Friday Night SmackDown aired this week from inside the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. Coming off the heels of last Sunday night’s Evolution event, Tiffany Stratton retained her WWE Women’s Championship against Trish Stratus. The heated rivalry between Jade Cargill and Naomi also came to an end when Cargill defeated Naomi in a Last Woman Standing match, with their former friend Bianca Belair serving as the special guest referee.
One loss wasn’t going to ruin Naomi’s night though, as she ended up successfully cashing in her Money in the Bank contract on IYO SKY, winning the Women’s World Championship and sending her over to Monday Night Raw. With the women of Team Blue no longer having to proceed with caution, both Stratton and Cargill have their sights set on SummerSlam, where they will battle it out for the Women’s Championship.
Things kicked off for the women with a backstage segment from earlier in the day. An uncertain-looking Alexa Bliss, holding her Lilly doll, spoke to Charlotte Flair, telling her that she knows their tag team partnership has been a bust, particularly considering that they lost the fatal four-way tag team match at Evolution, and that they should probably just part ways. Flair says that they might have not won the Women’s Tag Team Championships, but they didn’t lose the match either, which is why she went to Adam Pearce and got them a Women’s Tag Team Championship match against Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez at The Biggest Party of the Summer, and adds that just because she’s in a team, doesn’t mean she’s not Charlotte Flair anymore; they are still not friends, but she does need Bliss to be her “cheerleader” in her match with Raquel Rodriguez.
That match would be the first of the night, with Rodriguez attempting to show her size right off the bat. Perez and Bliss would get into an altercation shortly thereafter at ringside, allowing Rodriguez to ram Flair’s face into the ring post. Rodriguez remained in control throughout and after the commercial break, kicking down The Queen, but would get hit with a series of chops. In the midst of this renewed momentum for Flair, an attempted crossbody would be reversed into a backbreaker by Rodriguez, but it wasn’t enough to put Flair away as she kicked out at 2. Now opting for a Tejana Bomb that was reversed by Flair, Rodriguez ran into a superkick. Perez got up on the apron to distract Flair, but was caught by the referee; as he wasn’t looking, Bliss would get up on the other side of the apron and hit Rodriguez with pom-poms she had brought out to “cheer” her partner on. The distraction led to a roll-up victory for Flair, with Bliss celebrating in true cheerleader fashion by waving the pom-poms.
Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill appeared in a video package to hype up their upcoming Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam. Stratton says that a lot has changed since they both debuted at the 2024 Royal Rumble. Cargill says that she and Stratton both came up in the company quickly, while Stratton adds that they’ve both had friendships destroyed and equally have one goal, but the difference is only one of them has kept it. Cargill mentions that while the Buff Barbie was becoming champion, she fought through betrayal and injury, and it’s a pain that changes you. She let Naomi distract her, but now she’s going for what’s hers: the WWE Women’s Championship.
Time after time, Stratton has been underestimated: “she’s just another dumb blonde”, “she’s naive”, “she’s too confident”, “she’s inexperienced”, and she’s heard it all, but guess who’s standing here as the WWE Women’s Champion. It’s not Trish Stratus, it’s not Nia Jax, and it’s not Charlotte Flair, it’s Tiffany Stratton. After SummerSlam, Jade is going to be just another name on the long list of women she’s beaten.
Cargill has been doubted, disrespected, and still she walks through every storm. She’s earned the Queen of the Ring crown on her head. Stratton is what they expect, but Cargill is what they can’t control. Stratton believes that she’s just another name, but she doesn’t get added to the list, she ends them, and at SummerSlam, she’ll end her because a storm is coming.
Making a name for herself as one of Monday Night Raw’s fastest-rising female Superstars, Stephanie Vaquer made her way over to SmackDown for a one-on-one match with Alba Fyre of The Secret Hervice. This came after Vaquer came to Nikki Bella’s rescue on Monday night following a three-on-one ambush brought on by the former Divas Champion’s victory over Chelsea Green, who was not present with her Slaygents tonight. Vaquer was quick in her offense against the suited-up redhead as she executed several pinning combinations. It wasn’t long before Vaquer hit the ever-so popular Devil’s Kiss, but she wasn’t done there, hitting a package backbreaker on Fyre to win the match in just two minutes.
Piper Niven would attack the Chilean-born Superstar afterwards in response to her fellow Slaygent’s loss, but Vaquer shoved her out of the ring and kicked her off when she tried to get up on the ring apron. With the Hervice walking away and Vaquer standing tall, it’s clear that her road to the top isn’t going to sit well with every woman in the locker room, but we can guarantee that it’ll be more of a reason for her to prove that she is La Primera.
Cathy Kelley interviewed The Street Profits, once again managed by B-Fab, about losing the WWE Tag Team Championships to The Wyatt Sicks. The two were not scheduled to participate in a fatal four-way match involving four teams to determine the #1 contender to the titles, but one of those participating teams – #DIY, would crash the interview, and with them was Candice LeRae. After Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa ragged on Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford for “blowing it” and “not having what it takes” to hold the titles, LeRae warned the two to pay attention to the match, because they might learn something. B-Fab took exception to The Poison Pixie’s words, warning her to watch her mouth, but Ford stopped her before things got physical. Needless to say, #DIY did not win that match.
Also appearing on the show, albeit in the background of Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair’s segment, was the Women’s United States Champion Giulia and what looked like the returning Kiana James discussing something together. Well over a year since her last match on Raw before an injury, could we be seeing a full-fledged return soon? And what does a potential alliance with The Beautiful Madness mean for the rest of Team Blue’s women’s division? We’ll have to just wait and see.
Friday Night SmackDown airs next Friday from the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio with the following set to take place:
- Alexa Bliss (with Charlotte Flair) vs. Roxanne Perez (with Raquel Rodriguez)
SummerSlam will take place as a two-night event, hosted by Cardi B at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Saturday, August 2nd and Sunday, August 3rd. Here’s what is all set for The Biggest Party of the Summer:
- WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill
- Women’s World Championship: Naomi (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. IYO SKY
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria
- Women’s Tag Team Championship: Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair
As always, make sure to share your thoughts on this week’s episode of SmackDown in the comments below.