Last week, Paul Heyman revealed his favor to GUNTHER was getting him an Undisputed WWE Championship match for the upcoming Clash in Italy show, but the “Ring General” refused to officially sign the contract, even as current champion Cody Rhodes dared him to fight.
Tonight, WWE is advertising a segment where Gunther will have to officially decide whether to join the SmackDown brand.
Also announced for the show, Trick Williams will return to the University of South Carolina following his win over Sami Zayn at Backlash. Jade Cargill will also address her attack on Rhea Ripley.
Full WWE SmackDown lineup for Friday, May 15, 2026:
- Gunther decides whether to join SmackDown to challenge Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes
- United States Champion Trick Williams returns to the University of South Carolina for a homecoming celebration
- Jade Cargill addresses her attack on WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley
- Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs.
- Damian Priest vs. Tama Tonga
- Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints
WWE SmackDown on Friday, May 15, is scheduled for the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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– Our show kicked off with the prerequisite arrivals to the arena, including Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest & R-Truth and The M.F.T.s, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, and Jade Cargill’s crew. We then got a shot of hometown hero Trick Williams in the middle of the Gamecocks’ stadium as we went to a recap of last Saturday’s Backlash.
Trick Williams’ Columbia Homecoming
The night kicked off with the arrival of U.S. Champion Trick Williams to a massive hometown reaction. He was accompanied by Li’l Yachty and the Gamecocks mascot to the ring. With the “Whoop That Trick” chants loudly filling the air of the Colonial Life Arena, Williams introduced himself and said that he was back home in Columbia.
Williams said he was proud of representing WJ Keenan High School, and the University of South Carolina growing up. Williams said he remembered driving up the road to his favorite restaurant, “Kiki’s Trickin’ and Waffles”, with the chicken wings so good that you had to eat them while standing up. He recounted eating these mythical chicken wings and how they related to his now-famous “lemon-peppa steppas”.
Williams talked about his family being in the crowd as he recounted his days with the Gamecocks. So, to WJ Keenan, to U.S.C., to his mama, Williams declared himself as the star that they helped create.
The Miz rudely interrupted the celebrations, as he mocked the Gamecocks mascot and the Gingerbread Man last week. Miz said that Williams was being a joke by bringing all these costumed characters to WWE. L’il Yachty stepped up and told Miz and Kit Wilson were being disrespectful to the hometown hero, as he pointed out that this was the reason why Miz was cursed by Danhausen. Kit Wilson joined in with some “slam poetry”, as he called himself “Kit Willy”. Wilson read his supposedly-disparaging slam poetry about Williams and Yachty.
Yacht didn’t like what Wilson had to say and offered his own diss verses against him, stating that Miz and Wilson came out cocky because they had “little tiny balls”. Miz angrily shouted that they wouldn’t bring the Tiny Balls talk back as he demanded for a referee to come ou. Miz said he was going to whoop Williams’ ass in front of his mama. Wilson spoke a bit too much trash an paid for it by getting thrown out of the ring. Miz soon found himself flat on his back, and we learned that we would indeed see this match coming up after the break.
I think it’s no secret that I much prefered this over the Gingerbread Man antics of last week. Williams looked like a natural and had the hometown crowd in the palm of his hands for this opening segment. My only complaint is the “Miz has Tiny Balls” running gag is not really as funny as WWE wants us to believe.
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Trick Williams vs. The Miz
We kicked things off right after the break as Miz backed Williams into the corner. A disrespectful shove from Miz was met by a harder push to the ground from the U.S. Champion. Williams fired up and blasted Miz with a flying shoulder block that sent his foe into the apron. Miz dropped William’s head over the top rope to gain the momentum as he headed up to the top rope. Miz’s dive was intercepted by a gut shot from Williams. Miz responded with a Kitchen Sink strike, followed by the running boot to a seated Williams. Miz choked at Williams across the middle rope as he then struck him with the running kick to the back of the head.
Miz held control of the match with stomps to Williams, but missed with the running boot. Williams turned that into a jumping neckbreaker on Miz, followed by the slaps in the corner and the “Whoop That” stomps. Miz got out of the way of a running boot from Williams by leaving the ring. Miz missed the sliding dropkick to the outside as Williams threw him around the barricades. Behind the referee’s back, Wilson struck Williams with a running elbow, as Miz finally connected with the rope-assisted sliding dropkick. We took a break on Miz getting in Li’l Yachty’s face at ringside.
This opening match returned from break with Miz and Williams exchanging strikes, but it was the U.S. Champion who got the best of his foe with his signature strikes. A scoop slam from Williams was followed by the stylish Book-End for a near-fall. Miz went for Williams’ eyes and almost had the Skull-Crushing Finale, but couldn’t connect. He did, meanwhile, nail the torquing DDT on Williams for the close two-count. Miz went for his kicks to a kneeling Williams, but missed on the last one as that got turned into a pin attempt. Williams dropped Miz with a flapjack as he hyped himself up. Kit Wilson pulled at the foot of Williams, as Miz eventually hit a Skull-Crushing Finale on his opponent.Williams kicked out at two as Wilson tried to distract the referee. The Miz went to grab a kendo stick, but Li’l Yachty intercepted him and stole the weapon. Yachty blasted Wilson with the kendo stick, and meanwhile in the ring, Williams finished Miz off with the Trick Shot knee.
Trick Williams def. The Miz via pinfall
Not gonna lie, I kinda enjoyed this opener. It was far from a great in-ring match, but the crowd was hot for it and giving the hometown hero Williams his moment unspoiled really added to it.
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– Backstage, Carmelo Hayes was interviewed about his match against Ricky Saints later tonight, his first in a while. Hayes said that he was shooting for the U.S. Championship as he was interrupted by Ricky Saints. Hayes talked about how “this place” had a funny way of humbling people like Saints eventually. Saints continued to talk trash to Hayes as he left. “Like looking into a dirty mirror,” Hayes spoke of Saints.
– Elsewhere, after Nick Aldis chatted with Rey Fenix, Sami Zayn approached him and said that he needed to do things the right way, and that he wanted to earn a U.S. Title shot. Problem for Zayn, according to Aldis, he already had his U.S. Title rematch. Zayn angrily pointed out that he had supposedly earned his shot after all that he’s done, and it’s something that his “ride or dies” see. Aldis didn’t see it that way, stating that all he saw from Zayn as of late was nothing but “entitlement” as he left. Zayn looked like he was going to blow a gasket, but Rey Fenix returned and tried to calm him down. Zayn was delusional and didn’t think he had changed.
– Paige and Brie Bella were interviewed before their upcoming match as it was clear that the target was on their backs now more than ever. The Irresistable Forces interrupted and stated that they were going to take the WWE Women’s Tag Titles back from Paige and Brie. The Women’s Tag Champs left Nia Jax and Lash Legend hanging as they had a match to get ready for.
Brie Bella & Paige vs. Giulia & Kiana James
James and Brie opened the match for their teams, as the former showed her power off with a forceful shove. Brie avoided a boot from James and followed that with a side Russian legsweep. Paige tagged in as she and Brie showed some nice double team offense with a boot from the Brit and a bulldog from Brie. Giulia entered the match and took it to Paige with hard strikes to the chest in the corner. Giulia then hit the snap suplex and went for the cover, to no success. Paige recovered and hit a version of the Shining Wizard after a snapmare on Giulia. Paige struck Giulia with kicks across the chest, but James tripped her up on the apron. Giulia recovered and threw Paige into the ring post as we took a break in the action.
We returned as Giulia continued to take it to Paige on the top rope. Giulia had her opponent set up for a risky move, but Paige fought back and turned it into a sunset flip powerbomb. Paige struggled to get to her corner, but Brie got the hot tag. Brie went into “Brie Mode” as she blasted both James and Giulia with knee strikes on opposite ends of the ring. Brie then hit them with the Bryan Danielson kicks, followed by the Bella Buster on James. Giulia broke up the count but got thrown out for her troubles. Tag by Giulia as James hit Brie with the lungblower, followed by a Northern Lights Bomb from Giulia. Paige broke up the count. James accidentally sent a running Paige into Giulia, which took her out of the ring.
With James’ partner out of the equation, Paige finished this match off with Rampaige for the three.
Brie Bella & Paige def. Giulia & Kiana James
That was a bit rough, to say the least. The spear that Giulia took from Paige at the end did not look good at all. Not terrible by any means, but really quite evident that there wasn’t any chemistry between Brie/Paige and Giulia/Kiana.
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– Women’s U.S. Champion Tiffany Stratton was interviewed about how the women’s division had strong alliances all around and where she fit in. Just then, Giulia and Kiana James bickering about their loss just now interrupted. Stratton noted that she was doing well enough alone, but Chelsea Green interrupted her. Green tried to get Stratton to be on her team, but got ignored.
Cody Rhodes wants an answer from Gunther
The Undisputed WWE Champion made his way down with the SmackDown contract of Gunther in hand, looking for an answer from his would-be Clash in Italy foe. Rhodes threw some office chairs into the ring followed by a table, looking like he was set to do an impromptu contract signing. With the tables and chairs set up in the ring, Rhodes got down to business.
“Columbia, South Carolina… what do you wanna talk about?” asked Rhodes as he talked about how he had all the formal ingredients for the contract signing, including a SmackDown contract and the Clash in Italy match contract for Gunther, and that’s what they were goind to do right now.
Out came “The Ring General”, and he angrily asked Rhodes about how much time it took to get this roster transfer, and how Rhodes made it all about himself, like a typical American. Gunther pointed out how Rhodes was supposedly complaining and crying every week and made it about himself. All Gunther wanted out of Rhodes was to be professional about it, stating that he had to ask nicely.
Rhodes responded by stating that Gunther was the one who got the drop on him and that he was the one who made the favor with Paul Heyman to get this title match. Rhodes then said “please come sign this contract, so that you’re guaranteed to get your ass kicked at Clash in Italy!”
Gunther said that Rhodes didn’t mean it when he said it, as he was unexpectedly interrupted by Royce Keys. The powerhouse made it simple… “If you won’t sign it, I will,” as Keys made his way down to the ring. Just as Keys was about to sign the contract, Gunther stopped him and got into Keys’ face. Before anything could unravel, Nick Aldis interrupted.
Aldis talked about how that contract was supposed to have Gunther’s name on it, but he overplayed his hand with is antics, so that means the Clash in Italy title shot was up in the air. This led to Aldis making the match: Royce Keys vs. Gunther with the Clash in Italy title shot up for grabs. As Gunther left to argue with Aldis, Rhodes simply told Keys the same thing he told Gunther last week: “I’m easy to find, hard to beat.”
This was a good segment, and setting up a potentially good match in Keys vs. Gunther as our main event is a nice bonus.
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– Solo Sikoa gave marching orders to Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga backstage. Sikoa told Tama to take care of Damian Priest while he and Talla were going to pay Royce Keys a little visit. As Sikoa and Talla left, Shinsuke Nakamura had words for Tama, but Talla charged in and attacked him. Talla chokeslammed Nakamura onto a cargo crate as the ineffective team of backstage staff came too late to stop the carnage.
– Nick Aldis went at it with Gunther backstage, again reiterating that the big man overplayed his hands with his antics and refusal to sign the SmackDown contract. Aldis remarked that maybe Paul Heyman rubbed off on him a bit.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints
Saints got the upper hand with a cheap shot on Hayes as the bell rang. Hayes recovered, but missed on the first dropkick. A second attempt did hit its target as Hayes threw Saints into the corner and chopped him. Saints wrenched the arm of Hayes and went up for a little Old School action that connected. Saints was sent to the apron by Hayes and left in posititon for the springboard leg drop. The former U.S. Champion then soared over the top rope for the Fosbury Flop that left Saints down and out as we took a break.
This match returned from commercial as Hayes pushed Saints off the top rope as he got maximum hangtime on the frog splash for the two-count. Hayes attempted the First 48, but Saints blocked it and hit him with a forearm strike, followed by the high-angle driver for the two-count. Our match was inexplicably interrupted by a “preview” of a movie called Pressure while Saints applied a chinlock on Hayes.
Hayes broke free from the hold and leveled Saints with superkicks a-plenty. He then followed it up with the springboard forearm strike as he had Saints in his sights. The Dirty Diana from Hayes, but Saints kicked out at two. Saints hit Hayes with the boot to the face, followed by a rebound back suplex for the two-count. A frustrated Saints tried to lift Hayes up, but he couldn’t. A couple of stomps from Saints finally had him open for the Revolution DDT. Hayes reversed and turned it into the First 48. One, two….. 2.9999999!!!!!!!!!! Hayes struggled to get himself back up top to the top rope, but he missed the Nothin’ But Net. Saints then followed it with the Revolution DDT, but Hayes somehow kicked out at the very last second.
Saints failed to hit Roshambo, so he pushed Hayes into the turnbuckle and tried to get a dirty rope-assisted pin. Referee Charles Robinson noticed the feet of Saints on the ropes and stopped the count. Saints argued with Robinson as Hayes snuck up and rolled up Saints to get the three… with a little help from the bottom rope.
Carmelo Hayes def. Ricky Saints via pinfall
This was a solid match and a great return for Carmelo Hayes, who was sorely missed after time off from TV. I thought this was Saints’ best match to date in his short time on SmackDown, and Hayes was the perfect opponent for this one.
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– Danhausen was hanging out in his “lab” as he was planning something “even bigger, better, and larger” on the horizon. Danhausen dragged a body on a stretcher with a towel draped over it and was messing about with curious intent on his computer.
Damian Priest vs. Tama Tonga
Tama went right after Priest as the bell rang, but soon found himself being pummeled in the corner with the rights. Tama got cracked with a backwards elbow from Priest. The goozle from Priest was broken by Tama, but the New York native hit him with a big boot. Tama got sent out and Priest was locking and loading for a running attack. Tama intercepted with a dive off the steps, and the sport-style replay of that last spot took us to the break.
The match returned from commercial as Priest had Tama stunned in the corner. He then attempted a Razor’s Edge. Tama turned that into a rear naked choke as Priest broke the hold by backing into the corner. Tama then got Priest with the jumping DDT for the near-fall. Priest withstood Tama’s shots, which agitated him and he launched his own strikes. Step-over shoulder block by Priest, followed by the spinning kick. Tama found himself flattened by the Flatliner of Priest. Body splash in the corner into the Broken Arrow from Priest, but that wasn’t enough for the win. Priest tried for his rebound lariat, but Tama smartly rolled out of the ring to avoid it. Priest sent Tama over the announce table with a pounce as he sent him back into the ring afterwards. Priest headed up top and kind of lost balance off the top rope, which allowed Tama to get him with the swinging neckbreaker. One, two… not quite.
Tama went for a double underhook maneuver, but Priest got ahead of that as he had him held by the throat. Tama escaped the hold, but the rebound lariat made its mark. Straps went down and so did Tama as he took a ride South of Heaven and Priest got the win.
After the match, Talla Tonga absolutely pasted Priest with a kick. Solo Sikoa got Priest with the Samoan Spike with no R-Truth or Royce Keys making the save.
Damian Priest def. Tama Tonga via pinfall
Decent match, but again, my general apathy for the M.F.T.s as a unit is quite clear, especially in this broken down form after recent releases.
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– Sami Zayn was speaking about his troubles of being called to the sad-sack Johnny Gargano, who was still lying down, unmoving.
Jade Cargill speaks her mind
The former WWE Women’s Champion, flanked by her friends B-Fab and Michin, made their way down to the ring, as Wade Barrett referred to them as “Baddies”.
Once Cargill got into the ring, she started by saying that everyone acted so tough when she wasn’t in the building. So, when her music hit, everyone seemed to become more quiet. Rhea Ripley found that the hard way, and at Clash in Italy, the WWE Women’s Championship was coming home with her. Before Cargill could wrap up in her usual manner, Charlotte Flair interrupted, with mic in hand. Alexa Bliss soon followed, also with a mic in hand.
Flair said that nobody wanted to hear Cargill talk, because this was Flair Country, according to Bliss. Flair talked about how she and Cargill had been doing this dance for the last few years, but last week finally pissed her off. Bliss stated that B-Fab and Michin were there to make Cargill look good. Cargill demanded a referee to get out so that the tag match could start.
This was dire, if we’re being honest. I’m just not a fan of Cargill’s faction as a trio, when a better version of them exists in the form of Fatal Influence.
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– Yet another vignette for Blake Monroe aired as the debut is still coming.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. B-Fab & Michin
Flair got it going by lifting Michin with a toss, but couldn’t follow it up as Michin grabbed hold of the rope and got out of the ring. Once Michin got in the ring, Flair again dropped her with a takedown, but a shot to the back of the leg turned it around. Flair recovered and threw Michin in the corner as she hit her with a chop and a step-up boot to the face. Michin countered and slammed her after she grabbed her by the hair. Michin kept momentum going with a hurricanrana and a spinning kick afterwards. Flair avoided a drop kick from Michin and wrapped her leg around her foe’s head and slammed her thrice. Bliss and B-Fab entered, as the latte was shelled by a dropkick and the double knees to the back of the head. Michin’s distraction from the apron allowed B-Fab to get the advantage as she punched her repeatedly. Bliss countered with a boot and went up top for a diving attack. B-Fab caught her and slammed her face-first as we took a commercial break.
We returned from the break as Michin and B-Fab kept Bliss isolated for a moment. Michin intercepted Bliss and hoisted her on her shoulder. Too much showboating from Michin led to Bliss capitalizing with a DDT to create some separation. Flair with the hot tag as she launched herself for the crossbody on B-Fab. Flair then leveled both B-Fab and Michin with the chops to the chest. Fallaway slam by Flair to B-Fab and Michin, with the message to Jade Cargill made all the more clear. As Flair headed to the top rope, Cargill stepped to the apron, which allowed B-Fab to trip up Flair. Michin hit a missile dropkick on Flair as she and B-Fab hit a double pump-kick. Bliss broke up the count in the nick of time. B-Fab rolled up Flair for the pin, but that got turned into the Figure-Four leg lock. Michin broke the submission, but found herself clotheslined out of the ring. Bliss blindtagged as Flair delivered kicks to Michin and B-Fab. Sister Abigail DDT from Bliss, but Cargill pulled her from the pin to cause the DQ finish.
Post-match, The Baddies tried to get the jump on Flair, but found themselves waylaid by a determined Flair.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss def. B-Fab & Michin via Disqualification
This was a fine enough match, but I was not fond of the DQ finish. Seems like a creative crutch that gets used often in WWE as of late.
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– Fatal Influence were interviewed backstage. Jacy Jayne and crew put themselves over a group that believed loyalty was a currency and that it would soon pay dividends with Fatal Influence holding all the gold in SmackDown’s women’s division.
– Backstage, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss were licking their wounds, as the two conceded that they were going to need help to deal with Jade Cargill and her Baddies.
– A recap of Jacob Fatu destroying Roman Reigns on Raw this past Monday was shown.
– Royce Keys was preparing for his match against Gunther when Solo Sikoa approached him and again offered to help out. Sikoa said that Keys should seek his help, because what happened to Shinsuke Nakamura would happen to him if Keys wasn’t careful. Keys calmly said “I got this” and left, as Sikoa noted that Jacob Fatu said the same thing to him a while back.
Next Week on SmackDown (Lexington, KY):
- Talla Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Saturday Night’s Main Event:
- Intercontinental Championship: Penta (c) vs. Ethan Page
- World Tag Team Championships: The Vision (Logan Paul & Austin Theory) (c) vs. Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
- Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, & Rhea Ripley vs. The Baddies (Jade Cargill, B-Fab, & Michin)
Gunther vs. Royce Keys (Winner Faces Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy)
The SmackDown main event began with a test of strength between these two big meaty men. Gunther pushed Keys in the corner and piefaced him, as Keys responded with a punch to the face of his opponent. Gunther backed out of the ring as Keys beckoned him to fight in the ring. Gunther stepped into the ring and again got out. Once Gunther returned to the ring, he hit Keys with a boot to the gut, followed by a chop to the chest. Side headlock by Gunther was broken by Keys, as the two traded running shoulder blocks. Keys finally took Gunther down with a shoulder block, as he took the knife-edge chops and barely reacted. Gunther took a run at the powerhouse and got dropped with the Bulldog-strength powerslam that sent his foe out of the ring. With Gunther looking for a breather at ringside,. Keys didn’t give him any time to breath with the throw into the LED barricades. Keys then threw Gunther over the announce table as we took our final commercial break.
Our main event returned from the break as Keys attempted a suplex on Gunther, who escaped two attempts and hit his foe with a chop. However, Keys turned that around for the suplex on the third try. Gunther got back on it with the knee to the gut followed by a hard chop to the chest and the near-fall. Keys was thrown out of the ring by Gunther, who took time to mock the crowd before he stepped to the apron. Gunther attempted a big boot from the apron, but Keys caught him and dropped him for three World Strongest Slams onto the announce table. Back in the ring, Gunther caught Keys with the big boot, but failed to connect on the second strike. This gave Keys a brief opening, but he got dropped with the Gunther clothesline.
Gunther tried to ascend to the top, but was sent back down to earth with a Keys superplex for a close near-fall. As the two big men shambled back to their feet, Gunther caught Keys by surprise with the sleeper as he brought him down to the ground. Solo Sikoa appeared at ringside to “motivate” Keys. Sikoa’s appearance seemed to distract Gunther, which allowed Keys to escape the hold and then level his opponent with the flying clothesline. Keys made Big E proud as he struck down Gunther with the hard lariat for the near-fall. Keys put Gunther on his shoulders, but once again found himself in the sleeper hold. Keys again fought back and freed himself from the hold. The pounce from Keys pushed Gunther into the referee, which allowed Sikoa to grab a steel chair and try to give it to Keys. An emphatic rejection by Keys unfortunately opened him up for Gunther’s clothesline and powerbomb, and that’s it, over. Gunther will face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Clash in Italy.
After the match, as Gunther was taunting the camera, Cody Rhodes got the last word in with a Cross Rhodes on his Clash in Italy opponent.
Gunther def. Royce Keys via pinfall (will face Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy)
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I enjoyed that main event. It was a good “big meaty men slapping meat” contest between Keys and Gunther, and even the expected Solo Sikoa interference worked out well, too to further Keys’ story with him. Keys was fantastic here and hung well with someone as established as Gunther. I think the Rhodes vs. Gunther match at Clash in Italy will be good, so I can’t wait for that.
After a sloppy SmackDown last week weighed down by the Gingerbread Man tomfoolery, this week felt a lot better in comparison. The matches were enjoyable and there weren’t really any overly terrible segments that drew my ire compared to last week.
It was really great to see Carmelo Hayes back in the ring, and his match with Ricky Saints was the standout of the evening. Hopefully, Hayes is back in the U.S. Title picture and gets featured more regularly moving forward.
If there was anything I could call a “negative” about tonight, was, of course, the amount of ads. The promos for “Pressure: The True Story of D-Day” seemed a bit ridiculous, especially when we had one match even interrupted by a promo for the movie. It goes hand in hand with how sometimes, WWE just feels like one big commercial that’s occasionally interrupted by wrestling matches. Thankfully, that wasn’t enough to put a damper for me on this week’s shows, but it’s still an annoyance that can be understandably be too much for some viewers.
