WWE SmackDown advertised Nia Jax’s Queen of the Ring celebration, Andrade vs. Apollo Crews and The Street Profits vs. The Bloodline (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa).
Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown garnered 2.147 million viewers from Saudi Arabia.
WWE SmackDown Results | May 31, 2024
- Tommaso Ciampa def. Austin Theory
- Andrade def. Apollo Crews
- The Bloodline def. The Street Profits
- Chelsea Green and Piper Niven def. Bayley and Naomi
WWE SmackDown Ratings
- May 24, 2024 | 2.147 million
- May 17, 2024 | 2.186 million
- May 10, 2024 | 2.128 million
- May 3, 2024 | 2.148 million
WWE SmackDown Ticket Sales
- WWE SmackDown Venue: MVP Arena (Albany, N.Y.)
- WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 7,705
- Available Tickets: 318
WWE SmackDown Winners And Grades
Nia Jax Queen Of The Ring Celebration
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Nia Jax received immense heat while giving her celebratory Queen of the Ring speech. She is the top heel in the WWE’s women’s division, and it’s not even close.
While walking to the ring to confront Nia Jax, Bayley was attacked by Piper Niven. Chelsea Green, now more of a manager than a tag team partner, assured Nia that she wouldn’t have to worry about Bayley being the WWE women’s world champion by SummerSlam, because that would be Niven. There’s no way WWE goes with Niven vs. Jax at SummerSlam, but it’s good to once again see a world champion with multiple feuds simultaneously.
Backstage, a full-suited AJ Styles continued to tease retirement, and noted he would be making an announcement regarding his future later in the night.
Nia Jax Coronation Grade: B
Tommaso Ciampa Def. Austin Theory
Austin Theory and Grayson Waller teased tension shortly before becoming WWE tag team champions at WrestleMania. They have not teased any tension since, however they lost due to interference from Waller. If DIY wins those belts, a Waller-Theory feud cannot be too far behind.
Backstage, LA Knight and Carmelo Hayes had an exchange right after LA Knight challenged Logan Paul for his United States Championship. It was a live segment, and one which Hayes screwed up a line by saying LA Knight was challenging LA Knight. Always quick on the draw, Knight said “if I was gonna face myself I’d be looking in a mirror.”
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Austin Theory Grade: B-
Andrade Def. Apollo Crews
Angel attempted to recruit Andrade backstage, however Andrade declined. Angel later appeared ringside to cheer Andrade on.
Andrade has had the softest push in recent memory with a series of opponents who nobody believes will beat him.
Regardless of his slotting on the card, Crews worked his ass off and he once again had a great match against Andrade.
Legado del Fantasma appeared at the top of the stage as they continue to court Andrade. Honestly, I can’t think of a better situation for Andrade right now than to join up with this stable.
Apollo Crews vs. Andrade Grade: B+
Paul Heyman And Kevin Owens Face Off
Kevin Owens is usually a great speaker, but he brought his A+ Game to his showdown with Paul Heyman.
Fans sided with Heyman during parts of this exchange, especially when Heyman referred to himself as a Hall of Famer.
Heyman got so worked up, he accidentally struck Kevin Owens with a microphone, leading to bleeped-out chants of “you f—ked up!” The Bloodline made the save for The Wiseman. Thankfully for Owens, The Street Profits made the save for KO.
Paul Heyman and Kevin Owens Grade: A-
The Bloodline Def. The Street Profits
A long stretch of this match featured an intense showdown between Montez Ford Tama Tonga. The match predictably slowed down once Angelo Dawkins reentered the match against Tanga Loa.
Just when it seemed as if The Street Profits were going to pull off the surprising upset with a Montez Ford Frog Splash, Tama Tonga hit his finisher on Ford for the win. The New Bloodline remains undefeated.
The Bloodline vs. The Street Profits Grade: B
Chelsea Green And Piper Niven Def. Bayley And Naomi
Following Piper Niven’s attack earlier in the night, Naomi came to Bayley’s defense in this match with some real ride-or-die energy.
Naomi did a great job getting fans into this match as they began to hit a wall. She refused to let fatigue take them out of it.
Despite WWE building up a feud between Piper Niven and Chelsea Green, Chelsea Green won this match with a pin over Naomi. What a disappointing way to build up Piper Niven when she could have (and should have) had a victory over Bayley to make her seem like a contender.
Green and Piper vs. Bayley and Naomi Grade: C
AJ Styles Teases Retirement
The show-long storyline centered around AJ Styles teasing retirement. Prior to this segment, LA Knight, Cody Rhodes and The Good Brothers paid their respects to AJ Styles. The Good Brothers accompanied Styles to the ring.
Styles fed into the rumors about his future by saying he “can’t go to the back of the line” in terms of trying to challenge Cody Rhodes for another WWE Championship match.
An emotional Styles battled “you deserve it” chants as he continued teasing retirement.
Styles said it’s time for him to be a Phenomenal Father, which the crowd booed. Styles did one “final” Bullet Club salute with The Good Brothers and called out Cody Rhodes. This had 2013 Mark Henry written all over it.
Of course, by the end of this retirement speech, with a special thanks to Cody Rhodes, Styles turned on Rhodes to set up a rematch.
