WWE Friday Night Smackdown Live Coverage - May 31st, 2024

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The Coronation of WWE's new Queen of the Ring, Nia Jax

The road to WWE Clash At The Castle: Scotland continues tonight. WWE Friday Night SmackDown returns to the MVP Arena in Albany, New York. On tap for tonight's two-hour WWE on FOX blue brand prime time program is The Bloodline vs. The Street Profits, Andrade vs. Apollo Crews, the 2024 WWE Queen Of The Ring Coronation of Nia Jax, an appearance by Cody Rhodes and more.


:smackdown:

– The show opens with shots of The Bloodline, The Street Profits and others arriving to the MVP Arena today for the show.

– After that, we see a video package recapping the finals of the 2024 WWE King and Queen of the Ring tournaments from the WWE premium live event from this past weekend in Saudi Arabia, we shoot live inside the MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y. where Corey Graves and Wade Barrett welcome us to the show.

– We see the red carpet laid out inside the ring, where SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis is standing. He introduces the 2024 WWE Queen Of The Ring Nia Jax. Out she comes to kick off this week's show with her advertised Queen Of The Ring Coronation.

Nia settles in the ring, Aldis congratulates her and tells her "the floor is yours." The crowd boos the crap out of her as she takes her crown off the podium in the center of the ring, and puts it on. The fans chant "You suck! You suck!" She begins, "Let's get the facts straight." Her first fact is that she is our Queen of the Ring.

It's also a fact that as our Queen of the Ring, she has earned a shot at the women's title at WWE SummerSlam 2024. She tells Bayley that her queen is demanding her presence in her ring right now. The theme for Bayley hits and out comes the WWE Women's Champion to the ring with a microphone in-hand.

As she nears the ringside area, Bayley is ambush-attacked from behind by Piper Niven and Chelsea Green. Barrett points out on commentary that for the second week in a row, Niven has flattened Bayley. The two continue to beat down the champ before rolling her into the ring as the Queen of the Ring watches the assault continue.

Chelsea gets on the mic and tells Nia she doesn't have to worry about facing Bayley, because by the time SummerSlam rolls around, she'll be facing the new WWE Women's Champion Piper Niven. Nia says she doesn't care who the champion is because she's going to annihilate her regardless. She drops the mic and walks off to end the segment.

T– he segment wraps up, and then we see SmackDown G.M. Nick Aldis walking backstage, as the latest QR code production glitch flashes across the screen. Aldis walks into his office and sees AJ Styles dressed to the nines. He looks down and talks to him sincerely about needing the opportunity to have some time in the ring.

Aldis asks if there's something he wants to tell him. Styles says it's going to be hard enough to say it once. Aldis says he understands and tells Styles he's got his time later in the show. Styles walks off to end the brief backstage segment.

– Back inside the MVP Arena, we hear DIY's entrance music and out comes Tommaso Ciampa with Johnny Gargano by his side for our first scheduled match of the evening. As he settles inside the squared circle, we shift gears and head into our first pre-match commercial break of the show.

– When we return, we see Bayley in the doctors room being checked on after the attack at the top of the show. In walks Naomi to check on her. After making sure she's alright, she reminds her she's got her back and heads off to find Nick Aldis to talk to him about making a match for tonight.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Austin Theory

From there, we return in the arena where the A-Town Down theme hits and out comes the WWE Tag-Team Championship A-Town Down Under duo of Austin Theory and Grayson Waller. As the two settle in the ring for the Theory-Ciampa bout, we see the digital exclusive segment earlier today that led to this match being made.

The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running. The two immediately lock up. Theory muscles Ciampa into the corner and gives him a clean break, but only to back up and double biceps pose in his face in arrogant fashion. Ciampa fires away at him and takes control of the early offensive lead in the bout.

Ciampa is distracted by Waller, leading to Theory taking over control of the action. The fans boo as he goes to work on Ciampa with back-elbows in the corner. Theory focuses the attack on the neck of Ciampa. He hits a big spot on the apron to the floor that has Ciampa clutching at his neck and writhing in pain as we head into a mid-match commercial break.

When we return from the break, we see some more back-and-forth action before the two each hit a big boot at the same time. Moments later, we see Ciampa land a big knee off the ropes. The two are slow to recover and when they do, we see Theory and Waller talking on the apron. The distraction allows Ciampa to roll Theory up from behind for the win.

Winner: Austin Theory

– Backstage, we see Nick Aldis talking with Blair Davenport about coming to SmackDown from NXT, when in walks Naomi. Naomi and Davenport don't hit it off and have words.

Davenport walks off and Aldis tells Naomi it will be she and Bayley taking on Chelsea Green and Piper Niven tonight. After that, LA Knight comes in and wants to talk to Aldis about Logan Paul. They sit down to chat as we shift gears and head into another commercial break.

– As we return from the break, a graphic airs promoting AJ Styles addressing his future later tonight. Barrett talks as if Styles could be retiring, although the talk on social media suggests otherwise. They also acknowledge the rumors and buzz on social media about AJ Styles wanting some time to talk about some things later tonight.

– After this, we see footage from the WWE King And Queen Of The Ring 2024 main event from this past Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which saw Cody Rhodes successfully defeat Logan Paul to retain his WWE Universal Championship.

– After the "Progressive Match Flo" segment of the week wraps up, we see Kayla Braxton catch up with LA Knight backstage. Knight is asked about his talk with Aldis about Logan Paul. Aldis says nothing much came from it because Logan isn't here tonight. He says he'll talk to her next week and pretends to walk off, but comes back and says he's here tonight.

He says he wants the U.S. Championship, but before he can say anything else, Carmelo Hayes appears and cuts him off. Hayes says LA Knight is always doing a lot of talking, but never actually saying anything. He says if he ever wants to stop just talking the talk, and wants to start walking the walk, "I Am Him." Hayes walks off to end the backstage segment.

Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

Inside the arena, Apollo Crews is in the ring for our next match of the evening. The theme for Andrade hits and out he comes in his entrance mask with hood up. He takes the mask off and proceeds to make his way to the ring. As he settles inside the squared circle, we see split-screen footage from earlier today of Andrade turning down an offer from Legado Del Fantasma to have his back.

Once the bell sounds, Andrade immediately runs over Apollo with a fast-paced collision, and then leaps off the ropes with another big high spot for a close two-count. Angel Garza comes out and distracts Andrade with his presence, which allows Apollo to take over on offense in the match. On that note, we head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.

When we return, we see Garza watching on from ringside as Andrade fights his way back into the offensive lead, before ultimately finishing this off in impressive fashion to pick up the victory. Afterwards, Santos Escobar and the rest of Legado Del Fantasma come out smiling, but they quickly turn to frowns when Andrade walks past them and disses them.

Winner: Andrade

– Backstage, we see Solo Sikoa talking with The Bloodline when "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman comes in and hesitantly talks to Solo about how he's seeing the brute, but isn't sure if there are any plans in place for them going forward. He says it's important they have Cody Rhodes in-check by the time "The Tribal Chief" returns.

Solo calmly says "We have Cody in-check already, and he doesn't even know it yet." A more confident Heyman speaks up for the first time and asks "Who is 'we'?" The theme for Kevin Owens hits inside the arena, which takes Solo's attention, as he sees "The Prize Fighter" coming out on the monitor behind him. He tells Heyman he better go fix that as we head to another commercial break.

– When we return, we see Owens in the ring talking about how Randy Orton is not here, because he is having his knee checked. The crowd boos. He says he knows someone who is here is Solo Sikoa and his Bloodline. Paul Heyman cuts him off and comes to the ring. Heyman nervously tries to explain to Owens how blood-thirsty the thugs in The Bloodline are right now with Roman Reigns away.

Heyman pleads with Owens to quit bothering The Bloodline and just leave them alone. For his own sake. Owens asks if Heyman's really trying to convince him he's trying to help him. Heyman insists he is. Owens makes it clear he's not done fighting The Bloodline, and that he's very much going to keep fighting them every chance he gets.

The Bloodline vs. The Street Profits

Heyman loses his cool and asks why he can't just be someone redeeming himself and trying to save someone who's kids he's met. While throwing a fit because no one believes him, his arms stretch out and the mic hits Owens in the chest. The crowd chants "You f*cked up!" and then Owens goes to show him that he did, in fact, do exactly that.

Before he can, the theme for Solo Sikoa hits and out comes The Bloodline. The Street Profits run out as well and the brawl is on as we head into a pre-match commercial break. When we return, we see the scheduled Bloodline (Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa) vs. Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) tag-team bout in progress.

We hear Barrett and Graves spend the majority of the match continuing to put over what a savage duo the former Guerillas of Destiny duo are, as the record former nine-time IWGP Tag-Team Champions and a duo they claim WWE consistently avoided due to their violent nature, only for Solo to bring them is as his henchmen while Roman Reigns is away.

As the action continues, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break. When we return, we see the action still in progress. The Bloodline duo dominate en route to an impressive victory over the former multiple-time WWE tag champs, to keep the momentum going for Solo Sikoa's new version of The Bloodline.

Winners: The Bloodline

Bayley & Naomi vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven

After a quick backstage segment with Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Indi Hartwell. Cargill threatens to put Hartwell on the shelf next to her friend Candice LeRae. Back inside the arena, the theme for Bayley hits and out comes the WWE Women's Champion for our next match of the evening. By her side is her partner for this one, Naomi.

The two head to the ring for scheduled tag-team action, as we shift gears and head into a quick pre-match commercial break. When we return, Kayla Braxton is backstage with Michin, who insists AJ Styles hasn't been talking with The O.C. much lately, so she doesn't know what he's got planned to say tonight.

Up walks Nia Jax, who has an uncomfortable exchange with Michin, who gets in her face. "Queen" Nia Jax insists that Michin will regret doing that. We head back inside the MVP Arena, where Chelsea Green and Piper Niven make their way to the ring. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one.

Following some initial back-and-forth action, we see things spill out to the floor where Bayley and Naomi show good team work, beating down Green and Niven and hugging as we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the match continues. When we return, things fall apart for Naomi and Bayley, with Niven getting the win.

Winners: Chelsea Green & Piper Niven

– Announced for next week's WWE SmackDown is Jade Cargill vs. Indi Hartwell, Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller, Apollo Crews vs. Angel Garza, and Solo Sikoa will annoint Tonga Loa into The Bloodline. We see AJ Styles backstage. He is stopped by LA Knight, who says if the rumors are true, respect. He walks off.

Cody Rhodes approaches him and Styles whispers something into his ear. They hug and he continues on, where he runs into The O.C. duo of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. They have a quick word and he continues to the Gorilla position as we shift gears and head into a pre-segment commercial break.

– When we return, a somber AJ Styles is in the ring with The O.C. duo of Gallows and Anderson standing in the background. Styles talks like he's going to retire after bringing up Nick Aldis' comments about being forced to go to the back of the line if he wants another title shot at Cody Rhodes. He says he can't do that at this point.

Styles says he had a moment of clarity at his kids recent birthday. He wonders how many of these he's missed. He talks about how he's put his body through hell for over two decades. He says if this is it, he wants to do it right. He tells The O.C. they're more like brothers to him. They do the "Too Sweet" hand gesture together.

"The Phenomenal" one says he's ready to be "The Phenomenal Father." He brings up whispering something into Cody's ear backstage a moment ago. He says he asked if Cody would come out during this. Cody's theme hits and out comes the WWE Universal Champion.

Styles says he just had to look Cody face-to-face and tell him he had one of his best matches against him at WWE Backlash: France. He says, with a smile, that this is still "the house that AJ Styles built." Cody smiles back. AJ says he called Cody out here to hand him the keys. Cody and Styles pose together for the fans, but out of nowhere, Styles turns and attacks Cody.

He takes his suit jacket off and continues to beat down "The American Nightmare" as the fans boo. On the floor at ringside, Styles sends Cody into the steel ring steps. He picks up the steel ring steps and throws the top half to the side. He pulls Cody up to the bottom half of the steps as he stands on them.

AJ smashes Cody face-first into the ring post and then hoists him up and connects with a Styles Clash to Cody off the steps onto the unforgiving floor at ringside. WWE officials and doctors rush to Cody's aid as Corey Graves calls AJ Styles a "son of a ..." as this week's show goes off the air.