Tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown (May 2, 2025) emanates out of the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa and will air at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network.
This post here will be updated frequently throughout the night to reflect live coverage of Friday Night SmackDown, including all the match results, rundowns of the promos, and any other interesting or noteworthy things that take place. Keep refreshing for updates to find out all the winners and more!
Preview & Predictions for WWE SmackDown:
On tap for today's episode, WWE is once again keeping things very vague. All that has been announced at the time of writing up this preview is that Randy Orton "will be live on SmackDown" and that Aleister Black will face The Miz.
Breaking that down, that means The Viper is going to cut a promo. He'll address his feud with John Cena, talk about their history together, give him a stern "I'm going to beat you for the Undisputed WWE Championship" type of verbal lashing, and since Cena isn't being advertised, we won't see those two interact. Someone else stands a very good chance at showing up, if not just to eat an RKO to end the segment, but knowing WWE, it'll probably lead to a tag team match for the main event instead and be something like Orton and LA Knight against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu or whatever.
Aleister Black made his return last week and took out The Miz with a Black Mass kick. Clearly, WWE isn't going to have Black lose his first match back. He'll take down The A-Lister once again, and this is either a one-and-done, or he'll move on to feud with Carmelo Hayes after this.
Not advertised, but expected, are follow-ups about the WWE Tag Team Championship following The Street Profits retaining the titles in their TLC match last week, Zelina Vega celebrating winning the Women's United States Championship from Chelsea Green, more with Nia Jax going after Tiffany Stratton and the WWE Women's Championship as well as possibly a continuation of Jade Cargill vs Naomi, and more with Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre involved in the United States title scene.
Here are your results for WWE SmackDown - May 2, 2025:
- Backstage, Damian Priest got into a fight with Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa. LA Knight walked past them to go to the ring. Knight cut a promo about wanting a proper rematch for the United States Championship instead of a No. 1 contender's match. Priest then came out, bringing up Drew McIntyre as the other part of the equation, eventually leading to a match after some trash talking.
- Damian Priest defeated LA Knight by disqualification as a result of Solo Sikoa getting involved and attacking Priest. Sikoa also went after Knight. Fatu then came out and stood tall with Sikoa.
- Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) defeated Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson & Elton Prince) by pinfall.
- Backstage, Michin and B-Fab were talking to Nick Aldis about getting a potential Women's Tag Team Championship match once Liv Morgan is back from filming her movie. The Green Regime interrupted so Chelsea Green could complain about wanting a rematch against Zelina Vega for the Women's United States Championship. Aldis informed Piper Niven she has a match with Vega right now and if she's successful, maybe she will be the first in line for a title shot instead.
- Promo: Nia Jax had an in-ring segment with Tiffany Stratton, ready to defend the WWE Women's Championship. Naomi interrupted to talk about how she's no longer the pushover she used to be and she's not done going for gold. Jade Cargill stormed to the ring and a brawl ensued. Aldis made an impromptu tag team match for later.
- Aleister Black defeated The Miz by pinfall.
- Rey Fenix and Santos Escobar had some words backstage in the locker room, leading to Fenix challenging Escobar to a match tonight.
- Zelina Vega defeated Piper Niven by pinfall.
- Backstage, Nick Aldis announces to Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa that Fatu has to defend the United States title against LA Knight and Damian Priest in a Triple Threat. Sikoa pointed out that Drew McIntyre should be the No. 1 contender after technically winning the match last week, so Aldis added him to the match to make it a Fatal 4-Way.
- Promo: Randy Orton talked about John Cena to hype up their match for Backlash. After the commercial break, R-Truth told Orton backstage that The Viper has no chance at Backlash because his childhood hero John Cena is going to beat him. Jimmy Uso told Orton that he'd talk to R-Truth, and after Orton left, Jimmy warned R-Truth that Orton's going to punt his head off his shoulder. R-Truth said that Cena wouldn't lie to him.
- Rey Fenix defeated Santos Escobar by pinfall. After the commercial, backstage, Andrade told Escobar that while he does have legacy by his side with Los Garza, he doesn't have respect or honor. Angel and Berto were partially swayed, but Escobar bullied them to leave with him.
- Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton defeated Naomi and Nia Jax by pinfall. Naomi went on the attack afterward and stood over Cargill while holding the women's title to end the show.
What are your thoughts on tonight's episode of Friday Night SmackDown? Drop your reactions in the comments below and spark a discussion!