WWE SmackDown Notes: Solo Sikoa & Alexa Bliss Advances to Men’s & Women’s MitB Ladder Matches, Jeff Cobb Gets New Name of “JC Mateo”, Priest vs. McIntyre Steel Cage and R-Truth vs. John Cena Matches Set for 5/24 SNME, Giulia Joins SD Brand, 5/23 Show Card

WWE
May 16, 2025

Solo Sikoa Advances to Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WWE Money in the Bank 2025

Friday’s WWE SmackDown show at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina featured one Qualifying match for the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match at WWE Money in the Bank 2025.

This was Solo Sikoa defeating Rey Fenix and Jimmy Uso in a Triple Threat match.

As a result of his victory, Sikoa becomes the first competitor to officially qualifying for this year’s Men’s in the Bank Ladder match.

Alexa Bliss Advances to Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WWE Money in the Bank 2025

Friday’s WWE SmackDown show also featured one Qualifying match for the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match at WWE Money in the Bank 2025, which takes place on June 7th at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

This was Alexa Bliss defeating Chelsea Green and Michin in a Triple Threat match.

As a result of her victory, Bliss becomes the first competitor to officially qualifying for this year’s Women’s in the Bank Ladder match.

Current card for WWE Money in the Bank 2025:

  • Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match – Solo Sikoa vs. TBD(s)
  • Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match – Alexa Bliss vs. TBD(s)

Jeff Cobb Gets New Ring Name of JC Mateo on Friday’s WWE SmackDown Show

Friday’s WWE SmackDown show also featured Jeff Cobb being given a new ring name for his career in WWE.

During the show, The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, and Cobb came out to the ring. Sikoa grabbed a microphone and talked about Fatu retaining his WWE United States Championship with the help of “JC”, which was the name Solo called Cobb. After some more banter between Sikoa and Fatu teasing a growing dissension between the two, LA Knight came out and yanked Cobb out of the ring and left through the crowd.

Following the segment, WWE confirmed in a video posted of this segment that Cobb will officially be known as JC Mateo going forward in the company.

Later in the show, SmackDown commentator Joe Tessitore confirmed that Cobb’s new ring name is JC Mateo after calling him by that name when Sikoa came out for his Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifier match.

R-Truth vs. John Cena Announced for May 24th WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Show

Friday’s WWE SmackDown show also featured the first of two new matches announced for the card of WWE’s next WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event show on May 24th at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida.

This new match announced was a singles match of John Cena vs. R-Truth.

This match was initially setup over recent weeks shows over R-Truth defending Cena’s heel turn actions and getting involved in Cena’s match against Randy Orton for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Backlash 2025. Following the show, Cena attacked Truth after he interrupted his post-show press conference. During tonight’s show, Wade Barrett held a backstage sit-down interview with Truth who kept defending Cena despite Cena’s recent attack on him. Truth revealed that he talked with SmackDown GM Nick Aldis and got a match with Cena set for next week’s Saturday Night’s Main Event show.

Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre in Steel Cage Match Announced for May 24th WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Show

Friday’s WWE SmackDown show also featured the second of match for the card of WWE’s next WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event show on May 24th in Tampa, Florida.

This new match announced was a Steel Cage match of Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre.

This new match was setup following a video promo segment featuring Priest talking about his bad blood issues with McIntyre and them needing to settle things once and for all. Priest then challenged McIntyre to a Steel Cage match at next week’s Saturday Night’s Main Event show.

In a follow-up segment, McIntyre came out to the ring and responded to Priest’s challenge and their bad blood issues. After some insults directed at Priest, McIntyre stated that he agreed that the issues between the two needed to end and accepted Priest’s challenge for a Steel Cage match at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Current card for May 24th WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event show:

  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Logan Paul vs. Jey Uso (c)
  • Steel Cage match – Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker vs. CM Punk & Sami Zayn
  • John Cena vs. R-Truth

Giulia Joins SmackDown Brand at Friday’s WWE SmackDown Show

Friday’s WWE SmackDown show also featured SmackDown GM Nick Aldis officially announcing Giulia as his newest signing for the SmackDown brand.

During the show, Alexa Bliss was interviewed backstage by Byron Saxton about her Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifier win. After some words, Bliss walked away and confronted Charlotte Flair leading to Bliss talking about how they were friends in NXT and Flair claiming she doesn’t remember that. This led to Giulia coming out of Aldis’ office and Aldis following shortly afterwards. Aldis then announced that Giulia was the latest signing to the SmackDown brand and told Flair that they need to have a talk about Money in the Bank.

Current Card for Next Week’s Show

Friday’s WWE SmackDown show also featured three new matches announced for the card of next week’s show on May 23rd at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia.

These matches were setup following promos, storyline angles, and match card graphics throughout the show.

Current card for May 23rd WWE SmackDown show:

  • WWE Tag Team Championship – Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom) vs. Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) (c)
  • Aleister Black vs. LA Knight vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Giulia vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Zelina Vega
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