WWE SmackDown Results 4/12 - We Hear From Cody Rhodes & Bayley, Two Triple Threat Matches

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s results for "WWE SmackDown" on April 12, 2024, coming to you live from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan!

The WrestleMania fallout continues tonight, as Cody Rhodes makes his second appearance since dethroning Roman Reigns as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at Night Two of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Premium Live Event. Rhodes appeared on "WWE Raw" this past Monday to reflect on his journey to the title, but ultimately found himself involved in a confrontation with The Rock who promised Rhodes that he was coming for him upon his return to WWE.

Two Triple Threat matches are set tonight, when AJ Styles, LWO's Rey Mysterio, and Kevin Owens collide with one another, and The Pride's Bobby Lashley squares off with Santos Escobar of Legado Del Fantasma and LA Knight. The two Superstars who emerge victorious will go head-to-head next week to determine who will get to have the first shot at the aforementioned Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Interestingly enough, while Styles and Knight may not be in the same match, they were opponents at WrestleMania as were Rey and Escobar in a tag team match.

Speaking of WrestleMania, Bayley dethroned her former Damage CTRL teammate IYO SKY to become the WWE Women's Champion, having won the Women's Royal Rumble in 2024 to secure her spot in the match. Tonight, she will be sharing something on her mind with the WWE Universe.

Additionally, The Bloodline's Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa, Bianca Belair, and Randy Orton are all slated to be in town tonight per WWE's event page.

We are live! The show kicks off with a video recapping Cody Rhodes' win at WrestleMania against Roman Reigns to become Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

Wade Barrett and Corey Graves then greet audiences at home as Cody Rhodes makes his way down to the ring.

Rhodes asks Detroit what they want to talk about, then says on Monday, he was doing some talking before he was interrupted by The Rock. He says as The Rock's music hits, he was thinking of someone he knew and something he would say: "Who the hell told you it was open mic night, b****?" He says the mood certainly changed when The Rock placed an item in his hand and he immediately knew what he was. He says he believed The Rock when he said he was going off to Hollywood and he would be coming after him when he returned, then says he'll be waiting for The Rock.

Rhodes says it's time to look forward, and he will hop on a plane three weeks from now to head to France for WWE Backlash. He says he will face one of the six competitors in the two upcoming Triple Threat matches, then names them all and rattles their accomplishments off. He says it's not lost on him that the Little Caesars Arena is sold out tonight, and says it's fresh for him to no longer be the hunter but rather the hunter. He tells his six potential challengers that if you come for the king, you better not miss. He says he was once undesirable, became undeniable, and became Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

We then head backstage and see Kevin Owens enter Cody Rhodes' locker room as The Bloodline (without Roman Reigns) watches on, shocked. 

LA Knight then makes his way down to the ring. Bobby Lashley and Santos Escobar follow. 

The bell rings and all three men begin brawling with one another. Escobar rolls to the outside, and Lashley dumps Knight out of the ring to join him. Lashley pulls Escobar back into the ring from the apron, but Knight pulls Lashley out of the ring. The two exchange right hands, but Escobar levels both of them with a tope suicidia.

Back from the break, Lashley fires off right hands on Escobar as he sits on the top rope. Lashley joins him up there, but Escobar knocks him off. Knight joins Escobar on the top, but Lashely pulls both men off. Lashley gets Escobar on his shoulders, but Knight delivers a dropkick to his knee to trip him and follows it up with a Crucifix Driver to Lashley. Escboar delivers a pair of running knees to Lashley in the corner, then does the same to Knight. Knight turns Escobar inside out with a powerslam, then follows it up with an elbow drop.

Angel and Berto appear, and begin beating down Knight. Legado Del Fantasma delivers a triple powerbomb to Knight, but Lashley gets in the ring and goes after Angel and Berto. Angel and Berto outnumber him and begin beating him down, but The Street Profits run down to even the odds. The Street Profits send Ledago Del Fantasma out of the ring and look to fly, but Elektra Lopez inserts herself between them and Angel and Berto to prevent them from doing so. B-Fab levels her, and The Street Profits level Legado Del Fantasma on the outside.

Inside the ring, Lashley delivers a flatliner on Lashley and looks to land a spear on him. Escobar moves out of the way and Lashley is sent crashing into the ring post shoulder first. Knight then delivers BFT To Escobar and pins him for the win.

Winner: LA Knight

The Bloodline then make their way down to the ring. 

Heyman introduces himself, and says on the orders of Roman Reigns, no one offers any excuses as to what happened at WrestleMania. He says they blame no one who interfered, and says accountability is important. He says The Bloodline accepts accountability for what happened, and says Cody Rhodes took his eye off the ball for once second while being distracted by Solo Sikoa at WrestleMania 39, and allowed for Reigns to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. He says Rhodes flipped the script at WrestleMania 40, and says Reigns had a chair in his hand at WrestleMania. He says he could've smashed Rhodes with it, but he didn't because he had waited for 10 years to get his revenge on Seth "Freakin" Rollins for betraying him during their days in The Shield. He says Rhodes stayed focused, and it was over like that.

Heyman says like a phoenix rising from the ashes, but before he can finish his sentence, Solo Sikoa captures his attention. He asks him if winning and losing matters, and Heyman nods his head. He says there's consequences to losing, and says consequences mean change, then pushes aside Heyman and stares down Jimmy. He hugs Jimmy and turns his back, but a hooded figure attacks him. They take off their hood to reveal themselves to be...Tama Tonga!

Tonga beats down Jimmy in the center of the ring and holds him in place. Sikoa then delivers four Samoan Spikes and stands tall with Tonga. They hold up the one sign, and Sikoa then invites Heyman to join them. Heyman does so, but Sikoa grabs his phone and stomps on it to break it. Tonga grabs a chair from ringside and hands it to Sikoa. Sikoa puts Jimmy's head through it, then delivers a Hip Attack to Jimmy. Tonga, Sikoa, and Heyman then leave the ring and head to the back.

Back from the break, Cameron Grimes makes his way down to the ring. Bron Breakker follows.

The bell rings and Breakker delivers a pair of mat returns to Grimes. Breakker then turns him inside out with a clothesline using the ropes for extra momentum, then whips him into the corner. Grimes responds with a kick and looks to fly, but Breakker catches him mid-air and plants him. He follows it up with a spear for the win.

Winner: Bron Breakker

Back from the break, Bayley makes her way down to the ring.

Fans chant "you deserve it" before Bayley says it feels good. She says she's going to soak it in for a little bit, then says she feels proud to call herself the new WWE Undisputed Women's Champion. She says she's won titles before, but this time it's different. She says it's not because she had to defeat someone she used to call a friend in IYO SKY or because she gets to call herself a champion in the new era, but because of the fans. She says for the last 11 years of her career, fans have been there through everything. She says even when she didn't have anything else to give, fans never gave up on her and stood by her side. She thanks them and looks to announce who her first title defense will be against.

Tiffany Stratton's music hits, and she makes her way down to the ring. She says it was a little rude she wasn't given an opportunity at WrestleMania, then says Bayley was clearly building to offer up an open challenge. She accepts, and Bayley tells Stratton while it's nice to meet her, she was not offering an open challenge. She says she had someone in mind to give a title shot to, and that's Naomi. Stratton then takes a shot at Naomi.

Naomi then makes her way down to the ring and embraces Bayley. Stratton says she and Bayley were in the middle of something, and reminds Naomi she's already beaten her. Naomi says Stratton tried her on the wrong night, then says while Stratton has beaten her before, she has earned everything she has in WWE. She says she doesn't plan on stopping, then tells Bayley she can't accept her offer for a title shot until she faces Stratton.

Back from the break, we head backstage and see Kayla Braxton await an update on Jimmy Uso's condition outside the medical office after being attacked by Tama Tonga. Heyman emerges, but before he can answer, Tonga appears and makes Heyman and everyone else question if his actions earlier tonight were orders from Roman Reigns. Solo Sikoa then joins him and the two leave together.

Back at ringside, the bell has rung and Naomi delivers a kick to Stratton's chest as Bayley watches the action from ringside. She follows it up with a leg drop and begins to wear down her arm, but Stratton responds with shoulders to Naomi's midsection in the corner. Naomi rocks Stratton with a knee, but Stratton sends Naomi crashing into the ropes and delivers a Hip Attack. She fires off stomps on her, but Naomi connects with a dropkick. Stratton delivers a shoulder to her midsection, then sends her crashing into the ring post face first.

Back from the break, Naomi delivers a back elbow to Stratton. She follows it up with a pair of running crossbodies and a kick off the ropes, then lands a dropkick on Stratton in the corner. Naomi then delivers a split legged leg drop, but Stratton hits a double stomp and an Alabama Slam. She then looks to land the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, but Naomi moves out of the way. She then executes a jackknife pinfall for the win.

Winner: Naomi

We then head over to a video of Grayson Waller and Austin Theory celebrating their win of the "SmackDown" Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania.

Back from the break, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven make her way down to the ring. Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair follow.

Green and Belair begin the action. The bell rings and Belair delivers a spinebuster. Niven tags in and calls for Cargill to join her in the ring. Belair looks to tag her in, but Niven grabs her ponytail before she can. She sends her crashing into the mat, then delivers a cannonball in the corner and looks to deliver a Vader Bomb. Belair avoids it, and Green tags in. Cargill tags in and Niven looks to tag out, but Niven is no longer on the apron. Cargill then delivers Jaded for the win.

Winners: Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair

Kevin Owens then makes his way down to the ring, cutting a promo on his opponents, AJ Styles and Rey Mysterio, just before he makes his way out. Styles and Rey follow.

The bell rings and Styles begins brawling with Owens. Owens clotheslines Styles out of the ring. Rey looks to deliver his signature baseball slide, but Styles catches Rey on the apron and delivers a Death Valley Driver. Owens then sends Styles crashing over the barricade and delivers a cannonball to him to sandwich him between him and the barricade, but Rey levels him with a senton off the apron.

Back from the break, Styles delivers a Pele Kick to Owens. Rey catches Styles with a boot, then looks to fly off the ropes. Styles catches him and hands him over to Owens, but Rey counters into a hurricanrana on Owens and a Tornado DDT to Styles. Rey trips Styles to send him into the ropes and looks to dial it up for a 619. Styles catches him and sends him crashing into the mat, then delivers a facebuster to Owens. He fires off a couple of right hands on Owens, then sits him on the top turnbuckle. Owens levels Styles with a headbutt, but Rey joins him on the ropes and pulls him down to the mat with a superplex.

Owens levels Styles with a superkick, then looks to follow it up with a pop-up powerbomb. Styles avoids it and lands a Pele Kick, then sets up for a Styles Clash. Rey flies to level the two men before Owens delivers a German suplex to him and Styles. Rey sends Styles crashing into the ropes and dials it up for a 619, but Owens levels Rey with a Stunner on the apron. He ascends to the top and looks to deliver a Swanton Bomb to Styles, but Styles gets his knees up and ascends to the middle rope. Rey join him on the top, but Styles takes him down with a Styles Clash and lands on top of Owens. He then pins Rey for the win.

Winner: AJ Styles

After the match, LA Knight appears and stares down Styles as the show goes off the air.