WWE Friday Night SmackDown Review: 15/05

Trick Williams’ Homecoming, Trick Williams VS The Miz

This week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown kicked off with a special homecoming for Colombia, South Carolina’s own, Trick Williams! The crowd were absolutely insane, living off every step and word that Trick took, with the United States Champion highlighting a bunch of different places in the area! Williams then brought up his family, who were sitting in the front row, before The Miz and Kit Wilson interrupted as The Miz wasn’t happy with Williams making the WWE look like a joke! Kit Wilson then read out a poem, before Lil Yachty gave one back, resulting in Miz challenging Trick to a match! That then led nicely into the opening match of the night, a contest that I thought was very decent! It was much giving “house show” vibes, with the Babyface easily outperforming the Heel, whilst Yachty also dealt with Kit on the outside, smashing the Brit with a kendo stick! This then led perfectly into Trick Williams nailing Miz with a Trick Shot to get the win, and yeah, this was both simple and effective booking!

Credit: WWE

Grade: B-

Brie Bella and Paige VS Giulia and Kiana James, Cody Rhodes Calls Out Gunther, Carmelo Hayes VS Ricky Saints

Carmelo Hayes was finally back on WWE Television, stating that he wants his United States Championship back, but first, he’ll have to go through Ricky Saints! Sami Zayn was then losing his mind at Nick Aldis for not giving him another US Title rematch, whilst Rey Fenix feels like Sami has changed! After The Irresistible Forces then said that they’re going to reclaim the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at next weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, before the current Champions, Brie Bella and Paige, took on the pairing of Giulia and Kiana James! This was a hard watch, with a lot of scrappy moments taking place! The WWE Women’s Tag Team Division was good for all about 3 weeks, because this is almost unwatchable! Giulia is literally one of the best wrestlers in this entire company, and she’s being used in pointless Tag matches, trying to make up for others’ lack of talent! I’m losing my mind! Oh, and Paige eventually got the win with a RamPaige to Kiana James!

Grade: E

Chelsea Green is still trying to be friends with Tiffany Stratton, but that friendship is about as one-sided as they come, whilst Cody Rhodes was then in the ring setting things up to host a Contract Signing! That Contract Signing was for Gunther, who needed to sign both for SmackDown and for his Undisputed WWE Championship match at Clash in Italy! This brought out Gunther, who wasn’t at all impressed by Cody’s tone, with him refusing to sign the contract until Rhodes said “please”! This brought out Royce Keys, who made it clear that if Gunther wasn’t going to sign the contract, he would, and that’s one out of the John Cena playbook! However, Gunther stopped this from happening, with The Ring General being adamant that this was his match, something Nick Aldis no longer agrees with! Because of this, a match was set up between Gunther and Keys for the show’s Main Event, with the winner earning their way to an Undisputed WWE Championship opportunity in Turin! This was a very odd segment!

Grade: C+

Solo Sikoa said that he and Talla Tonga are going to find Royce Keys, leaving an opening for Shinsuke Nakamura to once again get in the head of Tama Tonga! However, this backfired for Shin as he got put through a table by Talla Tonga! Gunther was then rightly peeved at Nick Aldis for going back on his word, before Carmelo Hayes finally returned to in-ring action when he faced SmackDown’s newest star, Ricky Saints! There are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between Carmelo Hayes and Ricky Saints; they’re both former NXT Champions, former NXT North American Champions, former Stand and Deliver Main Eventers, and they both faced Cody Rhodes in their big debut matches! However, the big distinction between these two is that 2026 Ricky Saints is not on the level that 2024 Carmelo Hayes was, but honestly, that might be exactly what Ricky needs! If the expectations are lower for Saints, he can thrive in the SmackDown midcard scene, something that took Hayes a while to master! The match itself delivered; it was really good, and that’s kind of what I mean when I say that both guys can be stars on this show; it just might take a little bit more time! The kick out that Carmelo pulled off after Ricky hit the Absolute DDT was incredible, and the ending was really clever as whilst the referee caught Saints putting his feet on the rope, he didn’t spot it when Melo did it to ultimately score the win! Melo knows how to win; we just need to see it more often!

Grade: B

Damian Priest VS Tama Tonga, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair VS Michin and B-Fab

R-Truth was trying to recruit Royce Keys into The New Judgment Day, whilst Damian Priest doesn’t seem to trust him! Danhausen was then back again in his lair, seemingly creating some sort of “Monsterhausen”, before Damian Priest was set to go one-on-one with Tama Tonga! After losing to Talla Tonga last week, Damian really needed to get some momentum back on his side, with the MFTs seemingly chasing after WWE Tag Team Gold again! This match was just kind of here, like it wasn’t that interesting at all, but it’s also not like the wrestling was bad by any means! However, there was an unfortunate moment where Priest slipped on the top rope, creating a rather awkward sequence that probably should’ve just been the end of the match! However, DP was able to kick out before he dropped Tama Tonga with a South of Heaven to score the W! I’m not sure that I want to see this feud continue!

Grade: C-

Sami Zayn was once again crashing out to Johnny Gargano, and whilst Candice LeRae is far from pleased, I think this story could go far! Jade Cargill then came out to cut a promo about how she’s going to recapture the WWE Women’s Championship from Rhea Ripley at Saturday Night’s Main Event, before Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair arrived to take on B-Fab and Michin! I said the Tag match earlier in the show was unwatchable, and whilst this was better than that, it still wasn’t great! The WWE Women’s Tag Team Division is incredibly weak, and why is Jade Cargill back so soon when Fatal Influence have been the ones feuding with Bliss, Flair, and Rhea Ripley? Anyway, after it looked like Alexa had the match won with a Sister Abigail, Cargill got involved to cause the DQ finish, something that later didn’t sit right with Bliss and Flair! Like they said later on, where on earth was Rhea Ripley?!

Grade: C-

Undisputed WWE Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match: Gunther VS Royce Keys

After a backstage promo for Fatal Influence, it was Main Event time on this week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown as Gunther and Royce Keys clashed in a Number 1 Contender’s match for the Undisputed WWE Championship! I enjoyed this match; I thought the intensity was strong, and I enjoyed seeing two beasts face off! This was also easily the best that Royce Keys has looked; he looked like a credible threat to Gunther, and that’s something you don’t get when you face smaller opponents! However, having said that, Keys is still not a match for Gunther right now, with The Ring General showcasing his class with multiple great moments! However, just when it looked like Royce was about to pass out, Solo Sikoa arrived, with him ultimately handing “his friend” a steel chair! However, Royce Keys wasn’t having any of this, taking Solo out with said chair, before Gunther took advantage with a Powerbomb to get the win! After the match was over, Cody Rhodes floored Gunther with a Cross Rhodes to stand tall!

Credit: WWE

Grade: B