WWE SmackDown took place this week from the Thompson-Bolin Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. It featured the last Money in the Bank qualifiers from the blue brand, a superstar making her return to her hometown, other in-ring matches, and the huge face-off between heated rivals, John Cena and Cody Rhodes, who brought a surprise of their own and ended up in an all-out brawl.
Opening segment with Bianca Belair
Bianca Belair made her return to SmackDown, which was taking place in her hometown, with her family in attendance. Naomi came out and told Belair that she broke into her house as no one was there. This agitated Belair, who warned her never to come near her house or her family. Things got heated until Jade Cargill arrived and had a physical altercation with Naomi before the first match of the night.
Jade Cargill vs Naomi vs Nia Jax
This match was a triple-threat Women’s Money in the Bank qualifying match. The match was an exciting showdown with three different in-ring styles colliding and saw multiple near falls as they delivered power-packed moves. The ending saw Nia Jax stacking both opponents on top of each other. She delivered the Annihilator, but only got Jade Cargill, as Naomi avoided it and rolled her up for the pin.
R-Truth vs J.C Matteo
This was a singles match that took place following a backstage interaction between R-Truth and The Bloodline. It was more of a squash match as J.C. Matteo picked up a quick win. The Bloodline continued the attack on R-Truth until Jimmy Uso ran down to make the save.
Rey Fenix & Je’Von Evans vs Los Garza
The match saw Je’Von Evans competing on the main roster for the first time in his WWE career. Ethan Page was on commentary for this match. It was a thrilling encounter as both sides delivered a great match. The final moments saw Page taking out Rey Fenix and Los Garva delivering a tag team move on Je’Von Evans to pick up the win.
Alba Fyre vs Zelina Vega
This was a singles match. It was a slow-paced yet exciting match to witness. The ending saw Chelsea Green removing her protective mask and ready to hit Zelina Vega. Instead, she struck Piper Niven. Following that, Vega capitalized by hitting the Code Red on Alba Fyre to win the match.
Jacob Fatu vs Andrade El Idolo vs Carmelo Hayes
This match was a triple-threat Men’s Money in the Bank qualifying match. It was an evenly matched contest as the three competitors left it all in the ring. The action spilled all over the ringside and had the fans captivated, leading to a ‘This is Awesome’ chant breaking out. Towards the end of the bout, Solo Sikoa and J.C. Matteo came down to the ringside area. Fatu almost had the match won, but an altercation with Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso came down to attack J.C. Matteo. The confusion led to Andrade capitalizing on putting down Carmelo Hayes for the pin to qualify for the ladder match.
John Cena & Cody Rhodes face-off segment
This was the main event segment of the night. Cody Rhodes came out first and reflected back on his WrestleMania 41 loss to John Cena. He revealed that he spoke with a lot of people who told him that he had been a great champion. Following that, he brought out his Money in the Bank partner, Jey Uso, to the ring, much to the surprise of the fans. As he was YEETin with the fans, Cena finally came out. He began berating both of them and revealed that his own MITB partner, Logan Paul, was also on SmackDown. After exchange of words, both sides brawled with Rhodes and Uso gaining the upperhand to end the show.Also read: Three NXT champions set for WWE main roster takeover
