This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown emanated from inside the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The in-ring action kicked off with Alexa Bliss and Asuka competing in their Queen of the Ring semi-final match. The two countered each other’s offense throughout, with the Empress of Tomorrow employing her signature set of strikes. Bliss on the other hand, tried putting her away with a Sister Abigail, which resulted in Asuka trying to roll her up, and a DDT. A Twisted Bliss attempt led Bliss to second-guess, and as she got onto the mat, Asuka would employ the Asuka Lock as Bliss squirmed and struggled to grab the ring ropes. Landing a dropkick on Asuka, Bliss again tried Twisted Bliss, but failed as Asuka held her knees up, thus the move didn’t have the intended impact. The Empress took advantage and utilized a running hip attack to lay out Bliss for the win.
Now that Asuka has qualified to the Queen of the Ring finals, her opponent will be determined in a match this coming Monday on Raw between Jade Cargill and Roxanne Perez.
Cargill, B-Fab, and Michin were watching the match from backstage, where The Fab Female mentioned that Asuka was already making statements with how soon it has been since her return from injury, that it’s like she never left. Michin adds that it’s time her and B-Fab make their own statements and that they need to talk to Nick Aldis about the Women’s Tag Team Championships, with the state of the belts currently in question following the shoulder injury sustained by one-half of the champs, Liv Morgan.
The two wish Cargill good luck on Monday, and as they leave, in comes Byron Saxton for an interview about facing Roxanne and the prospect of potentially facing Asuka. Cargill says that Roxanne has potential, is quick and scrappy, but she’s still trying to prove herself, and this isn’t a proving ground, it is a throne, and she was built for royalty. As for Asuka, that is a storm on the horizon, but newsflash: she’s the storm. The entire tournament wasn’t built for the future, it was built for a woman that could walk through the fire, shatter glass ceilings, and fix her crown on her way to the top. This Queen of the Ring, she’s not walking in just to win, she’s walking in to reign.
Elsewhere in the arena, Alexa Bliss walked around as she appeared to look dejected following her loss when Chelsea Green and The Secret Hervice (Alba Fyre and Piper Niven) walked up to her. Green mocked her, mentioning that she should have been Queen of the Ring, and if it weren’t for Bliss, she would have been building her parliament right now. As the two argued, Charlotte Flair interjected, stating to Green that if anyone should have been in the tournament, it should have been her, and had Fyre tapped out three seconds earlier, she would have remained in the tournament. Flair herself said that she was going to have a match made between her and Green and tap her out. As The Green Regime walked off, Bliss told Flair that she did not need The Queen’s help, but Flair says she wasn’t there to help her and walks away too.
Nia Jax made her way out to cut a promo. Jax says it’s crazy that Tiffany Stratton approached her to be under her wing because she knew exactly what it could do for her, and she’s thriving without her getting any thanks for it. The Buff Barbie’s music interrupted the spiel and Stratton said that Jax was like the toxic ex she can’t get away from, and she needs to get over it, making excuse after excuse, but when is Jax going to admit that maybe Stratton is just better than her?
Jax said that if Stratton is so much better than her, why doesn’t give she give her the rematch she deserves without kicking a chair into her face. Stratton retorts and says that she’s so desperate for a match, that it’s already been booked: next week, the two will face off for the Women’s Championship, and she’s going to have fun adding a couple more scars to that big forehead of hers, because it won’t be a regular match, it is going to be a Last Woman Standing match. The Irresistible Force quickly attacked Stratton, hitting two leg drops and holding her title up in the air.
With Stratton laid down and out, Naomi came out running with the Money in the Bank briefcase, intending to cash it in. Jax would attack Naomi as the two argued at ringside, with Stratton getting up and dropkicking Naomi into Jax, thwarting her cash-in attempt.
The match between Chelsea Green and Charlotte Flair began with Green initially slamming Flair’s head into the mat several times, but The Queen quickly countered with a chop and a crossbody splash onto Green. With The Secret Hervice watching from ringside, Fyre had tried to interfere early on but got a boot to the face from Flair, getting her revenge by tugging at Flair’s hair with the referee focused on Green. After a commercial break, Flair gave Fyre yet another big boot when she tried to re-insert herself into the match. Green, becoming more frustrated, took off the face mask she had been wearing, and tried to set up an Unprettier to hit on Flair, but became the victim of a spear from The Queen, which did not put her away as she kicked out at 2. Flair would get the Figure Eight onto Green, who tapped out, but in came Piper Niven with a senton as her and Fyre targeted Flair only for Alexa Bliss to come to the rescue and clean house. Flair and Bliss looked at each other, but The Queen rejected an extended handshake from Bliss, still disinterested in forming a partnership.
Friday Night SmackDown airs next week from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia one day before Night of Champions on Saturday, June 28th. Here’s what will be taking place:
- Women’s United States Championship: Zelina Vega (c) vs. Giulia
- WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Nia Jax in a Last Woman Standing match
As always, make sure to share your thoughts on this week’s edition of SmackDown in the comments below!
