Tiffany Stratton defeated Lash Legend to retain the Women’s United States Championship during “WWE SmackDown.” 

The champion was defending the title for the second time since beating Giulia for the title in April, having defeated Kiana James earlier in the month. She was accompanied by Chelsea Green while the challenger was accompanied by Nia Jax at ringside.

Legend dominated the early stages of the bout with her power advantage, catching Stratton every time she sought to make use of her faster-paced high-flying offense. Legend continued to wear Stratton down on the mat, but the champion rallied back to create some space for a somersault back elbow into a springboard stunner for the near-fall. 

That spell didn’t last long, with Legend getting her own near-fall and locking in the Lash Extension. Stratton maneuvered it into a crucifix cover for a two-count, going to the top rope and having to kick Jax off the apron. That gave Legend the time to get the better of Stratton, as Green ran Jax into the ring post on the outside, thus prompting Legend to turn her attention to Green. 

Stratton took advantage of that distraction for herself and rolled Legend up for the three-count, getting the win and the title retention. 

Legend and Jax will be challenging for the Women’s Tag Team Championship this weekend at Saturday Night’s Main Event. 

Though she occupies a prominent position on AEW TV, Harley Cameron has only been wrestling for a few years. Sitting down for an interview with Good Karma Wrestling, Cameron discussed the process of learning the business week after week not only in front of thousands in attendance, but also hundreds of thousands watching at home.

“I have been learning to wrestle on live TV,” Cameron said. “I think that every single match is a chance to learn … what did work, what didn’t work, how did I get this outcome? … Even learning from your mistakes – as cliche as it sounds, it’s a beautiful thing to go, ‘I just want to be better each match and progress.'”

Cameron acknowledged that her confidence level in the ring and on the mic has steadily increased as she’s gained experience, and she pointed out that she’s done enough to become a champion in AEW. She and Willow Nightingale became the first-ever AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions together in 2025.

“I know that I’m newer than most people, but I’ve got that passion to do better and I think that it’s showing in the things I’ve been able to do,” she continued. “It’s a cool process. I’m glad everyone’s on the journey with me.”

Cameron and Nightingale lost the tag title to Divine Dominion this past March at AEW Revolution, and then lost a rematch, causing them to disband. Since then, Cameron has slowed down a bit with in-ring appearances, though she has continued making appearances on AEW shows and teamed up with Mina Shirakawa for a tag match earlier this month.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Good Karma Wrestling and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

AEW may have at least a year and a half left on its current media rights deal, but the company and where its weekly shows and pay-per-views will air in the future have been the topic of conversation for months now. That’s ever since Warner Bros. Discovery was bought, in a still-pending deal, by Paramount Skydance.

Former AEW World Champion, who is fighting for the gold once again at Double or Nothing, MJF spoke about the acquisition, and how he believes AEW will be just fine throughout the process and after on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” While he didn’t know all the details about what might air where, or how things may be bundled, he said he does know one thing that has him confident.

“What I do know is that Warner Bros. Discovery loves us,” he said. “I also know that Tony Khan… is friendly with the Ellison family. Guys, I think we’re going to be okay. To be honest, no matter what happens, we’re going to land on our feet. Right now, look at Cablevision. The heavy hitters are Fox News and live sports, and we’re live sports. So, we’re going to land on our feet no matter what happens, but, I have a feeling you’re going to be seeing us on TBS and Turner Broadcasting for a very, very, very, very long time.”

While shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition in April, the deal still is not final. According to the New York Post, Paramount Skydance is aiming to finalize the deal as soon as July, but CEO David Ellison said he expects the deal, worth $110 billion, to close by the end of September.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “The Ariel Helwani Show” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s live coverage for “WWE SmackDown” on May 22, 2026, coming to you live from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky!

Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley will be making an appearance in the opening moments of tonight’s show with something on her mind to share. With Ripley set to join forces with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss to take on Cargill and her allies Michin and B-Fab at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event tomorrow night, Cargill called out Ripley during last Friday’s edition of “SmackDown” and challenged her to define her title against her at WWE Clash in Italy on May 31.

Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov, and Sami Zayn brought back the US Open Challenge back during their recent respective reigns as United States Champions, and now Women’s United States Champion Tiffany Stratton looks to do the same as she has issued an Open Challenge for her title to anyone who wishes to answer the call. Not only will this mark Stratton’s second ever defense since dethroning Giulia on the April 24 episode of “SmackDown”, but she also most recently defended her title against Kiana James on the May 8 episode of “SmackDown”.

Speaking of Hayes, he will be making an appearance of his own on tonight’s show with intentions to address United States Champion Trick Williams and Williams’ close ally Lil Yachty. Hayes emerged victorious against Ricky Saints last Friday, rolling him up with his feet on the ropes in the closing moments of the match just moments after Saints had been caught doing the same thing.

As he prepares to challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Clash in Italy, GUNTHER will be making an appearance on tonight’s show with something on his mind to share. GUNTHER emerged victorious against Royce Keys in a Number One Contenders Match last Friday to secure a shot at Rhodes’ title at the May 31 Premium Live Event, but Rhodes left GUNTHER laid out in the ring moments after the match.

Additionally, Shinsuke Nakamura will be going head-to-head with MFT’s Talla Tonga after Talla sent Nakamura crashing through a table backstage last Friday.