The blue brand fallout from WWE Night of Champions 2023 goes down tonight.
WWE SmackDown returns on FOX this evening at 8/7c from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania with the first show since Saturday’s premium live event in Saudi Arabia.
On tap for tonight’s show is the 1,000-day celebration of Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, as well as a pair of Money In The Bank qualifying matches, with LA Knight going one-on-one against Montez Ford of The Street Profits, and Lacey Evans taking on Zelina Vega of the LWO, and a special edition of The Grayson Waller Effect.
Featured below are complete WWE SmackDown results from Friday, June 2, 2023. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live from 8-10pm EST. on FOX.
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS (6/2/2023)
John Cena narrates the usual “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.” opening signature to kick off the post-Night of Champions edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown on FOX from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Roman Reigns’ 1,000-Day Celebration Tonight
The “Who’s better than me?!” theme plays and we shoot inside the venue where the camera pans the arena and we settle down at ringside where Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are standing up near the ring steps.
We hear the duo build up tonight being the 1,000 Day Celebration of Roman Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship reign. The two then send us into an extensive video package narrated by Paul Heyman that looks at the 1,000-day journey.
Austin Theory & Pretty Deadly vs. The Brawling Brutes
After the video package wraps up, we settle inside the ring and we see Austin Theory settling inside the squared circle. We cut to one of many moments during Roman Reigns’ 1,000-day reign that will be shown throughout the show tonight.
The commentary duo of Cole and Barrett run down the advertised lineup for tonight’s show and then we shoot back live to Theory standing in the ring. Theory welcomes us to “Austin Theory LIVE!” The fans boo.
Theory tells the fans not to boo because they need to acknowledge their “Tribal Chief’s” reign as Universal Champion. He says the only thing more impressive than that is his 209-day reign as the greatest U.S. Champion of all-time. He says if you add that up, you get 1,209 days of excellence.
He goes on to mention how the only thing better than all that is beating John Cena at WrestleMania — which he did earlier this year. He claims his U.S. title can last 4,000 days or even forever. He says he’s 25 years old and he’s already the greatest to ever do it.
Now he goes on to introduce two men he respects after their actions on last week’s show in the Theory vs. Sheamus match — Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince). The former NXT Tag-Team Champions make their way out and head down to the ring to join Theory.
The two come out and suck up to Theory and then are interrupted by the familiar sounds of Sheamus’ theme music. Cole proclaims it “FIGHT NIGHT!” on the broadcast, as always, and out comes “The Celtic Warrior” with Ridge Holland and Butch.
From there, the bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with our first match of the evening. Elton Prince and Ridge Holland kick things off for their respective teams. We see Ridge pull into the offensive lead and tag in Butch.
Fans give Butch a nice pop coming in and he picks up where Holland left off, taking it to Elton. We see Theory tag in after Pretty Deadly hit a sneaky double-team spot to shift the offensive momentum in their favor. We then see the fans begging for Sheamus to tag in after Theory taunts him.
Butch obliges and brings in “The Celtic Warrior.” As he and Theory square off, we see Sheamus wearing a big ear-to-ear grin on his face. The two begin to engage right as we head to a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.
When we return, we see Sheamus fire up. He hits a big Irish Curse and the momentum starts to build. As Pretty Deadly try and enter the mix, we see Butch and Ridge Holland hit the ring as well. All three members of The Brawling Brutes end up hitting stereo White Noise’s on Theory, Prince and Wilson.
From there, we move to a spot fest on the floor, as all of The Brawling Brutes hit dives or splashes off the top-rope on the heel trio to pop the crowd in Wilkes-Barre. As they play to the crowd at ringside, we head to another mid-match commercial break.
As we settle back in from the second mid-match commercial break, we see The Brawling Brutes still controlling the action until Theory tags in and takes over. He hits his A-Town Down finisher on Sheamus and goes for the cover, but somehow “The Celtic Warrior” kicks out.
All hell breaks loose and we see all six men in the ring duking it out, The Brawling Brutes end up dominating the action and we see Sheamus, Ridge and Butch hit stereo 10 Beats over the Bowery spots on Theory, Prince and Wilson.
On the floor, Pretty Deadly and Theory take over. Back in the ring, Prince and Wilson hit their Spilt Milk double-team finisher and then tag in Theory. The U.S. champ finishes this one off and scores the pin fall for the victory. Good opener.
Winners: Austin Theory & Pretty Deadly
“The Wise Man” With A Speech For Solo Sikoa
We shoot to video footage showing highlights of the chaotic scene last week that saw Jimmy Uso turn on Roman Reigns and The Bloodline, super kicking “The Tribal Chief” at Night Of Champions and bringing Jey Uso with him.
After that package wraps up, we shoot backstage to a live shot of “The Wise Man” of The Bloodline, Paul Heyman, carrying both of Reigns’ titles. He heads to a locker room with Roman Reigns’ name on the door and enters the room as we head to another commercial break.
When we return, we see Heyman talking to a stoic Solo Sikoa in The Bloodline locker room. He talks about how big of a deal tonight is and how he wants to make sure it’s a special night for Reigns. He says he’s gonna go talk to Adam Pearce and make sure his brother, The Usos, are nowhere to be found.
The O.C. vs. Hit Row
Now we shoot to the commentary table where Michael Cole and Wade Barrett talk about how Seth “Freakin'” Rollins captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Night Of Champions. We shoot to a video package showing highlights of the match against SmackDown’s AJ Styles from over the weekend.
After the video package wraps up, we shoot to The O.C. locker room and see Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Michin hanging out when AJ Styles comes in an apologizes for ruining their weekend. He says they’ll take the “L” and move on. He asks if they can get back to business and take out Hit Row tonight.
From there, we head back inside the arena and AJ Styles’ theme hits and out comes the entire group of The O.C. As Styles, Gallows, Anderson and Michin settle in the ring for our next match of the evening, we head to a pre-match commercial break.
Ashante “Thee” Adonis and Top Dolla come out with B-Fab and it’s time for our next bout of the evening, which will take place in the tag-team division with Adonis and Dolla of Hit Row taking on Gallows and Anderson of The O.C.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one, which sees Hit Row get the jump on The O.C. by attacking them as soon as the match is underway. Top Dolla and Karl Anderson kick things off for their respective teams, with Top Dolla taking it to him early on.
Gallows finally gets the hot tag and he comes in like a man possessed. He lands a big boot and helps shift the offensive momentum into the favor of The O.C. Moments later, he and Anderson hit their Magic Killer finisher for the win.
After the match, we see Hit Row try and sneak in a beat down, however AJ Styles hits the ring and delivers a Phenomenal Forearm and sends them running off to the back. The O.C. celebrate their win as the fans break out in a “Happy birthday, AJ!” chant for Styles.
Winners: The O.C.
Paul Heyman Approaches Adam Pearce
We shoot backstage and we see “The Wise Man” of The Bloodline, Paul Heyman, heading to the locker room of Adam Pearce. He walks in and sees Pearce on the phone.
Pearce hangs on the phone up and before Heyman says anything, he says he knows why he’s here. He assures him he has cancelled The Usos travel arrangements and has doubled security to ensure nothing goes down during Roman Reigns’ 1,000 day celebration later tonight. Heyman looks skeptical but walks off.
The Grayson Waller Effect With Several Special Guests
Now we shoot back inside the arena and we see the production team and ring crew scrambling to set up the set for The Grayson Waller Effect. That is up next when we return. On that note, we head to another commercial break.
When we return, he introduces his special guest at this time, Raw Women’s Champion Asuka. On that note, she joins him on set in the ring. He talks to her about capturing the title by ending Bianca Belair’s reign as the longest running women’s champion of the modern era in WWE.
The two banter a bit and then we see one-after-another all of the contenders for the Women’s Money In The Bank start coming out one-by-one. First was Iyo Sky, who bickered in Japanese with Asuka. Then out came Bayley, followed by Shotzi, Lacey Evans and Zelina Vega.
As all the non-title-holders bicker amongst themselves, we see Asuka slide out of the ring and head up the ramp. She gets on the mic and gloats about none of them being ready for her.
Out from behind pops Bianca Belair and she and Asuka have a pull-apart brawl with security trying to separate them. Mercifully, this comes to an end and we head to another commercial break.
Cameron Grimes Approaches Adam Pearce About Baron Corbin
When we return, we see hype for WWE’s TikTok reaching 2,000,000 followers and then we see some footage from Rhea Ripley’s page. We shoot to video highlights of Baron Corbin’s attack of NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes this past Tuesday night.
Now we shoot backstage in Adam Pearce’s locker room. He talks about his own issues with Baron Corbin and mentions the next time he sees him, he’s gonna deal with him.
Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifier
Lacey Evans vs. Zelina Vega
Michael Cole narrates some footage from during the break that shows Lacey Evans trying to get a sneaky early upper-hand over her opponent in tonight’s Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifier, as we see her attacking Zelina Vega while they take apart The Grayson Waller Effect set.
Back live, the bell sounds to officially get this match off-and-running and we see Lacey charge over and start off in a comfortable lead over the LWO member. She dominates the action for the first few minutes, stopping to do taunting salutes.
Vega eventually takes over and hits all of two or three moves and finishes this one off with a code red on Evans for the pin fall victory. With the win, she qualifies for this year’s women’s Money in the Bank match.
Winner and QUALIFYING for Women’s Money In The Bank: Zelina Vega
LWO Routes For Their Own Ahead Of Money In The Bank
After the Women’s MITB Qualifier wraps up, we head to a commercial break. When we return, we shoot backstage and we see Santos Escobar and Legado Del Fantasma showing Zelina Vega love for winning her qualifier.
Santos Escobar announces he’ll be in a qualifier next week against Mustafa Ali. Rey Mysterio pops up and says he can see it now, everyone will be calling Zelina and Santos misses and mister Money in the Bank.
Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifier
Montez Ford vs. LA Knight
The LWO segment wraps up and we shoot back live inside the arena where The Street Profits’ theme hits and the fans in Wilkes-Barre, PA. come alive as Montez Ford makes his way down to the ring for our next Money In The Bank qualifier of the evening.
Ford settles inside the squared circle and awaits the arrival of his opponent. Out comes LA Knight to a massive reaction from those packed inside the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
With both men in the ring, the bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with our second MITB qualifier of the evening. We see Ford jump off to an early offensive lead, however it doesn’t last long, as Knight starts to take over.
As Knight settles into the offensive driver’s seat, we head to a mid-match commercial break as the action continues in the ring. When we return, we see Knight still in control, but it isn’t long before Ford starts to show signs of life as the fans rally behind him.
Ford takes over but ends up getting screwed anyways, as Knight gets him down long enough to go for the cover, where he gets his feet on the ropes for added leverage without the referee catching onto that fact. He picks up the win.
With the win, LA Knight qualifies for the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match at the 7/1 WWE MITB pay-per-view at the O2 Arena in London, England. After the match, he grabs a ladder and sets it under the two briefcases hanging above the ring. He climbs up and poses.
Winner and QUALIFYING for Men’s Money In The Bank: LA Knight
Roman Reigns’ 1,000-Day Universal Championship Celebration
After the second MITB qualifier of the evening wraps up, we shoot to a quick dark and ominous vignette for the NXT Women’s Tag-Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn. The two claim The Unholy Union is Here.
Once that wraps up, we head back inside the arena where we hear the familiar sounds of the theme song of WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque. He heads to the ring as we watch another moment in Roman Reigns’ 1,000-day journey.
On that note, we head to another commercial break. When we return, the commentators announce four big qualifying matches for the Money In The Bank for next week’s SmackDown. Those are Butch vs. Baron Corbin, Santos Escobar vs. Mustafa Ali, Michin vs. Bayley and Shotzi vs. Iyo Sky.
Now we settle back in the ring where Triple H begins the 1,000-day celebration for the Universal Champion Roman Reigns. He tells the fans to respect this because it’s a performer that comes once in a lifetime and one that they will be talking with their kids and grand-kids about.
He then introduces Roman Reigns, who makes his way out. Michael Cole mentions that tomorrow Reigns will surpass Pedro Morales reign as champ, and will only be behind Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino as those with longest single title reigns in WWE history.
Reigns settles in the ring with Solo Sikoa and “The Wise Man” of The Bloodline, Paul Heyman. The ring is decked out with a carpet and a new championship belt on a podium. Triple H begins by congratulating Reigns on surpassing 1,000 days as champion.
The Usos’ theme hits and the duo of Jimmy and Jey Uso make their way out as Barrett says WWE security needs to be fired. We head to a commercial break on that note. When we return, we see The Usos in the ring.
Reigns demands Jey Uso kick his brother Jimmy in the face. Jey won’t do it. Roman orders him to again and again. He won’t. Jimmy gets on the mic and tells Roman that Jey is his brother and brother’s stand by each other. He tells Roman he hasn’t been a good brother lately.
Roman tells Solo to speak. Solo tells Roman, “I acknowledge you.” He then continues, “But they’re my brothers.” He leaves Reigns’ side and walks over to join The Usos. The crowd goes absolutely bonkers.
Jimmy gets worked up and tells Roman that he can be with them and do the right thing or he can be on The Island of Relevency all by himself. Jimmy pie-faces Roman the same way he did to him last week. Jey tells Jimmy he ain’t doing this right.
Jey gives a speech and Roman decides to accept the offer to remain with them. He has a big emotional hug and even seems to tear up some as the crowd explodes. Roman then lifts the mic up, while still in the hug, and says, “No!”
Solo Sikoa turns and attacks The Usos, taking them out with his Samoan Spike. He and Roman leave the ring together. Roman turns and gives the evil eye to his brothers in the ring while mentioning that they didn’t stay in line. That’s how a very, very powerful segment ends to wrap up this week’s show. Thanks for joining us!
