WrestleMania 42 weekend has come and gone. The SmackDown women’s locker room has got a new leader as Rhea Ripley became the new WWE Women’s Champion after defeating Jade Cargill, while Lash Legend and Nia Jax lost their Women’s Tag Team Championships to the team of Brie Bella and the returning Paige. Now, all signs point to Friday Night SmackDown, which is airing from inside the Dickies Arena in Forth Worth, Texas.
Cathy Kelley is backstage with Kiana James and the Women’s United States Champion, Giulia. The two were in a tense mood as Kelley noted it was the first SmackDown episode following WrestleMania and asked if she felt any more pressure in defending the title against Tiffany Stratton. James cited a lack of respect but stated that they were ready to take out Stratton. The Beautiful Madness said that she beat Tiffany once, and could do it again, feeling no pressure, only anger, a word seemingly directed at James. A visibly pissed off James said that they don’t usually bicker like that unless Kelley is around, telling Team Blue’s roving reporter that her questions make people tense.
The match began with Stratton and Giulia fighting it out in the early goings, although the champ got the upper hand before the commercial break with a neckbreaker to the floor on Stratton.
As the match progressed, both Giulia and James became increasingly frustrated with Stratton’s repeated kick-outs that James tried to interfere, which led to Giulia bumping into her by mistake. Giulia continued to pull out all the stops with an Arrivederci knee attempt, but it was a combo of an Alabama slam and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever that got Tiffany the win and the belt as the new Women’s United States Champion.
Cathy interviewed Tiffany Stratton after winning the match. Stratton said that the past couple of months, she’s had the runner-up story, being the runner-up at the Royal Rumble, the Elimination Chamber, and tonight, she is no longer the runner-up, she is the new Women’s United States Champion, and now she is going to show everybody why the WWE Universe runs on Tiffy Time.
The new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Brie Bella and Paige, then made their way out to the ring to cut a promo. Brie said it felt incredible to be standing in the ring as a champion. WrestleMania this past weekend was really special, and even though she couldn’t compete next to her sister Nikki, she’s really glad that she had a good idea of calling an old friend she could count on, and one that she actually calls a sister. She speaks for everyone when she tells Paige, “welcome back”.
Paige then took the mic, with The Anti-Diva saying that she lost her voice; it was a hectic week, but what a hell of a week. When Brie gave her the call last week to come back at WrestleMania, she thought, “what a wonderful way to come home”, and she is so proud to be standing in the ring with her, and last week, they walked out the Women’s Tag Team Champions. It was a rough road to get here, but she is so happy to be home. They were in the ring with some of the best competitors in the world, but she reminds the fans that SmackDown is her house and that Brie and her aren’t going anywhere.
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss made their entrance, with the two happy to see them back (even though Paige pinned Bliss to win at WrestleMania), but Brie and Paige have something that they want. Bliss says they’ve been working every single week to get those titles back and she thinks she can speak for the both of them when she says they’re not going to let one WrestleMania moment get in their way, so if Paige wants to prove that this place is her house, Flair sees no better way than to have her and Brie face her and Bliss, to which Paige and Brie accept and demand that a referee arrives.
The show returned with the tag team match already underway with Brie reaching to tag in Paige as Bliss attempted to keep her away. Flair was then tagged in, although Brie’s attempt to tag Paige was stopped by an attack from the NXT trio of Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid, collectively known as Fatal Influence, making their official main roster debuts by beating down and ganging up on all four competitors. Statement made: SmackDown’s got a new set of bad girls ready to take over the blue brand.
Maryse appeared in another segment in the feud between The Miz and Danhausen, who had broken into their home. The Miz tried to throw a brown powder (presumably cinnamon?) to ward off Danhausen, only for it to fall on Maryse’s face and shirt, plus forcing a cough out of her as Danhausen escaped on a bicycle.
Later on, the show returned from a commercial break with a vignette promoting another new female star coming up from NXT: The Glamour that is Blake Monroe. The Glamour is the girl you’ve been waiting for. She’s beauty. She’s grace. And she’ll probably kick you in the face. She doesn’t just walk into the spotlight, she’s the reason it exists, because nothing burns brighter and darker than Blake Monroe. She’ll be “coming soon” to SmackDown.
This segment was then followed by the new WWE Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley, making her way out to the ring. Telling the Texas crowd that Mami was finally champion again, at WrestleMania, on The Grandest Stage of Them All, Jade actually proved to her that she could go, but now it’s her time to prove that she is a fighting champion. She knows that there are plenty of women in the back that want to take their chance, and she’s down for any sort of challenge, so if anyone wants to step to Mami, now’s their shot.
With that in mind, out comes Fatal Influence once again. Jacy Jayne grabs the mic to say that everyone knows Rhea is the star and the champion, and that the booing fans are excited to see her. She’ll be the first one to give her credit that she had a big win at WrestleMania. The boos remained loud and hard to ignore, which Jayne encouraged, but she resumed speaking to let them know that they should give credit to them for taking out all of the big female legends earlier.
Ripley said she saw what they did earlier, and taking out that many legends is quite impressive, but to give her a little lesson, to stop while she’s ahead. Fallon Henley takes the mic to say thanks, but no thanks, because what they did to them is nothing like what they’re about to do to Rhea. Lainey Reid said that the fans can put the blame on the trio, but all Ripley can do is laugh. She thought Jade was cocky, but lately, she’s been pretty used to the numbers game being against her, and if they actually opened up their eyes and realized, that it really doesn’t matter. If they want to fight, then Ripley’s ready for a fight. Jacy, however, tells Rhea that one thing she’s going to realize about Fatal Influence is that they’re always ready to throw hands.
General manager Nick Aldis comes out and welcomes Fatal Influence to SmackDown. Aldis had been trying to think of a suitable punishment for what they did earlier tonight, and then he realized, she’s standing right there, so Jacy will be taking on Rhea.
The match began with Jayne trying to apply rest holds to Ripley and attempting to strategize with Reid and Henley. As the two distracted The Eradicator, Jayne began to take full control of the match during the commercial break, hitting a cannonball on a downed Ripley at the bottom turnbuckle.
Once the show returned from commercials, Jayne began to lose her dominance over the match, as Ripley started to retaliate with a quick flurry of offense. After nearly getting the win via the Razor’s Edge, Ripley attempted Riptide only for Henley, Reid, and Jayne to all attack Ripley, leaving the champ down and out lying on the mat.
Lastly, Alexa and Charlotte were in the trainer’s room when Rhea walked in, clearly still hurt. Ripley asked Flair if they had a problem, and Bliss said they did: Fatal Influence. Flair told Bliss she would get her hands on Jacy Jayne next week, “unlike some people”, seemingly referring to Ripley, as Bliss tried to explain that Flair’s words were not aimed at her before walking away. Ripley then got checked by the doctor as the segment ended.
Friday Night SmackDown airs next week from inside the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with the following set to take place:
- Charlotte Flair vs. Jacy Jayne
As always, make sure to share your thoughts on this week’s episode of SmackDown in the comments below.
