Smackdown Results: The Favor Revealed, Kevin Owens Off Mania

April 4, 2025 John Kleinchester NEWS, Show Reports

April 4, 2025
Allstate Arena – Chicago, IL

By: John Kleinchester

WWE Smackdown Results

  • Rey Fenix over Nathan Frazer via Mexican Muscle Buster in 8:19 (Recommended) 
  • LA Knight over Tama Tonga via BFT in 9:15
  • #1 Contenders’ Match: MCMG over DIY via Roll-Up in 9:03
  • Naomi over B-Fab via Kneeling Lungblower in 2:04
  • Last Man Standing #1 Contender’s Match: Jacob Fatu over Braun Strowman via Flying Hip Attack in 15:10

 

CM Punk, Back in Chicago

The first Smackdown back in the United States after several weeks abroad kicked off with Chicago’s own CM Punk coming down to the ring to a huge reaction. Punk started off by saying that “they” told him that the best crowds were overseas, and with that, he grabbed the camera and showed off the crowd. 

Punk said that he was main eventing Wrestlemania, and the crowd chanted, “You deserve it.” Punk responded, “I earned it,” and now the hard work begins. This brought out Paul Heyman, who called Punk his best friend and said he belonged in the main event of Wrestlemania. Heyman went over their history, ending with the favor leading into War Games, and asked what the favor was that he owed Punk. Heyman noted that Roman Reigns wasn’t there yet, and Punk responded that he would tell Reigns to his face when he shows up. A graphic then popped up saying that CM Punk would reveal the favor later tonight.

Rey Fenix Debuts in WWE

The first match of the night was the debuting Rey Fenix taking on NXT Tag Team Champion Nathan Frazer. A scary moment occurred early in the match when Frazer’s foot got caught in the ropes when attempting a dive to the outside on Fenix. Thankfully, it seemed as though he was okay as the match continued. 

Fenix then hit a Goodbye Amigo kick and a Fire Driver for a big near fall. He followed that up with an MMB or Mexican Muscle Buster for the victory. Fenix was the crowd favorite, but other than the minor slip-up, Nathan Frazer shone as well. After the match, Byron Saxton interviewed Fenix, asking him how it felt to finally debut in WWE. Fenix said he had a lot of history in Chicago, but tonight is not his debut; instead, tonight, he is reborn. 

 

Legado del Fantasma

Backstage, Santos Escobar reacted to the Fenix debut, saying that Los Garza should be more like Fenix. This clearly upset Berto and Ange,l and Berto said he was better than Fenix. Escobar liked Berto’s fire and said he would talk to Nick Aldis to get Berto a match against Fenix. 

 

McIntyre Turns to Prayer

A pre-produced promo showed Drew McIntyre donning an eyepatch after the windshield incident with Damian Priest last week. McIntyre said he needed to pray, and everyone knows that when he prays, bad things happen.

 

Strowman Wants to Complete His Grand Slam

Byron Saxton interviewed Braun Strowman ahead of his Last Man Standing match with Jacob Fatu. He said that he would buzzsaw his way through Fatu and then win the United States title at Wrestlemania, completing his “Grand Slam.” Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga interrupted, talking trash, but LA Knight intervened, telling Strowman to keep his eyes on the prize. Tonga said he was going to take Knight out tonight, and this led directly into their match. 

LA Knight vs. Tama Tonga

As one might expect, Tama Tonga was accompanied to ringside by Solo Sikoa, who distracted Knight, allowing Tonga to send him off the apron and into the announce desk, taking control of the match. After a commercial break, Solo Sikoa interfered again, but Knight kicked out of Tonga’s roll-up, then hit the BFT for the win. 

 

Heyman’s Answer is Yes

Backstage, Byron Saxton asked Paul Heyman if CM Punk had given him any other indication of the favor. Heyman said that no matter what the favor is, his answer is yes. As he was talking, a car pulled up behind him, and Seth Rollins emerged laughing. Rollins said this favor affects him too, so he would be present for the big reveal later tonight as well.  

Another Aleister Black Teaser

This week’s Aleister Black promo featured quarters. Get it? Twenty-five! April 25th!

 

 

Charlotte & Stratton Face-to-Face

Wade Barrett moderated a face-to-face between WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton and challenger Charlotte Flair. Flair said that there was no comparison between her and Stratton. Stratton retorted, saying that Charlotte will always come second to her Daddy Ric Flair. Charlotte responded by saying that Stratton was just regurgitating what every opponent of hers had said over the last ten years. The crowd then booed Charlotte, totally disrupting her promo. Tiffany said that after Wrestlemania, Charlotte would be alone, just like she is outside of the ring and then referred to Charlotte being divorced three times. Charlotte tried to come back, saying that Kaiser was in her DMs, but Stratton walked off as her music played. 

Women’s Tag Team Gauntlet Match

Nick Aldis announced that next week, there would be a Women’s Tag Team Gauntlet Match, with the winner getting a shot at Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez’s tag titles.

 

#1 Contenders’ Tag Team Match 

The next match saw Motor City Machine Guns taking on DIY with a title shot against The Street Profits at stake. After an ad break, Johnny Gargano broke up a Skull and Bones attempt, and Chris Sabin inadvertently exposed the turnbuckle. Meet in the Middle was avoided by Sabin, and MCMG hit the Facial (it’s really called that?). Ciampa then attempted a cover with his feet on the ropes, but the referee caught it. Ciampa then charged at Sabin, but he moved out of the way, sending Ciampa’s head into the exposed turnbuckle and allowing MCMG to pick up the win. After the match, Sabin & Shelley had a stare down with the Profits. 

Mello Don’t Miz & Pretty Deadly

Backstage, Miz & Mello ran into Pretty Deadly and insulted them for losing in their hometown last week. The two groups exchanged barbs with Pretty Deadly making fun of Miz having many tag partners over the years. 

 

B-Fab vs. Naomi

Naomi was jumped by Jade Cargill while making her entrance to this match, and by the time she escaped into the ring, B-Fab took full advantage. B-Fab was giving it 100%, but the crowd was not biting on any of her near falls. Naomi ended up picking up the win with a Kneeling Lungblower in just over two minutes. After the match, Naomi called out Jade, and she appeared from behind Naomi, laying her out. Security ran down, and Jade took them all out, which brought out Nick Aldis. Aldis announced Naomi vs. Jade Cargill at Wrestlemania, and both women were elated. 

Priest Responds to McIntyre

A response video from Damian Priest was shown. In it, Priest pointed out all of McIntyre’s logic flaws and challenged McIntyre to meet him in the ring face-to-face next week. 

 

Kevin Owens Sidelined with Injury

Nick Aldis was in the ring and made some vague, ominous comments about “not doing this at home” before introducing Kevin Owens. Owens said that he had been wrestling for twenty-five years, and he gave everything every time he stepped into the ring. Owens said that it was time for him to pay the price, and he’s been dealing with a serious neck injury for the last four months, and he has to go get surgery. He said that not getting to be in the ring with Randy Orton at Wrestlemania sucks and thanked WWE for allowing him to tell everyone. Owens said he would never take any of this for granted, and ended by saying “Thank you and I’m sorry.” Before Owens could leave, Randy Orton came down the aisle, visibly sighing heavily. The two stared each other down, and then Owens stormed off. Aldis then informed Orton that he no longer has a match for Wrestlemania, so Orton responded by hitting Aldis with an RKO and then stared at the Wrestlemania sign.

 

 

Last Man Standing Match

The main event of the night was the #1 Contender’s Last Man Standing match for a shot at LA Knight’s United States Championship. Things started off hot as Fatu and Strowman started brawling as the bell rang. Fatu hit back-to-back moonsaults on Strowman as he rolled out of the ring to help get to his feet to beat the first ten count of the match. After the commercial break, Fatu hit a dive onto Strowman on the outside, sending Strowman over the announce desk for a nine count. Strowman then nailed Fatu in the head with a steel chair and followed that up by the Strowman Express through the timekeeper’s area for another nine count. 

After another ad break, Strowman suplexed Fatu off some production crates onto three tables, but both men were able to get to their feet yet again. As they both got back into the ring, Fatu nailed Strowman with a flying hip attack through a table placed in the corner. Fatu got to his feet at nine, and Strowman got up just after the ten count, making Fatu the #1 Contender for the United States title. 

Announced for Next Week from Seattle, WA

  • Cody Rhodes Returns
  • Women’s Tag Team Gauntlet Match
  • Rey Fenix vs. Berto
  • Damian Priest / Drew McIntyre Face-to-Face

 

Roman Reigns Shows Up to Work at 10:43 pm

Reigns finally showed up to the arena with 17 minutes left in the show and blew right past Paul Heyman and stormed to the ring, actually making it into the ring before the main section of his music hit. Reigns said that CM Punk wouldn’t be back in WWE or in the main event of Wrestlemania if it weren’t for him. Reigns called out Punk, but this brought out the other hometown boy, Seth Rollins. Rollins said that Reigns underestimated CM Punk as the crowd chanted “What’s the favor?” Reigns said that he called Punk out, not Rollins, and finally CM Punk emerged. 

Punk talked about his history with Paul Heyman and that he was going to force Roman Reigns out of his comfort zone. Punk revealed the favor to be Paul Heyman, his best friend, to be in his corner at Wrestlemania. Reigns scoffed and laughed, saying that even if he let Heyman, he wouldn’t do it. Heyman started to cry as Reigns demanded he tell Punk no, but Heyman said he couldn’t. Reigns backed Heyman into the corner when Punk jumped him and hit Reigns with the GTS. Rollins, having watched on the whole time, backed down when Punk squared up with him as the show went off the air.

 

 

Final Thoughts

While Chicago was a pretty good crowd, especially for all things CM Punk, there was an obvious difference between this US crowd and the prior few weeks. The Fenix vs. Frazer match was very good and highlighted both men’s abilities. Kevin Owens’ injury, if legit, is some pretty bad news. Strangely, as Owens stormed off, he seemed to get into it with a fan along the entranceway. The camera cut away to Orton in the ring for an unusual amount of time, seemingly indicating Owens was legit upset about missing Wrestlemania. 

The Charlotte/Tiffany Stratton segment was weird. It reeked of trying to be “edgy,” but Charlotte just came off as desperate both in and out of Kayfabe. Tiffany did much better, though, in holding her own and commanding the crowd.  

About John Kleinchester 220 Articles
John Kleinchester is a wrestling reporter from New Jersey, covering the sport since 2022. He is a graduate of Ithaca College and can be reached at [email protected].
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