By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Smackdown (Episode 1,399)
Providence, Rhode Island, at Amica Mutual Pavilion
Streamed live June 12, 2026, on USA Network and internationally on Netflix
[Hour One] Joe Tessitore opened the show on commentary while a shot aired of the host city. A video package recapped last week’s segment involving Cody Rhodes, Gunther, and Sami Zayn…
Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis greeted WWE Champion Cody Rhodes as he arrived in the building. Cody wondered if there was an update on the stipulation that Gunther wants for next week’s title match. Aldis said he had not heard from Gunther. Aldis exited after saying Gunther’s decision would be known by the end of the night.
Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso approached Cody. Jey spoke of winning the King of the Ring tournament and challenging Cody for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. Cody said he hoped that Jey was right. Cody said Jey deserves it, but he hopes that it’s Jey’s decision, not Roman Reigns’…
Tessitore narrated arrival shots of LA Knight, Royce Keys, and Finn Balor…
Wade Barrett joined Tessitore on commentary, and they spoke about a knee injury that WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley suffered last week. Barrett did not offer any specifics regarding a timeline for her return…
Cathy Kelley interviewed Jade Cargill, B-Fab, and Michin in a backstage area. Jade said she would see Rhea Ripley at SummerSlam. Charlotte Flair’s entrance music played, which annoyed Jade…
Charlotte made her entrance, followed by Women’s Intercontinental Champion Sol Ruca, Lyra Valkyria, and then Jade Cargill with her sidekicks…
1. Women’s Intercontinental Champion Sol Ruca vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill (w/B-Fab, Michin) in a four-way Queen of the Ring tournament match. Flair superkicked Jade, who suffered a double suplex attempt by Ruca and Flair before suplexing both of them simultaneously. Jade performed a fallaway slam on Valkyria, who landed on Ruca. Flair ended up on the floor. B-Fab and Michin attacked her while the broadcast team noted that there are no disqualifications in a four-way.
Alexa Bliss ran out to help Flair, but B-Fab and Michin got the better of her. Tiffany Stratton came out and sent Michin over the barricade. Stratton followed Michin, while Bliss and B-Fab fought their way up the entrance aisle. In the ring, Flair performed a crossbody block on Jade, but Ruca broke up the pin attempt that followed.
Jade caught Lyra setting up Flair for a move on the ropes. Jade performed a tower of doom spot and then covered Flair for a near fall. Flair came back with a clothesline on Jade. Flair set up for a Figure Eight, but Ruca caught her with a missile dropkick. Ruca leapfrogged a charging Jade, who crashed into a corner of the ring.
Lyra dropkicked Jade through the ropes. Ruca performed a moonsault off the top rope onto all three opponents on the floor. Ruca tossed Valkyria back inside the ring and then hit her with a springboard splash that resulted in a near fall before a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Jade went to the ropes and was hit by Flair, who joined her on the ropes. Flair grabbed Jade’s hair with one hand and threw a punch with the other, but the wig moved. Flair and Ruca performed a double suplex on Jade, who tried to hold her wig in place.
Jade ducked out for a moment. Jade returned to the ring and dropped Ruca with a pump kick. Jade continued to struggle with her wig. Jade performed Jaded on Flair and held her wig while going for the pin, but Valkyria broke it up with a kick. Ruca hit the Sol Snatcher on Jade and had her pinned until Lyra pulled Ruca out of the ring. In the end, Flair put Valkyria in the Figure Eight for the submission win…
Charlotte Flair defeated Lyra Valkyria, Sol Ruca, and Jade Cargill in 18:35 to advance to the Queen of the Ring semifinals.
The updated brackets showed that Flair will face Liv Morgan in one semifinal match, and Iyo Sky will face Raquel Rodriguez in the other…
Powell’s POV: Jade’s wig clearly dominated the match and should have advanced to the semifinals. Poor Jade. On a side note, WrestleTix listed the host venue as being set up for 8,166 with 7,555 tickets distributed. The total number of seats on the map is listed as 11,808. The last time WWE ran the venue, 8,938 tickets were distributed for the July 7, 2025, Raw show.
Backstage, Cathy Kelley asked Women’s U.S. Champion Tiffany Stratton why she helped Flair. Stratton said she and Flair are not besties, but neither one of them wants Jade as their champion. B-Fab and Michin showed up and yelled at Stratton, but Chelsea Green showed up with a kendo stick and made them back down. “What are you doing?” Stratton asked Green…
Jacob Fatu arrived in the Usos’ dressing room. Jimmy asked what Fatu was doing there and informed him that Roman Reigns wanted Jey to handle his four-way match on his own. Fatu said he was there to speak with Solo Sikoa… [C]
Footage aired of Carmelo Hayes visiting the New England Patriots’ minicamp practice. Back in the arena, several players were shown in the crowd…
A Blake Monroe vignette aired. She spoke about Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, and noted that friends “aren’t something I ever burdened myself with”…
Backstage, Nick Aldis was on the phone when Gunther arrived. Gunther said he couldn’t trust Aldis’s choice, so he booked the referee for the match. Aldis asked who it would be. Gunther said he was contemplating and would let Aldis know by the end of the night…
Cathy Kelley interviewed Finn Balor, who said he couldn’t be more excited about being on Smackdown. R-Truth showed up and spoke about putting Judgment Day back together. Damian Priest showed up. Priest said Judgment Day was back together again. There was major tension as Priest welcomed Balor to Smackdown, and Balor said he was happy to be there. Balor said he had a match and exited. Truth called out that they love Balor. Priest disputed that. Priest mentioned that he and Truth will face The MFTs for the WWE Tag Team Titles next week…
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Paige and Brie Bella made their entrance… [C] The broadcast team announced Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green vs. B-Fab and Michin for later in the show… The Fatal Influence trio made their entrance…
2. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Paige and Brie Bella vs. Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid (w/Jacy Jayne) in a non-title match. Both entrances were televised. The heels isolated Brie. The referee missed Brie tagging Paige and forced her to stay in the ring. [C]
Brie ducked a double clothesline and then dove to her corner and tagged out. Paige put Reid in a submission hold, but Henley broke it up. Paige cleared Henley from the ring and then performed a Rampaige DDT on Reid. Paige had Reid beat, but Henley returned to break up the pin. Paige got a visual pinfall on Reid, but the referee was distracted.
[Hour Two] The referee caught Jayne helping Henley while she was in a submission hold. The referee ejected Jayne, who protested, causing the referee to miss when Henley caught Paige in an inside cradle. Brie entered the ring and reversed the pin, and then the referee turned around and counted the pin…
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Paige and Brie Bella beat Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid in a non-title match at 8:30.
Powell’s POV: I know I wasn’t alone in suspecting that Henley and Reid would get a non-title win. I’m not sure what having the champions win accomplished.
Backstage, Sami Zayn spoke while Johnny Gargano was shown lying on production crates while Candice LeRae stood by. LeRae responded to Zayn’s rant by asking Gargano when he would get up and do something about it. Zayn said Gargano was right, he was going to clear the air with Cody Rhodes once and for all… [C]
Danhausen was working in his lab when Angel and Berto showed up and asked him to re-curse the New York Knicks for betting purposes. They left Danhausen with a bag filled with cash and called it a bonus. Matt Cardona showed up and asked Danhausen to keep the Knicks from being cursed. Danahausen wanted money, but he settled for Cardona’s watch.
Kit Wilson showed up and brought an electrocuted Miz with him. Mi’s hair stood up and had a gray streak. He mumbled while delivering his catchphrases. Wilson ended up being electrocuted…
Powell’s POV: This was hilarious for the age seven-and-under crowd. Not so much for anyone who made it to fourth grade.
Sami Zayn made his entrance. He said the reaction he received was a little strange. He said he wasn’t comparing the American crowd to the European crowds, but the ride or dies came out in full force for him in Europe. Zayn called out the WWE Champion.
Cody Rhodes made his entrance and joined Zayn inside the ring. Zayn recalled helping Cody last week, only to be left lying flat on his back while Cody stood tall. Zayn said it keeps happening. Zayn asked whether it was intentional. A “Sami sucks” chant broke out.
Cody eventually told Zayn that the fans chanted “Sami sucks” because he does now. Cody said Zayn is desperate. Cody apologized for being WWE Champion. Cody said that he has the title, which means that Zayn never will. Zayn slapped Cody. Zayn immediately apologized. Cody slapped him back and then asked if they were good.
Zayn exited the ring and grabbed a chair before returning to the apron. Zayn tossed the chair to the floor. Zayn dropped off the apron and headed to the back while Cody watched…
Powell’s POV: You’ll have to excuse Sami, Mr. Rhodes, because he was running late for a fitting for a referee shirt.
Jacob Fatu approached Solo Sikoa with a message from Roman Reigns, who wanted Solo to “come home.” Solo said it’s not home, it’s a doghouse. Solo said Fatu is Roman’s lapdog. Solo asked what happened to Fatu. He said everyone was afraid of him, and he came close to beating Reigns, but now he’s just Roman’s background. Solo said Roman made Fatu kneel in front of the world, including their family. Solo said that’s not how you treat someone you love. Solo told Fatu to tell Reigns that he can go to hell.
Fatu said he understands where Solo is coming from, but he already made up his mind. Fatu said he was going to stand on business. Fatu said that if Reigns sends him after Solo, then he’d be coming after Solo. “You tell Roman that if he wants me to come back home, then he can come and get me,” Solo said before exiting the room…
A video package recapped Rey Fenix winning the AAA Cruiserweight Championship… [C] Axiom made his entrance with Nathan Frazer, who wished him luck and then headed backstage. Rey Fenix made his entrance…
3. Rey Fenix vs. Axiom for the AAA Cruiserweight Championship. The crowd was quiet to start, but they gasped for Axiom suplexing Fenix. A short time later, Axiom drilled Fenix with a dropkick. Axiom followed up with a moonsault from the top rope onto Fenix on the floor. [C]
Axiom hit a missile dropkick for a near fall. Axiom looked to the quiet crowd. Fenix avoided Axiom’s Goden Ratio finisher. Fenix performed a brainbuster for a near fall. Moments later, both wrestlers fought on the ropes, and then Axiom performed a Spanish Fly for a near fall. Fenix came back with a couple of spinning kicks in the corner and then hit a Mexican Muscle Buster for the win…
Rey Fenix defeated Axiom in 11:30 to retain the AAA Cruiserweight Championship.
Powell’s POV: Good cruiserweight action for a title belt the majority of the audience couldn’t care less about. I get that you have to start somewhere, but I don’t think anyone who runs a major pro wrestling company today understands that there are too many title belts.
Gunther entered Nick Aldis’s office and told him that he’d made his decision. Gunther said he needed someone with their heart in the right place, a good guy, maybe the last real good guy. Gunther told Aldis that he wants Sami Zayn to be the referee for his WWE Championship match against Cody. Gunther told Aldis to make it happen…
U.S. Champion Trick Williams and Lil Yachty were shown arriving in the parking lot… [C]
The broadcast team hyped Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther for the WWE Championship with Sami Zayn as special referee for next week’s Smackdown…
U.S. Champion Trick Williams and Lil Yachty made their entrance. They stopped and greeted a young fan wearing a white pimp jacket (nice). Ring announcer Mark Nash introduced Trick and Yachty, and then Trick interrupted Yachty, introducing him.
Trick said he lost his King of the Ring match last week. Trick said he didn’t like that he lost, but it woke something in him. Trick said it made him want to bring his game up. Trick dubbed himself the leader of the new school. “Never mind who you thought I was, I’m Trick James, bitch,” Trick said.
Ricky Saints started to make his entrance, but his music was cut off in favor of Carmelo Hayes’s entrance theme. Hayes came out with a mic in his hand and bumped Saints before walking past him. Saints ran to the ring and got a mic of his own. Hayes and Saints bickered about who deserved a title shot.
[Hour Three] Trick cut them off and told them to battle it out, and the winner can come see him. Trick added that they should shut up until then because grown folks were talking. Trick and Yacthy were about to exit the ring when Saints shoved Hayes into Trick.
Hayes hit Saints with Dirty Diana and then threw punches at him. Trick returned to the ring and ran Hayes through the ropes and into the ring post. Trick put Saints down with a Bookend, and then his music played to conclude the segment…
Powell’s POV: How many times will they have Saints vs. Hayes before they announced they’ll both challenge for the U.S. Championship in a Triple Threat?
Cathy Kelley tried to interview Royce Keys about his King of the Ring match, but Solo Sikoa interrupted them. Solo told Keys that The Bloodline was there to make sure Jey Uso advances to the next round of the KOTR tournament. Solo said Jacob Fatu was there to help Jey. Solo said Keys doesn’t have to fight for him or with him, but he doesn’t want to see him become a casualty in Roman Reigns’ war…
Chelsea Green made her entrance. Tiffany Stratton’s entrance followed, and she looked annoyed by Green… [C] B-Fab and Michin made their entrance…
4. Women’s U.S. Champion Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green vs. B-Fab and Michin. Stratton put Michin down with an Alabama Slam. Green checked in and looked to Stratton for approval. The fans chanted for Chelsea. Michin came back and hit Green with a running knee strike. [C]
The heel duo isolated Green, who eventually crawled toward her corner and lunged for a tag, but Jade Cargill showed up and pulled Stratton off the apron. Green put B-Fab down with an Unprettier. Michin was the legal wrestler, and she hit Green with a Styles Clash before pinning her.
B-Fab and Michin beat Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green in 7:50.
After the match, Stratton returned and hit B-Fab and Michin from behind. Stratton and Jade fought briefly, and then B-Fab and Michin returned and attacked Stratton. Jade performed her Jaded finisher on Stratton. Jade picked up the Women’s U.S. Championship belt and dropped it on Stratton…
Powell’s POV: No wig issues for Jade!
Cathy Kelley interviewed Kiana James backstage. James accused Giulia of betraying her. James said she did everything for her, but Giulia hated her. James said Giulia was useless the one time she needed her help. Giulia showed up and said she needed James with English and her contracts, not with being a fighter. James said she didn’t need Giulia for anything. Giula accused James of using her momentum. James said she eclipsed her. “My English is better now,” Giulia said. “I finally have the words to say…” Giulia slapped James…
Finn Balor was walking backstage when Tama Tonga stopped him. Tama said it had been a long time. Tama welcomed Balor to Smackdown and wished him good luck. Balor walked away without responding… [C]
Backstage, Cody Rhodes asked Nick Aldis if they were actually going through with the stipulation of Sami Zayn being the referee for his match with Gunther. Aldis said his hands were tied because Gunther got lawyers involved. Cody said Zayn is a wreck and is emotionally all over the place.
Sami Zayn showed up. Cody said Zayn gave him one, and he gave Zayn one, and he hoped they were good. “I don’t know, Cody, I’m a bit of a wreck,” Zayn said. “My emotions are all over the place. Good luck next week”…
The following matches and segments were announced for next week’s Smackdown in Kansas City: Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther for the WWE Championship with Sami Zayn as special referee (the match will air commercial-free), Ricky Saints vs. Carmelo Hayes for a shot at the U.S. Championship at Night of Champions, Damian Priest and R-Truth vs. Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga for the WWE Tag Team Titles, and Liv Morgan vs. Charlotte Flair in a Queen of the Ring semifinal match…
Powell’s POV: It wasn’t mentioned, but I assume Smackdown will also have Je’Von Evans facing the winner of tonight’s four-way main event in the second KOTR semifinal match.
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed LA Knight, who cut her off when she mentioned The Bloodline was in the building. Knight recalled saying the Bloodline would show up for this show. He said he would call himself Nostradamus, but he could be called LAdamus, and Roman Reigns “Nostradumbass.’ Knight talked about winning King of the Ring and stomping out Reigns…
Jey Uso made his entrance through the crowd… An ad for Raw listed the previously advertised return of Roman Reigns and the KQOTH semifinal matches… [C] Finn Balor made his entrance, and then the entrances of Royce Keys and LA Knight followed. Knight stopped and acknowledged a fan sign that read, “From Knight To King”…
5. Jey Uso vs. LA Knight vs. Royce Keys vs. Finn Balor in a four-way King of the Ring match. Just as the match was about to start, Knight mocked Jey by indicating that he wanted to run back his own entrance theme. Jey hit Knight, and they traded punches while the referee called for the bell. Keys clotheslined Jey and Knight over the top rope to the floor. Balor pulled the top rope down, causing a charging Keys to fall to the floor. Balor hit Jey and Knight with a flip dive before a PIP break. [C]
There was a botched spot when Knight went over Keys and tried to perform a neckbreaker on the way down, which didn’t go as planned. Keys came back with a nice powerslam and had Knight pinned until Balor broke it up. A short time later, Keys ran Jey into the ring steps. Jimmy Uso showed up at ringside and went face-to-face with Keys, who looked him up and down. Solo Sikoa walked out before a PIP break. [C]
Jey, Knight, and Balor cleared the broadcast table and put Keys through it with a triple powerbomb. Back in the ring, Balor put Jey down with a sling blade clothesline and set up for a shotgun dropkick, but Jey superkicked him. Balor cut off Jey’s spear and then hit another sling blade clothesline and a shotgun dropkick.
Balor went up top. Knight ran up the ropes, but Balor knocked Knight onto Jey. Balor hit Jey with Coup de Grace and had him pinned, but Keys pulled Balor out of the ring. Solo praised Keys, who was distracted when Knight kicked him through the ropes.
In the ring, Knight hit Keys with a top rope elbow drop. Keys stuffed a BFT. Solo climbed on the apron and hit Knight with the Solo Spike, unbeknownst to Keys and the referee. Keys performed the Ultimate Spinebuster on Knight. Jey performed a top rope splash to break up the pin, and then covered Knight and got the three count.
Jey Uso defeated LA Knight, Royce Keys, and Finn Balor in 18:40 to advance to the King of the Ring semifinals.
Jey celebrated his win with Jimmy. They went to the stage. Jey stood next to the case containing the King of the Ring crown. “Mine, Yeet,” Jey said. The broadcast team recapped the match highlights. The updated brackets showed that Jey will face Je’Von Evans in one KOTR semifinal match, and Oba Femi vs. Dominik Mysterio in the other. Jey continued to celebrate while the executive producer credits were shown. Barrett said it was time for Jey to get bouncy next week. Tessitore gave a final plug for next week’s WWE Championship match to close the show…
Powell’s POV: A suspenseful main event. It felt like a good case could be made for any of the four wrestlers winning, which was the only time I felt this way during the KQOTR quarterfinal matches. Overall, a solid show, thanks in large part to the KQOTR four-way matches and the segments involving Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn. I will be back shortly with my weekly same-night audio review of Smackdown for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of the show by grading it below. Have a great weekend.
Oh no, my third grade education has been exposed!
And your bad sense of humor? 😉
You use too many big words.
Just wait until next week when I blow your mind by overusing the word penultimate!!!
I bet Vince McMahon was somewhere laughing his head off.