The May 8, 2026, episode of WWE SmackDown ended with one of the weirdest and somewhat fun segments of the year as rapper Lil Yachty was revealed as the Gingerbread Man during a funeral segment led by Trick Williams.
The storyline began over the last few weeks on SmackDown when Zayn destroyed the Gingerbread Man mascot during his more aggressive heel run.
Lil Yachty emerges from the casket during SmackDown’s funeral segment
On this week’s SmackDown, WWE showed some funny tribute videos celebrating the “life” of the Gingerbread Man. The company edited the mascot into famous wrestling moments like Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant, Stone Cold Steve Austin getting arrested, Kurt Angle’s famous milk truck segment, Cody Rhodes winning the Undisputed Championship against Roman Reigns, and many more.
The final segment started with Trick Williams walking out with a goblet and pouring out a drink to honor his “fallen friend.” Standing next to a flower-covered casket, Williams tried to keep things serious while a choir backed up his emotional speech.
Things started changing when Sami Zayn interrupted the funeral. He called out Williams for turning SmackDown into a joke. He mocked the expensive setup, joking about the “solid oak casket,” all the roses, and the “off-key” choir.
Zayn said SmackDown main events used to feel important and accused Williams of disrespecting the US title. He admitted that Williams had gotten under his skin and promised revenge at WWE Backlash 2026.
After sarcastically apologizing for Williams’ “loss,” Zayn suddenly attacked him and started beating him down in the ring.
Then came the big, surprising moment.
As Zayn stood in the ring holding the title, the Gingerbread Man suddenly sat up inside the casket, Undertaker style. He then took off the giant gingerbread head and revealed Lil Yachty underneath.
Yachty then attacked Zayn with a candy cane kendo stick before Williams recovered and hit Zayn with the Trickshot finisher. The segment ended with Williams and Yachty standing tall together over Zayn.
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