WWE Friday Night SmackDown on the USA Network | May 16th, 2025 | The Episode Recap:

Tiffany Stratton, after her grueling main event match against Nia Jax, in which she retained her WWE Women’s Championship. (Photo by WWE)

The May 16th | Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown | Match Results:

The Opening Match: Alexa Bliss defeated Chelsea Green and Michin in a Women’s Money in the Bank Triple Threat Qualifying Match | Pin-Fall | (09:05)

2nd Match: Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) defeated DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) in a Tag Team Match | Pin-Fall | (11:15)

3rd Match: Aleister Black defeated Carmelo Hayes (with The Miz) in a Singles Match | DQ | (10:25)

4th Match: Rey Fenix defeated Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso in a Men’s Money in the Bank Triple Threat Qualifying Match | Pin-Fall | (13:05)

5th Match: JC Matteo (with Jacob Fatu & Solo Sikoa) defeated LA Knight in a Singles Match | Pin-Fall | (15:10)

The Main Event Match: Tiffany Stratton (c) defeated Nia Jax in a Singles Title Match for the WWE Women’s Championship | Pin-Fall | (14:05) | TITLE RETAINED!!!!

My Thoughts on the May 16th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown:

My Thoughts: This was an up-and-down episode for me on SmackDown. What I do enjot is the Women's side and tag team side of things weekly on SmackDown what I get tired of is the endless Bloodline titbits because it's so pointless and drags the quality of the show for me I want fresh stories and not the same old stories where they shove Solo Sikoa down our throats and try to make us like him when he doesn't even feel like an natural on TV. SmackDown needs a huge overhaul because the quality of this roster there areas they lack heavily and. That's the star power for the men's side of things; the women are great, they have everything from the Stars to mid-card, some quality tag teams, and stables. I hope change comes soon, and with the addition of Giulia, that brings the SmackDown women's side a lot better. And the worst part of the show was Jeff Cobb looking goofy with a horrid name choice and attire that looks so bland. What are they even doing? He had a few things that were pleasant on SmackDown. Fraxiom is climbing the mountain top, Aleister Black and Hayes had a hoot of a match & the women killed it with the opener and main event, but please stop with this Bloodline madness, it has dragged and been drained since the end of 2024. The story ended at WarGames for me. But a very average episode of SmackDown, but next week's show is looking quite fun.

The May 16th | Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown | Match Ratings:

The Opening Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Chelsea Green vs. Michin in a Women’s Money in the Bank Triple Threat Qualifying Match | Match Rating: ***.25 | This was a very fun opener for me. I'm glad Alexa Bliss is finally back consistently for WWE. She adds a lot to the Women's Roster on SmackDown. I really am glad she won as well because she adds the veteran presence to the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Chelsea Green did a great job with the role she had. I wish she were in the match, but I guess we gotta wait for next year unless they have a last chance match to get in. Michin adds more to this match as well. Overall, a very fun, solid opening match with Alexa Bliss being the first woman in the Ladder Match for Money in the Bank.

2nd Match: Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) in a Tag Team Match | Match Rating: ****.25 | Easily the match of the night for SmackDown. Since they arrived at the Blue Brand, Fraxiom has been excellent. They have beaten four teams, including the current WWE Tag Team Champions in The Street Profits. The first half of the match was okay, but the second half is where we started to get some crazy back-and-forth action and some amazing in-ring action. I like how Raxiom didn't change anything about their ring style once they were called up. They defeated DIY, then afterwards got jumped by a jealous DIY after losing, which led to the Motor City Machine Guns coming out and saving Fraxiom from a beat-down. Great Tag Team Match, and this is easily the best Tag Division in wrestling today.

3rd Match: Aleister Black vs. Carmelo Hayes (with The Miz) in a Singles Match | Match Rating: ***.50 | Aleister Black has been very solid since returning to WWE. In three matches, he looks very poised; he wrestles at a fast pace, which didn't do much in AEW, and he seems like he's in the best shape of his life. Aleister Black had his 2nd match against Carmelo Hayes, and this was a lot better than last week's match, which was also a very fun bout. My only problem is the inconsistency in the booking for Carmelo Hayes. His other NXT counterparts are in big-time feuds with big-time players in WWE, while he's going to lose a feud against a returning Aleister Black, who was released from the company back in 2021. The pairing with The Miz doesn't help either. Carmelo Hayes has done well for himself dating back to NXT. What he needs is a reset once the WWE Draft comes he needs to be on RAW where I feel like he will thrive at because the creatove for SmackDown has been doing an awful job I get the whole cocky rookie thing but he needs some hardware to be shown as a next face of the next generation of WWE. But this was a solid outing for both men, but I need this feud to end so Carmelo Hayes can go along and start to win some feuds, because he has lost almost every main roster feud thus far.

4th Match: Rey Fenix vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Jimmy Uso in a Men’s Money in the Bank Triple Threat Qualifying Match | Match Rating: ** | This was a very clunky match, there were a lot of mishaps and botches. Rey Fenix didn't look the best, but how can you when you the in the ring with two below-average wrestlers? The match had some very solid moments, like Rey Fenix doing his arial moves, trying to take down both men, but the match just felt off. This was a weird Money in the Bank Qualifying Match, like Rey Fenix is a great choice to be in this match, as he is a joy to watch in the ring, the other two not so much. Sucks that Rey Fenix ate the pin and that Solo Sikoa is now on his way to the Money in the Bank Ladder Match and I think this will be his first PLE match this year. Wish Rey Fenix won instead, but I know he'll be doing stuff earlier on the day of Money in the Bank as the WWE and Triple A PLE will happen on that day, and I know he will have a big presence on that show.

5th Match: JC Matteo (with Jacob Fatu & Solo Sikoa) vs. LA Knight in a Singles Match | Match Rating: *.50 | Now this is an awful way to present Jeff Cobb. One, you gave him an awful name should have kept the Jeff Cobb name instead of JC Mateo, sounds like something the old regime would have done, and two, what is his in-ring apparel? If you know Jeff Cobb, he donned a singlet in New Japan. Also, this match was just announced on the fly. LA Knight, I feel so bad for him because he has been stuck in The Bloodline Vortex since the beginning of the year. This match went on too long, the crowd didn't care, which is insane because nothing LA Knight is involved in, but that goes to show how tired they are of the booking he's getting, because LA Knight should be doing more. JC Mateo gets the win, and this match did nothing to put him over. This made the fans not care. In a sense, can they slavge this? Yes, they can if they allow him to wear what he wore in New Japan and let him be the killer we all knew him as in New Japan.

The Main Event Match: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Nia Jax in a Singles Title Match for the WWE Women’s Championship | Match Rating: **** | The 2nd best match of the night, this was a hoot. Tiffany Stratton put on a super-sympathetic performance against her ex-best friend, Nia Jax. Now, Nia Jax has been moving me this past year; she has many great TV Matches, and you can add this to her catalog of matches. The action was fun from the start of the match, it was rolling as it got into every gear, and the fans were enjoying it. Naomi made her presence known, similar to Jade Cargill. I thought the match was over when Nia Jax squashed her like a bug, but she got the ropes, then proceeded to get the victory after kicking her in the face while she held a chair, which busted her open, then Tiffany Stratton retained. This was a hell of a Main Event Match. I loved it and thought this made Tiffany Stratton look so strong as a champion. She has new challengers, which is needed because we can finally move on from this Nia Jax chapter for her.

The May 16th | WWE Friday Night SmackDown | Match of the Night: Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) in a Tag Team Match | Match Rating: ****.25

The May 16th | Edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown | Episode Grade: 6.75/10 (C+) | A very up and down episode what made the episode go down was The Bloodline stuff with Solo winning in a botchfest match and JC Mateo having an awful debut match just a putrid half an hour of Bloodline television. But the bright side of this episode was the Tag Division on the men's side and the ladies killing it with the opener match and the main event, SmackDown does still need to have a major roster reset with the draft coming in a few months, it’s going to be a hard watch with the limited stars they have on this show at the moment.

Next Week WWE Friday Night SmackDown | May 23rd Episode | The Announced Matches & Segments:

1. LA Knight vs. Aleister Black vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a Men’s Money in the Bank Triple Threat Qualifying Match.

2. Giulia vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Zelina Vega in a Women’s Money in the Bank Triple Threat Qualifying Match.

3. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) (c) vs. Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) in a Tag Team Title Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship.