WWE SmackDown 9/11 Results: Sami Zayn regains WWE title, Gargano & Owens get involved

September 11, 2026 John Kleinchester NEWS, RECOMMENDED, Show Reports
Photo Courtesy: WWE

September 11, 2026
Arena CDMX – Mexico City, MX

By: John Kleinchester

WWE SmackDown Results

  • AAA World Cruiserweight Championship: Rey Fenix over Ricky Saints via Mexican Muscle Buster in 9:30
  • Nikki Bella over Paige via High Stack in 3:21
  • WWE Women’s Championship: Chelsea Green over Nia Jax via Unpretty-her in 6:16
  • AAA Tag Team Championship: The War Raiders over Damian Priest & R-Truth via Ragnarok in 8:18
  • WWE World Championship: Sami Zayn over CM Punk via Helluva Kick in 15:18

 

Coming for #15

Friday Night SmackDown from Mexico City kicked off with Randy Orton cutting an in-ring promo, talking about how Cody Rhodes wasn’t a killer but a good man. Orton said that he was a killer, and he didn’t care who got in the way of his fifteenth World title, and whoever leaves with the title tonight, he’s coming for them.

Nick Aldis was backstage confirming with Chelsea Green that her mask was staying on. Tiffany Stratton approached, saying that she would be in her corner to make sure Lash Legend doesn’t get involved. 

 

Michael Cole spoke about the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and a video played, narrated by Triple H. 

 

AAA World Cruiseweight Championship

The first match of the night was Rey Fenix defending his AAA World Cruiseweight Championship against Ricky Saints, who did not receive a televised entrance. As expected, the crowd was firmly behind Fenix, being from just outside of Mexico City. Saints gained control of the match early on with a modified Revolution DDT on the outside as the show went to commercial.

Upon return, Fenix began a comeback with a top rope rana on Saints, followed by a springboard moonsalult where he almost slipped but managed to recover just in time. After that, he hit the Goodbye Amigo kick and another Moonsault, this time to the floor. Saints hit a powerbomb and a Revolution DDT but only scored a two-count. Fenix hit a Springboard Stunner followed by the Mexican Muscle Buster for the win. After the match, Fenix attempted to shake Saints’ hand, but Saints grimaced and walked off. 

Backstage, Sami Zayn said tonight was about justice, not about him. He said that it could never have been anyone like Gargano or Owens; it had to be him who dethroned CM Punk. Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae appeared, and Johnny confirmed with Sami that if he beats Punk, he has the next title shot. Zayn seemed put off, but eventually agreed. 

Paige vs. Nikki Bella

Next, Paige took on Nikki Bella. Paige charged the ring and took it to Nikki as the bell rang, decimating her around ringside and spitting on her. Finally, Nikki pulled the referee in between her and Paige and used the distraction to pin Paige with her feet on the ropes. 

Nia Jax and Lash Legend were interviewed backstage, running down Chelsea Green and saying she should never have been a champion. Lash added that she would take care of Tiffany Stratton if she got involved. 

Tricky Two Times and the Trick Stick

Trick Williams was out next to celebrate his second United States Championship win over Baron Corbin. Williams introduced Lil’ Yachty, but Corbin appeared, dragging Yachty out to the stage. Corbin retreated, and for some reason, Williams asked what happened even though it was pretty obvious. Corbin returned, hitting Williams with the Trick Stick. 

Finn Balor and Nick Aldis were in the back, and Balor suggested that he was next in line for a WWE title shot. Aldis suggested Balor focus on Money in the Bank. Danhausen interrupted briefly but then disappeared. Gunther then interrupted and said Balor peaked ten years ago. Balor called Gunther a “whiny little bitch” and clocked him in the face. Danhausen returned, touched Gunther’s back, and ran off.

WWE Women’s Championship

Net, Chelsea Green defended her Women’s Championship against Nia Jax. Jax wore American flag gear, while Green was decked out in Mexico colors, boosting the champion’s crowd support. Chelsea fought from underneath as the match began, with Nia Jax using her power to dominate her smaller opponent. Eventually, Nia ripped Chelsea’s protective face mask off, and for some reason, that distracted the referee. Lash Legend went to attack Chelsea, but Tiffany Stratton took the bullet for Chelsea. Jax set up for the Annihilator, but Chelsea rolled out of the way and put her mask back on. Chelsea tried to flip over the top rope and set up for an Unpretty-her, and it was clunky, but Chelsea got the pinfall anyway. Chelsea briefly celebrated, but it was cut off to head backstage.

 

CM Punk was interviewed backstage, saying a lot of people were gunning for his title, but Sami was the worst. Punk said that Zayn “broke his hand jerking it” to his nine-day fluke title win. He concluded that he would prove Sami Zayn a fraud later tonight. 

AAA Tag Team Championship

The next match was the third of four title matches on the night, this one seeing The War Raiders defend their AAA Tag Team titles against Damian Priest and R-Truth. The Champions jumped the challengers just before the bell rang and took it to Truth and Priest, nearly picking up the win in the process. The winner of the match would defend the AAA titles at TripleMania Sunday in an Open Challenge. The Raiders dominated the early portion of the match until Priest hit a running splash off the stairs on both Raiders. After an ad break, Truth got a hot tag and used his Cena moveset, including an AA for a two-count. The War Raiders threw Priest out of the ring and hit R-Truth with Ragnarok for the win. After the match, Priest clotheslined Truth and hit him with a South of Heaven onto the Mexican Sombrero Truth had worn to the ring. 

Backstage, Charlotte and Alexa were approached by Fatal Influence, but Tatum Paxley scared Fatal Influence off. Charlotte said she hoped what happened at SNME was just a “rookie mistake”.  

Rey Fenix was asked about Penta’s match against Roman Reigns on Monday, but Ricky Saints interrupted and apologized for walking away. Saints shook Fenix’s hand but then attacked him, saying he was the better man. 

WWE World Championship

The main event of the night was Sami Zayn challenging CM Punk for the WWE Championship. The match began, and the two quickly went into a sequence where Punk tweaked his knee before hitting a dive onto Zayn on the outside, as the show immediately went to commercial. When the show returned, Punk sold the knee injury heavily, and the referee pushed Zayn away. Zayn began his assault on Punk’s knee, smashing it into the ring post. Punk recovered and turned his attention to Sami’s broken left hand, attempting to remove the protective covering but failing. Zayn applied the Figure Four, and Punk rolled to the ropes to escape as the show went back to commercial. Upon return, both men were down after a Superplex by Sami Zayn, as his hand covering had finally been fully removed. This immediately affected Zayn, as he could not execute the Blue Thunder Bomb. Zayn shoved Punk toward the referee and then was able to complete the Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Punk hit the GTS, but his knee gave out, and he couldn’t get the pinfall. 

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae ran down, distracting Punk and nearly allowing Zayn to roll him up. LeRae distracted the referee as Zayn tapped out to the Anaconda Vice. Gargano attempted to hit Punk with the title but got a GTS for his efforts. The referee rolled Gargano out of the ring, and Kevin Owens appeared, accidentally hitting Punk with the title. Zayn hit a low blow on Owens and hit the Helluva Kick on CM Punk and picked up the win. What could have been a decent match was marred by run-ins and chicanery. 

About John Kleinchester 355 Articles
John Kleinchester is a New Jersey–based wrestling reporter, primarily covering WWE and AEW. He can be reached at [email protected].
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