Friday Night SmackDown Review - May 15, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

United States Champion Trick Williams def. The Miz (Non-Title)

The show started with a homecoming for Williams (accompanied by Lil Yatchy, of course), which was interrupted by Miz and Kit Wilson. If Williams wasn't already a babyface, he definitely is now. He's been over with the audience from the moment he arrived on SmackDown at the beginning of the year, but he came across like an even bigger star than usual here. The subsequent match between Williams and Miz felt like something you'd see on a house show, but it was fine.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Paige and Brie Bella def. Kiana James and Giulia (Non-Title)

I'm still not sensing the chemistry between Paige and Brie, but I am glad they're making regular appearances on Raw and SmackDown as well as defending their titles. Granted, this wasn't a title match, but it did give them a win. The match itself was fine, but it was more about establishing tension between James and Giulia. Their split has been long overdue in my opinion.

Royce Keys Crashed Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Gunther's Undisputed WWE Championship Contract Signing

Not only was this a contract signing for the title match at Clash in Italy, it was also apparently supposed to serve as a contract signing for Gunther as a SmackDown Superstar. Since Gunther waited too long to sign it, does that mean he isn't officially on SmackDown? Oh well, it hardly matters. Nonetheless, this was a solid segment to set up the number one contender's main event between Gunther and Keys for later on.

Carmelo Hayes def. Ricky Saints

This was a pleasant surprise. We haven't seen Hayes on SmackDown since before WrestleMania 42 (simply because there was nothing for him creatively and not because he was hurt), so I'm glad he's finally back. He and Saints had a hell of a sprint and I appreciated that it was so competitive. Both guys need wins right now, but Hayes winning the way he did was enough to protect Saints in defeat.

WWE Tag Team Champion Damian Priest def. Tama Tonga

Tonga lost to Keys last week, so it's strange he lost decisively two weeks in a row considering how much he's been built up this year. Then again, Priest lost to Talla Tonga two weeks ago, so he had to win at some point, too. The crowd was painfully quiet for this contest and I can't say I blame them. There wasn't anything technically wrong with it, but it was a pretty boring bout and the feud isn't interesting at all.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss def. Michin and B-Fab by Disqualification

The promos that preceded the match were passable albeit nothing special. They were basically designed to build toward the six-woman tag team match pitting Flair, Bliss and Rhea Ripley against Jade Cargill, Michin and B-Fab at Saturday Night's Main Event. This matchup was whatever. Ripley not showing up afterward plays into the idea that she and Flair aren't on the same page.

Gunther def. Royce Keys in an Undisputed WWE Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

Keys is still in the process of getting over with the audience, so the crowd wasn't super into all of the action, but I did think this was an enjoyable, hard-hitting main event on the whole. It marked Keys' first loss since arriving in WWE, but losing to a star the caliber of Gunther isn't a huge deal, not to mention Solo Sikoa distracted Keys at the end. Plus, it was safe to assume he wasn't winning here, and I liked that Gunther earned the title shot instead of just signing a contract.

Overall Show

Thankfully, this wasn't as poor as other editions of SmackDown we've gotten in recent months, but it was very much a mixed bag. The crowd was at its hottest during the opening segment and the subsequent match, but to me, the highlights of the night were Hayes vs. Saints and Gunther vs. Keys. The overall vibe on Friday nights continues to lack, making it much more of a chore to tune into most weeks.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews