WWE Friday Night SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Apr. 12, 2024) with a live show emanating from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, featuring all the fallout from the WrestleMania 40 extravaganza that went down this past weekend.
Advertised for tonight: Coming out of WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes is the new undisputed WWE Universal Champion and Bayley is the new WWE Women’s Champion. Both stars are set to appear on tonight’s episode.
Nothing else is specifically advertised for the show, but we’re sure to see plenty of the blue brand’s top stars like Bianca Belair, Randy Orton, LA Knight, Bobby Lashley, Solo Sikoa, and more!
Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on FOX. It will be below this line here. (Note: Links to illegal streams are prohibited. Pics and GIFs are allowed.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR APR. 12
I close off the madness, black out the unseen. All static I ignore, cease sending through the feed. Oh I thought I was clear that we would never coincide, you chose to gamble but I’m free to choose my side, and I choose to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with a recap of Cody Rhodes winning the WWE Undisputed Championship at WrestleMania XL.
Thence to the intro video.
“American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes makes his first entrance as WWE Undisputed Champion.
He gets on the mic and asks Detroit what they want to talk about. He talks Rock confronting him on Monday and about somebody he knows from Detroit and says that person would say “Who the hell told you tonight was open mic night, bitch?” and then apologizes for cursing.
He says he immediately knew the item Rock put his in hand, a wartime overture, uncomfortable and awkward, and tells him that when he comes back, as he said, he won’t have to look far because he will be standing right here. But that’s then and this is now, and in three weeks he’s going to fly to France for Backlash.
And there he’ll face one of the six men you’ll see tonight— Santos Escobar, Rey Mysterio, LA Knight, AJ Styles (who he notes is, like him, one of only four men to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship), Bobby Lashley, and of course, his friend, Kevin Owens.
It’s not lost on him that they’re very sold out tonight and he turns away from the hard cam so he can see everybody who came out tonight. He is no longer the hunter but the hunted, and he tells those six men that if you come at the king, you best not miss.
For those on SmackDown who claim to be unfamiliar with him, he’ll make it simple— Cody Rhodes, once undesirable, become undeniable, and now your WWE Undisputed Champion!
We see Bayley and the Latino World Order arriving at the arena separately.
The Bloodline (consisting of Paul Heyman, “Big” Jim Uso, and Solo Sikoa) roll up on what used to be Roman’s office with a “Cody Rhodes” sign on it. Kevin Owens walks past them and into the room.
Solo Sikoa says he’s going to take care of it, but Heyman stops him and says there are wins and losses and consequences and they lost and that means the champion’s dressing room isn’t theirs anymore, but they’re gonna get back there, and that’s an order from the Tribal Chief.
LA Knight makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a media hype reel for WrestleMania XL.
Bobby Lashley vs. LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar (WWE Undisputed Championship #1 Contender’s Tournament Semifinals)
Escobar bails, Knight with a schoolboy nearfall, Lashley passes him to the floor and then biels Santos back inside! LA pulls Bob to the floor, trading punches, Escobar off the ropes with a suicide dive to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Lashley sets Escobar up top, staggering right hands, climbing up with him, jockeying for position, Santos knocks him down but Knight runs in, Bob underneath... TOWER OF DOOM! Lashley with a nearfall off it, LA nearfalls him with a crucifix driver, enzuigiri from Escobar!
Double knees on Bob in the corner, a set for Knight as well but he slips out of a fireman’s carry and follows it with a powerslam and a People’s Elbow! Fired up, but Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo hit the ring to beat LA down! Triple powerbomb connects, Garza and Carrillo beat Bob down but the Street Profits make the save!
The tag teams equalize each other, Santos with a schoolboy, Bob kicks out! Big reverse STO on Escobar, laying in wait, Santos passes him into the corner but LA is ready...
LA Knight wins by pinfall with the BFT.
Backstage, Rey Mysterio and the LWO are interviewed.
Rey says Santos losing was karma, plain and simple, and Carlito says he is, like the kids say, all cap. Mysterio says the truth eventually surfaces, but his focus is on Kevin Owens and AJ Styles tonight, and he truly believes he has another run as WWE Champion in him.
The Bloodline make their entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial we get a WrestleMania XL hype reel.
Paul Heyman and what’s left of the Bloodline are in the ring together.
He says tonight, by orders of the Tribal Chief, they offer no excuses for WrestleMania. They don’t blame John Cena, the Undertaker, or even Jey Uso. Accountability is a very big word on the island of relevancy, and Roman Reigns has ordered that they accept accountability.
He talks about how Roman could have smashed Cody Rhodes with a chair instead he focused on getting revenge on Seth Rollins for breaking the Shield and he took his eye off the ball to indulge in that revenge.
Solo Sikoa cuts him off and says if winning and losing matters, and there’s consequences to losing, that means consequences lead to change, and he pushes Paul aside to stare Jim Uso down. Solo embraces his brother and tells him he’s his brother and he loves him, and Jim returns that love. Sikoa turns aside and a hooded man attacks... IT’S TAMA TONGA!
TAMA TONGA BEATS JIM USO DOWN! Solo pulls him aside and their throw their ones up! Paul goes to call Roman and Solo takes his phone and smashes it under his foot! Solo and Tama are running the show now! Sikoa horsecollars Jim with a chair and tells him he loves him again... ODE TO RIKISHI PILLMANIZES THE NECK!
The new-and-improved Bloodline leave up the ramp with a white-faced and nervous Paul Heyman dragging behind, and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of what we just saw, because to be fair it’s pretty monumental.
Bron Breakker vs. Cameron Grimes
Breakker with German suplexes, Grimes with a side headlock, blocked, land on his feet off a back suplex, O’Connor roll denied, Bron off the ropes and he freight trains him with a lariat! Hoist him up...
Bron Breakker wins by pinfall with the powerslam.
Bayley is shown walking backstage to send us to break.
Back from commercial, AJ Styles says this isn’t just another match, it’s a chance to right the wrong of WrestleMania and he will demolish everything to prove a point.
Bayley makes her entrance as WWE Women’s Champion and gets on the mic.
She soaks in “You deserve it!” chants and says they feel good, and this time was different, and not just because she had to beat someone she thought was a friend, but this title represents a new era and a more talented locker room than she’s ever been part of.
She thanks the fans for never giving up on her, and—
Enter Tiffany Stratton.
She says Bayley is clearly building to some kind of open challenge and she accepts, because it’s Tiffy time.
Bayley is embarrassed for her and it’s nice to meet her but she wasn’t going to offer an open challenge and she kind of was planning on having Naomi be her first challenger, so... Tiffany says Naomi couldn’t win a title if it glowed, so of course—
Enter Naomi.
Tiffany says they were in the middle of something and she already beat Naomi anyway. Naomi takes her lime green fur coat off and says Stratton is trying her on the wrong night. Sure she beat her before but she’s earned everything she’s gotten in WWE so far and she’s not stopping now.
So she’s not going to accept Bayley’s offer because she wants to fight Tiffany first, right here, right now.
But first we go to break.
Back from commercial, Kayla Braxton is waiting in front of the trainer’s room for an update on “Big” Jim Uso.
Paul Heyman exits the room and she asks if Jim is okay, but before he can answer, Tama Tonga rolls up and stares Heyman down and says that by orders of the Tribal Chief, and Solo Sikoa finishes his sentence by sticking his thumb out. And Heyman, reasonably, asks what the hell that’s supposed to mean.
Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton
Match joined in progress, tijeras from Naomi, only two! Chest kick, elbow drop, only two! Wristlock, stepover armbreaker, working her over, top wristlock applied but Tiffany rams her into the corner! Lariats and shoulder thrusts, Naomi comes back with a rising knee and a nearfall!
Whip reversed, headscissors butt shake, hip attack, Stratton bails to the floor and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Naomi with a back elbow, big crossbodies, springboard roundhouse kick connects! Hesitation dropkick follows, low enzuigiri, inverted surfboard stomp, she drags Stratton into position, splits leg drop for two! Waistlock, O’Connor roll denied, double stomp from Tiffany... NOPE!
Wristlock, fireman’s carry, Naomi slips out, whip reversed, headscissors countered into an Alabama Slam! Prettiest Moonsault Ever, nobody home, double leg...
Naomi wins by pinfall with a jackknife pin.
A-Town Down Under cut a promo crowing about their winning the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship.
Backstage, Street Profits and New Catch Republic are watching that promo along with general manager Nick Aldis, who says they’ll find the tag champs a challenger next week.
We see Rey Mysterio getting ready and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Logan Paul cuts a promo to his phone at home crowing about how he retained the WWE United States Championship at WrestleMania.
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
Belair and Niven, Piper slams her, cannonball in the corner, tags made, Green runs away from Cargill but eats a spinebuster, a kick, Jade makes short work of her...
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill win by pinfall with Jaded from Cargill on Chelsea Green.
Kevin Owens is interviewed backstage.
He asks if Byron Saxton has seen the cool camera shots where they follow a guy these last couple weeks and says he wants to try them and borrows his microphone. He takes one of the sports title belts because he likes tigers and cuts a promo as he walks in one long camera shot.
He says he and Rey have things in common, like having sons that are taller than they are, but his son is cool and good and Dominik sucks. But he and AJ Styles are standing in his way and he’s going to kick both their asses. He gives Jamie Noble the mic and tells Bruce Pritchard to hit his music and he makes his entrance as we go to break.
AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE Undisputed Championship #1 Contender’s Tournament Semifinals)
Mysterio gets Styles on the second, Owens takes him off it, passes Rey to the floor, AJ with a fireman’s carry takeover into the apron! KO with chops, whip across, cannonball off the apron, Mysterio dives, and we go to break!
Back from commercial, whip reversed, Mysterio with a boot up in the ropes, Styles with an elbow to KO, suplexing Rey into doing a DDT on Kev and then a tijeras on AJ, only two! 619 countered into an ushigoroshi, back suplex facebuster on Owens, only a nearfall!
Mysterio sends Styles to the floor, climbs up with KO, jockeying for position but Kevin hits the avalanche fisherman buster... SO CLOSE! AJ wants the moonsault DDT, Owens sidesteps, superkick, pop-up powerbomb countered with the Pele kick! Rey takes AJ out with a crossbody, wheelbarrow maneuver blocked and Owens German suplexes both of them!
619 connects, KO hits a Stunner on Rey, goes up top... KNEES UP ON THE SENTON ATOMICO! Styles moves Owens into position, Mysterio cuts him off with palm strikes, AJ gets him... AVALANCHE STYLES CLASH PUTS REY INTO KEVIN OWENS! IT’S OVER!
AJ Styles wins by pinfall with an avalanche Styles Clash.
Post-match, LA Knight comes to the ring to square off ahead of their #1 contender’s match next week.
That’s the show, folks.
