WWE SmackDown on April 24 featured Tiffany Stratton winning the women's United States title and new faction Fatal Influence generating significant heat. The show also included matches with Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, and Danhausen defeating The Miz.
WWE SmackDown on April 24 took place in Fort Worth, and featured a singles match between Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa.
The first SmackDown after WrestleMania 42 saw some new faces called up, such as Fatal Influence, and teasers for others to come, like Blake Monroe and Ricky Saints. We saw Danhausen haunt The Miz at his own home, and then pull off another pyro curse to beat him in a singles match. Cody Rhodes sent a veiled message to TKO, saying they’re 0-3 in trying to ruin his Mania plans. Brie Bella and Paige’s first match as tag champs was against Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, but was ruined quickly by Fatal Influence.
This show came after the announcement of multiple talent releases, which included a few surprises.
Here’s the top takeaways from this week’s show:
Tiffany Stratton wins women’s United States title
The first match of the night produced a more significant result in the ring than anything on the Raw after Mania. Tiffany Stratton challenged Giulia for the women’s United States Championship and was successful.
Stratton was dominated for most of the match. Giulia hit a nasty neckbreaker from the ring apron to the floor, and continued to pour on the offense from there. However, when it came time for Giulia to go for her finisher, Stratton reversed it with an Alabama slam and hit a Prettiest Moonsault Ever to score the pin.
It always felt like a matter of time before WWE put the US title on Stratton, and here we are, immediately after Mania. We’ll see if Stratton gets better booking this time around, as creative has seemingly struggled with booking its women’s champions as of late.
R-Truth, Damian Priest defend tag titles vs. MFTs
It seemed as if title changes could be the theme of this week's show, as a reset of sorts after Mania. However, R-Truth and Damian Priest weren't ready to give up their tag titles just yet.
Q&A
Who won the women's United States title at WWE SmackDown on April 24?
Tiffany Stratton won the women's United States title at WWE SmackDown on April 24.
What impact did Fatal Influence have on WWE SmackDown?
Fatal Influence generated significant heat during WWE SmackDown, interrupting matches and creating a notable presence.
What matches took place on WWE SmackDown after WrestleMania 42?
WWE SmackDown featured a singles match between Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa, as well as Danhausen defeating The Miz.
What was the significance of the talent releases announced before WWE SmackDown?
The talent releases announced before WWE SmackDown included several surprises, impacting the roster dynamics and storyline developments.
Related Articles
Sports
El Atlético siempre paga peaje
Marca·
Sports·Recap
France beat Ireland as wait for revenge goes on
France secures a 26-7 victory over Ireland in Women's Six Nations!
BBC Sport··1 min read
Sports
It's not over: Liverpool won't give up on deal for Marcos Senesi
Liverpool won't give up on signing Marcos Senesi despite Tottenham's interest.
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Soccer·Recap
Arsenal 'strangled by fear' - but Eze offers X-Factor
Arsenal narrowly defeats Newcastle, Eze shines despite injuries
Sky Sports··1 min read
Soccer·Recap
Brighton & Hove Albion record impressive victory against league leaders Manchester City
Brighton & Hove Albion upsets Manchester City with a 3-2 victory!
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Sports
NFL Rumor: Browns plan for QB Dillon Gabriel after Taylen Green picked in NFL draft
Cleveland Browns retain QB Dillon Gabriel despite drafting Taylen Green.
See every story in Sports — including breaking news and analysis.
Even though the MFTs had the numbers game and the renewed focus of capturing gold for the family, Tama Tonga and JC Mateo couldn't get the job done. Truth channeled his inner Ron Cena, Priest brought his power moves, and overcame outside interference from Tonga Loa. They hit their Rise Up double team move to retain the titles.
This really seemed like a spot where the MFTs would get the gold back, especially since the Wyatt Sicks were released from the company. We'll see what comes next for both groups.
Trick Williams gets a gingerbread man surprise
It was time for Trick Williams to celebrate his United States Championship win, and he brought Lil Yachty and the gingerbread man mascot along with him into the ring decked out with ballons and booze.
There were a couple of announcements here: Lil Yachty said he would essentially be Williams' hype man going forward, making regular appearances, and Williams shut the door on the US Title Open Challenge. Both are interesting for different reasons, but losing the Open Challenge, which was the best in-ring action every week on SmackDown, is a letdown.
After all the mic work was done and the pyro celebration was on, the gingerbread man attacked, revealing it was Sami Zayn in the costume the whole time.
Zayn then looked confused about the boos, but embraced those cheering him on, too. All in all, this segment was fantastic.
Fatal Influence get nuclear heat in debut
The trio of Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid made their arrival on SmackDown very memorable. First, the group attacked during the Paige-Bella vs. Bliss-Flair tag match, causing an early disqualification. The fans didn't like that, but they ate it up.
Later in the show, Rhea Ripley got on the mic and issued an open challenge of her own to anyone willing to "step to Mami." Who answered? None other than Jayne with her backup. The heat they got was incredible. The boos drowned out anything she tried to say on the mic. This was worse than Dominick Mysterio during his early Judgment Day run. Worse than Logan Paul ever got. It was incredible.
The back-and-forth between Jayne and Ripley led to a singles match made official by Nick Aldis. It ended up being a very good match for Jayne's debut, proving she could hang with Ripley in the ring. However, once Ripley went to finish things with a Riptide, she was taken out from behind by Henley and Reid. Somehow, the boos got even louder.
OH NO!! 😡
Fatal Influence TAKE OUT Rhea Ripley and have made quite the statement tonight! pic.twitter.com/MP1WYRA8rx
What a debut for Fatal Influence. The Fort Worth crowd set this group up for huge things with that reaction, as every town in future weeks will follow suit. The group played along with it perfectly, too. We have a new uber-heel group on Friday nights, y'all.
Jacob Fatu denies The Usos' help, takes out Solo Sikoa, MFTs
Jacob Fatu opened the show with a promo segment, admitting Roman Reigns was right about him not being ready to take him on. However, Fatu flipped that, saying he's been told he hasn't been ready for everything throughout his life, and yet he's accomplished so much. He told Reigns that he's going to have to prove to him he's not ready in the ring.
The Usos joined Fatu in the ring, attempting to convince him to "run the play" and join the family instead of going against Reigns. Solo Sikoa and the MFTs, minus Talla Tonga, arrived. Sikoa told Fatu that The Usos are lying, and to beat Reigns, he needs an army, which he can provide. Tama Tonga yanked the mic away and asked why they were wasting time on someone who couldn't even beat Sikoa. For that, he got a superkick to the jaw from Fatu. The singles match between Fatu and Sikoa as set for the main event.
Fatu and Sikoa's match was naturally filled with interference. Sikoa sent Fatu to the outside, where he was attacked by all of the MFTs. The Usos arrived at the entrance, but Fatu yelled at them that he didn't need their help. Somehow, Fatu overcame it all and hit his moonsault to get the win. After the match, though, MFTs attacked again. Chairs were introduced, but Fatu got a hold of one, and went to work on the group while The Usos stood on the ring apron and watched it all. Fatu cleaned house, and told The Usos he'll see them and Reigns on Raw.
What a strong look for Fatu. It was interesting to see The Usos be supportive of Fatu, even though he didn't want their help. Both Jey and Jimmy were tickled at times by what Fatu was doing to the MFTs. Remember when The Bloodline saga was seemingly at its peak, yet Reigns and Paul Heyman would say they're still in the early stages of the story? We're continuing now, and there are a lot of different ways the alliances could go moving forward. Maybe Fatu remains a lone wolf for now, but what if that leads to him becoming the new Tribal Chief?
