WWE SmackDown Results 5/8 - Women's US Championship On The Line, GUNTHER Appears

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s results for "WWE SmackDown" on May 8, 2026, coming to you live from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida!

Tiffany Stratton will be putting the Women's United States Championship on the line for the first time since dethroning Giulia as titleholder on the April 24 episode of "WWE SmackDown" as she defends against Giulia's ally Kiana James. Stratton and James have met in singles competition on "SmackDown" on two other occasions on the October 24, 2025 episode of "SmackDown" and the March 13 episode of the show, with Stratton emerging as the victor both times.

Jacob Fatu will be challenging Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship tomorrow night at WWE Backlash. Before he does, he will be appearing in the opening moments of tonight's show with something on his mind to share. Not only did Fatu and Reigns this past Monday on "WWE Raw" during a Backlash Contract signing that ended in a physical brawl between both men, but Fatu also encountered Reigns' allies The Usos during last Friday's edition of "SmackDown" moments after inadvertently helping MFT's Solo Sikoa and Talla Tonga win a match against them by taking out Talla with a crossbody off the barricades.

Speaking of Talla, he will be competing in a match of his own tonight as he takes on one half of the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest. Priest's tag team partner R-Truth has gotten the pair several defenses of their WWE Tag Team Championship over the course of the last several weeks, including last Friday when the pair retained against Nathan Frazer and Axiom.

Women's Champion Rhea Ripley will be joining forces with Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair to square off against Fatal Influence's Jacy Jayne, Lainey Reid, and Fallon Henley. After Jayne emerged victorious against Flair in singles action last Friday thanks to assistance from Henley and Reid, Ripley came to Flair and Bliss' aid when Fatal Influence blindsided them with a post-match attack.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes scored a win against Ricky Saints last Friday, but GUNTHER unexpectedly blindsided him with an attack just moments later and left Rhodes laid out with a sleeper. Following such, GUNTHER will be making an appearance on tonight's show with something on his mind to share.

Additionally, United States Champion Trick Williams will be holding a funeral for The Gingerbread Man after his Backlash opponent Sami Zayn took out The Gingerbread Man with an attack and he was helped to the back by medical officials.

We are live! The show kicks off with a sneak peak at the wake for The Gingerbread Man, as well as a video recapping what's led up to the Backlash World Heavyweight Championship match between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu.

Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore then greet audiences at home as Fatu makes his way to the ring.

Fatu says he's not fighting Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash, but taking the World Heavyweight Championship from Reigns at Backlash. He says since they were young, people saw the future in Reigns while they saw nothing in him. He says people want to call him and talk nice to him now to get him to fall in line, but he won't do that and says he's seen this before with Reigns because history repeats himself. He says no one is trying to protect him, but Reigns instead. He says Reigns was born with opportunity, but he was born with doubt.

The Usos' music hits, and Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso make their way out. Jimmy says himself and Jey aren't in the ring to try changing Fatu's mind, then says they're proud of him for main eventing Backlash tomorrow night and says he respects it because he gets where Fatu is coming from. He says part of him is rooting for Fatu, but the other part is looking out for him and says he knows Fatu needs a win badly. He questions if Fatu has stopped to think about what happens in the event that he loses tomorrow night, and Jey chimes in by saying he doesn't think Fatu thinks like that.

Jey says he lived what will happen to Fatu tomorrow night, and that's Reigns being the one to walk out of Backlash as World Heavyweight Champion. He says the worst part is that Reigns will break down Fatu emotionally and physically in front of Fatu's family who will be in the front row. Jimmy adds that Fatu's wife and seven children will have to acknowledge Reigns.

Fatu reminds Jey that he never beat Reigns, then says that there won't be any acknowledging tomorrow because Backlash is for his wife and seven children. He says they'll see him become the new World Heavyweight Champion, then says Reigns will learn tomorrow night that he's all gas and no breaks tomorrow night. He says if Jey and Jimmy think about interfering at Backlash, he'll burn the Anoa'i family tree down.

We then head backstage, where Royce Keys offers some encouraging words to Jacob Fatu ahead of Backlash. Keys then runs into Solo Sikoa, where Sikoa tells Keys that there's room in his family for him and time is running out. 

Tiffany Stratton then makes her way to the ring. Kiana James and Giulia follow. 

The bell rings and the two lock up. James delivers a kick to the side of Stratton's head and sends her left knee bouncing off the ring post twice, then jams her knee into the back of her head using the bottom rope and sends her head bouncing off the top turnbuckle.

James pins Stratton, but Stratton kicks out and James fires off stomps on her. She continues to target Stratton's knee and fires off a right hand on her, then cinches in a Half Boston Crab on Stratton. Stratton crawls over to the bottom rope to break the hold, but James sends her crashing out of the ring and dumps her back inside.

Stratton catches a handspring back elbow on James and follows it up with a basement dropkick to her, but James delivers a kick to Stratton's head and rolls up Stratton. Giulia hops up on the apron and distracts the referee, causing James to get in Giulia's face. This opens the door for Stratton to deliver Prettiest Moonsault Ever on James for the win.

Winner (and still): Tiffany Stratton

We then head backstage and see Sami Zayn crash The Gingerbread Man's wake as Nick Aldis explains to Zayn that everyone deserves to pay their respects to The Gingerbread Man. R-Truth approaches Zayn to pay his condolences to The Gingerbread Man.

Back at ringside, Talla Tonga and Solo Sikoa make their way out. Damian Priest follows.

The bell rings and Priest looks to land a jumping knee on Talla on the outside of the ring off the ring apron. Talla ducks out of the way, but Priest fires off forearms on him. Talla sends Priest bouncing off the barricade first during the commercial break, then dumps him back in the ring.

Talla whips Priest into the corner spine first and connects with a splash on him, then connects with a delayed vertical suplex on him and goes for a pin. Priest kicks out, but Talla levels him with a strike and delivers an elbow to him. He fires off more strikes on Priest, then looks to land an elbow drop on him back from the break.

Priest rolls out of the way, then rocks Talla with a right hand and follows it up with a kick to him. He connects with a Mongolian Chop and a pair of kicks on Talla, then flies off the ring steps on the outside to take out Talla and levels Sikoa with a big boot.

Priest ascends to the top rope back inside the ring, then levels Talla with a clothesline and goes for a pin. Talla kicks out, but R-Truth runs out to the ring. Tama Tonga and Sikoa look to take out Truth, but Priest comes to Truth's aid. Talla then blindsides Priest from behind and catches him with a chokeslam back inside the ring for the win.

Winner: Talla Tonga

After the match, Royce Keys storms down to the ring to even the odds and come to Priest and Truth's aid. 

We then head backstage and see Danhausen holding a sign-up to be his partner for Backlash. Kit Wilson and The Miz approach Danhausen to mock him for not having a partner, and The Miz looks to beat down Danhausen. Wilson stops The Miz and advises him to wait until tomorrow night, then shows Danhausen his own reflection as a means of showing him that the only person toxic enough to team up with Danhausen is himself. 

We then head over to a series of moments throughout WWE history that The Gingerbread Man was present for in the crowd as a fan. 

We then head over to Nick Aldis' office, where Paul Heyman asks Aldis if everything has been taken care of. GUNTHER enters and signs a contract to become the newest member of "SmackDown", but GUNTHER, Aldis, and Heyman see Cody Rhodes making his way to the ring. GUNTHER says he doesn't do business like this, then leaves Aldis' office as Heyman follows him. 

Rhodes asks Jacksonville what they want to talk about, then says GUNTHER had his way of saying he was next in line for an Undisputed WWE Championship last Friday. He calls GUNTHER to the ring to say just that to him.

Paul Heyman makes his way out and says he holds a contract for an Undisputed WWE Championship match, but Rhodes stops Heyman and asks him if he's now an advocate for GUNTHER because they don't need a contract. He says he's medically cleared and says both himself and GUNTHER are in Jacksonville, but Heyman clarifies that he's not GUNTHER's advocate and says he owes GUNTHER a favor. He explains that the favor is an Undisputed WWE Championship match against Rhodes, then asks to enter the ring.

Rhodes allows Heyman to enter the ring, and Heyman informs Rhodes that the contract he holds for GUNTHER's Undisputed WWE Championship isn't for Jacksonville or the United States of America, but at WWE Clash In Italy on May 31. Heyman tells Rhodes that he needs to get the signature himself and looks to leave, but Rhodes stops Heyman. He says Brock Lesnar has retired, and Roman Reigns and CM Punk don't want anything to do with him. He asks Heyman if he's out of options, but Heyman says he's not the one who's running out of options and says everyone needs the "Wise Man" sooner or later. Heyman leaves as GUNTHER sneaks up behind Rhodes to cinch in a sleeper on him, but Rhodes fights off GUNTHER and reminds him that he's easy to find but hard to beat.

We then head backstage, where Tama Tonga takes issue with Solo Sikoa looking to recruit Royce Keys and tells him that he's planning on handling business. Talla Tonga looks to go after Tama, but Sikoa stops him and tells Talla that Tama has to learn on his own.

Back at ringside, Matt Cardona makes his way out. Ricky Saints follows.

The bell rings and Saints sends Cardona crashing into the middle turnbuckle face first. He jams his boot into Cardona's face and fires off a chop on his chest, then whips him into the corner and lands a splash on him in the corner.

Cardona lands a dropkick on Saints through the middle rope and on the outside. Saints becomes visibly frustrated and rains down right hands on Cardona back in the ring during the commercial break, then jams Saints' throat into the middle rope and lands a pair of double knees on the back of his neck.

Cardona whips Saints into the ropes and lands a shotgun dropkick on him, but Saints stops his own momentum and wears down Cardona with a submission hold. Cardona sends Saints crashing into the mat face first back from the break, but Saints responds with a swinging reverse STO to him. Cardona intercepts Saints with a Famouser and goes for a pin, but Saints kicks out and delivers a Roshambo to Cardona for the win.

Winner: Ricky Saints

We then head over to The Gingerbread Man's wake, where Sami Zayn vents to a sad Johnny Gargano. He asks Gargano is Johnny Wrestling is still in there, and while Gargano momentarily looks like he's about to get up, he decides to remain laying down where he was when Candice LeRae comes over. Zayn then becomes distracted when he sees Rey Fenix attending Gingerbread Man's wake, but admits Fenix is right is saying this isn't the place. 

We head elsewhere backstage, where a ladder nearly falls on Paige and Brie Bella. Brie then feels a passing Danhausen tug on her hair before making her way to the ring with Paige.

Brie says a lot of women's tag teams in WWE think they have what it takes to dethrone herself and Paige as Women's Tag Team Championship. She says no matter who it is, the results will always be the same. Paige then addresses Judgment Day's comments about stopping their nostalgia tour on "Raw", but Paige says herself and Brie are the best they've ever been and tells Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez to step up.

Fatal Influence's music hits and the trio make their way out. Jacy Jayne says Paige and Brie are in over their heads, then says they should be worried about Fatal Influence and not Judgment Day. She reminds Paige and Brie that Fatal Influence left them laid out in the week, and Fallon Henley adds that Fatal Influence are taking over "SmackDown" which includes the Women's Tag Team Championship. Lainey Reid says there's plenty of gold to go around and Jayne will become the new Women's Champion, with Jayne tellings Paige and Brie that if they were smart, they would leave the ring to see how a new team gets things done.

The Irresistible Forces' music hits, and Lash Legend and Nia Jax make their way out. Jax questions who said Fatal Influence could skip the line for the Women's Tag Team Championship, and Legend says that Fatal Influence better not get in their way. Legend clocks Paige and Brie before Jax lands a leg drop on Paige and Legend delivers Lash Extension to Brie.

Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss, and Charlotte Flair then make their way to the ring, with Legend staring down Ripley on the way.

Fallon Henley and Alexa Bliss begin the action. The bell rings and the two go back and forth. Bliss levels Henley, but Lainey Reid tags in and looks to follow suit. Bliss tags out to Ripley, but Ripley levels an interfering Jayne before flying off the ring apron to take out Jayne, Reid, and Henley on the outside.

Ripley dumps Reid back in the ring, but Reid rains down right hands on her

Reid fires off a stomp on Ripley, and Jayne and Henley take cheap shots at Ripley from the apron as the referee is distracted by Flair trying to get his attention. Jayne then tags in and continues wearing down Ripley, but Reid tags back in and Ripley rocks her with an enzuigiri.

Jayne and Flair tag in back from the break, and Flair fires off chops on Reid and an interfering Jayne. Bliss tags in on her side, but Ripley looks tag back in. Jade Cargill appears and pulls Ripley off the ring apron, opening the door for Jayne to land Rolling Encore on Bliss for the win.

Winners: Fatal Influence

After the match, B-Fab and Michin sneak up behind Flair. They rain down right hands on her, but Ripley levels Cargill with a dropkick and takes out B-Fab. Cargill runs over Ripley with a big boot, and B-Fab cinches in a Full Nelson Slam on Bliss.

MFT then make their way to the ring. Royce Keys follows. 

The bell rings and Keys gets Tama up on one shoulder. He connects with an over the shoulder powerslam and fires off a few right hands on Tama, then goes for a pin but Tama kicks out. Keys delivers a powerslam to Tama on the ring apron spine first, but Tama sends Keys crashing into the ring steps.

Tama dumps Keys back in the ring during the commercial break and begins targeting his right knee, but Keys fires off right hands on Tama. Tama sends Keys' right knee crashing into the mat, but Keys sends Tama crashing into the top turnbuckle face first and levels him with a pair of right hands.

Tama lands a reverse DDT on Keys and pins him, but Keys kicks out and stares down Talla on the outside as Sikoa holds back Talla. Inside the ring, Keys intercepts Tama with a spinebuster for the win.

Winner: Royce Keys

We then head backstage, where Danhausen looks to make his evil clone. 

We head backstage elsewhere, where Shinsuke Nakamura approaches Tama only for Talla to tell him to back off.

Back at ringside, Trick Williams makes his way out dressed in all black. 

Having poured out a drink for The Gingerbread Man as Gingerbread Man's loved ones are already standing in the ring, Williams calls for his music to be cut. Mournful music begins to play, and Williams says that he never thought he would see Gingerbread Bread man die. Gingerbread Man's loved ones join in as Williams begins to reflectively rap about why Gingerbread Man had to die.

A slideshow begins to play of Gingerbread Man being born on a baking tray to his parents, growing up on a tire swing outside his family gingerbread house, his days of playing football at South Carolina, and Gingerbread Man's friendship with Williams and Lil Yachty.

Fans chant for Gingerbread Man, but Williams asks them for a moment of silence. Williams and the live crowd begin to observe the moment of silence, but Sami Zayn crashes it and says everyone has put up with this all night. Zayn says closing out an episode of "SmackDown" used to mean something and there was a prestige to holding the United States Champion, but Williams is trying to make a joke now and asks how much Williams spent on the funeral for tonight. Zayn says he looked it up and it costs a lot of money for all the roses, the choir, and the oak casket.

Zayn says he has respect for "SmackDown" and the fans, then says at the end of the day, he's a working class hero who represents the fans. He reminds Williams who he is, then says everyone who's he gone up against has thought that they could take him out but haven't been able to. He says if Williams wanted to get in his head, he managed to do it and made him angry. He promises to humble, embarrass, expose, and disrespect Williams, then tells Williams to enjoy his big night and apologizes for his loss.

Zayn pretends to leave the ring and levels Williams with a right hand. He asks Williams if he thinks it's a game and says it's his life as he holds the United States Championship belt, then holds up the belt.

The Gingerbread Man rises out of his casket and reveals himself to be Lil Yachty. He repeatedly hits Zayn with a kendo stick that looks like a candy cane, and Williams follows it up with a Trick Shot to Zayn. Williams and Yatchy stand tall over Zayn as the show goes off the air.