WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades and Highlights Before SNME, Evolution
WWE SmackDown kicked off a jam-packed weekend of pro wrestling Friday night on USA Network, with a show headlined by a WWE Tag Team Championship Match and a special appearance by recording artist, and fan, Jellyroll.
What went down, how did it affect the current and future storylines on the blue brand, and what impact did it potentially have on the upcoming SummerSlam premium live event?
Find out with this recap, including live grades and analysis from each match and segment.
Match Card
1 of 9
Announced in advance of Friday's show were:
* WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Wyatt Sicks vs. The Street Profits
* R-Truth vs. Aleister Black
* Fatal 4-Way Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Kairi Sane vs. Sol Ruca vs. Roxanne Perez
* Trish Stratus and Tiffany Stratton face-to-face
* Jellyroll appearance
LA Knight Kicked Off The Show
2 of 9
Just 24 hours from his biggest match in over a year against Seth Rollins on Saturday Night's Main Event, LA Knight hit the ring to address The Visionary and his cronies, only to be interrupted by "The Oracle," Paul Heyman.
The 2024 Hall of Famer warned that Knight has no future before Solo Sikoa and his MFTs (Talla Tanga, Tanga Loa, and JC Mateo) made their way to the ring. He threatened to make history repeat itself by putting Heyman through a table.
From there, he similarly warned Knight of a four-on-one beating, only for Jimmy Uso to make a steel chair-assisted save.
The Knight-Heyman exchange was fine but the rest felt forced, like a way to setup the main event despite Knight and Sikoa not having issues in recent weeks. The resulting match, announced by SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis to be Knight and Uso vs. Sikoa and Mateo, will probably be fun, but this definitely did not need 15 minutes at the top of the show.
Grade
C
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Knight mocked Bron Breakker's mannerisms in a fun bit.
* "Seth, I want your dignity, I want justice, and to be honest, I want to hurt you."
* "You ain't gotta be scared to get your ass kicked."
* "MFTs," without further on-screen explanation, is a subjectively terrible name for Sikoa's version of the Bloodline.
Fatal Four Way: Sol Ruca vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Kairi Sane vs. Roxanne Perez
3 of 9
Ahead of the Women's Tag Team Championship match at Evolution on Sunday, all four teams involved in that title bout were represented in a Fatal 4-Way Match Friday as Alexa Bliss, Kairi Sane, NXT Women's North American champion Sol Ruca, and women's tag champions Roxanne Perez did battle.
An action-packed match saw Ruca nearly score the win at one point off of a double Sol Snatcher to Perez and Bliss, only for Raquel Rodriguez to interfere on behalf of the former.
Zaria got involved, as did Asuka and, finally, Charlotte Flair, before Bliss managed to deliver the Sister Abigail DDT to Sane for the pinfall victory.
It was interesting to see Sane lose here when, Monday on Raw, Michael Cole made a big deal about The Pirate Princess' recent winning streak. With that said, this was a nice showcase for the women's tag division and a preview of Sunday's four-way.
Result
Bliss defeated Sane, Ruca, and Perez
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* In her first significant dance on the main roster, Ruca did not look like she was out of place. She appeared comfortable as she mixed it up with former world champions.
* Bliss got her feet up to block the In-Sane Elbow in a moment that was perfectly timed.
* Ruca vs. Flair in a battle of super athletes is a must-book match.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Wyatt Sicks vs. The Street Profits
4 of 9
The Wyatt Sicks' journey through the tag team division in pursuit of its top prize continued Friday as they challenged The Street Profits for the WWE Tag Team Championship.
A long, back-and-forth battle saw the teams exchange control of the bout before Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins rolled late. They looked to have a successful title defense in hand before Erick Rowan pulled the former out of the ring following a frog splash, preventing a pinfall that likely would have ended the championship aspirations of Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis.
Dawkins bowled over Rowan at ringside, but back inside, the challengers capitalized on a missed frog splash from Ford and delivered their suplex/powerbomb combination for the win and titles.
The match was quite good and had the fans eating up the near-falls. Ford and Dawkins are as consistently good as it gets and Lumis and Gacy operate well as a team.
A premium live event match between these two teams would do wonders in elevating the SmackDown tag team division, which seems to miss out on those high-profile spots more times than not.
Result
The Wyatt Sicks defeated The Street Profits to win the titles
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Ford and Lumis narrowly avoided disaster on a sunset flip powerbomb from the top rope.
* Gacy kicked out of the doomsday blockbuster, but the cameras missed it as they paid more attention to Ford taking Lumis off the apron.
* Backstage, the division's other tag teams discussed the new champions, with DIY trying to rally the tandems to work together, only to find out that Andrade and Rey Fenix have officially entered the tag team division on Friday nights.
Logan Paul Interrupted Jellyroll
5 of 9
Jellyroll returned to WWE TV and performed the theme song of last year's SummerSlam until Logan Paul interrupted the proceedings. Some cheap heat, followed by a very pro-Nashville response from the musician, descended into chaos as Randy Orton hit the ring and cut a scathing promo on the YouTube phenomenon.
Drew McIntyre appeared and delivered a Claymark to Orton ahead of their match on Saturday Night's Main Event, then Paul jumped The Viper, beating him down. Jellyroll made the save and the babyfaces stood tall as Paul had a meltdown, destroying the band equipment.
Well, that is one way to kick off a SummerSlam program.
Orton and McIntyre deserve the spotlight a match of that magnitude will bring, but the question leading into the show, if it is in fact a tag team match, if Jellyroll can live up to his end of the bargain and do enough to pass the "celebrity in wrestling" test.
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Paul taking exception with celebrities and influencers coming into WWE and taking "their" spotlight was an awesome bit. Like the guy or not, it's that total lack of self-awareness that makes this version of him a great heel.
* "Nobody gives a damn about your podcast, Logan," the musician said, echoing the sentiments of most with ears.
* And with that, do we have a tag team match set for SummerSlam?
Ron Killings vs. Aleister Black
6 of 9
The mounting tension between Ron Killings and Aleister Black culminated in their first match Friday night.
Unfortunately, it was a rushed contest that ended in controversy when the referee prevented Black from using a steel chair, allowing Killings to roll him up and score the win.
After the match, Black stalked toward the back. Coming out of the break, Damian Priest attempted to calm him down, only to suffer a beatdown at the hands of the man he considered a friend.
Black as a clear heel instead of a tweener with no clear motivation is the best booking decisions imaginable. If this quick match with R-Truth gets us to a Black-Priest program, even better.
Result
Killings defeated Black
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeways
* This was the first point in the show where it felt like the change back to two hours was felt on the broadcast. It was hella rushed.
Trish Stratus and Tiffany Stratton's Face-to-Face
7 of 9
Just 48 hours before they clash for the WWE Women's Championship at Evolution, Trish Stratus and Tiffany Stratton came face-to-face in an in-ring promo.
Champion and challenger took shots at each other before Naomi appeared with her Money in the Bank briefcase, reminding both of them that it is not out of the realm of possibility that she chases in and leaves Atlanta with the gold.
Jade Cargill attacked her from behind before she could get her whole promo out, though, and a brawl between the two brought the segment to a close.
Like Truth vs. Black and most of the build to Evolution, this was rushed. It was fine for what it was and given the lack of story behind the Stratton-Stratus match-up, that was really all that could be asked for.
Do not be surprised if Naomi takes the gold in Atlanta, though, to set up the back half of the year in the SmackDown women's division.
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Stratton telling Stratus she learned all about her by watching VHS was a killer line.
* Stratus responding by asking if she learned about VHS from Tik Tok was equally solid.
LA Knight and Jimmy Uso vs. Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo
8 of 9
Jimmy Uso and LA Knight earned momentum ahead of Saturday Night's Main Event by defeating Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo in the night's marquee match, with Uso pinning United States champion Sikoa one night before challenging him for that title.
The momentum, though, was snuffed out when the MFTs chased Big Jim out of the arena, leaving Knight to endure a beatdown by Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed that ended with a massive Tsunami from the latter.
Knight now enters Saturday's show weakened, his previously injured ribs once again smarting. How he responds against one of the best in the world, and the reigning Mr. Money in the Bank, remains to be seen.
The match was a ton of fun, as WWE's main event tag bouts typically are, and the fans ate everything Knight did up. He was clearly the most popular guy in the match, and on the show, and it will be interesting to see if this latest run garners him some more consistent main event consideration moving forward.
Result
Knight and Uso defeated Sikoa and Mateo
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
* It is almost absurd that Knight is not already a solidified main eventer and world champion contender. He is consistently among the most popular wrestlers on the roster and this was more evidence of it. The guy just brings a different energy to everything he is involved in.
* Hold up...the referee in the R-Truth-Black match is out here pulling chairs away from the latter and leading to his loss, but Charles Robinson is just straight up allowing Talla Tonga to kick Knight in the face with no repercussions or disqualification?
Overall Grade
9 of 9
As the final bit of hype for Saturday Night's Main Event and Evolution, this show was little more than "good enough."
Good enough in that it hyped the tag title match, as well as Stratus vs. Stratton and Naomi vs. Cargill for Sunday's event while heavily focusing on Knight vs. Rollins, with a splash of Uso vs. Sikoa for Saturday's.
After being three hours for the better part of the last year, the show struggled with pacing issues, but did present two above-average tag team matches, bumping up the in-ring grade.
Overall, a broadcast that was perfectly fine, even if it did little to encourage much excitement for anything going on this weekend not involving Knight.
Grade: C+
