SmackDown newcomers Fatal Influence left their mark in their debut last week when they laid waste to Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, as well as Brie Bella and Paige during their women’s Tag Title match. Later that evening, the group led by Jacy Jayne would do the same to WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley.
Tonight, Charlotte Flair looks to get a measure of revenge when she takes on Jayne in one-on-one action.
Set to make their debut this week on SmackDown is Ricky Saints. The former NXT Champion looks to bring the revolution tonight that’s led him to some successes in his WWE tenure.
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will kick off tonight’s show. Last week, he declared to any challenger that he was “easy to find, but hard to beat”.
Tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown is set for the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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– Our show opened with a recap of Raw this past Monday and the situation between Jacob Fatu and Roman Reigns that led to a World Heavyweight Championship match at Backlash to be made. Following the recap, we got our usual rigmorole of wrestler arrivals, including Charlotte Flair, Jacy Jayne, and Sami Zayn.
Cody Rhodes opens SmackDown
The Undisputed WWE Champion made his way down to the ring, his left eye looking somewhat better than it did in the wake of WrestleMania 42 and to a warmer reception than in recent weeks.
“Tulsa, Oklahoma, what do you wanna talk about?” started Rhodes in his usual fashion. He said that it’s always nice to get new information, namely if he was medically cleared for action. Rhodes spoke with WWE Medical officials and SmackDown GM Nick Aldis and got news that he was cleared to compete. Which begets the question: “What’s next for Cody Rhodes on SmackDown?”
At that point, an old friend interrupted in the form of Ricky Saints, who was making his SmackDown debut. Saints arrived to a middling reaction from the Tulsa crowd. As soon as he got to the ring, Saints said that the crowd booed what they didn’t understand as he introduced himself. Saints declared himself as the “hottest, fliest SmackDown free agent” standing in front of Rhodes.
Saints talked about he and Rhodes were no strangers with one another, but that there was a change in the air. It was a revolution and there was only one man leading that: Ricky Saints himself. He welcomed everyone to “Friday Night Saints”.
Rhodes got back on the mic and said that he was glad to have Saints here, but it was a bold move to do it now. He asked Saints what the difference between now and the last time he stepped up to him. Saints responded by pointing out Rhodes’ recent wounds and hyped up his achievements as a former NXT Champion and a NXT North American champion. Saints said that he stood in the background of Rhodes’ own achievements to the detriment of his own benefit. Saints said he was ready to relieve Rhodes of his duties.
Rhodes officially issued the chalenge to Ricky Saints to face him tonight. Saints accepted and said that he was here to change who this show was about. Rhodes concluded by repeating what he said last week: “easy to find, hard to beat.”
I liked this opening segment and immediately putting newcomer Ricky Saints with a familiar foe in Cody Rhodes is a good way to establish him on SmackDown.
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– Backstage, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss were interviewed about the Fatal Influence situation. Rhea Ripley appeared and said that she tried to take on Fatal Influence alone, but got overwhelemed. She pointed out how she was willing to put her differences with Charlotte aside to take on Fatal Influence. Flair refused, stating that “three is kind of a crowd”. Bliss remarked that Flair was just about to make a “dramatic entrance”.
Charlotte Flair (w/ Alexa Bliss) vs. Jacy Jayne (w/ Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid)
As Jayne made her entrance, she had something to say. Jayne noted that last week was just a taste of what Fatal Influence will do to SmackDown. Jayne declared that she and Fatal Influence were going to take out the legends one by one, starting with Charlotte Flair.
This match kicked off with a lock-up that got broken up by the ref in the corner. Jayne answered with a kick to the gut, but Flair hit her with a running shoulder block in response. Flair got clubbed in the back after a leap from the turnbuckle as Jayne worked her over in the corner. Jayne hit a hurricanrana, but got sent face-first into the middle turnbuckle. Flair then did three successive head scissors on the ground to keep Jayne down.
Flair attempted a Figure-Eight, but Jayne escaped to the outside, as Bliss snuck up behind her. Jayne flinched in fear and we took a break.
Back to the match as Flair broke free of Jayne’s resthold, but was left stunned in the corner. However, that was for naught as Flair recovered and hit a back suplex on Jayne. The former WWE Women’s Champion got her second wind and shelled Jayne with chops, followed by the stepover clothesline. Flair got herself up to the top rope and hit a high crossbody. Jayne rolled it over to a near-fall to nearly win. Flair blasted Jayne with a big boot and had her in the drop zone for the signature moonsault. One, two… Jayne managed to kick out at two.
Jayne hit her with a chop block, followed by a big running knee to the jaw of Flair for a close two. Another big boot by Flair to block the Rolling Encore. Figure-Eight Leg Lock by Flair, but Fallon Henley broke it up behind the referee’s back. Reid dropped Alexa Bliss on the outside, as Jayne hit a distracted Flair with Rolling Encore for the win.
Post-match saw Fatal Influence continue their attack on Flair and Bliss until Rhea Ripley ran down with payback on her mind. Ripley kicked fended off the trio as Jayne escaped a Riptide attempt by nearly shoving Ripley into Flair.
Jacy Jayne def. Charlotte Flair via pinfall
This was a good match and the chicanery-filled finish is at least consistent with regards to Jacy Jayne and Fatal Influence’s methods of winning.
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– WWE Women’s Tag Champions Paige and Brie Bella were interviewed about Fatal Influence. Brie talked about how they were impressed by the trio, but sooner or later they were going to have to face Brie and Paige. They then turned their attention to Nia Jax and Lash Legend, who they’ll defend their Women’s Tag Title against later tonight.
– Earlier Today footage set up Damian Priest & R-Truth defending their WWE Tag Titles against Fraxiom, that was apparently borne out of a misunderstanding because Truth was telling Nathan Frazer and Axiom about filing their taxes, but Priest assumed that a challenge was being made.
– We got some backstage antics with Danhausen and The Miz & Kit Wilson. The latter two were trying to spring a trap for Danhausen with “free human monies”, but it didn’t work. Danhausen got the money without incident, and the trap instead backfired on Miz and Kit Wilson after Danhausen left.
WWE Tag Team Championships: R-Truth & Damian Priest vs. Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom)
Truth and Axiom kicked it off here as the former took down his foe with a shoulder charge. Axiom quickly picked up speed with a dropklck and a tag to Frazer, but nothing more as Truth tagged in Priest. Frazer got ahead of it with a slide underneath priest, followed by the kick. The tag to Axiom, who got rocked with a elbow from Priest. Razor’s Edge countered as Fraxiom looked to hit a stereo dive on the champs. Truth and Priest wisely walked away as we took a break.
We returned from commercial as Truth hit Axiom with a suplex-into-a-Stunner. Priest entered the match and proceeded to tee off on Axiom and Frazer on opposite corners. Priest hit Axiom with the roaring lariat, but Frazer acrobatically countered the South of Heaven afterwards. Truth tagged in and unleashed the John Cena Five Moves of Doom on Frazer, ending with the Five-Knuckle Shuffle. Axiom pulled Priest down from the apron as Frazer nearly had it won by rollup. As Truth was deposited over the top rope, Fraxiom proceeded to hit the tag champs with a barrage of dives to the outside.
Back in the ring, Fraxom hit a double team dropkick (a “Catapult Inferno”, according to commentary), but Priest broke up the count before he dragged Truth to his corner for the tag. With Priest as the legal man, he hit Frazer with South of Heaven, followed by the Razor’s Edge for the three to retain the WWE Tag Titles.
After the match, the M.F.T.s launched an attack on everyone as Talla Tonga laid waste to everyone.
Damian Priest & R-Truth def. Fraxiom via pinfall to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships
This was an okay tag match, but I’m really not too keen on the Bloodline D-Team going after the tag titles again as teased in the post-match segment. The M.F.T.s just don’t interest me.
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Solo Sikoa speaks
After the break, Solo Sikoa addressed the events of last week as he stated that Jacob Fatu made a big mistake by demolishing the M.F.T.s on SmackDown just seven days ago. Even though Jacob took out Sikoa’s army, he took out his family. Sikoa said that the reason why the rest of the M.F.T.s weren’t standing was because of what Fatu did. That’s why when Jacob arrived to the arena, he’d be a dead man according to Sikoa.
The Usos interrupted Sikoa’s diatribe and confronted the last two M.F.T members in the ring. Jimmy declared that the M.F.T.s weren’t the only one who had a problem with Jacob Fatu. He and Jey had a problem with Jacob for putting his hands on their Tribal Chief, and doing so with the sacred Tongan Death Grip. Jey said that whatever plans that Sikoa had for Jacob, they’d have to wait until Roman Reigns got their hands on him. They weren’t asking Sikoa, they were telling him.
Sikoa said that they didn’t have time for this as Talla Tonga took out both Jimmy and Jey with ease. Sikoa then told the fallen Usos that Roman Reigns wasn’t his Tribal Chief, and that Jacob was still a dead man.
I don’t think I have to go on a stretch about how much I really don’t care about the retread for Bloodline drama, and the fact that it seemed like the Usos regressed character wise because of it isn’t helping. Jimmy and Jey were their own men a little over a year ago, but now they’re back being nothing more but Roman Reigns’ flunkies like it’s 2021 all over again. This “absolute cinema” just doesn’t do it for me, especially in rehehated leftovers form, and highlights the creative laziness plaguing WWE. Though whether that’s influenced by AI as rumored is up to your interpretation.
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– Just as Cody Rhodes was getting ready to face Ricky Saints, Sami Zayn confronted him and seeemed taken aback by being called “sarcastic” by Rhodes last week. Zayn tried to suggest that he and Rhodes were friends. Rhodes didn’t see it that way, stating that he and Zayn were not the same.
Cody Rhodes vs. Ricky Saints
Saints got ahead early with shoulder blocks on Rhodes, followed by a pair of armdrags as he struck a confident taunt in the middle of the ring. Rhodes responded with a suplex attempt, but Saints escaped. Saints leapt on the apron to escape, but he got socked in the face by Rhodes. Back in the ring, Saints clotheslined Rhodes out of the ring to take us into the commercial break.
We returned from the break as Saints had Rhodes in a headlock, but couldn’t keep it on for long as “QB1” escaped. Saints got back on top of it with a neckbreaker, followed by a knee to the face of Rhodes. Saints dragged Rhodes’ face across the rope before he walked the ropes for a little Old School action at the champ’s expense. Saints took a bit too long to showboat as Rhodes hit the snap powerslam, followed by a Disaster Kick and the Cody Cutter. Rhodes attempted a running powerslam, but got countered into a swinging neckbreaker by Saints for the close two.
Saints attempted a roll-up, but couldn’t put the match away. He then hit the Revolution DDT on Rhodes for yet another close near-fall. Saints then lifted up Rhodes for Rochambeau, but Cody reversed it into Cross Rhodes for the victory.
After the match, Gunther snuck up and put the sleeper on Rhodes as referees tried to pull him off. He took the Undisputed WWE Title and raised it before leaving.
Cody Rhodes def. Ricky Saints via pinfall
A solid debut for Saints, but I’m very interested in Gunther as Rhodes’ next challenger, because my goodness in heaven, he needed something to do other than being pigeonholed as “the retirement guy”. I don’t know if the big man will actually be the champ, but Gunther’s booking post-John Cena retirement (or lack thereof) has been really dire so I’m just happy he’s getting this shot at the title like what should’ve happened a while ago, y’know?
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Danhausen drops by
The incomparable Danhausen arrived in his “Hausen-Mobile”, as he gave out merchandise that he bought with the money that he had taken earlier. Danhausen’s fun was interrupted by the arrival of The Miz.
Miz said that ever since Danhausen arrived, all sorts of bad things has happened to him. He said that he had come to a realization that he was cursed. That’s why he was going to do the thing that he never thought he was going to do: be the Danhausen’s mentor. Before anything could formally happen, Kit Wilson interrupted and said that Miz was making a mistake.
Miz told Wilson to shut up because Danhausen gone above and beyond. Wilson was aploplectic and wanted Miz to shake his hand instead. After some indecision, Miz shook Danhausen’s hand, and said that there was only one thing left to do… he hit Danhausen from behind and revealing that this was a ruse. Miz and Wilson proceeded to beat down Danhausen, with a Skull-Crushing Finale and the Men Cry Too elbow.
Apparently Danhausen has no friends backstage given that nobody helped him fight off Miz and Wilson. Okay, then…
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– A vignette for Blake Monroe was shown, promising her arrival to SmackDown in the near future.
Royce Keys vs. Angel (w/ Berto)
Angel threw his jacket in Keys’ face, but that did him little good as he was deposited out of the ring by the powerhouse. As Angel got back into the ring, he tried to avoid Keys’ clothesline, but not to any sort of success. Berto tried to get invovved, but got hobbled knocked from the apron by Keys. Angel went for a leap, but Keys caught him and took him up to the top rope for an avalanche powerslam. Keys then finished Angel off in short order with the spinebuster.
Royce Keys def. Angel via pinfall
A rather short match that showed off Keys’ power off well, especially with that avalanche powerslam. This was fine.
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– Tiffany Stratton’s interview was crashed by Chelsea Green, Giulia, and Kiana James. This led to a Women’s U.S. Title match between Stratton and James to be made for next week.
– Royce Keys gave Jacob Fatu a pep talk backstage, before Talla Tonga and Solo Sikoa struck and laid the two out. Th e Jamie Noble-led road agents and officials checked up on Keys and Fatu.
Sami Zayn speaks
With the Gingerbread Man in the ring, Sami Zayn made his way to speak to the Tulsa crowd.
Once Zayn got into the ring, he asked if we were having fun. He said that he loved being in Tulsa, and he loved Bob Dylan. Zayn talked about the day Dylan picked up an electric guitar and how the people booed him for it, stating that he could relate to that. Zayn didn’t know why what he did to get the hatred from the crowd. But, that didn’t matter for Zayn, because his “Ride or Dies” were here in the building.
Zayn talked about how he couldn’t deal with the disrespect from Trick Williams. He pointed out that the Gingerbread Man represented Williams more than it did Zayn, because of Williams being a “shell of a person”. Zayn said that when he looked at the Gingerbread Man, he saw Trick Williams not taking him seriously, and as pure disrespect. Zayn said that every time he looked at the Gingerbread Man as he kicked the Gingerbread Man in the middle of the ring. The mannequin was torn apart by Zayn before Trick Williams ran in to fight with Zayn.
Williams struck Zayn with fists and had him set up for the Trick Shot. Zayn rolled out of harm’s way. He then threw up an “X” for the Gingerbread Man mannequin as it was getting checked up on.
An… odd segment, with Zayn attacking a mannequin and Williams making the save for said mannequin. I thought the story of Zayn’s heel turn was going swimmingly in recent weeks, but things kinda went off the rails here, and not in a good way. “Oof”, is all I have to say about what we just saw.
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– Trick Williams was asked about the status of the Gingerbread Man backstage. Zayn crossed the line with his action and that he’s got a lot to answer for. Williams said that Zayn will face him for the U.S. Title at Backlash. A doctor said that the Gingerbread Man didn’t make it.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Paige & Brie Bella (c) vs. The Irresistable Forces (Nia Jax & Lash Legend)
Legend threw Paige around easily to start off, as she then struck her with a hard strike to the face after a Nia Jax distraction. Big splash by Lash on Paige got an early near-fall. Jax tagged in and continued the punishment on Paige until a jawbreaker allowed Paige to tag in Brie Bella. Jax got struck down with knees to the gut, followed by the “Brie Mode Knee”. Brie got on the apron and was held by the leg by Legend, which allowed Jax to knock Brie down to the floor as we took a break.
This Arby’s-sponsored match returned as Brie tried to tag in Paige. Legend intercepted, but got thrown for a hurricanrana by Brie. Paige finally re-entered the match on the hot tag and floored Legend with a kick to the face. On the apron, Paige battered Legend with kicks to the chest. On the top rope, Paige went for a dive, but Legend caught her. Brie blind tagged as Legend was hit with the Paige Turner. Bella Buster by Brie couldn’t secure the win as Nia Jax broke up the count.
Jax tagged in and had Brie in the Annhilator drop zone, but Paige clipped her legs, as Brie got the flash pin for the three.
Brie Bella & Paige def. The Irresistable Forces via pinfall to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
A bit rough around the edges. Not a lot of chemistry between the two teams and this match suffered as a result.
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– Inexplicably, an In Memoriam for the Gingerbread Man was shown.
Next Week on SmackDown
- We’ll hear from Gunther
- Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley vs. Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, Lainey Reid)
- Funeral for The Gingerbread Man
- WWE Women’s United States Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Kiana James
– Nick Aldis made two matches for Backlash: Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams in a U.S. Title rematch, and Danhausen facing The Miz & Kit Wilson, but only if Danhausen can find a partner.
The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) vs. The M.F.T.s (Solo Sikoa & Talla Tonga)
Jey went after Talla immediately with a superkick and a strike to the jaw, but that did nothing as he got taken down by the giant. Big elbow drop by Talla as Sikoa tagged in and kept the attack on Jey. Sikoa got hit with an enzuigiri by Jey, as Jimmy tagged in and worked over his foe with a chop. A dive from a top by Jimmy was intercepted with the Spinning Solo by Sikoa. Running hip attack to the corner by Sikoa as we took a break.
Our main event returned as Jimmy Uso was down and out at ringside after Talla ran into him just before the break ended. Back inside the ring, Sikoa tagged in and and kept the assault on Jimmy locked. Talla clotheslined Jimmy behind the referee’s back as he next entered the match with a stomp and a legdrop. Jimmy escaped the grip of Talla, but was dropped with a Samoan Drop. Talla attacked Jey on the apron as Sikoa tagged in and lined up his Samoan Spike. Jimmy broke free from Talla and sent Sikoa out of the ring.
Talla wiped himself out by running into the post after Jimmy dodged. With Jey recovered, he got the hot tag and dove onto Talla outside before doing the same to Sikoa back in the ring. Jey delivered a combo of rights to Sikoa and reversed the Spinning Solo with a Spear. The count, but Talla made the save. Jimmy joined in as the two hit double superkicks and a clothesline to take Talla out of the ring. Jimmy tried for a dive, but that was blocked by Talla. Both Usos were thrown about at ringside by Talla, who began to rearrange the furniture. Meanwhile, Jacob Fatu joined in and attacked Talla to cause the disqualification.
Post-match, Fatu took out Talla with the steel steps as he confronted Sikoa inside the ring. Sikoa tried to beg off, but he got the brunt of the Tongan Death Grip. Talla interjected and and looked like he was going to chokeslam Fatu through the table, but he too ate a Tongan Death Grip, followed by a Samoan Drop through the table!
Fatu stepped back in the ring and faced off with Jimmy and Jey. He walked past the Usos with disrespect, making it clear he wasn’t ready to make peace with them. Fatu ended the night by stating that he was going to dogwalk Roman Reigns’ ass at Backlash.
The M.F.T.s def. The Usos via Disqualification
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The main event was fine, and the Bloodline stuff doesn’t move me in the slightest, but I did like that Samoan Drop through the table. That was a good way to end a strange and uneven show.
The stuff with Fatal Influence and Ricky Saints I enjoyed a lot, as well as Gunther being Cody Rhodes’ next challenger for the Undisputed WWE Title. Those were great, and I’m interested in where those stories go.
What did lose me was the tomfoolery with the Gingerbread Man, Trick Williams, and Sami Zayn. It’s one thing if it was only Zayn going crazy over the Gingerbread Man namecalling and snapping over that, but it crossed over into ridiculous territory the moment when Trick Williams himself was also treating “Gingy” as an actual person.
Now, you may ask why this tilted me when something like the antics of Danhausen and The Miz entertains me. Well, the difference there is that story with Danhausen and the Miz is meant to just be a relatively comedic one. Whereas, the Zayn/Williams feud is supposed to be a bitter rivalry with delusional jerk Zayn losing his grip in reality as Williams becomes more popular. That’s why silly stuff like what we saw tonight with the Gingerbread Man just doesn’t really work at all.
Then you have the Bloodline retread. I understand it’s unavoidable given Roman Reigns being the champ and his challenger being a member of the family, but it’s really not something that’ll move the needle, especially with WWE’s booking being a bit dull as of late.
All in all, Backlash’s build isn’t as insane of a disaster as the WrestleMania 42 build was, but at the same time, I find it hard to actually want to check it out next week if I was someone being convinced to give WWE a try.
