:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72375651/romanreigns1000.0.jpg)
WWE Friday Night SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (June 16, 2023) with a live show emanating from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Money in the Bank Premium Live Event scheduled for early next month in London.
Advertised for tonight: Roman Reigns returns to SmackDown and awaits Jey Uso’s decision on his future with The Bloodline.
Tonight’s show also features Charlotte Flair as a guest on Grayson Waller’s talk show, IYO SKY vs. Zelina Vega, AJ Styles & Michin vs. Karrion Kross & Scarlett, and a number one contender’s tag team gauntlet match with the LWO, Brawling Brutes, Street Profits, The Good Brothers, and Pretty Deadly.
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 JUNE 16
The sun is shining in the sky, there ain’t a cloud in sight. It’s stopped raining, everybody’s in the play and don’t you know it’s a beautiful new day, and I’m here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks?
The show opens with a recap of Bloodline business.
Cathy Kelley tries to get an interview with the Bloodline live as they arrive in the arena but Roman Reigns brushes her off and tells Paul Heyman to answer. Heyman looks around and sighs in contempt before leaving.
Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland & Sheamus) vs. Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) vs. Hit Row (Ashante “Thee” Adonis & Top Dolla) vs. Latino World Order (Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde) vs. Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) vs. Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) (WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Gauntlet Match)
Brutes and Profits to start, Ford on Sheamus, dropkick cuts the Celtic Warrior off. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, tag to Holland, knees into a front chancery, swinging Montez by his neck before hitting a half-halch suplex! Ford with an enzuigiri, tag to Dawkins, lariats keep Ridge off his feet and he clears the apron!
Angelo off the ropes, leapfrog, corkscrew elbow, another one, enzuigiri, Drill Bit blocked but Dawkins cracks off a right hand that gets a headbutt! Sheamus tags in, whip across...
Brawling Brutes eliminate Street Profits by pinfall with a Brogue Kick from Sheamus on Angelo Dawkins.
Luke Gallows comes in for the Good Brothers next, tag to Anderson, back suplex / neckbreaker combination sends us to break!
Back from commercial, Sheamus and Gallows brawling, Celtic Warrior throwing elbows, Samoan Drop from Luke for two! Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn watching backstage, Anderson tags in, trading forearms, cover for one! Right hand, suplex, Sheamus catches him...
Brawling Brutes eliminate Good Brothers by pinfall with a Brogue Kick from Sheamus on Karl Anderson.
Latino World Order in next, stereo dives, Wilde legal with a missile dropkick! Tag to Del Toro, moonsault off the top, no good! Holland with a tag, Cruz doesn’t see, Brogue wipes him out but Joaquin lays him out with a dive! Holland catches him...
Brawling Brutes eliminate Latino World Order by pinfall with a DDT variant from Ridge Holland on Cruz Del Toro.
Hit Row are out next and immediately get eliminated...
Brawling Brutes eliminate Hit Row by pinfall with a Brogue Kick on Top Dolla.
Pretty Deadly prepare to enter the match and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Pretty Deadly working Holland over with quick tags, grinding him down, chop block when he tries to mount a comeback and they stay on him. Double back body drop gets Ridge away, tag to Sheamus! Cleaning house with forearms, corner lariats, Irish Curse for both Elly and Kitty!
Wilson gets a Finlay Roll and Prince gets slammed into him! Swinging neckbreaker denied, Alabama Slam... ELTON BREAKS IT UP! Ridge pounces him out of the ring, brawling on the floor, two for one Beats of the Bodhran! Clubbing Kit’s chest in with thirty-odd beats, setting up the Celtic Cross but Elton blind tags and comes off the top...
Pretty Deadly win, last eliminating Brawling Brutes by pinfall with a diving leg drop from Elton Prince on Sheamus to become #1 contenders to the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Pretty Deadly are still in the ring and celebrating their victory.
Enter Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn.
They get on the mic and Sami congratulates them and says he’ll be honest, nobody expected them to win. But they won five minutes ago and they’re still celebrating, and that means they’ve outstayed their welcome, and maybe just get the hell out of here already?
Elton Prince says that’s really cute and he wonders why his hair looks drier and cleaner than Zayn. They say when the win the titles they’ll hang out and celebrate for even longer and even longer and just when you think they’re done they’ll celebrate even longer, a ha ha ha ha.
Owens has a sour look on his face and Sami asks if he’s not bothered by this, and KO says he’s been trying to stay calm but yeah he wants to run in there and punch their stupid faces. Zayn is on board and they rush the ring, leaving Pretty Deadly to run away!
The Bloodline are backstage, Paul Heyman anxious and Roman Reigns fuming.
Heyman asks if Reigns has spoken with Jey Uso, and he hasn’t. He berates Paul, saying he’s the Tribal Chief and that means Jey should reach out to him. Roman asks if Heyman has reached out, and tells him to go and talk to Jey. NOW!
Damage CTRL make their entrance and we go to break.
IYO SKY vs. Zelina Vega
Vega with a Lou Thesz Press into mounted punches, quick covers, off the ropes, satellite tijeras gets a dropkick from SKY! IYO hammers her with mounted forearms, Zelina forearms her into the corner and SKY stomps her arm! Japanese stranglehold in the turnbuckles, double stomp to the arm!
Arm wringer into a hammerlock, schoolboy attempt, roll-through kick in return, Bayley up on the apron to run interference, jockeying for position over a waistlock, IYO with a schoolboy for about five but referee Dan Engler was occupied with Bayley!
SKY jawing at Bayley, Vega in...
Zelina Vega wins by pinfall with a 619.
Post-match, Bayley profusely justifies herself to IYO SKY.
Bianca Belair is talking to Adam Pearce about her rematch, he tries to blow her off and she says she’s owed one and she’s gonna get it her way, right or wrong.
We see the ring getting prepared for the Grayson Waller Effect and we go to break.
Back from commercial, IYO SKY and Bayley are bickering backstage when Shotzi Blackheart rolls up.
She says if it wasn’t for Bayley she’d be in the Money in the Bank ladder match, Bayley says she’s not on their level and Blackheart demands she put her spot in the match on the line against her. IYO accepts for her and Shotzi runs off to talk to Adam Pearce and make it official.
Bayley berates IYO for it and SKY mockingly tells her she’s just trying to help.
Grayson Waller is in the ring to introduce his guest, an absolute star, Charlotte Flair.
She makes her entrance and he says it’s great to have her before talking about her title match in two weeks.
He asks if she’s gonna win the title all conspiratorially for some reason and she says 15, 16, she has Asuka’s number and encourages him to “Wooo!” when she says that.
Enter Bianca Belair.
She says Flair’s accolades speak for themselves but she needs somebody to explain how things work around here if Charlotte can just walk in and demand a title shot. Flair says, with all due respect, yes she walked in and called her shot, but she didn’t write the rules or politick to change them, so she won’t apologize.
The line starts with her, and she points out that she lost at WrestleMania and didn’t get a rematch, so aren’t they both owed a rematch? Belair sees the logic in that but talks about how she tried to stay and do it the right way, so she’s just not understanding what the difference here is, and maybe she should just take things into her own hands, too.
Charlotte denies that she ran away and if anyone knows anything about defeat, she picked herself up fourteen times, and she’s a champion with or without the title, and asks Belair if that’s true of her as well. Bianca points out she’s the longest reigning champion of this era, and she didn’t have to do it fourteen times, so she wants some respect on her name.
Flair can say whatever she wants, and Bianca will step up and challenger her face to face, because that title is coming back to her.
Backstage, Paul Heyman is talking to Jey Uso.
Heyman apologizes for telling him the truth and for Jimmy kicking him in the face and costing him the title match and he spins a tale of how Jimmy had to mean it and there’s no way it could have been an accident, because he’s jealous and envious.
Jey says he’s sorry, because if he’s in, Paul is still out.
AJ Styles and Mia Yim make their entrance to send us to break.
Karrion Kross & Scarlett Bordeaux vs. the OC (AJ Styles & “Michin” Mia Yim) (Mixed Tag Team Match)
Kross and Styles to start, AJ with strikes, sliding forearm, tag to Yim, she hits a tornado DDT on Karrion in passing! Bordeaux in the ring, cross chop, spinout underhook DDT, Mia fires chops off in return! Big German suplex, tag to Styles, double-teams on Kross, looking for the Styles Clash... SCARLETT BREAKS IT UP!
She tries to use her wiles on AJ, he tells her he’s married and calls her a bitch, and Mia pulls her out of the ring! Karrion from behind, Krossjacket, reaching for the ropes, ripcord Krosshammer sets up a pumphandle...
Karrion Kross & Scarlett Bordeaux win by pinfall with a pumphandle DDT from Kross on AJ Styles.
Backstage, Heyman returns to Roman Reigns and shakes his head “no” rather than report what Jey Uso said in detail.
Solo squares up to Paul and he runs away! Sikoa asks Roman if he needs to handle this, and Reigns tells him to take it easy, they’ve got plenty of time.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Mustafa Ali is interviewed.
Before he can string more than five words together, Baron Corbin attacks him and beats him down!
Rey Mysterio makes his entrance and gets on the mic.
He talks about how he reformed the Latino World Order and calls Santos Escobar down.
Santos gets on the mic and talks about how he’s worked hard and made lots of sacrifices for the opportunity of a lifetime in Money in the Bank. He thanks Rey and tells him he loves him before embracing him and saying he inspires him and he’s fighting for him and his people and for anyone and everyone who has a dream.
Enter LA Knight.
Knight goes after Mysterio but Escobar cuts him off and sets him up, but he rolls away from the 619 and we go to break!
LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar
Back from commercial, match joined in progress and Escobar is on the comeback! Corner knee, fireman’s carry, slips out, off the ropes, powerslam from Knight! Big elbow drop, drawing Santos up, whip across, front kick, victory roll with a hand in the ropes, Santos kicks out and reverses...
Santos Escobar wins by pinfall with a victory roll.
Post-match, LA tries to attack but Rey Mysterio makes the save!
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, the Bloodline make their entrance, consisting of Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, and Paul Heyman.
Roman holds his title high and we go to break.
Back from commercial, commentary hypes up next week’s show.
Roman demands Lexington, Kentucky acknowledge him.
Enter Jey Uso.
He gets in the ring and paces, and Reigns gets on the mic and says he knows the crowd wants answers, so what’s it gonna be— is he in or is he out?
Jey puts the ball in Roman’s court and says it’s either gonna be Paul Heyman or it’s gonna be him. Reigns tells him when he’s Tribal Chief he can pick anyone he wants as his Wise Man, and this is his Wise Man. He’s not the Bloodline’s Wise Man, he’s Roman’s Wise Man, here to help him as he leads.
That’s what Jey doesn’t understand, he was only meant to get us to the promised land, and Uso is meant to keep them here at the top of the mountain. Wise Man said they’d start grooming him but nah, they’ve been grooming Jey for three years, hard work and equity into him to become Main Event Jey Uso.
He’s meant to lead! ...just not yet. The problem isn’t the Wise Man, the problem is Jimmy Uso. Jey is frustrated and pacing as Reigns continues, saying he knows they’re inseparable, but he has to understand—
Enter Jimmy Uso.
He says the problem isn’t his brother, the problem is their cousin. He’s not grooming Jey, he’s using him, and he asks Jey if he actually believes this garbage. Jey is conflicted, staring back and forth between Jimmy and Roman and Reigns says since Jey’s been with him, he’s main evented every single WrestleMania.
Jimmy is an anchor and Roman is the wings, one lifts you up and the other drags you down, and Reigns pushes the “you’re the next Tribal Chief” line hard before saying you can’t be Tribal Chief and a twin at the same time. Jey is sweating and wiping his face and Roman calls Heyman close and asks who the only one who had a problem with Jey being the Right Hand Man was.
Heyman thinks it over for a beat and eyes Jimmy. Jey turns to him and asks if that’s true, and Roman laughs and smiles in the background before Jimmy admits that it’s true. Jey’s pacing intensifies, emotions running high as he asks Jimmy if he’s been doubting him this whole time.
Jimmy says he’s never doubted him and Jey cuts him off, saying he expects that from Roman but not him, and let him guess, big brother Jimmy knows better, right? “Listen to big brother Joshua,” that’s all he heard growing up, and he wants to say they’ve been competing with Roman but all along he’s been trying to keep up with Jimmy.
Prom Prince, Prom King, Player of the Year, Most Likely to Succeed? Jimmy got hurt and Jey stepped up and became Main Event Uso and it’s all because of Reigns so guess what? He tells Jimmy he’s out... and JEY IS OUT TOO! HE SUPERKICKS ROMAN AND LAYS HIM OUT!
SOLO RUSHES IN BUT THE USOS TAKE HIM OUT WITH SUPERKICKS! REIGNS GETS UP AND YELLS AT THEM AND THEY SUPERKICK HIM AND LEAVE HIM LAYING!
That’s the show, folks!
Loading comments...