WWE Smackdown Review – May 3, 2024
8 Woman Tag Team Match
Damage CTRL (Women’s Tag Team Champions Kairi Sane & Asuka & Dakota Kai) & Tiffany Stratton vs. Women’s Champion Bayley, Bianca BelAir, Jade Cargill & Naomi
Kairi Sane hits Naomi with a forearm before Naomi sends Sane face first into the top turnbuckle then hits a dropkick and tags in Bianca BelAir.
BelAir connects with a springboard moonsault then looks to land a bodyslam.
Sane escapes but BelAir catches her with a delayed vertical suplex.
She sends Asuka crashing to the outside and Sane catches BelAir with a spinning backfist.
Bayley tags herself in as Asuka pulls BelAir out of the ring and lands a strike on her on the outside. Tiffany Stratton hits a spinebuster to Bayley back in the ring as we go to a break.
After the break Asuka hits a running knee to Bayley then goes for a pin but Bayley kicks out.
Stratton tags back in and jams her knee into the back of Bayley’s neck.
Dakota Kai tags in and fires off stomps on Bayley in the corner before Sane tags in then tags back out to Asuka.
Kabuki Warriors double team on Bayley before Stratton tags back in and whips Bayley into the corner.
She delivers a handspring back elbow and an Alabama Slam to Bayley then goes for a pin.
Naomi breaks the fall then Stratton clocks Jade Cargill on the apron then sends Bayley crashing into Naomi.
Bayley hits Stratton with a back suplex and comes close to reluctantly tagging in BelAir.
Cargill hops up on the apron and tags in & she hits Kai with a pump kick, Asuka with a chokeslam and Sane with a tilt a whirl backbreaker.
She tags in BelAir then hits a splash in the corner to Kai.
She follows it up with a powerbomb and sends BelAir crashing on top of her.
Everyone then begins getting in the ring and taking one another down before BelAir lands KOD on Kai for the win.
Winners: Women’s Champion Bayley, Bianca BelAir, Jade Cargill & Naomi
After the break we see Kayla Braxton chat with Jade Cargill & Bianca BelAir about their upcoming Women’s Tag Team Titles match against Kabuki Warriors tomorrow night. BelAir becomes heated thinking about everything Damage CTRL has put her through and stares down Bayley as she does. She tells her that she hopes after tomorrow night, she’ll hopefully be done with Damage CTRL for good.
We then head backstage and see Carmelo Hayes chat with Nick Aldis in his office. Hayes declares himself as a participant in the King Of The Ring Tournament before Bobby Lashley walks in and offers to help Hayes in any way he needs. Hayes tells him he thinks he’ll be good, but he appreciates it. Lashley tells Hayes it’s making the shots he takes count and tells him he lost last week. Hayes questions when the last time Lashley made a shot was and Lashley warns him to be careful of his mouth.
Tag Team Match
New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) vs. Authors Of Pain (Akam & Rezar)
Match starts off with Pete Dunne & Akam lock up.
Akam sends Dunne crashing out of the ring but Dunne responds with an enzuigiri and 3 dropkicks. Dunne locks in an armbar and Tyler Bate tags in.
New Catch Republic fire off right hands on Akam before Bate hits a pair of European uppercuts before Akam turns him inside out with a clothesline then tags in Rezar.
He looks to send Bate crashing into the mat but Bate fights his way out with a series of knees to Rezar.
Dunne tags in and ascends to the top rope & hits a double stomp to Rezar’s arm and Bate sends him crashing to the outside with a dropkick.
Bate sends Akam out to join him and flies to level Authors of Pain.
Rezar & Bate get back in the ring and Rezar hits a Death Valley Driver to Bate in the corner as we go to a break.
After the break Akam tags in and double teams on Bate with Rezar.
Akam sends Bate’s head bouncing off the mat then tags in Rezar.
Rezar locks in a Bear Hug on Bate but Bate slips out of it.
Rezar looks to powerbomb him but Bate hits him with a dropkick.
He looks to tag in Dunne but Akam tags in and prevents him from doing so.
Bate hits a rebound clothesline and tags in Dunne & Dunne hits an enzuigiri to Akam and lands one on Rezar.
He then hits a dropkick on Rezar and hits a boot on Akam’s midsection.
Dunne follows it up with a Sliced Bread on Akam and ascends to the top rope.
He looks to fly but Akam moves out of the way.
Bate tags in and Dunne hits a boot to Akam’s face then Bate gets Akam up on his shoulders and hits the Airplane Spin.
Dunne tags back in and Bate delivers a Shooting Star Press. Dunne delivers a running knee and Bate goes for a pin, but Akam kicks out.
New Catch Republic snap Authors Of Pain’s fingers.
Akam is sent crashing to the outside and Dunne looks to fly but Scarlett hops up on the apron.
Bate flies to level Akam but Kross sends Bate crashing into the floor off his shoulder.
Dunne flies and levels Kross but Akam hits him with a uranage when he gets back in the ring. Authors of Pain then hits a neckbreaker/powerbomb combination for the win.
Winners: Authors Of Pain
We then head backstage and see Paul Heyman meet with Nick Aldis in his office about a memo Heyman sent to him. Aldis says his request to pull Kevin Owens & Randy Orton from their Tag Team match against The Bloodline tomorrow and asks him why he even asks. Heyman says he did it for the safety and protection of Orton & Aldis. Heyman looks to leave and Aldis questions if these orders for him to the memo came from Roman Reigns. Heyman walks back in and reveals he hasn’t spoken to Reigns since WrestleMania. Aldis asks if Reigns really pulled himself out of the Draft and Heyman says it was him who pulled him. Heyman says he had no choice and says he can’t subject Reigns to the current chaos going on in The Bloodline. He tries talking Aldis out of keeping Owens & Orton in the match and Aldis tells him he can try to ask them directly on The RKO Show.
Kevin Owens welcomes fans to The RKO Show in French and Orton says Owens would normally have talk him into doing something like this. He says it didn’t take much talking this time for Owens to convince him to do a talk show when it normally would because the people of France are amazing and says neither did talking him into teaming with him tomorrow night. Owens says he originally didn’t want to have a guest for the 1st RKO Show but Paul Heyman wore him down to be his guest and he agreed to let him on the show. He gives Orton the opportunity to introduce Heyman but Heyman makes his way to the ring before he can.
Heyman introduces himself, and says he’s out at the ring with respect, admiration and applause for wisdom. Owens warns Orton on landing an RKO on Heyman right away and Orton says he’s more about hitting the move out of nowhere. Heyman says no one will be hitting a RKO tonight and Orton says he begs to differ.
Owens asks Heyman to get to his point and Heyman says he asks to be a guest on the show because he has great respect for both Orton & Owens. He says it was competition when they both stepped into the ring with Roman Reigns but the rules with Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga are completely different. He tells them to back out of their tag team match tomorrow night for their sake and everyone else’s and both Orton & Owens decline to do so. Owens says Heyman is in no position to tell anyone else what to do considering his world is falling apart around him.
Orton asks Heyman who the real Tribal Chief is and Heyman says the world knows there’s only one Tribal Chief. Sikoa & Tonga then blindside Owens & Orton and all 4 men brawl with one another. Security runs down to break them all up but Orton sends one of them over the desk and Owens flies to level several of them on the outside.
LA Knight vs. Angel
Match starts off with lock up before LA Knight hits a shoulder tackle but Angel fires off strikes on him.
Knight levels Angel with a clothesline and a swinging neckbreaker then sends him to the outside.
Knight sends Angel’s head repeatedly bouncing off the ring apron and gets him back in the ring before he clotheslines him back to the outside and hits a dropkick to him through the middle rope.
He gets Angel back inside and sends his face bounding off the top turnbuckle twice then hits a clothesline to him in the corner and plants him with a suplex as we go to a break.
After the break Humberto distracts Knight opening the door for Angel to hit a headbutt and boot to the side of his head.
Knight responds with a flying clothesline and a series of stomps then hits a running knee then hits a bodyslam and an elbow drop.
Humberto distracts Knight & Angel tries taking advantage but Knight manages to hit BFT for the win.
Winner: LA Knight
After the match Knight grabs a mic and declares himself as a participant in the King Of The Ring tournament. Santos Escobar then grabs a mic and does the same.
We then head backstage to Byron Saxton chatting with Carlito. Saxton asks Carlito why he turned on Dragon Lee & Carlito explains that he was upset his WrestleMania moment was taken away from him when Rey Mysterio chose to tag with Lee against Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar before he attacked him. Lee then appears out of nowhere and attacks Carlito.
WWE Tag Team Titles Match
A Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) (c) vs. Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Grayson Waller clocks Ford on the apron then Austin Theory goes after Angelo Dawkins in the ring.
Waller tags in and Ford tags in and hits a dropkick to Waller.
Street Profits then hits a double flapjack and Ford hits a uranage on Waller.
Dawkins tags in and ascends to the top rope then hits a Swanton Bomb to Waller.
Waller rolls out of the ring to join Theory & Ford tags in.
Ford then flies over the top to level A Town Down Under on the outside.
Ford gets Waller back in the ring then hits a double suplex to him with the now legal Dawkins.
Dawkins then hits a splash and an enzuigiri to Waller in the corner as we go to a break.
After the break Ford hits a cannonball to Theory off the top rope.
He connects with a back suplex before Waller hits a dropkick to Dawkins’ knee off the top rope.
Theory tags in and looks to fly into the ring but Dawkins levels him.
He hits a sit out powerbomb to Waller & Ford tags in.
Dawkins gets Theory in an electric chair position and Ford flies off the top rope to connect with a blockbuster.
Dawkins tags back in and gets Theory in an electric chair position.
Ford ascends to the top rope but Theory escapes.
Waller then lands a flatliner on Dawkins while the referee is distracted and Theory pins him for the win.
Winners & Still WWE Tag Team Champions: A Town Down Under (STILL CHAMPIONS!!!!)
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes asks Lyon what they want to talk about in French. AJ Styles tells him he should be focused on him rather than the crowd and Rhodes says he grew up watching Styles. Styles cuts him off and tells him he doesn’t need to hear him sing his praises. He says he’s still in his prime and Rhodes questions who is saying otherwise. Styles says Rhodes was welcomed in WWE with open arms but when things got a little rough and he couldn’t handle it, he left and it was his decision. Styles says he never got to make that choice and says he wasn’t welcomed in the WWE for years but when he got there he still wasn’t welcome with open arms. He says he’ll beat Rhodes tomorrow at Backlash to remind him and everyone else he’s phenomenal.
Rhodes says every sacrifice he made and mistake he endured was to stand inside the ring as Undisputed WWE Champion. He says he’s looking at Styles as his 1st rather than phenomenal in his 1st title defense on television. He says it’s too sweet and throws up the symbol. He then slaps Rhodes and makes his way to the back.
We then head backstage and see Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga still brawling with one another to close out this week’s Smackdown.
