WWE SmackDown Results 5/3 - Cody Rhodes & AJ Styles Meet In The Ring, Tag Team Championship Match
Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s results for "WWE SmackDown" on May 3, 2024, coming to you from the LDLC Arena in Lyon-Décines, France!
Cody Rhodes is set to defend his Undisputed WWE Championship for the first time on television as he collides with AJ Styles at WWE Backlash tomorrow night. However, before they do, they will be meeting in the ring one last time before then. Despite Styles initially earning his title shot by winning a Triple Threat match and defeating LA Knight as well as the respect they have voiced for one another, tensions between the two have quickly risen over the past couple of weeks.
Grayson Waller and Austin Theory will be putting the WWE Tag Team Championship on the line on televised programming for the first time since becoming the titleholders at Night One of WrestleMania 40 in a Six-Pack Challenge Ladder Match as they defend against The Street Profits. Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins secured their spot in tonight's match after defeating Legado Del Fantasma, New Catch Republic, and Authors of Pain in a Fatal Four-Way Number One Contenders match on the April 19 episode of "SmackDown".
Speaking of New Catch Republic and Authors of Pain, they will be going head-to-head in tag team competition. Akam, Rezar, Pete Dunne, and Tyler Bate came face-to-face last week when the former pair attacked the latter duo in a backstage physical altercation.
Additionally, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens will be hosting the inaugural edition of "The R-KO Show" before they take on Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga of The Bloodline at Backlash. Per WWE's event page, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, and LA Knight are also advertised to be featured on tonight's show.
We are live! Corey Graves and Wade Barrett greet audiences at home as Bayley makes her way down to the ring. Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, Naomi, Tiffany Stratton, and Damage CTRL follow.
Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, Naomi and Bayley vs. Tiffany Stratton and Damage CTRL
Sane and Naomi begin the action. The bell rings and Sane levels Naomi with a forearm. Naomi sends Sane face first into the top turnbuckle, then delivers a dropkick and tags in Belair. Belair connects with a springboard moonsault, then looks to land a bodyslam. Sane escapes, but Belair catches her with a delayed vertical suplex. She sends an interfering Asuka crashing to the outside, and Sane catches Sane with a spinning backfist. Bayley tags herself in as Asuka pulls Belair out of the ring and lands a strike on her on the outside. The now legal Stratton delivers a spinebuster to Bayley back in the ring.
Back from the break, Asuka delivers a running knee to Bayley. She goes for a pin, but Bayley kicks out. Stratton tags back in and jams her knee into the back of Bayley's neck. Kai tags in and fires off stomps on Bayley in the corner. Sane tags in, then tags back out to Asuka. Asuka and Sane double team on Bayley before Stratton tags back in and whips Bayley into the corner. She delivers a handspring back elbow and an Alabama Slam to Bayley, then goes for a pin. Naomi breaks the fall.
Stratton clocks Cargill on the apron, then sends Bayley crashing into Naomi. Bayley levels Stratton with a back suplex and comes close to reluctantly tagging in Belair. Cargill hops up on the apron and tags in. Cargill levels the now legal Kai with a pump kick, Asuka with a chokeslam, and Sane with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. She tags in Belair, then delivers a splash in the corner to Kai. She follows it up with a powerbomb and sends Belair crashing on top of her. Everyone then begins getting in the ring and taking one another down before Belair lands a KOD on Kai for the win.
Winners: Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, Naomi and Bayley
Back from the break, we see Kayla Braxton chat with Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair about their upcoming Women's Tag Team Championship match against Asuka and Kairi Sane tomorrow night. Belair becomes heated thinking about everything Damage CTRL has put her through and stares down Bayley as she does. She tells her that she hopes after tomorrow night, she'll hopefully be done with Damage CTRL for good.
We then head backstage and see Carmelo Hayes chat with Nick Aldis in his office. Hayes declares himself as a participant in the Men's King Of The Ring Tournament before Bobby Lashley walks in and offers to help Hayes in any way he needs. Hayes tells him he thinks he'll be good, but he appreciates it. Lashley tells Hayes it's making the shots he takes count and tells him he lost last week. Hayes questions when the last time Lashley made a shot was, and Lashley warns him to be careful of his mouth.
Back at ringside, New Catch Republic makes their way down to the ring. The Final Testament follows.
Authors of Pain (w/ The Final Testament) vs. New Catch Republic
Dunne and Akam begin the action. The bell rings and the two lock up. Akam sends Dunne crashing out of the ring, but Dunne responds with an enzuigiri and three dropkicks. Dunne locks in an Arm Bar, and Bate tags in. Bate and Dunne fire off right hands on Akam before Bate delivers a pair of European Uppercuts, Akam turns him inside out with a clothesline, then tags in Rezar. He looks to send Bate crashing into the mat, but Bate fights his way out with a series of knees to Rezar.
Dunne tags in and ascends to the top. He delivers a double stomp to Rezar's arm, and Bate sends him crashing to the outside with a dropkick. Bate sends Akam out to join him, and flies to level both members of Authors of Pain. Rezar and Bate get back in the ring, and Rezar delivers a Death Valley Driver to Bate in the corner.
Back from the break, Akam tags in and double teams on Bate with Rezar. Akam sends Bate's head bouncing off the mat, then tags in Rezar. Rezar locks in a Bear Hug on Bate, but Bate slips out of it. Rezar looks to powerbomb him, but Bate hits him with a dropkick. He looks to tag in Dunne, but Akam tags in and prevents him from doing so. Bate delivers a rebound clothesline and tags in Dunne.
Dunne delivers an enzuigiri to Akam and lands one on Rezar. He then delivers a dropkick on Rezar and hits a boot on Akam's midsection. Dunne follows it up with a Sliced Bread on Akam and ascends to the top. He looks to fly, but Akam moves out of the way. Bate tags in and Dunne deliversa boot to Akam's face. Bate gets Akam up on his shoulders and delivers the Airplane Spin. Dunne tags back in and Bate delivers a Shooting Star Press. Dunne delivers a running knee and Bate goes for a pin, but Akam kicks out.
Bate and Dunne snap Akam and Rezar's fingers. Akam is sent crashing to the outside and Dunne looks to fly, but Scarlett hops up on the apron. Bate flies to level Akam, but Kross sends Bate crashing into the floor off his shoulder. Dunne flies and levels Kross, but Akam hits him with a uranage when he gets back in the ring. Authors of Pain then deliver a neckbreaker-powerbomb combination for the win.
Winners: Authors of Pain
We then head backstage and see Paul Heyman meet with Nick Aldis in his office about a memo Heyman sent to him. Aldis says his request to pull Kevin Owens and Randy Orton from their tag team match against The Bloodline tomorrow, and asks him why he even asks. Heyman says he did it for the safety and protection of Orton and Aldis. Heyman looks to leave, and Aldis questions if these orders for him to the memo came from Roman Reigns. Heyman walks back in and reveals he hasn't spoken to Reigns since WrestleMania. Aldis asks if Reigns really pulled himself out of the WWE Draft, and Heyman says it was him who pulled him. Heyman says he had no choice, and says he can't subject Reigns to the current chaos going on in The Bloodline. He tries talking Aldis out of keeping Owens and Orton in the match, and Aldis tells him he can try to ask them directly on "The R-KO Show".
Back from the break, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens make their way down to the ring.
Randy Orton and Kevin Owens Host The Inaugural Episode of The R-KO Show
Owens welcomes fans to "The R-KO Show" in French, and Orton says Owens would normally have talk him into doing something like this. He says it didn't take much talking this time for Owens to convince him to do a talk show when it normally would because the people of France are amazing, and says neither did talking him into teaming with him tomorrow night. Owens says he originally didn't want to have a guest for the first "R-KO Show", but Paul Heyman wore him down to be his guest, and he agreed to let him on the show. He gives Orton the opportunity to introduce Heyman, but Heyman makes his way to the ring before he can.
Heyman introduces himself, and says he's out at the ring with respect, admiration, and applause for wisdom. Owens warns Orton on landing an RKO on Heyman right away, and Orton says he's more about hitting the move out of nowhere. Heyman says no one will be hitting a RKO tonight, and Orton says he begs to differ.
Owens asks Heyman to get to his point, and Heyman says he asks to be a guest on the show because he has great respect for both Orton and Owens. He says it was competition when they both stepped into the ring with Roman Reigns, but the rules with Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga are completely different. He tells them to back out of their tag team match tomorrow night for their sake and everyone else's, and both Orton and Owens decline to do so. Owens says Heyman is in no position to tell anyone else what to do considering his world is falling apart around him.
Orton asks Heyman who the real "Tribal Chief" is, and Heyman says the world knows there's only one "Tribal Chief". Sikoa and Tonga then blindside Owens and Orton, and the four men brawl with one another. Security runs down to break them all up, but Orton sends one of them over the desk and Owens flies to level several of them on the outside.
LA Knight then makes his way down to the ring. Legado Del Fantasma follows.
LA Knight vs. Angel (w/ Legado Del Fantasma)
The bell rings and the two lock up. Knight hits a shoulder tackle, but Angel fires off strikes on him. Knight levels Angel with a clothesline and a swinging neckbreaker, then sends him to the outside. Knight sends Angel's head repeatedly bouncing off the ring apron and gets him back in the ring before he clotheslines him back to the outside and delivers a dropkick to him through the middle rope. He gets Angel back inside and sends his face bounding off the top turnbuckle twice, then delivers a clothesline to him in the corner and plants him with a suplex.
Back from the break, Berto distacts Knight, opening the door for Angel to deliver a headbutt and boot to the side of his head. Knight responds with a flying clothesline and a series of stomps, then delivers a running knee, then hist a bodyslam and an elbow drop. Berto distracts Knight and Angel tries taking advantage, but Knight manages to hit BFT for the win.
Winner: LA Knight
After the match, Knight grabs a mic and declares himself as a participant in the Men's King Of The Ring tournament. Santos Escobar then grabs a mic and does the same.
We then head backstage to Byron Saxton chatting with Carlito. Saxton asks Carlito why he turned on Dragon Lee, and Carlito explains that he was upset his WrestleMania moment was taken away from him when Rey chose to tag with Lee against Dominik Mysterio and Escobar before he attacked him. Lee then appears out of nowhere and attacks Carlito.
Back at ringside, The Street Profits make their way down to the ring. A-Town Down Under follows.
A-Town Down Under (c) vs. The Street Profits for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Waller clocks Ford on the apron. The bell rings and Theory then goes after Dawkins in the ring. Waller tags in and Ford tags in and delivers a dropkick to Dawkins. The Profits then deliver a double Flapjack and Ford hits a Uranage on Waller. Dawkins tags in and ascends to the top, then delivers a Swanton Bomb to Waller. Waller rolls out of the ring to join Theory, and Ford tags in. Ford then flies over the top to level both Theory and Waller on the outside. Ford gets Waller back in the ring, then delivers a double suplex to him with the now legal Dawkins. Dawkins then delivers a splash and an enzuigiri to Waller in the corner.
Back from the break, Ford delivers a cannonball to Theory off the top rope. He connects with a back suplex before Waller delivers a dropkick to Dawkins' knee off the top rope. Theory tags in and looks to fly into the ring, but Dawkins levels him. He delivers a sit-out powerbomb to Waller, and Ford tags in. Dawkins gets Theory in an Electric Chair position, and Ford flies off the top to connect with a Blockbuster. Dawkins tags back in, and gets Theory in an Electric Chair position. Ford ascends to the top, but Theory escapes. Waller then lands a flatliner on Dawkins while the referee is distracted, and Theory pins him for the win.
Winners (and still): A-Town Down Under
AJ Styles then makes his way down to the ring. Cody Rhodes follows.
Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles Meet In The Ring
Rhodes asks Lyon what they want to talk about in French. Styles tells him he should be focused on him rather than the crowd, and Rhodes says he grew up watching Styles. Styles cuts him off and tells him he doesn't need to hear him sing his praises. He says he's still in his prime, and Rhodes questions who is saying otherwise. Styles says Rhodes was welcomed in WWE with open arms, but when things got a little rough and he couldn't handle it, he left and it was his decision. Styles says he never got to make that choice and says he wasn't welcomed in the WWE for years, but when he got there, he still wasn't welcome with open arms. He says he'll beat Rhodes tomorrow at Backlash to remind him and everyone else he's phenomenal.
Rhodes says every sacrifice he made and mistake he endured was to stand inside the ring as Undisputed WWE Champion. He says he's looking at Styles as his first rather than phenomenal in his first title defense on television. He says it's too sweet and throws up the symbol. He then slaps Rhodes and makes his way to the back.
We then head backstage and see Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Solo Sikoa, and Tama Tonga still brawling with one another as the show goes off the air.