DAYTON, Ohio – Backlash is one night away as the superstars invade the Buckeye State for WWE Smackdown today – Friday, May 9 – from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. This episode is available to watch on multiple streaming services for free. If you can’t watch Smackdown on USA Network today at 8 p.m. Eastern on cable, you can utilize free trials from FuboTV and DirecTV Stream. In addition, you can take advantage of promotional offers from Sling TV. You can also watch later this week on Peacock, which offers a premium monthly subscription for $7.99 a month or a premium annual subscription for $79.99 a year, which saves you 17% off in one payment. In tonight’s jam-packed episode, John Cena returns to Smackdown the night before his WWE Championship match against Randy Orton at Backlash and Jade Cargill squares off with Nia Jax for a No. 1 Contender’s match for Tiffany Stratton’s World Championship title. Orton warned Cena last week that he is bringing back vintage Orton and intends to punt Cena’s head clean off. Will the 17-time World Champion have the final say before their encounter arrives? Orton has slithered away from Cena on multiple occasions, and it seems likely he will have the last laugh again tonight. Who will stand over who when the credits roll? Cargill and Jax clash to see who is next in line. Naomi has made it her mission to terrorize Cargill. Is another interference in order for the high-stakes matchup? LA Knight will team with Damian Priest against United States Champion Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa tonight. What role will Sikoa play against two of Fatu’s challengers in the intriguing match? Aleister Black was victorious in his return to the ring over the Miz before a showdown with Carmelo Hayes. Is Black vs Hayes on tap for the go-home episode of Backlash? When is WWE Backlash? WWE Backlash will take place May 10 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It’s the 20th Backlash The event is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. and stream exclusively on Peacock. Here’s more information on how to watch WWE Smackdown on TV and streaming services. What: WWE Friday Night Smackdown When: Friday, May 9, 2025 Time: 8 p.m. Eastern Where: Nutter Center | Dayton, Ohio Channel: USA Network Best streaming options: FuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and Sling TV (half off first month). You can watch later this week on Peacock too. Cable Channel Finder: AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish, Verizon Fios NOTE: WWE Friday Night Smackdown episodes are available on Peacock’s extensive WWE catalog a few days after airtime. What is WWE Smackdown? Smackdown is one of the longer running television programs in history. It first aired April 29, 1999. Through the years, it has been rebranded, first as Smackdown! from 1999 to 2008, and then Smackdown Live from 2016 to 2019. Its companion program, WWE RAW, airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern. Didn’t see Monday’s show? Here’s a recap below.