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WWE Friday Night SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (May 12, 2023) with a live show emanating from Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, featuring all the fallout from the Backlash Premium Live Event that went down this past Saturday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Advertised for tonight: There will be two triple threat matches in the first round of the World Heavyweight championship tournament. This includes Edge vs. AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio, as well as Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus vs. Austin Theory. The winners of these matches will then meet in tonight’s main event to determine who faces Seth Rollins for the new belt at Night of Champions.
Tonight’s show also features the return of Roman Reigns, Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan vs. Damage CTRL for the WWE women’s tag team titles, 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 MAY 12
Yesterday I went shopping, buddy, down to the mall, looking for something pretty I could hang on my wall. I knocked over a lamp, before it hit the floor I caught it, and now I suppose I’m here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with commentary hyping the show up.
AJ Styles vs. Edge vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First Round Match)
Circling, Rey and AJ team up on Edge, beating him down into the corner! Styles whips Mysterio across, electric chair in the corner, convert to a sunset flip, trading nearfalls and Edge blasts AJ with a boot! Kicks in the corner, Edge-O-Matic almost does it!
Boot sends Rey to the floor, Edge turns to face Styles, AJ hits him with the strike rush, off the ropes, sliding forearm! Mysterio with a shoulder block, Styles catches him with the quebradora! Front kick from Edge, AJ clotheslines him to the floor!
Whip Mysterio across, up and over, off the ropes, tijeras takes Styles off his feet! Off the ropes, a tijeras for Edge, AJ cuts him off with a kick, roll through the sunset flip, kick to the jaw! Edge comes back in, Rey with a springboard crossbody, caught!
Boot to AJ, fallaway slam for Mysterio! Spear blocked, la casadora turns into a Frankensteiner on Styles, Yoshi Tonic on Edge... SO CLOSE! AJ takes ‘em both out on the floor and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Styles and Mysterio jockeying for position on the apron... EDGE SPEARS THEM BOTH TO THE FLOOR! Back inside, putting boots to Rey, AJ with the Calf Killer, Edge breaks it up! Mysterio eats a double dropkick, Styles hits a lariat on the Rated-R Superstar and all three men are down and out!
Whip reversed, duck a lariat, Rey dropkicks AJ to the apron! Styles and Edge up top, jockeying for position, Mysterio joins them... TOWER OF DOOM GETS A NEARFALL! Edge ducks under a Phenomenal Forearm, blocks a 619, the Edgecator is on Rey Mysterio with AJ down and out!
Styles crawling, Edge breaks the hold and applies it on AJ instead! In the ropes for the break, 619 breaks it up, Rey dives but Edge counters! Styles is in position...
AJ Styles wins by pinfall with the Phenomenal Forearm on Edge.
We get a video package for the Bloodline drama.
We see the Usos hanging out backstage.
Sheamus makes his entrance and we go to break.
Austin Theory vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First Round Match)
Sheamus and Lashley beating Theory down on the floor to start, throwing him back inside, Bob with a shoulder thrust and a swinging neckbreaker, Sheamus with a knee drop off the ropes and a Finlay Roll! Lashley clotheslines Austin to the floor and the big men square up!
Beats of the Bodhran blocked when Austin returns, Sheamus sets him up for them instead and clubs him raw as we go to break!
Back from commercial, Lashley picks Theory up on the floor and rams him into the post! Back inside, Bob and Sheamus trading punches, big lariat from the All Mighty, boot up in the corner to block the followup! Off the top, Bob catches him with a lariat!
Theory in with a dropkick to cut Lashley off, chop block to Sheamus, cover for two! Rolling inverted bulldog, he’s got the Celtic warrior down in the corner and goes outside to take care of Bob! Throwing him into the steel steps, rolling thunder countered into the Irish Curse when he goes back inside!
Lariats, whipping Theory into the corner, up top... AVALANCHE WHITE NOISE! Lashley cuts him off with a spear, Austin tries to steal the win but Sheamus kicks out! Bob bleeding from the forehead, he blocks A-Town Down and hits a chokeslam! The Hurt Lock is in and he keeps Theory from stepping up and turning it into a pin!
Brogue Kick connects, Bob throws Sheamus out of the ring...
Bobby Lashley wins by pinfall with a lateral press on Austin Theory.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Adam Pearce is on the phone talking about our semifinals when Grayson Waller rolls up.
Pearce congratulates him for being drafted to SmackDown and Grayson is a goof about it and demands that the winner of tonight’s main event be on the Grayson Waller Effect next week. Adam makes it official and they shake hands.
Baron Corbin vs. Cameron Grimes
Before the bell, Baron Corbin gets on the mic to tell Cameron Grimes that he’s gonna be flat on his back wishing he was still in NXT in about two minutes.
Grimes catches him immediately, of course...
Cameron Grimes wins by pinfall with Cave-In.
We get a recap of Cody Rhodes beating Brock Lesnar and the fallout from that on Raw.
Roman Reigns makes his entrance, flanked by Paul Heyman, the Usos, and Solo Sikoa, and we go to break.
Back from commercial, the Bloodline are in the ring and Paul Heyman hands Roman Reigns a microphone.
He says there’s a lot of talk about royal families in wrestling but let’s be honest, there’s only one. Every man in this ring main evented both nights of WrestleMania, and he knows you’re probably saying “we’ve only been doing two nights for so long,” well they’re the only ones who are ever gonna do it.
And at Backlash without the Tribal Chief, somebody had to step up, and who stepped up? Solo stepped up. He’s been on the road with the very best of all time and thrown into the deep end, he swims like a shark. If there’s ever a problem, he eliminates it.
Matt Riddle? Handled, right? Sikoa says something to Roman about Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and Reigns tries to laugh it off, telling him not to worry about it. There IS a real, actual problem, and it’s not them, but rather his brothers, the Usos.
Roman turns to face the Usos and asks if they really thought they weren’t going to talk about this after they dedicated a match to him and they lost? Why would you dedicate a tag title match to the greatest singles star of all time? There are tag team Hall of Famers in their family and they disrespect them by dedicating it to Roman?!
He tries to lead and they come out here and embarrass and misrepresent him, the Bloodline, and their family? He tells the Usos they know better than this and demands they apologize. The Usos look at each other and he restates his demand for an apology.
Reigns says the only thing he wants to hear is “I’m sorry” or “I apologize, my Tribal Chief.” Jimmy’s all smiles, Jey is sullen, Roman asks Jimmy is he’s laughing and tells him not to listen to these idiots. He asks if he’s a clown before piefacing Jimmy!
Jimmy turns sour and Jey steps up and apologizes, asking for one more shot to bring the tag titles back to the Bloodline. Roman tells him he’s right, the tag titles will come back to the Bloodline, and tells Paul to fill them in.
Heyman gets on the mic and says he had to pull some strings to make it happen and the titles will come back to the Bloodline at Night of Champions when Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will lose them to Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns!
Reigns dedicates their victory to the greatest tag team of all time, Afa and Sika, the Wild Samoans!
Damage CTRL are interviewed backstage.
Bayley says she and Roman have a lot in common, grand slam champions and exceptional leaders. She tells IYO SKY not to worry, she pushed her too hard and she wasn’t ready but she’s gonna take things into her own hands by winning the tag titles back with Dakota Kai tonight.
She tells Kayla Braxton to go tell Roman that SmackDown belongs to Damage CTRL.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez make their entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap package for Backlash’s success.
The Usos are storming around backstage angrily, confronting the Latino World Order over nothing and bickering. Santos Escobar rolls up with Rey Mysterio and laughs at them, sending the Usos packing.
Damage CTRL (Bayley & Dakota Kai) vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship)
Rodriguez and Kai to start, whip sends the challenger into a corner and the champions start in with quick tags and we go to break.
Back from commercial, tags made and Raquel and Dakota come in hot at each other! Rodriguez with lariats, big fallaway slam, another one, corkscrew Vader Bomb but nobody’s home! Tag to Bayley, Raquel chokeslams both of them! Tag to Morgan, Rodriguez uses her as a weapon to batter both challengers before powerbombing her into Bayley!
Kai with a pump kick to Rodriguez, Liv sends her packing, gets Bayley up in the corner, Dakota with a blind tag as they jockey for position, the Role Model slips under Morgan... POWERBOMB / SEATED SENTON COMBINATION! Slow to capitalize, Liv thinks fast...
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez win by pinfall with a victory roll from Morgan on Bayley to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Brawling Brutes give Sheamus a pep talk backstage when Pretty Deadly roll up.
They trade some barbs, PD run away, Sheamus tells his boys they’ll find out soon enough and the Brutes leave together for some pints and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Bianca Belair makes her entrance.
Before she can begin her championship celebration properly, Asuka makes her entrance.
Asuka offers a handshake and Bianca accepts it... AND ASUKA SPITS THE POISON MIST AT HER!
Belair rolls around in agony as medics try to wipe her face clean.
We see AJ Styles and Bobby Lashley getting ready for our main event and go to break.
Back from commercial, medics are tending to Bianca Belair in a trainer’s room and she’s still screaming agony and panicking about it.
Commentary hypes next week’s show up.
AJ Styles vs. Bobby Lashley (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinals)
Styles throwing a punch at the wound on Lashley’s head, keeping his distance, throwing tentative chops, Bob hammers him with elbows and kicks in the corner! AJ turns him around, chops and forearms, hamstring kick, whip blocked and Lashley throws him over the ropes and to the floor!
Following out after him, Bob throws him into the apron, fireman’s carry and Styles’ head goes into the post hard to send us to break!
Back from commercial, AJ with leg kicks, stomping the back of Lashley’s calves! Roll through, Calf Killer applied in the middle of the ring! Bob fights out, Styles has more leg kicks, forearms to the jaw, basement DDT into a cover... NOPE!
Fireman’s carry, Lashley slips out and hits the lifting reverse STO... STILL NO! Yokosuka Cutter attempt, AJ slips out, sliding forearm but he can’t capitalize! Bob grabs the Hurt Lock, blood pouring from his head again, Styles out to the apron to force the break!
To the floor, Styles saves himself from getting put in the post again with an enzuigiri, back up on the apron, calling for the Phenomenal Forearm but Bob sees it coming and grabs a fireman’s carry! AJ slips out, back to the Calf Killer but Lashley rolls through to counter and Styles fights out of a suplex with knees!
Bob gets him up on his shoulder, running powerslam... NOT ENOUGH! Going back to the Hurt Lock, blocked with elbows, he clobbers AJ down and lines him up for the spear but Styles sidesteps and he eats the post hard! Styles springboards back in...
AJ Styles wins by pinfall with the Phenomenal Forearm, advancing to face Seth Rollins in the tournament finals at Night of Champions.
The rest of the OC come out to celebrate with AJ next to the new World Heavyweight Championship belt.
That’s the show, folks.
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