Friday Night SmackDown Review - May 1, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ricky Saints Confronted Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes

For those who remember, Saints made his AEW debut back in 2020 by answering an open challenge from Rhodes, so I thought it was a nice touch to have his first SmackDown appearance be in a segment with Rhodes. He even acknowledged that during their exchange here. This was good stuff to start the show and to set up their match for a little later in the night.

Jacy Jane def. Charlotte Flair

Fatal Influence had a hell of a main roster debut last week. They laid out a bunch of notable names and Jane took Rhea Ripley to the limit in their match before losing by disqualification. It would have been easy to do something similar here, so I was happy that Jane beat Flair by pinfall instead. That's huge for her, assuming they can capitalize on it. The match itself was solid for as long as it lasted.

WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest and R-Truth def. Fraxiom

I appreciate that Priest and Truth have defended the tag titles a few times since winning them, but it doesn't change the fact that they're a makeshift team in a division with minimal teams coming off last week's round of releases. I hope Fraxiom aren't next to get canned considering they lost here. They were made to look credible in defeat, but how much does that mean if they're going to continue to flounder? Solo Sikoa and Talla Tonga stood tall afterward, so it looks like The MFTs aren't done with the tag titles. Oh, joy. They also attacked The Usos, leading to the night's tag team main event.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes def. Ricky Saints (Non-Title)

Although this wasn't a barn burner by any means, I thought it served as a successful SmackDown debut match for Saints. Sure, it wasn't ideal that he got pinned his first night in, but it was against the Undisputed WWE Champion. Plus, the match was well worked, so he should be fine, provided they follow up on this properly. In an interesting twist, Gunther emerged attacked and attacked Rhodes. Does this mean he's officially on SmackDown now?

The Miz and Kit Wilson Attacked Danhausen

Say what you will about how silly or stupid the storyline has been with these three, but it's been over huge with the crowds. Personally, it's been a guilty pleasure for me, and it's been especially cool seeing Danhausen become so beloved so quickly in WWE. This effectively put heat on the heels and created the need for a tag team match at Backlash. My guess is that CM Punk will be Danhausen's mystery partner.

Royce Keys def. Angel

I wouldn't be picking up my phone anytime soon if I was either member of Los Garza. SmackDown's tag team division has been depleted and the leader of Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar) was fired last week. I could absolutely believe this being their write-off given how decisive it was. Then again, it needed to be decisive to further establish Keys' dominance.

Sami Zayn Attacked the Gingerbread Man

I can't believe I just wrote that as a headline. This felt like a segment you'd see at the end of Vince McMahon's time running WWE. Hell, Zayn was involved in a lot of McMahon-written segments for several years. This wasn't the worst thing ever, and I understood what they were going for, but it certainly wasn't great television. The official double turn for Zayn and Trick Williams appears to be imminent, and we might get it at Backlash now that their rematch for the United States Championship has been announced for that show.

WWE Tag Team Champions Brie Bella and Paige def. Irresistible Forces

I'm surprised this was thrown together without any real buildup. Granted, they could always drag out the feud since Bella and Paige won in fluky fashion, but I don't know that they necessarily should with how mediocre this match was. I get the feeling that Bella and Paige won't be champs for much longer if Fatal Influence continue to build momentum and take those titles.

The MFTs (Talla Tonga and Solo Sikoa) def. The Usos by Disqualification

Much like last week, this was not a main event-worthy match. I've been digging what we've been getting from Jacob Fatu and Roman Reigns on Raw recently, but we don't need the Bloodline lore bleeding over onto the blue brand, too. It was a decent main event, but the action wasn't overly exciting. Fatu showing up at the end and destroying Sikoa and Tonga was the best part.

Overall Show

It was reported earlier this week that SmackDown will be returning to two hours in the next month or so. Thank the lord for that. The three hours are a struggle to sit through, but even with a shorter runtime, SmackDown will still suffer from subpar creative, as seen in the latter half of 2025. This wasn't an awful episode on the whole, but I'd constitute most of it as just being "there," if that makes sense. Hopefully the newer names will get over and give this show some life.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews