee strike on Axiom. The crowd got really into this sequence and chanted, “This is awesome.” 

Ciampa ripped at Axiom’s mask until Frazer took him out. Axiom then caught Gargano in a cradle for the pinfall win. 

— DIY attacked the babyfaces post-match until the Motor City Machine Guns made the save. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin raised Fraxiom’s hands. 

This was fun, and the finish left enough for a potential rematch. 

Match result: Fraxiom defeated DIY (11:19) 

********

Jax was shown warming up. Naomi could be seen lurking in the background. 

The Street Profits congratulated Fraxiom on their win. Montez Ford let them know they earned a tag title match next week. Fraxiom looked forward to it. Angelo Dawkins warned them that they were 100%, and they hoped Fraxiom were too. (Frazer was pumped for the match, while Axiom tried to keep him focused.) 

********

R-Truth sit-down interview 

Wade Barrett sat down with Truth for a sit-down interview earlier today. Barrett asked about John Cena giving him an AA through a table at the press conference. 

Truth said he was under constant pressure—career, family, friends, and bills. But regardless of all that, you could always depend on John Cena. Truth kept spouting Cena’s catchphrases as real-life advice, including “Never give up.” 

Barrett told him he was crazy. Barrett said Truth saved Cena from losing the title, and Cena repaid him by putting him through a table. Truth said that wasn’t the real John at the press conference. Truth didn’t want to fight John, but he would beat him to his senses if he had to. 

The match was set for Saturday Night’s Main Event: John Cena vs. R-Truth. (Non-title, presumably.) 

Truth knew it seemed impossible, but his hero told him to never give up, and he lived by three words: hustle, loyalty and respect. Barrett wished him luck. 

(I hate Dumb R-Truth, so I thought this was dumb and a waste of a John Cena match.) 

********

Damian Priest challenged Drew McIntyre to a cage match. Priest said the hospital would have to identify McIntyre by his dental records. 

Aleister Black vs. Carmelo Hayes (w/The Miz)

Miz pulled Hayes from safety as Black tried a dive. Black looked around like an idiot, acting like he didn’t know where his opponent went, so Hayes wiped him out with a flip dive to take over as they went to break. 

(There appears to be a group of young fans who know that chanting, “This is awesome,” is a thing at wrestling shows, because they randomly started doing it as Hayes had the heat during the break.) 

Black made a comeback as soon as they returned from break and eventually hit a bridging German suplex for two. A Miz distraction allowed Hayes to get back on offence for a couple of two counts. 

Black shoved Hayes into Miz, knocking him off the apron. They did some stuff until Miz attacked Black for the DQ. Stupid. 

— Black dropped Miz with his kick post-match, but Hayes decked Black and laid him out with a diving leg drop. 

Don’t watch this. 

Match result: Aleister Black defeated Carmelo Hayes via disqualification (10:28) 

********

Backstage, Bliss told Byron Saxton she wanted to be the first woman to win MITB twice. She left Saxton to approach Charlotte Flair. Bliss wanted to be friends with Flair and noted that Flair took her under her wing in NXT, but Flair claimed she did not remember that. 

Giulia left Nick Aldis’ office, and Aldis introduced her as the newest member of the SmackDown roster. (Fans cheered.) Aldis invited Flair into her office to discuss MITB. Before she did, Flair told Bliss to stay out of her way because he didn’t need her.

******** 

There was a video package for Stratton vs. Jax tonight. 

Drew McIntyre promo

McIntyre entered to a mixed reaction. It seemed more positive than negative. 

McIntyre addressed Priest’s promo. He said Priest claimed he was in the McIntyre vortex. McIntyre has been stuck in this vortex for over a year, and being stuck there was the only reason Priest was relevant. McIntyre said he beat Priest “clean” in a street fight. Priest was obsessed and jealous. 

McIntyre was everything Priest ever wanted to be, but McIntyre was better in every single way, and he would’ve been a grand slam champion if not for Priest. Priest was trying to take out the competition. That’s why he chokeslammed him off a platform and onto the concrete. 

McIntyre accepted the cage match (for SNME). McIntyre guaranteed that only one man would walk out of the cage, while the other would leave on a stretcher. (Notably, McIntyre didn’t guarantee who would be leaving on a stretcher.) 

As McIntyre left, he crossed paths with Solo Sikoa and crew as Sikoa entered for his match. 

This was a typically good McIntyre promo for a feud that should be over. 

********

The announcers ran down the card for SNME: 

  • Cage match: Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest 
  • John Cena vs. R-Truth (non-title) 
  • CM Punk & Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker 
  • Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul for the World Heavyweight Championship 

******** 

Jeff Cobb accompanied Sikoa to ringside and was officially referred to as JC Mateo. 

Money in the Bank triple threat qualifying match: Solo Sikoa (w/JC Mateo & US Champion Jacob Fatu) vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Rey Fénix

Sikoa wanted to form an alliance with Jimmy Uso, but, of course, he did not comply. Fénix wiped out Uso and Sikoa with a flying crossbody outside the ring, but Sikoa caught him moments later with a Spinning Solo in the ring. Even though that’s his finisher, he did not go for a cover. Instead, Sikoa gave Jimmy a Spinning Solo on the announce table, likely knowing it was time to head to commercial break. 

After a boring heat segment during a break (Sikoa stalking over both guys), things were meant to pick up when they returned, but there was a big mix-up. Fénix waited forever as Sikoa held him up for a Jimmy dive. Jimmy finally went for the dive, but Fénix ducked. Jimmy caught him in a roll-up, but the referee simply did not count. The crowd chanted for tables. 

Twelve minutes into the match, Fatu decided to get involved, but Jimmy superkicked him off the apron. Sikoa gave Jimmy the spike, but Fénix hit Sikoa with a rope-walk punt. Fénix knocked “JC” off the apron, but the distraction allowed Sikoa to hit Fénix with the spike for the pinfall win. 

This was no good. 

— LA Knight attacked the heels post-match. He held a chair as they surrounded him on the announce table. Aldis entered and made a match between Knight and “JC” right now. 

Match result: Solo Sikoa defeated Rey Fénix and Jimmy Uso (13:05)

******** 

LA Knight vs. JC Mateo (w/Sola Sikoa & US Champion Jacob Fatu)

Making his WWE in-ring debut, Jeff Cobb/JC Mateo wrestled in black jeans, black dress shoes, and a black t-shirt. 

This went through a break as the fans watched silently. Knight did not make his comeback immediately after the break. Instead, JC cut him off with an overhead suplex. 

Knight fought out of a long bear hug spot as the Toronto Maple Leafs went up 2-0 against the Florida Panthers and finally made his comeback, but JC responded with a spinning back suplex and a standing moonsault for two. 

Knight took out Sikoa and Fatu with a dive off the middle rope, but JC caught him with Tour of the Islands for the pinfall win. 

Boy, did this ever feel like time-filler. It’s not his fault, but this wasn’t a particularly interesting debut for Cobb, even if he won. 

Match result: JC Mateo defeated LA Knight (15:21) 

********

Angel Garza met with Santos Escobar backstage. Escobar urged him to find Berto and bring him home. Escobar wanted loyalty from Angel. 

Shinsuke Nakamura cut a pre-taped promo on LA Knight and Aleister Black. 

Next week on SmackDown: 

  • MITB triple threat qualifier: Aleister Black vs. LA Knight vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 
  • MITB triple threat qualifier: Charlotte Flair vs. Giulia vs. Zelina Vega 
  • The Street Profits vs. Fraxiom for the Tag Team Championships 

********

Jade Cargill warned Tiffany Straatton that she would win her MITB qualifying match and face the winner of tonight’s title match. Stratton said Cargill would never be good enough to cash in on her. 

WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax

Early in the match, Jax used a hip attack to drive Stratton’s head into the ring post. It was a good spot, and even Tessitore, who often sounds on the verge of sleep, really sold it big. This led to commercial break two minutes into the match. 

Stratton tried fighting back during the break, but Jax hit a middle rope Samoan drop for two. After the break, Jax tried a hip attack again, but Stratton moved, and Jax collided with the ring post. Jax shoved her over the barricade, but Stratton leaped off the barricade and hit a hurricanrana into the post. Stratton followed with a flying crossbody for two. Jax responded with a pop-up Samoan drop and senton for two. 

Stratton hit a back handspring elbow and a spinebuster for two. The crowd chanted for Stratton as Jax hit her with consecutive powerbombs. Jax did not pin her for some reason, but instead hit a running leg drop for two. Jax went for an avalanche body slam, but Stratton countered into a powerslam. 

Naomi entered with a chair to her music, about ten minutes in. Cargill entered to her music and chased Naomi through the crowd. 

Jax missed a tackle and went shoulder-first into the ringpost. Stratton followed with a PME for a close nearfall. The announcers freaked out and said Jax was the first to kick out of Stratton’s finisher. 

Stratton went back to the top, but Jax shoved her off and hit a Samoan drop onto the announce table (which didn’t break). 

Jax went for the Annihilator, but Stratton slipped underneath for a powerbomb attempt. Stratton couldn’t hit the move, and Jax fell on top of her for the Annihilator, but Stratton just barely got a rope break. (This wasn’t a perfect-looking spot, but it looked brutal, which made for a great nearfall.) 

Jax was pissed because she thought she had it won, so she left the ring and grabbed the title belt. Jax gave the belt back to the referee to distract him and grabbed a chair instead. As the ref put the belt away, Stratton dropkicked the chair right into Jax’s face. It was a stiff chair shot, and Jax’s head bled immediately. 

Stratton followed with PME for the pinfall win, and the crowd popped. 

This was pretty good, with lots of nearfalls and an exciting closing sequence. Hopefully, Jax is ok from the dropkick. 

Match result: Tiffany Stratton defeated Nia Jax to retain the WWE Women’s Championship (13:47)

Tiffany Stratton retains over Charlotte Flair at WWE WrestleMania 41

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The WWE Women’s Championship remains with Tiffany Stratton.

Stratton defeated Charlotte Flair in the semi-main event of Saturday’s night one of WWE WrestleMania 41, retaining the Women’s title over the 14-tim former Women’s champ. After a Prettiest Moonsault Ever, Stratton pinned Flair to retain the title at Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium.

The champ did not emerge from the match unscathed, as Stratton appeared to have chipped her front teeth in the bout, and also had a welt on her forehead.

The story of the match focused on Flair targeting Stratton’s legs to set her up for a potential Figure Eight, but not being able to bridge into the move after Stratton attacked Flair’s heavily braced left knee. Flair missed more than a year of ring time after suffering a torn ACL in a December 2023 match.

Stratton’s title defense was the third of her current reign as WWE Women’s Champion, and her first in over two months. Stratton cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Nia Jax on the January 3 SmackDown to win the gold for the first time.

Flair’s WrestleMania record drops to 4-4 after the loss, while Stratton’s victory came in her WrestleMania debut.

Our ongoing live coverage of WWE WrestleMania 41 is here.