Welcome to the Fightful.com live discussion & coverage for the 5/12/2023 edition of SmackDown on the FOX.
We will bring full results and breakdowns for every match and segment on the show. Follow Fightful on Twitter.com/Fightful and Facebook.com/FIGHTFULONLINE
Here's what is set for the show.
Preview.
WWE SmackDown (5/12/2023).
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament - First Round Match 1: AJ Styles vs. Edge vs. Rey Mysterio.
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament - First Round Match 2: Austin Theory vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus.
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament - Semi-FInal Match: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2.
- Cameron Grimes vs. Baron Corbin.
- Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns returns.
- WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley & Dakota Kai) (w/ Iyo Sky).
Refresh the site for the latest updates as the show happens.
Live Coverage.
- Wade Barrett welcomed the audience to the broadcast before transitioning to the opening match.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament - First Round Match.
AJ Styles vs. Edge vs. Rey Mysterio.
Mysterio & Styles attacked Edge to begin the match before Mysterio got an Electric Chair Victory Roll for a near fall. Edge went for a pin on Rey & Styles before hitting about kick on Styles. Edge got sent to the apron before Edge hit a sunset flip/ catapult combo on Styles & Rey. Edge hit a splash on Styles before hitting the Edge-matic on Styles for a near fall. Edge slammed Styles into the corner with an Irish Whip before booting Mysterio out of the ring. Styles hit a series of strikes on Edge before hitting a lariat and a sliding forearm on Edge and a tilt-to-whirl backbreaker on Mysterio. Styles clotheslined Edge out of the ring before he tossed Mysterio into the corner, but Mysterio hit two Imploding Tijeras on Styles & Edge. Styles went for a sunset flip on Rey, but Rey reversed it with a roundhouse kick. Mysterio went for a Springboard Cross-body, but Edge caught him and hit a Fall-Away Slam on Mysterio. Edge went for a spear, but Styles & Msyterio hit punt kicks on Edge before Mysterio hit a Code Red on Edge for a near fall. Styles tossed Mysterio into Edge on the outside before Styles hit a dropkick on Edge, causing Edge to spike Mysterio with a DDT before the commercial break.
Back from the break, Mysterio & Styles exchanged strikes on the apron but that was until Edge speared the two to the outside of the ring. Back in the ring, Edge went for a pin on Mysterio, but Rey kicked out at two. Edge chased Styles, but Styles tossed him to the outside. Styles & Mysterio exchanged strikes before Mysterio hit a step-up enziguri kick, but Styles locked in the Calf Crusher on Mysterio in the center of the ring. Edge responded by locking in the Cross-face on Mysterio before he broke his own & Styles's hold by hitting headbutts on Styles. The two exchanged strikes before Mysterio hit Edge & Styles with a Diving Hurricanrana. Mysterio went for a double 619 on Edge & Styles, but Styles & Edge hit stereo dropkicks on Mysterio. Mysterio dropkicked Styles to the ring, but Edge responded by booting Mysterio and tossing Styles into the middle turnbuckle. Edge climbed to the top rope, but Mysterio met him there, but Styles pulled Mysterio off the top rope and hit a Liger Bomb on Mysterio for a near fall. Styles met Edge at the top rope and went for a Superplex, but Mysterio met him at the top before he hit a Powerbomb on Styles, causing Styles to hit a Superplex on Edge. Mysterio went for a pin on Styles, but Styles kicked out at two. Mysterio went for the 619 on Edge, but Styles pulled Mysterio off the ropes. Styles went for a Springboard Move, but Edge evaded before Styles tossed Edge into the ropes. Rey hit the West Coast Bop on Styles before going for a 619 on Edge, but Edge blocked it and locked in the Edgecution on Mysterio before he broke the hold and locked in the Edgecution on Styles. Styles got to the ropes to try to break the hold, allowing Mysterio to hit the 619 on Edge. Mysterio went for a Splash, but Edge blocked it with a headbutt, but Styles saw this and responded by hitting a Phenomenal Forearm on Edge for the pinfall win.
Winner: AJ Styles.
- There was a video package recapping the match between The Bloodline and the team of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Matt Riddle.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament - First Round Match.
Austin Theory vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus.
Theory rolled out of the ring, but Lashley & Sheamus met him on the outside and beat him down. Lashley hit a Shoulder tackle and a neck breaker on Theory, which Sheamus followed up with a Knee Drop & a ROlling Senton before Lashley clotheslined him out of the ring. Lashley & Sheamus exchanged punches before Lashley hit a flatliner, a corner splash, a series of back elbows, and a shoulder block on Sheamus into the corner. Lashley tried to toss Sheamus out of the ring, but Sheamus caught him with a Powerslam for a near fall. Sheamus got Lashley on the apron before he hit two strikes on the back before Theory hit a Crossbody to toss Lashley to the outside. Sheamus saw Theory and hit the Ten Beats of the Battering before the commercial break.
Back from the break, Lashley hit the POUNCE on Theory before bouncing Theory's head into the ring post. Back in the ring, Lashley and Shemaus exchanged punches before Sheamus hit a toe kick on Lashley, but Lashley responded with a lariat, Lashley went for another shoulder block, but Sheamus reversed it with a boot kick before going for a dive, but Lashley caught him with a suplex before locking in the Hurt Lock. Theory broke the hold with a rolling dropkick before hitting a forearm strike on Sheamus for a near fall. Lashley tossed Theory into the corner, but Theory blocked it before hitting a Rolling Blockbuster on Lashley to get the pin, but Sheamus broke the pin. Theory stomped away at Sheamus before he clotheslined Lashley to the outside. Back in the ring, Theory went for another Rolling Move, but Lashley caught him and hit the Irish Curse on Theory. Sheamus hit two lariats, corner lariats, and an Avalanche White Noise on Theory, but Theory kicked out at two. Sheamus went for the Razor's Edge, but Theory rolled over for a Sunset Flip before Sheamus hit a V-Trigger on Theory. Sheamus went for the Brigu Kick, but Lashley caught him with a Spear. Theory tossed Lashley into the corner before going for a pin on Sheamus, but Sheamus kicked out. Lashley hit the One-Hand Slam before locking in the Hurt Lock on Theory, allowing Sheamus to hit Theory with eh Brogue Kick while on the hold. Lashley, heavily busted open, tossed Sheamus out of the ring to get the pinfall win on Theory.
Winner: Bobby Lashley.
- Grayson Waller met with Adam Pearce backstage to pitch the winner of the SmackDown World Title Eliminator to be the special guest on the Grayson Waller Effect, which Peacr made official.
Cameron Grimes vs. Baron Corbin.
Baron Corbin talked trash to Grimes and said that he would make Grimes wish he was back in NXT.
The match began with Grimes hitting a vicious Cave In to spike Corbin right to the center of the mat for the quick, immediate & dominant win.
Winner: Cameron Grimes.
- The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa, Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) came to the ring to cut a promo on Reigns's return to SmackDown. Reigns said that Greatness garners respect before declaring the Anoai Family family as the only royal family due to the faction Main Eventing both nights of WrestleMania39. Reigns put over Sikoa for his actions on WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico, saying that Sikoa swims like a shark in Sink or Swim situations. Sikoa said he still wanted to resolve the problems with Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens, but Reigns told him not to worry about them. Reigns told Sikoa that the real problem was not KO & Sami, but his brothers The Usos.
Reigns confronted The Usos for losing the WWE Tag Titles and their rematch before saying that The Usos should not dedicate a tag match to "the greatest singles champion ever". Reigns said that The Usos embarrassed and misrepresented him & the family before demanding them to apologize. The crowd told them to not apologize, but Reigns told Jimmy Uso to not pay attention to the fans before pushing Jimmy for corpsing. Jey Uso apologized to Reigns on behalf of himself & Jimmy and promised to bring back the tag titles to the Bloodline. Reigns said that the tag titles would come back to the Bloodline, but Paul Heyman revealed that Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens would defend the titles against Solo Sikoa & Roman Reigns on WWE Night of Champions. Reigns promised to dedicate the title win to The Wild Samoans, but not to The Usos.
- Bayley, Iyo Sky & Dakota Kia were interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton. Bayley blamed herself for Iyo Sky losing the title match against Bianca Belair before she promised that she & Kai would regain the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.
The Usos confronted The LWO (Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro & Zelina Vega) before Santos Escobar & Rey Mysterio interrupted them with Escobar saying it was not the LWO's problem that the Tribla CHief did not love them no more.
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match.
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley & Dakota Kai) (w/ Iyo Sky).
Kai & Raquel began the match, with Kia going for a pin before Raquel slammed her with an Irish Whip into a shoulder block in the corner. Morgan hit a senton on Kia before Raquel hit a corner splash for a near fall. Kai caught Morgan with a Pele Kick for a near fall. Morgan & Kai exchanged pins before Kai hit a Rolling forearm on Morgan. Bayley tagged in, but Morgan greeted her with a Schoolboy Roll-Up for a near fall. Kai distracted Morgan, allowing Bayley to hit a lariat on Morgan for a near fall ahead of the commercial break.
Back from the break, Raquel hit two lariats and a swinging lariat on Kai before hitting a Fall-Away Slam, a corner splash, a second Fall-Away Slam, and attempted a Corkscrew Elbow, but Kai evaded before Bayley tagged in. Raquel hit a double chokeslam on Kai & Bayley before tossing Morgan onto Bayley & Kai. Raquel swung Morgan onto Kai & Bayley before tossing Morgan onto Bayley. Morgan hit a Rising Knee Strike on Bayley before Morgan went for a Superplex, but Kai tagged in and hit a kick on Morgan before Bayley & Kai hit a Liger Bomb/ Meteora combination on Morgan. Kai crawled to get the delayed pin on Morgan, but Raquel broke the pin. Bayley tagged in and told The referee to check on Kai. Bayley tried to get the titles from Sky to attack Morgan, but Morgan pushed Bayley onto Sky before Morgan got an O'Connor Roll on Bayley for the pinfall win. NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn watched the match backstage.
Winners AND STILL WWE Women's Tag Team Champions: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez.
- Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) confronted the Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland, Butch & Sheamus) backstage to introduce themselves to the Brutes. Holland invited Sheamus & Butch for some pints.
- Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair same to the ring for her Women's Championship Celebration to celebrate Belair becoming the longest reigning Women's Champion in WWE's Modern History, but was immediately interrupted by the returning Asuka. Asuka extended her hand to Belair before Asuka misted Belair in the eyes. Referees and security guards came to the ring to check on Belair.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament - Semi-Final Match.
AJ Styles vs. Bobby Lashley.
The match began with Styles hitting a chop and a forearm strike on Lashley. Styles evaded Lashely and caught him with a jab. Lashley cornered Styles before going for a jab, but Styles evaded and hit a chop on Lashley. Lashley hit a knee lift on AJ's abdomen before laying in the stomps. Lashley went for a forearm strike, but Styles evaded and laid in a series of strikes on Lashley. Styles went for a Hammer-throw on Lashley into eh ropes, but Lashley held onto the top rope and tossed Styles out of the ring. Lashley slammed Styles onto the barricade before hitting the Helicopter on Styles onto the ring post, busting himself open yet again before the commercial break.
Back from the break, Lashley hit a series of knee lifts and elbow strikes on Styles, but Styles attacked Lashley's left knee to drop him to the mat. Lashley hit a back elbow on Styles before firing away with punches on Styles. Lashley went for a Shoulder Block, but Styles reversed it with a Calf Crusher on Lashley. Lashley slammed Styles's head into the mat to break the hold before going for a jab on Styles, but Styles fired away with a series of strikes before spiking Lashley onto the mat with a DDT for a near fall, busting Lashley's head open ey again. Styles went for the Ushigorishi on Lashley, but Lashley dropped his weight and hit a Flatliner on Styles for a near fall. Lashley Went for a Gut Wrench Facebuister on Styles, but Styles rolled over and hit a sliding Forearm on Lashley. Styles went for a move on Lashley, but Lashley caught him with the Hurt Lock before Styles got the rope break. Lashley got Styles back up for the Helicopter, but SStyles slammed him into the ring post before hitting him with a Gamonguri Kick. Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Lashley caught him with a Fireman's Carry. Lashley went for a Vertical Suplex, but Styles hit a knee strike to evade. Lashley got Styles back up and hit a Running Powerslam for a near fall. Lashley went for the Hurt Lock yet again, but Styles evaded. Lashley went for a Shoulder Block yet again, but Styles evaded and sent him crashing into the ring post before hitting him with a V-Trigger. Styles got back up and caught Lashley with the Phenomenal Forearm for the pinfall win. Styles celebrated on the ramp with The OC (Luke Gallows, "Michin" Mia Yim & "The Machine Gun" Karl Anderson) to end the broadcast.
Winner: AJ Styles.
- Check out the post-show podcast for a full review of the show on Fightful's YouTube & Twitch channels. You can check Fightful's Results Section here.
