Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s live coverage for “WWE SmackDown” on June 5, 2026, coming to you from the Unipol Arena in Bologna, Italy!

The King and Queen of the Ring Tournaments are set to continue, as Jacy Jayne of Fatal Influence, Kiana James, Raquel Rodriguez of Judgment Day, and Bayley square off against one another in a First Round Fatal Four-Way Match for the 2026 Queen of the Ring Tournament. United States Champion Trick Williams, AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio, one half of the World Tag Team Champions Damian Priest, and The Vision’s Bron Breakker face off against one another in a First Round Fatal Four-Way Match for the 2026 King of the Ring Tournament. Oba Femi defeated Solo Sikoa, Intercontinental Champion Penta, and Carmelo Hayes in a Fatal Four-Way First Round Tournament for the King of the Ring Tournament on this past Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw”, while IYO SKY emerged victorious against Lash Legend of The Irresistible Forces, Giulia, and Roxanne Perez in a Fatal Four-Way First Round Tournament for the Queen of the Ring Tournament that same night.

Speaking of Hayes, he met Ricky Saints in the ring during last Friday’s “SmackDown”. However, the match ultimately ended in a double countout after the action spilled out of the ring and Saints had sent Hayes crashing into the ring steps. This led to the two men continuing to brawl with one another in the moments that followed the match, and tonight, they will be going head-to-head with one another in a rematch.

GUNTHER challenged Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WWE Clash in Italy this past Saturday, but was ultimately unsuccessful in doing so when the referee missed his foot under the ropes as Rhodes had him pinned. Following such, Rhodes will be making an appearance on tonight’s show.

Additionally, Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley will be appearing on tonight’s show after retaining her title against Jade Cargill at Clash in Italy.

Former WWE NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray, known on the WWE main roster as Alba Fyre, made her post-WWE departure return to the independent scene on Friday when she appeared for Pro Wrestling EVE. Video of the star’s entrance was posted to the promotion’s X (formerly Twitter) account.

Ray, a former Pro Wrestling EVE Champion, answered an open challenge put forth by Molly Spartan. The lights of the arena dimmed, and a video played on the tron for Ray, showing what looks like a prison escape with sirens blaring. The words “Forever Champion,” “Hardcore Daredevil,” and finally, “Scary Queen of Scotts” blared on the screen, before the camera cut back to the entrance ramp, where Ray burst through the curtains to cheers.

“KAY LEE RAY IS BAAAAAACKCKCKCKCKKCKCKC,” the promotion’s post read.

The video ends before Spartan and Ray face-off, but the full match is available for members of Pro Wrestling EVE’s YouTube channel. The event, the promotions’ 150th, was headlined by EVE International Champion Kris Statlander vs. Miyu Yamashita.

KAY LEE RAY IS BAAAAAACKCKCKCKCKKCKCKC

Watch the show LIVE exclusive to channel members on the EVE Champion Tier NOW!!!!! HERE: https://t.co/GWgpbH8czb#InternationalWomensDay #EVEwrestling #wrestling #Womenswrestling #TrendingNow #women #aew #wwe #njpw #tna #trending pic.twitter.com/X5e4XGIeHk

— EVE – Riot Grrrls of Wrestling (@ProWrestlingEVE) June 5, 2026

Ray’s last match as Alba Fyre in WWE came on April 16, where she wrestled NXT Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley at WWE World ahead of WrestleMania. She wrestled a match on “WWE Main Event” against Jordynne Grace the month prior, and her last “WWE SmackDown” match came as a loss against Tiffany Stratton on the February 20 edition of the show. In addition to holding the NXT UK Women’s title, Ray was also a one-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion alongside Isla Dawn.

She left WWE as part of the post-WrestleMania releases and departures in April that saw the likes of the entire Wyatt Sicks leave the company, as well as The New Day, the Motor City Machine Guns, Santos Escobar, and more.

Despite successfully defending his AEW Men’s World Championship against Rush on the June 3 episode of “AEW Dynamite,” there was a big concern surrounding MJF’s health after the show. It was reported that the current champion had hyperextended his knee at some point during the match with Rush, which inevitably forced him to pull out of a match against Bobby Orlando for Beyond Wrestling. 

Considering that he wasn’t medically cleared to travel, let alone compete at Beyond Wrestling’s show, some AEW fans have questioned whether MJF will be healthy enough to defend his title at the upcoming Forbidden Door pay-per-view. Bryan Alvarez has already reported that injury is real but shouldn’t be too serious, and that report has been echoed by Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer claimed that MJF’s knee is swollen and the champion is in some pain, but he has been told that MJF is, in the words of an AEW source, “one million percent doing what is scheduled for San Jose,” and any creative plans are not in any real jeopardy.

Meltzer made sure to note that he is not aware of what MJF is doing at Forbidden Door as of yet, or in any scheduled TV plans have to be altered in the case that he isn’t medically cleared to wrestle weekly. MJF has already had to tell Mark Briscoe that he isn’t getting a shot at the title despite Briscoe’s consistently calling him out, and Andrade El Idolo has also thrown his name in the mix due to not being happy with Don Callis wanting to work with MJF on a more regular basis. There is still a month left until Forbidden Door, and with stars from both CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling being involved in the show, MJF’s next challenger could come from any corner of the globe. 

Vince McMahon’s controversial exit from WWE and TKO was sparked by the allegations of sexual assault and trafficking of Janel Grant, but his alleged actions had an effect on a wide range of people. According to his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, the controversy surrounding her father affected her daughter and a future in pro wrestling she contemplated.

“Aurora used to want to [get into pro wrestling], and she even got in the ring with Nattie, and she rolled around a little bit,” Stephanie recalled during an episode of her  “What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon” podcast. “But then, you know, everything kind of happened with my dad and me leaving and it was an awkward time, right in the time that she would’ve really been making her decision.”

Stephanie then pointed out that her daughter could someday pivot back to pro wrestling someday, but right now, she has her mind set on getting her doctorate in physical therapy. “And she’s grown up with all of our injuries, which is why – I think – she kind of has a proclivity towards it,” she added, speculating where the second option came from. “She’s been on the road and she’s seen how everything operates; she’s fascinated with sports injuries, like, fascinated with it! … It’s kind of a calling for her; but that’s not to say she couldn’t do both! I mean, she’d be such a natural.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Elsewhere on “SmackDown,” a vignette confirmed former Judgment Day member Finn Balor as the newest member of the blue brand roster. His return is set for next week, when he, Jey Uso, LA Knight, and Royce Keys face off in the opening round of the King of the Ring tournament.

After shedding the El Grande Americano mask in AAA, Chad Gable resurfaced as himself in a “SmackDown” backstage segment involving Sami Zayn and General Manager Nick Aldis, the latter of whom Gable then joined for a private meeting. Later in the show, Gable sought out his WrestleMania 41 opponent Rey Fenix to apologize for making a mockery of Lucha Libre over the last year. Fenix forgave Gable.

In “SmackDown’s” opening segment, GUNTHER demanded justice for the Clash In Italy outcome, which saw Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes retain his title via pinfall despite “The Ring General” positioning his foot under the bottom rope. Rhodes offered GUNTHER a rematch for the title in Bologna in return. GUNTHER, however, requested that he personally pick the stipulation for it. As such, fans will have to wait until next week to find out the specific date and condition attached to the Rhodes-GUNTHER rematch.

The main event featured another first round bout in the King of the Ring tournament: Trick Williams vs. Damian Priest vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Bron Breakker. Mysterio picked up the win after Liv Morgan delivered a low blow to Priest, thus allowing “Dirty Dom” to follow with a 619 and a Frog Splash. Breakker and Williams, meanwhile, remained wiped out on the outside floor thanks to the former’s clothesline through the announce table.