{"id":216234,"date":"2026-05-08T20:17:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T01:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=216234"},"modified":"2026-05-09T02:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:25:10","slug":"wwe-smackdown-results-5-9-kellers-report-on-tiffany-vs-kiana-for-u-s-title-priest-vs-talla-tonga-tricks-gingerbread-man-funeral-gunther-addresses-cody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/05\/08\/wwe-smackdown-results-5-9-kellers-report-on-tiffany-vs-kiana-for-u-s-title-priest-vs-talla-tonga-tricks-gingerbread-man-funeral-gunther-addresses-cody\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS (5\/8): Keller\u2019s report on Tiffany vs. Kiana for U.S. Title, Priest vs. Talla Tonga, Trick&#8217;s Gingerbread Man funeral, Gunther addresses Cody"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2042207659\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3><strong>WWE SMAC<\/strong><strong>KDOWN REPORT<br \/>\nMAY 8, 2026<br \/>\nJACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA AT <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/arena.jaxevents.com\/\"><strong>VYSTAR VETERANS MEMORIAL ARENA<\/strong><\/a><strong><br \/>\nAIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK<br \/>\nREPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Commentators: <\/em><em>Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ring Announcer: Mark Nash<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Attendance: As of show time, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/wrestletix\/posts\"><strong><em>WrestleTix<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em> reported that 7,340 tickets had been distributed. The arena was set up for 7,804. On the previous visit to this venue on May 17, 2024 two years ago, WWE drew 10,093.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/wwe-smackdown-post-show-5-8-keller-corbridge-discuss-whether-wwe-made-gingerbread-man-funeral-actually-work-reigns-fatu-finish-theory--71934148\">CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN POST-SHOW (5\/8) - Keller &amp; Corbridge discuss whether WWE made Gingerbread Man funeral actually work, Reigns-Fatu finish theory\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=71934148&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">PWTorch editor Wade Keller will be joined by PWTorch&#8217;s Eric Corbridge\u00a0 to review WWE Smackdown LIVE on YouTube. We\u2019ll be incorporating live viewer comments into the show so join us LIVE!<\/p>\n<p>Email our post-show at <a href=\"mailto:wadekellerpostshow@gmail.com\">wadekellerpostshow@gmail.com<\/a> with your comments and questions about Smackdown. We\u2019ll read your emails live during the post-show.<\/p>\n<p>If you can\u2019t join us live on YouTube, stream the show on demand later at YouTube or listen or stream later on a podcast app. Subscribe to all of our free podcasts by searching \u201cwade keller\u201d and \u201cpwtorch\u201d in your podcast app of choice including Spotify and Apple Podcasts and most other iOS and Android apps.<\/p>\n<h3>VIDEO CALLER CODE: <a href=\"https:\/\/streamyard.com\/heb8iqmbn2\">CLICK HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><strong>LINK TO BE A CALLER:<\/strong> https:\/\/streamyard.com\/heb8iqmbn2<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1977074009\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h3>Click that link during the post-show to enter the waiting room as \u201clive video caller\u201d (or just audio if you turn off your cam, which is fine).<\/h3>\n<p><strong>OPEN TO EVERYONE \u2013 LINK TO WATCH LIVE RIGHT AFTER WWE SMACKDOWN TONIGHT:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/P5K8NHpjOvA?si=NqwBQ24YAmGittA3\">CLICK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show (5\/8) - WWE Smackdown w\/Keller &amp; Corbridge\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P5K8NHpjOvA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>[HOUR ONE]<\/h3>\n<p>-A graphic acknowledged the death of Ted Turner.<\/p>\n<p>-Joe Tessitore introduced the show as they showed a scene of Jacksonville. Then they showed arrivals of wrestlers. Tessitore said they &#8220;unfortunately&#8221; had to pay tribute to someone who died, and it seemed they were going to do something regarding Turner, but instead wrestlers and G.M. Nick Aldis were gathered backstage for the funeral of the Gingerbread Man. (That was awkward.)<\/p>\n<p>-Jacob Fatu made his entrance. He said he&#8217;s taking the title at Backlash. He said since they were young, everyone said Roman Reigns was the future and no one in his family thought he was going to amount to anything. He said now Roman wants him to fall in line. &#8220;Hell no,&#8221; he said. He added that Roman was born with opportunity whereas when eh was born, he was born with doubt. The Usos&#8217;s music interrupted him and they made their way to the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Jimmy said they weren&#8217;t out there to change his mind. He said nothing they say would change anything on Backlash. He said a part of him is rooting for him, but another part of him is rooting for him. He asked him if he has considered what happens to him if he loses. Jey said he didn&#8217;t think about that because he doesn&#8217;t think like that. He looked at Fatu and said, &#8220;Tomorrow night, the Tribal Chief is going to beat that ass.&#8221; He said the worst part is he is going to break him down emotionally and physically right in front of his family. (The fans were &#8220;Yeeting&#8221; throughout this.)<\/p>\n<p>Jimmy said Fatu&#8217;s family will be watching from row. He said when he loses, his wife and children will have to acknowledge the Tribal Chief, the OTC, Roman Reigns. An &#8220;OTC!&#8221; chant broke out. Fatu said he isn&#8217;t losing and he can&#8217;t lose. He told Jey that he never beat Roman. Jimmy half-heartedly pushed Jey back. Fatu said this isn&#8217;t just a main event, this is for his family. He said if there&#8217;s one thing his family will see him doing, it&#8217;s becoming the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Mild mix of cheers and scattered boos. Fatu got all fired up as he led into &#8220;All gas, no brakes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>(Keller&#8217;s Analysis: The fans are just reciting communal chants without any clarity regarding what they&#8217;re actually rooting for or even hoping for. They&#8217;re yeeting during a key moment of Jey&#8217;s message to Fatu, and then chanting for Roman but then cheering for Fatu seconds later, and nothing they did felt rooted in a deep passion to see any particular outcome or even siding one way or another. It&#8217;s just such a mix of pitches to cheer or boo both of them. I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a sustainable winning formula for WWE. It just muddies everyone&#8217;s feelings and takes away the idea that they can just unify behind someone and get that joy of victory or disappointment after defeat.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-They went to Tessitore and Wade Barrett at ringside. They commented on Gunther&#8217;s attack on Cody last week.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2331273739\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>-Cathy Kelley asked G.M. Aldis backstage why Gunther is on Smackdown since he&#8217;s technically still a member of the Raw roster. Aldis said what Gunther did last week was unacceptable. Ricky Saints walked in and said he had &#8220;a great debut&#8221; after going &#8220;toe-to-toe with Cody.&#8221; Matt Cardona then confronted Starks and said he&#8217;s not there to pass the torch to guys like him, but he&#8217;s there to light a new one for himself. Starks looked at Aldis and asked if that&#8217;s how he runs the place.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Keller&#8217;s Analysis: So is Saints facing Aldis to give him a strong win or is this a sign he&#8217;s going to be a mid-carder just feuding with mid-carders?) [c]<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-Aldis wished Fatu luck. The camera followed him as he began to chat with Royce Keys. Keys asked Fatu since when has he ever shown fear toward anyone who breaths the same air as him. He said people like them take everything they want. The camera stuck with Keys as he walked away and confronted Solo. He told Solo he should beat his ass, so his next words better be as cool as a criminal. Solo said he needs an answer soon because his time is running out.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Keller&#8217;s Analysis: Why is Keys even shown to be considering the Solo offer? Shouldn&#8217;t he just say no? Or is he going to accept it?)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>(1) TIFFANY STRATTON vs. KIANA JAMES (w\/Guilia) &#8211; U.S. Title match<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tiffany Stratton made her ring entrance. Tessitore said Chelsea Green &#8220;had a procedure that has her on the mend.&#8221; They went to a clip of Green wishing Tiffany the best of luck, but said she is bed-ridden and can&#8217;t be there. They cut to an early break. [c]<\/p>\n<p>A graphic advertised the funeral for The Gingerbread Man later. Giulia stood on the ring apron and yelled at the ref when James had a cover on Tiffany. That upset James. Tiffany then landed her Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the win. James shot Giulia a dirty look afterward.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Tiffany in 7:00 to retain the U.S. Title.<\/p>\n<p>-They went to the visitation segment of Gingerbread Man&#8217;s funeral. Sami Zayn asked Aldis how he can let this happen. Aldis said everyone there just needed some closure. R-Truth came up behind Sami and handed him a flower. He said he can see a family resemblance. He told Sami to be strong and then blew a kiss to Gingerbread Man. Sami let out a silent yell. [c]<\/p>\n<p>-A video package aired on Fatal Influence.<\/p>\n<p>-Kelley interviewed Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, and Alexa Bliss backstage. Ripley said she wait to show Fatal Influence who they chose to mess with. Charlotte tried to be a team-player, but did so in a way that agitated Ripley. Bliss tried to play peacemaker. She told them they are both big and strong and implored them to work together. Ripley said she&#8217;ll be fine with it. Charlotte said she would be too. Charlotte told Bliss, &#8220;She started it.&#8221; Ripley said she was lying.<\/p>\n<p>-Backstage, Damien Priest told Truth he is focused on making Talla Tonga pay a price, and he asked Truth to stay backstage so he could take care of it himself. He told Truth to trust him that he knows how to handle this situation.<\/p>\n<p>-Solo and Tonga made their entrance. [c]<\/p>\n<p><strong>(2) DAMIEN PRIEST vs. TALLA TONGA (w\/Solo Sikoa)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Priest went after Talla at the bell. Barrett said he needs any advantage he can get. They cut to an early break. [c]<\/p>\n<h3>[HOUR TWO]<\/h3>\n<p>Back from the break, Tama Tonga came out to ringside. Truth then came out to try to help even the odds. Truth took a beating. Priest blocked Solo&#8217;s attempt at a Solo Spike. Priest then angrily told Truth that he implored him not to come to ringside. Talla then hit his signature chokeslam for a three count.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Talla in 10:00.<\/p>\n<p>-Afterward, Keys came out to check on Priest. He eyed Solo and his crew. Solo told Tonga and Talla to stay back.<\/p>\n<p>-A recap aired of the Miz and Kit Wilson attack on Danhausen last week.<\/p>\n<p>-Backstage, Danhausen asked who wanted to sign up to be his partner at Backlash. Miz and Wilson walked up to him and laughed that he couldn&#8217;t find a tag partner. Wilson was admiring himself in a mirror, then turned and told Danhausen that he is toxic. Miz said he has friends such as Papa Shango and Curly Man &#8220;and Bob over there.&#8221; Miz took satisfaction in Danhausen having to run away rather than disappearing.<\/p>\n<p>-They showed Paul Heyman walking backstage toward Aldis&#8217;s office. [c]<\/p>\n<p>-A photo montage aired of Gingerbread Man in the crowd during big moments in pro wrestling history with Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and John Cena.<\/p>\n<p>-Aldis told Heyman everything is in order as they discussed. Heyman looked at the contract as Gunther walked in. Heyman handed him the contract and said, &#8220;As requested.&#8221; Aldis said he&#8217;s happy to have him on the blue brand, but what he did last week was unacceptable. Gunther asked if that&#8217;s really how he wants to talk to his future World Champion. Cody&#8217;s music played and Gunther took exception to that.<\/p>\n<p>-Cody made his entrance. Gunther was upset and left. Heyman told Aldis that he&#8217;d handle it.<\/p>\n<p>-Cody made his way to the ring. He said apparently Gunther attacking him last week was his way of saying he is next. He said he wished Gunther would say it to his face. Heyman instead walked out with a contract in hand. Cody asked if he was now an advocate for Gunther. He said they didn&#8217;t need a contract, they could just wrestle in Jacksonville. Heyman said the contract isn&#8217;t for Jacksonville, it&#8217;s for Clash in Italy. Fans chanted &#8220;USA! USA!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Heyman said he is not Gunther&#8217;s advocate, and the favor he owed Gunther was to set this up. He said Cody now has to get Gunther&#8217;s name on the contract himself. Cody told Heyman that Brock Lesnar retired on him, Roman wants nothing to do with him, and C.M. Punk wants nothing to do with him. Cody asked if he&#8217;s running out of options. Heyman said he wasn&#8217;t the one running out of options because &#8220;sooner or later, they all need the Wiseman.&#8221; Heyman left. Gunther came at Cody from behind. Cody tried to defend himself, but Gunther applied a sleeper. Cody eventually knocked Gunther to the floor. He told Gunther to keep coming at him. He said he doesn&#8217;t sweat him just because he beat Goldberg, A.J. Styles, and &#8220;the greatest of all time.&#8221; He said he&#8217;s easy to find and hard to beat. His music played as Gunther retreated.<\/p>\n<p>-Tama Tonga told Solo that Key is a problem that needs to be dealt with. Solo said he sees Keys as more of a solution than a problem. He said he sees him as a perfect fit for his family. Tama said Keys embarred them in front of everyone. He said he&#8217;d handle business and show him what he&#8217;s all about. Talla wanted to follow Tama, but Solo stopped him.<\/p>\n<p>-Cardona made his entrance. [c]<\/p>\n<p><strong>(3) RICKY SAINTS vs. MATT CARDONA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Saints made his entrance. They cut to an early break after Cardona knocked Saints to ringside and Saints threw a fit. [c]<\/p>\n<p>Cardona landed a Rough Rider for a two count. Saints then hit Roshambo for the win.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Saints in 9:00.<\/p>\n<p>-Sami Zayn was at the funeral ranting to someone about how he wants to do things the right way. The camera revealed it was Johnny Gargano he was talking to, but Gargano was out of it as usual. He asked if Johnny Wrestling was still in there someone. Gargano sat up and nodded, then lay back down. Sami then asked Rey Fenix what he was doing there. Fenix told Sami now wasn&#8217;t the time. Gargano sat up and said Fenix was right, then dropped back down.<\/p>\n<p>-Paige and Brie Bella were walking backstage. A ladder fell over behind them. Then Danhausen ran past them and knocked Brie on her head. Brie held her head in pain and wondered if Paige yanked on her hair. [c]<\/p>\n<p>-A Blake Monroe vignette aired. She was applying make-up and said she can take everything they love and make it hers. She then laughed. The graphic said: &#8220;Coming soon.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>-Paige and Brie made their entrance. Brie said there are new arrivals who say they have what it takes to take their titles, but it&#8217;s not going to be easy. Fatal Influence&#8217;s Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid came out. Jayne said she&#8217;ll get singles champion soon. Nia Jax and Lash Legend then came out and told Fatal Influence this isn&#8217;t NXT. Legend told them to get to the back fo the line. Then Jax and Legend hit Paige and Brie.<\/p>\n<p>-Ripley&#8217;s entrance aired and she went face-to-face with Legend as she was walking with Jax to the back. [c]<\/p>\n<h3>[HOUR THREE]<\/h3>\n<p>-Another Gingerbread Man vignette aired showing him at the wedding of Elizabeth and Randy Savage, the DX Invasion of Raw, and Brock Lesnar pinning Undertaker behind the wide-eyed fan in the front row.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(4) FATAL INFLUENCE (Jacy Jayne &amp; Fallon Henley &amp; Lainey Reid) vs. ALEXA BLISS &amp; CHARLOTTE FLAIR &amp; RHEA RIPLEY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The bell rang 3 minutes into the hour. Barrett said the problem with Bliss, Charlotte, and Rhea is that they are three CEOs and that won&#8217;t work. &#8220;Who is going to clean the toilets?&#8221; he said. After a Ripley flurry of offense, they cut to a break. [c\/db]<\/p>\n<p>Charlotte eventually tagged in and landed a top rope crossbody on Jayne and Henley and then a Natural Selection on Jayne for a near fall. Charlotte tagged Bliss in. Henley yanked Charlotte out of the ring.\u00a0 Jayne blocked a Sister Abigail on Bliss and then landed a leaping neckbreaker. Jade Cargill came to ringside and yanked Ripley off the ring apron. Jayne then hit a distracted Bliss with a Rolling Encore for the win. Barrett and Tessitore said they hadn&#8217;t seen Jade since losing to Ripley at WrestleMania.<\/p>\n<p>WINNERS: Fatal Influence in 10:00.<\/p>\n<p>-Charlotte was gong to help stop a post-match beatdown, but B-Fab and Michin attacked her. Ripley recovered and caught Jade with a dropkick. Jade came back with a pump kick. B-Fab attacked Bliss. Charlotte tried to fight back, but Michin stopped her. They struck a pose as Jade&#8217;s music played.<\/p>\n<p>-The Usos approached Keys backstage. Jimmy said they saw him interacting with Solo earlier. Jey said he knows Keys has ties to the family going way back, but he needs to stay in his lane or he might catch the eyes of the Tribal Chief.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(5) TAMA TONGA (w\/Solo Sikoa, Talla Tonga) vs. ROYCE KEYS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The bell rang 23 minutes into an hour. They cut to an early break as they fought at ringside. [c]<\/p>\n<p>Keys won with an Ultimate Spinebuster. Solo shook his head in disappointment afterward. Solo made his overture to Keys again, but he didn&#8217;t accept.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Key in 10:00.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Keller&#8217;s Analysis: I don&#8217;t know how they get there, but they seem to be strongly hinting at Keys costing Fatu the match at Backlash after deciding to accepting Solo&#8217;s offer, since he hasn&#8217;t outright rejected them but more gives off a vibe of thinking things through.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-Danhausen was shown backstage doing chemistry stuff which also included a microwave malfunctioning and lights flashing and smoke and fog coming out of a pipe. He said he planned to take over the world at Backlash. He typed into an old PC.<\/p>\n<p>-Tessitore plugged the funeral was up next. He said it&#8217;s the early stages of grief management for the loss of Gingerbreak man. [c]<\/p>\n<p>-Backstage, Tama Tonga was removing his gear and in walked Shinsuke Nakamura who said he was disappointed in him. Talla walked in and warned Nakamura to stay away form his brother. Nakamura laughed and walked away.<\/p>\n<p>-They went to Tessitore and Barrett at ringside. They hyped the start of Backlash on 6 ET \/ 5 CT \/ 3 ET. They ran down the line-up.<\/p>\n<p>-Aldis walked up to Trick Williams backstage on his way to host the funeral. Aldis told Trick everything is set up and the rest of the broadcast is his. Tessitore said the time has come for one final goodbye. They showed the ring getting set up. [c]<\/p>\n<p>-Trick got his usual ring entrance music and special effects as &#8220;Whoop that Trick!&#8221; chants rang out. He poured himself a glass of milk and walked to the ring solemnly. Tessitore commented on the choice to have an open casket. Trick said everyone would have to bear with him and he hoped to get through it. Dramatic music played as Trick spoke about him saying he never thought he&#8217;d see him dead.Background singers swayed in the ring and supported Trick&#8217;s message and memories. &#8220;Can somebody tell why, can somebody tell me why, can somebody tell me why, did Gingerbread have to die.&#8221; Fans waved their camera lights back and froth.<\/p>\n<p>A video montage aired on Gingerbread man fresh out of the oven on a cookie tray with his parents proudly looking at him. Then it showed him growing up including partying at college and playing football, and then hanging out with Trick including water skiing and going to a gentleman&#8217;s club and riding roller coasters, among other adventures. Fans chanted &#8220;Gingerbread! Gingerbread!&#8221; afterward.<\/p>\n<p>Trick asked for a moment of silence for his friend afterward. Sami interrupted and said, &#8220;Okay, enough! Are you kidding me?&#8221; He said it was ridiculous. &#8220;Am I losing my mind that this has been allowed to go on all night?&#8221; he said. He said Trick has only been in WWE for a cup of coffee, but TV time on Smackdown used to mean something, and there was a prestige in being in the final segment or holding the U.S. Title. He asked Trick if he&#8217;s making a joke out of him. He said he counted damn near a thousand roses and that wasn&#8217;t cheap. He said his choir was expensive, and he noted they were off key. (He&#8217;s right about that.) Fans tried to drown out Sami with a &#8220;Whoop that Trick!&#8221; chant.<\/p>\n<p>Sami stood on the ring apron and asked if he spent all that money to make a joke out of him. He said he has too much respect for himself and the show to let that happen. He said he is a working class hero and he represents his &#8220;ride or die fans to the end.&#8221; Sami said so many others thought they&#8217;d knock him off his game and he&#8217;s not going anywhere. He said Trick wanted to get in his head. He said he hates to give it to him, but he did. He said Trick played himself, though, because he&#8217;s going to make a joke out of him and expose him and disrespect him a thousand times worse than he did to him. He said he&#8217;d see him at Backlash. He turned to leave, but then turned back and attacked Trick. He picked up the U.S. Title and shoved it in Trick&#8217;s face and yelled, &#8220;This is my life!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Gingerbread Man sat up and revealed he was actually Little Yachty. He bashed Sami with a cane and laughed uproariously. Trick then gave Sami a Trick Shot. Yachty kneeled next to Sami. Barrett said that was revenge because Sami did that to Yachty two weeks ago. Tessitore said that&#8217;s the healing they all needed.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Keller&#8217;s Analysis: There&#8217;s a way to be amused by aspects of that, especially the video of Gingerbread Man&#8217;s life, but also think this doesn&#8217;t belong on a wrestling show. And no, having Sami say that as a heel doesn&#8217;t make it okay.)<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/wwe-smackdown-post-show-5-8-keller-corbridge-discuss-whether-wwe-made-gingerbread-man-funeral-actually-work-reigns-fatu-finish-theory--71934148\">CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN POST-SHOW (5\/8) - Keller &amp; Corbridge discuss whether WWE made Gingerbread Man funeral actually work, Reigns-Fatu finish theory\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=71934148&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">PWTorch editor Wade Keller will be joined by PWTorch&#8217;s Eric Corbridge\u00a0 to review WWE Smackdown LIVE on YouTube. We\u2019ll be incorporating live viewer comments into the show so join us LIVE!<\/p>\n<p>Email our post-show at <a href=\"mailto:wadekellerpostshow@gmail.com\">wadekellerpostshow@gmail.com<\/a> with your comments and questions about Smackdown. We\u2019ll read your emails live during the post-show.<\/p>\n<p>If you can\u2019t join us live on YouTube, stream the show on demand later at YouTube or listen or stream later on a podcast app. Subscribe to all of our free podcasts by searching \u201cwade keller\u201d and \u201cpwtorch\u201d in your podcast app of choice including Spotify and Apple Podcasts and most other iOS and Android apps.<\/p>\n<h3>VIDEO CALLER CODE: <a href=\"https:\/\/streamyard.com\/heb8iqmbn2\">CLICK HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><strong>LINK TO BE A CALLER:<\/strong> https:\/\/streamyard.com\/heb8iqmbn2<\/p>\n<h3>Click that link during the post-show to enter the waiting room as \u201clive video caller\u201d (or just audio if you turn off your cam, which is fine).<\/h3>\n<p><strong>OPEN TO EVERYONE \u2013 LINK TO WATCH LIVE RIGHT AFTER WWE SMACKDOWN TONIGHT:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/P5K8NHpjOvA?si=NqwBQ24YAmGittA3\">CLICK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show (5\/8) - WWE Smackdown w\/Keller &amp; Corbridge\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P5K8NHpjOvA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3496697786\"><div id=\"pwtor-1845863836\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT MAY 8, 2026 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA AT VYSTAR VETERANS MEMORIAL ARENA AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett Ring Announcer: Mark Nash Attendance: As <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/05\/08\/wwe-smackdown-results-5-9-kellers-report-on-tiffany-vs-kiana-for-u-s-title-priest-vs-talla-tonga-tricks-gingerbread-man-funeral-gunther-addresses-cody\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS (5\/8): Keller\u2019s report on Tiffany vs. Kiana for U.S. Title, Priest vs. Talla Tonga, Trick&#8217;s Gingerbread Man funeral, Gunther addresses Cody\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":185189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,48,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tvshowsandevents","category-tv_wwesmackdown","category-tv_wwetvreports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-20-at-5.49.57\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216234"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216253,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216234\/revisions\/216253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}