WWE SmackDown Results (5/16/25): Tiffany Stratton Retains WWE Women's Championship

An absolutely astonished Nia Jax powdered to the outside and attempted to flee with the WWE Women's Title belt. When the ref caught up and took it away from her, Jax grabbed that steel chair and she would instantly regret it.

Tiffany Stratton sent Jax crashing to the mat after she drop kicked the chair into her face. She then connected with another Prettiest Moonsault Ever to finally put Nia away and retain her title. Go out of your way to watch this one if you missed. It was an excellent match that was made even better by a hot crowd.

Here's everything else you may have missed on Friday's episode of SmackDown in Greensboro.

WWE SmackDown Match & Segment Results:

Solo Sikoa, Jeff Cobb and Jacob Fatu kicked off the show with an in-ring promo segment. Solo promised that tonight would be his first step toward bringing the WWE Championship back to the Bloodline. He plans on winning the Money in the Bank briefcase, and if anyone dared to get in the way of him cashing in, they'd get got by his new man JC Mateo (formerly known as Jeff Cobb) and the Samoan Werewolf.

The Men's United States Champion seemed extremely annoyed the entire time, but things became contentious when Solo attempted to steal Fatu's catchphrase. LA Knight would then take the opportunity to sneak up and yank Mateo from the ring. The Megastar would get a few good shots in on the man who cost him the U.S. Title at Backlash, before Solo and Fatu chased him off.

Alexa Bliss defeated Chelsea Green and Michin to qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Chelsea was so confident that she had the match won after she hit the Unprettier on Michin that she started celebrating early. That opened the door for Bliss to grab Green and drop her with Sister Abigail to punch her ticket to MITB.

Fraxiom defeated #DIY. The former NXT Tag Team Champions moved to 4-0 on SmackDown with their victory over Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano. This was a fast-paced, action-packed tag team contest that saw #DIY try to steal victory by yanking the mask off of Axiom. Nathan Frazer stopped that from happening and Axiom was able leverage a high stack pinning combination on Gargano to pick up the win.

Gargano and Ciampa would attack Fraxiom after the match was over, but the Motor City Machine Guns ran down to the ring to make the save.

Nathan Frazer and Axiom would later run into the Street Profits backstage. Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins informed Fraxiom that SmackDown GM Nick Aldis had granted them a WWE Tag Team Championship match next Friday night.

R-Truth sat down with Wade Barrett. He said John Cena is not the same man that he's idolized for all these years. The John Cena he knows would never have turned his back on a loyal supporter. Truth may not want to do it, but he's going to beat some sense back into the WWE Champion and he's gonna do it at Saturday Night's Main Event.

WWE aired a pre-recorded promo featuring Damian Priest. The Archer of Infamy said he wanted to finally end things with Drew McIntyre and challenged him to a Steel Cage Match at Saturday Night's Main Event.

Aleister Black defeated Carmelo Hayes by disqualification. This was another extremely strong match-up between these two men, but leave it to The Miz to ruin a good thing. As Black appeared to be closing in on another win, Miz blasted him with a clothesline from behind. Aleister would fight back, but the numbers game would soon catch up to him. Hayes left Black laying in the center of the ring after he hit Nothing But Net.

Alexa Bliss ran into Charlotte Flair outside of Nick Aldis' office. She asked The Queen if she had given any thought to her offer to be friends last week. Charlotte seemed very dismissive of her olive branch and their conversation was cut short when Aldis' door swung open. Former NXT Women's Champion Giulia walked out and Nick Aldis introduced her as the newest member of the SmackDown roster. He then said he needed to talk to Charlotte about Money in the Bank.

Drew McIntyre cut an in-ring promo and accepted Priest's challenge for a Steel Cage Match at Saturday Night's Main Event. He guaranteed that one of them would be leaving Tampa next weekend on a stretcher.

Solo Sikoa defeated Rey Fenix and Jimmy Uso to qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match. The former Tribal Chief earned his way into the match, but he didn't do it alone. Rey Fenix was on the verge of finishing off Sikoa when JC Mateo hopped onto the ring apron. Fenix knocked him back down to the floor and turned right into a Samoan Spike.

LA Knight again made his way to the ringside area as soon as the match was over. He grabbed a steal chair and was ready to take on Sikoa, Mateo and Jacob Fatu by himself when Nick Aldis intervened. The SmackDown GM grabbed a mic and called for a ref because LA Knight and JC Mateo were up next.

JC Mateo defeated LA Knight with a Tour of the Islands. It was an impressive victory for the 16 year veteran's WWE debut, even if it was essentially a 3-on-1 handicap match. Knight was finally able to bring those numbers down when he hit a springboard crossbody onto Sikoa and Fatu on the outside. The Megastar then attempted another springboard on Mateo, but he was caught mid-air and driven hard down into the canvass. Another distraction loss for LA Knight.

Shinsuke Nakamura, Aleister Black & LA Knight were announced for a Men's Money in the Bank Qualifying Match next week on SmackDown.

Women's United States Champion Zelina Vega, Charlotte Flair & Giulia were announced for a Women's Money in the Bank Qualifying Match next week on SmackDown.

Jade Cargill wished Tiffany Stratton luck in her match against Nia Jax, but said regardless who wins, she had next. Cargill plans on winning Money in the Bank and then taking the WWE Women's Championship from Tiffany the same way she won it. Naomi was seen watching over Jade and Tiffany's conversation in the background.

Tiffany Stratton defeated Nia Jax to retain her WWE Women's Championship. Jax attempted to use a chair to put Tiffany away, but ended up eating steal after Stratton drop kicked it into her face. Tiffy would then put away her former mentor with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.