WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights After Backlash 2025
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on May 16.
John Cena retained the WWE title against Randy Orton last weekend in what was billed as their final match together, so now the 17-time champion is going to have a fresh challenger looking to dethrone him.
We also saw Jacob Fatu retain the United States Championship against LA Knight, Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre in one of the better matches from the PLE.
This week's show dealt with all of the fallout from Backlash and continued the build for next weekend's Saturday Night's Main Event as well as Money in the Bank on June 7.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's episode of SmackDown.
A Family Feud is Forming
1 of 8
After we got a video recapping Backlash, Solo Sikoa, Jeff Cobb and Fatu made their way to the ring. The Street Champ welcomed Cobb to the family. He credited Cobb for Fatu retaining the U.S. title, which angered the champion.
He ripped the mic away from Sikoa and said he has done everything he said he would do. Things got tense with them when Sikoa asked Fatu to tell him he loved him. Before it could progress any further, LA Knight's music hit.
He appeared behind them and pulled Cobb out of the ring for a quick attack before he retreated into the crowd to avoid the rest of the group.
A feud between Sikoa and Fatu has been brewing for months and it looks like WWE is finally ready to commit to it. This segment was a little strange, but it did the job of establishing how fragile the bond between them is right now.
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—WWE really likes to show shots of people seeing the face of their rival on a production truck lately.
—Sikoa introduced Cobb as JC. It's unclear if WWE is going to try to make that his name or if it was just a quick nickname.
Alexa Bliss vs. Michin vs. Chelsea Green
2 of 8
The first match of the night was a Triple Threat qualifying bout for the women's Money in the Bank match. Alexa Bliss, Michin and Chelsea Green were competing for the first spot.
Michin hit a superkick to knock Green out of the ring so she and Bliss could square off. As soon as Green got back into the ring, they sent her right back out. The former United States champion took them out with a suicide dive as we went to a break.
The match got a lot more competitive during the break as all three women began getting more physical. Bliss and Michin were the crowd's favorites, but Green was getting the desired response, too.
Other than one or two spots that didn't work out, most of what they did in this bout was good. Unfortunately, it never felt like they had the level of intensity a match with these stakes should have.
Green took out Michin with an Unprettier before Bliss hit her with a Sister Abigail DDT for the win. The crowd popped for the finish.
Result: Bliss defeated Green and Michin
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Michin implied in a backstage segment that if she wins the MITB briefcase, she will use it for her and B-Fab to get a tag title shot.
—Nobody in WWE is better at making themselves look foolish than Green.
—Michin and Bliss tried to hit a double dropkick through the ropes but Michin came nowhere near Green with her feet.
—It's interesting to see Green using all black gear instead of the red, white and blue she was wearing with the U.S. title, but her titantron still shows the American flag motif.
Fraxiom vs. DIY
3 of 8
The next matchup saw Nathan Frazer and Axiom take on the men who attacked them backstage last week, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
Ciampa wrestled Axiom to the mat, but the high-flyer quickly nailed him with a dropkick. Fraxiom tried a double-team move, but Ciampa fell over and they had to improvise.
DIY took control after Gargano tripped Axiom during a springboard attempt. Frazer got a hot tag as soon as we returned from a break. He was all over the place hitting high-risk moves to both opponents.
They picked up the pace quite a bit in the second half and turned this from a good match into a great one. The crowd was chanting "This is awesome" as all four men were working their butts off.
Fraxiom has quickly become one of the most exciting acts on SmackDown and this match was yet another potential show-stealer. Axiom ended up getting the pin by reversing a rollup from Gargano, but their celebration was cut short by DIY.
The Motor City Machine Guns came down to make the save and took out Gargano and Ciampa before helping Fraxiom to their feet.
Result: Fraxiom defeated DIY
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
—The replay WWE showed of Fraxiom vs. Street Profits did not do that match justice.
—It feels like Ciampa has lost a lot of mystique since his heel run as the NXT champion ended. His team with Gargano is good, but he was better as a solo act.
—Ciampa falling during the octopus stretch was unfortunate, but Frazer made it work.
—We have confirmation that Cobb will now be known as JC Mateo. Allowing the announcers to call him Jeff Cobb and then changing his name is such a weird decision.
—Gargano hitting a kick in the middle of Frazer trying a moonsault was nuts.
Aleister Black vs. Carmelo Hayes
4 of 8
R-Truth gave an interview with Wade Barrett talking about what Cena did to him at Backlash. He said he will face Cena at Saturday Night's Main Event.
After a break, Aleister Black took on Carmelo Hayes in a rematch from last week's show. Black scored the win in their first encounter, so Hayes came into this with something to prove.
They started with a relatively even exchange, but Melo had to duck a Black Mass kick to stay in the match. The Miz saved him from a moonsault at ringside by pushing Hayes out of the way.
Once we returned from a commercial, The Dutch Destroyer began building some momentum with a flurry of kicks. He even hit the moonsault The Miz prevented him from hitting before.
Unfortunately, The Miz prevented a clean ending by interfering, but he ended up taking Black Mass. Hayes attacked Black and hit his finisher to leave him down in the ring. The match was great, but the ending left a bit to be desired.
Result: No Contest
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Fraxiom were told they were getting a tag title shot during a backstage segment.
—The Miz would be a good stooge manager after he retires. He is very good at being annoying when he wants to.
—Melo's springboard DDT looks cool when he hits it right, but when it's slightly off, it looks dangerous. He almost landed right on Black's head.
Solo Sikoa vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Rey Fenix
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Drew McIntyre came to the ring and gave a promo about facing Damian Priest next weekend inside a steel cage. He promised that one of them would leave on a stretcher.
The second Money in the Bank qualifier this week was for the men's match. Sikoa, Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix fought to earn the first spot.
Sikoa beat down Fenix in the corner and told Jimmy they should work together to take him out. Jimmy decided to team up with Fenix instead and they sent Sikoa out of the ring. Once he recovered, Solo yanked Jimmy out of the ring and slammed his head into the announce table.
This was a solid match from three capable performers, but it definitely felt predictable at almost every turn. All three guys had time to shine, but Sikoa was the most dominant of the three. He got the win with a Samoan Spike to Fenix to earn his spot in the MITB match.
After the match was over, Knight showed up and attacked Mateo and Fatu. Aldis came out and said Mateo would face Knight in his WWE debut after a break.
Result: Sikoa defeated Uso and Fenix
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Giulia was officially called up to SmackDown by Nick Aldis this week.
—Fatu and McIntyre had a brief staring contest during Sikoa's entrance.
—Fenix's entrance is great but his music isn't as memorable as Penta's.
—The announcers keep mentioning how their new tables are reinforced to drive home how much it hurts to be slammed into one.
—The ref missed counting a pin for Fenix for absolutely no reason. There was no distraction. He just didn't do it.
LA Knight vs. JC Mateo
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The former Jeff Cobb, now known as JC Mateo, had his first match in WWE this week against Knight following a couple of attacks from The Megastar.
They got started when we returned from a break, and JC showed off his power by tossing Knight around a bit.
Whenever it looked like Knight was going to take control, Mateo would take him down with a power move. It wasn't a one-side match, but it was definitely lopsided.
They fought through a break and JC was still in control when we returned. Knight made a comeback and took out Fatu and Sikoa with a springboard crossbody at ringside, but taking time to do that allowed JC to recover. He hit Knight with his finisher as soon as he got back into the ring for the win.
Result: Mateo defeated Knight.
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—It's weird that Mateo had his first match in street clothes.
—It will be weird calling him Mateo after he has spent so long with his real name.
—If WWE wanted to make Mateo look like a monster, this match would have been over in less than five minutes. Knight didn't need to job to him, but this was more competitive than it needed to be.
—Mateo's standing moonsault looked great.
Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax
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The main event of this week's show saw Tiffany Stratton put the women's title on the line against Nia Jax.
Stratton got in a few moves before Jax took over and began to dominate the match. She crushed Tiffy's head against the ring post as we went to a break.
The champion recovered and regained control shortly after we returned, but a popup Samoan drop from Jax stalled her momentum immediately.
Out of nowhere, Naomi's music hit and she walked to the ring with a chair in her hand. Jade Cargill ran down and took her out to prevent her from interfering.
Jax kicked out of the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and pushed Tiffy to the floor when she tried to hit a second. She hit a Samoan drop onto the table, which didn't break.
Jax fell into Tiffy when she tried to counter the Annihilator, but the champ grabbed the rope to break the count. Jax grabbed Naomi's chair and tried to use it, but Tiffy dropkicked it into her face and then hit her moonsault for the win.
This match had some sloppy moments, but it had enough good stuff to make this an enjoyable encounter.
Result: Stratton defeated Jax.
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Jax had to pause for a moment so Tiffy could finish her back handspring and hit a dropkick to her knee. It was a little awkward.
—Joe Tessitore did a good job selling the brutality of Jax's hip attack against the ring post.
—Jax's first powerbomb looked incredibly weak. It was like she placed Tiffy on the mat instead of slamming her.
—Naomi swung the chair at Cargill and missed without Cargill doing much to dodge the hit.
The Final Word
8 of 8
Friday’s SmackDown had to deal with the fallout from Backlash while also setting up matches for Saturday Night’s Main Event and Money in the Bank. It was a lot to juggle in addition to the matches, but they did a good job making it all flow together.
The feud brewing between Sikoa and Fatu is going to be explosive when it finally happens, but WWE appears to be taking the slow approach, which isn’t a bad thing if they stick the landing.
As far as this week’s in-ring action goes, nothing on this show came close to matching the fun of DIY vs. Fraxiom.
Frazer and Axiom have immediately made themselves an important team in the tag division on SmackDown by producing high-level work every time they step into the ring.
The MITB qualifiers were both good, as were Black and Hayes and the main event, but if you only see one thing from this show, make it the tag match.
Grade: B
