Friday Night SmackDown aired tonight from the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina for another week of action from the women of Team Blue.
The first women’s match of the night was a Women’s Tag Team Championship defense, pitting Brie Bella and Paige, now going by the team name “Scream Mode”, up against the team of Giulia and Kiana James. Before the champs went out, they were interviewed by Cathy Kelley, who mentioned that every single week, there’s another new team taking a shot at the titles, with the target on their backs getting bigger and bigger. Brie responded first by saying that the tag team division is competitive, and they love it, but the division is a shark tank and everyone wants a piece of you. Paige adds that it’s taken years to get the titles and they refuse to give them up that easily.
The Irresistible Forces, Nia Jax and Lash Legend, interrupt the interview just to say that they are rooting for Brie and Paige to win tonight, as they plan on getting their titles back at Saturday Night’s Main Event on May 23rd.
As for the match, Brie and Kiana locked up to begin, with Paige being tagged in no time. James then tagged in Giulia, who struck Paige with some kicks at the turnbuckle and hit a snap suplex on her. James would trip Paige on the ring mat, helping the heel team take advantage before the commercial break. A sunset flip powerbomb took Giulia out on the mat, with her and Paige tagging in Kiana and Brie, who unleashed running knee strikes and Yes! Kicks on both of her opponents.
The vibe started to get more intense; a Codebreaker and Northern lights bomb on Brie nearly put her away if not for Paige breaking up the pin, with Paige finishing James off shortly thereafter with a Rampaige. More tension simmered between Giulia and James as they glared at each other, a common sight with the two that’s been increasingly frequent over the last few months.
Cathy Kelley appeared again to interview the Women’s United States Champion, Tiffany Stratton. Mentioning the abundance of strong alliances in the women’s division, she asks Stratton where she fits in the division as a singles competitor. Stratton believes that if she had to guess… thoughts which are interrupted by a loud verbal argument between Giulia and Kiana with some light throwing of hands… if those are the teams she has to go against, she believes she’ll be just fine on her own, and at the end of the day, if they want to play the numbers game, then Chelsea Green can interrupt.
Green enters the shot and mentions that she was looking for Stratton, who replies saying that Green was not the person she was looking for and was talking about not liking to be partnered up, which Green thinks is about Giulia and Kiana’s issues. Stratton mentions that sometimes people just aren’t meant to be a team, and they’re just oblivious to it. Green thinks it would never be them, with Stratton saying she’s right: her and Green aren’t meant to be a team. Green tries to play it off as friendly banter, but she’s clearly very peeved by the champion’s comments.
Candice LeRae appeared backstage as Sami Zayn was trying to talk to a still-motionless Johnny Gargano. The Poison Pixie says that if Zayn wants to talk about being entitled, she’s entitled to a husband who does something other than lay down on a crate, but whatever, right? Even Zayn can’t reason with Gargano, at least until Gargano moves his eyes just a little bit.
Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab came out to the ring to cut a promo. Cargill said that everybody acts so tough when she’s not in the building, but when her music hits, everybody seems to get real quiet. Rhea Ripley found that out last week, and at Clash in Italy on May 31st, she plans on becoming Women’s Champion again. The title is coming home with her, and in spite of all the boos, they know why – because she’s that bitch.
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss make their way out, with Flair saying that the fans don’t want to hear Jade, and last week, Cargill finally pissed her off, so she challenges her to play. Cargill mocks her and Bliss, calling them Rhea’s “backup dancers” and questioning where she is after the three attacked her last week. Cargill thinks it’s so funny that someone can talk so loud but get so quiet when they get punt kicked in the face. Bliss retorts and asks if Michin and B-Fab are supposed to make her look good, but Flair says they’re just there to do Jade’s dirty work. Everyone is tired of hearing Jade talk, so why doesn’t she take a seat and take some notes. Cargill asks for a referee and says she’s getting quite bored of the two.
Another vignette aired for the soon-to-be debuting Blake Monroe. As we see her handbags, shoes, a Labubu, and the applying of perfume, Monroe says that she is not your hero, she’s The Glamour, the starlet on the marquee, the champagne soaked Cinderella of WWE, and to every woman in that locker room, they’ll see the difference between themselves and her.
Cutting back to the match, Michin and B-Fab dropped to the floor before getting into the ring, where Charlotte and Michin traded offense in the early goings. B-Fab and Alexa were then tagged in, with Bliss making quick work of her, but a missed backflip turned the tides in B-Fab’s favor, slamming Bliss for a failed pin attempt before commercials, where Michin took control of Bliss throughout that portion.
The show returned with B-Fab and Michin trying to keep Bliss separated from Flair before Michin was taken out by a DDT from Bliss, who tagged in Flair. Flair delivered her signature moves to the two, taking the time to insult Jade, who got up on the ring apron to distract her. Michin raked Flair in the eyes only for Flair to reverse B-Fab’s roll-up attempt into a Figure Eight that Michin broke up. As Bliss tried Sister Abigail on B-Fab in the ring, her attempt at putting The Fab Female away was stopped by Cargill, who openly attacked her and threw her into the barricade, causing a disqualification. Charlotte threw Michin into the announce table and sent B-Fab into the ring with a big boot, as she went outside the ring and warned Cargill to back off.
Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Lainey Reid) were watching the action from the locker room backstage when Cathy Kelley barged in to ask them if the rest of the locker room knew they would be this impactful this quick into their main roster careers. Henley said that in this business, you’re either the predator or the prey, and if she’s being honest, Fatal Influence is at the top of the food chain. Reid interjects to mention to Kelley that all these so-called teams want to act like they’re best friends and they love each other, but they know deep down that nobody can really stand each other.
Jayne says that they are the complete opposite, as they are a unit. Loyalty is their currency, and soon enough, it’s going to pay dividends when they’re draped in all the gold. As for the women in the locker room, they can take this as a warning shot that it’s only a matter of time before they fall at the feet of Fatal Influence. The three then walk off, ending the segment.
Lastly, Alexa and Charlotte were backstage, with Charlotte telling Alexa that last week she tolerated Rhea, and she’s really working hard on becoming a team player, with Alexa saying that they are outnumbered, by Fatal Influence, Nia and Lash, and now Jade, Michin, and B-Fab, but Flair says that they’ve been outnumbered for the past six months. Bliss tells Flair that Rhea owes them something, since the WWE Women’s Champion couldn’t make it to the show this week.
Friday Night SmackDown airs next week from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, although no women’s matches or segments are currently advertised as of this writing.
Saturday Night’s Main Event airs Saturday, May 23rd at 8 p.m. Eastern Time / 5 p.m. Pacific on Peacock in the United States. The following is set to take place:
- Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, and Alexa Bliss vs. Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab
As always, make sure to share your thoughts on this week’s edition of SmackDown in the comments below.