WWE SmackDown Results for May 22, 2026
This week’s WWE SmackDown results for May 22, 2026, cover the night before WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event XLIV. Tomorrow’s event will feature a couple of high-profile championship matches involving WWE’s fastest rising stars in spotlight matches that will provide the WWE Universe a glimpse into the stars that will guide the company into the next decade.
But, of course, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have Friday Night Fight Night, and the top billing is between a Tongan Giant and the “King of Strong Style,” settling the score. This match has been brewing for months, as the Japanese sensation has been trying to get through to a man who’s out of options. Unfortunately, MFT’s muscle will not let that happen.
We are in for a big show tonight, only 24 hours away from WWE’s staple classic event. Before we take a trip down memory lane this Saturday night, let your weekend start with some WWE Friday Night SmackDown. Without further ado, here are the LIVE WWE SmackDown results for May 22, 2026. Let’s run it down.
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Live Venue – Where Is SmackDown Tonight?
WWE SmackDown on May 22, 2026, airs live from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
Broadcast Details – What Time Is SmackDown Tonight, May 22, 2026?
・Time: 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) – Account for Daylight Savings Time / 5 p.m. Central Time (CT)
・Channel: The USA Network
・Streaming: Netflix internationally, with early feed available in select markets; Fubo TV, Peacock, YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream, and Hulu+ Live TV for U.S. streaming
WWE SmackDown Match Card Tonight (5/22/26):
・Talla Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
・WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley Responds to Jade Cargill
・Carmelo Hayes Sends a Message to U.S. Champion Trick Williams and Lil Yachty
・Gunther Responds to the Attack of Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes
・Tiffany Stratton’s Women’s U.S. Open Challenge
・Cody Rhodes vs. Sami Zayn
WWE SmackDown Results (5/22/26):
Ahead of their mega 6-Woman Tag Match at WWE SNME tomorrow night, WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley begins SmackDown, as she makes her feelings known for her challenger Jade Cargill. Ripley got right to the point, Cargill and her group ticked her off, and at Clash in Italy, Rhea Ripley accepts the challenge for her WWE Women’s Title, saying she’ll do the same thing she did at WrestleMania 42.
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss would hit the ring, with Flair getting into it with Ripley, as the “Eradicator” was not present when they got ambushed last week. Rhea said she was out to visit family, and Flair said she understood, but they had their battles, and still they were there, so it’s hard to believe Ripley will have their backs at the 6-Woman Tag at SNME.
Bliss tried to play peacemaker as the two blared into each other. Fatal Influence would stoke the fire, saying that while everyone was crumbling, Jacy Jayne, Lainey Reid, and Fallon Henley had been ascending and dominating.
Flair challenges any two of Fatal Influence to face her and Bliss tonight in a tag match.
Talla Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Ahead of their match, Cathy Kelley caught up with Talla Tonga and MFT, with Solo Sikoa saying Talla Tonga is absolutely ready and everyone should watch, staring at Tama Tonga, as Talla Tonga destroys Shinsuke Nakamura. Royce Keys would get in their face, saying they need to stay out of his business.
Talla Tonga is out first as he gets it on with the “King of Strong Style” for the opening match of these WWE SmackDown results. Nakamura would try to get on the big man early, unloading a series of strikes. However, Talla’s size would be too much, as Shin got overpowered moving forward, to the delight of Solo Sikoa.
After a relentless onslaught, Shinsuke Nakamura would get an opening, as he would lock Talla in a Triangle Choke. Talla would try to counter, only to get chopped down over and over. Nakamura would scale the second rope and hit Talla in the back of the head, followed by some devastating kicks and Double Knees in the corner.
Shinsuke would hit Scorpio Rising, a Step-Up Inverted Enzuigiri, to finally chop down the big tree. As Nakamura was going in for Kinshasa, Sikoa would interfere, leading to Talla hitting the Powerslam and the Talla T-Bomb Chokeslam for the win.
Sikoa would try to keep the assault going, but would momentarily be stopped by Tama. Unfortunately for Shinsuke, Tama wanted his head for himself, hitting Cutthroat. MFT would beat down Nakamura, and Damian Priest would go in for the save with a steel chair in hand.
Backstage:
・Sami Zayn asks for time tonight on WWE SmackDown, but Nick Aldis said there isn’t a spot for him tonight. Zayn wanted to be shown a little respect, and then Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes obliged, saying if he wants it, he’s got it, as a match is official between the two tonight.
Tiffany Stratton’s Women’s U.S. Open Challenge
For the first time in these WWE SmackDown results, Tiffany Stratton officially opens her Women’s United States Championship Open Challenge against a mystery opponent tonight. For her first opponent, Lash Legend of the Irresistible Forces.
Nia Jax stated that she and Lash wanted to end the nostalgia tour of Brie Bella and Paige for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles tomorrow. But for the night, Legend wanted to add more gold to kick off their “championship weekend.”
Legend absolutely dominated Stratton for most of the match, with it all kicking off with a devastating Chokeslam on the edge of the ring. Lash Legend looked like she was winning the title, but her eagerness led to her bullrushing Tiffany in the corner, with Strattong getting out of the way, leading her to hit the steel post.
Stratton would go on a tear, hitting a Handspring Elbow on the corner, followed up by a Handspring Stunner. Legend would kick out twice. Stratton would go for the kill and scale the ropes, only for Jax to pull her leg down. Stratton would barrel roll over Lash, only to get hit by a Pump Kick.
Chelsea Green, who checked on Stratton earlier, would cause a distraction, pushing Jax to the steel ring post outside. Legend would grab her by the hair, giving Stratton the opportunity to roll her up in a School Girl to retain the title.
Backstage:
・Danhausen’s “Cloning Machine” was disrupting power to SmackDown, as Nick Aldis asked him to stop and spotted a “body” on an operating table with a sheet over it. Danhausen asked him not to touch it.
・The Miz and Kit Wilson were asked about Danhausen’s “Cloning Machine” and if the Cleveland Cavaliers succumbed to the same curse. Miz denied it and had Axiom in his crosshairs as he was passing by, challenging him to a match in Barcelona next Friday.
Trick Williams Confronts Carmelo Hayes
With Lil Yachty by his side, U.S. Champion Trick Williams comes out to the ring to talk about Carmelo Hayes. Trick wanted to talk about his reign first, but he was immediately interrupted by Carmelo Hayes.
Melo said he always believed in Trick and did not want to discredit him. But, he said, Trick knows if he didn’t interfere against Sami Zayn, Hayes would still be champion. This led to Melo goading Trick into giving him a title shot tonight, saying that he is going to take up the challenge, or is he comfortable taking orders from his secretary, referring to Lil Yachty.
Melo would put an exclamation point in this statement, saying Trick has always been comfortable playing “second fiddle.” Trick Williams was not taking this lying down, granting Melo a shot for the U.S. Title right here, right now.
This match was the very definition of stalemate, as Melo and Trick showcased they knew each other extremely well. Both men had multiple opportunities to put away each other, with Melo hitting Dirty Diana and the First 48, and Williams leveling his old friend with a Trick Cyclone.
The person who made a difference was one Ricky Saints, who tried to cause a distraction for both men. When Melo hit the First 48 and was about to go for Nothing But Net, Saints would tap his leg and “cheer” him on, leading to Trick dumping him on the outside.
Ricky would taunt Melo, and Trick would push him out of the way. Ricky hopped on the apron, getting in Trick’s face. Charles Robinson would deal with Ricky as Melo rolled up Trick for the three.
Unfortunately, the WWE official was distracted, essentially costing Melo the U.S. Title. Trick would capitalize and hit the Trick Shot to retain the United States Title.
Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley vs. Fatal Influence
Can WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair keep it together tonight, as Alexa Bliss helps them co-exist, suggesting they tag tonight against Fatal Influence, ahead of their match at SNME?
To begin the match, Ripley and Flair were on fire, that is, until Laney Reid and Fallon Henley got in the driver’s seat and isolated Charlotte Flair. Tonight, Fatal Influence proved to everyone why they are extremely dangerous, but it wasn’t enough.
Flair crawled her way to make a hot tag to Rhea Ripley, and Mami wrecked house. Ripley was on the verge of winning, but Reid would get out of the way of a Thrust Kick, leading to Ripley’s partner, Charlotte, eating the move.
Ripley would recover, striking Reid with a Headbutt. Flair would make the blind tag as Ripley hit Riptide, followed by Flair hitting Natural Selection. Post-match, all was well until Cargill and her crew hit the ring, with Jade getting the best of Rhea with a Jaded ahead of SNME and Clash in Italy.
Solo Sikoa vs. Damian Priest
After their run-in earlier in the night, the patriarch of MFT battles the “Archer of Infamy.” Despite his best efforts, Priest was outnumbered. Talla and Tama Tonga keep interfering, leading to Sikoa hitting the Samoan Spike to put away Priest. Royce Keys would clean house, but Priest would grab him by the neck, further exacerbating the tension between the two, despite Keys only wanting to help Priest.
Backstage:
・We see Chelsea Green meet a certain “Glamour” as she gets attacked by the Irresistible Forces.
Sami Zayn vs. Cody Rhodes
What a treat to wrap up the WWE SmackDown results, as Cody Rhodes faces off against Sami Zayn in the main event. Worthy of the top billing, these two pushed each other to the limit. However, Zayn may have caused more damage than Rhodes expected, as Sami would focus on his left leg. Mind you, Rhodes will defend against Gunther at Clash in Italy, and this main event match may be a difference-maker in a week.
Zayn would hit with move after move, a Blue Thunder Bomb and even a Figure-Four Leg Lock. Despite Rhodes mustering a Super Cody Cutter, this was still not rainbows and roses for QB1, as he had to block out the pain to finish off Zayn.
After a Disaster Kick, Rhodes would wait for Zayn to rise to hit him with a Cross Rhodes, but Gunther would lock him in a Sleeper behind the referee’s back. Zayn would try to capitalize on this, but would instead hit Gunther after Cody ducked. One Cross Rhodes later, Rhodes is victorious.
Gunther would continue his assault post-match, hitting a Powerbomb and locking in the Sleeper again as Sami Zayn stared and walked away, leaving his “friend” in the clutches of the “Ring General” to end the show.
WWE SmackDown Post-Show Review (5/22/26):
The review for this round of WWE SmackDown results will be less detailed. Why? Similar to every SmackDown “Go-Home” Show before a PLE, this edition was very routine. It was basically a throwaway.
Bright spots included Stratton’s Women’s U.S. Open Challenge, because this format has worked for the men’s title, bringing us exciting debuts and excellent matches. Putting Tiffany in this position will really allow her and whoever her opponent is to shine, and that’s exactly what happened to Lash Legend.
Legend is coming along really well, with this match being extremely solid on her end, as well as Tiffany’s. Lash Legend will be a huge star in this industry, and this match gave us flashes of what will be in a few short years.
Another huge bright spot is Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes for the United States Title. We all knew this was inevitable; we just wanted it on a bigger stage. Fortunately, the match ended in controversy, promising a rematch down the line.
We’d like Ricky Saints to get involved and make this a Triple Threat. Why? Because it’s much better if we have a significant build-up to a program between Carmelo and Trick leading to a big blowoff at a huge PLE, either Money in the Bank or SummerSlam.
Now to a low spot. WWE’s insistence on shoehorning Solo Sikoa and MFT into multi-man feuds is puzzling. Now, it will seemingly be against Damian Priest, R-Truth, and Shinsuke Nakamura. With all due respect, break up MFT.
Solo Sikoa is so much better than this, and he deserved to fly on his own, or at least have Talla Tonga as his heater. This faction warfare angle just isn’t working, and it seems like it’s produced by someone who wants Sikoa on the show without an actual plan.
Also, big takeaway: Shinsuke Nakamura is still really over, and we want the “King of Strong Style” back in the ring regularly, whether it’s in a tag team or competing for the U.S. Title. Nakamura still has it, and it was a delight to see him, even if it was only for a routine match.
For the WWE Women’s Title scene, they need to end this Ripley and Cargill feud ASAP. It felt like Ripley was heading into a fresh new direction with the introduction of Fatal Influence, with the SmackDown roster hitting on all cylinders in the first two weeks after WrestleMania 42.
We get it: Fatal Influence should be protected, and if we see Jacy Jayne in a title program, she should be winning it, and Ripley’s reign will not end any time soon. That said, this rehash of the Cargill feud just isn’t working. Yes, they had a good match at ‘Mania 42, but it has now run its course.
Ripley needs a new challenger, whether it’s Chelsea Green, maybe even Jordynne Grace, who’s been absent for most of her SmackDown call-up. Heck, throw Blake Monroe in there to help her make a statement right away.
Overall, this SmackDown is what you would expect—okay, but not spectacular matches—some really bright spots, with really monotonous lows. Storylines were furthered for the top programs, while others remain in limbo.
Three, almost four, if you count ‘Mania 42, PLEs in a span of a month and a half just isn’t good. Once Clash in Italy is in the rearview mirror, WWE can, hopefully, build a story heading into a big PLE with more time.
That’s all for REAL-TIME WWE SmackDown results for the May 22, 2026 episode, as they happened in the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, a night before WWE Saturday Night’s Main XLIV.
