Tiffany settles inside the squared circle and her music wraps up. The theme for Naomi hits and out comes the popular women’s wrestling veteran to the ring for this high stakes showdown. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.

After some early back-and-forth action, we head to a mid-match commercial break. When we return, we see things pick up between Stratton and Naomi, with Tiffany dominating the action. Naomi hits a big drop kick and then a bull dog on Stratton to the turnbuckle in the corner.

Immediately after that, we hear some chaos breaking out at ringside, with Graves and Barrett reacting to something. The camera pans over to show Nia Jax has emerged through the crowd and is attacking WWE Women’s Champion Bayley. Naomi notices this from the ring and heads out to help out, but Nia levels her as well.

As soon as Nia makes contact with Naomi, the referee sees this and throws the match out. Although normally Naomi would win via DQ since she was attacked, but presumably this means no one wins and thus, no one is officially set for Bayley’s next challenger for the title at WWE Backlash: France. After Jax finishes up her attack, Stratton stacks Naomi on top of Bayley and hits her Prettiest Moonsault Ever.

Winner: No Contest

JBL, Teddy Long Continue Night 1 Of 2024 WWE Draft

We shoot backstage and we see former SmackDown General Manager and WWE Hall of Fame legend Teddy Long emerge with the latest SmackDown draft picks. From another room emerges fellow WWE Hall of Fame legend JBL, who has the Raw picks. We head to another commercial break on that note.

Upon returning from the break, we immediately see a beat down going on backstage, with The Final Testament striking as Karrion Kross sends a message directly into the camera, warning that wherever they end up in the draft, they will continue to create chaos.

Back inside the arena, JBL and Teddy Long are introduced. Long announces that AJ Styles is the next pick in the draft for SmackDown. For Raw, JBL announces Chad Gable, Akira Tozawa, Maxxine Dupri and Otis, collectively known as Alpha Academy. Long announces Andrade as the next pick for SmackDown.

Finally, JBL names Kiana James from NXT for Raw. Following the last pick, Graves and Barrett introduce a video package to inform fans more about the NXT Superstar Kiana James. We then check in with Jackie Redmond at the WWE PC, where Shawn Michaels is with Kiana James, who is interviewed about the big draft to Raw.

Cody Rhodes vs. Carmelo Hayes

It’s main event time!

Following the fourth round of night one of the 2024 WWE Draft, we return inside the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, OH., where we see former WWE NXT World Champion Carmelo Hayes walking the halls, as his main event against WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes is up next. We head to another commercial break.

Upon returning from the commercials, we see footage of Kiana James’ reaction from the WWE PC upon learning of her draft to Raw. Backstage, Nick Aldis reveals Bayley will defend her WWE Women’s Championship against Tiffany Stratton and Naomi at WWE Backlash: France. Teddy Long then announces The Bloodline vs. Kevin Owens & Randy Orton for WWE Backlash: France.

Back inside the arena, Graves and Barrett react to the WWE Backlash: France announcements just made by Aldis and Long. They then announce the first-ever RKO Show with Randy Orton and Kevin Owens for next week’s SmackDown. Also scheduled is Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles going face-to-face ahead of WWE Backlash: France, New Catch Republic will collide with Authors of Pain, and A-Town Down Under will defend the WWE Tag-Team Championships against The Street Profits.

We return inside the building where we hear the familiar sounds of Carmelo Hayes’ theme. Out he comes for our final match of the evening. He settles inside the squared circle and his entrance tune wraps up. The theme for Cody Rhodes hits next and out comes “The American Nightmare.” The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.

They tie up and Cody with a throw, then they hit the ropes and Cody with a kick then a right hand. Hayes with a cross chop then a springboard attack. Clothesline from Cody to drop Hayes and then we head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues. When we return, we see more back-and-forth action until Rhodes finally finishes this one off with a Cross-Rhodes for the win.

After the match, Cody kneels down next to a dejected Carmelo Hayes and offers him some words of encouragement. Hayes exits the ring and Cody continues his celebration in the corner. He hops off the ropes and turns around to see AJ Styles staring at him. The two have a tense face-off as fans break out into various chants in the background. Corey Graves promotes their showdown at WWE Backlash: France and night two of the WWE Draft on Monday’s Raw as this week’s show goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!

Winner: Cody Rhodes