WWE SmackDown results, live blog (May 30, 2025): John Cena & Cody Rhodes return

WWE Friday Night SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (May 30, 2025) with a live show emanating from the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Money in the Bank premium live event scheduled for early next month in Inglewood.

Advertised for tonight: WWE Champion John Cena is back, as is the man he defeated to win the title at WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes.

Plus, Money in the Bank qualifiers continue with a triple threat match in the men’s and women’s division. It’s Andrade vs. Jacob Fatu vs. Carmelo Hayes on the men’s side and Jade Cargill vs. Naomi vs. Nia Jax on the women’s side. Plus, a whole lot more!

Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA Network. It will be below this line here. (Note: Links to illegal streams are prohibited. Pics and GIFs are allowed.)

WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR MAY 30

Hiding in the shadows, crawling underground, weighing up their chances, making not a sound. No one would go down there, no one but a fool would disregard the warnings and disregard the rules, but me? I’m just here to liveblog this pro wrestling show fo you folks.

The show opens with a recap of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

The standard montage of talent arriving at the arena follows.

Bianca Belair makes her entrance and gets on the mic.

She says she couldn’t come to Knoxville without singing good ol’ Rocky Top, and while the music plays she doesn’t actually sing on-mic, but the crowd does so close enough. She talks about how Knoxville is a safe place for her and she always has the support of the crowd and after all she’s been through she wanted to come back to her safe space.

Naomi makes her entrance.

She says she’s glad Bianca came to SmackDown, and Belair pleads that now isn’t the time. Naomi says it’s been too long and not a day goes by where she doesn’t think about what happened and she just wants to talk. Bianca asks what she could possibly have to say that would change things, and Noami says she just wants her forgiveness and she begs for it.

She knows their friendship has gone off the rails but she’s here because she wants to fix it and she’s trying but she can’t. Months have gone by as she tries to communicate and she just wants to let the past be the past and Belair hasn’t responded to any of her messages and she even went by her parents’ house but nobody was there so she let herself in.

And do you know what she saw? She went through the photo album on the coffee table and in those photos she looked so freakin’ happy and it reminded her of when they wer tag team champions. Belair makes it clear that they were friends but she betrayed her trust, so she’s done with her and if she ever comes by her family again, what she did to Jade Cargill will be nothing compared to what Bianca will do to her.

Naomi tells her it wouldn’t be good for her AND her mama to be in a wheelchair and she’d hate for something bad to happen to her right here and right now (Van Halen’s kicking ass in America?)

Jade Cargill makes her entrance, Naomi is ready to meet her and a brawl breaks out! Cargill kicks her to the mat and has a tense moment with Belair before she goes to leave.

Enter Nia Jax to send us to break.

Jade Cargill vs. Naomi vs. Nia Jax (Money in the Bank Qualifying Match)

Back from commercial, match joined in progress with Jax on the floor as Naomi beats Cargill down and lands a reverse surfboard stomp on her! Jade gets a second win, cover broken up by Nia and she follows it up with a Samoan drop! Leg drop on Naomi but she kicks out! Naomi lands a crucifix driver in return for two and we go to break!

Back from commercial, Nia and Naomi working together until Jax feels the glow in the form of a schoolboy pin for two! Cargill back in the fight, big thrust spinebuster on Nia, Naomi rushes in with Meteora for two! Split-legged moonsault on Jax, Jade cuts her off in the aftermath and hits Jaded but Nia freight trains the both of them to break it up!

Jax lays ‘em out with a crossbody for one nearfall, avalanche Samoan drop for another, Jade with the splash… NOT ENOUGH! In the corner, jockeying for position… TOWER OF DOOM! Nia stacks ‘em up, Annihilator but Naomi ducks it and capitalizes…

Naomi wins by pinfall with a crucifix pin on Nia Jax, qualifying for the Money in the Bank ladder match.

Backstage, Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, and JC Mateo run into R-Truth

Sikoa makes fun of Truth, Ron touches him and he gets mad, Mateo steps up to him and R-Truth asks if that’s his son and decides he’s gonna teach him a lesson in the ring and goes to talk to Nick Aldis about it and we go to break.

Back from commercial, Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice meet with Nick Aldis in a hallway.

Green is hiding behind a picture of her face on a stick and she eventually reveals her face, covered with a rainbow mask and says it was a hit job from Zelina Vega and she demands she be stripped of her title. Aldis says nobody’s getting stripped of titles but Chelsea will get her rematch… once she’s cleared.

They are of course mad about this and threaten to do something about it themselves, which somehow ends in Green booking Alba Fyre in a match against Zelina, which Nick Aldis is all too happy to make official.

Tiffany Stratton is interviewed backstage and says whoever might try to cash in on her is making a big mistake.

Naomi rolls up and tells her she ain’t seen nothing yet and she’s gonna win Money in the Bank and cash in on her.

Alexa Bliss rolls up and says Stratton shouldn’t worry about Naomi winning Money in the Bank, she should be worried about her winning Money in the Bank.

Commentary hypes up the NXT North American Championship four-way at AAA / NXT Worlds Collide ahead of a tag team match pitting Rey Fenix and Je’Von Evans against Los Garza.

R-Truth makes his entrance to send us to break.

JC Mateo vs. R-Truth

Truth is in a bad way from the jump hard whip the corner, he sidesteps a charge and is right on Mateo with the shoulder blocks, but the Blue Thunder Driver is countered with a crossbody and JC follows it with a standing moonsault! Truth recovers, “You can’t see me!,” Five Knuckle Shuffle, fireman’s carry but Mateo counters and splashes Ron to the mat!

Hossing him up…

JC Mateo wins by pinfall with Tour of the Islands.

Solo and JC hold Truth up ready to beat him down but “Big” Jim Uso makes the save, steel chair in hand!

Street Profits are shown walking backstage to send us to break.

Back from commercial, Street Profits make their entrance and get on the mic.

They say the tag division is on fire but don’t forget that they’re leading the charge, and it doesn’t matter who it is, they’ll defend their tag titles against anybody.

Enter Fraxiom.

Nathan Frazer says he and his amigo didn’t get a fair shake last week so if they’re handing out tag title matches… Montez Ford say that before the Wyatts got involved they had them beat, and Axiom says maybe they did, maybe they didn’t, but now they’ll never know, and Frazer says they should run it back.

Enter Motor City Machine Guns.

Alex Shelley says Fraxiom’s entire thesis for having a rematch is that Street Profits have never beat them, but they’ve never beaten MCMG either, so they want a title match too.

Enter #DIY.

Candice LeRae does the talking and says MCMG have had a million chances and Fraxiom just got here, so they don’t deserve shots. Johnny Gargano says they had to bring his wife in because there’s a conspiracy to hold them down, and when they get in the ring, Tommaso Ciampa demands a moment of silence.

The lights go down and when they come back up, Uncle Howdy is on the turnbuckles! Erick Rowan pulls MCMG to the floor, Dexter Lumis takes out Street Profits and then Joe Gacy takes out Fraxiom! Nikki Cross dives off the announce desk into Candice LeRAe! Sister Abigail from Howdy on Nathan Frazer and we go to break!

Back from commercial we get a recap of what we just saw because SmackDown is three hours long. (Three hours long.)

Je’Von Evans & Rey Fenix vs. Los Garza (Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo)

“All Ego” Ethan Page is on commentary for this one.

Fenix and Garza to start, tagging through to Evans and Carrillo, Je’Von with a dropkick and an Ace Crusher, Rey in and they work together with kicks like a well-oiled machine to clear everybody out! Penalty Kick from Fenix gets two on Humberto and we go to break!

Back from commercia, Garza working Evans over in the corner, big knee to his jaw, tag to Carrillo, grinding Je’Von down with a sleeper hold. Evans slings him off, reaching for the tag, superkick cuts Humberto off! Fenix in, running hot, Frankensteiner, strikes in the corner, double jump springboard moonsaut from the apron in and Carillo makes the save!

Crescent kick from Rey, Je’Von tags blind, diving lariat takes Angel out! Springboard enzuigiri from Humberto and all four men are down! Garza with a slingshot Liger Bomb… JE’VON KICKS OUT! Up in the turnbuckles, Fenix runs in, up top… ROPEWALK DOUBLE STOMP! Evans perches…SENTON ATOMICO OFF OF THE RINGPOST WIPES THEM OUT!

Fenix turns to face Ethan Page, All Ego stands up to confront the babyfaces but they stay on target. Ethan shoves Rey into Je’Von and then into the announce desk, Evans lays All Ego out with a superkick and returns to the ring to kick out of a schoolboy! Handspring kick, Je’Von up top but Page shoves him down with a distraction from Santos Escobar.

Los Garza win by pinfall with MTY on Je’Von Evans.

Post-match, the Wyatt Sicks cut into the feed and Uncle Howdy laughs into the camera and says they won’t stop until they get what is owed.

And so we go to break.

Alba Fyre vs. Zelina Vega

Fyre goes for a side slam, countered into a tijeras, bulldog headlock, Alba fights out and bowls Vega over with a shoulder block! Big right hand, whip across, la casadora arm drag connects! Charging into the corner, mounted punches, Fyre shrugs her off, Zelina rushes right back in, positions reversed, front kick sets up a big tijeras and Alba falls to the floor!

Vega slings her into the second rope, Chelsea Green runs interference and Piper Niven trips her up! Superkick from Fyre, she salutes and we go to break!

Back from commercial, Fyre grinding her down in a Cobra Clutch, she fights out, kick gets a knee and both women are laid out! Back on their feet, Vega wading in with elbows, whip reversed, a series of lariats, back elbow, back suplex connects! Nearfall, Fyre on the comeback, senton atomico… STILL NO!

Back and forth…

Zelina Vega wins by pinfall.

Backstage, Miz insists that Carmelo Hayes will win if he just follows the plan, and emphasizes that he’s taken Black Mass after Black Mass after Black Mass for him and if he qualifies tonight, he’ll make sure that they are Mr. Money in the Bank. Hayes questions his use of “we” and Miz asks who he thinks got him in this position.

Melo says he did and he appreciates everything Miz has done to help him but nobody asked him to do that, and he’s gonna run the play as he laid it out, but what brought him to the dance is his talent and he needs him to just let him be HIM. He asks Miz if they’re good and the A-Lister gives him a smile and a nod so he recites their catchphrase.

Damian Priest is shown walking backstage to send us to break.

Back from commercial we get a Giulia promo where she talks about how her goal is to be indisputable.

Zelina Vega runs into Giulia backstage and Giulia eyes up her title.

Damian Priest makes his entrance and gets on the mic.

He says ever since he beat Drew McIntyre it’s been like he’s been breathing fresh air after beefing with him for over a year. He can feel it, you can see it in his face, they went to war, and at the end he gave him a Con-Chair-To, walked out the door, and put his ass in the past.

He knows Drew is recovering from scrambled brains but he knows he’s watching and he wants to tell him that he still can’t stand his ass, but the guy that stepped into the cage was the old Drew, the warrior, and he appreciates that. He’s not gonna ask what’s next, he’s gonna tell us, it’s championships.

This war cost him an opportunity to be in Money in the Bank, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have eyes on a certain champion he has unfinished business with and who he considers the most badass champion right now, that’s right, the Samoan Werewolf, Jacob Fatu. He respects the hell out of Fatu, he knows where he came from and what he had to live through and what it feels like to stand in this ring as a champion.

He’s proud of Fatu for that, but he doesn’t respect the crew that follows him around, or rather that he follows around. At some point they’re gonna get in the ring and handle business and if his so-called family gets involved they can catch one too. He doesn’t want it to be a moniker, he wants it to be a fact that Damian Priest is El Campeon.

On his way out, Priest runs into Fatu on the stage and they square up and we go to break.

Andrade el Idolo vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. “Samoan Werewolf” Jacob Fatu (Money in the Bank Qualifying Match)

Fatu and Andrade team up to send Hayes out to the apron, circling each other, sidestep the charge, whip reversed, El Idolo with a Flair Flip, diving crossbody for a nearfall! Miz grabs Jacob’s foot, Melo looking for a schoolboy, blocked, float over, superkick sends Fatu packing with the help of a low-bridge from the A-Lister!

Hayes off the ropes, Andrade cuts him off with an elbow and the Samoan Werewolf sets sites on the Miz! Jacob pops El Idolo one and then throws Miz into the timekeeper’s barricade and lands Ode to Rikishi on him to send us to break!

Back from commercial, impromptu teamup working Andrade over fails! El Idolo on his feet, charging in, double knees! Hayes counters with La Mistica for two! Spanish Fly connects on Melo but Fatu rushes in with a senton! Andrade moonsault, Hayes breaks it up! Andrade and Jacob trading elbows on their knees, springboard double DDT from Melo, cover for two!

Samoan Werewolf stalking after Carmelo, Hayes hits a Codebreaker, Poison Frankensteiner from El Idolo! Final Cut connects, but Andrade kicks out! Everybody to the floor, Fatu charges in and goes through the timekeeper’s barricade all by himself and we go to break!

Back from commercial, El Idolo and Hayes jockeying for position in the turnbuckles, and Fatu returns to complete a Tower of Doom! Senton atomico from the Werewolf… ANDRADE BREAKS IT UP! Jacob catches Hayes in a fireman’s carry, El Idolo hits the big back elbow and all three men are down and out as Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo make their way to ringside!

Melo with a springboard crossbody, Jacob breaks it up! Samoan drop on El Idolo, double jump moonsault, nobody home, Nothin’ But Net on the Werewolf… ANDRADE BREAKS IT UP! El Idolo goes for the Message, countered into a rana pin, back and forth, no fall! Big back elbows from Andrade!

Implant DDT, setting Melo in the corner, Ode to Rikishi connects, another implant DDT hits Andrade, double jump moonsault but Solo is on the apron running interference asking him to do it again, no cover! JC Mateo joins the chorus, Fatu ain’t listening and “Big” Jim Uso takes ‘em out!

El Idolo hooks Hayes…

Andrade el Idolo wins by pinfall with the Message on Carmelo Hayes, qualifying for the Money in the Bank ladder match.

Post-match, Fatu and Mateo argue and Solo Sikoa tries to play peacemaker.

LA Knight is interviewed by Byron Saxton backstage.

He asks why everybody’s talking about punching tickets and runs down the other men in the Money in the Bank ladder match and if this was a one-on-one match he’d call his shot but it’s his third year in the ladder match and he’s the vet in the match and he knows it’s anybody’s game.

Aleister Black rolls up to cryptically wish him luck.

“American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes walks backstage to send us to break.