WWE Friday Night SmackDown 05 08 2026

A video package of Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu airs.

Live in the arena, Jacob Fatu’s music hits and out he comes to the ring. Fatu says at Backlash, he is not fighting Roman Reigns for the title, at Backlash, he is taking that title. He says since they were young, all everyone saw in Roman was the future. Since he was young, they all saw nothing in him and now they want to call him, talk nice to him, to try and tell him to fall back, fall in line but hell no. He says he has seen this before with Roman, history repeats itself.

Fatu says everyone tapping in with Fatu, they are not trying to protect him, they are trying to protect Roman. He says it’s all good, when Roman was born, he was born with opportunity. When he was born, he was born with doubt.

Out come The Usos. Jimmy says they are not out there to change Fatu’s mind. What they say, they know it won’t change what will happen at Backlash. He says he is proud of Fatu, he respects that because he respects where he comes from. A part of him roots for him but the other part of him is looking out for him. He says they understand the win that Fatu needs but has he ever sat still and thought what happens if Fatu loses.

Jey since he didn’t think because he doesn’t think that Fatu thinks like that. Jey says he lived what will happen to Fatu. He says at Backlash, the Tribal Chief is going to beat that ass. That isn’t even the worst part. He says the worst part is that Roman is going to break him down emotionally and physically. He says he will do that to him in front of his family.

Jimmy says at Backlash, Fatu’s family will be sitting front row watching. And if he loses, his wife and his children will have to acknowledge the Tribal Chief, the OTC, Roman Reigns.

Fatu says hell no. He tells them he is not losing, he can’t lose. He tells Jey that Jey is trying to talk to him about losing to Roman, he tells Jey that Jey never beat Roman. He tells Jimmy that there is no losing, there is no acknowledging nothing. This isn’t just a main event, this is for his family. He says if there is one thing that his family will see him doing is becoming the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He says that Roman will know that Jacob Fatu is all gas, no breaks with it, nadda mean.

He says at Backlash, if they think about interfering, he will burn this God damn family tree down. Fatu’s music hits and he leaves the ring.

We cut to the back and Cathy Kelley is backstage with Nick Aldis. As he is talking, in comes Ricky Saints and in comes Matt Cardona.

-Commercial Break-

Back from commercial, Jacob Fatu is with Nick Aldis and Aldis wishes him luck at Backlash. Royce Keys tells Fatu that failure was never an option. He asks when has Fatu ever been afraid of anything. They shake hands and Fatu walks away.

WWE Women’s United States Championship Match – Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Kiana James with Giulia

The bell rings and we are under way. James with a head lock but Tiffany reverses it into a head lock. James throws Tiffany to the ropes and Tiffany with a clothesline. Tiffany throws James on the ring apron and James trips Tiffany up. James to the outside and she slams Tiffany’s left leg into the ring post.

-Commercial Break-

Back from commercial, Tiffany with a kick to the side of the head. She goes for the cover but Tiffany kicks out. James goes for a spear in the corner but Tiffany moves out of the way and James hits the ring post. Giulia gets on the ring apron and that distracts the referee. James goes for the cover on Tiffany but the referee is distracted. James gets up and Tiffany runs towards James but James moves out of the way. Tiffany hits Giulia off the ring apron. James goes for a right hand onto Tiffany but Tiffany with a spinning elbow. Tiffany with a Samoan drop. Tiffany with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. She goes for the cover and gets the pin.

Winner: Still Women’s United States Champion, Tiffany Stratton

Kiana James and Giulia stand in the ring after the match and look at each other as we cut to the back.

We cut backstage and there is an open casket for the Gingerbread man funeral. We see many people in the back wearing black mourning. In comes Sami Zayn and Nick Aldis. R-Truth comes in from behind and gives Sami Zayn a rose.

Back from commercial, Cathy Kelley is backstage with Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. Rhea says that Fatal Influence chose the wrong people to attack and she wants to remind them who she is. Flair says that they could all get their hands on them together. Rhea asks Flair why she has to fight her on everything and Flair tells Rhea that Rhea is not the only one that wants revenge. Rhea asks her if they have a problem and Flair asks her the same thing. Alexa Bliss gets in between them, she tells them that they have tag teamed before and trusted each other before. She says they can do it again.

We cut to Damian Priest and in comes R-Truth. He tells Priest that he was crying at the Gingerbread Man’s funeral. Priest tells R-Truth that is not where his mind is, he wants revenge against the MFTs for what they did last week. R-Truth tells Priest that he wants to help him but he is not yet 100% but he wants to have his back. R-Truth tells him that they are the Tag Team Champions. Priest tells him that they are and he didn’t expect that. Priest says he is proud that they are Champions but he wants R-Truth to trust him and stay back.

-Commercial Break-

Talla Tonga with Solo Sikoa vs. Damian Priest

The bell rings and we are under way. Priest with elbows onto Talla Tonga and Talla Tonga falls to the outside of the ring. Priest on the ring apron and jumps onto Talla Tonga. Priest walks towards Solo but Solo backs away. Priest goes for a spinning elbow but Talla Tonga picks Priest up and slams him into the ring post. Talla Tonga with an upper cut. Talla Tonga picks Priest up and throws him onto the announce table.

-Commercial Break-

Back from commercial, Priest with a big boot but Talla Tonga with a right hand. Priest with a spinning kick to the head and Talla Tonga rolls to the outside of the ring. Priest to the outside, he jumps off the steel steps and lands a double axe onto Talla Tonga. Priest with a big boot onto Solo who is sitting on a chair. Priest throws Talla Tonga back into the ring. Priest climbs the top rope and he lands a flying clothesline. He goes for the cover but Talla Tonga kicks out. Out comes Tama Tonga and that distracts the referee. Solo gets on the ring apron but Priest pushes him down. Priest turns around and Talla Tonga with a clothesline. He goes for the cover but Priest kicks out. Priest rolls to the outside of the ring. R-Truth’s music hits and out he comes. R-Truth with right hands onto Tama Tonga and Solo Siko. Tama Tonga grabs R-Truth, SOlo geos for the Samoan Spike, Priest to the outside and he pushes Solo onto Tama Tonga. Priest talks to R-Truth but Talla Tonga with a right hand. v throws Priest into the ring. He lands a T-Bomb chokeslam. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.

Winner: Talla Tonga

R-Truth gets in the ring but Solo and the MFTs are standing behind R-Truth. Out comes Royce Keys to the ring and the MFTs leave the ring.

We cut to a clip of last week’s SmackDown involving Danhausen, Miz and Kit Wilson. We see Miz hitting Danhausen from behind and hitting him with the Skull Crushing Finale.

We cut to Danhausen sitting backstage and he asks who wants to sign up to be his tag team partner at Backlash. In come Miz and Wilson. Miz says he can’t even find a tag team partner. Kit says Danhausen is toxic. Kit says they are emotionally storng men. Miz says Danhausen he has no friends. Danhausen says he has Papa Shango as his friend. Kit puts a mirror in front of Danhausen and says the only person crazy enough to be Danhausen’s tag team partner is Danhausen. He looks at the mirror and says that’s a great idea. Danhausen gets up and leaves.

The camera cuts to Paul Heyman walking backstage and he is standing in front of the office of Nick Aldis. Heyman opens the door and walks in.

-Commercial Break-

Back from commercial, we see stills of Hulk Hogan body slamming Andre The Giant at WrestleMania 3, Steve Austin being arrested and John Cena celebrating winning the title. In the three pictures, we see the Gingerbread Man in attendance.

We cut to Paul Heyman with Nick Aldis in his office. Aldis tells him everything they discussed is in the contract. In comes Gunther and Heyman gives him the contract. He tells him as request. Aldis tells Gunther what he did last week was unacceptable. But with that being said, he is happy to have him on SmackDown. Gunther asks Aldis if that is really how he wants to talk to his future WWE Champion. On the television behind them, we see Cody Rhodes walking down to the ring. Gunther says this was his time. He says he doesn’t do business like this and he gives Aldis the contract. Gunther walks away and Heyman tells Aldis he will handle it.

Cody gets in the ring and asks the fans what they want to talk about. He says last week was Gunther’s way of saying he is next in line. He says he would like if Gunther could come down to the ring and say that.

We hear Paul Heyman’s voice and out he comes to the ring holding a contract. He says his name is Paul Heyman and they have a bit of a problem but he is there to solve it. He says he holds in his hand, a contract for a match. Cody stops him. He says he has to ask, has he now become an advocate for Gunther because this isn’t a thing they need a contract for. He says he is in Jacksonville, Gunther’s in Jacksonville and to do it now. Heyman says he is not an advocate for Gunther, he owes Gunther a favor and this is the favor.

Heyman says he is also an enormous fan of the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes. Which is why he wanted Cody to know that Cody does need a contract when an Undisputed Heavyweight Championship is at stake. Heyman says the contract for the title match is not for Jacksonville, Florida. The contract is not even for the United States of America. The match against Gunther, if Cody accepts, will be in Turin at Clash in Italy. Heyman says the favor for Gunther was to set it up but if Cody wants Gunther’s signature on the contract, he will have to do that himself. Heyman gives Cody the contract.

Cody says Brock Lesnar retired on him, Roman wants nothing to do with him, CM Punk has discarded him. He says Heyman is in the ring and he has to ask. Is it because Heyman is out of options. Heyman says the way he looks at it, he’s not the one running out of options. Heyman leaves the ring and says sooner or later, they all need the wise man.

In comes Gunther from behind but Cody with right hands. Gunther grabs Cody and gets Cody in the sleeper hold. Cody grabs the microphone and hits Gunther with it. He throws Gunther to the outside of the ring. Gunther gets on the ring apron but Cody with a right hand. Cody says he doesn’t sweat him because he retired Goldberg, he retired AJ Styles and retired the greatest of all time. He says on SmackDown, he is easy to find but hard to beat.

We cut to Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga backstage. Tama tells Solo he is a problem that needs to be dealt with. Solo says he is not a problem, he is a solution. He is a perfect fit for their family. Tama tells him that Royce Keys came in and embarrassed them in front of everyone. He doesn’t know about Solo but that doesn’t sit well with him, he will handle business and show him what he is all about.

Matt Cardona vs. Ricky Saints

The bell rings and we are under way. Saints with a shoulder tackle. Saints to the ropes but Matt with a shoulder tackle. Matt with a clothesline. He grabs Saints but Saints slams him into the turnbuckle. Saints with a chop to the chest but Matt with a right hand. Matt throws Saints to the ropes and lands a flap jack. Saints rolls to the outside of the ring.

-Commercial Break-

Back from commercial, Matt with a clothesline. He goes for the cover but Saints kicks out. Matt grabs Saints but Saints with a right hand. Saints with a modified Cross Rhodes. He goes for the cover but Matt kicks out. He grabs Matt but Matt with a right hand. Saints trips Matt up. Saints gets back in the ring but Matt with the Rough Rider. He goes for the cover but Saints kicks out. Matt grabs Saints but Saints with a right hand and the Revolution DDT. Saints lifts Matt up and lands the Roshambo. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.

Winner: Ricky Saints

We cut to the back and people are standing in front of the Gingerbread Man’s coffin. Sami Zayn says you work your entire life and you get this. We see Gargano laying down on a table. Zayn asks him if he hears him and in comes Candice LeRae. He tells her that Gargano move and LeRae says he doesn’t move.

In comes Rey Fenix and Zayn asks him what he is doing. Fenix says he is paying his respects to the Gingerbread man. Zayn says they are doing this to take a shot at him. Fenix tells him this is not the place and Zayn says he is right and walks away.

We cut to Brie Bella and Paige walking backstage. A ladder falls behind them and we see someone that looks like Danhausen run in front of them.

-Commercial Break-

A Blake Monroe video airs.

Brie Bella and Paige come out to the ring. Brie says there are a lot of teams in WWE who say they have what it takes to be Champions. But like they showed the Irresistible Force last week, it’s not easy to take the belts off them. Paige says she heard what the Judgment Day had to say about them. Them stopping the nostalgia tour. Paige says when she thinks about the nostalgia tour, she thinks about the has been who try to recreate the magic they don’t have. But they are the best they have ever looked, the best they have ever been. If Raquel and Roxanne want to step up, for them to step up. Raw or SmackDown, they are the Champions.

Out come Fatal Influence. Jayne says the Judgment Day are not the one’s they should be worried about. She says they forgot that two weeks ago, Fatal Influence left them dropped in the ring. Henley says that they are already taking over SmackDown and part of that take over means taking those Tag Team Championships. Reid says there is plenty of gold to go around and soon, Jayne will be standing as the Women’s Champion. Jayne says as for tonight, they have business to take care of and if they were smart, they would get out of their ring, walk to the locker room and watch how a real team gets it done.

The Irresistible Force come out. Nia says when did anyone say they can skip to the front of the line. Lash says they can’t think they are big and bad, this is not NXT. And they can’t possibly think that they will get in their way of becoming Champions. Nia says they look like knock off mean girls. Nia and Lash hit Paige and Brie with right hands. Nia with a leg drop onto Paige. Lash with the Lash Extension onto Brie. Nia tells Fatal Influence to go to the back of the line.

Rhea’s music hits and out she comes. She goes face to face with Lash Legend. Nia grabs Lash and they walk to the back.

-Commercial Break-

Fatal Influence vs. Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss

The bell rings and we are under way. Bliss and Henley start the match. Henley slams Bliss but Bliss gets back up. Bliss with slaps onto Henley. Bliss with the double knees followed by a senton. She goes for the cover but Henley kicks out. In comes Reid and that distracts Bliss. Henley with a kick onto Bliss. She throws Bliss into the corner. Jayne is tagged in. Jayne chokes Bliss and Reid is tagged in. They double team Bliss. Reid goes for a clothesline but Bliss moves out of the way and tags Rhea in. Rhea with clotheslines. She picks Reid up and slams her down. Rhea with a right hand onto Henley. Rhea with a drop kick onto Reid. In comes Jayne and Rhea with a fall away slam. Rhea climbs the top rope and lands a missile drop kick onto Reid. Fatal Influence on the outside of the ring and Rhea with a cannonball off the ring apron.

-Commercial Break-

Back from commercial, Rhea is in the ring with Reid. Rhea with a kick to the side of the head. Flair and Jayne are tagged in. Flair with chops onto Fatal Influence. Flair on the ring apron and she lands a big boot onto Jayne. Flair climbs the top rope and she lands a cross body onto Jayne and Reid. Flair with the double Natural Selection. She goes for the cover but Jayne kicks out. Flair with a big boot onto Reid and Bliss is tagged in. Fatal Influence with a double super kick onto Flair and Bliss. Henley grabs Flair to the outside and throws her over the announce table. Bliss with a right hand but Reid with a neck breaker. Henley gets in the ring and that distracts the referee.

Jade Cargill comes out and she trips Rhea off the ring apron. Rhea slams face first onto the ring steps. Jayne with the Rolling Encore onto Flair. She goes for the cover and gets the pin.

Winners: Fatal Influence

Jade Cargill gets in the ring after the match and Fatal Influence leave the ring. Jade tells Bliss to get up. Flair gets in the ring but in come Michin and B-Fab. They hit Flair from behind. RHea gets in the ring and she hits Jade with a drop kick. Rhea with a head butt to Michin and big boot to B-Fab. Rhea with a right hand onto Rhea. B-Fab with the Hurt Lock onto Bliss. Flair gets to her feet but Michin with a super kick onto Flair. Jade’s music hits and she celebrates in the ring.

We see Royce Keys walking backstage. He is stopped by The Usos. They tell him that they saw Keys talking to Fatu earlier. Jey says Keys has ties to the family but this is family business and he needs to stay in his lane. He says he might catch the eyes of the Tribal Chief and The Usos walk away.

-Commercial Break-

Royce Keys vs. Tama Tonga with Solo Sikoa and Talla Tonga

The bell rings and we are under way. Tama Tonga with a drop kick. He grabs Keys but Keys throws him to the ropes. Keys picks him up and Keys with a running power slam. Keys with a clothesline. He goes for the cover but Tama Tonga kicks out. Keys with right hands and he goes for a suplex but Tama Tonga lands on his feet. Tama Tonga with a chop to the back of the leg. He goes for the cover but Keys kicks out. Tama Tonga to the ropes but Keys with an over head throw. He grabs Tama Tonga but Tama Tonga with a headbutt. Tama Tonga with a flat liner and Keys rolls to the outside of the ring.

Tama Tonga to the outside but Keys picks him up and slams him onto the ring apron. Keys runs towards Tama Tonga who is next to the ring steps but Tama Tonga moves out of the way and Keys hits the ring steps.

-Commercial Break-

Back from commercial, Tama Tonga with a swinging neck breaker. He goes for the cover but Keys kicks out. Tama Tonga grabs Keys but Keys with a back body drop. Keys with a clothesline and a shoulder tackle. Keys with a splash in the corner and a running power slam. He goes for the cover but Tama Tonga kicks out. Keys picks Tama Tonga up but Tama Tonga lands on his feet and Tama Tonga with a reverse neck breaker. He goes for the cover but Keys kicks out. Tama Tonga to the ropes but Keys with a clothesline and Tama Tonga falls to the outside of the ring. Keys to the outside and he throws Tama Tonga back into the ring. Talla Tonga walks towards Keys but Solo stops him. He tells Talla to let Tama Tonga figure it out. Keys gets in the ring and Tama Tonga jumps off the second turnbuckle but Keys catches him. Keys with the ultimate spinebuster. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.

Winner: Royce Keys

We cut to the back and Danhausen has a potion going. He takes a tooth out and puts it in blue liquid. He claps and the lights go out. Danhausen works on his potion and types on a computer. Sparks fly and lights go on inside a cloning machine. He says in 24 hours he will have his tag team partner for Backlash. And they will take over the world at Backlash. His cloning machine stops working and Danhausen says it broke.

-Commercial Break-

Back from commercial and Tama Tonga is sitting. In comes Shinsuke Nakamura. He tells Tama Tonga that he is disappointed and now his own brother won’t help him. In comes Talla Tonga, he tells Nakamura to stay away from his brother or else they are going to have some problems. Nakamura speaks to him in Japanese and walks away.

We cut to Trick Williams walking backstage. He is stopped by Nick Aldis and he tells Williams that everything he requested is in place. Williams tells him he appreciates it.

-Commercial Break-

Back from commercial, the Gingerbread man is in a casket in the ring. We see five people standing in the ring, wearing all black. The lights go out and out comes Trick Williams wearing black pants and a black coat. He pours milk into a cup and walks down to the ring. He grabs a microphone and says to cut the music. He says he hopes he can get through it. Music begins to play and Trick says rest in peace, Gingerbread, never thought I would see you dead, I remember the words you said. Remember when I took you out the oven, when you lost your button. When you said it would last for ever, when you bought my lemon pepper steppers.

Trick continues to sing and he asks can somebody tell me why the Gingerbread man had to die. The lights go out and we see a Gingerbread man video package.

Back in the arena, Trick asks for a minute of silence for his friend the Gingerbread man.

Out comes Sami Zayn who says enough. He says everyone is putting up with it all night, he says it’s ridiculous. He asks if he is losing his mind that this has been allowed to go on all night. He says maybe Trick does not know this because he has only been in this for a cup of coffee but television time on SmackDown used to mean something. Closing SmackDown used to mean something, there was a prestige. Holding the United States title, there was a prestige. He says Trick is trying to make a joke out of him. He says Trick told him no one messes with his money. He asks how much money all of this cost him, he says he counted 1000 flowers and that costs a lot of money. He says he hired a choir and they were off key. He says he touched the coffin and it was made out of oak, it costs a lot of money.

Zayn gets in the ring and says that Trick spent all of that money to make a joke out of him. He says he would never do that because he has too much respect for himself, for SmackDown, for the hard working people because at the end of the day, that is what he is. He says he is a working class hero, he represents his ride or die fans until the end. He says he is Sami Zayn. He has done everything there is to do, he has been with guys who have been at the very top of this industry, the one’s at the bottom and in between. They all thought they would knock him off his game. Guys bigger and stronger than Trick but he is not going anywhere. He says he hates to say it but Trick got in his head. It made him angry but Trick played himself. He says it’s not only about taking back the United States title. He says he will humble him, embarrass him, expose him, disrespect him. He tells Trick to enjoy his night and he is sorry for his loss. Zayn hits Trick with a right hand. Zayn raises the United States Championship but the Gingerbread man sits up. He removes his mask and it’s Lil Yachty. He hits Zayn with the candy cane stick. Lil Yachty begins to laugh. Trick hits Zayn with the Trick Shot. Trick’s music hits and SmackDown goes off the air.