Results
- Lash Legend & Nia Jax def. Asuka & Kairi Sane
- Giulia def. Alba Fyre
- Carmelo Hayes & Ilja Dragunov def. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa
- Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy vs. JC Mateo & Tonga Loa (WWE Tag Team Championships) (No Contest)
Aleister Black is (still) not done with Damian Priest
This week’s episode of WWE Friday Night Smackdown, which was taped earlier this week in Hershey, Pennsylvania, opened with a recap of John Cena’s retirement. We then went to the GIANT Center parking lot, where it was shown that Cody Rhodes is in attendance and will appear later on the program.
The first segment of the night saw Damian Priest head to the ring for a promo. He was riding the momentum of a mixed tag win from last weekend’s Smackdown, teaming with Terror Twin Rhea Ripley to defeat rivals Aleister Black and Zelina.
After a quick “Thank you Cena” mention, Priest said that he can look toward 2026 after handling Zelina and Black. It was at this point that he was cut off by Zelina, who said he’s not a real man because he got his “Mami” to fight for him.
Black’s music hit, and Priest was under the assumption that his rival would appear on stage. This was poor wrestling IQ from Priest, as we all knew Black would come from the crowd and get Priest from behind. Priest had control of the fight at ringside briefly after scoring a South of Heaven onto the ring apron. Priest whipped out a SlimJim table and set it up at ringside. Black brought a steel chair into the mix.
Priest wobbled Priest with a spinning back elbow, then came off the ring apron with a double knees onto Priest, sending him through the table. This brawl continued backstage after the break, with Black bashing Priest with a shovel, then scoring his spinning back kick. They were surrounded by security here, who apparently were busy during their prolonged fight near the ring. Priest thought his never-ending feud with Black had finally come to an end – he was wrong. It’s better than being left off TV, I guess. I’m a little over this feud, considering how long it has treaded water on Smackdown for.
Lash Legend and Nia Jax score win over the tag champs
The first match of the night saw WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka and Kairi Sane face the newly-formed duo of Lash Legend and Nia Jax. Recent main roster call-up Legend beat tag division member Alexa Bliss last week, and this week the duo had the chance to begin angling for a future title shot with a win.
Legend caught Sane coming off the ropes with a nasty uppercut early in the match, giving her team some momentum before tagging Jax in. The Kabuki Warriors sent both Legend and Jax out of the ring before the break, allowing Sane to score a huge InSane Elbow off the top and to the outside onto them.
We were shown on the broadcast that a blind tag during the commercial break allowed Legend to floor Sane with a huge front kick. Legend and Jax tried for a double-team suplex to Sane, but were instead both hit with a DDT. This allowed Asuka to come in with a hot tag, dropping both of her opponents with a top-rope missile dropkick, a series of strikes to Jax, then an armbar attempt.
Jax fought out of the armbar, but was hit with a PK moments later. Legend broke up the pin attempt. Asuka tried climbing to the top rope for a move but was stopped by Legend, who briefly distracted her before getting taken off the ring apron by Sane.
Asuka avoided a top-rope move from Jax, instead scoring a powerbomb off the top. Legend pulled Asuka out of the ring and threw her into the steel stairs. Sane tried to come off the top with a move but was caught by Jax, who hit her with a chokeslam. Jax then came off the top with an AnNiaLator for the pinfall win.
In a statement victory, Jax and Legend took down the current tag champs. However, their celebration was short-lived, as Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair hit the ring looking for a fight. Flair and Bliss had the upper hand in the fight, causing Jax and Legend to retreat. Wouldn’t surprise me if some sort of triple threat title match emerges from this, maybe on Smackdown’s first episode of 2026 (which will be three hours).
Cody Rhodes shows up to Drew McIntyre’s home lookin’ for a fight
In shades of 2009 Triple H crashing into Randy Orton’s home to attack him, we were shown footage of Cody Rhodes appearing at the Drew McIntyre compound for a fight.
This attack came at a surprising time: As McIntyre was meeting with Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis, discussing the plan to end his suspension. Aldis said that, as part of the terms of McIntyre’s return, he will get a title match against Rhodes. Quite the gift to receive after being suspended for weeks, yet still showing up on TV anyway. Aldis said that McIntyre will have to issue an apology for attacking a referee and will pay a “hefty fine” equal to what he was paid for appearing at Survivor Series.
“No, absolutely not,” McIntyre said. “This is what Cody wants. This is what you want … If I accept these terms, I’m just going to get screwed again.”
What does McIntyre want? He wants the title match, but he also wants to pick the stipulation, and a rule where Rhodes cannot touch him before his match, or else he’ll be stripped of his title.
“I really hate this, but… You’ve got a deal,” a dejected Aldis replied, realizing that he had been taken for a ride with this negotiation.
It was at this point that McIntyre saw on his security camera app that Rhodes had appeared at his front door. After briefly accusing Aldis of setting him up, McIntyre came out front for a fight. We didn’t really see the brawl (cameras conveniently glitched out at this point), but we saw them getting pulled apart and Rhodes shouting: “MERRY CHRISTMAS, ASSHOLE!”
This is a hilarious vignette that you must watch when you have the chance.
Backstage, Aldis said that he cannot punish Rhodes for what he did at McIntyre’s house since it wasn’t at a WWE event (yes, that’s how it works…). An irate Miz crashed the interview and said he wants a match against Joe Hendry after their interaction at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Aldis said he’ll contact NXT GM Ava about the opportunity – this gets confirmed a little later on for next week.
Giulia takes down Chelsea Green’s Secret Hervice
Giulia wants a rematch against WWE United States Champion Chelsea Green. But before she can get that opportunity, she had to get through her Secret Hervice member, Alba Fyre in a singles match this week.
Fyre had the advantage briefly due to a distraction from Green. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Giulia got the finish in relatively quick time, scoring an Arrivederci knee, then a Northern Lights Bomb for the pinfall win. She stared down Green as she went for the pinfall here.
Cody Rhodes accepts stipulation
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes hit the ring for the next segment, showing up to address his recent run-in with Drew McIntyre.
After mocking McIntyre’s claims about an unsafe work environment, Rhodes was cut off by Nick Aldis. The GM said that Rhodes showing up at McIntyre’s house proved his point about an unsafe work environment, and he’s why Smackdown had to cut such a terrible deal to get McIntyre back.
Rhodes promised that he won’t lay a finger on McIntyre until they meet in a title match. But, Rhodes hit him with a warning: “I think you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.”
“You, my friend, work for me,” Rhodes said before leaving the ring. This was a short segment but a decent one.
Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov team up to take down #DIY
The co-main event of the night saw WWE United States Champion Ilja Dragunov unite with Carmelo Hayes to take on Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa of #DIY.
Dragunov and Hayes got the jump on #DIY, giving them an advantage to start the match. #DIY got control of the fight before a break, as a knee to Dragunov’s head from Ciampa on the ring apron sent him flying head-first onto the announcer’s desk.
Once the show returned, Dragunov hit Gargano with a Constantine Special, allowing him to give Hayes the hot tag. Hayes landed a La Mistica for a two-count, then came flying over the top rope and onto Ciampa. Dragunov got tagged back into the match and scored a top-rope senton to Gargano, but it wasn’t enough to put him away.
Hayes tagged back in, but Gargano dodged a top-rope move from him. Gargano caught him with a superkick, then got Ciampa back into the match. Ciampa landed a Project Ciampa, but Dragunov broke up the follow-up pin attempt.
Dragunov got sent into a ringpost by Gargano at ringside. Ciampa tried for a knee strike in the ring, but Hayes countered with a superkick. Hayes tried for a springboard move, but Candice LeRae tripped him up in the ropes. Ciampa had the referee distracted as this happened.
Ciampa scored a running knee strike upon second attempt, but Hayes remained alive with a kick-out at two. #DIY attempted to put away Hayes with a double-team move, but Dragunov broke it up by scoring a flying headbutt to Gargano.
Hayes hit a First 48 onto Ciampa, Dragunov scored an H-Bomb, then Hayes came off the top with a Nothing But Net legdrop for the pinfall win. I’m not that intrigued by this weird midcard program, but all four of these wrestlers are incredible in-ring talents and thus delivered a thoroughly entertaining match here. Really enjoyed the work from all four.
Backstage, Michin attacked Jade Cargill with a kendo stick.
Here’s what was announced for next week’s Smackdown:
- Joe Hendry vs. The Miz
- Ilja Dragunov U.S. Open Challenge
- Drew McIntyre returns
Huge brawl causes tag title match to get thrown out
The main event of the night saw Solo Sikoas MFTs look to earn gold, taking on WWE Tag Team Champions The Wyatt Sicks. More specifically, this match was JC Mateo and Tonga Loa against Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy.
Mateo had an impressive move before the break, lifting Lumis up at a 180-degree angle, then running him back-first into a ringpost. The challengers had the advantage as the show carried through its final break.
Lumis got isolated by the MFTs for a significant period of time, eventually tagging out to Gacy after flooring Mateo with a superkick. Mateo dodged a springboard moonsault then hit Gacy with a Tour of the Islands for a two-count.
Gacy came off the ropes with a huge lariat, then gave Loa one as well. He came tumbling over the top and onto both MFTs, then dragged Mateo back into the ring for a double-team suplex-powerbomb. Lumis climbed to the top and connected with a big frogsplash, but Loa broke up the pin attempt at two.
Talla Tonga attacked Gacy at ringside, causing Erick Rowan to start brawling with him. Uncle Howdy and Solo Sikoa got into the fight, and only seconds later, everyone was involved, causing the referee to throw out this championship main event in a no contest result.
The fight went into the ring, where Talla Tonga landed a crossbody onto five people, none of whom tried to catch him. He had a brief exchange with the other big man in the factions, Erick Rowan, who sent him out of the ring. Nikki Cross was picked up by Rowan and powerbombed out of the ring onto Tonga.
Sikoa hit Rowan with a Samoan Spike. Uncle Howdy tried for a Sister Abgail, but other MFTs stopped him. The hectic brawl continued as the show went off air.
Final thoughts
This week felt like filler content. The advances in storylines felt minimal, apart from what we saw with Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre, setting up a title shot sometime down the line. The highlight of the night, for me, had to be #DIY vs. Hayes and Dragunov, as it showcased how some of Smackdown’s midcard talents are quite gifted in the ring, despite the amount of low-stakes programs they are all stuck in. The seeds were planted for a three-way title bout in the women’s tag division, and we got the tease of more stuff between the MFTs and Wyatts. A so-so episode of Smackdown.
