WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Ron Killings attacks John Cena twice, setting up a match next week

Killings will get a chance at revenge when he faces Cena next Friday night

Shortly after John Cena made fairly easy work of R-Truth at Saturday Night's Main Event, Truth was informed his WWE contract would not be renewed and he would be released from the promotion. Fan and locker room backlash to WWE's decision was so strong that WWE reversed course and gave Truth a new deal.

After appearing on Raw this past Monday, cutting his hair and reverting to his birth name, Ron Killings, he showed up at SmackDown on Friday night with a pair of attacks on undisputed WWE champion John Cena. Killings would parlay those two attacks into a demand for a match with Cena next Friday, a request that SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis granted.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

Ron Killings attacks John Cena twice, setting up a match next week

John Cena opened the show with a promo discussing his master plan, which he claims began the moment he announced his retirement tour. Cena said he used that moment to scout the WWE locker room, focusing on winning the Royal Rumble, with the Elimination Chamber as a back up option to get to a title. This eventually led to Cody Rhodes interrupting, then Randy Orton and then LA Knight before Cena left the ring. As Cena headed to the back, he was assaulted by Ron Killings, who beat down the undisputed WWE champion.

Killings would strike again later in the show. Cena ran into Jey Uso backstage and said to tell Killings he would see him in the ring. Cena would go to the ring but it was CM Punk who came to meet him. Punk ran Cena down, saying Cena knows he can't beat him, and saving wrestling meant he not only would go to Saudi Arabia, but would follow Cena to Mars if he had to. At that point, Killings attacked, putting Cena down and choking him out in an STF until security broke things up. Later, Nick Aldis would ask Killings what he wanted and Killings said he wanted a match with Cena next week, which Aldis granted.

It's wild that fan backlash to Killings' release was so loud that WWE not only brought him back, but led to him ditching the R-Truth comedy gimmick to take on a serious edge. It's a big risk, because fans loved the R-Truth character and that is a big part of why the backlash was so strong. Now, if Killings' sharper edges fail to connect, what will the end result be? It's hard to reverse course after all of this. Regardless, fans have bought in thus far and two successful attacks on Cena leading to a more serious rematch of Cena's one-sided Saturday Night's Main Event win should be exciting television. Grade: B+

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?

• King of the Ring quarterfinal -- Randy Orton def. LA Knight, Carmelo Hayes and Aleister Black via pinfall with an RKO on Hayes. Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker interfered late, costing Knight the match and setting Orton up to hit an RKO on Hayes onto Knight's body to score the pin and advance to the semifinals.
• Jacob Fatu cut a promo explaining that Solo Sikoa can't take credit or talk behind his back just because they are from the same bloodline. Sikoa interrupted on the video board and said he will forgive Fatu as long as Fatu apologizes, and otherwise, Sikoa said he will take Fatu out.
• Queen of the Ring quarterfinal -- Jade Cargill def. Michin, Nia Jax and Piper Niven via pinfall when she hit Jaded on Niven to advance to the semifinals.
• Nia Jax laid out Tiffany Stratton. Stratton was in the ring to interrupt a promo by Money in the Bank winner Naomi, who had told Stratton that she would cash in when the champion least expected it. Jax then appeared and overwhelmed Stratton after a bit of physical back-and-forth. Jax also prevented Naomi from cashing in her Money in the Bank contract, telling Naomi that Stratton was hers.
• Queen of the Ring quarterfinal -- Alexa Bliss def. Charlotte Flair, Alba Fyre and Candice LeRae via pinfall after hitting LeRae with Sister Abigail. Earlier in the show, Fyre replaced Chelsea Green, who called Nick Aldis to say she was poolside and to postpone the match to next week. Aldis refused, leaving Green out of the tournament. Flair had Fyre in the Figure-Eight at the same time that Bliss hit her finish, but Fyre did not tap out until the second after Bliss got the pin.
• King of the Ring quarterfinal -- Cody Rhodes def. Shinsuke Nakamura, Andrade and Damian Priest via pinfall after a Cross Rhodes on Nakamura. Before the match, Rhodes ran into CM Punk backstage and said that the two of them could only run away from each other for so long. Punk said he knows and wished Rhodes luck.