WWE Friday Night Smackdown Live Coverage - April 12th, 2024

[Kemo]

Cody Rhodes returns to SmackDown for first time as WWE Champion

The American Nightmare returns to the blue brand after finishing his story at WrestleMania XL and just days after being handed a mysterious gift from The Rock on Monday Night Raw. With the WWE Championship in tow, what will Cody Rhodes have to say when he addresses the WWE Universe?

– The new opening signature airs to get us started. We then shoot directly into footage of Cody Rhodes beating Roman Reigns to "finish his story" and capture the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania XL.

– Corey Graves welcomes us live inside the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI. where we then hear the familiar sounds of the theme song for Cody Rhodes. Out comes "The American Nightmare" in a suit with his newly won WWE Universal Championship over his shoulder. He makes his way to the ring as fans loudly sing along with his entrance song.

He settles in the ring and asks what we want to talk about. He brings up The Rock interrupting him the last time he came out here to talk. He says he believed The Rock when he said he would be heading back to Hollywood and believed him even more when he said he'd be back and when he comes back, he'll be gunning for him. Cody says he won't be hard to find, because he'll be standing right here.

Cody brings up The Rock putting something in his hand that he gifted The Rock and said he immediately knew what it was. He says that's in the rear view now and brings up the two triple-threat matches at tonight's sold out show to determine who will challenge him for the title first at the upcoming WWE Backlash premium live event in France.

He mentions each person in the bouts, and touts he and AJ Styles being the only ones who are former NWA and WWE world champs. He says his message to whomever emerges victorious is simple -- if you come at the king, you best not miss.

– We see Bayley walking backstage live as we move on. Rey Mysterio and the LWO are also shown arriving to the building for tonight's show. Backstage, we see Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso.

They approach Cody Rhodes' locker room with the American Nightmare logo on the door. Out pops Kevin Owens who says they aren't invited. Heyman tells Solo that winning and losing matters and that locker room now belongs to the champ, Cody. He says they need to get it back and that's on orders of "The Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns.

LA Knight vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Santos Escobar

Now it's time for our first of two triple-threat matches scheduled for tonight to start the process of finding out who will challenge Cody Rhodes for the Universal title at Backlash. The theme for LA Knight hits and as "The Mega Star" makes his way out to the ring, we head to a pre-match commercial break.

When we return from the break, we see footage of Knight's match with AJ Styles from WrestleMania XL. Back live, Knight is settled into the ring and his music dies down. The theme for Bobby Lashley hits and out he comes accompanied by The Street Profits and B-Fab, who head to the back as "The All Mighty" makes his way down to the ring for this high stakes opener.

From there, the theme for Santos Escobar hits and out comes the third and final competitor in our first of two triple-threat matches tonight to determine the first challenger for Cody Rhodes' Universal title. Split-screen footage of Escobar and Legado Del Fantasma talking to Kayla Braxton earlier today. They assure her it wasn't they who attacked Dragon Lee before WrestleMania XL.

Back live in the arena, we hear Wade Barrett on commentary questioning who attacked Dragon Lee if it wasn't them. The bell sounds and the action gets underway in the ring, with Lashley jumping off to a good start. He and Knight fight on the floor but Escobar takes them both out with a big dive from the ring. On that note, we head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.

As we settle back in from the mid-match break, we see back-and-forth action until Legado Del Fantasma hit the ring and blatantly attack Knight in front of the ref, as the commentators inform us that there are No DQs in these triple-threat matches tonight. The Street Profits come out and after all the chaos, Knight hits his BFT finisher for the win to advance.

Winner and ADVANCING: LA Knight

– Backstage, Kayla Braxton is with Rey Mysterio and the LWO. She brings up how Santos Escobar and Legado Del Fantasma did not attack Dragon Lee before WrestleMania XL Weekend. Carlito feels the need to speak up. Mysterio says the truth will eventually come to light and says he feels he still has another world title run left in him.

– From there, we return back inside the arena where The Bloodline theme hits and out comes Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso with "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman. Heyman says per "The Tribal Chief," they have no excuses for what happened at WrestleMania XL. They don't blame John Cena, Undertaker or even "Main Event" Jey Uso.

As Heyman continues to talk, he mentions how Reigns will rise like a phoenix from the ashes, until Solo Sikoa cuts him off. He brings up Heyman saying winning and losing matters. He says then because of that, there are consequences for losing. He calmly pushes Heyman aside and stares down Jimmy Uso. Jimmy points to himself to see if that's who Solo is looking at.

Solo leans in and hugs Jimmy. He says you're my brother and I love you. Jimmy gets relieved. Solo turns to walk away. Someone attacks Jimmy from behind. The commentators inform us it is Haku's son, Tama Tanga. He and Solo beat down Jimmy, hitting Samoan Spikes as Heyman freaks out in the corner. Tama puts up the 1. They put a chair around Jimmy's head/neck and Solo hits a running hip attack on it in the corner.

Sikoa grabs Heyman and brings him to the middle to be his Wise Man apparently. He raises his 1. Heyman slowly does, too. Heyman pulls out his phone and says, "Call Roman!" Solo grabs the phone, throws it on the ground and stomps on it. The three leave together with Heyman looking nervous as we head to another commercial break.

Cameron Grimes vs. Bron Breakker

When we return, we see highlights of what just transpired and then we return live inside the arena, where Cameron Grimes is in the ring and ready for our next match of the evening. The theme for Bron Breakker hits and out he comes as Graves and Barrett put him over huge on commentary.

The commentators also talk about how Breakker makes a point of taking care of his business quick. With that in mind, The bell sounds, we see a few impressive Steiner lines and Breakker showing off his insane speed hitting the ropes before hitting his trademark spear for the quick victory.

Winner: Bron Breakker

– We see Bayley walking the halls backstage with her WWE Women's Championship as we head to another commercial break. When we return, we see AJ Styles backstage talking into the camera about how he's gonna win his triple-threat match tonight and get revenge on LA Knight for WrestleMania XL next week, before beating Cody Rhodes at Backlash for the title.

– Back inside the arena, Bayley makes her way to the ring. She talks about how good it feels as fans chant "You deserve it!" She explains how this title win at WrestleMania is more important than past ones. She talks about her first defense and giving someone an opportunity. Before she can continue, Tiffany Stratton's theme hits.

Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton

Tiffany proclaims it Tiffy-Time and says it sounds like Bayley's about to issue an open challenge. She says she accepts. Bayley says it's nice to meet Tiffany, but she's not issuing an open challenge, she actually has someone in mind. She mentions Naomi. Tiffy says Naomi couldn't win a title even if it glowed in the dark. Tiffy tells Naomi she already beat her.

Naomi says Tiffy did beat her, but she's earned everything she's gotten in WWE and doesn't plan on stopping that now. She thanks Bayley for the offer but says she'll earn her title shot. She tells Tiffy she picked the wrong night to play with her and challenges her to a match on the spot. On that note, we head to a pre-match commercial break.

When we return from the break, we see the match in progress. After some back-and-forth action we see Stratton ram Naomi head-first into the steel ring post. As Naomi crashes and burns on the floor at ringside, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as this match continues. When we return, Naomi avoids the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and gets the win.

Winner: Naomi

– A video package airs with comments from Austin Theory and Grayson Waller boasting about winning the SmackDown Tag-Team Championships at WrestleMania XL. After this wraps up, we see the New Catch Republic duo of Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne, as well as The Street Profits, watching the segment. Nick Aldis says we'll find out who will challenge for the SmackDown Tag Titles next week.

– Logan Paul appears in a pre-recorded video on a hotel balcony with his U.S. Championship. He talks about winning at WrestleMania XL and then brings up being responsible for the social media success of the big two night event. We hear him dub this the "#LoganPaulLevesqueEra."

Piper Niven & Chelsea Green vs. Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair

Backstage, we see Nick Aldis backstage with Chelsea Green and Piper Niven, bickering and complaining. We learn that they will have a match tonight. As the two head to the ring, we cut to a pre-match commercial break. When we return, the theme for Jade Cargill hits and out she comes to a big pop. She settles in the ring as we await to find out who her partner is.

The theme for Bianca Belair hits and out comes "The EST of WWE" as Cargill's partner. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Belair and Green kick things off for their respective teams. After some brief action, Cargill tags in, hits her trademark spots and this one, like the Bron Breakker match, is over as soon as it gets started.

Winners: Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair

– We shoot backstage to Kevin Owens, who talks trash about Dominik Mysterio before making his way out and heading to the ring for our final match of the evening. It's time for our second triple-threat match of the evening to determine who will challenge Cody Rhodes for the WWE Universal Championship at WWE Backlash: France.

Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio

Owens makes his way to the ring for our final bout of the evening, where the winner will move on to face LA Knight, the winner of the first triple-threat match earlier this evening. As he makes his way to the ring, we shift gears and head into a pre-match commercial break.

As we settle back in from the break, we see Owens in the ring telling his opponents to hurry up and come out. Now, they do. Out next is AJ Styles. Rey Mysterio comes out last and now the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running. Owens jumps into an early offensive lead as the action spills out to the floor. We head to a mid-match commercial break.

When we return, we see things pick up in this one. We see Owens avoid a super-plex in the corner, as always. We see a big triple-man high-spot in the corner. But in the end, it is Styles who connects with a Styles Clash off the top-rope for the pin fall victory.

Winner and ADVANCING: AJ Styles

– With the win, Styles meets LA Knight next week to determine Cody's first challenger. Knight comes out and jaws with Styles in the middle of the ring as this week's show goes off the air.

[LionDen]

Cody opens show

[LionDen]

LA Knight defeated Bobby Lashley and Santos Escobar 1st Qualifying Fight for the triple threat.

[LionDen]

Paul Heyman admits defeat, doesn't blame Cena or Undertaker or Rollins, but Roman Reigns will rise like the Phoenix Bird, Solo Sikoa looks for culprits and finds it on Jimmy, with the help of Tama Tonga, they destroy Jimmy, Paul Heyman doesn't know what's going on and pleads that Solo stops, and between him and Tama Tonga destroy Jimmy.

[LionDen]

Bron Breakker defeats Cameron Grimes

[LionDen]

Bayley says that now with her reign will give new starting opportunities, Tiffany Stratton interrupts and accepts Bayley's challenge, although Bayley was not referring to her, if not Naomi, Naomi does not accept the challenge as she first wants to defeat Tiffy.

[LionDen]

Tama Tonga was sent off by Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa took the lead in his return.

[LionDen]

he draft in two weeks, continues Monday the 29th on RAW.

[LionDen]

Naomi defeats Tiffany Stratton.

[LionDen]

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair defeat Chelsea Green and Piper Niven.