After the first-round matches on Friday Night Smackdown, several top athletes in the blue brand moved to the quarterfinal stage of the King of the Ring 2024. The highlight of the night was Randy Orton beating AJ Styles in the first round to progress further in the tournament. The Viper and the Phenomenal One gave a good match after losing their respective matches in Backlash 2024.
Randy was impressive right from the word go. The two wrestlers in their 40s pulled out great moves. The crowd was invested in the match and totally loved it. In the end, Randy delivered an RKO and claimed a win through pinfall. In the first match of the night, Nia Jax was up against Naomi. The eradicator had attacked Naomi in the previous episode of Smackdown.
While it was a good opportunity for Naomi to avenge Nia, it did not turn out to be a good night for the former world champion. Jax delivered a Banzai drop and forced Naomi to lose through pinfall. What followed was the match between Carmelo Hayes and Baron Corbin. It was the first faceoff between the duo in the main roster after being a part of NXT in the last year or so.
Tama Tonga and Women's Tag Team Champions progress further
Carmelo was impressive and defeated the former King of the Ring through pinfall. After a good match between the two, Hayes delivered a small package to enter the second round. Tama Tonga claimed a win against Angelo Dawkins, who replaced Bobby Lashley for the match. The Bloodline's new addition showed good skills in the ring and delivered a jumping reverse STO to beat Dawkins.
The Tag team champion duo of Jade Cargill claimed wins in their respective matches. Jade was up against Piper Niven. The storm claimed a win by delivering Jaded. Bianca Belair took on the vicious Candice LaRae in the first round. The EST dominated the match and delivered a KOD to pin LaRae. There is a good chance of them facing each other in the upcoming rounds.
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