Friday Night SmackDown emanated from inside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee only 48 hours away from Evolution.
We kick things off for the ladies of Team Blue as Charlotte Flair was seen backstage admiring all-white outfit when her Evolution tag team partner Alexa Bliss walked up to her. Bliss needs “her highness” to be ringside with her during tonight’s fatal four-way match against one member of the other teams: Kairi Sane, Sol Ruca, and Roxanne Perez. Flair reminds “Blisster” of the words on her shirt: “we’re not friends”. Bliss once again says she’s aware and that they are allies of convenience; the other women’s partners will be out there, so if Flair wants to make a statement for Evolution, that’s the way to do it. Flair finally decides to do so, although when asking Bliss if she expects her to be like a cheerleader, Five Feet of Fury says she would be a terrible cheerleader.
The fatal four-way would be the night’s first match, with the four women starting by beating on each other. Sane sent Ruca flying into the outside, but the NXT Women’s North American Champion rebounded by hitting an impressive cartwheel from the ring onto Sane and Perez on the floor before commercials. The three stayed at it when the show returned from the break, with Ruca and Perez executing a nasty superplex on Sane. Bliss then re-entered the ring with some fast-paced offense on Ruca, but Perez would stop that with a superkick, while Sane hit a double stomp from the turnbuckle on Ruca for a pin attempt that was broken up by Bliss. Ruca hit a double Sol Snatcher on Bliss and Perez as Raquel Rodriguez, Zaria, Asuka, and Flair got into it at ringside. Simultaneously kicking Asuka and bodyslamming Zaria face-first into the commentary desk, Rodriguez was thrown into the desk, resulting in Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore needing to move away. With The Pirate Princess ready to close in with an Insane Elbow, Bliss executed a Sister Abigail DDT on Sane for the victory.
Wade Barrett stood in the ring alongside the WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton, and her opponent at Evolution this Sunday, Trish Stratus. As Barrett questioned Stratton on what made her choose Stratus as her opponent for the event, the Buff Barbie feels the reason is obvious: she’s already beaten the likes of Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Bayley, that why would she not want to face one of the greatest of all time? She gave her this match because once she beats Stratus, maybe she’ll be considered one of the GOATs. Now shifting the mic to Stratus, the Hall of Famer tells Barrett that while she’s definitely feeling a lot of pressure, Stratton is the one who should be feeling the pressure. She said it herself: Stratton needs to beat Stratus in order to be considered the greatest of all time, something Stratus already is. When Stratus wins at Evolution, she will leave with the championship while Stratton will leave with nothing. On Sunday, she’s going to do what she’s done for 25 years straight and that is deliver Stratusfaction.
Stratton retorts, saying that she’ll let Stratus live out her glory days, but things are different now. It’s called Evolution for a reason. Stratton knows all about her accomplishments, having watched her VHS tapes. Stratus thinks the insult was cute and asks her if she learned about them on TikTok. Stratus continues and says that she built and solidified this division, and she is still delivering for this division. While she loves Stratton and thinks she is doing a fantastic job, on Sunday she will become an 8-time champion.
Naomi’s music interrupts the proceedings, with the Money in the Bank winner saying that she wanted to remind them both that it didn’t matter who won – but before she could actually finish the sentence, Jade Cargill snuck up from behind to brawl with her, payback for last week’s backstage attack. Repeatedly pouncing on her, officials were quick to come separate the two, although Naomi got a few licks in as the distance between them grew greater from being held by the officials.
Evolution will air from inside the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday, July 13th at 7 p.m. Eastern Time / 4 p.m. Pacific on Peacock in the United States. The following matches will be taking place at the event:
- Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
- Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Trish Stratus
- NXT Women’s Championship: Jacy Jayne (c) (with Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx) vs. Jordynne Grace – winner will face Masha Slamovich at TNA Slammiversary for the NXT Women’s Championship and the TNA Knockouts Championship.
- No Holds Barred: Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley
- Women’s Tag Team Championship Fatal Four-Way: Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte vs. The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) vs. Zaria and Sol Ruca
- Battle Royal: featuring Lola Vice, Michin, B-Fab, Candice LeRae, Tatum Paxley, Piper Niven, Alba Fyre, Kelani Jordan, Izzi Dame, Lash Legend, Ivy Nile, Stephanie Vaquer, Zelina Vega, Giulia, Jaida Parker, Nikki Bella, Chelsea Green, Nia Jax, Maxxine Dupri, and Natalya – winner will get a title shot at Clash in Paris on Sunday, August 31st.
As always, make sure to share your thoughts on this week’s episode of SmackDown, and feel free to add your thoughts and predictions on Evolution, in the comments below.