Ripley emerged victorious at Elimination Chamber on Saturday, pinning Tiffany Stratton to win the match. The two had a competitive back-and-forth match after everyone else had been eliminated, but Ripley won after hitting the riptide.
Following her victory, Ripley pointed at the WrestleMania sign as pyro went off. She will now challenge Jade Cargill, who was in the crowd watching the match. Cargill responded to Ripley’s win by clapping and holding her WWE Women’s Championship that Ripley will now challenge for.
Kiana James scored an upset once again during the match by pinning Alexa Bliss after she was misted by Asuka. But her luck ran out when she was laid out by Raquel Rodriguez, who then followed that up by hitting the Tejana Bomb on Asuka who landed on James then stacked them up to eliminate them both. Stratton then eventually pinned Rodriguez with the PME, leaving her and Ripley as the final two participants.
The men’s Elimination Chamber later on Saturday between Cody Rhodes, LA Knight, Logan Paul, Randy Orton, Trick Williams, and Je’Von Evans will determine Drew McIntyre’s opponent for WrestleMania 42.
Happy Valley-tine’s Day or Greg Valentine’s Day. Whatever you celebrate, it’s time for Wrestling Observer Live.
TNA No Surrender Friday night was a mix of action, surprises and the usual booking.
As WWE SmackDown builds towards Elimination Chamber, does it feel like some fan favorites are running out of gas? We’ve seen them do so much during their tenure, there’s just not much else to get excited about.
Plus, AEW Grand Slam (no spoilers), WBD and politics, the WON Awards and more. Check it out.
On location from Portland, Oregon, it’s Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.
With new talent like Trick Williams, Lash Legend and others being put in positions to learn from veterans and vets like AJ Styles preparing to exit, 2026 (maybe ’27, too) looks to be a year of transition in WWE.
It’s time to accept that Jade Cargill is who she is as an athlete. She’s been wrestling for nearly seven years.
We saw new Tag Team champions crowned and the build for Saturday Night’s Main Event on Smackdown.
The people who are criticizing Powerhouse Hobbs’s new WWE name lack creativity and vision. Toni Storm, Mina Shirakawa, Collision and more. Check it out.
Jade Cargill revealed in a recent interview that she receives advice from Booker T.
Last September, Booker T said on his Hall of Fame podcast that he would be interested in helping train Cargill, referring to her as a “work in progress.” Cargill told The Sun that she and Booker now have Zoom calls.
“Booker T, he and I sit down and we have Zoom meetings as well. Yes, we do a lot of school. I’m thankful to work with him as well,” Cargill said.
She also mentioned that she regularly receives advice from Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Ricky Saints.
“CM Punk talks to me a lot. Cody [Rhodes] talks to me a lot. Ricky Saints talks to me a lot. He’s great. There’s a lot of people.“
Cargill said she speaks with Paul Heyman and that she would love to be added to The Vision.
“He’s phenomenal,” Cargill said of Heyman. “Who survives this many generations? He knows how to work a crowd, knows how to get heat. Listen, I would love to be a part of that stable [The Vision] if they would let me. I would love to! They need a woman.”
Cargill is scheduled to wrestle tonight on WWE SmackDown in Montreal against Chelsea Green. It will be her first match since WWE’s Holiday Live Tour, where she wrestled five house show matches from December 27 to January 4. Her full interview with The Sun is available here.
The lineup for tonight’s WWE SmackDown has a few new additions.
Ahead of tonight’s SmackDown, WWE announced that Cody Rhodes will have a sit-down interview on the show. He’ll address his upcoming match against Jacob Fatu at Saturday Night’s Main Event this weekend, which was made after the returning Fatu cost Rhodes the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre two weeks ago. A brawl between Rhodes and Fatu then took place last Friday before being broken up by security.
Two new matches have also been confirmed for tonight. WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill faces off with Chelsea Green in a non-title match, while Carmelo Hayes defends his United States Championship in another open challenge. Hayes has retained over Johnny Gargano, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Leon Slater in his reign so far.
Montreal, Quebec Canada is hosting SmackDown tonight and Saturday Night’s Main Event tomorrow. Here is the updated SmackDown lineup:
WWE SmackDown (Friday, January 23) —
WWE Tag Team Champions The Wyatt Sicks defend against The MFTs
Women’s Tag Team title number one contender’s match: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. Giulia & Kiana James vs. Nia Jax & Lash Legend
Cody Rhodes sit-down interview
Damian Priest vs. Trick Williams
Non-title match: WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill vs. Chelsea Green
Carmelo Hayes United States Championship open challenge
Nathan Frazer vs. Johnny Gargano
AJ Styles appears for a chat with SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis
Jade Cargill can’t wait until she gets to stand across the ring from Charlotte Flair one day.
More than two years after signing with WWE, Cargill is still waiting to face Flair for the first time. It’s a matchup that Cargill really wants to happen — and she’s sure they’ll deliver in the ring when they do meet.
“Charlotte Flair. I love Charlotte Flair,” Cargill responded when the Beyond The Bell Podcast asked who her dream opponent is. “I think she and I will have an amazing match. And one thing I know that Charlotte does is, she pulls whomever up that she works with or she tries her best to do that. And she wants to do nothing but represent and elevate the women’s division. And I want to do the same exact thing. So that’s one woman I want to work with for sure.
“I mean, it’s Charlotte Flair. I really want to work with Charlotte Flair. And she has this persona that’s beyond herself as well, so I would love to go toe-to-toe with Charlotte Flair. She’s the ‘Top Girl,’ I’m the ‘It Girl.’ Like, I would love that.”
Cargill is more than 80 days into her WWE Women’s Championship reign but has yet to have a televised title defense. She won the belt from Tiffany Stratton on WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in November.
While Flair is on SmackDown like Cargill, her focus has been on competing in the women’s tag team division with partner Alexa Bliss.
The title picture heading into WrestleMania 42 will become clearer when Royal Rumble 2026 takes place at the end of this month. The women’s Rumble winner earns the right to challenge for either the WWE Women’s Championship or Women’s World Championship (currently held by Stephanie Vaquer) at WrestleMania.
WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill and the newest member of the SmackDown roster Jordynne Grace appear to be headed for a match.
Grace defeated Alba Fyre in her first official match as a member of the main roster on Friday in Berlin. As she was walking to the back after her win, she was confronted by Jade Cargill, who told Grace that she was now on “her show.”
Grace posted a photo of her SmackDown confrontation with Cargill to social media, leading to several messages being exchanged between the two:
Cargill: “You left your glutes at home though.”
Grace: “Since a bitch is a female dog, it does make sense that you’re barking a lot.”
Cargill: “Okay little one…Calm down before I step on you.” “Say it again. Maybe you’ll grow 💅🏾🥱 Correction : I’m THAT bitch”
When someone asked Grace about frequently having storylines regarding her physical appearance, Grace responded: “I don’t love playing into them. But they can’t say anything else about me. So let them have it.”
Cargill responded: “LAME. Girl you were talking about your arms being ‘bigger’ . Don’t play victim. And stop skipping your glutes.”
Grace: “I work out legs twice a week and don’t appreciate you making fun of my genetically concave ass”
Cargill: “Oh lord. She’s a victim. 🥱🥱. It’s been a murder.”
The exchange between Cargill and Grace is available below:
Editor’s Note: Several weeks ago, we saw the following post on Reddit and with the permission of author Kanenums88, we are republishing it here as Wrestling Observer Newsletter award season voting has officially begun for subscribers.
The following has been edited slightly and there is some light opinion in the write-ups that reflects the views of the writer and not our website.
Since 1980, voters in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards have highlighted the achievements of wrestlers in their first year of significant competition with the annual Rookie of the Year award.
To be fully transparent, this is copied from a user from a few days ago who copied this from another account’s post from four years ago. It wasn’t updated in such a long time and since a lot has changed in such a short amount of time, I thought it would be best to take it upon myself to do just that, as well as to give some of the entries more of a proper write-up with added bits of context I thought were necessary.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Rookie of the Year Award:
1980 – Barry Windham
Windham went on to carve out a 30+ year career filled with many accolades in various promotions. He was most notable for his work in WCW where he became a member of The Four Horsemen and held the NWA World Championship. Most recently, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for a second time, joining an elite class to do so, with his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda as part of the U.S. Express.
1981 – Brad Armstrong & Brad Rheingans
Son of “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, Brad Armstrong won numerous mid-card and tag team titles in different Southern promotions but never reached his ceiling. He signed with WWE in 2006, initially for the ECW brand, but soon became a producer. His career lasted for over 30 years before he died of a heart attack at the age of 50.
Rheingans was a prolific Greco-Roman wrestler before entering pro wrestling. He didn’t do much as a pro wrestler, though, and had a better career as a trainer, training the likes of Brock Lesnar, JBL, and Vader.
1982 – Steve Williams
“Dr. Death” had a solid career in the U.S., but an even better one in Japan. One of the top gaijins of all time, he was a former Triple Crown Champion and eight-time AJPW Tag Team Champion. His career was slowed after a throat cancer diagnosis in 2004 which returned in 2009 and worsened, leading to his passing in December 2009 at the age of 49.
1983 – The Road Warriors
Joe Laurinaitis and Mike Hegstrand were given the names Hawk (Mike) and Animal (Joe) and joined “Precious” Paul Ellering as the Road Warriors in Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1983. What followed was a team that is often recognized by many as the greatest of all-time and certainly went on to become one of the most popular acts of the 1980s. They held gold in multiple promotions, and, despite both having since passed on, their impact on wrestling still persists to this day.
1984 – Tom Zenk & Keiichi Yamada (the future Jushin Thunder Liger)
The Z-Man (not to be confused with Brian Zane) was a perennial mid-carder throughout much of his career, being more of an impressive bodybuilder than a wrestler. He passed away at the age of 59 in 2017.
Yamada, on the other hand, went on to become arguably the greatest junior heavyweight in Japan as Jushin Thunder Liger. A record 11x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, he retired in 2020 until 2025 when he came out of retirement to answer Joey Janela’s open challenge at the WrestleCade Supershow in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
1985 – Jack Victory
Victory never really amounted to anything despite boasting a 37-year career. He was mostly an undercard guy in WCW, but his most notable run was in ECW when he was aligned with Steve Corino. He retired in 2021, teaming in a match alongside Steve’s son, Colby.
1986 – Bam Bam Bigelow
Scott Bigelow was a bounty hunter with a prison stint in Mexico before deciding to get into wrestling. What resulted was an all-around great talent, who found success in the U.S. and Japan. He was a former ECW Champion and a WrestleMania main eventer when he took on Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania 11 (he also won the Slammy for Best Head in 1987 which is the greatest achievement on this list).
He unfortunately passed away at the age of 45 in 2007 due to an accidental drug overdose, a fate that has plagued way too many. His legacy as one of the best big men wrestlers lives on to this day.
1987 – Brian Pillman
One of the most innovative and best workers of his generation as “Flyin’ Brian” and the “Loose Cannon,” Pillman is remembered as a great “what if” case in wrestling. He unfortunately passed away from a heart attack at the age of 35 in 1997, right in the midst of his WWF run. People often wonder if he could have been a bigger name if not for the unfortunate circumstances he faced in life. His son, Brian Jr., carries on his legacy in WWE NXT as Lexis King.
1988 – Gary Albright
Originally from Stampede Wrestling, Albright had a much better career in Japan with runs in AJPW as a two-time World Tag Team Champion, but he was never as big as the other top gaijins. He sadly passed away at 36 years old while at an indie show in 2000. As a side note, he married Afa’s daughter and therefore was a member of the Anoa’i family through marriage. He was even included in the Rock’s Bloodline family tree during the buildup to WWE WrestleMania 40.
1989 – Dustin Rhodes
Dustin never managed to get over the shadow of his father in WCW, but after a repacking to the weird, androgynous character Goldust in WWF, he quickly carved out his own legacy as one of the most memorable performers of all time. He never quite reached the main event level in his many runs, but he’s always been seen as a great worker with character skills that can only be matched by a few. He joined AEW in 2019 where he’s been ever since, most recently winning the TNT Championship at All In Texas at the age of 56. He is working toward a comeback after undergoing double knee replacement surgery.
1990 – Steve Austin
There’s not really much to say about “Stone Cold” that hasn’t already been repeated to death. Simply put, he became the biggest name in all of wrestling during one of the hottest boom periods for the industry with his rivalry with Vince McMahon as one of the most defining fixtures of the Attitude Era.
After stepping away super young in 2003 due to nagging neck issues, he returned 19 years later to defeat Kevin Owens in the main event of WWE WrestleMania 38. An iconic household name of the business forever, Austin is by far the most successful star on this list.
1991 – Johnny B. Badd
Whether as a Little Richard impersonator or as a boxer, Marc Mero saw success with runs in WCW and WWF, always being a decently popular act. He was a bit overshadowed by his own former valet and then-wife, Sable, near the end of his run and didn’t do anything else of note as a wrestler after his departure from the WWF in 1999. He has since gone on to have a successful career as a motivational speaker, touring schools across the country to lecture on the dangers of bullying and drug abuse.
1992 – Rey Misterio Jr.
With great runs in AAA, WCW, and ECW, Rey’s run in the WWE is what truly led him to become the most popular luchador of his generation. Despite his small stature, he won three World Championships in the WWE and became a globally recognized name. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as an active wrestler in 2023 and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Currently, he’s wrapped up in a perpetual feud with his son, Dominik.
1993 – Jun Akiyama
Akiyama managed to carve out a respectable Hall of Fame worthy career as one of the best technical wrestlers of his generation. Having success in promotions AJPW and NOAH as a two-time Triple Crown Champion and three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, he currently competes in DDT where he is also a former KO-D Openweight Champion.
1994 – Mikey Whipwreck
A former ring-crew worker turned wrestler, he became a hugely popular underdog babyface in ECW. He reached his peak by winning the ECW World Heavyweight Championship at the age of 22, the youngest World champion of a major promotion. He continued to work sporadic indies through August 2024, but mostly remains a cult favorite amongst the loyal diehard ECW fanbase.
1995 – Perro Aguayo Jr.
Aguayo Jr. was mostly known for being the leader of the Los Perros del Mal stable in CMLL which was a big draw for the company. He was well on his way to becoming one of the biggest names in Mexico with AAA before his sudden passing in the ring. He tragically suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of three broken vertebrae in a 2015 match. In the wake of his death, he was honored greatly, and it raised many questions on the safety of wrestlers in the industry as a whole.
1996 – The Giant
The Giant debuted by beating Hulk Hogan to become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. What followed was a respectable career for Paul Wight, better known as the Big Show where he had as many ups and downs as he had heel and face turns throughout his career. In WWE, he ended his 22-year run as a four-time World champion for the company. In 2021, he left WWE to join AEW where he’s worked as an analyst and occasional wrestler ever since.
1997 – Mr. Aguila
Aguila has had a career as a respected veteran in the lucha scene, but he’s known by many for his brief stint in the WWF as lower card wrestler Essa Rios. He eventually joined the aforementioned Los Perros del Mal stable in CMLL and now finds work in the Mexican independent scene.
1998 – Goldberg
Goldberg’s look, intensity, presentation, and charisma all led to him becoming WCW’s most popular act despite his lack of in-ring prowess. His undefeated streak and popularity as the WCW Heavyweight Champion were synonymous with that era of wrestling as a whole. His later WCW run and future runs in the WWE made him one of the most polarizing figures in wrestling, but at his peak, there was just about no one who was bigger than Bill Goldberg.
He officially retired earlier last year, losing to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event in July 2025.
1999 – Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg was an insanely fun wrestler to watch with his brief stint in WCW being somewhat of a predecessor to the high-flying car crash style. He retired in 2004 to focus on a career as a computer technician, bestowing the gimmick on Jack Evans for a short period of time. He now works as a registered nurse in Texas.
2000 – Sean O’Haire
One of the biggest cases of a “what if,” his runs in WCW and the WWE showed he had the potential to be a main eventer but was never granted a real opportunity. He was released in 2004 and his life spiraled afterward. He had many demons and was sadly not able to overcome them, passing away in 2014. It’s a tragic reminder that if you ever feel alone or lost, please reach out and seek the help you need.
2001 – El Hombre Sin Nombre
El Hombre Sin Nombre is a title passed on to many luchadors and thus, it is hard to place the exact one this is referring to. The original author attributed this to Ephesto, but not only is the award not listed on his Wikipedia, he also didn’t use the “Sin Nombre” name until 2005. I don’t have much knowledge of Mexican wrestling and therefore, I’m stumped. If anyone can help identify this guy, please do.
2002 – Bob Sapp
Did somebody say Sapp Time? After failed careers as a football player and wrestler, he became a star in MMA and kickboxing during the boom period of PRIDE and K1. With wrestling and MMA intertwined in Japan at the time, he was used in places such as NJPW and AJPW, even holding the IWGP Championship for a run.
At his peak, he was a massive celebrity in Japan and a huge draw. His larger-than-life character keeps him memorable in MMA and wrestling today and at 52, he still does occasional fights. Expect to see him vs. Jake Paul in the not so distant future.
2003 – Chris Sabin
Sabin was one of the best workers in TNA history with memorable runs in the X-Division and alongside Alex Shelley as the Motor City Machine Guns. Despite holding the TNA World Championship for a brief period, he was never really valued as a main eventer. Despite this, he’s wrestled pretty much everywhere for over two decades with he and Shelley ultimately signing with WWE in 2024, becoming prominent figures in their tag division ever since.
2004 – Petey Williams
Another TNA X-Division talent, the inventor of the Canadian Destroyer is considered one of TNA’s best workers of all time who never made it out of the mid-card. He had many on-and-off again runs with the company until 2022 when he joined WWE as a producer, where he remains today.
2005 – Shingo Takagi
Takagi was one of Dragon Gate’s biggest stars in its history, amassing 15 titles during his run with the company. He joined NJPW in 2018 and is one of the most consistent main event workers. In 2021, he won the vacant IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and led the company as its top act during his run.
2006 – Atsushi Aoki
Aoki was one of the best junior heavyweights of his generation, working for both AJPW & NOAH. He was in the middle of his fourth reign as AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion when he tragically died in a 2019 motorcycle accident. The company honored his reign as champion until the six month defense clause kicked in after his death.
2007 – Erick Stevens
Stevens was a promising talent in ROH, mostly known for his feud with Roderick Strong on the late 2000s indie scene. His career never really panned out and he’s retired and come back numerous times since 2010. His most recent comeback happened last year where he even got to reignite his feud with Strong in Deadlock Pro Wrestling.
2008 – Kai
Kai was primed to be a potential future “face” of AJPW, but he was one of the many that joined Keiji Mutoh in the exodus towards WRESTLE-1. He was a focal point in the company, becoming their third Wrestle-1 Champion, but he did not go far in terms of long term popularity. He left in 2016 to become a freelancer and currently does most of his work in Dragon Gate.
2009 – Frightmare
Frightmare was one of the top acts of CHIKARA when it was at its peak as a top indie promotion. He stayed with Chikara until the company’s death and never really got out of the indie circuit. He continues to take various bookings at indies today.
2010 – Adam Cole
One of the best workers of the 2010s, Cole went on to have successful runs in all the promotions he’s worked for. He was the top heel in both ROH and NXT before he arrived in AEW in 2021. After returning from a nasty concussion in 2023, he began an oddball friendship with MJF and the two main evented AEW’s All In from Wembley Stadium.
His career was sadly cut short he was forced to vacate the TNT Championship before last July’s All In Texas due to undisclosed health issues. His future as a performer remains in jeopardy, but the time we’ve had with him on our screens cannot be forgotten so easily.
2011 – Daichi Hashimoto
Son of the late three musketeer Shinya Hashimoto, Daichi saw decent success early on but failed to overcome the shadows of both his father and the other two three musketeers. He left promotion Zero1 in 2014 and joined deathmatch promotion Big Japan Wrestling where he remains today.
2012 – Dinastia
Dinastía was practically the face of AAA’s Mini Estrella division winning the AAA World Mini’s Championship twice. With a total combined reign of 2,888 days, the title was vacated and abandoned once he left the company. There isn’t much more information about him online, but according to Cagematch, he still works on the Mexican independent scene.
2013 – Yohei Komatsu (the future YOH)
After an excursion, he was repackaged as YOH and had a successful junior heavyweight tag team run as Roppongi 3K with Sho Tanaka (repackaged as SHO). SHO turned on YOH in 2021 and the two would feud. YOH has continued to be a mainstay in the junior division ever since.
2014 – Dragon Lee
One of the best luchadors today, Lee was a multi-time champion across CMLL and NJPW. In 2022, he won the AAA World Tag Team Championships with his brother Dralistico and announced to the world that he had signed with WWE. His run in WWE got off to a shaky start, but it’s recently come around after WWE bought AAA earlier this year. He held the WWE World Tag Team titles alongside AJ Styles before losing them to The Usos on the final Raw of 2025.
2015 – Chad Gable
Starting in NXT with Jason Jordan as part of American Alpha, they had tons of potential to be a great tag team but never panned out. He coasted for a while and was saddled with an awful Shorty G gimmick that would have killed anyone else. It’s a testament to his skills as a performer that he not only overcame it but also became a naturally popular act in the company.
His recent heel run has been a mixed bag, especially when a mysterious new talent in El Grande Americano joined the company and took his spot. He has been out with an injury since June 2025 and only time will tell what’s in store for him in his future. According to reports, he is expected back imminently.
2016 – Matt Riddle
The UFC fighter turned wrestler joined WWE in 2018 and became an incredibly popular mid-card act in the WWE. After his pairing with Randy Orton ended with “The Viper” getting put on the shelf, it looked as if he was primed to be a main eventer. Real life controversies and general unprofessional behavior got in the way and he was fired from WWE in 2023. He’s popped up in a few places since, but hasn’t gotten close to the heights he was reaching before. He’s currently in MLW.
2017 – Katsuya Kitamura
Kitamura was one of the more unique looking young lions in NJPW, mainly due to his massive size, and was touted as the most promising of his class. He won the Young Lions Cup in 2017 but suffered a cerebral concussion that ended his career in 2018, quietly leaving New Japan in 2019. In 2022, he was tragically found dead at the age of 36 with no cause ever being publicly released.
2018 – Ronda Rousey
Rousey was the first female UFC fighter signed to the company and one of the big faces of MMA at her peak. She made her long awaited debut at WrestleMania 34, which may have been her peak as a wrestler. She quickly went on to become one of the most polarizing, if not downright hated, wrestlers for multiple reasons, both in and out of the ring.
However, she did manage to boast an impressive resume as a multi-time women’s champion and one of the first women to main event WrestleMania, but her star faded in her second run. She left WWE in 2023 and quietly retired in 2025.
2019 – Jungle Boy/Jack Perry
Son of late actor Luke Perry and nephew of famed Simpsons character Krusty the Clown, Jack Perry joined AEW as one of its young prospects. Seeing early success alongside Luchasaurus (and Marko Stunt) as Jurassic Express, his heel run was not perceived as well. After mocking CM Punk on the Zero Hour to All In in 2023 about an incident involving “real glass,” the two got into a legit fight backstage.
Perry was suspended but used his heat to become the Scapegoat character, joining The Elite and winning the TNT Championship. After a lengthy absence, he returned, turned face, and reunited with Luchasaurus. He also was an injury sub for this last year’s Continental Classic.
2020 – Pat McAfee
Not a wrestler in the traditional sense, McAfee is mostly known as an NFL punter turned sports analyst with The Pat McAfee Show as one of the most popular sports talk shows today. He joined WWE in 2019 to become an analyst, but he also had a feud with Adam Cole in NXT where he had an impressive debut match.
He’s mostly known to wrestling fans today as one of the most polarizing commentators of all time. Pat is a guy you either really love or really hate. He still wrestles occasionally with matches at WrestleMania’s 38 and 39, SummerSlam 2022, and last year’s Backlash.
2021 – Jade Cargill
Cargill was primed to be a major star in AEW right out of the gate, becoming the inaugural TBS Champion. She held the title for 373 days, boasting a 60-0 win streak at the same time. She left the company in 2023, joining WWE as a “monumental signing” for them.
Her initial run was used to strengthen up the women’s tag division alongside Bianca Belair to mixed results. A 2025 turn led to her becoming the WWE Women’s Champion as a dominant heel where she stands today.
2022 – Bron Breakker
Son and nephew to Rick and Scott Steiner, respectively, Bron burst on the scene with insane momentum. His skills as a performer as well as his intensity led to him winning the NXT championship four months after his debut, ultimately becoming the top star for the brand.
On the main roster, it’s already clear he is being primed to become the future of the company. A two-time Intercontinental Champion and a member of The Vision, Breakker scored the deciding fall in WarGames by pinning WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk.
Despite losing to Punk on the first Raw of 2025, Breakker has perhaps the brightest future of anyone else on this list.
2023 – Yuma Anzai
A very hot prospect in the Japanese wrestling scene, Anzai won the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in 2024, becoming the youngest to do so at the age of 24. He continues to wrestle in All Japan today, so we’ll just have to see what’s in store for him in the future.
2024 – Je’Von Evans
Signing with WWE in 2023 at the age of 19, Evans has already become one of the most impressive and popular prospects in the company today. He has essentially become WWE’s go to guy for crossovers, competing in AAA, TNA, on SmackDown, and most recently on Raw as the sole NXT rep in John Cena’s Last Time is Now tournament. He was officially called up to Raw last week.
Who will be this year’s WON Rookie of the Year? Find out soon.
Jade Cargill says that CM Punk, Ricky Saints, and Cody Rhodes are like family to her.
During a recent appearance on Booker T’s Hall of Fame podcast, Cargill was asked about a photo posted by Punk following her WWE Women’s Championship win. In the photo, Cargill appears alongside her three former AEW co-workers, all of whom are also champions in WWE.
Cargill said about the photo:
“When we took the picture, it just felt like family. And I say that because Cody’s seen me from day one. Ricky’s my best friend in the industry. CM Punk has always been the most honest, most brutal person that I have ran into from day one when I met him. We’ve always had a friendship. These are three phenomenal people who have sat with me and who have always been in my corner.”
“They have seen me go through so many situations and so many feelings trying to understand this industry because this industry will chew you up and spit you out. So for these people to see me at the top of the mountain at WWE, it’s no other feeling.”
Cargill mentioned that Rhodes was in her first match ever, when she teamed with Shaquille O’Neal against Rhodes and Red Velvet on the March 3, 2021, episode of Dynamite. She also noted that CM Punk taught her how to use a chair.
Cargill continued:
“(Punk) showed me how to properly use a chair. Cody was in my first match ever. Ricky helps me out with so many things that I don’t understand in the industry that take years and years and years of knowledge. These are people that have been in my corner forever. So again, it felt like family.”
Cargill defeated Tiffany Stratton at the November 1 Saturday Night’s Main Event to win her first WWE Women’s Championship. She has since defeated B-Fab and Alba Fyre on episodes of SmackDown and interrupted Chelsea Green’s US title celebration on last week’s episode.
Cargill’s comments about the photo with Punk, Rhodes and Saints begin around the 1-hour and 16-minute mark of the interview. The video below is cued.
Jade Cargill says she’s had her people reach out to Marvel about playing the character of Storm.
Cargill was a guest on Going Ringside recently and was asked about frequently being compared to the character first created in Marvel Comics in 1975. She responded that she’s always been passionate about portraying the superhero and is asking people to keep their fingers crossed.
Cargill said:
“I’ve had my people talk to a certain amount of people. I’m hoping that things do transpire and they do see that this is something that I’ve always been passionate about my entire life. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, guys.”
Asked if she was open to playing the role, Cargill answered:
“Of course, of course! We don’t have to use any of the CGI. This is how it looks. Like, what do we need? What do we need, guys? Of course.”
In June, Cargill was announced as making her acting debut opposite former MCU actor Jonathan Majors in Gerard McMurray’s action film True Threat. She is said to be one of the film’s major antagonists. The project is currently listed as in pre-production.
Marvel is expected to start casting for the X-Men reboot film early next year, which will introduce mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jodie Turner-Smith (Anne Boleyn, Tron: Ares) and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Good Place, Barry) are both rumored to be in line for the role of Storm.
Halle Berry portrayed Storm beginning with 2000’s X-Men film directed by Bryan Singer. She continued as the character up until 2014’s X-Men Days of Future Past.
Cargill’s comments about portraying Storm come in around the 6-minute mark of the interview (cued below):
The Last Time is Now tournament reaches its conclusion on tonight’s WWE SmackDown when LA Knight and Gunther square off with the winner to be John Cena’s final opponent next Saturday in Washington, DC.
Knight defeated Jey Uso on Raw this past Monday while Gunther got the win over Solo Sikoa that same night to earn a spot in the finals.
WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will make an appearance and outline what’s next for him after the WarGames match at Survivor Series.
WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill will be in action against Alba Fyre of The Secret Hervice while Alexa Bliss faces Kairi Sane.
Ilja Dragunov will continue his WWE United States Championship open challenge series.
A Solo Sikoa appearance to address last Friday’s SmackDown will round out the broadcast which kicks off at 8 PM Eastern.
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– The show opened up with a recap of Survivor Series: WarGames from last Saturday and everything that unfolded on that night. Following that, we got the requisite shots of Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair, the Kabuki Warriors, LA Knight, Gunther arriving at the arena.
– Drew McIntyre was shown arriving at the arena as Nick Aldis confronted him for still being suspended despite Survivor Series. After a tense argument, McIntyre was about to leave before he got jumped in his car by an irate Cody Rhodes. Security pulled him away as McIntyre got away in his car. Rhodes then stormed towards the Gorilla position.
Cody Rhodes kicks off SmackDown
The Undisputed WWE Champion didn’t waste any time getting himself in the ring as he asked Mr. Aldis to reinstate Drew McIntyre as the Scotsman broke an unwritten rule by invading his tour bus a couple of weeks back. Rhodes called McIntyre WWE’s “resident cockroach” as he talked about how he was going to go after McIntyre as he might’ve not been able to beat him, but he might’ve broken him. Rhodes said that at the end of it all, he was going to do what everyone wants to do to a cockroach: stomp him out.
A very fiery start to SmackDown. Cody Rhodes’ anger-filled promos are always a highlight, but hopefully, if we do get another title match between he and McIntyre, things take a twist and we have Drew actually winning the title.
**********
– #DIY were discussing amongst themselves about their plans as Carmelo Hayes walked past them and told Tommaso Ciampa that he had next.
– A video promo from Damian Priest aired as he addressed what was Aleister Black’s fate to come, stating that if Black got to bring in his family in the form of his wife Zelina, it’s only fair that Priest brought in his family. Priest revealed Rhea Ripley was backing him up, and that the Terror Twins would face off against Black and Zelina next week.
U.S. Title Open Challenge: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes
The match got off to a quick start as Hayes and Dragunov got into a tense collar and elbow tieup battle. Dragunov eventually went on the attack with a chop, but was countered with a set of chops from Hayes in response. Dragunov got back momentum with a hard boot to the face to Hayes. The challenger tried to knock Dragunov off the apron, but he was again flattened with a boot square on the face.
On the top rope, Hayes was stunned, which opened him up for yet another big boot from Dragunov, which sent him crashing down to the outside, apparently tweaking his knee upon landing. This took us into the mid-match break.
The match returned from commercial with Hayes escaping a submission by Dragunov, but he eventually found himself trapped in the U.S. Champion’s German suplex barrage. On the third German suplex attempt, Dragunov battered Hayes with hard elbows, but couldn’t connect with the subsequent move afterwards. The two competitors engaged in a duel of strikes, as Hayes avoided the Constantine Special and hit Dragunov with a springboard clothesline. Hayes followed that up with a tilt-a-whirl facebuster that got a near-fall.
As the crowd got loud, Hayes attempted the First 48, but was caught and dropped on his back by Dragunov. Hayes blocked the H-Bomb by getting his knees up, as a quick roll-up on Dragunov wasn’t enough. Dragunov kicked Hayes in the side of his head and then hit a standing uranage on his challenger.
Dragunov headed up to the top rope, but was sent to the outside by a running kick from Hayes. As the U.S. Champion got on the apron, Hayes dropped him with a DDT on the hardest part of the ring. Hayes headed up to the top rope, but Tommaso Ciampa attacked him while the referee was tending to Dragunov. This led to the U.S. Champion hitting the Torpedo Moscow, followed by the H-Bomb for the victory.
After the replay, Dragunov was shown reacting in anger at Ciampa’s unwanted assist in the win.
Ilja Dragunov def. Carmelo Hayes via pinfall
Another fantastic match and it did its job in getting people to root for Melo Hayes in finally winning the big one. Ciampa ruining things like the heel that he is should make things interesting, and I believe the time will come soon for Hayes if the story being told tonight is any indicator.
**********
– Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss were interviewed about WarGames this past Saturday. They talked about how it made their bond stronger, but that it was time to get back to the business of regaining their Women’s Tag Titles, and it would begin tonight when Bliss is up against Kairi Sane.
– A hype package for the Last Time is Now tournament was shown.
– Cathy Kelley interviewed LA Knight about his match against Gunther for later tonight. Knight said that he doesn’t care about the opponents he faced in the past, and that the one thing that matters is beating John Cena to cement his legacy. Knight talked about how Gunther was standing in his way, and he was going to give him a fight tonight, because Gunther was going to get dropped on his head later tonight like all the rest.
Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka) vs. Alexa Bliss (w/ Charlotte Flair)
The two locked horns to start off before Sane went on the attack in the corner with stomps to Bliss. As Sane tried to run at her foe, she was deposited onto the apron by Bliss. The two eventually exchanged pinfall attempts as Sane mocked Bliss. She paid for that with a hard punch from Bliss, followed by a flipping senton onto a downed Sane.
Outside the ring, Sane tried to walk off, Charlotte Flair stopped her, which allowed for Asuka to trip up Bliss on the apron. Sane then slammed Bliss against the barricade as we took a break in the action.
We returned from the break with Bliss and Sane fighting it out on the top rope. A headbutt from Sane put Bliss in a tough position, and one-half of the Women’s Tag Champions took advantage with a double stomp onto a prone Bliss for the near-fall. Sane attempted a Sliding D, but ended up whiffing after Bliss dodged at the very last second.
Bliss mounted her comeback with a flurry of strikes, followed by a modified Natural Selection. As Asuka got on the apron, Charlotte Flair tripped her up and took her down with a big boot. Back in the ring, Sane had Bliss in position for the Insane Elbow, but she was caught into the Sister Abigail DDT for the one, two, three.
After the match, Lash Legend and Nia Jax attacked Bliss and Flair, making short work of them. As they turned their attention on a fallen Sane, Asuka tried to fight back, but got dropped by Jax. Sane got involved, but ended up being taken down by this duo.
Alexa Bliss def. Kairi Sane
I did enjoy this match a bit, and the intensifying women’s tag title picture is kind of making things a bit interesting. Not much to complain about here.
**********
– Cody Rhodes met with Nick Aldis as the two walked into the latter’s office, the two were met by NXT Champion Ricky Saints and Oba Femi. It was revealed that the winner of tomorrow’s NXT Title match between Femi and Saints at NXT Deadline would face Rhodes next week at Saturday Night’s Main Event
Jade Cargill vs. Alba Fyre (w/ Chelsea Green)
Green got on the apron at the start of the match, which gave Fyre the opening to hit Cargill with a dropkick. Fyre managed to hit Cargill with a boot to the face, as Green gave her a slap to the face while Fyre had the referee distracted.
Outside the ring, Kiana James got Green’s attention, with Giulia standing behind her. The former Women’s U.S. Champion attacked Green, while back in the ring, Cargill hit her signature pump kick on an unaware Fyre. This match came to an end courtesy to a Jaded from Cargill and the three.
Jade Cargill def. Alba Fyre
That was a bit rough, and the fact remains that outside of maybe Tiffany Stratton, there really isn’t any compelling challengers for Cargill to face in the WWE Women’s Championship sphere. Hoping that changes at some point.
**********
– Both members of Fraxiom were talking to Nick Aldis about wanting another shot at #DIY. At that moment, an angry Ilja Dragunov was upset at the integrity of his Open Challenge being ruined by Tommaso Ciampa’s actions earlier. This led to Dragunov wanting to face Ciampa for the U.S. Title next week, which Aldis obliged. Dragunov was confronted by Tama Tonga and the rest of the M.F.T.s at the end of this exchange.
– As Jade Cargill walked backstage, she tried to trash talk a passing-by B-Fab before Michin had some words for her. Cargill said that she’d speak with Nick Aldis if Michin really wanted a shot at her, stating that if she stepped up, she’d get stepped on.
The M.F.T.s call out The Wyatt Sicks
Solo Sikoa and company marched down to the ring, ready to talk about their win against Sami Zayn’s team last week on SmackDown, as well as the Wyatt Sicks’ attack afterwards.
Sikoa said that he told everyone in that he and the M.F.T.s were going to handle the Sami Zayn problem as they “took his ass out”. He talked about how they can finally move forward now that Zayn was done and dusted, which brought Sikoa to the Wyatt Sicks.
Sikoa talked about how Uncle Howdy was watching him and his family, but he was doing the same to Howdy and the Wyatts. He introduced himself and his group, since he didn’t get a chance to do so to Howdy. Sikoa said that the Wyatts held something that belonged to them: the WWE Tag Team Championships, and that his family was going to hurt the Wyatts in the process.
Sikoa said that everything that was “his’ (Bray Wyatt’s), that was given to Howdy, it was going to soon be his and he was going to show the world that Howdy didn’t deserve the Wyatt name. That was all because all he needed to do was… “Bo-lieve”.
Immediately after Sikoa’s promo, we got a Wyatt Sicks video interruption, which brought the group into the ring. As the Wyatts stood on the apron, Uncle Howdy faced off with Sikoa. The M.F.T.s joined in and things eventually broke down into a full-blown brawl between the Wyatts and the M.F.T.s.
In the ring, after everyone was cleared out, Talla Tonga and Erick Rowan were the ones left standing as the two giants faced off. Rowan got the best of Talla as the Wyatts and the M.F.T.s stared one another down.
I haven’t been too hot on this M.F.T.s/Wyatt Sicks feud, but this skirmish was decent, at the very least. Sikoa invoking Bray Wyatt’s memory for heat and calling back to Bo Dallas to get at Howdy was a fine way to add some needed fuel to the fire, but in all honesty, this is no Wyatt Family vs. The Shield, that’s for sure.
**********
– Bayley walked into Nick Aldis’ office and found out that she was going to face Sol Ruca next week at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
– Cathy Kelley interviewed Gunther about his match with LA Knight in our main event. He said that he was going to beat LA Knight and then John Cena at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Gunther talked about how this tournament was a foregone conclusion as he told Cena to watch and pay attention to not only him beating LA Knight, but how he’d do so.
– Aleister Black shared remarks via video about Damian Priest. He declared he might be everyone’s enemy, but he’d give everyone straight. Zelina talked about how the Terror Twins was just a ploy by Rhea Ripley to leave Priest in a lonely and stat state that he found it.
Next Week on SmackDown
Mixed Tag Match: The Terror Twins (Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley) vs. Aleister Black & Zelina
U.S. Title Match: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Alexa Bliss vs. Lash Legend
Last Time is Now Tournament Final: LA Knight vs. Gunther
Gunther facewashed Knight disrespectfully at the start of the match, which fired Knight up as he went on the attack early. Gunther went for his powerbomb, but Knight escaped that attempt. Knight tried for the BFT early, but Gunther countered it. The Austrian was sent out of the ring by Knight, who then struck with a baseball slide as we took a picture-in-picture break early.
Our main event resumed as Gunther flattened Knight with a hard clothesline. In the corner, Gunther pummelled his foe with repeated kicks, but Knight fought out of it and managed to ground his foe. Knight went for his jumping elbow and just missed after Gunther rolled out of harm’s way. Gunther threw Knight hard into the corner, which left his back reeling. Gunther held Knight by the wrist and chopped him hard on the chest repeatedly. Knight avoided the last chop and caught Gunther by surprise with a jumping clothesline, followed by the jumping neckbreaker.
Knight went for another BFT, but Gunther avoided it. After an O’Connor Roll pin by Knight, Gunther turned that into a sleeper hold that was quickly escaped out of. Knight hoisted Gunther on his shoulder and delivered an Attitude Adjustment, followed by a Burning Hammer for a close near-fall. We took one last picture-in-picture commercial break at this point.
This match returned to full-screen action as Knight and Gunther got into a duel of chops. Knight got the better of Gunther as he backed him into the corner with stomps, followed by a running knee to his prone foe. Gunther caught Knight in a sleeper hold, but got thrown for the back suplex instead. On the top rope, Knight couldn’t connect iwth his elbow and got dropped by a shotgun dropkick from Gunther instead.
Knight countered Gunther’s powerbomb into a DDT as he then headed up top and connected with his signature Megastar Elbow. One, two… NO! As Gunther stumbled to his feet, Knight tried again to hit the BFT, but that was countered. Gunther turned that attempt into a German suplex and continued his relentless attack on Knight’s neck with a vicious lariat. Gunther ascended to the top rope, but was intercepted by Knight who was going for a superplex. Gunther pushed him down and connected with the big splash. He then went to the other corner and hit another diving splash for the near-fall.
Gunther lifted Knight up for the powerbomb, but could not put his foe away. Knight struggled to his feet and Gunther attempted to apply his sleeper hold. Knight turned that into a BFT, but Gunther used his leg to get on the bottom rope in the nick of time. Gunther battered the back of Knight’s neck with elbows as he then applied his trademark sleeper hold tight. Knight fought out of it briefly, but the elbows to the back of his head put him out of it. Gunther then applied a cravate submission that Knight eventually tapped out to.
Gunther def. LA Knight via submission to win the Last Time is Now Tournament
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That was a good main event match, but the predictability of Gunther winning and tapping out does put a damper on things. If we’re being honest, this tournament hasn’t really felt all that special, despite how much WWE tried to do so, which sums up a lot about John Cena’s final year as a whole.
Aside from that, this was another above-average SmackDown, though it does speak volumes that having various Raw talents all over the show to give us this kind of show is an indictment how the SmackDown talent by itself isn’t really done any favors by dull booking.
WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill says he has ‘something personal’ planned for her WrestleMania 42 entrance and gear.
Around a month ago, Jade Cargill defeated Tiffany Stratton to crown herself the new Women’s Champion. Now, with just a few months left for WrestleMania 42, Cargill has commented on planning a personal entrance and gear for the show. Speaking to Baby Huey on In The Kliq, she shared more details about the gear.
“This is something that everyone wants to be a part of and every single wrestler wants to do, and have under their belt. I already have mine planned out. I’ve had it planned out for some time now. last year, I had it planned out, it was a tribute to Tyler, The Creator,” Cargill answered. “This year, you gotta see it. If It’s approved, then my gear will match that entrance. I put two ideas out there. I’m really excited for this one because it’s very personal and hits close to home. I put a lot of thought into my gear in general. My entrance is part of it all. It’s all entertainment, right. We want to give our fans their money’s worth.”
Cargill is widely known for her extravagant entrances and gear. Since her debut, Jade Cargill has stunned fans with her iconic gear. The 33-year-old has already competed in two WrestleManias and has received iconic entrances and special gear each time.
According to her latest statement, it seems she plans on doing it again next year in Las Vegas.
The Last Time is Now tournament continues tonight on WWE SmackDown from MVP Arena in Albany, New York.
The show will feature two first-round matchups, including one between two former World Champions Jey Uso and The Miz. The other pits LA Knight against a yet-to-be-revealed mystery opponent.
The winners will progress further in the bracketless tournament that will determine John Cena’s last-ever opponent for next month’s December 13 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event.
After a confrontation, new WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill will take on B-Fab in a non-title bout.
Sami Zayn will also be on the show as he has a message for Solo Sikoa after last week — when he attempted to get at Sikoa and the MFTs but was unable to. In storyline, Zayn was not medically cleared in storyline. We’ll see if tonight’s message has something to do with a Zayn return.
Plus, Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY are in the house as the WarGames build continues.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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– We opened SmackDown on a recap of what happened last week with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, along with the Kabuki Warriors and the new alliance of Nia Jax and Lash Legend. The chaos involving these groups led to WarGames being declared by IYO SKY and the returning Rhea Ripley.
Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY kick off SmackDown
The dynamic tandem made their way to the ring to the loud ovation from the fans in Albany. Once the two got into the ring, Rhea Ripley addressed how things have devolved into chaos since she was gone due to her broken nose. Ripley mentioned that the Kabuki Warriors think they’re untouchable because they’re the Women’s Tag Team Champions, and that Lash Legend & Nia Jax similarly though they were untouchable because of their added numbers. Ripley said that the numbers game meant that Jax & Legend were also making a lot of enemies, as SKY mentioned that there’d be nowhere to hide in WarGames. Ripley then introduced their two partners for the Match Beyond in two weeks: Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss.
Bliss started that if Jax & Legend wanted to get dirty, that was fine by her. If the Kabuki Warriors wanted a fight, they’re on, too. Flair interrupted by saying that she couldn’t pretend to do this anymore, as she told Ripley that she couldn’t trust her as she was a “snake”. It’s something that she couldn’t look past even with a common enemy. Flair called Bliss her friend, but she couldn’t go through with this WarGames match, as she walked out.
Interesting start, which is definitely meant to give the babyface team at Survivor Series abit of adversity heading into next week.
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– Michael Cole and Corey Graves teed up the action ahead for tonight, including WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill vs. B-Fab, plus LA Knight vs. a mystery opponent in the Last Time is Now tournament.
The Last Time is Now Tournament First-Round Match: Jey Uso vs. The Miz
Miz and Uso locked horns to start us off before the latter struck with a clubbing blow to the back of his foe. Uso answered back with strikes to the face, but found himself down on the mat with a knee driven to the gut by Miz. In the corner, Miz went for his signature clothesline, but Uso countered that into a backslide pin for a two-count.
Uso escaped an early Skull-Crushing Finale attempt as he then clotheslined Miz to the outside. He then took off with a suicide dive, wich was the cue for a break in the action.
As we returned from commercial, Miz had the advantage as he dropped Uso face first on his knees from the corner, followed by a spike DDT that wasn’t enough to pick up the win. Miz then kicked repeatedly at Uso’s chest, but failed to hit the last kick as the former World Champion turned that into a neckbreaker for a near-fall. As Miz scurried into the corner, he avoided a running hip strike from Uso. He then decided to do a spoof of John Cena’s shoulder charges, Protoplex and the Five-Knuckle Shuffle.
Uso recovered and superkicked Miz, as he then tried to lift him up on his shoulders. Miz wriggled free and delivered the Skull-Crushing Finale. One, two…. NO! Miz lifted Uso up on the top turnbuckle as he tried for an avalanche Skull-Crushing Finale. Uso escaped and hit some sort of drop from the top instead. This led into the Spear, and the Uso Splash for the three and the victory.
Jey Uso def. The Miz via pinfall to advance in The Last Time is Now Tournament
A decent match, though I was surprisedthis went down cleanly without any sort of WarGames-adjacentshenanigans. It was certainly better than Uso’s last singles match at Saturday Night’s Main Event a few weeks back.
**********
– As Nick Aldis was meeting with Ilja Dragunov, they were interrupted by an incensed Tommasso Ciampa, who stood with Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae. Ciampa was upset at being snubbed by Dragunov once again. The U.S. Champion explained that he only gives opportunities to those who are honorable and deserve a shot at the title, and he’s found one such individual. Mr. Aldis left this scene and was met by Paul Heyman and Bronson Reed of The Vision, who wanted to chat wit him.
– We got a video of John Cena talking about how he became a wrestler. This was a tease for an interview with Cena conducted by Tom Rinaldi that will be released soon.
– Back with Nick Aldis, who requested for security to come to his office. Paul Heyman mentioned that he had an agreement regarding WarGames, stating that he was free to pick anyone across all brands. Aldis reiterated that as he asked Heyman and Reed to leave. Cody Rhodes showed up and explained that he showed up because his friends were held to the fire by The Vision and that he’d be willing to put himself through the fire next. This led to a major match being made tonight: Cody Rhodes vs. Bronson Reed for the WWE Championship.
U.S. Title Open Challenge: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Axiom
We started hot right away as Dragunov and Axiom were engaged in a chain wrestling duel. The U.S. Champion missed on a chop as Axiom rolled underneath, which seemed to impress Dragunov a fair bit. Axiom followed with a headlock takeover, but was felled by a running shoulder block from Dragunov afterwards. Dragunov went for a back elbow, but Axiom dodged it and hit a dropkick that sent him out of the ring.
As Axiom tried to go to the top rope, Dragunov intercepted him and left him sat on the top rope. After a brief skirmish, Dragunov headbutted Axiom down to the mat, as he then followed that with a senton for the near-fall. We then went to a picture-in-picture break at this point.
SmackDown returned to full-screen action as Dragunov connected with a German suplex. Axiom escaped and caught his championship foe with a release Northern Lights suplex. As both men got themselves back up, Axiom blasted Dragunov in the face with a strike, as he then leapt from the top rope with a shotgun missile dropkick for the two-count. Axiom took shots at the chest of Dragunov, who responded with a hard boot to the face.
Dragunov’s attempt at a Constantine Special was reversed into an armbar by Axiom. The U.S. Champion used his strength to break free of the hold with a deadlift powerbomb. Axiom got ahead of an attempted H-Bomb and turned that into an incredible leaping springboard DDT for the close near-fall. With Dragunov stunned in the corner, Axiom lifted him up the top rope and was looking for an avalanche Spanish Fly. Dragunov tried to fight back, but could not prevent the Spanish Fly from the top.
Axiom had Dragunov locked for the Golden Ratio, but he was intercepted by a fierce Torpedo Moscow. An H-Bomb from the U.S. Champion put an end to this Open Challenge and brought victory for Ilja Dragunov.
After the match, Dragunov showed respect for Axiom’s effort in this one as he shook the challenger’s hand.
Ilja Dragunov def. Axiom via pinfall to retain the United States Championship
Another solid U.S. Title Open Challenge match. Dragunov has been just on a tear since his return with fantastic matches one after the other, and this week’s match was no exception. Axiom was a perfect challenger for Dragunov and looked great even in defeat.
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– During the commercial break, we saw Tommasso Ciampa brutally attacking Axiom before Nathan Frazer chased him off.
Sami Zayn addresses The M.F.T.s
The former U.S. Champion was out as he made his way to the ring and began by greeting the Albany crowd.
Zayn said that since he came to SmackDown, there were some extremely high highs and extremely low lows. He talked about how he beat Solo Sikoa for the U.S. Title and that he did some incredible things, like facing John Cena in his last-ever SmackDown ever. Zayn mentioned that the last four weeks have been incredibly rough on him as he wasn’t medically cleared yet. He was forced to watch Sikoa and the M.F.T.s attack his friends and people that he respected. And now, that will end tonight, as Zayn challenged Sikoa to face him right now.
On cue, Sikoa walked to the ring, surrounded by his motley crew. Sikoa talked about how he knew the real Sami Zayn: someone who was a pathetic, a liar, and selfish. He claimed that Zayn didn’t care about the people in the back or the people in Albany. That was in contrast to Sikoa, who said that he cared about his “family” and their loyalty to him. Sikoa told Zayn that he knew nothing about loyalty or love of his family. Sikoa threatned to do harm Zayn as he was “still wounded”. He motioned for the M.F.T.s to approach Zayn in the ring.
Sikoa stopped them from going on the attack as he wanted Zayn to be 100% and medically cleared, because he was coming for him. Zayn answered that he was medically cleared and that if Sikoa wanted to do something about it, he’d do something about it right now. Zayn then burst Sikoa’s balloon by stating that he wasn’t here alone. Just then, Shinsuke Nakamura, the Motor City Machine Guns, and Rey Fenix evened the odds as they helped Zayn clear the ring of the M.F.T.s.
Bless Zayn for trying to generate interest into this feud, but it’s still kind of doing nothing for me even with that.This Bloodline retread just is not clicking for me at all, I’m sorry to say.
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– Cody Rhodes was approached by Jey Uso, who wished him luck for his Undisputed WWE Title match later on tonight. Jimmy Uso then showed up and told both Rhodes and brother Jey that he spoke with CM Punk, who officially put Jimmy on their WarGames team for Survivor Series.
– Backstage, Nick Aldis declared that in two weeks we’d see the M.F.T.s take on the team of Sami Zayn, the Motor City Machine Guns, Rey Fenix, and Shinsuke Nakamura in a 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series match. The Wyatt Sicks’ VHS glitches were shown as Solo Sikoa and Mr. Aldis left.
The Last Time is Now Tournament First-Round Match: LA Knight vs. Zack Ryder
Ryder was revealed as Knight’s mystery opponent moments before this match got underway. He got a great reaction from the crowd.
As the bell rang, Ryder went for an early school boy roll-up pin, but that was clearly not enough this early into the match. Knight countered a Rough Ryder attempt, but was sent out of the ring, which was the cue to take us into the commercial break.
We resumed the match from the break with Knight getting sent hard into the corner by Ryder. This was met in kind with a nice back body drop from Knight shortly after. Knight avoided a clothesline from Ryder, as he then unleahsed a flurry of punches, followed by the neckbreaker for the near-fall. Knight continued on the offensive, but a reversal on a scoop slam led to Ryder picking up some momentum. As Knight was left down and out in the corner, this left him open to Ryder’s Broski Boot for a close near-fall.
Knight countered an attempt at an Unprettier from Ryder into a reverse DDT. The elbow from the top was avoided by Ryder, who turned that into the Rough Ryder on his foe. One, two… Knight was able to kick out at two. Knight’s BFT was countered into a roll-up pin, by Ryder, as he headed up to the top rope. Ryder’s attempt at a standing legdrop was turned into a powerbomb by Knight, who then soundly finished off Ryder with the BFT for the three.
LA Knight def. Zack Ryder via pinfall to advance in The Last Time is Now Tournament
Zack Ryder was a nice surprise, and it was at least nice to see LA Knight back in the winning column here for this match.
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– As Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, and Alexa Bliss were discussing what to do with Charlotte Flair walking ou on them, they were ambushed by the Kabuki Warriors, Nia Jax, and Lash Legend. The Jamie Noble-led vanguard of security officials got them to back off after the ambush.
Jade Cargill vs. B-Fab
B-Fab escaped an early chokeslam attempt by Cargill, as she then hit her with a dropkick and repeated elbows in the corner. B-Fab’s attempt at a pump kick was met by a fierce elbow to the face from Cargill, who followed that up with a fallaway slam. Cargill managed to connect with the chokeslam on B-Fab. This was followed by the powerbomb on her foe. Not satisfied with just one powerbomb, Cargill then dropped her with one more powerbomb, then the Jaded for the dominant victory.
After the match, Michin ran in to check up on B-Fab, which caught Cargill’s attention. The WWE Women’s Champion shoved her down afterwards.
Jade Cargill def. B-Fab via pinfall
Just kind of there in terms of being a match, and with how barebones the SmackDown’s women’s division is, that’s not a good sign. Not saying that B-Fabshould be having competitive matches with the WWE Women’s World Champion, but sub-three minute matches are not the way to do it.
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– Nick Aldis revealed two more The Last Time is Now tournament matchups: Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed and Penta vs. Finn Balor, with these match set for next week’s SmackDown.
Next Week on SmackDown:
The Last Time is Now Tournament: Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed
The Last Time is Now Tournament: Penta vs. Finn Balor
– We got remarks from Aleister Black, with Damian Priest once again being the subject of discussion for him. Black said that they forced Priest to break his code, and now he had greater things in mind, namely those who hold championships on SmackDown.
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Bronson Reed (w/ Paul Heyman)
The main event started off fast and furious as Rhodes went on the attack against Reed. A running thump from the Aussie put an end to that flurry as he maintained the assault on ringside with another running thump.
Our main event returned from the break as Rhodes nailed Reed with the Disaster Kick. This fired up the Undisputed WWE Champion as he attempted to blast Reed with the Dusty elbow strikes. Reed countered that into Jagged Edge, but he missed on the Tsunami. This left Reed open for a Cody Cutter for the close near-fall. As Reed scurried outside to the ring, Rhodes went for a suicide dive, but Reed intercepted him with an elbow.
Outside the ring, Reed had Rhodes in sight for an avalanche run, but he was met at the pass by the Undisputed WWE Champion. Things broke down once Bron Breakker and Logan Paul ran in to attack Rhodes as this match ended in a DQ.
The Usos ran in for the save as they cleared the ring of Paul and Breakker. Jimmy and Jey dropped Paul with a 1D, as they then grabbed a table from underneath the ring. Drew McIntyre showed up, despite being suspended. Nick Aldis confronted Paul Heyman about this outside the ring, as the heels got the upper hand in the ring. The Levesque & Fitting credits saw us off once more with The Vision standing united in the ring.
Cody Rhodes def. Bronson Reed via DQ to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship
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An okay ending to an otherwise better-than-average SmackDown once again carried hard by the U.S. Open Challenge. WarGames is at least setting up quite nicely, and presumably Roman Reigns will fill out the babyface team in the coming weeks. Perhaps, even John Cena.
Other than that, when I say that this show was decent, it is, of course, in comparison to the previous weeks of rather milquetoast episodes. The M.F.T.s storyline continues to just be kind of there, but I am enjoying everything surrounding the U.S. Title and the Ciampa/Dragunov feud that’s been building in the background of it.At the end of the day, a decent show is certainly better than a forgettably bad one.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown will emanate live from Greenville, South Carolina.
WWE Champion Cody Rhodes retained his title over Drew McIntyre at last weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event after using the title belt as a weapon. The answer as to what is next for Rhodes will be answered tonight.
Jade Cargill will celebrate on tonight’s show after she defeated Tiffany Stratton last Saturday to capture the WWE Women’s Championship.
Chelsea Green will get a chance to protect her record as the longest-reigning WWE Women’s United States Champion tonight as she challenges current champion Giulia for the title.
Men’s United States Champion Ilya Dragunov will host another open challenge as his young title run continues.
In a clash of former Women’s Champions, Charlotte Flair will battle Nia Jax, who fell to Flair’s tag team partner Alexa Bliss last Friday.
After a backstage skirmish, Rey Fenix goes one-on-one with Talla Tonga.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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– Our show kicked off with a recap of last week’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, specifically as it pertained to Cody Rhodes retaining his Undisputed WWE Championship over Drew McIntyre. This segued right into our opening segment with the aforementioned Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes kicks off SmackDown
The champion arrived in his usual grand manner, pyrotechnics and all, to the cheers of the crowd in Greenville. As Rhodes entered the ring and took a microphone, he opened by asking what the crowd wanted to talk about. He said that we could talk about what happened at SNME last week, stating that Drew McIntyre was the one who introduced the Undisputed WWE Title as a weapon during the match. Rhodes responded that his reluctance to pull the trigger has cost him time to time, something that McIntyre obviously had no issue with. That said, Rhodes called McIntyre the most “self-sabotaging athlete” in this business, which meant that the Scotsman was now fully well behind him.
Rhodes said that he wanted to do something different tonight, with that something different being sitting in the crowd with the fans to decide who’d be next for the Undisputed WWE Championship. That’s when the music of Aleister Black interrupted. Black arrived to the ring with Zelina (nee Vega) and had something to say.
Black talked about how he set Damian Priest on fire as he confronted Rhodes in the ring, showing the issue being the “size” of the Undisputed WWE Title. As Rhodes tried to step up to Black, Zelina slapped him in the face. This brought out Nick Aldis to make it official for tonight: Cody Rhodes vs. Aleister Black as the main event on SmackDown.
This is something thankfully different to kick off SmackDown, and a Black vs. Cody main event is something that is a bit fresh, so I’m at least interested to see where this goes.
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– Michael Cole and Corey Graves teed up the rest of tonight’s show as we saw Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, as well as new WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill arriving to the arena. We then cut to U.S. Champion Ilja Dragunov making his entrance, but not before he was confronted by Tama Tonga of the M.F.T.s.
U.S. Title Open Challenge: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
As Dragunov’s challenger stepped out, Tommasso Ciampa walked out and was indignant about being rejected last week and being called a “jackass” by the U.S. Championship last week. He demanded that the bell be rung on this match. Once Ciampa entered the ring, Dragunov said that he accepted the challenge… but from Johnny Gargano.
The match kicked off as Ciampa provided a bit of a distraction to Dragunov, which allowed Gargano to strike early against the champion. Gargano attempted a superkick, but Dragunov caught it and hit a set of German suplexes consecutively. Dragunov then battered the back of Gargano’s neck with elbow strikes before he delivered a suplex as we headed to a break in the action here.
Our match returned from commercial as Dragunov blasted Gargano with an uppercut to the face. The challenger matched the effort with an uppercut of his own, but the Constantine Special by Dragunov connected right on the button. With Gargano stunned in the corner, he was open for a big boot from Dragunov, followed by a diving knee for the near-fall.
Gargano used the ropes to get himself back to his feet as he stopped Dragunov’s dive from the top with a kick to the gut. Another kick by Gargano was then immediately followed by a Poison Rana for a near-fall for the challenger. Gargano lifted Dragunov up to the top rope, but the U.S. Champion lit his chest up with chops, followed by an elevated headbutt. Dragunov leapt off the top rope with a senton, but that wasn’t enough to put Gargano away.
With Gargano dazed in the middle of the ring, Dragunov attempted the H-Bomb, but was countered with a boot to the face. Gargano, however, couldn’t escape Dragunov’s standing uranage. Another attempt at a Constantine Special was thwarted by Candice LeRae at ringside as the referee was distracted. This opened Dragunov up for a tornado DDT to the outside by Gargano, followed by One Final Beat. Dragunov somehow kicked out of that at two.
Gargano tried for a dive from the apron, but was stopped by a kick from Dragunov. The U.S. Champion lifted him up from the middle rope for a superplex, as one final H-Bomb put an end to this 19th U.S. Title defense in Dragunov’s favour.
Ilja Dragunov def. Johnny Gargano via pinfall to retain the United States Championship
Another fantastic U.S. Title match that felt somewhat short, especially compared to other Open Challenge matches we’ve had before. That said, Dragunov continues to be a highlight of these shows since his return and he certainly brought out the best in Gargano, who got a chance to dig into some of that NXT magic for this one.
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– As Nick Aldis was discussing something with a referee, Sami Zayn once again tried to ask to have Rey Fenix’s back against Talla Tonga later tonight. Aldis rejected Zayn’s request, as he was not medically cleared. Zayn warned that he wasn’t able to watch for longer as the M.F.T.s ran roughshod over everyone. Once Zayn left, R-Truth appeared and asked Aldis if he could be in the tournament for John Cena’s final opponent. In Truth’s words, he said he was putting “his balls” in Aldis’ hands. After the SmackDown GM told Truth he was already in the Cena tournament, Truth said that he didn’t want his balls in Aldis’ hands anyway.
– We got a recap of Jade Cargill’s Saturday Night’s Main Event victory over Tiffany Stratton, which made her the new WWE Women’s Champion.
– Backstage, a defeated Johnny Gargano talked about his loss to Tommasso Ciampa. The Fraxiom duo of Nathan Frazer & Axiom showed up to rub a little salt in the wounds, particularly towards Ciampa for being rejected two weeks in a row by Dragunov.
Jade Cargill celebrates her WWE Women’s Title win
Once Cargill got into the ring, she made it short and sweet. What happened to Tiffany Stratton would happen to anyone else in the SmackDown’s women’s locker room. That’s because Cargill was “that bitch”.
As Cargill left and made her way to the ramp, she was interrupted by Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, who were entering for our next match. Cargill took time to taunt Flair briefly, which got enough of Flair’s attention that she tried to confront Cargill. Bliss got her tag partner to focus herself on her upcoming match against Nia Jax before anything physical could happen, however.
Pretty much just a short promo from Cargill that didn’t really need to go on for long, which does neatly help get around any sort of perceived limitations promo-wise from Cargill.
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– Backstage, Chelsea Green was getting herself hyped up for her Women’s U.S. Championship match against Giulia later tonight. That’s when Michin & B-Fab showed up to talk trash to her. As Green was boasting about being the greatest women’s champion on SmackDown, Jade Cargill appeared behind her. Green backed off and took her leave. B-Fab had a confrontation with the new WWE Women’s Champion afterwards, which led to a match between the two to be set for next week.
Nia Jax vs. Charlotte Flair (w/ Alexa Bliss)
The match got underway as Flair and Jax locked up in the middle of the ring. Jax used her strength to push Flair aside, as she then weathered a shoulder tackle from her foe. Jax facewashed Flair with a hand, but got taken down with a Lou Thesz Press. Jax shrugged that off and pushed Flair into the corner. Flair answered with a dropkick, followed by a headscissors takedown as she played to the crowd afterwards.
Back in the corner, Flair chopped at Jax, but got thrown into the corner, which led to her getting crushed and an ad break halfway through this one.
We returned from commercial as Flair attempted to fight back with a boot from the apron. She then went up to for the diving crossbody that landed on Jax. Flair fired away with chops to the chest of Jax, then the running clothesline to ground her gargantuan foe. Flair headed to the top rope and connected with the moonsault. One, two… no! Flair attempted to lock in the Figure-Eight, but Jax responded with a sitdown powerbomb that wasn’t enough to put this one away.
Jax dragged Flair near the corner as she looked for the Annihilator. Flair escaped, but found herself on Jax’s shoulders for a move of some kind. That, however, was countered as Jax fell victim to a diving elbow from the apron. Jax’s attempt at a Samoan Drop was countered into a Tornado DDT for the near-fall. Outside the ring, Lash Legend attacked Alexa Bliss and put her in a sleeper hold. This caused enough of a distraction as Jax won this with the Annhilator.
Post-match, it was clear that Legend was now aligned with Jax.
Nia Jax def. Charlotte Flair via pinfall
The match was not my cup of tea, but the partnership between Lash Legend & Nia Jax is at least somewhat interesting to partially freshen up SmackDown’s women’s division. Hopefully something’s cooking on that front.
**********
– A video package for the tournament to decide John Cena’s final opponent at the December 13th Saturday Night’s Main Event aired, narrated by the man himself. Afterwards, a video from Nick Aldis revealed the two matches that have been drawn so far: The Miz vs. Jey Uso and LA Knight vs. a surprise opponent.
– Backstage, Nia Jax and Lash Legend were interviewed about their new partnership. Jax called Lash her friend, something that she knew from their encounters on NXT. Lash said that this was only the beginning.
Women’s United States Championship: Giulia (c) (w/ Kiana James) vs. Chelsea Green (w/ Alba Fyre)
Green’s AAA Mixed Tag Team Champion partner, Ethan Page, was in the crowd and congratulated her as she made her way to the ringside area.
Green started off with a hard slap to Giulia’s face. She got a headbutt for her troubles, followed by a vertical suplex. Giulia caught Green with a knee to the face, but that wasn’t enough for the victory. Green got Biel thrown into the corner by Giulia, as she then found herself trapped across the ropes, and a knee to the face.
Kiana James got involved with a slap to the face to the stunned Green, which got her a superkick to the face by Alba Fyre. In the midst of this chaos, Green snuck in a roll-up pin with feet on the ropes to pick up the win and the Women’s U.S. Championship.
Chelsea Green def. Giulia via pinfall to win the Women’s United States Championship
This was not good, sorry to say. While I’m glad Chelsea got the win, and the result was certainly shocking, this certainly needed a bit more time to cook, and I’m not sure if people will be up for Giulia losing her title in only her third defense in the manner that she did here.It does highlight that there are underlying problems with how weak SmackDown’s women’s division is even with the new champions we’ve got, something that needs to be fixed.
**********
– The M.F.T.s plotted backstage ahead of Talla Tonga’s match with Rey Fenix. Solo Sikoa wanted to see Talla crush Fenix in their match. As the M.F.T.s left, we saw the Wyatt Sicks emerge from the shadows, as they kept a watchful eye on Sikoa’s group.
– As Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss were recovering from their tough night, Asuka — disguised as a doctor — spat her blue mist in both their faces before she and Kairi Sane made their escape.
Talla Tonga (w/ The M.F.T.s) vs. Rey Fenix
The Motor City Machine Guns & Shinsuke Nakamura snuck up behind the M.F.T.s and attacked them, which evened the odds for Fenix.
Once the match started, Fenix hit a feint between the ropes as he went after Talla’s legs with kicks to the back of his legs. Talla fought back by throwing Fenix down with a standing flapjack. With Fenix on the apron, Talla kicked him down, which sent Fenix crashing into the apron. Outside the ring, Talla threw Fenix into the barricade as we got a break in the action.
We returned from commercial as Fenix’s attempt at a springboard was met by Talla easily pushing him aside, to the amusement of Solo Sikoa at ringside. Talla clotheslined Fenix and began to pummel him in the corner with hard elbow strikes. Fenix created some separatation by avoiding a running attack from Talla, which allowed him to hit a feint kick to the big man’s face.
Fenix’s attempt at a sunset flip was stopped by Talla, who nailed his foe with a huge uppercut. As Fenix recovered on the apron, he avoided the big boot from Talla. He hit the Goodbye, Amigo kick on a stunned Tallaw as he then took off from the top rope with a crossbody for the near-fall. Fenix blasted Talla with a superkick to his kneeling foe. He tried to go for a dive, but Talla caught him for a chokeslam for the victory.
After the match, Sikoa tried to get Talla to chokeslam Fenix again, but Sami Zayn ran down with a chair in hand. Sikoa and Talla backed off.
Talla Tonga def. Rey Fenix
I honestly did not enjoy this match, but that might be largely due to me not reallyvibing this whole rebooted M.F.T.s. storyline, but I did somewhat appreciate the David vs. Goliath story that was attempted here. Other than that, not really much to write home about.
Next Week on SmackDown
Jade Cargill vs. B-Fab
Last Time is Now Tournament Rd. 1: The Miz vs. Jey Uso
Last Time is Now Tournament Rd. 1: LA Knight vs. ???
– The Miz was interviewed about his match with Jey Uso last week, as well as what he did to Carmelo Hayes last week. In Miz’s eyes, that was a reminder of what he was capable of. He said that he made Hayes relevant and that once he beats Jey Uso next week, he will be the one to end John Cena’s career.
Cody Rhodes vs. Aleister Black (w/ Zelina)
The two sized one another up and got into a chain wrestling battle to start off, with neither Black nor Rhodes having the upper hand early on. Shortly after, Rhodes lifted Black up for a standing suplex throw. He attempted his signature dropdown uppercut, but Black caught him with an armbar. Rhodes went for the Disaster Kick, but was met by a kick from Black instead, which took us to the final break of the evening.
SmackDown’s main event returned as Rhodes avoided a kick from Black and attempted the roll-up pin. Black responded with a boot to the face and another quick cover. In the corner, Black attacked Rhodes with chops and a kick to the chest, as he then hit him with the knee in the gut. Rhodes fought back with a running clothesline, followed by a successful Disaster Kick and the near-fall. Rhodes sized up Black for the Cross Rhodes, but Black countered and hit a fierce kick to the face for the two-count.
Black attempted a back suplex, but had that countered by Rhodes, who answered right back with the Cody Cutter for yet another near-fall. As Black got himself up, Rhodes tried for the Dusty-style strikes, but was met with a knee and a jackknife suplex from his foe. Black went for the Black Mass, but tried for the Cross Rhodes. That attempt was reversed as the two traded kicks that took each other out. Just as Black and Rhodes were recovering, Drew McIntyre appeared and hit the referee with a Claymore Kick.
Things descended into chaos as Black and McIntyre tried attack Rhodes with a two-on-one assault. Damian Priest ran down as a brawl broke out between everyone. Nick Aldis appeared after all this and announced that McIntyre was suspended indefinitely. The Levesque & Fitting producer credits appeared as McIntyre shouted repeatedly at Aldis that, quote, “his back was against the wall”.
Cody Rhodes vs. Aleister Black went to a No Contest
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It was an alright main event, and I suspect McIntyre’s “suspension” is to cover for him filming the Highlander reboot. That said, it does leave a hole in SmackDown’s world title scene, especially as it relates to who could Cody Rhodes face next while McIntyre is offTV.
The show itself, however, was not something I enjoyed watching. If 2025 has shown us anything, it’s just how much the bloom is off the rose with regards to Triple H’s booking post-Vince. SmackDown as a weekly show is a prime example of that. I enjoy the U.S. Title Open Challenges, yes, but everything else is either just there or not at all entertaining, sorry to say.
The updated WWE SmackDown lineup for tonight includes appearances by champions Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill.
Rhodes and Cargill were both victorious at Saturday Night’s Main Event last weekend, with Rhodes retaining his WWE title over Drew McIntyre and Cargill defeating Tiffany Stratton to become the new WWE Women’s Champion. We’ll see if new challengers emerge tonight.
At Saturday Night’s Main Event, Cody Rhodes retained the Undisputed WWE Title by defeating Drew McIntyre.
With Rhodes still on top, what’s next for The American Nightmare?
Find out on SmackDown tonight at 8e/7c on USA.
For Cargill’s appearance, WWE is questioning how she will mark her first SmackDown as champion:
After dethroning Tiffany Stratton at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Jade Cargill is the new WWE Women’s Champion, and SmackDown has never been stormier.
How will Cargill mark her return?
Don’t miss SmackDown tonight at 8e/7c on USA.
Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina is the venue for SmackDown tonight. There are four matches confirmed for the show, including two title bouts. Here is the full announced lineup:
WWE SmackDown (Friday, November 7) —
WWE Champion Cody Rhodes appears
New WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill appears
Women’s United States Champion Giulia defends against Chelsea Green
United States Champion Ilja Dragunov defends his title in an open challenge
