As we head deeper into the holiday season, WWE presents a pre-taped edition of SmackDown tonight.
Cody Rhodes’ dream match at Saturday Night’s Main Event against Oba Femi was ruined when Drew McIntyre attacked him for the disqualification. In retaliation, Rhodes invaded McIntyre’s home that weekend to brawl with him.
On tonight’s show, the WWE Champion returns with a lot to talk about.
The WWE Tag Team titles will be on the line tonight as Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis of The Wyatt Sicks defend against two members of The MFTs.
In non-title action, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) will battle Lash Legend & Nia Jax, who are looking to earn a shot at the belts.
WWE United States Champion Ilja Dragunov teams up with Carmelo Hayes against #DIY.
The announced card is rounded out by Giulia vs. Alba Fyre.
Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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– Previously in WWE: It was John Cena’s last match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. He tapped and he retired. After that recap, we went to Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett at commentary (as this episode of SmackDown was taped earlier this week), who talked about Cody Rhodes’ home invasion attack against Drew McIntyre. We then saw shots of Rhodes himself, and then the M.F.T.s arriving to the arena.
Damian Priest kicks off SmackDown
Fresh off a mixed-tag match victory on last week’s episode against Aleister Black & Zelina, Damian Priest arrived to SmackDown and had some words to say following that huge win.
Priest thanked the Hershey, PA fans for their energy because it has been a tough few days thanks to John Cena’s retirement. Priest praised Cena for being the Greatest of All Time, as he said “Thank you, Cena”. He then said it was time to talk about some good times, namely when Aleister and Zelina got their “asses dropped” by the Terror Twins. Before Priest could continue with talking about his 2026 plans, Zelina interrupted him.
Zelina said that Priest was a hypocrite and that he shouldn’t be celebrating because he didn’t get the pin. She noted that Black broke Priest, and that he had to live with the decision that Black had made. As Black’s theme played, he snuck up in the ring to attack Priest from behind. The brawl broke out between the two in the ring as the action spilled into ringside. Priest dropped Black on the apron with a modified South of Heaven chokeslam before he pulled out the Slim Jim-branded table from underneath the ring. Meanwhile, Black recovered and hit Priest with a chair in the chest. The two continued to fight until Black hit a diving Meteora from the apron through the table.
I’m just going to get out front here and say that the idea of Priest vs. Black continuing on longer does not move me in the slightest. That this feud, like the Energizer Bunny, just keeps going and going (and has been since July) is not something I want to see every week. Without a doubt, one of the reasons why SmackDown is languishing in terms of engaging stories.
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– Backstage, Byron Saxton was with Lash Legend & Nia Jax for remarks about Legend’s win over Alexa Bliss. The two noted that it was not an upset as Legend dominated her foe last week.
– Elsewhere, as Damian Priest was being helped by a litany of referees, Aleister Black attacked and continued his assault, ending with a Black Mass kick.
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) vs. Lash Legend & Nia Jax
Sane and Legend started off for their respective teams. Sane tried to get a sleeper hold on Legend, but got shoved into the corner instead. She avoided a pump kick from Legend as she then climbed to the top rope. Sane leapt, but got caught by Legend instead. Sane got out of her predicament with a hurricanrana, but Legend responded with a fierce running elbow as she tagged Jax in.
The two crushed Sane in their corner as Jax got the pin, but no three. Sane managed to tag in Asuka as the Women’s Tag Champs used teamwork to keep Jax grounded momentarily. Jax created some space with a pop-up spinebuster. However, she found herself on the backfoot with a double dropkick from the Kabuki Warriors. Legend also got sent to the outside, which gave Sane time to launch herself from the top rope and onto both Legend and Jax at ringside, which took us to the commercial break point.
We returned from break with Jax working over Sane in the corner as we saw a replay of Legend hitting a pump kick on Sane during the break. Back to the match, Legend applied a resthold on Sane for a bit until she slammed her foe down by the head. Jax was tagged in as she knocked Asuka off the apron. Jax and Legend tried to go for a double suplex, but Sane turned that into a double DDT, which gave her enough time to finally tag Asuka in.
Asuka got on the top rope and hit a double missile dropkick on Jax and Legend. A little bit of friendly fire as Asuka avoided Legend’s running attack, which sent her into Jax instead. Asuka then locked in the armbar on Jax, who used her power to escape out of it. Asuka connected with a Shining Wizard, but Legend broke it up. Things began to break down as all four women were in the ring as Asuka headed up top. Legend pulled at Asuka’s leg, which allowed Jax to head up top for an attempted avalanche Samoan drop. Legend pulled Asuka out of the ring and threw her into the steel steps. Sane took Legend out of the equation with a divking knee. However, Jax recovered and knocked Sane out, which let her get the victory with the Annihilator.
Jax and Legend didn’t get time to celebrate their win as Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss ran down to start a fight with them. The former Women’s Tag Champs got the best of Jax and Legend in the melee.
Lash Legend & Nia Jax def. The Kabuki Warriors via pinfall
A decent tag match, and I do think the women’s tag scene is heating up, so not much in the way of complaints as far as this match is concerned.
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– Jackie Redmond was set to interview Giulia, but was told by her representative Kiana James to address her properly before she could do so. Once she did, Giuia said that she was going to make sure that Alba Fyre would be left saying arrivederci.
Cody Rhodes attacks Drew McIntyre at home
We got footage of Nick Aldis & Drew McIntyre’s meeting over the weekend. This meeting had Aldis & McIntyre agree on terms for an Undisputed WWE Championship match, where McIntyre gets to pick a stipulation, and an agreement that Cody Rhodes cannot attack McIntyre before that match or he will be stripped of the Undisputed WWE Title.
Afterwards, Rhodes appeared at the driveway of McIntyre’s house and proceeded to fight him as police tried to separate the two. Rhodes shouted “Merry Christmas, asshole!” at McIntyre while the two were being separated.
– Mr. Aldis addressed the situation, where he was placed in a tough situation due to everything surrounding Rhodes & McIntyre, which has created a lot of legal headaches due to the personal situation. The Miz appeared and demanded a match against Joe Hendry (referrring to him as “He Who Shall Not Be Named”) next week, to which Aldis agreed to. R-Truth then imitated Hendry, misnaming him as “Joe Pesci”.
Giulia (w/ Kiana James) vs. Alba Fyre (w/ Chelsea Green)
Giulia didn’t waste time as she came right at Fyre with a tackle, followed by strikes to the face. Giulia had Fyre in the corner and punched away at her, as she taunted Chelsea Green on the outside. Giulia maintained advantage with an attempted surfboard, but Green’s distraction allowed Fyre to avoid that fate.
Fyre took over with a tornado DDT for the near-fall. Giulia recovered and pulled at Fyre by her hair to slam her down on the canvas a couple of times. Fyre found herself trapped in an octopus stretch, but escaped as she and Giulia rolled around the ring to get a pinfall attempt in. Fyre kicked Giulia in the face, but could not put her away.
In the end, Giulia caught Fyre with the Arrivederci Knee and ended it in short order with the Northern Lights Driver.
Giulia def. Alba Fyre via pinfall
Not sure if a heel vs. heel match was the right call here, but seems like the crowd was a bit muted for this match, and honestly, with the way Giulia has been booked post-NXT, I can’t say I blame them.
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– The Wyatt Sicks addressed Solo Sikoa via their videos. They said that Sikoa’s greed has let him down to a dark path, and this image he portrays will drive him into a new world filled with adversity and abandonment.
Cody Rhodes addresses the Drew McIntyre situation
The Undisputed WWE World Champion made his way down to the ring and got ready to talk about what was on his mind, but not before asking what the Hershey crowd wanted to talk about.
Rhodes started that yes, he did go to Drew McIntyre’s house and throw a few cops in the water, but McIntyre did state that in his eyes “WWE was an unsafe working environment”. Rhodes said that McIntyre was surrounded by MMA fighters, second-generation wrestlers NIL standouts, and asked if Staples would be a safe work environment for McIntyre. Before Rhodes could continue, the SmackDown General Manager, Nick Aldis, interrupted.
Aldis said that because of Rhodes going to McIntyre’s house, he was forced into a bad situation, and that Rhodes was not “above the law”. Aldis said that Rhodes should’ve trusted him and now as a result of the situation, once McIntyre returns to issue his public apology, Rhodes cannot physically touch McIntyre. Otherwise, he’d be stripped of the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Rhodes responded that Aldis should know who he’s talking to, as Wade Barrett and Marty the cameraman could. Rhodes then listed off his accomplishments, as he declared himself “QB1”, and “the law” around these parts. Rhodes said that he didn’t work for Mr. Aldis, but he worked for the fans, and that Mr. Aldis “worked” for him.
What interested me about this Cody segment was the rather boastful tone he took there near the end of it. Whether that gets paid off as a road to a potential heel turn down the line is anyone’s guess, but still something interesting to think about.
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– Carmelo Hayes & Ilja Dragunov discussed their upcoming tag match against #DIY. Fraxiom approached the two and declared that if Hayes and Dragunov missed, they’d be there to go after Gargano & Ciampa. In the background, Tama Tonga was seen scheming.
Ilja Dragunov & Carmelo Hayes vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) (w/ Candice LeRae)
Gargano & Ciampa went after Hayes and Dragunov immediately, but found themselvse being shelled by the double team. Dragunov and Hayes blasted Ciampa with consecutive running boots in the corner before things settled down in the ring.
Dragunov chopped down Ciampa and then dragged him to his corner as Hayes tagged in. With Ciampa down on his back, he got hit with a running leg drop from Hayes before Dragunov re-entered the match. The U.S. Champion stunned Ciampa with a suplex as he headed up top. Candice LeRae got on the apron to distract the referee, as Gargano pulled Dragunov down. This allowed Ciampa to crack his foe with a running knee, which sent Dragunov flying into the commentary table. #DIY surveyed the damage from the apron as we took a break in the action.
Back from commercial, as Ciampa and Dragunov exchanged strikes in the ring. After Ciampa got dropped, Dragunov connected with the Constantine Special on Gargano. This allowed Hayes to enter the match as the hot tag. Like a house of fire, Hayes dropped Gargano with a springboard clothesline. He then followed that up with a nice rendition of Mistico’s La Mistica finishing move for the near-fall. After Hayes tagged in Dragunov, he leapt over the top rope with a pitch-perfect Fosbury Flop on Ciampa. Back in the ring, Dragunov landed the senton on Gargano, but that wasn’t enough to end the match.
As Hayes tagged himself in, #DIY regained momentum with a superkick from Gargano, followed by Project Ciampa by its namesake. Dragunov broke up the pin, but was thrown into the ringpost at ringside by Gargano. In the ring, Hayes tried to springboard again, but Ciampa caused a distraction, which allowed LeRae to interfere. However, Hayes kicked out of Ciampa’s knee to the face. #DIY teamed up with the Fairytale Ending and superkick on Hayes, but again, Hayes kicked out at two.
Gargano & Ciampa were in opposite corners and had Hayes in position for a Meet in the Middle, but Gargano was blasted by Dragunov’s Torpedo Moscow as Hayes connected with First 48 on Ciampa. With Ciampa left alone, Dragunov got him with the H-Bomb, and Hayes finally finished it off with Nothin’ But Net for the win.
Carmelo Hayes & Ilja Dragunov def. #DIY via pinfall
This was entertaining, and as I said before, I find the U.S.Title scene to be quite enjoyable and often the highlight of SmackDown. Even without an Open Challenge match this week, I loved this here and seeing Melo start to win over the crowd is a nice bonus, too.
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– Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss were asked about why they attacked Lash Legend & Nia Jax. The two said that Jax and Legend were in their way as they called their shot for the Women’s Tag Titles. WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill then appeared and had a brief staredown with Flair & Bliss. Interviewer Jackie Redmon then tried to get a word with Cargill about why she attacked Michin. Cargill said that since it was the season of giving, she was going to give Michin a bit of credit for getting back up, and that she’ll give her a spotlight soon enough. But, Cargill promised to knock Michin’s lights out once that was done. Michin appeared from behind and struck Cargill with a kendo stick.
Next Week on SmackDown (12/26/25)
- Ilja Dragunov’s U.S. Title Open Challenge
- The Miz vs. Joe Hendry
- Drew McIntyre returns
WWE Tag Team Championship: The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy) (w/ Uncle Howdy, Nikki Cross, Erick Rowan) vs. The M.F.T.s (J.C. Mateo & Tonga Loa) (w/ Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Talla Tonga)
As Solo Sikoa walked to the Gorilla Position, he said that the fireflies were going to bear witness to the M.F.T.s winning the WWE Tag Titles as he had the whole world in his hands, again invoking Bray Wyatt.
Lumis got ahead on Loa by sliding underneath him, then hitting two uppercuts on him. Lumis connected with a back suplex, followed by a leg drop on Loa for an early pin attempt. Gacy was tagged in, but Loa recovered and managed to catch him by surprise with stomps in the corner. Mateo entered the match and continued the punishment on Gacy. However, that M.F.T. advantage was temporary as Gacy delivered a dropkick on Mateo. Lumis tagged in and hit a nice double team move on Mateo, who rolled out of the ring for a breather.
Gacy tagged in again and looked like he was about to launch himself over the top rope, but Loa got out of the way. Mateo then barreled into Gacy with a hard clothesline, as he then caught Lumis and slammed him against the ringpost, followed by a slam on the floor. This took us into the break.
The SmackDown main event continued from commercial with the M.F.T.s in firm control as they isolated Lumis in their corner. Mateo flattened Lumis with a powerslam for the near-fall as Loa got tagged in and landed a powerslam of his own. Lumis woke up and hit a superkick on Loa as Mateo tried to stop the hot tag. He, too, got superkicked by Lumis as Gacy got the hot tag.
Gacy hit a suplex on Mateo as he knocked Loa off the apron. He then slammed Mateo with a stalling Saito suplex, but he missed with a springboard dive, which opened him up for a spinning side suplex. One, two, not quite. Gacy rebounded off the rope with his handstand clothesline on Mateo, as Loa also found himself a victim of this unique move afterwards. With both M.F.T. members outside the ring, Gacy launched into them with a top rope dive.
The Wyatt Sicks hit a double team suplex/powerbomb combo as Lumis headed up top for a high-risk maneuver. The spalsh from Lumis as Loa broke up the pin. Outside the ring, Talla Tonga kicked Gacy with the referee’s back turned. Erick Rowan then attacked Talla and things broke down into a massive brawl between the Wyatt Sicks and the M.F.T.s at ringside, which forced the referee to throw out the match.
In the ring, Gacy and Lumis were held up by Mateo, Loa, and Tama as Talla launched himsellf off the top rope onto everyone. Rowan then took Talla out with a dropkick and a clothesline. Nikki Cross wanted herself some too, and Rowan obliged as he threw her onto Talla at ringside. Solo Sikoa snuck up on Rowan and dropped him with a Samoan Spike. As Sikoa bragged, he was in position for Uncle Howdy’s Sister Abigail, but Tama jumped him. The brawl continued unabated as the Levesque & Fitting producer credits were up to end this show.
The Wyatt Sicks vs. The M.F.T.s. ended in a No Contest
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You’re probably all aware about my feelings on this feud, and this main event was just average. The brawl was a least bit interesting, but still, not really a good way to end another just decent episode of SmackDown.
This week, the show wasn’t really terrible, just kind of there, which has been a nagging problem for the blue show as of late. There are peaks — the U.S. Title situation being the most notable — but the valleys are many and the show does suffer in quality as a result.
