WWE SmackDown Results: Cody Rhodes And AJ Styles Face Off In France (5/3/24)

Worst match of the night:

I feel bad because the crowd was just not into the Final Testament. It wasn’t a bad match, but something had to be last.

Crowd Chants of the Night:

Where do I even begin? This crowd was amazing. They sang along with their favorite entrances. We heard them count just about every pinfall. Loads of chants, loads of energy. If they bring this energy (probably more) to Backlash, we are in for a treat. Good shows become great in front of amazing crowds, and Lyon has been bringing it.

Star of the Night

I have to give a nod to the French crowd. For real, WWE does overseas tours, but it is exceedingly rare to run a SmackDown or PLE overseas. Or, I should say, it was rare. In recent years, WWE has done more, and this year I think might set a record. We have Backlash in France, we get the usual Saudi shows, there will be a PLE in Canada (though that isn’t a huge deal) and of course, Clash at the Castle is back. International fans bring it, and the fans in Lyon were tremendous.

Surprises or not, Saturday is going to be crazy.

Spot of the Night:

I will go with our closing slap. Styles and Rhodes were reminiscing about their Bullet Club too sweet time, and then Styles gave him a nice smack.

Jobber of the Night:

The faux security guards took some shots breaking up Orton, Owens, Sikoa and Tonga.

Upset of the Night:

None tonight

Holy S--- Moment of the Night:

The Bloodline turmoil continues. Heyman begging Nick Aldis to pull Orton and Owens from the match against Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga. Then he went to beg the Superstars themselves. At one point, Nick Aldis asked Paul if this was from The Tribal Chief, when Heyman admitted he had not talked to Roman since ‘Mania. That stopped the GM, because it was allegedly Reigns who pulled himself from the draft, but Heyman admitted it was him. To save Roman from the Bloodline chaos. When crashing the RKO Show, the crowd said “We want Roman”, to which Heyman said “So do I, more than you will ever know”.

Sure sounds like Heyman is hostage in this iteration of the Bloodline, and Reigns will get to come in and make a save.

Botch of the night:

Not having more in France? Waiting this long to run shows like SmackDown and Backlash there? Crowd was super awesome, starved for the real live biggest shows WWE has to offer.

Noteworthy Moment:

Graves told us all to tune in to WWE socials tomorrow for a major announcement. The suspicion here is WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, but it would also be pretty epic if it went a different direction. What if, after ‘Mania got revealed, Paul was like “one more thing..”, and it was SummerSlam 2025 in Wembley or elsewhere in Europe.

Overall lowlights:

Nothing really. Sucks that we had to wait this long to hit Lyon, because the crowd came across incredible. Can only imagine how it was live.

Overall highlights:

The crowd. Superstars had to enjoy that, and Backlash should be phenomenal. Hearing them sing along with everything. Watching them go crazy for everything. It was a treat, I think. I am even more excited for Backlash purely for that.

After the final bell:

Really strong show, one of those taped shows that you have to see to believe. Social media said the crowd was superb and they were not wrong. Good opening match, good closing match, great closing segment. Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles face off in France on Saturday, and I cannot wait.