WWE Friday Night SmackDown in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, Live on the USA Network, May 22nd, 2026 — The Episode Recap:
- robbyplaha
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Where to Watch: Live on the USA Network.
What to Watch Tomorrow Night: WWE Saturday Night's Main Event Streaming Live on Peacock on Saturday at 8 P.M. ET, 7 P.M. CT, 5 P.M PT.
The May 22nd Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — The Official Match Results:
The Opening Match: Talla Tonga (with Tama Tonga & Solo Sikoa) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (09:20)
The 2nd Match: Tiffany Stratton (c) defeated Lash Legend (with Nia Jax) in a WWE Women’s United States Title Match | via Pin-Fall — (09:05)
The 3rd Match: Trick Williams (with Lil Yachty) defeated Carmelo Hayes in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (13:20)
The 4th Match: Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley (with Alexa Bliss) defeated Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) (with Jacy Jayne) in a Tag Team Match | via Pin-Fall — (10:59)
The 5th Match: Solo Sikoa (with Talla Tonga & Tama Tonga) defeated Damian Priest in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (09:20)
The Main Event: Cody Rhodes defeated Sami Zayn in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (11:53)
My Official Thoughts on the May 22nd Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown:
My Official Thoughts: For the first time in a long while, I gave SmackDown a genuinely good rating. This episode was actually watchable for me. Why? It featured three matches I enjoyed, along with some solid segments. Do I think this marks the beginning of SmackDown’s improvement? No. But I must admit, it was a decent episode, and I can’t deny it because they actually delivered some good TV matches that I liked. They also started focusing on the WWE United States Title Division, with Carmelo Hayes and Ricky Saints vying for the title. Plus, I’m excited that Axiom will have time on SmackDown next week.
The May 22nd Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — My Official Match Ratings:
The Opening Match: Talla Tonga (with Tama Tonga & Solo Sikoa) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: .50 — Talla Tonga is the worst wrestler in the world; he’s worse than Tonga Loa and Brodus Clay. I have watched wrestling for almost a decade and a half, and if you can’t even do a basic knee drop to make it look realistic and fail, then you should be done with the business. Now, Shinsuke Nakamura was doing well; he was doing everything in his power to make this a fun match, but you can’t when someone can’t do these basics. Now, Talla Tonga got the win, as he now has wins over Damian Priest, Rey Fenix & Shinsuke Nakamura in Singles Action, but then, after they all attacked Shinsuke Nakamura. But Damian Priest made the save to save Shinsuke Nakamura. I can’t wait for the MFTs to be officially disbanded because they are the worst faction in wrestling, and bring SmackDown down when they appear.
The 2nd Match: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Lash Legend (with Nia Jax) in a WWE Women’s United States Title Match | The Match Rating: *.25 — This match was something. I’m a huge fan of Lash Legend, but what was this match? It felt like a mess. I’m glad Live Events are back, as we have 24 Live Events this summer, so that can help with the chemistry of certain wrestlers, because this match wasn’t good. I would’ve had Lash Lehgend win the title, but I don’t get why Chelsea Green is even in this? This whole thing was confusing to me. I get that Chelsea Green wants to be united with Tiffany Stratton, but I just think this whole thing was one big mess. It wasn’t like extremely bad like Talla Tonga’s wrestling skills.
The 3rd Match: Trick Williams (with Lil Yachty) vs. Carmelo Hayes in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: ***.50 — This match was quite fun. Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams have a lot of history; they were a unit from 2021 to 2024, then we saw them feud a bit before Carmelo Hayes left for the Main Roster. But we saw them reunite in 2025 at the NXT episodes. Now they’re back feuding. Carmelo Hayes is so fun to watch in the ring. His in-ring skill is so fluid and smooth. It’s like, damn, this man has it. We saw Ricky Saints appear at the ring-side, now inserting himself into the WWE United States Title Scene, which I like because he’s a fun wrestler. They protected Carmelo Hayes as Ricky Saints distracted the referee, as Carmelo Hayes got the win, but then Trick Williams got the win with a Trick-Shot Knee to secure the win. Carmelo Hayes, during a backstage interview for Ricky Saints he leveled Ricky Saints to tell him to stay out of his business. The WWE United States Title scene is putting up some steam.
The 4th Match: Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley (with Alexa Bliss) vs. Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) (with Jacy Jayne) in a Tag Team Match | The Match Rating: ***.25 — Very enjoyable tag team match. We had some Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid minutes, which I will never complain about, because those two can wrestle. I liked the team of Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley. I thought the duo worked really well together. Lainey Reid is a star; she’s developing fast. I’m very happy WWE is trusting her because she’s been awesome even in NXT. She’s going to be a Future Women’s Champion. Fallon Henley was awesome in this match, same with Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley as they got the win in the end, but we saw B-Fab, Jade Cargill & Michin all stand tall after putting a beating on their opponents for tomorrow night’s WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event.
The 5th Match: Solo Sikoa (with Talla Tonga & Tama Tonga) vs. Damian Priest in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: **.25 — This match was very boring, had no heat or any spots where it wowed me. But with the MFTs, you expect garbage because they suck. Damian Priest has been getting it handed to him by the MFTs as he suffered another loss as Solo Sikoa got the win over him, but afterwards, they inflicted more damage before it could get worse. Royce Keys came out and saved the day, but Damian Priest didn’t realize that and also hit a South of Heaven on Royce Keys. If you recall, back in Royce Keys WWE Debut, he eliminated Damian Priest from the Royal Rumble, so this could be a perfect time for Damian Priest to turn heel, and start that feud against Royce Keys, because it would be a solid short feud, but Royce Keys is always a bright spot on SmackDown his involved on the show has been some highlights for me watching SmackDown this year.
The Main Event: Cody Rhodes vs. Sami Zayn in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: ****.25 — This was one hell of a match. I’m glad they are now having the big stars wrestling weekly. It feels like nowadays they only wrestle at PLE’s whch is super annoying. But Sami Zayn is a tweaker at this moment in time, not a face nor a heel. He's in the middle, conflicted because he’s trying to do things right, but he seemingly just can’t. Cody Rhodes & Sami Zayn had some good, hard-hitting offense in this match, which I liked a lot. The ending sequence of the match was expected, with Gunther coming, then Sami Zayn trying to be desperate, which failed in his attempt just to get hit with a Cross Rhodes. But at the end, Gunther choked the life out of Cody Rhodes as Sami Zayn just watched, so that’s something I hope they continue upon because it seems like Sami Zayn didn’t care about what happened to Cody Rhodes, because Sami Zayn in 2026 has been free-falling in everything.
The May 22nd Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — My Match of the Night: Cody Rhodes vs. Sami Zayn in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: ****.25 — A very fun Main Event where Sami Zayn was a conflicted wrestler who wanted to play clean but got his hands dirty. I knew Cody Rhodes was going to win because Sami Zayn has been in a free-fall; his time on SmackDown has been horrid in 2026 as everyone turned against him, and now he’s turning on the people that he once called his friends. Sami Zayn’s character development has been quite entertaining on SmackDown now, as he walked away from Cody Rhodes after he was choked out by Gunther, which makes me wonder if he’s going to help Gunther beat Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Title, to have Cody Rhodes feud with Sami Zayn in a Non-Title Singles Feud, which would make for great television.
The May 22nd Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — My Official Episode Grade: 7/10 (B-) — For the first time since forever, I gave SmackDown an actual good grade. This episode was actually watchable for me. Why? They provided me three matches that I enjoyed, mixed in with some solid segments. Now, do I think this is the start of SmackDown being good? No. But I must say this was an actual decent episode, and I can’t deny that whatsoever because they actually gave us some good TV Matches that I enjoyed, and started to focus on the WWE United States Title Division with Carmelo Hayes & Ricky Saints chasing the title. Also, we’re getting Axiom minutes next week on SmackDown, so I’m also very happy about that.
Next Week WWE Friday Night SmackDown May 29th Episode in Barcelona, Spain, Live on the USA Network — The Announced Appearances, Matches & Segments:
Axiom (with Nathan Frazer) vs. The Miz (with Kit Wilson) in a Singles Match.
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