WWE SmackDown 3rd of May 2024

This week’s episode of WWE SmackDown kicks off with a video of the arrivals of Cody Rhodes, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens to the arena. In the arena, the show begins with an eight-woman tag match.

WWE Women’s Champion Bayley, Naomi, Bianca Belair, and Jade Cargill defeated Tiffany Stratton, Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai
Bianca Belair hits the KOD on Dakota Kai to score the pinfall victory for her team.

Grayson Waller and Austin Theory are backstage. Austin Theory says France gets a gift tonight as they get to experience A-Town Down Under’s first title defense. Grayson Waller says he smells something, and it’s not cheese because that’s what the crowd smells like.
Waller says he smells smoke, and The Street Profits always say they want the smoke; well, they’re in luck because A-Town Down Under is the smoke.

Kayla Braxton is backstage with Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. Belair says they are very confident that they will leave Backlash as the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Belair says after they beat Damage CTRL tomorrow she’ll be done with them for good. Bayley and Belair get into it a bit and Cargill calms Belair down.

A video package plays recapping last week’s main event between Cody Rhodes and Carmelo Hayes. Nick Aldis is backstage with Carmelo Hayes and Aldis tells him that he proved he belongs. Hayes says he almost beat Rhodes last week and wants to keep his momentum going and he wants to enter the King of the Ring tournament. Aldis says they can talk about that.

Bobby Lashley comes in and welcomes Hayes to SmackDown. Lashley says now that he’s on the main roster, if he needs anything from him, to just reach out. Hayes says he appreciates that, but he’s good. Lashley says that’s fine, but he debuted last week with a loss. Hayes questions when the last time Lashley bothered to shoot his shot. Lashley stops him from leaving and gives him free advice by telling him to be careful about whom he disrespects and then lets him leave.

The Authors of Pain (w/ Paul Ellering, Scarlett, and Karrion Kross) defeated New Catch Republic
Akam and Rezar hit a double-team move on Pete Dunne. Akam scores the pinfall victory for his team.

A video package plays recapping the ongoing feud between The Bloodline, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens. Paul Heyman enters Nick Aldis’ office and asks if he got his memo. Aldis says he did, and the request is denied. Aldis says he will not be pulling KO and Orton out of the match at Backlash, and he wants to know why he would do that. Paul Heyman says he’s trying to save Orton and KO. Heyman says what happens tomorrow is on Aldis’ head.

Aldis questions if that order came from The Tribal Chief. being in charge and being in control. Heyman says he hasn’t spoken to Roman Reigns since WrestleMania. Nick Aldis questions if he didn’t talk to him how could he pull himself from the WWE Draft.
Heyman says he was the one who pulled Reigns from the WWE Draft to save him from what’s going on with The Bloodline right now. Aldis says if he wants to pull Reigns out of the Draft he can try to pull KO and Orton out of Backlash up next on the RKO Show.

After the commercial break, the ring is set up for the RKO Show. Randy Orton comes to the ring and is followed by Kevin Owens. Owens speaks to the crowd in French and they love it. Orton says normally KO would have to talk him into a show like this but these people in the crowd are so freaking amazing. Orton says it also didn’t take a lot of convincing for him to team up with his friend Kevin Owens to beat up The Bloodline on Saturday at Backlash.
Kevin Owens says he knows that Orton isn’t thrilled about them having a guest, but they kept calling and calling him, and he finally answered the phone for Heyman, who said he had something very important to tell them. KO asked Orton if he wanted to introduce him, Orton says he’d rather introduce him to the three most dangerous letters in professional wrestling…RKO!
Paul Heyman comes out and introduces himself. Heyman says he’s out there with respect, admiration, and a message. Heyman remains on the ring apron so Orton can’t hit him with an RKO and says there will be no RKOs this evening. Orton says he begs to differ. Owens asks Heyman what it is that he wants.
Heyman says he’s come out for a very simple reason. He says he has great respect for both men and that when they stepped into the ring with Roman Reigns, it was about competition, but the rules with Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga are much different. Heyman asks them to back out of the match.
Orton says the biggest piece of trash in the industry is out here asking them to step out of a match. Owens says everything in Heyman’s life is falling apart right now. Orton asks Heyman who the real Tribal Chief is. Heyman says Orton has put him in a bad position. Heyman says the whole world knows there is only one Tribal Chief. Sikoa and Tonga show up and attack Orton and KO from behind.
The brawl is eventually separated by referees and security before anything crazy can happen. Orton responds by beating up security. Owens follows that up and takes out a bunch of security as well as they stand tall in the ring as Sikoa and Tonga retreat.

The Street Profits are backstage and hyping up their match with A-Town Down Under later tonight, making it clear that they want the smoke.

LA Knight defeated Angel (w/ Legado del Fantasmo)
LA Knight hits Angel with the BFT to win the match by pinfall.
Knight gets a microphone to speak after the match. LA Knight says all around the world, it’s the same song, another SmackDown, another dummy dropped on their heads the hard way. Knight says if he wants to be cliche, he would say it’s his ring. Instead, he’s going to make it his ring, and he officially enters the King of the Ring.
Santos Escobar interrupts and says it’s impressive that Knight keeps talking and talking. Escobar says at King of the Ring, while he’s busy running his mouth, he’ll be busy winning. Knight says he couldn’t hear anything he said over the crowd chanting that sucked. Knight says he’s gonna keep talking because when he stops talking Escobar is gonna get stomped out. LA reminds Escobar whose game it is and throws the microphone at him before leaving the ring.

Byron Saxton is backstage with Carlito and asks him why he attacked Dragon Lee. Carlito says he’s been gone from WWE for a long time and all he wanted was his WrestleMania moment. He says when Rey Mysterio challenged Legado at WrestleMania he thought he would make the right choice and pick him.
But Mysterio picked Dragon Lee instead, who was in the group for five minutes; that’s not cool. Carlito says it was the perfect plan, but before he could finish, Dragon Lee attacked him backstage, and the two men were quickly separated.

A-Town Down Under defeated The Street Profits to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
Grayson Waller gets involved with the referee’s back turned and hits Angelo Dawkins with the rolling Flatliner, allowing Austin Theory to score the pinfall victory for his team.

Corey Graves and Wade Barrett say that there will be an announcement on social media tomorrow regarding WrestleMania. This would likely be the location for WrestleMania 41.

AJ Styles comes to the ring for his face-to-face with Cody Rhodes ahead of WWE Backlash tomorrow. Cody Rhodes comes to the ring following the commercial break.
Rhodes asks the crowd what they want to talk about in French. Styles says he doesn’t care what they want to talk about, Cody is in the ring with The Phenomenal AJ Styles. Styles says it doesn’t seem like Cody is focused. Rhodes says if he’s looking for his absolute focus, he has it. Rhodes says he grew up watching him. Styles says he doesn’t need to hear that crap, he might be older than him, but he’s still in his prime.
Rhodes says that’s not what he meant. Styles says he didn’t have to and says these are the most disrespectful fans he’s ever been in front of and that’s why they never come here. Styles says everyone wanted Rhodes to be champion, including WWE, and they welcomed him with open arms. AJ says Rhodes loved it here until it got too hard on him, and he decided to leave.
Styles says he was kept out of WWE for years, and when he finally got there, he wasn’t welcome like Cody. Styles says he had to climb to the top of the company all by himself. AJ says he didn’t have a whole bunch of WWE Hall of Famers around to help him win the title like Cody did at WrestleMania. Styles says he’s beaten all of the people who helped Cody.
AJ Styles says he’s going to win the title tomorrow and show everyone why he’s phenomenal. Cody asks Styles who he is trying to convince, he has never taken away from his accomplishments. Rhodes says tomorrow he’s not looking at Styles as phenomenal; he’s looking at him as his first, and that’s too sweet. Styles puts up the Bullet Club hand gesture and slaps Rhodes across the face before leaving the ring.

The camera cuts backstage to The Bloodline, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens brawling with each other at WWE SmackDown goes off the air.