SUMMARY
- 'Go Home' SmackDown episode to Backlash 2024 took place in France.
- The French fans loved the episode and the noise level inside the arena has seemingly pleased the WWE CCO, Triple H.
The latest episode of WWE SmackDown took place on May 3, 2024, and it aired live from LDLC Arena in Lyon-Decines, France. It is also worth mentioning that the episode was quite special.
This is because, firstly, it was the ‘go home’ episode of SmackDown before the upcoming PLE event, Backlash 2024. Secondly, SmackDown was special because it presented one of the best crowds ever. The audience at Ringside was absolutely hyped up and gave loud pops throughout the episode.
Meanwhile, the Chief Content Officer of WWE, Triple H, took his ‘X’ handle to make a post. He uploaded a picture of a watch showcasing a sound level reaching 100 dB. HHH mentioned that the audience in the SmackDown arena received a warning regarding the noise level.
The @WWEUniverse in France literally received a warning about the noise level tonight at #SmackDown @LDLC_Arena. Absolutely insane.
Like @myMotorhead said… “Only way to feel the noise is when it’s good and loud.” pic.twitter.com/i4KMGnfUtY
— Triple H (@TripleH) May 3, 2024
He wrote, “The @WWEUniverse in France literally received a warning about the noise level tonight at #SmackDown @LDLC_Arena. Absolutely insane. Like @myMotorhead said… “Only way to feel the noise is when it’s good and loud.” So, it seems like Triple H was quite pleased with the way the crowd responded to the product..
Also, The Game shared another post where he mentioned that the latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown, which took place in Lyon, France, became the highest-grossing SmackDown of all time. He revealed that the recent episode of Blue Brand broke the record for the previous highest-grossing episode, which was set only 4 weeks ago in Philadelphia before WrestleMania 40.
However, the official number for the show was not revealed. Meanwhile, it can be understood that the arena was not only packed but the crowd cheered so much that they received a warning for the noise level. So it won’t be wrong to say that the audience thoroughly enjoyed the latest episode of Blue Brand.
What happened on SmackDown before WWE Backlash 2024?
WWE SmackDown, before Backlash 2024, presented several top-notch matches and interesting segments. The episode kicked off with a match between Bayley, Bianca Belair, Naomi, and Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL and Tiffany Stratton. The match began with Naomi and Kairi taking down each other.
Later, Bayley tagged in, and Asuka and Kairi double-teamed on her. Meanwhile, towards the end of the match, all eight women stepped inside the ring and began fighting. Finally, Belair nailed the KOD on Dakota Kai for the win. Thus, Bayley, Belair, Jade, and Naomi won the match. Moving ahead, the New Catch Republic faced Authors of Pain (AOP). The match began with Pete Dunne dominating Akam.
Soon Tyler Bate tagged in, and Akam pushed him into the turnbuckles. Razer was then tagged in, and Bate and Dunne double-teamed him. Dunne kept dominating Rezar, but Scarlett ran interference. With that, AOP slammed Dunne into the mat, and Rezar pinned him for the win. Thus, AOP won. Moving ahead, Paul Heyman was spotted backstage with Nick Aldis.
Paul Heyman and Nick Aldis#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/xouYx7gN2t
— 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙚𝙚𝙣 ⚡#𝒲𝑒𝒯𝒽𝑒𝒪𝓃𝑒𝓈 (@Rlop1234Goat) May 4, 2024
During that, they talked about Roman Reigns, and Heyman revealed that he has not spoken to Reigns since WrestleMania XL. Following that, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens were spotted inside the ring for the RKO Show. With that, they introduced the guest of the show, Paul Heyman. The Wiseman then asked Orton and Owens to back out of their match against The Bloodline at Backlash.
Meanwhile, Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga attacked The Viper and KO from behind. With that, all four of them began fighting, and WWE officials came out to separate them. Finally, Kevin and Randy stood tall inside the ring. It was an interesting segment and was thoroughly enjoyed by the fans. Thereafter, LA Knight faced Angel.
Throughout the match, Knight kept dominating Angel. Finally, towards the end of the match, Knight nailed a power slam followed by a jumping elbow. He then delivered the BFT for the win. Meanwhile, Dragon Lee and Carlito were seen taking each other down backstage. Following that, a WWE Tag Team Championship match took place between Austin Theory and Grayson Waller vs. The Street Profits.
As a Latina, Dragon lee attacking Carlito has me torn 😂😭 #SmackDown
pic.twitter.com/yA6DTCFngJ— Miss T (@MissT_TV) May 4, 2024
However, the outcome of the match saw Waller hit Angelo Dawkins with the flat liner for the win. With that, Theory and Waller retained the title. Thereafter, AJ Styles and Cody Rhodes came to the ring. They talked about their upcoming match at Backlash 2024. However, later, Styles slapped Rhodes in the face before leaving the ring.
Finally, Orton, Owens, Sikoa, and Tonga were spotted fighting backstage, and SmackDown went off the air. Also, during the episode, LA Knight, Carmelo Hayes, and Santos Escobar announced their participation in the King of the Ring tournament on May 25, 2024. Thus, it can be understood that this was an overall entertaining episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
The biggest pops from the latest episode of SmackDown
The latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown presented some of the biggest pops. Firstly, when Randy Orton came out, fans gave a loud pop. Also, they sang along to his entrance theme. Apart from that, the audience also gave a loud cheer when both Owens and The Viper entered the ring.
The first time a crowd has ever sung Randy Orton’s theme song word for word 🚨🚨🚨
Absolutely legendary.
Will go down in history. #SmackDown
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) May 4, 2024
Thereafter, the crowd was so loud that they made Paul Heyman break character. As The Wiseman of WWE came out, he in his usual manner began to say “My name is Paul Heyman“. However, he was unable to complete the sentence as the crowd had already said it for him.
THE CROWD SO LOUD IT MADE PAUL HEYMAN BREAK CHARACTER
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO#SmackDown
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) May 4, 2024
Also, during the segment between Heyman, KO, and Orton, when Randy said he’s more of an out-of-nowhere kind of person, the fans loudly chanted “RKO.” Moving ahead, another huge pop from the crowd was heard during LA Knight’s match against Angel. The fans loudly chanted Knight’s name.
Thereafter, when Santos Escobar made an appearance during Knight’s match, the fans once again loudly said, “You suck.” Also, throughout Knight’s interaction with Santos, fans kept shouting LA Knight’s catchphrase, “Yeah.” Moving ahead, another loud pop was heard when The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes made his entrance.
THEY ARE ALSO SINGING ALONG TO CODY RHODES’ THEME.
HE RECEIVED AN EXPLOSIVE POP 🔥#SmackDown
— EliteRockerz 𝕏 (@EliteClubS0B) May 3, 2024
Also, fans shouted loudly as Styles slapped Rhodes across the face. Thus, it can be understood that the latest episode of SmackDown, became a memorable one. Meanwhile, WWE Backlash is all set to take place on May 4, 2024. It now remains to be seen how the audience will respond during the Premium Live Event.
