WWE SmackDown Live Results: Hulk Hogan Tribute

July 25, 2025 John Kleinchester NEWS, RECOMMENDED, Show Reports
Photo Courtesy: WWE

July 25, 2025
Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH

By: John Kleinchester

WWE SmackDown Live Results

  • Roxanne Perez over Alexa Bliss via Roll-Up in 7:21
  • Jade Cargill over Chelsea Green via Jaded in 5:12
  • Jacob Fatu over The Miz via Samoan Drop in 6:57
  • WWE Tag Team Championship: Rey Fenix & Andrade over The Wyatt Sicks via DQ in 6:18

 

Ten Bell Salute

SmackDown from Cleveland kicked off with a tribute to Hulk Hogan with a large portion of the roster on the stage, including Ted Dibiase, Uncle Howdy, Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Duggan, and Jimmy Hart. After the ten-bell salute, the crowd chanted “Hogan.”

After that, an extensive Hulk Hogan promo package was played, highlighting his career, with Triple H calling him “the ultimate hero until the end.” There was no mention of his racist remarks that he never apologized for. After an ad break, Joe Tessitore at (very) least called Hulk Hogan a “complicated” individual. 

Hometown Hero

Cleveland’s own Logan Paul was up next and claimed that the crowd was chanting “Thank you, Logan.” Paul claimed that he had “made” Cleveland, and he was going to have a live episode of his podcast. This brought out Jelly Roll to a huge ovation. Sigh. Jelly set, he was getting into the ring to represent kids who were picked on by jocks like Paul. Suddenly, Drew McIntyre appeared, which prompted Jelly Roll to sing the first line of Randy Orton’s theme, bringing Orton to the ring. A brawl ensued, and Jelly hit a Bossman Slam on Logan Paul to end the segment. 

An Andrade and Rey Fenix promo package aired with them both admitting they knew who the other was. Yes, you read that correctly. Fenix and Andrade would face The Wyatt Sicks for the tag team championships in the main event later tonight.

 

Are They Friends Yet?

The first match of the evening was Alexa Bliss taking on Roxanne Perez. This was the first week we didn’t get a promo with one of them convincing the other to come to ringside with them. Charlotte Flair even donned the black pom poms that Bliss had last week. Progress? As with previous weeks, outside interference from the partners played a role in this match. Bliss had Perez beat, but instead of winning the match, Bliss hit Twisted Bliss on Raquel Rodriguez with the reasoning being that Rodriguez was about to hit a powerbomb on Flair on the outside. Bliss got back into the ring and was immediately rolled up by Perez, who held the ropes for the win. 

Later, a busted-up Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair had a moment, realizing they might be friends after all. 

Jade Cargill vs. Chelsea Green

Jade Cargill was interviewed in the backstage area and called herself a natural-born champion. Chelsea Green appeared and said that she should be facing Tiffany Stratton at SummerSlam. Jade Cargill then snuck up on Chelsea from behind and attacked her. (Also worth noting is that the MFTs were seen in the background during this scene for some reason.) The two fought their way through Gorilla Position and out to the ring where a referee appeared and suddenly a match was started. Jade Cargill mostly dominated and picked up the win with Jaded.

After the match, Secret Hervice attacked, which brought out Tiffany Stratton. Stratton and Cargill fought off the heels, and Jade picked up the belt after the fact, kissing it and hesitating before returning it to Stratton. 

After a commercial break, another Hulk Hogan video aired featuring Hogan beating The Iron Sheik. 

Does an Unconscious Signature Hold Up in Court?

Next, contract forger Cody Rhodes came out and acknowledged the complicated nature of Hulk Hogan’s contributions to pro wrestling as a whole. Cody then tried to sell his match against John Cena at SummerSlam as featuring “violence” and tried to convince Cena to come to East Rutherford, NJ, as the “old” John Cena. And that was about it. Shrug.

Jacob Fatu cut a promo on Solo Sikoa when The Miz appeared and said that Fatu took him out six weeks ago, and he got a match against Fatu tonight, noting that he was also from Cleveland. Miz slapped Fatu, which directly led to their match. 

But before the match, an Aleister Black and Damian Priest promo aired. It was announced that their match would occur next week on SmackDown from Newark, NJ. 

The Miz vs. Jacob Fatu

This was the match you’d expect. The MFTs (which, to Wai’s point a few weeks ago, makes no sense as a plural) got involved, but Fatu won with his pop-up Samoan drop. After the match, the MFTs attacked Fatu, prompting Jimmy Uso to come out and assist with a steel chair. Talla Tonga no-sold a chair shot and then resumed their beatdown of Fatu. Fatu recovered until Talla Tonga hit him with a big lariat. The crowd chanted “fuck you, Solo” afterward, and it was not censored on USA. 

Backstage, the Street Profits complained about not being in the qualifying match the previous week when DIY approached and said they would rectify the mess the Profits had made. DIY told the Profits to stay out of their way. 

Backstage, Kiana James revealed herself as the “official representation” of Giulia. Zelina Vega approached and demanded a rematch, and it was announced that they would face each other next week on SmackDown. 

Tag Team Championship

The main event of the night featured Andrade and Rey Fenix challenging The Wyatt Sicks for their newly won tag team titles. Andrade hit The Message, but Nikki Cross pulled the referee out of the ring, causing the disqualification. This marked the beginning of the revolving door for the tag division, with Fraxiom and MCMG coming out to attack the Sicks. The Street Profits and DIY then showed up, and things went into another gear. Nick Aldis (where has he been?) announced a TLC match for the Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam. A brawl ensued as the show went off the air. 

Final Thoughts

Hulk Hogan was an immeasurable contributor to professional wrestling. However, only in this day and age  can the WWE get away with using a quick line about him being “complicated” to gloss over awful behavior that he has never attempted to apologize for. 

 

About John Kleinchester 277 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 jkleinchester@gmail.com.
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