WWE Friday Night SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (May 16, 2025) with a live show emanating from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Money in the Bank premium live event scheduled for early next month in Inglewood.
Advertised for tonight: WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton puts her title on the line against Nia Jax.
Plus, Money in the Bank qualifiers get underway in the form of two triple threat matches, one in the women’s division (Chelsea Green vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Michin) and one on the men’s side (Jimmy Uso vs. Rey Fenix vs. Solo Sikoa), and a whole lot more!
Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA Network. 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 MAY 16
I wander through the streets at night, lost and cold, alone. Bloody visions fill my dreams, my heart is like a stone. A stranger comes out of the mist, beckons to call me near. He leads me down the path of liveblogging this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with the usual montage of talent arriving at the arena.
A recap of Backlash from last weekend follows.
Solo Sikoa, “Samoan Werewolf” Jacob Fatu, and Jeff Cobb make their entrance together.
Sikoa gets on the mic and asks the crowd to help him welcome the man who helped keep the United States Championship in the family, JC. When Cody Rhodes beat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, he ruined everything for the family, and they lost everything, but now he’s here to take it all back.
And the next step is him getting into a qualifier for Money in the Bank, and they better get in where they fit in, because he’s all g— Fatu yanks the microphone out of Solo’s hands and says he wants to keep it 100, don’t ever get it twisted, he told us he was bringing the US title to the family and he said he’d do it with him or without him.
If anybody gets in his way, line ‘em up and he’ll deal with ‘em all by himself, because at the end of the day, Jacob Fatu is all gas, no brakes. Sikoa cuts him off while he’s doing the Julius Smokes machine gun tongue thing and says everybody knows what he means and Jacob has to understand he’s doing all this out of love and to help him.
Look at his shoulder, the title is proof of his love. But there’s something Fatu needs to hear from him, remember when he used to say loud and proud that loved him every minute of the day, how was that? Jacob tells him he loves him, significantly less boisterously than he used to. Solo wants him to do it right and spins him around by his shoulder to demand it.
Before the Werewolf can respond, LA Knight’s music hits and he does a hit and run from behind, leaving the erstwhile Bloodline discombobulated in his wake.
B-FAB and “Michin” Mia Yim are talking up one of them winning Money in the Bank but Chelsea Green rolls up to say nuh-uh, she’s gonna win and her economic policy will lower interest rates for the Secret Hervice.
Alexa Bliss walks by and starts at Green, making her jump. Michin points out that she’s in the match too and the Hervice is banned from ringside, and Chelsea threatens ot levy tariffs on her, which a) ugh and b) that is NOT how that works, lady.
Bliss makes her entrance and we go to break.
Alexa Bliss vs. Chelsea Green vs. “Michin” Mia Yim (Money in the Bank Qualifying Match)
Yim sends Green to the floor with a kick, collar and elbow with Bliss, side headlock takeover, reversed on the mat, shot off, Alexa slips out, drop down trips Chelsea up as she comes back and Michin sends her packing with a dropkick! Trading pinning predicaments, again Green gets kicked out of the ring and then both women blast her with stereo wrecking ball dropkicks!
To the floor, Mia throws Chelsea back inside but Alexa trips her up! Yim returns the favor, Green off the ropes and she dives on both of ‘em to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Yim with a Pele kick, stacking both opponents seated in the corner, a lil twerk for show and then a cannonball senton! Folding press on Bliss, only two! Lateral press for Green, still no! Green ducks and covers, Michin blasts Alexa with a kick, both she and Chelsea go for big boots at the same time and knock each other out!
Alexa with a dropkick, fired up, off the ropes but Mia nails her with a heel kick outta nowhere! Sole Food on Green… BLISS BREAKS IT UP! Alexa with a satellite DDT on Michin, she goes up top, Twisted Bliss… CHELSEA BREAKS IT UP! Underhooks on Yim, Killswitch connects but Alexa pulls Mia out of the ring!
Bliss hooks her…
Alexa Bliss wins by pinfall with the Sister Abigail DDT on Chelsea Green, qualifying for the Money in the Bank ladder match.
Fraxiom make their entrance and we go to break.
#DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer)
Ciampa and Axiom to start, Tom working a wristlock, reversed, dropkick, tag to Frazer! Head of steam, kick sends Ciampa to the floor, Gargano runs in and gets sent packing with stereo dropkicks! Nathan dives on Tom, Axiom on John, again and Ciampa goes over the barricade and into the crowd!
Another dropkick from Axiom on Gargano, Frazer throws Tommaso back inside, tag to Axiom! Roll through, duck under, John pulls the rope out from under Axiom and Ciampa blasts him to the floor with a knee! Tag to Gargano, running knee, back inside and Johnny slams him into the ropes and poses to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Frazer gets the tag and comes in a house afire! Phoenix Splash, nobody home, roll through, superkick cuts Frazer off, tag make, superkick-assisted Fairytale Ending… AXIOM BREAKS IT UP! Project Ciampa… SO CLOSE! Nathan and John jockeying for position up top, blind tag, superplex, Chasing the Dragon… TOM BREAKS IT UP WITH A KNEE TREMBLER!
Back and forth, Axiom with a grounded Cobra Twist on Gargano, Ciampa tears at his mask, Frazer breaks it up! Axiom counters a pin…
Fraxiom win by pinfall with a rana pin from Axiom on Johnny Gargano.
Post-match, DIY attack Fraxiom and Ciampa goes right back to tearing at Axiom’s mask— MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS MAKE THE SAVE!
Backstage, Rey Fenix is working out when Andrade el Idolo rolls up.
Fenix thanks him for last week and says they did a great job, and Andrade says maybe they’ll see each other at Money in the Bank. Rey says he had his WrestleMania moment and failed, but his next moment is Money in the Bank.
Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, and Jeff Cobb roll up looking for LA Knight, but the luchadors have no answers for them.
We see Nia Jax warming up backstage to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Street Profits roll up to compliment Fraxiom on their big win and inform them that Nick Aldis has granted them a tag title match next week. They all shake hands about it and the Profits say they’ll be 100% and hopefully Fraxiom will be too!
Profits leave and Nathan is excited about speedrunning the tag titles and “all” they have to do is beat the champs!
Wade Barrett does a sitdown interview with R-Truth.
Truth explains that John Cena has always been there for him, saying “never give up” when he wanted to quit, saying “your time is now” when he thought his time would never come. Hustle, loyalty, and respect aren’t just words, they’re a beacon of light, and if John Cena did it, so can you.
Barrett says he sounds crazy and points out Cena repaid him for helping him win the match by FUing him through a table. Truth says John won the match by himself and the guy that put him through a table wasn’t John Cena, because he would never do that. He doesn’t want to fight John but if he has to beat him back to his sense, then he’ll do it.
He already talked to Nick Aldis and it’s set for Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Aleister Black makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Damian Priest cuts a promo on Drew McIntyre, saying they’ll sabotage each other until they destroy everything.
He’s banged up, frustrated, and pissed off at himself for getting stuck in the vortex of Drew’s petty, vindictive, childish bullshit. At Saturday Night’s Main Event, he wants Drew to hurt real bad, to feel real pain, to bash his face in so bad that the hospital will need his dental records to identify him.
He wants a steel cage match.
Carmelo Hayes cuts the Miz off and says he has this. Aleister Black’s name makes him sick and not taking his head off when he could was a big mistake. It’s the playoffs now, and he’s not stopping until he wins. He’s the 10th wonder of the world, he’s HIM.
We’re told that Miz is the host of the new American Gladiators reboot, which sure okay I guess.
Aleister Black vs. Carmelo Hayes
Hayes with a side headlock, into the ropes, Black turns him around and Carmelo breaks dirty with a slap! Off the ropes, arm drag into a wristlock, shoulder lbock, trading heel trips, stereo kip-ups! Looking for Black Mass but Hayes scrambles away! Superkick caught, Al pulls him in and eats a back elbow, whip reversed, springboard and Melo eats a boot!
Miz runs interference, Orihara moonsault comes up empty and Hayes dives on Black and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Black knocks Hayes to the floor with a boot! Aleister on a roll, Orihara moonsault connects, back inside, waistlock, Carmelo reverses to a victory roll for two! Superkick from Black, Hayes gets him with La Mistica, Al floats over a brainbuster, sunset flip for two! Boot up in the corner, Black lands a knee and then a Meteora!
Roundhouse kick, bridging German suplex… NOPE! Miz runs interference, Melo with a schoolboy, no deal! Knee gets La Mistica, this time the Final Cut connects… AL BLACK KICKS OUT! Back and forth, Aleister kicks out, back elbow, striking away, Hayes cuts him off but he Black blasts him with a knee!
Black gets a foot under Melo’s chin— MIZ RUNS IN AND ATTACKS HIM!
Aleister Black wins by disqualification.
Post-match, Miz with a full nelson, Al slips out and hits Black Mass! Carmelo lays Black out, off the top… NOTHING BUT NET!
Alexa Bliss is walking backstage when Byron Saxton rolls up to interview her.
She says her goal is to be the first two-time women’s Money in the Bank holder, but she gets distracted and walks off.
We follow her to Charlotte Flair, whose jeans appear to have exploded and recombined themselves into a bustier.
Alexa wants to help her, Flair says they’re not friends, Bliss says when she first came to NXT Charlotte was decent to her and she hasn’t forgotten. Flair says she doesn’t remember that and then Giulia comes out of Nick Aldis’ office.
Aldis follows and announces Giulia as the newest member of the SmackDown roster, and now he’s gonna talk to Charlotte. Flair says if Alexa wants to help she should stay out of her way, because she doesn’t need her.
Drew McIntyre is shown walking backstage to send us to break.
Back from commercial we get a hype reel for Tiffany Stratton’s meteoric rise to the tiffy top.
Drew McIntyre makes his entrance and gets on the mic.
He says the only accurate statement Damian Priest made in that whole video was how much violence they’ve done to each other. The so-called Drew McIntyre vortex is the only reason anyone gives a damn about Priest! He’s been trying to get rid of him for months and months, beat him again and again, and still Damian is in his business.
It got to the point he was concerned Priest might want to wear his skin to a birthday party, but he realized it all comes down to jealousy. He genuinely believes Damian is willing to kill him because he was willing to chokeslam him off a 15-foot platform, putting his head into concrete!
This has to end, and he’ll see Priest inside of that cage. He’ll make a guarantee, because when Drew McIntyre makes a guarantee it happens— only one man will walk out of the cage, the other will leave on a stretcher.
Commentary hypes up the Saturday Night’s Main Event Card.
As Drew McIntyre goes to leave, he runs into Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, and Jeff Cobb, who is inexplicably introduced as “JC Mateo” and I hate it.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, “Big” Jim Uso walks and talks about how he’s Big Jim and he’s gonna have a big win.
“Big” Jim Uso vs. Rey Fenix vs. Solo Sikoa (Money in the Bank Qualifying Match)
Sikoa gets sent to the floor, Fenix and Uso into it, front kick gets an enzuigiri, Rey rolls through, Hurricanrana for two! Duck a lariat from Big Jim, looking for an octopus hold, can’t get all of it, chops send Uso into the corner. Jim gets a head of steam going, Solo pulls his brother out of the ring and smashes his face into the announce desk a few times!
Solo back up on the apron, Fenix blasts him with a superkick and then takes ‘em both out with a plancha! Back inside, Rey springboards and gets caught by Spinning Solo! Sikoa blasts Big Jim off the apron, follows out after him and Rock Bottoms him into the announce desk as we go to break!
Back from commercial, referee Charles Robinson is completely asleep on a victory roll pin from Fenix on Sikoa! Solo rolls out, Rey springboards, Jim cuts him off with a superkick but Sikoa returns and takes Uso out! Samoan drop follows, Uso with a superkick, accidental pin and Jim has to run over and break it up!
Uso and Fenix trading shots, Big Jim with an enzuigiri, Rey slips out, big dropkick, GOODBYE AMIGO! Rey charges in, Uso catches him with a spear… SO CLOSE! Samoan Spike sends Uso packing off the apron… GOODBYE AMIGO! Fenix knocks JC off the apron but turns around to see Solo…
Solo Sikoa wins by pinfall with the Samoan Spike on Rey Fenix, qualifying for the Money in the Bank ladder match.
Post-match, LA Knight shows up and gets his licks in before standing on the announce desk, steel chair in hand to fend off the various islanders!
Nick Aldis arrives to sort things out and says JC Mateo and LA Knight are gonna settle it in the ring… RIGHT NOW!
Or at least after the break.
JC Mateo vs. LA Knight
Collar and elbow, Mateo shoves him away, Knight with a go-behind, standing switch, big tossing takedown from JC! Waistlock, standing switch, stomp to LA’s midsection! Off the ropes, Knight with a crossbody, caught, he floats over and hits a neckbreaker to salvage the situation but it’s only good for one!
Mounted punches in the corner, Mateo grabs a waistlock, LA slips out but gets clobbered with a right hand! Action to the floor, JC leaves Knight laying and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Mateo with overhead elbows, huge tossing belly-to-belly suplex, cover for two! Rights and lefts, grinding Knight down with a waistlock, leaning on him, grinding him into the mat, suffocating him, and finally throwing him out of the ring! Back inside, turning jabs, LA shoves him into the turnbuckles and lands a neckbreaker!
Side Russian legsweep, whip reversed, Knight snaps off a DDT! Action to the floor, big springboard turning crossbody from LA to take out Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu! Back inside, JC catches him…
JC Mateo wins by pinfall with Tour of the Islands.
We get a recap of Humberto Carrillo snapping last week.
Angel Garza pleads to Santos Escobar that his cousin just needs space. Santos says he’s worried about him listening to the wrong people but he’s willing to forgive what happened because he sees an opportunity to make a statement on the horizon, but he needs Garza to bring Carrillo home.
He calls an invite to a sit-down dinner party, on him, and Angel says he’s gonna try his best but he can’t promise, and Escobar tells him loyalty is the one thing he’s always had from him and it’d be a shame to lose that over one selfish person.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Shinsuke Nakamura cuts a promo calling both LA Knight and Aleister Black out and says he’s going to beat both of them in a Money in the Bank qualifying match next week.
Tiffany Stratton runs into Jade Cargill backstage.
She says it doesn’t matter who wins because she’s winning her qualifier and winning Money in the Bank and cashing in to win same as Tiffany did. Stratton says for as long as she’s champion, Jade will never be good enough to cash in on her.
And so we go to break.
Nia Jax vs. Tiffany Stratton (c) (WWE Women’s Championship)
Feeling out, dropkick from Stratton, Jax freight trains her in response, back handspring caught and Nia hangs her over the ropes! Hanging Tiffany over the middle rope, Jax blasts her with a hip attack that bounces her head off the ringpost and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Jax in control but Stratton turns things around! To the floor, Nia throws her over the timekeeper’s barricade, Tiffany springboards off the barricade and Frankensteiners Jax into the post! Passing her head into the post a second time, diving crossbody… SO CLOSE!
Back inside, Samoan drop and a senton from the challenger… STILL NO! Handspring back elbow and a spinebuster from the champ… NOPE! Cartwheel countered to a powerbomb, pulling Tiffany back up, a Liger Bomb, off the ropes with the leg drop… STRATTON KICKS OUT! Up top and jockeying for position, Tiffany lands an avalanche crossbody!
Naomi makes her entrance, chair in hand, she gets on the apron… JADE CARGILL EVENS THE ODDS! Cargill ducks the chair and blasts her with a boot before throwing her over the barricade and chasing her off into the crowd! Tiffany takes control, Prettiest Moonsault Ever… JAX KICKS OUT?!
Nia shoves her out to the floor and clears the announce desk! SAMOAN DROP ONTO THE DESK! Back inside, Banzai Drop… STRATTON GETS A HAND ON THE ROPES! Nia apoplectic, she decides she’s just gonna walk out with the title but referee Ryan Tran reminds her she can’t win like that! Jax grabs a chair, Tiffany dropkicks it into her face while Tran is busy disposing of the belt…
Tiffany Stratton wins by pinfall with Prettiest Moonsault Ever, retaining the WWE Women’s Championship.
That’s the show, folks.
