WWE Friday Night Smackdown Live Coverage - May 24th, 2024

[Kemo]

Randy Orton looks to take out Tama Tonga and The Bloodline King of the Ring Semifinals

This past SmackDown, Randy Orton made his mission very clear: take out the man who put Kevin Owens on the shelf and advance to the King of the Ring Final. Orton slithered his way into the semifinal after taking out AJ Styles and Carmelo Hayes, while Tama Tonga bested Angelo Dawkins and LA Knight. Despite having a stacked trophy cabinet, The Viper has never won the King of the Ring Tournament. Before this year, Orton had not yet won a single King of the Ring Match in his career, having fallen to Kurt Angle in the First Round in 2006, his only appearance to date. Can Orton make good on his promise to reach the King of the Ring Final and eliminate The Bloodline?

– Corey Graves welcomes us to the show on commentary. He mentions tonight being the first SmackDown to air from The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia here at the Jeddah Super Dome.

– We see the announcement from Paul "Triple H" Levesque from earlier this week regarding the winners of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments earning world title shots at this year's WWE SummerSlam. We hear the sounds of Bianca Belair's theme and out comes "The EST of WWE" to kick off this week's show.

Queen Of The Ring Semifinals Match: Bianca Belair vs. Nia Jax

As Belair settles in the ring, Graves and Wade Barrett have their first on-camera appearance at the commentary desk. They introduce the Saudi Arabian commentary team beside them for tonight's show. The theme for Nia Jax hits and out she comes to find out who will move on to face Lyra Valkyria in the finals of this year's Queen of the Ring.

The bell rings and the two lock up. Jax sends Belair crashing into the mat face first, then tosses her across the ring and delivers a splash in the corner. She goes the same thing once more before Belair sets up for a moonsault off the middle rope. Jax avoids it and delivers a shoulder to Jax's midsection, then rains down right hands on her in the corner.

Belair sends Jax's face bouncing off the top turnbuckle, then rains down more right hands on her and sends Jax crashing into the ring post shoulder first. She then delivers a crossbody to her on the outside over the top rope.

Back from the break, Jax grabs the crown Belair is wearing around her braid and places it on her head to mock Belair. She then delivers a headbutt to Belair and looks to lock in a submission, but Belair escapes. Jax then looks to land a leg drop, but Belair avoids it. Jax manages to hit a Samoan Drop, but Belair lands a jawbreaker on her off the top rope and ascends to the top. She lands a crossbody and goes for a pin, but Jax kicks out.

Belair fires off forearms on Jax, but Jax trips her and ascends to the top. Belair pulls her off and delivers a powerbomb, then goes for a pin. Jax kicks out, and Belair looks to get her up on her shoulders. Jax blocks her and sends her knee crashing into the mat, then drags Belair into the corner. She ascends to the middle rope, but Belair pulls her down and onto her shoulders. Jax escapes and delivers a senton, then follows it up with the An-Nia-Lator for the win.

Winner and ADVANCING to the Queen of the Ring Finals: Nia Jax

– When we return from the break, Belair talks about coming up short backstage when Chelsea Green and Indi Hartwell mock her. This leads to Jade Cargill coming up and defending her, before heading off to find Nick Aldis to get a match made. Back in the arena, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller are in the ring, which is decked out with The Grayson Waller Effect set.

The A-Town Down Under duo talk some trash to get things started and then as they are building up the introduction of their guest, who is scheduled to be LA Knight, instead out comes Carmelo Hayes. Hayes bickers back-and-forth with the tag champs about their history in NXT and then LA Knight's theme cuts them off and he does a Stone Cold "BMF" walk to the ring, vest-and-all, to a big pop from the Jeddah crowd.

"The Mega Star" wants to "talk to-ya!" and does so, only to be cut off by Hayes and the A-Town Down duo. He tells them he didn't remember asking them a damn thing. The brawl quickly broke out among the guys, prompting The Street Profits to come out and help Knight with the numbers disadvantage. We head to another break.

– When we return, a "Lyra Valkyria is coming soon to SmackDown" vignette airs. Back live, the bell sounds and we're informed by Graves and Barrett that Nick Aldis made an impromptu six-man tag match, and the bell sounds to start it off.

LA Knight & The Street Profits vs. Carmelo Hayes & A-Town Down Under

Hayes and Ford begin the action. The bell rings and the two lock up. They go back and forth with one another before Ford connects with a dropkick. Dawkins tags in and delivers a double ax handle off the top as Ford holds Hayes in place. He follows it up with a flapjack, then tags in Knight. Theory tags in on his side, and the two go back and forth. Dawkins and Waller become legal, and Dawkins delivers a shoulder tackle to Waller. He follows it up with a splash in the corner and looks to land a second one, but Theory pulls Waller out of the way. Theory, Waller, and Hayes then triple team on Dawkins, and the action spills out of the ring.

Back from the break, Theory and Waller mock Dawkins by appearing on his side of the ring when he looks to tag out. Waller looks to fly, but Dawkins levels him and tags in Knight. Knight delivers a right hand to Waller, then fires off stomps on him in the corner. He levels Hayes on the apron, then lands a running knee and takes down Theory on the outside. He mocks Waller in the same way and theory mocked Dawkins before he connects with an elbow drop. He goes for a pin, but Hayes breaks the fall. Ford takes down Hayes, but Theory levels him. Dawkins levels Theory with a shoulder pounce, but Waller takes him down with a jumping knee.

Waller looks to land a rolling Stunner, but Knight avoids it and hits BFT. Ford then tags in and lands a Frog Splash for the win.

Winners: The Street Profits and LA Knight

– After the match, The Profits celebrate their win with the crowd.

– We go to highlights of Logan Paul's brass knuckles promise from WWE Experience in Riyadh this week is shown and then we see a live shot of Cody Rhodes arriving to the building. He is stopped by Randy Orton, who greets him. The two shake hands and he continues towards the building as Wade Barrett informs us he is coming up next. We head to another break.

– When we return, Cody's theme hits and "The American Nightmare" makes his way to the ring. He talks about his upcoming title defense against Logan Paul at WWE King And Queen Of The Ring 2024 tomorrow. Logan's theme hits and out comes the U.S. Champion. He settles in the ring and talks about giving Michael Cole his brass knuckles.

Cody thinks Logan is a scared young boy that probably has another set of brass knuckles on him right now. Logan asks if Cody is calling him a liar. Cody tells the referee at ringside to pat Logan down and see if he's a man of his word. He does and he ends up finding a set. Logan claims the pants he's wearing aren't even his.

He says he wasn't being 100% truthful but now he will be. He says he vowed not to use them in the match tomorrow and didn't know if he'd need to defend himself tonight. He says Cody is holding them now so maybe security should rush him. He tells Cody to keep them. Cody hands them off and says that's the difference between the two of them.

He says the title is his whole life. It's all he ever wanted to be. Cody says until Logan stops doing this part-time, he'll never be on Cody's level. He calls him a kid and assures him he will lose tomorrow at WWE King And Queen Of The Ring. He holds the title high and his theme hits again to end the segment.

– Backstage, Randy Orton is interviewed about his King of the Ring semifinal tournament bout later in the show against Tama Tonga of The Bloodline. We then see Nia Jax walk past Bayley and tell her to keep the title warm for her. Bayley's theme hits and she makes her way out to the ring for scheduled non-title action.

– When we return from the break, we see The Street Profits with their red solo cup and B-Fab backstage celebrating their win earlier tonight. They talk briefly with DIY and then we return inside the Jeddah Super Dome.

Bayley vs. Chelsea Green

Chelsea Green's theme hits and out she comes with Piper Niven for our next match of the evening. The bell sounds and off we go. After some initial back-and-forth action, we shift gears and head into a mid-match break. When we return, Bayley is in the lead until Green starts to take over.

She goes for a pin, but Bayley kicks out. Green then delivers a boot to the side of Bayley's face off the apron.

Back from the break, Bayley looks to land a neckbreaker on Green through the middle rope. Green avoids it and sends Bayley crashing into the mat, but Bayley lands a powerbomb on her and follows it up with Rose Plant for the win.

Winner: Bayley

– After the match, Niven blindsides Bayley but Bayley manages to fight her off. Niven overpowers her and sends her crashing into the mat with a slam. She follows it up with a senton, then connects with an elbow drop. She looks to leave the ring, but opts not to and delivers another senton.

– We shoot backstage and we see AJ Styles entering the office of SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis. "The Phenomenal One" pleads with Aldis to give him one more chance at becoming WWE Universal Champion. He asks for the winner of Cody Rhodes vs. Logan Paul.

Aldis says he respects him and if it was a personal choice, he'd say yes. He says it's not and it's something he's gotta earn. He says that takes time. Styles says he doesn't have time like that. Aldis says that's nothing he can help him with. We head to another commercial break.

– When we return, we see a look at Andrade. He talks about being a third generation lucahdore and says he has this in his blood. He says he's not only here to show that he is a luchadore from Mexico, he was born to do this.

Because he has been judged his entire life, they have criticized him. Andrade continues and says limiting expectations doesn't control his destiny. He controls his own destiny. He says he knows who he is and he knows what he wants.

Now, he will show everyone who Andrade is. Humberto says he doesn't like Andrade but Angel says he could help them out. Santos Escobar says to let bygones be bygones and think about things.

– We see a video package looking back at the King of the Ring tournament action leading up to tonight's semifinal between Randy Orton and Tama Tonga of The Bloodline.

– Paul Heyman is shown and says Solo Sikoa knows that Tanga Loa is not here because they couldn't get him across the border. Paul says he can't get people to clear customs. These are dangerous people you are recruiting into the Bloodline.

Solo says he knows. Paul says that is why they haven't been brought in previously. Paul says until Roman comes back and Solo says he is in charge until Roman comes back and he tells Paul to fix whatever problems there are.

Heyman goes to speak some more, but is scared when Tama appears next to him. Tama stares him down and says he was recruited specifically because he is dangerous. He finishes by saying per orders of The Tribal Chief, a new King is coming back to The Bloodline.

– Back inside the Jeddah Super Dome, we see current 2024 WWE King of the Ring Finalist GUNTHER sitting in the crowd to get a closer look at tonight's semifinal between Orton and Tonga to see who he will face tomorrow afternoon. Randy Orton's theme hits and the crowd sings along as "The Viper" heads to the ring. We head to a quick pre-match commercial break

King Of The Ring Semifinals Match: Randy Orton vs. Tama Tonga

When we return, the crowd is still loudly singing Orton's theme as he finishes his entrance in the ring. We see current 2024 WWE King of the Ring Finalist GUNTHER sitting in the crowd to get a closer look at tonight's semifinal between Orton and Tonga to see who he will face tomorrow afternoon.

Graves and Barrett run down the advertised lineup for WWE King And Queen Of The Ring 2024 tomorrow afternoon. After that, the theme for Tama Tonga hits and out he comes accompanied by "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa. He settles in the ring and it's now main event time.

The bell sounds and Tonga charges across the ring and jumps into the early offensive lead, drilling Orton with repeated punches as he covers up on the ropes. Orton finally clears the cobwebs and hits a huge fall-away slam before sending Tonga shoulder-first into the ring post on both sides of the ring.

Orton does the ten-punch spot on Tonga in the corner as the Saudi crowd counts along with each shot that lands. Tonga tries to re-group at ringside, but Orton heads out after him and bounces his dome off the commentary desk.

Soon after that, we head into a mid-match commercial break as this high stakes KOTR semifinal bout continues. When we return, we see Tonga in the offensive lead as the fans try and rally behind "The Viper." The action spills out to the floor where Orton finally starts to take over.

He bounces Tonga off the commentary desk again. We see a shot of GUNTHER watching on with a big smile on his face. Back in the ring, we see vintage Orton, as he hits the draping DDT off the ropes for a big pop from the Saudi crowd. He stalks Tama for an RKO.

Solo takes his jacket off at ringside. Orton goes for it, but Tama shoves him into the ropes where Solo hits him with a cheap shot. Tama tries to roll him up off of that, but Orton kicks out and pops up for an RKO for the win to advance. Solo and Tama attack afterwards, but Kevin Owens runs out to make the save. That's how this week's show goes off the air.

Winner and ADVANCING to the King of the Ring Finals: Randy Orton

[LionDen]

I would like to see Valkyria beat Nia Jax in the Queen of the ring final.

[LionDen]

Nia Jax defeats Bianca Belair to advance to the QOTR Finals against Lyra Valkyria

[LionDen]

Blair Davenport is coming soon to SmackDown

[LionDen]

Former Legacy members Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton reunite on SmackDown. Orton tells Cody he looks great as WWE Champion and to keep making him proud

[LionDen]

Cody Rhodes comes to the ring and is interrupted right away by Logan Paul

[LionDen]

AJ Styles begs Nick Aldis for another WWE Championship Match against Cody Rhodes

[LionDen]

Paul Heyman tells Solo Sikoa that Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa are too dangerous for The Bloodline

[LionDen]

Randy Orton defeats Tama Tonga to advance to the KOTR Finals against Gunther

[LionDen]

A good show. I look forward to Gunther vs Orton at King of the ring.