WWE SmackDown – May 2, 2025
Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Commentary Team: Pat McAfee, Booker T, Wade Barrett
Opening 🌟
15 minutes
The show opens with a somber orchestral dirge. A faux casket is wheeled to the ring by druids. The ring is draped in black, with a massive photo of AJ Styles mid-Phenomenal Forearm on an easel — torn down the middle.
John Cena, dressed in a black tux with his World Heavyweight Championship slung over his shoulder, walks out to “My Time Is Now” remixed with church bells. Boos rain down.
Cena:
> “Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to mourn the death… of AJ Styles’ career. Or as I like to call it — a mercy killing.”
Cena mocks AJ’s time with AEW, calling him “washed up,” and claims that by defeating him at Wrestle Empire, he “did God’s work.” He unveils a tombstone prop that reads:
AJ Styles
‘Too Phenomenal for His Own Good’
Suddenly, the lights flicker. The camera cuts to the crowd expecting AJ — but nothing happens. Cena smirks.
Cena:
> “Don’t worry, no resurrection here. That’s not AJ’s style.”
Cena ends by declaring himself “The Franchise God,” and vows to bury everyone in his path — starting tonight with Kofi Kingston in the main event.
—
Match 1: DIY vs. The New Catch 🌟 Republic (Non-Title Match)
11 minutes
A fast-paced match that turns physical. Butch and Tyler Bate cheat repeatedly. After a hot tag, Johnny Gargano takes out both opponents with a dive. As DIY lines up Meet in the Middle, Bate hits Gargano with a title belt, causing a DQ.
Post-match, New Catch Republic beat down DIY and pose over them with the belts.
Winners via DQ: DIY
—
Backstage 🌟
3 minutes
Intercontinental Champion Chad Gable, in a custom gold robe, is being hyped up by his manager Doc Brown, who’s wearing a lab coat and holding a clipboard with fake science stats on Gable’s “Superhuman IQ and Grip Strength.”
Gable mocks Santos Escobar, calling him “a fake Mexican,” and promises to outwrestle him with “precise, Gable-calibrated lucha excellence.”
Doc accidentally drops the clipboard, revealing it’s just covered in doodles and equations like “Wrestling = Life².”
—
Match 2: Chad Gable (w/ Doc Brown) vs. Santos Escobar (Non-Title)
8 minutes
Technically crisp match. Gable dominates early, Escobar mounts a brief comeback. Gable catches him with a rolling German into the Ankle Lock, forcing the tap.
Doc celebrates like he just split the atom.
Winner via submission: Chad Gable
—
Promo 🌟
10 minutes
WWE Champion “The Final Boss” The Rock arrives, slow-walking in an all-black suit with tribal designs. Massive ovation.
Rock tells the crowd he’s not here to “make movies,” he’s here to rule his ring. Says there are no challengers worthy of facing The Final Boss — especially Roman.
Cue: Roman Reigns’ music.
Roman enters with a serious look, gets in Rock’s face.
Roman:
> “You really thought it was over? At Backlash, we will finish this.”
Rock:
> “When the time comes, Tribal Chief… you will bend the knee or get put down because there is only one…final boss.”
Tension is sky-high. No fight, but the message is clear: Rock vs. Roman 2 is looming.
—
Match 3: Kofi Kingston vs. John Cena (Non-Title Main Event) 🌟
13 minutes
Kofi mocks the crowd on the mic before the match, calling them “blind sheep” for ever chanting his name.
The match is hard-hitting. Kofi gets in near-falls with Trouble in Paradise and a top-rope splash, but Cena powers through and hits an AA into the corner turnbuckle, followed by another AA for the win.
After the bell, Cena grabs a mic.
Cena:
> “Kofi’s another name on the gravestone. Next week, I bury someone even bigger.”
—
Backstage Final Tease 🌟
2 minutes
Triple H is seen watching on a monitor. He looks over at a shadowy figure in the locker room.
Triple H:
> “He wants to bury the past? Good. Next week, let’s dig up something Cena tried to forget.”
The screen fades to black with just the sound of a shovel hitting dirt.
–
Only one week left until WWE’s first season of the 7th Era comes to an end! It is also the same night as Backlash, featuring the epic WWE title rematch between The Rock and Roman Reigns! 7 matches in total for this truly awesome 7th era!
Other matches to take place on the card include:
World Championship Match
John Cena (c) vs mystery opponent
WWE Tag Team Championship
New Catch Republic (c) vs The Viking Raiders vs DIY vs Street Profits
Intercontinental Championship
Piñata Match 🪅
Bust the piñata above the ring to reveal the Intercontinental title
Chad Gable (c) w/Doc Brown vs Rey Mysterio vs Santos Escobar vs Angel Garza
United States Championship
Finn Balor (c) vs Kofi
WWE Women’s Championship
Asuka (c) vs Naomi
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 