Tag: wwe live results

WWE Raw live results: CM Punk vs. Bron Breakker World title match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: January 5, 2026
Location: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York 

The Big Takeaway —

CM Punk successfully retained his world title over Bron Breakker in an excellent main event, worth checking out if you missed it. There was a bunch of interference at one point, but they got everyone out of the way with enough time. 

Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky won the Women’s tag titles, while Becky Lynch regained the Women’s Intercontinental title. 

Je’Von Evans signed with Raw during a commercial break. 

Chris Jericho was not on the show.

**********

Show Recap — 

Michael Cole and Corey Graves (wearing a Hellfire Club t-shirt) welcomed us to a sold-out Barclays Center for a Stranger Things-themed edition of Raw. The graphics were all Stranger Things-related, and the establishing shot of New York was made to look like the Upside Down. There were also cars and other show gimmicks around the stage. 

Bron Breakker (and The Vision), CM Punk, Liv Morgan and Judgment Day, Becky Lynch, Lyra Valkyria and Bayley were shown arriving as the Stranger Things song played. 

(It was sort of funny—and fitting—seeing Breakker sternly march through the back ready for his first-ever world title while the Stranger Things track played.) 

Tonight’s sold-out crowd is 14,728. 

Women’s Tag Team Championship: Asuka & Kairi Sane (c) vs. Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY

After all the Stranger Things stuff, they went to commercial break 10 minutes into the show and just 39 seconds into the first scheduled match of the night. 

Ripley took control by hitting a cannonball off the apron ahead of the break, but when they returned, Sane pulled Asuka to safety on another attempt, and they drove Ripley into the barricade to take over. 

Ripley fought back and tagged in Sky, whose offence included a slingblade. That prompted Graves to mention Hiroshi Tanahashi and his retirement, which was nice. The heels got the advantage of Sky anyway, and Sane hit a leaping footstomp to Sky’s back while she was draped over the top rope—leading to another break barely 8 minutes in. 

Ripley got the hot tag and hit Sane with a Razor’s Edge, and Sky tagged back in. Sky followed with a flying dropkick for a nearfall. Crowd wanted a title change. 

Ripley gave Sane a Rip-tide as Sky set up for a moonsault, but Asuka shoved Ripley into Sky to knock her off the top, and followed with a Codebreaker on Ripley. Asuka tagged in and gave Ripley a German suplex (as Ripley yelled, “Oh, shit!”). Asuka and Sane double-teamed Ripley until Sky made the save and dumped Sane from the ring. Sky tagged in and hit Asuka with a running meteroa into the bottom rope. 

Ripley tagged in and hit Asuka with a Rip-tide, and Sky followed with a moonsault. Sky wiped out Sane with a dive, and Ripley covered Asuka for the pinfall win. New champs. The fans popped big. 

Match result: Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY defeated Asuka & Kairi Sane to win the Women’s Tag Team Champions (16:27) 

A pretty good, exciting match with a happy finish to kick off the new year. 

********

There was a video package for Punk vs. Breakker set to ‘This Land’ by Des Rocs. 

Adam Pearce congratulated the new tag team champs backstage. After they left, he was confused upon seeing a Demogorgon. 

Gunther approached Pearce next. Pearce advised Gunther that there were a lot of eyes on the show tonight, and a lot of eyes on Gunther, including from those in the locker room. He advised Gunther to mix in a little respect in his promo tonight. Gunther chuckled.

The next segment had a chapter title card like Stranger Things. It was Chapter Two: He who remains. (I assume they did this earlier, but I didn’t see it.) 

Gunther and AJ Styles segment

Gunther entered. He said he was told by management to show some respect, but people should be respecting him, the one man who made John Cena tap out. 

AJ Styles interrupted. The fans chanted for Styles as he got in Gunther’s face. Gunther called himself the greatest wrestler in this company (the crowd booed that), and that included Styles, because he was the man who made Cena tap out like a little bitch. Gunther wondered what “little AJ” was going to do about it. 

Styles smacked Gunther in the face. Gunther got in Styles’ face but didn’t retaliate. Styles wasn’t surprised and said, “That’s what I thought—nothing.” Styles chucked the microphone at Gunther and left the ring.

******** 

There was a video package for the Women’s IC title match. 

Ivy Nile told Pearce she didn’t plan on going to the back of the line and wanted the winner of tonight’s IC title match. Pearce wasn’t in the mood and told her that we’ll see. Nile reiterated that she would not go to the back of the line. (Someone should tell her it’s not a long line.) 

Gunther confronted Pearce and wanted Styles. Styles jumped in and told Gunther they could fight right now and asked if he would just stand there like a bitch. Gunther ignored Styles and demanded a match for next week. Pearce made it official. Styles was glad. 

******** 

The next title card was Chapter Three: It’s Not Just Her Saying It. 

Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Maxxine Dupri (c) vs. Becky Lynch 

Lynch wore gear inspired by her character in the upcoming Star Trek show. 

Lynch tried yanking Dupri off the apron, but Dupri countered by doing a pointless cartwheel. Dupri hit a boot to take control, but Lynch took control during a break by yanking Dupri off the middle rope. 

They returned from break, and there was a modest and brief “Y2J” chant. Dupri fired up and applied an ankle lock, but Lynch got a rope break. They traded come counters until Lynch hit a middle rope superplex and transitioned into a DDT for two. Lynch hit a back suplex, but Dupri came back with one of her own and a flying crossbody for two. 

Lynch set up for a powerbomb out of the corner, but Dupri slipped out and applied an ankle lock (this did not look good). Lynch tried flipping out of it, but Dupri held on while lying on the mat. 

Dupri’s back was down, so Lynch leaned backward, grabbed the bottom rope, and pinned Dupri for the win. Lynch is a two-time IC champion. 

Match result: Becky Lynch defeated Maxxine Dupri to win the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (11:37) 

This was not good at all, but the right person won. Moving on. 

********

Je’Von Evans signs with Monday Night Raw 

Pearce entered and showed a video for Je’Von Evans, who joined Pearce on the stage. Pearce officially signed Evans to a Raw contract, and the fans applauded. 

The good: doing this on the stage made Evans feel special. The bad: this happened during a commercial break. 

After the break, they aired a commercial for season two of WWE: Unreal. 

********

The Usos segment 

Jimmy and Jey Uso entered in the crowd and remained there. Jimmy had them cut Jey’s music, but played it back for the fans before they cut their promo. 

The Usos shouted out Styles and Dragon Lee for their match, but that was last week and last year. 2026 was the year of the Usos. This was a warning shot to every tag team in the game. Standing in front of you was the best tag team in the game. They’d be waiting right here for anyone who wanted to run up on them. 

********

Stephanie Vaquer walked through the back and passed The Creed Brothers, who were hanging out in a Scoops Ahoy boat from Stranger Things. 

Chapter Four: To Kiss a Devil 

Stephanie Vaquer segment 

Vaquer entered in a walking boot for an in-ring interview with Jackie Redmond. Cole said Vaquer suffered an ankle injury during last week’s successful title defence. 

Vaquer spoke about her special year—winning four titles, including the world title. She became emotional as she talked about her accomplishments and thanked everyone for their support. She spoke in Spanish about her title defence last week over Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez. She pointed to her walking boot and said the injury would not stop her. 

She posed with the belt, but was attacked from behind by Rodriguez. Rodriguez repeatedly slammed Vaquer’s injured foot against the mat before hitting a Tejana Bomb. 

Rodriguez grabbed a chair and was about to Pillmanize her leg, but Pearce and other officials ran out to stop it. The crowd booed as Rodriguez confidently walked to the back. 

Officials helped an upset Vaquer to the back during a break. 

After the break, only two medical staff members remained with Vaquer to help her walk. Rodriguez charged right back in and attacked Vaquer again. Pearce, who left Vaquer on her own, ran in and screamed at Rodriguez. He threatened to fine her until she had nothing left. 

******** 

Backstage, Rey Mysterio gave Dragon Lee words of encouragement and said he would be champion again. Dragon Lee appreciated the advice and left to speak with Styles. 

Penta approached Rey to say he was happy to come back early to help him against the Vision (I guess they haven’t talked since that segment ended). Rey thanked him for having his back. Rey said Penta understood the tradition, honour, and respect of lucha libre, everything the Vision wanted to destroy. Penta told Rey he would always be there for him. 

Elle Duncan was ringside. 

Lyra Valkyria (w/ Bayley) vs. Liv Morgan (w/ Roxanne Perez)

This went through a break, and the crowd was relatively quiet until a wild-looking spot about 7 minutes into the match. Valkyria set up for Nightwing, but Morgan countered into what was likely supposed to be a Codebreaker. It basically was, but Valkyria took the move almost like a DDT, so she landed right on her head. It likely sounded and looked worse than it was for Valkyria, fortunately. 

Morgan distracted the ref, so Perez dropped the rope on Valkyria. Bayley went after Perez, but the ref stopped her, so Perez used that distraction to chuck Bayley into the timekeeper’s area. Bayley “snapped,” grabbed a chair, and chased Perez through the ring and to the back. 

Valkyria was not paying attention to her opponent, so Morgan flew in and hit Oblivion for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Liv Morgan defeated Lyra Valkyria (8:56) 

Valkyria has not won a match since October, and she wasn’t presented like she deserved to win this one. 

********

CM Punk interview 

Redmond interviewed CM Punk backstage. Redmond said some thought Breakker could win the title tonight with one spear. 

Punk said everyone had an opinion. They would rather talk about him, because if they talked about themselves, nobody would pay attention. Breakker could claim spear 1-2-3 if he wanted. But if Punk was the underdog, you were underestimating him, and that meant a GTS and a nap. It could happen to anybody, but tonight, it was Bron. 

********

Byron Saxton interviewed Logan Paul and Austin Theory during a break. It doesn’t really matter what they said. Logan got a ton of heat, while the monotonous Theory got none. 

The only thing announced for Raw in Germany next week (2 pm ET/11 am PT start time) is Gunther vs. AJ Styles for the first time ever. 

******** 

Chapter Six: The Best vs. The Badass.

World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Bron Breakker (w/ Paul Heyman)

Punk wore a Rick Steiner-inspired Varsity Club jacket with “CM” on the front. This was his first official title defence since winning the title back on November 1st.

They wrestled back and forth through an early break until Bron sprinted the ropes and clobbered Punk with a clothesline. Bron held control until Punk tried a desperation GTS, but Bron countered into a back suplex. Bron remained in control until Punk again tried a GTS, but Bron countered into a gutbuster for two. 

Punk spilled out of the ring, and Bron saw his opportunity to hit a running spear, but Punk cut him off with a clothesline ahead of a break. Punk followed with a clothesline off the barricade and a flying crossbody in the ring for two. Punk hit a running lifting knee strike and tried another, but Bron drove him into the middle turnbuckle and hit a standing moonsault for two. 

After a break, Bron went for a Frankensteiner, but Punk did not come down for it, and Bron almost fell on his head. This was not the planned spot, and they did not show a replay (instead, they randomly replayed Bron’s standing moonsault). Punk did know well enough to follow up with a flying elbow drop for two. 

Punk went back to the top, and Bron successfully hit the Frankensteiner. Bron got him up for a press slam, but Punk countered into a DDT. Punk hit a lifting knee strike, a clothesline, and a flying elbow drop. 

Punk called for a GTS, so it was time for interference. Paul Heyman jumped on the apron, so Punk chased him off. Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and Bronson Reed ran out and leaped on the apron, but Punk chased them all off, too (all right in front of the referee). 

Bron shoved Punk into the referee, who fell out of the ring, and Theory took the opportunity to hit Punk with a curb stomp. Bron made the cover for a nearfall. 

Penta, Rey and Dragon Lee all appeared from the crowd (after Penta’s music played) to attack the Vision and chase them away through the arena. 

That left Bron and Punk alone in the ring. Bron went for a spear, but Punk dodged it, and Bron went shoulder-first into the post. Punk followed with a GTS, which for sure felt like the finish, but Bron kicked out. The crowd was super into this sequence. 

Punk followed with a rare piledriver (“didn’t get all of it,” Cole said) for a two count. Punk went for another GTS, but Bron countered into a Fujiwara armbar. Punk slipped into a cover, but Bron reapplied the hold. Punk reversed that into an Anaconda Vice. Bron simply sat up to counter the hold to Punk’s surprise. Bron followed with a gutbuster and clothesline for a nearfall. 

Bron called for a GTS and went for the move, but Punk countered into an STFU. Bron got a rope break, so Punk went to reapply the move but became distracted by Heyman on the apron again. Punk punched Heyman. 

Bron tried to spear Punk, but Punk dodged it, and Bron spilled out of the ring. Punk went for a suicide dive, but Bron punched him in the face, and Punk splatted on the outside. Punk gathered himself by the announce desk, so Bron put him through it with a wild flying clothesline off the apron. 

Bron shoved Punk into the ring, dropped his straps, and went for a spear, but Punk got his knee up to block it. Punk followed with a GTS for the pinfall win. The crowd went nuts. 

Punk posed with his title belt as the show ended. 

Match result: CM Punk defeated Bron Breakker to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (26:34)

This was awesome. Both guys needed a match like this. Bron showed he can have a main event singles match, and Punk looked like a rightful world champion—and he got his first big title defence since returning to the company. 

WWE SmackDown live results: Three Stages of Hell stipulation reveal

Posted on by Marc Quill

The first WWE SmackDown of 2026 from Buffalo, New York is also the first of the year to be in a three-hour format.

The show will be headlined by the reveal of the stipulations for the upcoming Three Stages of Hell match between WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre.

There will also be a rare ambulance match between bitter rivals Damian Priest and Aleister Black where the winner must send their opponent packing in an ambulance.

A star-studded eight woman bout is on tap when Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss take on The Kabuki Warriors, Nia Jax & Lash Legend. The match will be a preview for the WWE Women’s Tag Team title match between Asuka & Kairi Sane against Ripley & SKY on Raw this Monday.

The WWE Women’s United States Championship will be on the line as Chelsea Green defends against former titleholder Giulia.

Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.

**********

– Over a live shot of the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY, Michael Cole welcomed us to the first SmackDown of 2025. Cole then tossed to a recap of last week’s events involving Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre, which included the Three Stages of Hell match coming next week being set up.

– Shots of the aforementioned Rhodes, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, plus the Kabuki Warriors and the team of Lash Legend & Nia Jax arriving to the arena were shown. Inside the SmackDown arena, we saw an Ambulance situated next to the stage for the Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black match later tonight.

– As Cole and Corey Graves were talking, they were interrupted by The Miz, who angrily said that we weren’t moving on to 2026 until he aired his grievances for 2025.

The Miz’s 2025 Grievances

Miz started off by stating that he should’ve been the one to make John Cena tap out because of their shared history. He said that while Cena was out riding off into the sunset, he was stuck in Buffalo instead. Grievance #2: Young superstars who didn’t heed his advice and that everybody didn’t respect him enough. Grievance #3: He was passed over for Timothee Chalamet for Marty Supreme. Grievance #5: Miz said that He (in reference to Joe Hendry) ruined his final SmackDown of 2025 and that Hendry bringing back a very “untrue” nickname (“Tiny Balls”) hurt him. Miz said that we would not bring that nickname back, as he called himself the new face of WWE after John Cena left. Miz made a cheap local sports team heat reference by stating that unlike Buffalo’s sports teams, he won championships as he boasted his accolades, which in Miz’s eyes, made him the locker room leader.

Before Miz could continue on, the long-awaited sounds of “Voices” hit, which signaled the return of one Randall Keith Orton to SmackDown. Orton got a great ovation from the Buffalo crowd, as they serenaded him with a singalong of his entrance theme. As Orton got into the ring, he made Miz flinch by pretending to go after him before he posed on the turnbuckle. After a good while of posing for the crowd and the crowd chanting for him. Miz tried to hype himself and Orton as the gatekeepers of the locker room and the faces of the WWE, as he suggested “Miz-KO” as a name for them.

Orton’s response to this idea? An RKO out of nowhere to the hapless Miz. The crowd chanted for Orton to do it one more time. And with a “Happy New Year, Miz!” Orton obliged the crowd’s request with one more RKO.

I think this was an effective way to bring Randy Orton back into WWE, though I am curious about what’s in store for him, especially with previous teases of him eyeing the Undisputed WWE Title. Will the long-awaited feud with Cody Rhodes finally happen at some point? Only time will tell.

**********

– Lash Legend & Nia Jax talked with the Kabuki Warriors and said that they were owed a Women’s Tag Title shot after their team-up tonight. Asuka and Kairi Sane brushed off the idea as they got ready for the big eight-woman tag match coming up next.

– After the break, Randy Orton met up with Cody Rhodes and explicitly stated to the Undisputed WWE Champion that he is gunning for the title once Rhodes dealt with Drew McIntyre next week. Nick Aldis warned Rhodes about the “no-touch” stipulation when McIntyre shows up later tonight to lay out the Three Stages of Hell stipulations. Rhodes said that he’d get a handle of it.

Eight-Woman Tag Match: Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss vs. Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane), Nia Jax, Lash Legend

The bell rang with the heel women attacking their foes as Ripley was left to face Asuka off to start this match. Asuka stomped away on Ripley, but had her last kick blocked. Asuka got sent to the outside by Ripley, as did Sane. Tag to Alexa Bliss, who barreled into the Kabuki Warriors with a dive from the apron as we took the first of (surely many) commercial breaks for tonight.

We returned from the break as Jax and Legend were double teaming Bliss, to no avail. Legend got thrown out of the ring as Bliss then flattened Jax with a tornado DDT. Bliss got the tag to Flair, who hit both Legend and Jax with the crossbody. Flair teed off on both her opponents with chops as Legend got dropped by the somersault clothesline. Flair connected with Natural Selection on Jax as she then headed to the top rope and made no mistake with the moonsault. However, Jax managed to kick out at two.

On the apron, Flair hit Legend with a boot, but failed to connect with a slingshot spear as Jax blocked that maneuver. Asuka got the tag but immediately got stacked up for the pin by Flair, who then applied the Figure Eight submission. However, Sane got on the top rope and hit an Insane Elbow on Flair. Sane got thrown out of the ring by Bliss, while SKY was tagged into the match and unleashed her wrath on both Kabuki Warriors. Double missile dropkick on both Asuka and Sane by SKY, as Ripley was pulled down from the apron just as she was set for the tag.

In the ring, SKY was taken out by a powerful boot from Legend, but that wasn’t enough to put this one away as we got a sports-style replay of said boot before we took another break in the action.

The match continued from commercial as SKY created some needed separation between her and Sane, but Asuka knocked Bliss off the apron. SKY dumped Asuka as Ripley entered the match for the hot tag. Ripley was on fire as she used an unorthodox offensive move by using Sane as a weapon to knock Asuka down. Things began to break down when Jax attacked Ripley and we got all the women in the ring taking one another out. Sane was caught by Ripley after a failed high-risk maneuver and got hgit with Riptide. SKY got the tag and hit the Over The Moonsault to pick up the win for her team.

IYO SKY, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, and Alexa Bliss def. The Kabuki Warriors & Nia Jax and Lash Legend via pinfall

A fun eight-man tag match to kick us off officially in 2026 as all eight women in this match can really go. Was certainly a good call to have SKY and Ripley pick up the win for their team as a mean to set up match against the Kabuki Warriors on Raw next week.

**********

– Backstage, Nick Aldis was talking with NXT’s Jordynne Grace, who was informed by Aldis that SmackDown’s 2026 could involve her. Chelsea Green appeared and tried to beg off of facing Giulia for the Women’s U.S. Championship. Mr. Aldis wasn’t buying it and threatened to “impeach” Green by stripping her of the Women’s U.S. Title.

– Several Buffalo Bills players (sans Josh Allen) were shown in the crowd enjoying the show.

Kit Wilson vs. Matt Cardona

Before the match, Wilson introduced himself as redefining masculinity as he took shots at the Bills Mafia and called them the “most toxic sports fans” in America. He was interrupted by the music of Matt Cardona (nee Zack Ryder), who was Wilson’s opponent.

The match kicked off with Wilson attacking Cardona as we were informed that the latter was officially part of SmackDown’s roster. Cardona fought back and stomped away on Wilson in the corner, as he then dropped him with a face-first flapjack. Cardona clotheslined Wilson out of the ring and hit him with a sliding dropkick. Wilson regained momentum with a kick to the back of Cardona’s head in the corner. Wilson targeted Cardona’s head with punches to the face as he then placed him in the top turnbuckle and looked like he had something big planned. Cardona countered with a dropkick from the top rope as he followed that up with a facebuster.

Cardona stunned Wilson and blasted him with the Broski Boot, followed by a double-underhook powerbomb for the near-fall. Wilson sent Cardona face-first to the turnbuckle and connected with the Tourniquet, but Cardona kicked out at two. Cardona got the victory with the move called the Rough Ryder.

Matt Cardona def. Kit Wilson via pinfall

That was decent, and I will say Cardona coming into WWE under his real name and the commentary acknowledging that was a bit interesting. Not sure where Cardona will fit in, as far as his placement on the card, though.

**********

– Damian Priest was interviewed about his Ambulance Match against Aleister Black later tonight, as he said that he was put through hell for six months by Black. Priest promised that his foe would be the one who would fade to black when all is said and done.

– The Wyatt Sicks had a video promo about Solo Sikoa and what the “meaning” of family was. Bo Dallas said that SIkoa didn’t comprehend the force that he is up against as he said that the Wyatts’ family was filled with millions of fireflies of around the world that will always remember. Dallas said that it was time to chop down Sikoa’s family tree, as he said that when the dust settles, they’d be the ones.

Sami Zayn returns to SmackDown

The former United States Champion made his return to SmackDown for the first time in quite some time, as he said that the last time we saw him, he got a chance to see John Cena’s last match with his son. Zayn said that Cena’s last match really hit him in some way as his son asked him why they called Cena “The Never Seen 17”. Zayn talked about how his son then asked how many times his dad has won it, as he recounted how it doesn’t make sense to that son has been wrestling all these champions and why that World Championship was missing.

Zayn said that it made him sick that he had to talk about being a World Champion last year, so he wants to do something about it as 2026 would be the year he’d be coming for the WWE Championship. The theme of Trick Williams interrupted Zayn, which brought the former two-time NXT Champion and former TNA World Champion to the scene.

Williams said that the “sexiest and most entertaining superstar” had finally arrived as he introduced himself to Zayn. He said that he was here for one reason: Nick Aldis called “1800-WHOOP-THAT” as SmackDown needed someone of his caliber. Williams said that Aldis needed someone on SmackDown who looks like a champion and that he was here to be World Champion. Williams said he wasn’t like Zayn, that he wasn’t someone who can almost get the job done like Zayn.

Zayn said that he had been watching Williams and that Aldis might’ve been right on the assessments made about him, but he told Williams that he hadn’t been humbled yet. Zayn declared that if Williams had no problem about interrupting him, Zayn said he’d have no problem with teaching him about what it means to be humbled.

Trick Williams joining the SmackDown roster and right away entering a feud with Sami Zayn is actually an interesting one for sure, and I think it’ll lead to a good match out of these two down the line. The story of “veteran wants to humble cocky rookie” is a simple, but effective one.

**********

– Carmelo Hayes was walking backstage when Ilja Dragunov approached him. The former U.S. Champion said taht he wanted to fight the best, and that Hayes gave him that for sure. Dragunov said that he believed it wouldn’t be the last time they’d face. Dragunov asked Hayes if he’d keep the U.S. Open Challenge going, to which Hayes said that he’d continue it once he dealt with Johnny Gargano.

– Rey Fenix was sharing a chat with Nick Aldis as Trick Williams complained about what Sami Zayn did moments ago. Aldis said that maybe Williams needed to be taught a lesson as he booked his debut for next week against Rey Fenix.

United States Championship: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Johnny Gargano

Hayes went on the attack right away as he avoided a cheapshot from Gargano and threw him out before the match could get underway. Once the bell finally rang, Hayes met Gargano with a dropkick as he continued the attack in the corner. Hayes hit a nice leg drop on a downed Gargano and didn’t seem like he was going to lose momentum until a rolling kicked stopped the roll the U.S. Champion was on. Gargano’s advantage was fleeting as Hayes knocked him out with a knee to the face. On the outside, Gargano used Candice LeRae as a shield to avoid a dive as he nailed the U.S. Champ with a slingshot spear. A dive to the outside by Gargano on Hayes sent us to a break in the action.

Our match continued from the break with Gargano maintained his aggressive attack on Hayes, but a blocked boot allowed Hayes to hit his springboard lariat with authority. Hayes followed that up with his version of La Mistica for the near-fall as he hyped himself up. In the corner, Hayes hit Gargano with a kick to the back of the head as he hit the Fadeaway legdrop on his prone foe. On the top rope, Hayes connected with a frog splash, but Gargano kicked out again at two.

Hayes knocked Gargano down with a clothesline as he headed up top. Gargano intercepted him and struck hard, which left Hayes stunned. At the top, Hayes avoided an avalanche Air Raid Crash and attempted a superplex. However, Gargano reversed that into a final cut suplex as the sports-style replay tossed us to another break in this match.

We returned from the break as Hayes blocked Gargano’s springboard attempt from the apron with a cutter using the top rope, followed by a DDT onto the apron itself. In the ring, Gargano countered a facebuster attempt into a tornado DDT as Hayes just managed to kick out at two. Hayes stopped Gargano’s slingshot spear with a boot as he headed to the top rope. Candice LeRae created a distraction long enough for Gargano to finally hit the avalanche Air Rade Crash on Hayes. One, two… NO!

Gargano and Hayes got into a pinning exchange, but the former connected with First 48, followed by Nothin’ But Net and the three for the successful first U.S. Title defense.

Carmelo Hayes def. Johnny Gargano via pinfall to retain the U.S. Championship

A solid first defense for Hayes as the U.S. Title scene on SmackDown maintains its hot streak that kept it the most entertaining part of the show nearly every week. I’m glad that Hayes is also continuing the Open Challenge as mentioned before this match, because covering these U.S. Title matches always manages to be a highlight for me.

**********

– Tama Tonga was seen watching the match we just saw as Shinsuke Nakamura confronted him. With some history between these two former NJPW stars, Nakamura taunted Tama before he left. Solo Sikoa talked to Tama about how next week, it’d be the M.F.T.s & Wyatt Sicks in a four-on-four match, and that once their issues were settled with the Wyatts, they’d be gunning for those WWE Tag Titles.

– Jade Cargill was interviewed about what happened to Michin during a live show as she suffered a real injury during it. Cargill said that she deserved what happened as Jordynne Grace appeared and had some words for the WWE Women’s Champion. Grace turned Cargill’s words of being called “a bitch” back towards her, stating, “I’m Jordynne Grace, but you’re definitely one of those (i.e. “a bitch”).

– Elsewhere, Cody Rhodes asked Sami Zayn about Drew McIntyre’s whereabouts, and seemed a bit taken aback about Zayn’s championship ambitions. Before the conversation could linger on further, Nick Aldis appeared and was asked by Rhodes about McIntyre. With no clear answer, Rhodes said he’d be heading to the ring soon to see what’s what.

– We got another Oba Femi teaser, presumably again hinting his arrival to the SmackDown roster.

Cody Rhodes has some words for Drew McIntyre

The Undisputed WWE Champion made his way down to the ring, as promised. He entered the ring and immediately took of his suit and grabbed a microphone.

Rhodes rhetorically asked how one obtains the richest prize in sports entertainment, and that it was his mentality when approaching anyone in a WWE ring that led him to championship glory. That mentality being that he gets to the arena early with the belt in tow, because he wants the people to see him. Rhodes said that Drew McIntyre reeked of envy, but he was grateful for it, as he was just a mountain that he couldn’t wait to climb.

Rhodes said that while he was backstage, he was “playing dumb” and that he saw Drew McIntyre as nothing more but “lunch”. That’s because he’s the one who calls himself The Champ, and it won’t change in Berlin.

McIntyre interrupted from the Titantron and said Rhodes was as vanilla as it gets, as he said he thought hard to determine what the three stages of hell would be. McIntyre said the first Stage would be a traditional wrestling match, the second being Falls Count Anywhere. McIntyre declared that the third fall, if the match got that far, it would come down to a steel cage. He promised to break Rhodes physically next week, but he wanted to get ahead of things as he talked about how he ransacked Rhodes’ bus. McIntyre said that he got one item that meant so much to Cody, that being a photo of him and father Dusty Rhodes.

McIntyre mocked Rhodes and said that it would get real chilly down in hell, as McIntyre stomped on the photo. Rhodes angrily ran to the back and was stopped by security as McIntyre soon appeared in the ring and tried to goad Rhodes to come get him. “Happy New Year, Cody” McIntyre said as he took a lighter to the picture of Rhodes and his father and set it on fire.

An… interesting and good way to garner heat, I’ll admit. It just hurts that McIntyre will be taking yet another three-second tan next week in Berlin, and all this fantastic heel work as of late will be certainly going to waste. I know a lot of people will probably disagree with me on this front, but this feud with Rhodes has honestly soured me on McIntyre’s current character with the way he’s lost repeatedly and remained stuck in place. Feels like reliving Groundhog Day, if you ask me. A refresh of sorts for McIntyre is needed after this match, but I’ll happilly eat crow if somehow, he wins the title next week, even for a short while.

**********

Next Week on SmackDown – Berlin, Germany

  • Three Stages of Hell for the Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Rey Fenix vs. Trick Williams
  • The Wyatt Sicks vs. The M.F.T.s

Women’s U.S. Championship: Chelsea Green (c) vs. Giulia

The challenger was aggressive from the get-go as she struck against Green in the corner with fierce stomps. Giulia grabbed Green by her hair and threw her across the ring. Another big boot by Giulia sent Green to the outside as Alba Fyre checked up on her ally. At ringside, Giulia maintained her ruthless attack on Green, but Fyre created a distraction at ringside, which allowed Green to get ahead with a dive from inside the ring. With Giulia down and out for the moment, we took a break.

We returned from commercial as Giulia had Green in a sleeper hold, but the Women’s U.S. Champ managed to escape that hold. The two then began trading strikes in the middle of the ring, as Green got the best of her foe with a set of clotheslines, followed by a kick. With Giulia stunned across the middle rope, Green connected with double knees to the back of her head.

In the middle of the ring, Green attempted the Un-Pretty-Her, but couldn’t capitalized. Green hit the Rough Ryder, but Kiana James got on the apron to distract the referee. Alba Fyre pulled James off the apron. Back with the match, Giulia intercepted Green on the top rope and hit an avalanche underhook DDT and rolled through for the Northern Lights Bomb on Green for the three to win the Women’s U.S. Championship.

Giulia def. Chelsea Green to win the Women’s United States Championship

It’s nice to see Giulia win gold once more, but disappointing that her victory barely got a reaction whatsoever, though that’s largely on the booking with regards to the SmackDown’s women’s division being kind of a mess, and it’s hurt the standing of stars like Giulia as a result. Hopefully, Giulia getting back the Women’s U.S. Title — and hopefully getting away from fighting Chelsea Green and company — means things are starting to change.

**********

– Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY spoke about becoming how they’d be the Women’s Tag Team Champions again on Raw this Monday. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss stated that they were next in line if Ripley & SKY win on Monday. However, Bliss stated that she wanted to wish SKY and Ripley the best of luck for Monday.

– Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae were licking their wounds after the former’s loss to Carmelo Hayes as Fraxiom confronted the two. Axiom said that he was going to talk to Nick Aldis to make a match between him and Gargano, and that he’d take back his mask once he beat Gargano.

The Ambulance backed onto the stage as the rules of this main event was explained just before the entrances.

Ambulance Match: Aleister Black vs. Damian Priest

Black attacked Priest from behind before he could even take off his entrance robe, which got this match underway. Priest eventually battled back and threw Black out of the ring as the action spilled to the outside. Black responded with a boot to the face as the battle made its way to the stage area and the ambulance. The doors were opened while Black tried to put Priest inside the vehicle. Priest pulled out a stretcher from the ambulance and pushed it onto the ribs of Black, as it was followed by a throw onto the base of the stretcher. We took a picture-in-picture break at this point of the match.

We returned to full-screen action with the action back inside the ring as Black and Priest traded kicks to one another. During the break, we saw footage of Black sending Priest through the table with a Meteora. Back to live action as Priest nailed Black with a lariat. As Black was stunned in the corner, Priest barreled into him with a splash. Outside the ring, Priest sent Black over the commentary table with a running pounce while Zelina looked on in concern.

Black shoved Priest into the ringpost as he grabbed a chair and hit his opponent in the spine with it. Black put Priest’s face across the seated portion of the chair and kicked it to cause more pain. As Black teed up another chair shot to Priest, he was grabbed by the neck and chokeslammed across the hardest part of the ring.

Inside the ring, Priest kicked Black as he was sat on the top rope, and hit a massive hurricanrana from the top rope. Black responded with a spinning kick as both men were down for the count and we headed to another picture-in-picture break.

The SmackDown main event returned with Priest and Black brawling it out on the stage. Black got the best of Priest with a throw to the LED screen as Black told Zelina to open the ambulance doors. As the doors opened, Rhea Ripley was awaiting Zelina and chased her to the ring. Inside the ring, Ripley took Zelina out of the equation with a Riptide. Back on the stage, Black battered Priest with stomps and tried to drag him into the ambulance, to no certain avail. After a struggle, Black managed to put Priest in the ambulance, but couldn’t get both doors closed.

With a crutch in hand, Priest struck it across the back of Black, as he then drove the handle portion right onto the chest. Priest was pushed into the ambulance door with Black following that up with a knee to the face. Priest managed to prevent further calamity with a fire extinguisher shot to the face of Black. This was followed up by Priest throwing a fireball in Black’s face, which left the Dutchman writhing in pain. Priest closed the ambulance doors and pulled out an equipment table from the stage as he grabbed Black and looked like he was going to hit the Razor’s Edge. Black escaped that fate and hit Priest with another knee to the face.

Black attempted to throw Priest onto the side of the ambulance, but found himself thrown there instead. Priest was stunned by a knee from Black. An equipment case was pulled by Black, but Priest countered and hoisted him up for a Razor’s Edge onto the windshield of the ambulance. Priest took Black’s lifeless body and put himself on top of the ambulance. With both men on the top, Priest held Black and threw him through the equipment table that was setup beside the rear ambulance doors.

With Black unable to fight back, Priest dragged him to the ambulance doors and threw him inside. Priest then shut the doors to put an end to this match and pick up the win.

Damian Priest def. Aleister Black via pinfall

**********

As a feud-ender (hopefully), that match seemed rather lifeless and didn’t feel like it was worthy of being the main event for this three-hour SmackDown. Things really didn’t pick up until Rhea Ripley’s cameo and the table spots by the ambulance near the end. I’ve been on record with saying that this Priest vs. Black feud has been a drag to follow since June of last year, and I just feel relief that things are seemingly over now and the two can finally move on to other things.

As far as the rest of the first three-hour SmackDown was concerned, it was a mostly entertaining show and not as terrible as I had feared it to be. The U.S. Title scene once again stole the show and picked up right where they left off, and the Rhodes/McIntyre title match is at least getting some good head ahead of next week — even if I feel that McIntyre can stand to do better. Plus, debuts like Trick Williams and Jordynne Grace helped tease exciting developments ahead.

Whether or not SmackDown being okay in a three-hour format is sustainable remains anyone guess, but I will admit that tonight was not a bad start at all on that front.

WWE SmackDown live results: Drew McIntyre returns

Posted on by Marc Quill

On the final SmackDown of 2025 — and the final two-hour edition before a return to three hours starting next week — Drew McIntyre makes his return to SmackDown to address being granted another WWE Championship shot against Cody Rhodes. We’ll find out more information about that upcoming title bout tonight.

Joe Hendry makes his official SmackDown debut tonight when he faces The Miz in one-on-one action. Miz took exception to Hendry and R-Truth attacking him at Saturday Night’s Main Event and is looking to spoil the debut of Hendry.

The United States Championship open challenge continues on as Ilja Dragunov is set to take on a mystery foe after he and Carmelo Hayes dispatched #DIY in short order last week.

Tonight’s show was taped last Friday at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Full spoilers can be found here.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– Previously on SmackDown: Cody Rhodes addressed the Drew McIntyre situation and declared himself “the law”, much to the chagrin of Nick Aldis.

– Following that, we saw Rhodes being confronted by Nick Aldis, who reminded him if McIntyre issued the apology to referee Dan Engler and paid the fine, Rhodes cannot touch him or he’d be stripped of his Undisputed WWE Title. After Rhodes left, The Miz angrily demanded that Joe Hendry’s music not be played. However, just as Aldis said his name, the ever-infectious music of Mr. Hendry hit and we cut to the ring.

Joe Hendry arrives on SmackDown

In the ring, Hendry was with people dressed as Santa (which included Alpha Academy’s Akira Tozawa and Otis) and the Easter Bunny. Hendry then proceeded to sing a song about how Miz supposedly has “tiny balls” in the style of Jingle Bells. The Miz himself interrupted in anger as he marched down to the ring. Hendry said that he knows the reason why Miz was upset, it was because he wasn’t here to sing the song with everyone. Hendry then continued his song as Miz raised his hand to shut everyone up.

Miz said that he was chasing a legacy earned with pain, while Hendry was chasing choruses. And now with John Cena retired, Miz claimed he earned the right to be the locker room leader to lead WWE in the future. Miz then challenged Hendry to a match right now. GM Aldis interjected and said that this Miz vs. Hendry match would be a Miracle on 34th Street Fight.

This segment was a decent primer on who Joe Hendry is, but not sure if I approve of the whole “tiny balls Miz” bit continuing to be a thing. Honestly, just not my kind of humor.

**********

Miracle on 34th Street Fight: Joe Hendry vs. The Miz

The ringside area was surrouned by Christmas-themed decorations, as well as Santa Otis, Tozawa, and the Easter Bunny.

As the bell rang, Hendry went for a side headlock takeover and escaped a hold by Miz. In response, Miz kicked Hendry in the gut, but got dropped by a shoulder block. Hendry lifted Miz for a long stalling suplex, which sent his opponent rolling out of the ring. As Hendry headed out of the ring, he opened a gift and found a guitar inside it. Meanwhile, Miz pulled out a ukelele, and then a pair of small ornaments — because he supposedly has tiny balls, you see.

Hendry hip tosssed Miz into a Christmas tree as he pulled out the Slim Jim-branded table from underneath the ring, which then set up inside the ring. Miz snuck up on Hendry and tried for a roll-up pin, to no avail. Skull-Crushing Finale was countered by Hendry, who then attempted a Standing Ovation on his opponent. Miz managed to escape that move. An incensed Miz began to elbow drop a gift thrown in the ring by the Easter Bunny as we took a break in the action.

The match returned from commercial as Hendry and Miz willed themselves to get back on their feet. Hendry was first as he nailed a clothesline on the Miz before he requested Santa Otis and Tozawa to hand him the Christmas tree from ringside. With tree in hand, Hendry struck Miz as he then delivered a fallaway slam on him. Hendry then took the tree and did a fallaway slam on it that sent the tree towards Miz.

Hendry got himself hyped as he went for another Standing Ovation, Miz countered and escaped the ring as he kicked Tozawa. He took a candy cane kendo stick and struck the Easter Bunny with it before Santa Otis blocked the shot from the weapon. This opened Miz up for a kendo stick strike from Hendry. Santa Otis, Tozawa and the Easter Bunny entered the ring with Hendry as they surrounded Miz. Hendry delivered another fallaway slam as Santa Otis then hit a very festive Caterpillar on Miz. Tozawa hit the senton from the top rope on Miz following that. The Easter Bunny then unmasked to reveal it was R-Truth underneath all along. “Happy Easter!” shouted Truth as he did the Five-Knuckle Shuffle. Hendry hit Miz from behind with the guitar as he then hit Standing Ovation through the table for the victory in this match.

Joe Hendry def. The Miz via pinfall

Just a fun little match, and a perfect way to integrate Hendry into the SmackDown roster. These holiday-themed street fights are always entertaining.

**********

– Backstage, Carmelo Hayes was talking with Fraxiom before Ilja Dragunov interrupted and asked to speak with Hayes. Dragunov said that he enjoyed teaming up against #DIY with Hayes last week, but it eats him alive that his U.S. Title match against Hayes went the way it did a few weeks back. Dragunov said that the Open Challenge was closed because it’d be him against Hayes for the U.S. Championship. Hayes shook Dragunov’s hand as the match was set for tonight.

– Drew McIntyre was shown arriving and immediately asked about what stipulation he’d choose for his match against Cody Rhodes. McIntyre said he was tired from the flight for Scotland, but he promised that tonight, we’d have all the answers as it related for this match.

– We got another promo from Aleister Black as he talked about a talented man named Damian Priest, as he and Zelina discussed that they were there to remind him about what he buried, and that they made him supposedly honest. Black said that this would end when he says it ends, and that he would end what he created. We learned that these two would face off on next week’s SmackDown.

– Byron Saxton interviewed WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill about her fight with Michin, as she challenged her to a fight. Elsewhere, Michin & B-Fab discussed how things would get bad real quick because of the current situation. Michin said that nobody respected Cargill in the locker room and that she needed to be humbled. And that lesson in humbling would come next week, according to Michin.

Lash Legend (w/ Nia Jax) vs. Charlotte Flair (w/ Alexa Bliss)

Flair sized up her massive foe as the bell rang before the two got into a test of strength. Legend showed her strength as she had the advantage on Flair early on. Legend dropped Flair with a scoop slam as she got chopped in the chest in response. Legend fought back with a hard clothesline that left Flair reeling as she then slammed her opponent’s face on three separate turnbuckles. Flair avoided calamity in the corner, but could not avoid the big roaring uppercut by Legend for the near-fall.

Legend missed with a running boot in the corner and got kicked on the side of her head by Flair. However, she slowed down her foe with a pop-up powerbomb as we took a break in the action.

SmackDown continued from the break with Legend hoisting Flair and repeateadly dropping her up and down across the middle and bottom ropes before she hit a scoop slam. Legend then applied a resthold on Flair that was promptly broken out of. Flair showed some fire with a rally of strikes, followed by her signature turnbuckle dodge and a big boot to Legend. Flair headed up top and connected with the crossbody, which fired her up.

Flair chopped away at Legend as only she could as she tried for her somersault clothesline. Legend countered that with a hard big boot for a cover that Flair kicked out of. Legend lifted Flair up for a powerbomb, but got turned into a sunset flip pin for a two-count of her own. Legend attempted the Lash Extension, but Flair reversed it into a DDT instead. Flair climbed to the top rope and connected with a moonsault for another near-fall.

Flair targeted Legend’s leg as Nia Jax got on the apron to cause a successful distraction. Outside the ring, Alexa Bliss attacked Jax for a bit. Back in the ring, Flair got the victory with a quick roll-up pin from the corner.

Charlotte Flair def. Nia Jax via pinfall

A good little match and Legend did manage to keep pace with a veteran like Flair. 2025 has been a fantastic revitalization for Charlotte Flair, which is nice to see. This run with Bliss has been one of the few highlights in WWE in an otherwise dull year.

**********

– In Nick Aldis’s office, Trick Williams from NXT was here to meet with Aldis, stating that he was expecting a huge offer from Raw to sign with them, so he wanted Aldis to hurry up on a deal of his own. Cody Rhodes appeared and had a brief staredown with Williams, who left. Rhodes asked if Drew McIntyre has apologized to Dan Engler and paid the fine yet. Aldis said that Rhodes needed to control his emotions. Williams returned and said he wasn’t done and told Rhodes to hold onto that Undisputed WWE Title real tight.

– Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s addressed the Wyatt Sicks, stating that his group doesn’t run from fear, they crave fear. Sikoa said that the fireflies were fading away and concluded by again mockingly singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”.’

United States Championship: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes

The match started fast with both Dragunov and Hayes striking one another as things turned into hard-hitting violence right away. Dragunov hit Hayes with repeated knee strikes as he then stunned him with an enzuigiri. The U.S. Champion then connected with his German Suplexes on Hayes, that the challenger valiantly tried to escape. On the third attempt, Hayes tried to escape, but got battered by hard elbows to the back of the head from Dragunov.

Dragunov threw Hayes overhead with a modified back suplex, as he then hit him hard with a chop. In the corner, a big boot from Dragunov sent Hayes crashing into the floor as we took a break in the action.

As this U.S. Title match resumed from commercial, Dragunov still had the momentum with strikes in the corner on Hayes, who was barely surviving the onslaught. Hayes blocked a big boot from Dragunov and hit him with a slap across the face. Hayes was on the offensive as he hit a hard clothesline on the U.S. Champion. Hayes ducked a strike from Dragunov and leapt from the second rope for a springboard clothesline. Dragunov blocked an attempted hurricanrana from Hayes and then hit him with a running knee to the face. Dragunov headed up to the top rope and missed with the senton as Hayes dodged at the last second. This allowed Hayes to hit his own version of La Mistica for the near-fall.

Hayes kicked at Dragunov’s head repeatedly as he then chopped away at his chest. Dragunov beckoned him to hit harder as he then responded with a strike. Dragunov teed up Hayes for the H-Bomb, but was met by a kick instead. Hayes leapt again from the second rope and hit an incredible look-from behind DDT on the U.S. Champion. That, however, was still not enough to clinch the victory. Hayes headed up top and looked like he was going to go for Nothin’ But Net, but Dragunov caught him. Constantine Special from Dragunov managed to hit its target successfully as he had equal success on the senton. One, two… Hayes just kicked out at two! We took another break in the action in this fantastic match.

As we returned to the action, both Hayes and Dragunov were struggling to get themselves back up, but the champion was up first as he exposed his left knee. He demanded Hayes to get back up and fight, to which the challenger obliged with a superkick. Dragunov caught Hayes’ attempt at First 48 and placed him on the top turnbuckle. Dragunov was met with a punch and headbutt from Hayes that sent him down on the mat. Hayes again went for Nothin’ But Net, but he was intercepted by a kick from Dragunov. The champion fought with his challenger on the apron and lifted him up for a superplex.

Hayes blocked the H-Bomb with a knee, but got rocked by a big boot stomp. Standing uranage from Dragunov, but that was somehow not enough as Hayes kicked out at two. In the corner again, Hayes and Dragunov dueled on the top turnbuckle. Dragunov looked like he had a superplex all set, but Hayes countered it into a cutter! One, two… Dragunov kicked out at 2.9999999!!!!!!! On the apron, Dragunov lifted Hayes on his shoulders, but couldn’t capitalize on whatever move he was going to hit. The two men battered one another until Dragunov got the best of him and hit a Death Valley Driver on the hardest part of the ring.

Dragunov headed for the top rope and appeared to have Hayes right where he wanted him lying on against the bottom corner. Coast-to-Coast…. NO! Hayes intercepted with a First 48 on the U.S. Champion as he headed up top right away and connected with Nothin’ But Net. One… two… THREE! Ladies and gentlemen,. we have a new U.S. Champion.

After the match, Dragunov took the U.S. Championship belt and respectfully crowned Hayes as our new U.S. Champion.

Carmelo Hayes def. Ilja Dragunov to win the United States Championship

An incredible match from start to finish, and could be in conversation for best WWE weekly TV match of the year. As far as a finale for Dragunov’s fantastic run as United States Championship, this was as good as ending as you could hope for. The way that Dragunov and Hayes had the crowd invested in this battle was just excellent. I critique a lot of what goes on every Friday on SmackDown, but the U.S. Title scene has remained one of the consistent highlights of the blue show ever since Sami Zayn won the title back in September. I’m optimistic that the trend will continue with Carmelo Hayes as champion.

**********

– Backstage, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss talked strategy about regaining their WWE Women’s Tag Titles back while we saw Nick Aldis talking with Dan Engler in the background. Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY appeared and talked about how they’d become the next WWE Women’s Tag Champions. Just then, Lash Legend and Nia Jax, as well as the Kabuki Warriors confronted both teams as we got a yelling contest between everyone. Aldis then announced that we’d see an eight-woman tag match between everyone present in this altercation on the first SmackDown of 2026.

– Carmelo Hayes was interviewed about his U.S. Title victory. He talked about how the jerseys were going up the rafters and he was ready to elevate his game before Johnny Gargano ambushed him from behind and declared that Hayes ruined everything. Gargano declared that he’d take the U.S. Champioship.

Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre vs. Giulia & Kiana James

Green and James got things going in this tag match with a lock-up in the middle. Green complained that James was pulling her hair as she then attempted a flash roll-up to no avail. James targeted Green’s arm as Giulia made the tag. Green retreated to her corner and tagged Fyre into the match. An angered Giulia yelled at Green to stop hiding as James found herself back in the match.

Fyre attempted a tornado DDT, but James blocked it successfully and attacked Fyre in the corner. On the second go-around, Fyre connected with the springboard-off-the-ropes DDT for a near-fall. Green tagged in and hit James with a sliding clothesline as she applied a resthold on her opponent. Green threw James out and saluted the crowd, which allowed James to enter the ring and tag Giulia into the match. Giulia threw Green across the ring Biel-style before she hit a snap suplex. On the top rope, Giulia dropped Green with a missile dropkick. Fyre got involved and found herself thrown out of the ring by Giulia. This left the Women’s U.S. Champion at the mercy of Giulia’s Northern Lights Bomb for the three.

Giulia & Kiana James def. Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre via pinfall

Giulia’s main roster booking confounds me, if we’re being honest. She had a strong run on NXT, but hasn’t been really used to the best of her abilities, and it’s resulted in crowds not really caring about her and her feuds. I hope it’s something that can be rectified in the new year, and it starts by just elevating her into the barebones-as-it-is WWE Women’s Title scene.

**********

– In Nick Aldis’s office, Kit Wilson was discussing his “crusade” against toxic masculinity and wanted an opportunity to continue that. Aldis said that there’d be a new opportunity for Wilson next week on SmackDown. Cody Rhodes entered Aldis’s office and asked Dan Engler if he had been apologized to yet. Engler said no, as Rhodes said it was the end of the night and ready to do something as Drew McIntyre’s theme music hit. Aldis asked for Rhodes to control his emotions as he went to go deal with McIntyre.

– We got a vignette for Oba Femi, presumably heralding his arrival on either Raw or SmackDown.

Next Week on SmackDown (1/2/26)

  • Eight-Woman Tag Match: Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley, and IYO SKY vs. Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka, and Kairi Sane
  • Jade Cargill vs. Michin
  • Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black

Drew McIntyre’s apology?

Nick Aldis was in the ring with Dan Engler as the two stood in front of Drew McIntyre. Aldis said things were getting way out of hand between McIntyre and Cody Rhodes, but that things really got off the rail when McIntyre attacked Engler. Aldis said that it was McIntyre’s chance to be a man of his word, so that he can finally focus on his title match.

McIntyre said he was indeed a man of his word as he gave Aldis the fine. He then turned his attention to Engler and said he was “genuinely” sorry for hitting a Claymore kick on him. He claims that he should’ve never attacked a WWE official and asked Engler to accept his humble apology. McIntyre continued as he said that he apologized that it was Engler’s dream to become a wrestler and that he wasn’t good enough so he had to be a referee. McIntyre said that he apologized to Engler’s wife Melissa for having to watch him kick her husband in the face and that she supposedly wished that she had a husband like Drew who stood on his convictions. McIntyre railed on as he called Engler a corporate stooge and dared him to hit back.

Cody Rhodes emerged from the ramp and looked like he was going to fight McIntyre, despite Aldis’s protestations. McIntyre tried to goad Rhodes into hitting him so that he could be stripped of the Undisputed WWE Title. McIntyre said that he wished Rhodes’ children and wife could see a real man looks like. McIntyre said that we would see this title match in Germany in a Three Stages of Hell match. Rhodes accepted the challenge as McIntyre said that there was one more thing. When it was time for McIntyre to send Rhodes to hell, to say hi to his dad for him. This allowed McIntyre to hit a sneaky Claymore kick on the champion. McIntyre took the Undisputed WWE Title

**********

I know this Three Stages of Hell match will be good and McIntyre had some good lines in his promo, but I cannot begin to tell you how tired I am of seeing this guy bottling it at every turn and seemingly being stuck in a perpetual cycle of his “Twitter hater” bit and beating up Cody Rhodes, only to get beaten soundly and we do it all over again. I think he deserves better than this and hopefully 2026 is the beginning of getting him away from that road (or Rhodes, if you prefer…)

That said, this episode of SmackDown was mostly enjoyable and hard-carried by that excellent U.S. Title match. I loved Hayes vs. Dragunov quite a bit and it was a fantastic match, as I stated a few paragraphs above. With the third hour of SmackDown coming next week, hopefully everything else is elevated and doesn’t feel like a chore to watch through, despite the length. Will Executive Producer Paul Levesque and company manage that feat? We shall see.

Lastly, on a more positive note, I just want to wrap up by wishing you a Merry Christmas on behalf of myself, Steve Khan, Jeff Moss, Corey Michaels, Ryan Howard, and everyone here at WON/F4W. Thank you for your continued support this year. Stay frosty, everyone.

WWE NXT live results: Women’s United States title match

Posted on by Chris Aiken

WWE NXT celebrates Christmas week with a pre-taped episode airing tonight on The CW.

After defeating Bayley at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Sol Ruca has been awarded a title match by NXT General Manager Ava. She gets her shot tonight against Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green. Ruca already owns a victory over Green from a tag team match that took place on SmackDown back in October.

A tournament begins tonight as WWE decides the next challenger for men’s Speed Champion Jasper Troy. The first-round matchups are Tavion Heights vs. Eli Knight and Andre Chase vs. Lexis King.

Lola Vice vs. Izzi Dame is also set to air on the episode. Along with that, there will be a mixed tag team match with WWE LFG winners Skylar Raye & Shiloh Hill taking on Arianna Grace & Stacks. It’s billed as a no holds barred Christmas Chaos match.

Join us for coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

NXT was taped in front of a live studio audience. From a sound stage at the Performance Center in Orlando, NXT is on the air with a holiday-themed episode.

Opening the show is a singles match in the women’s division.

Lola Vice vs. Izzi Dame (with The Culling)

—

The match goes through a commercial break, with Dame escaping a sleeper hold just before the show cuts to commercials. When the show returns from the break, Vice escapes a Boston crab. Vice then begins a comeback with a few near falls and an Umaga splash.

At ringside, Shawn Spears distracts Vice trying to trip her feet. That allowed Dame to boot Vice in the face. Suddenly, the noise a chain saw fills the arena. Tatum Paxley is Chainsaw Charlie, as she busts through a gimmicked section of the set wielding a chainsaw. No actual chain on the saw but the motor was revved up, so Shawn Spears ran for his life.

Dame was distracted by the chain saw run-in, and she walked into a spinning back fist from Vice. Dame drops like a stone, and Vice covers her.

Match results: Lola Vice defeated Izzi Dame via pinfall.

In a post-match angle, Kelani Jordan runs in and ambushes Vice. Jordan pummels Vice and stands over her with a scowl.

— NXT Women’s North American Champion Thea Hail talks with Jordynne Grace in a locker room skit. They are watching Hail’s title win from last week. Hail then leaves, as she heads to the ring for a monologue.

— NXT Men’s North American Champion Ethan Page cuts a cocky promo on Myles Borne in another backstage skit. Page talks down to Borne. Page also says people think the main roster is the shark tank, but Page insists that NXT is the shark tank. Sharks from all over the ocean come here. Page says live up to the task or move on. Page also tells Borne he can watch Page take care of TNA’s best talent next week in a match.

Blake Monroe confronts Thea Hail

—

Thea Hail enters the ring with her newly won Women’s North American title belt. Hail acknowledges last week was controversial, and though she cannot believe she won, Hails still won the title! This has been the greatest week of her life.

Hail gets emotional as the studio audience chants she deserved it. Hail emotions Andre Chase teachings, along with lessons from her friendships have all lead to her becoming the youngest Women’s North American Champion in history.

Blake Monroe interrupts the monologue, and Monroe still looks panicked after last week. Monroe also appears disheveled. Monroe rants about Hail’s title win being a fluke and a mistake. Monroe wants her title back, but Hail says no. Hail insists that Monroe lost clean. Monroe buries the referee from the match.

Hail eventually says she will grant Monroe a rematch next week for the title. Monroe then hits Hail with a cheap shot, and they brawl around the ring until officials separate them.

— Sarah Schreiber interviews Sol Ruca and Zaria. “You can’t control the wave, but you learn how to ride them,” Ruca says. Sage advice from Sol Ruca. She won a match on Saturday Nights Main Event. Thus, Ruca earns a title shot against Chelsea Green. Zaria says Sol deserves her title back, and Zaria will be in her corner to help.

Eli Knight vs. Tavion Heights in a Speed tournament match

—

Of course, the match was quick with a three-minute time limit, but it was pretty dang good while it lasted. Heights won with a belly-to-belly suplex. Knight got a fly, and he shined during the match. He and Heights shook hands and embraced in a show of good sportsmanship.

With the win, Heighs advanced from the first round of the number one contender’s tournament for a shot at the WWE Speed Championship.

Match result: Tavion Heights defeated Eli Knight via pinfall to advance in the WWE Speed Championship number one contender’s tournament.

— TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater and NXT Champion Oba Femi are sitting down for a face-to-face interview alongside Kelly Kincaid.

TNA X-Division Champ Leon Slater face-to-face with NXT Champ Oba Femi

—

The successful year of Femi is discussed first, with them pointing out many of Femi’s highlights like his run as champion of NXT and wrestling Cody Rhodes. Femi has proven himself as “The Ruler” in NXT. When he recently returned, Femi looks to prove he is the ruler of not just NXT — but WWE itself.

Slater talks about being turned on to wrestling via video games, DVDs, and action figures. He started training at nine years old. It is not so crazy when you have his passion for it. Slater makes moment, and me will make another moment next week at New Year’s Evil when he defeats Femi for the NXT title.

Femi responds by warning Slater’s story will not have a happy ending. Slater insists they will see who speaks louder in their title match. Femi smirks as he agrees, and they shake hands.

Je’Von Evans and Ricky Saints face-to-face

— NXT General Manager Ava is in the ring to host the face-to-face meeting of Saints and Evans. Ava is flanked by security as Saints and Evan enter separately.

Evans wonders why they are talking and not throwing hands. Saints remarks that Evans is so impulsive while speculating he lacks emotional intelligence. Saints takes a dig at Evans over him being too young to rent a car, let alone be the face of the NXT brand.

They banter back-and-forth. Evans accuses Saints of being jealous, so that is why Saints attacks Evans during his match with Oba Femi. Saints scoffs as he rants about how he could be on Good Morning America. Saints further insults Saints about the way he talks.

Evans says that may be true, but Evans points out he was on Raw and Smackdown. Saints was not there. Nor was he on the card for John Cena’s last match like Evans. They banter some more before Ava cuts them off and says they will settle this feud next week in a match. Security keeps them apart. And scene.

— In a backstage skit, Fatal Influence confronts Wren Sinclair and Evolve Women’s Champion Kendal Grey. NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne challenges Sinclair to a “warm-up match” next week on NXT. Sinclair accepts the challenge.

Shiloh Hill & Skylar Raye vs. Arianna Grace & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo in a mixed “Christmas Chaos” match

—

This was a hardcore match with a Christmas theme, and it was pretty decent in spite of the cheesy holiday gimmick. They took some crazy bumps in the name of comedy. Cliches are king, with holiday-themed weapons like a kendo stick wrapped as a candy cane. Ornaments, presents, wreaths and some yuletide are all used as props.

Hill & Raye jump the heels before the bell, and the brawl is under way. Gimmicks come into play earlier and often, as they brawl through a commercial break. They play on the bowling ball spot from ECW decades ago, except this time it is slapstick comedy. With Hill tied in the corner by a strand of Christmas lights, Grace presents Stacks the gift of a bowling ball. Except she inadvertently gives Stacks a low blow and drops the ball on his foot. Comedy ensues.

On the floor, Grace takes a bump on a Christmas tree in another comedy spot. Hill puts a wreath around Stacks before delivering a guillotine legdrop. Hill & Raye then toss sugar cookies into the crowd, until they are cut off. Moments later, Hill takes Santa’s sack and dumps pines cones on a table. Hill then powerbombs Stacks through the table. Raye then leaps off the top rope with a frog splash on Grace, and Raye covers her for a three count.

Match result: Shiloh Hill & Skylar Raye defeated Arianna Grace & Stacks in a Christmas Chaos match when Raye pinned Grace.

— Joe Hendry appears in a skit where Darkstate are in Ava’s office. Dion Lennox and Darkstate offer warnings to Hendry. After Darkstate leaves, Hendry pitches to Ava a live concert for next week.

— OTM and Swipe Right are on a collision course after another backstage skit. Kelly Kincaid is interviewing OTM when the Vanity Project trio roll up to give Kincaid gifts they originally got for Blake Monroe. OTM take exception to the interruption of their interview, and they issue a warning to Swipe Right.

Andre Chase vs. Lexis King in a WWE Speed tournament match

—

They both had inset promos like this was an old episode of Superstars of Wrestling from back in the day. Much like matches on that show, this bout was short. That was more because it was a Speed match, instead of a squash. Chase got to shine, but King wins after executing The Coronation.

King advances to the final round of the tournament, where he faces Tavion Heights for a shot at WWE Speed Champion Jasper Troy.

Match result: Lexis King defeated Andre Chase via pinfall to advance in the WWE Speed Championship number one contender’s tournament.

— Hank & Tank gives Tavion Heights a pep talk in a backstage skit that also involved Myles Borne.

Chelsea Green (with Alba Fyre & Ethan Page) vs. Sol Ruca (with Zaria) for the WWE Women’s United States Championship

—

On commentary, Booker T is able to reference Killer Tim Brooks. That popped me at least. Booker was unhinged at times, and it was hilarious. Meanwhile, a title bout ensues that goes through a commercial break. Green takes a bump outside the ring, which sets up Ruca doing a back flip off the top into a moonsault on the floor. Green and the Secret Hervice are the target.

Ruca gets to shine, and they go on to trade near falls. They also took some big bumps. After Ruca does her signature cartwheel into a DDT, she hooks a leg on Green. Ethan Page interferes by putting Green’s leg on the rope, thus breaking up the pin attempt. Zaria confronts Page at ringside, and she yells at him. Suddenly, Moose runs down to attack Page. They brawl their way off stage.

For the finish itself, Ruca goes for her finisher. However, Alba Fyre interferes by grabbing Ruca’s foot. That allows Green to counter Ruca, and Green drops her with an Unprettier. Green then covers Ruca for a three count. And still…

Match result: WWE Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green defeated Sol Ruca via pinfall to retain her title with the help of outside interference.

In a post-match attack, Zaria spears Green and Fyre. Ruca then executes a double Sol Snatcher on Green and Fyre. Happy ending of sorts as they send viewers into the holidays. But first, a hard sell for next Tuesday night on NXT.

WWE Raw live results: CM Punk & Rey Mysterio vs. The Vision

Posted on by Steve Khan

Air Date: December 22, 2025 (taped Dec 19, 2025)
Location: Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI 

The Big Takeaway —

Austin Theory teamed with Bronson Reed to beat the team of CM Punk and Rey Mysterio, with Theory pinning Rey after a curb stomp. It was an audition for Theory, who is not yet a member of The Vision. 

It was a taped show and easy to get through, with a runtime of about 90 minutes. 

**********

Show Recap — 

This show was taped on Friday, so the announcers were Michael Cole and Corey Graves (instead of Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett). 

I realized during the opening match that the feed isn’t being treated as ‘live’ on Netflix, so you can just skip ahead if you want. 

CM Punk & Rey Mysterio, Judgment Day, Je’Von Evans, Gunther, and The Vision were shown arriving.  Cole said Evans was a soon-to-be free agent. 

Paul Heyman approached Austin Theory and asked him what the hell he was doing. Theory said he wore the mask because he wanted everyone to feel his actions before they saw his face. He made some mistakes in the past. He got comfortable before getting injured. He appreciated that the Vision didn’t wait around. They take. Theory said that was him now. He wanted to take that opportunity and help out. Heyman was skeptical but intrigued. 

********

Rhea Ripley asked Iyo Sky to stay in the back for her match tonight. She wanted Sky to take care of herself after getting laid out last week. 

Rhea Ripley vs. Women’s Tag Team Champion Asuka (w/ Kairi Sane)

Because this show is taped, we’re not getting the usual commercial breaks, but they are still cutting to break as if it were live. Asuka took control thanks to a Kairi Sane distraction, and they acted as if they were heading to break as usual (90 seconds into the match, as usual), but the action picked right back up. 

Ripley tried mounting a comeback but was tripped from the outside by Sane. Ripley mounted a comeback anyway and fended off a flurry of offence by Asuka ahead of another “break.” Ripley applied the standing cloverleaf, but Asuka countered with a German suplex and sliding kick for two. 

Asuka blocked a Razor’s Edge attempt and later hit a German suplex on the apron. Asuka came off the top, but Ripley hit her with a mid-air thrust kick, followed by a cannonball off the apron. (Ripley used more kicks in this match than usual.) 

Ripley went to the top but was tripped by Sane, so Sky ran out (while selling her back) to attack her. Sky jumped on the apron to yell at the referee for allowing Sane to interfere yet again, but Sane used the opportunity to drop her on the apron. 

Asuka used that distraction to catch Ripley in a cradle for the pinfall win. 

As Cole mentioned, Asuka was winless in 8 singles matches against Ripley before this. 

Match result: Asuka defeated Rhea Ripley (approx. 11:30 of TV time) 

********

Backstage, Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker seemed skeptical about Theory. Heyman said they were both much better off today than they were months ago, and that was thanks to him. That all happened thanks to his vision.

He did not pimp that out easily. He was selective, and he had a vision for Theory. Tonight, it would be Theory and Reed against Punk and Mysterio. Either Theory carried out their vision, or the two of them could carry Theory’s ass out of WWE. (This immediately made me think of Steve Austin and Kurt Angle kicking Buff Bagwell out of the arena that one time.) 

********

Becky Lynch and Maxxine Dupri segment 

Lynch stormed out wearing a fur coat. She said we would not be getting a celebration for Maxxine Durpi. There was a corrupt referee in their match, and Lynch was still the rightful Women’s Intercontinental Champion. 

If petty Pearce wouldn’t do anything about it, Lynch knew some powerful people who would. She had the most powerful lawyers in the country, but the bigwigs at Netflix advised her to go to miserable Michigan and take matters into her own hands because she was the greatest of all time. 

Dupri interrupted. She agreed with Sports Illustrated that Lynch was the greatest of all time. Dupri herself was just a rookie—but this rookie just beat the greatest of all time. (Dupri’s first match was in 2023.) Dupri bragged that she beat Lynch three times (the other two were by DQ and count-out), and said she would give Lynch a rematch anytime, anyplace. 

Dupri fired up and said she would stop at nothing to beat her again. She would train until her blood, sweat and tears on the mat. She added, “Not only am I their Intercontinental Champion, I am your Intercontinental Champion.” 

Dupri wanted Lynch to admit that, but she knew Lynch wouldn’t take it on the chin like the Man she said she was. In this moment, Lynch didn’t look like the greatest of all time. Lynch looked like someone who was afraid her best years were behind her. 

Lynch decked Dupri with a suckerpunch and held up the IC title belt. Lynch was about to leave, but went for another attack, so Dupri picked the leg and applied an ankle lock until Lynch tapped out. Dupri let go, and Lynch bailed. 

Dupri was good here. 

******** 

Pearce spoke to Je’Von Evans backstage. Pearce wished him luck in his match tonight and wanted to talk about his future afterward. Evans was in a good mood, and he left for his match. 

Stephanie Vaquer approached Pearce next. She wanted to face both Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez. Pearce was happy with that and made a triple threat match for the world title next week.  

******** 

There was a video package for The Usos, who face AJ Styles and Dragon Lee for the world tag team titles next week. Well, that was a quick road back to title contention.

Je’Von Evans vs. Rayo Americano (w/ El Grande Americano & Bravo Americano) 

Cole said he tried a Wikipedia search on Rayo Americano but couldn’t find anything, even though a Google search for him takes you right to Pete Dunne’s results. 

Evans hit a flip dive ahead of a “break,” but Rayo brought him off the top rope with an arm drag after the break to take control. Evans fought back with a forearm, a vertical suplex (where he pops right back up to his feet), and a springboard clothesline for two. 

El Grande Americano distracted the referee while Bravo and Rayo double-teamed Evans. Rayo followed with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Evans avoided a Rayo moonsault attempt and hit an OG Cutter for the pinfall win. 

El Grande and Bravo tried to attack Evans, but he escaped the ring and smiled back at them. 

Match result: Je’Von Evans defeated Rayo Americano (approx. 7:00 of TV time) 

This was fine. A mostly easy win for Evans, and they really pushed hard that he’s a pending free agent. 

********

Cathy Kelley interviewed Styles and Dragon Lee about facing Jimmy and Jey Uso, who have been a tag team a lot longer than they have. Styles and Lee weren’t worried because they’ve beaten established teams like Judgment Day and New Day. Styles said having the titles meant they were better than the best. 

Bron Breakker promo 

There was a pre-taped Breakker promo package. Breakker said Punk thought they had a personal vendetta because of the barbs he mentioned about his family, but the reality was that Punk didn’t care about his wife. He never cared about anyone other than himself. 

Breakker wondered which version of Punk would show up on January 5th: the watered-down 2025 version, or the best in the world. Either way, the result would be the same. Breakker was the mountain Punk couldn’t climb, and the dog he couldn’t outrun. In Punk’s words, he was only here to make money. Breakker hoped Punk saved his money, because after he beats him, Punk won’t be worth a dollar to anyone. 

This was really good. 

********

Nikki Bella segment 

The announcers were talking when Nikki Bella interrupted. She called herself “the most famous person.” She reminded the fans that she was Nikki Bella, a Hall of Famer and a former champion. 

She said they wouldn’t know what a champion looked like because they cheered for the Detroit Lions. The Lions wished they were the Philadelphia Eagles or, better yet, Ohio State. 

Bella was the star of the division. She destroyed Rodriguez’s face, and she would destroy Vaquer’s reign. Vaquer was a big deal in the ring, but Bella was a big deal everywhere. It was about time the title was around the waist of a true global superstar. 

******** 

Bayley (w/ Lyra Valkyria) vs. Roxxane Perez (w/ Liv Morgan)

Perez worked over Bayley’s knee (through a break) until Bayley made a comeback. Raquel Rodriguez appeared at ringside and was about to slide into the ring, but Valkyria took her out with a spinning kick to stop her from interfering. Morgan responded by chucking Valkyria over the announce desk. 

Perez distracted the referee while Morgan tripped Bayley. (This precise spot happened in the opening match.) Perez used the distraction to drop Bayley face-first into an exposed turnbuckle, but the idiot referee was distracted by Rodriguez on the apron. Valkyria wiped out Rodriguez and Morgan with a dive off the table. 

Valkyria psyched up Bayley and slapped her in the face. This fired up Bayley (and healed her knee), and she hammered away at Perez before hitting a flying elbow drop for the pinfall win. 

Another match filled with interference and distractions. It’s especially exhausting when it happens in multiple matches in a row every single week.

Match result: Bayley defeated Roxanne Perez (approx. 7:00 of TV time) 

********

In the locker room, Reed told Theory he was in the big leagues now and to follow his lead, kid. Theory told him he wasn’t his kid. Theory said he would start the match, and Reed would follow his lead. 

Elsewhere, Rodriguez argued with Morgan and Perez. Rodriguez was pissed because she had a world tile match to prepare for, so she bailed. 

Gunther segment

Gunther entered and was booed heavily again. He took his time basking in the heat. He said the fans shouldn’t be mad at him, they should be mad at the guy who tapped out like a little bitch. (He definitely got a ton of heat, but it also sounded like they manipulated the sound to make it pop louder.) 

CM Punk marched out to his music. He very quickly got into the ring and straight into Gunther’s face. The fans loudly chanted for Punk. Gunther laughed in his face before leaving the ring. Gunther gave him the ‘you can’t see me’ gesture before taking off. 

Gunther was confronted next by Rey Mysterio in the aisle. The disappointed Rey put his hands on his hips and shook his head (like he was looking at his own son). Gunther laughed at him and left. 

After a break, Styles confronted Gunther backstage. Styles said Gunther didn’t know when to shut up. Gunther said, “Guess I don’t,” and he laughed. 

********

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk & Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory & Bronson Reed (w/ Paul Heyman) 

Punk and Rey both wore pink and black gear. 

The Vision got the heat on Punk as Theory used his familiar offence and held Punk in a rest hold after a break. Reed took his turn next until Punk rolled out of the way of a senton and made the hot tag to Rey, who knocked Theory off the apron. Reed tried to squish Rey, but Rey avoided it and hit a running seated senton off the ropes. 

Theory tagged in, but Rey got rid of him with a hurricanrana and a seated senton off the barricade. After a “break,” Theory was suddenly in control. Fortunately, they showed a replay of what happened during the break, which was Reed clubbing Rey from behind. Reed’s offence on Rey included a standing frog splash and a delayed vertical suplex. 

Theory worked over Rey next as Cole asked Graves what looked different about Theory tonight. Graves said he looked more focused, but besides his hair and his pants, the answer is nothing. 

Rey hit Theory with a bulldog and made the hot tag to Punk, who hit Theory with punches, a neckbreaker, corner knee strikes, and a bulldog. Theory avoided a GTS and tagged in Reed, but Punk fended him off and hit a flying clothesline for two. 

Rey tagged in and set up Reed for a 619, but Theory made a blind tag and levelled Rey with a running clothesline. Rey fought him off anyway to hit a 619 and a springboard splash. Rey had it won, but Reed yanked him out of the ring to break up the cover. Punk hit Reed with a suicide dive and clotheslined him over the barricade (taking them both out of the mix). 

Rey went to the top rope, but Theory tripped him and hit a curb stomp for the pinfall win. (Rey looked great all match, and the crowd was into this until Theory won.)

— Punk chased Theory out of the ring post-match. Breakker tried a sneak attack as Punk was distracted, but Punk fought him off. Punk fought off Theory next, but that distraction allowed Breakker to nail a spear as the taped show quickly went off the air. 

Match result: Austin Theory & Bronson Reed defeated Rey Mysterio & World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk (approx. 15:00 of TV time)

WWE SmackDown live results: Tag Team titles on the line

Posted on by Marc Quill

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.

**********

– 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.

**********

– 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.

**********

– 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.

**********

– 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.

**********

– 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.

**********

– 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

**********

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.

WWE NXT live results: Number one contender’s match

Posted on by Chris Aiken

On WWE NXT tonight, we’ll find out Oba Femi’s challenger for New Year’s Evil.

Joe Hendry, Leon Slater, Myles Borne, and Dion Lennox are set to battle it out in a fatal four-way number one contender’s match. The winner advances to New Year’s Evil on January 6 to face Oba Femi for the NXT Championship. It was originally supposed to be Je’Von Evans challenging for the belt, but Evans instead got his match last week and lost to Femi after Ricky Saints interfered.

Jacy Jayne vs. Kendal Grey for the NXT Women’s Championship is set for the New Year’s Evil special. Tonight, Grey & Wren Sinclair team up against Jayne’s Fatal Influence allies Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid.

The NXT Women’s North American Championship will be up for grabs tonight as Blake Monroe defends against Thea Hail. Plus, Hank Walker & Tank Ledger take on Bronco Nima & Lucien Price in tag team action.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

The show begins with a recap of current events and happening in NXT, and cut to Je’Von Evans in the parking lot waiting for Ricky Saints to arrive. NXT General Manager approaches Evans and tells him to come inside and talk. Evans stayed outside and Ava remarked sarcastically this was a great start to her night.

NXT is on the air in front of a live studio audience on a sound stage at the Performance Center in Orlando. Opening the show is a women’s title match.

Blake Monroe vs. Thea Hail for the NXT Women’s North American Championship

—

They were having a decent enough match, then came a perplexing finish after the title bout went through a commercial break.

Monroe applies a tarantula hold in the ropes just before the show cuts to a break. The match continues with a split screen. Back from commercial, Hail eventually makes a fiery comeback. She somersaults and springboards into a trust fall senton.

After the senton, Hail covers Monroe and the referee counts three to the astonishment of most everyone. Monroe seemingly got her right shoulder up, but the ref counted anyway. Did he think the shoulder was down and count like it was a shoot? Was it an audible? Who is getting worked here? So many questions, but the only answer is Hail has apparently won the title.

Hail cries when she realizes she is the new champ, while Monroe is in shock. Monroe talks with the ref as Hail parades around the ring with the North American title belt. Much like the opening skit on this episode, this was bizarre. And new…

Match result: Thea Hail defeated NXT Women’s North American Champion Blake Monroe via pinfall to win the title.

— The Culling faction acts weird and get scared of a doll that reminds them of Tatum Paxley. Izzi Dame basically reassures the group she has things under control.

— North American Champion Ethan Page is headed to the ring for a monologue as the show cuts to a commercial break.

— After the break comes a recap of the title change from moments ago, just in case viewers thought it was a fever dream.

Triple confrontation between Ethan Page, Stacks, and Moose

—

Co-holder of the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championship and current NXT Men’s North American Champion, Ethan Page, saunter down the aisle for a in-ring promo. Page is angry about being attacked by Tony D’Angelo, who jumped Page as part of a gimmick makeover that began at the last NXT PLE. Page cuts a promo on D’Angelo.

Page is interrupted by a former associate of D’Angelo, which is TNA International Champion Stacks. He is joined by Arianna Grace, who is wearing his title belt around her like a sash. Stacks says Grace wants more gold for Christmas, and they have their sights on the AAA Mixed tag titles. Page objects to Stacks interrupting him.

Out comes Moose to interrupt the proceedings, and he objects to someone from NXT holding a TNA title. But this is Stacks’ lucky day because Moose currently has his sights on Page and his title. Moose reveals that Page will defend his North American title against Moose on December 30.

Scuffle ensues and Page powders. He flees to fight another day, like December 30 perhaps.

— Leon Slater is outside in the parking lot trying to convince Je’Von Evans to come inside the building. Slater wants Evans in his corner tonight, and Evans agrees to have Slater’s back in his match later on. They go inside.

Hank Walker & Tank Ledger vs. OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price)

—

These teams rematch in a hoss fight, and they trade wins in a continuation of their feud. The finish here could easily lead to a rubber match. This particular hoss fight goes through a commercial break, and they were given a lot of time to beat the heck out of each other.

Nima & Price look strong as the show cuts to commercial break, having thrown Hank & Tank into each other. Double power bombs. Hank & Tank are down, but they fight back when the show returns from the break. They take their jerseys off as they fire up for the finish. OTM seemingly cut them off, but not for long.

Haphazardly, there is a collision as Nima attempts to suplex Hank. Tank springboards into a shoulder block that sends Price crashing into his partner. That allows Hank to secure a small package on Nima for a three count out of nowhere. Hank & Tank get their win back.

Match results: Hank Walker & Tank Ledger defeated Bronco Nima & Lucien Price when Hank pinned Bronco.

— Ricky Saints arrives and exits a SUV along with a gang of security.

— WWE Speed Champion Jasper Troy is talking with Ava when she informs him a new Speed tournament starts next week. The tournament decides Troy next challenger, but Troy vows to destruction on any challenger.

Attack on Ricky Saints backfires for Je’Von Evans

—

Ricky Saints delivers a monologue before he is attacked by Je’Von Evans. Saints, despite his security acting as bumbling henchmen, thwarts the attack. Saints then puts Evans through the announce desk for his troubles. Saints is now a dastardly heel after being a babyface character mere weeks ago. At this rate he will turn more times than Jerry Lawler in Memphis.

First, Saints cuts a promo while drowned in boos from the live studio audience. Saints is not here to offer any apologies, and Saints proceeds to lay out his grievances pertaining to his recent heel turn. Saints cuts a promo on Evans, which leads to Evans running in for an attack.

Saints’ security team cannot handle a fiery Evans. Saints and Evans brawl on the floor, where Saints sends Evans crashing into the metal steps. Saints then gives Evans a Roshambo on the announce desk, and Evans crashes through the desk. Evans is laid out as Saints stands tall.

Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) vs. Wren Sinclair & Kendal Grey

—

NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne is ringside for guest commentary alongside Vic Joseph and Booker T. She would go on to interfere in the match.

The tag match itself went through a commercial break, as they were given some time. Jayne distracts Sinclair before the break, allowing Henley to swing around the ring post to kick Sinclair. Heat on Sinclair during the break, and the babyface team eventually get a hot tag.

Grey runs wild after a hot tag, and she gets a near fall on Henley. Grey goes or an armbar, but Jayne jumps on the apron to cause a distraction. Jayne is knocked off the apron, and Sinclair leaps off the top turnbuckle with a high cross on Jayne and Reid.

Grey is somewhat distracted, but she kicks out when Henley goes for an O’Connor Roll. They then go into the finish, where Grey takes down Henley with a cross armbar. Henley tapped out and the babyface team wins by submission. Jayne’s next challenger won the match for her team, much to chagrin of Jayne and company.

Match result: Kendal Grey & Wren Sinclair defeated Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid when Grey submitted Henley.

— New Women’s North American Champion Thea Hail is interviewed by Kelly Kincaid in a backstage skit. Hail says she has been crying over winning the title. Enter Jordynne Grace, who congratulates Hail on winning the title. Former champ Blake Monroe enters the scene to bitch about losing the title, but Grace tells her to get out of here. Hail then hugs Grace to end a goody skit.

— Izzi Dame is talking on a phone, as Niko Vance is missing. The skit leads to Lola Vice having words with Dame, and Vice then bickers with Kelani Jordan. She was returning to the locker room, and Jordan argues with Vice while unpacking her belongings.

— In another skit, a mixed tag match is set up with the LFG winners against Arianna Grace & Stacks. Shiloh Hill is chatting with Skylar Rayer when Stacks barges in alongside Grace. This led to challenge for a mixed tag bout.

— Main event time and all of them in a fatal four-way get an entrance. Darkstate enters with Lennox, but the rest of the faction leaves before the match starts.

Dion Lennox vs. Joe Hendry vs. Leon Slater vs. Myles Borne in a fatal four-way NXT Championship number one contender’s match

—

Why a fatal four-way? Why not?! It makes more sense than most of the things on this show. They are at least trying to get people over, for better or worse. The four-way match was at least pretty dang good. All four got to shine, and they did some cool spots at time. That includes a Tower of Doom spot after a commercial break.

Near falls and false finishes as they go home. Hendry fires up and is on a roll. He military presses Slater and tosses him outside the ring into the waiting arms of Lennox. Slater himself was able to shine earlier on his array of aerial offense.

They tease Hendry winning the title as h executes a finisher on Borne. Hendry goes for a cover, but Lennox pulls Hendry out of the ring to break the count. Hendry and Lennox then brawl at ringside, as they seem programmed together in a feud. Slater leaps off the top rope with a Swanton 450, and he hooks a leg to cover Borne for the deciding pinfall.

Match result: Leon Slater defeated Myles Borne, Joe Hendry, and Dion Lennox in a fatal four-way match to become number one contender for the NXT Championship.

In winning, Slater is now the number one contender for the NXT Championship. Vic Joseph on commentary noted a TNA wrestler won the chance for a NXT title match.

NXT Champion Oba Femi enters the sound stage for a stare down with Leon Slater. Femi poses with the title belt, and the camera pans over to show Tony D’Angelo looking on above the crowd.


WWE Raw live results: Gunther appears after retiring John Cena

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: December 15, 2025
Location: GIANT Center in Hershey, PA 

The Big Takeaway —

Austin Theory is the masked man. 

CM Punk cut a fiery promo on Bron Breakker, repeatedly insulting the intelligence of Bron, as well as Rick and Scott Steiner. Breakker speared him for his efforts at Raw’s conclusion. 

Gunther opened the show and received a ton of heat. He called John Cena a bitch for tapping, and his words were so upsetting that he was kicked out of the arena by Adam Pearce (facing off with AJ Styles as he left). 

**********

Show Recap — 

There was a big video package recapping John Cena’s retirement match and loss to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event. The video showed Cena’s career flashing before our eyes while he was locked in the sleeper before tapping out. They included the “Thank you, Cena” chants (and only those chants) as the video ended with him walking off. 

Gunther kicks off Monday Night Raw

Gunther walked out to an absolute ton of heat, and he was all smiles. A few fans chanted, “You tapped out,” but it quickly turned into more booing as he tried to speak. 

Gunther stated, “I did what I said I would do. I made John Cena give up! And when he gave up, he tapped out like a little bitch!” 

Gunther dropped the mic and left as the crowd loudly (and I mean loudly) booed. Gunther returned to the ring to pose on the turnbuckle and bask in the heat. He teased leaving again, but instead posed on the announce table with one more statement. 

“I made John Cena tap out like a little bitch! It is my time now. I will forever be the man that made John Cena give up.” 

Gunther continued to smile as he left to a chorus of boos. The camera followed as he walked to the back, where he bumped into Otis and Akira Tozawa. Otis asked if Gunther felt good rubbing it in. Gunther said he did. Gunther then bumped into R-Truth, who called him a piece of trash. Gunther was cool with that. 

Gunther bumped into Adam Pearce next. Pearce was pissed that he was walking all over Cena’s legacy because he knew Cena wasn’t coming back. That didn’t make him the Ring General—that made him an asshole. Pearce told him he was done for the night and to find the exit. 

Gunther gladly left the arena. He bumped into AJ Styles outside. Styles got in his face, but did not say anything. He motioned to Gunther to get in his car. Gunther rolled the window down to give Styles the “You can’t see me” gesture before driving off. 

(It felt like all of these people were overreacting, but Gunther was perfect here.) 

********

Arriving at the arena were The Vision, Stephanie Vaquer, Ivy Nile & The Creed Brothers, and CM Punk. 

The Usos vs. The New Day (w/ Grayson Waller) 

Jimmy and Jey Uso entered and were about to run back their entrance music, but The New Day interrupted.

I believe this was the first time these teams have wrestled each other in three years. 

The New Day took control ahead of an early break, and Jimmy Uso made a comeback as soon as they returned, but a Waller distraction allowed New Day to take over again. 

Jey made a hot tag and missed a Stinger splash, colliding head-first into the ring post. He bounced right back and hit Xavier Woods with a superkick for two. Wade Barrett credited Jey’s “Samoan head” for being able to absorb the damage. Jey followed with a dive and flying crossbody for two, leading to a second commercial break. 

New Day took control again during the break. Jey began his comeback when they returned, but he was tripped by Waller, who was kicked out by the referee. The Usos handed out superkicks to Woods and Kofi Kingston before hitting Woods with a double splash for a nearfall. 

Kingston shoved Jey into the steel steps, and Woods followed with a tornado DDT to Jimmy off the apron. New Day hit their double-team finisher on Jimmy, but Jey broke up the cover. 

Jimmy came back with superkicks before Jey nailed Woods with a spear outside the ring. Jimmy speared Kingston in the ring, and the Usos hit him with 1-D for the pinfall win (Jey pinned Kingston). 

Match result: Jimmy & Jey Uso defeated Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods (17:25) 

This match was pretty boring until the finishing sequence. 

******** 

Confirmed for the January 5th edition of Raw: CM Punk vs. Bron Breakker for the world title, and Asuka & Kairi Sane defend the tag titles against Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley. 

Asuka and Kairi Sane cut a pre-taped promo in Japanese. They accused Iyo Sky of betraying them, even though they loved her, and choosing Rhea Ripley over them. Asuka said they would retain their tag titles on January 5th. 

Byron Saxton interviewed Dominik Mysterio during commercials. Dom was happy to be the last person to beat Cena in a title match. It made him the greatest Mysterio of all time and the greatest luchador of all time. Dom was excited to see Raquel Rodriguez bring more gold home to Judgment Day tonight. 

The Vision meets backstage 

Logan Paul was gushing with Bronson Reed over what they did to LA Knight. Bron Breakker told them Knight was gone and they should focus on CM Punk. Logan agreed, and he assumed the masked man would show up to help. Paul Heyman didn’t know who the masked man was, but they had a lot on their plate, so he would take the help if the masked man was on the same page. 

Breakker pulled Heyman aside to tell him he would take out Punk if he showed up tonight (they already showed Punk arriving earlier). Heyman urged him to wait for January 5th and do it with the title on the line. Breakker wasn’t thrilled with this. Logan calmed him down and asked for his help getting ready for Rey Mysterio. 

********

Asuka & Kairi Sane attack Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley 

Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley entered, presumably for an in-ring promo. However, Ripley looked back into the crowd to find Asuka, who misted her in the face. Sane wiped out Sky as she checked on Ripley. 

Officials ran down to try to break things up, but Asuka and Sane continued the assault. Asuka held down Ripley for Sane to do the Insane Elbow, but Sky crawled on top of Ripley to take the brunt of the damage. Sky sold her back, while officials checked on Ripley. 

(A good, simple heat segment that felt more spontaneous than the usual angles.) 

********

The second match of the evening began 1 hour and 5 minutes into the show. 

Maxxine Dupri wore all black (with silver boots). Gunther wore all black earlier, and both the Usos (black and silver) and The New Day (black and gold) wore mostly all black gear as well. Ivy Nile had a lot of black, too, but at least her gear had the American flag incorporated into it. 

Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Maxxine Dupri (c) vs. Ivy Nile 

This was a title match between two wrestlers who have one pinfall win between them in the last year, and that one win was Dupri beating Becky Lynch for the title (thanks to interference). The crowd was understandably quiet for it. 

Dupri applied an armbar trapping Nile between the ropes, but she lost the grip, and Nile slammed her into the apron. Nile followed with a safe-looking German suplex on the outside and maintained control through a break. 

Dupri mounted a comeback, but Nile ducked a spinning kick and hit a powerbomb. Dupri responded with a sit-out powerbomb of her own (dropping Nile on her lower back/rear end) for two. There was a moment where Dupri was stuck upside down in the ropes and fired up by dropping her straps, but even that didn’t get much of a reaction. 

Dupri applied an ankle lock, and Nile kept trying to counter, but Dupri blocked every attempt. Dupri grapevined the leg, and Nile tapped out. 

Match result: Maxxine Dupri defeated Ivy Nile to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (9:57)

******** 

Je’Von Evans met with Pearce backstage. Pearce was impressed with his performance at SNME. They were approached by El Grande Americano and the other two. El Grande spoke ill of NXT and Evans, so Evans basically told him to watch his mouth. Pearce suggested a match for next week, and Rayo stepped up for the challenge. Pearce made it official. 

CM Punk promo

Punk stormed to the ring to his music. He was not in a good mood, and he ripped the logo cover off the microphone before cutting his promo. 

Punk said he missed two consecutive Raws because people smarter than him said he wasn’t cleared to compete or fly. What happened to him at WarGames hurt, but it wasn’t as painful as having to listen to Bron Breakker talk. Punk called him a cross-eyed Neanderthal nepo baby. 

Punk recalled Breakker being mad at him for trying to end his career at WarGames. Punk knew brains didn’t run in Bron’s family, and reminded him that he didn’t sign up to play board games. Punk congratulated him on the win, but said Breakker had the audacity to claim it was easy to beat him. 

Breakker wanted the 2011 version of Punk, but Breakker couldn’t beat the 2025 version of him without a lot of help. Breakker got assists from a Brock Lesnar F5, Bronson Reed Tsunami, and Drew McIntyre spitting his head open. Not to mention the masked man. Breakker earned a title match, but he didn’t do it alone. 

Punk has been here many times before. This wasn’t the first time Heyman gassed up a talent too fast, too soon, only to watch him wilt under the bright lights. If Punk had a dime for every time someone not as smart as him gassed up a wrestler to be a future WrestleMania main eventer, he’d have a pocket full of dimes. 

Punk warned Breakker not to mention his wife again, or this would get personal faster than he could run. This wouldn’t be about the belt anymore. Punk would rip his eyes out of his head and piss on his single-digit IQ brain. 

Punk would challenge Breakker to show up alone to fight him for the title, but he knew he didn’t have the balls. Punk invited Breakker to invite the Vision, his dumb father, and his even dumber brother Scott, because he would need all the help he could get. 

Punk would win, and Heyman would leave Breakker to move on to the next next big thing. Meanwhile, Reed would be forced to do TikToks with the YouTube scammer. All Bron would have left was dumb and dumber—his father and uncle—and even with Steiner math, they would realize GTS equalled 1-2-3.

******** 

Judgment Day met backstage. Dom was excited for the Women’s title main event. Liv Morgan said they’d all have a great Christmas, but she wondered where Finn Bálor was. Dom said he was with JD McDonagh, who would be out a while. 

Morgan approached Raquel Rodriguez and was excited to see her become world champion, before she and Roxanne Perez became tag team champions. Rodriguez was pumped up, and she left for the match. 

Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Raquel Rodriguez 

This went through a break, and the crowd was quiet until Vaquer hit Devil’s Kiss. Rodriguez came back with a clothesline before the fight spilled to the outside. 

Nikki Bella suddenly appeared to attack Vaquer for the DQ. Bella laid out Vaquer with “Rack Attack 2.0.” 

Match result: Stephanie Vaquer defeated Raquel Rodriguez via disqualification (8:43) 

********

Pearce wanted Heyman to tell him who the masked man was. Heyman said he didn’t know. It could be Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Nick Aldis, or Bruno Sammartino. Heyman left because he wanted to get Logan ready for Rey Mysterio. Pearce wanted to know the masked man’s identity by the end of the night. 

After Heyman left, Ripley approached Pearce and demanded a match with Asuka. Pearce made it official for next week. 

********

Punk approached Rey backstage and told him he’d have his back tonight. Rey appreciated it. 

Jackie Redmond asked AJ Styles and Dragon Lee about the “throwback” match between The Usos and New Day earlier. Styles appreciated their rivalry, but he and Dragon Lee were the team to beat. Dragon Lee said they would face any team, any time. They left to speak to Pearce. 

Bella approached Redmond because she had something to say. She would not apologize for putting people beneath her in their place. She was sick of these women not respecting the road she paved. Vaquer and Rodriguez should be polishing her boots. 

********

Next week on Raw: 

  • Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez 
  • Je’Von Evans vs. Rayo Americano 
  • Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka 

******** 

Bayley congratulated Dupri on retaining the title, and Dupri said it meant the world coming from her. Durpi showed off her bloody finger, perhaps from losing a nail, so she left to take care of it. 

Lyra Valkyria approached Bayley. Bayley admitted she didn’t feel great losing to someone so much less experienced (she didn’t mention Sol Ruca’s name). Bayley wondered if there was truth to what Asuka said about her. 

Valkyria purposely egged her on by shoving her and saying that wasn’t the Bayley she knew, and called her an idiot. It worked because Bayley fired up and said she would destroy Perez next week. Bayley called Valkyria an idiot and left. Valkyria was happy her plan worked. 

******** 

Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul (w/ Paul Heyman)

Rey played cat-and-mouse with Logan early on and taunted him while doing so. They went back and forth before Rey hit a seated senton off the apron. However, Logan took over during a break after shoving him into the barricade. I think Logan tried a bronco buster of sorts during the break, but he just kind of sat with his crotch in Rey’s face for a few moments before getting up. 

Logan went to the top rope, but Rey cut him off with ten punches and a hurricanrana for two. Rey tried a springboard moonsault, but Logan caught him and hit a running powerslam for two. 

Rey went for a 619, but Logan hit an ill-timed boot to cut him off, followed by the most deliberate three amigos suplexes. Instead of hitting the third suplex, Logan placed Rey on the top rope. Rey fought him off and hit a sunset flip powerbomb. Logan spilled outside the ring, so Rey hit a sliding splash. 

This brought out the Brons, but Punk immediately ran out behind them with a chair. He attacked them with the chair and chased them to the back. Rey caught Logan in a crucifix pin for a nearfall. Logan blocked a hurricanrana and hit an alley-oop facebuster. 

Heyman handed Logan the brass knuckles as the referee checked on Rey. However, Rey tripped Logan and hit a 619. 

Logan dropped the knux, and Rey considered grabbing them. Rey did grab them and placed them on his hand, but the masked man appeared and hit him with a curb stomp. Logan followed with a frog splash for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Logan Paul defeated Rey Mysterio (14:59) 

— The masked man faced off with Logan Paul, but scampered into the crowd upon seeing Punk run down to the ring. 

Punk stood on the turnbuckle as the camera focused on the masked man, who removed his face mask to reveal it was Austin Theory. (The reveal didn’t get a big reaction, but people did chant his name as he stood in the crowd.) 

Punk dropped down from the ropes and was speared by Breakker. 

Breakker grabbed the world title belt. He told Punk that this was business, but if Punk ever talked about his family like that again, he would never walk on two feet ever again. Breakker held the belt up high as the show ended.

WWE SmackDown live results: Last stop before Saturday Night’s Main Event

Posted on by Marc Quill

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is the last stop before Saturday Night’s Main Event.

John Cena himself is not scheduled to appear on SmackDown, but on the eve of his last match ever, WWE will take a special look back at the 17-time World Champion’s career.

WWE Champion Cody Rhodes is set to take on NXT Champion Oba Femi tomorrow night at Saturday Night’s Main Event in an exhibition showdown. Tonight, Rhodes addresses that upcoming bout.

Tommaso Ciampa finally gets a shot at the United States Championship tonight after an incensed Ilja Dragunov took exception to Ciampa’s unwanted interference during his open challenge defense last week against Carmelo Hayes.

And Damian Priest reunites with his fellow Terror Twin Rhea Ripley as they face Aleister Black and Zelina Vega in mixed tag team action. Black has continued to be a thorn in Priest’s side, enlisting the aid of his wife Vega to help. This has led to Priest calling on Ripley to even the odds.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– The show opened with a recap of the Cody Rhodes/Drew McIntyre situation that opened up last week’s SmackDown, including Rhodes’ attack on McIntyre and demanding that he be reinstated so he can exact some revenge on him.

– Corey Graves & Michael Cole welcomed us to the show as they discussed a post on social media that SmackDown GM Nick Aldis posted earlier regarding an invitation he sent out to McIntyre. Backstage, Cody Rhodes is confronted by Mr. Aldis, who has a letter from McIntyre’s attorneys claiming an unsafe working environment is why he will not be at SmackDown tonight. Rhodes took the paper and crushed it up before he walked down to the ring for our opening segment.

Cody Rhodes opens SmackDown

As Rhodes made his way to address the crowd, the commentators discussed his match tomorrow night at Saturday Night’s Main Event against NXT Champion Oba Femi and the possibility that the McIntyre business could become a distraction for Rhodes.

“What do you want to talk about,” started Rhodes as he turned the subject immediately to the aforementioned McIntyre and the claims that SmackDown is an “unsafe work environment”. Rhodes said that there’s a reason McIntyre is kicking officials and not mingling with the crowd and the reason why he’s not WWE Champion is because he’s “half in”. Rhodes noted that if he were McIntyre’s boss, he’d fire him, but he can’t, so that’s why he’ll just kick his ass instead.

Before Rhodes could go on further, he was interrupted by the NXT Champion himself, Oba Femi. Without missing a beat, Femi marched to the ring and stood face to face with the Undisputed WWE Champion.

Femi opened his piece by saying he liked Rhodes’ passion, but he was worried about the wrong man because McIntyre wasn’t here, when he should be worrying about the man standing before him. Femi introduced himself to Rhodes, stating he was “the mountain that you cannot conquer”. Femi claimed that the future isn’t some far away thing, and the future was here and now — it was him. Femi then quoted Cena’s entrance music, declaring that Rhodes’ time was up, and that his time was now.

Rhodes responded that it was admirable Femi quoted Cena, but he said that he was the man that beat John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Title. As Rhodes tried to leave, Femi stopped him and raised his NXT Championship over his head. Rhodes then raised his WWE Championship in response as the two men faced off to end the segment.

A great segment to sell us on this Rhodes/Femi match for tomorrow night. It’s probably the one match I am looking forward to. And if I’m being honest, it’d be amazing if Femi pulled off the upset on Rhodes to get the win tomorrow.

**********

– Ilja Dragunov was met by Fraxiom, who offered to help him even the odds against Tommaso Ciampa if Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae got involved. Dragunov respectfully declined the offer, stating that he was going to follow John Cena’s example and bring the fight to Ciampa and #DIY if they wanted it so badly.

United States Championship: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa backed Dragunov into the corner right away and teed off with strikes and chops to the champ. The two then got into an exchange of hard-hitting attacks against one another, but Dragunov got the best of the exchange with a hard boot to the jaw of Ciampa. The challenger took advantage by hitting the injured knee of Dragunov, as he followed that with a running knee.

Dragunov forced Ciampa into the corner and struck him with a hard running boot to the face. Outside the ring, Ciampa barely avoided a running charge from Dragunov, who couldn’t stop his forward momentum and ended up crashing into the steel steps. Ciampa took over with a suplex that caused Dragunov’s hurt knee to impact against the side of the steps as we took a break in the action.

This U.S. Title match returned from commercial as Dragunov fought out of a rest hold from Ciampa. He attempted the Constantine Special, but his bum knee buckled at the last second, rendering him unable to hit his bread & butter. Dragunov, however, did manage to ground Ciampa with a nice jumping enzuigiri to the side of the head of his foe. The U.S. Champion struck with his interlocking German suplexes on Ciampa, connecting with two of them as he then struck him with hard elbows. Dragunov tried to lift Ciampa up, but he couldn’t do it due to the knee. With some effort, Dragunov finally lifted up Ciampa with his standing uranage for the near-fall.

Dragunov had to hobble his way up to the top rope, which gave Ciampa enough of an opening to kick him aside onto the apron. Ciampa then hoised Dragunov and hit an Air Raid Crash on the hardest part of the ring, but that still wasn’t enough to put Dragunov away. In another top-rope skirmish, Dragunov got the better in a duel with Ciampa, as he then took off with a missile dropkick to the side of the challenger’s head. We then went to a picture-in-picture break with both men down.

We returned to full-screen action with Dragunov attacking Ciampa, who was left stunned seated on the top rope. A hard chop left Ciampa in a bad way as Dragunov got on the top rope. The challenger targeted Dragunov’s knee, which allowed him to hit with an avalanche Air Raid Crash. One, two…. NO! In the preceding skirmish, Dragunov had his nose busted open as it dripped with blood.

Both men faced off in the middle of the ring and got into it again with a battle of brutal strikes, as Ciampa targeted Dragunov’s knee with a dragon screw. Dragunov countered a German suplex by Ciampa and hit the Torpedo Moscow. At this point, Johnny Gargano ran in and distracted the referee, while Candice LeRae attacked Dragunov. This opened Dragunov up for a running knee from Ciampa. However, that wasn’t enough to put the determined U.S. Champion away. Dragunov finished this match off as he countered Ciampa’s Fairytale Ending into a pinning combination to retain the U.S. Title.

After the match, Gargano and Ciampa attacked Dragunov until Carmelo Hayes made the save, much to the delight of the Wilkes-Barre crowd. As #DIY beat a hasty retreat, Hayes helped Dragunov back up to his feet as the two shared a moment of respect.

Ilja Dragunov def. Tommaso Ciampa via pinfall to retain the U.S. Championship

Another amazing entry in the U.S. Title match lineage — even if it wasn’t officially part of the Open Challenge. Ciampa and Dragunov beat the absolute hell out of each other and these U.S. Title matches continue to be one of the few reliable shining lights of SmackDown. The way Dragunov wrestles and how he sells really added a lot to this match and it really looked like we were going to see a new U.S. Champion. That’s how good this was.

**********

– Cathy Kelley was with Je’von Evans, who was asked about his big match tomorrow teaming up with TNA’s Leon Slater against AJ Styles & Dragon Lee. The Miz interrupted and complained about how he wasn’t booked tomorrow for John Cena’s final show. This led to Evans challenging Miz to a match for later tonight. We got a Wyatt Sicks VHS interruption thing that declared that they were here.

The Wyatt Sicks issue a challenge

The group led by Uncle Howdy made their way down to the ring in their usual manner. Once the group was assembled in the ring, Howdy talked about Solo Sikoa’s attempts to discredit his family as of late, stating that Sikoa might not have the power to within to look himself, but Howdy did. He said that Sikoa’s real family (the original Bloodline) turned their back on him because he used and abused those he claimed to love. Howdy called Sikoa delusional for claiming that the M.F.T.s ran SmackDown, because as long as the Wyatt Sicks had the WWE Tag Team Titles, the M.F.T.s run nothing. Howdy then issued a challenge to Sikoa and the M.F.Ts that if they wanted the tag titles, they should come and get them.

Solo Sikoa’s entrance music played, but he and his M.F.T.s appeared on the titantron. Sikoa said that the Sicks didn’t call the shots, he did. He said that they were going to do things his way, as the Wyatts had better prepare for war. Sikoa threatened the Sicks by telling them to give the tag titles to the M.F.T.s, as he ended his promo by invoking Bray Wyatt as he told the Sicks to “run”.

Interesting segment, and the attempts to by Solo to use Bray Wyatt’s words as a way to get into the head of Uncle Howdy/Bo Dallas is at least something that adds some needed heat to an otherwise dull feud.

**********

– Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss were in their locker room as the former tried to get the latter hyped up for their match with Lash Legend coming up next. Rhea Ripley appeared and wished Bliss luck on her match that was coming up after the break.

– Clips of celebrities and sports heroes like Eli and Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Snoop Dogg, Jelly Roll, among others congratulating John Cena on his career were shown. In the crowd, Bayley and Sol Ruca were shown ahead of their one-on-one match tomorrow night in Washington, D.C.

Alexa Bliss (w/ Charlotte Flair) vs. Lash Legend (w/ Nia Jax)

Bliss avoided a jumping kick from Legend early as she then got on her massive opponent’s shoulders. Bliss then sent Legend out of the ring with a hurricanrana. As Bliss tried to leap from the apron, she was caught by Legend, who then threw Bliss rib-first onto the top of the timekeeper’s barricade.

Back in the ring, Legend targeted Bliss’s left arm as she then lifted her high before dropping her for a hard clothesline to the face. Legend leapt up for a massive splash on Bliss for a near fall. Legend again used her strength to catch a leaping Bliss, but she got felled when Bliss countered her move into an armdrag. Legend weathered Bliss’s offensive onslaught and caught her with a forearm referred to as “The Lash Minute”. On the apron, Jax tripped up Bliss as Flair got involved and took her down. Legend then headed outside and hit Flair with a boot to take her out of the equation. In the ring, Legend finished off Bliss with her impressive-looking Lash Extension finisher.

Lash Legend def. Alexa Bliss via pinfall

Hard to say much about a match that didn’t really have enough time to cook, but credit to Bliss for selling the heck out of Legend’s impressive offense, so I suppose the job of making Legend look like a threat was accomplished.

**********

The Miz vs. Je’von Evans

Miz got the advantage early with a shoulder block on Evans as he taunted the crowd. The Young OG got himself back up after being shoved by Miz and hit him with an athletic dropkick, followed by a springboard hurricanrana that sent Miz out of the ring. As Evans tried to go for a high-risk move, Miz got ahead of him and hit a knee on Evas. That advantage was fleeting as Evans leapt on the apron and floored Miz with a standing moonsault.

The veteran took over the match as he sent Evans into the ring post, as he then targeted the arm, which led to a break in the action.

We returned from break as Miz had Evans trapped in a crossface submission, but the rookie turned that into a pin attempt to escape theh old. Evans mounted a comeback with a leaping punch, followed by his rebound enzuigiri kick on Miz, but that was only enough for a two-count. Evans headed to the top and looked for a moonsault, but Miz got out of the way and dropped his foe instead. Miz then connected with the Faux-Knuckle Shuffle before he tried his own take on the Attitude Adjustment. Evans landed on his feet and sent Miz to the outside before he soared over the top rope with a high-flying dive.

Miz tried to counter the OG Cutter into a Skull-Crushing Finale, but got rolled up into a pin. After a sneaky cheap pin attempt on Evans by Miz, this match came to its end with Evans finally connecting with the OG Cutter to pick up the victory.

Je’von Evans def. The Miz via pinfall

A good showcase for Evans and his high-flying offense, but I think we’ll hav e a much better chance to see him show out especially as he teams up with Leon Slater against AJ Styles & Dragon Lee.

**********

– Rhea Ripley was confronted by Nia Jax and Lash Legend, who threatened to do what they did to Alexa Bliss to her. Ripley was unmoored by the threat as she told them that she and IYO SKY were gunning for the Women’s Tag Titles. Afterwards, Ripley was met by WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill.

– Just as Michin was walking down for her match with Jade Cargill, she was attacked by the WWE Women’s Champion in the Gorilla Position, which put her out of commission. Cargill then walked out to the ring, the apparent match she was going to have now cancelled.

In the ring, Cargill said that what happened to Michin was what was going to happen to those who’d mess with her, because she was that bitch. A battered and bruised Michin emerged from the back with a kendo stick as she struck the champion repeatedly. Cargill recovered and hit a big boot, as she then put a table away. In the ring, she chokeslammed Michin and stood tall over her.

If we’re being honest, I’m not sure what this accomplishes with regards to Cargill’s title run. It’s probably the biggest casualty of how barebones the SmackDown women’s division is, and I’m not certain if even adding a third hour to the show starting January 2nd, 2026 will be a cure for that.

**********

Saturday Night’s Main Event: John Cena’s Final Match card

  • The Last Match: John Cena vs. Gunther
  • Showcase Match: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Je’von Evans & Leon Slater
  • Champion vs. Champion: Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi
  • Showcase Match: Bayley vs. Sol Ruca

Mixed-Tag Match: The Terror Twins (Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley) vs. Aleister Black & Zelina

Black attacked Priest as he was posing on the top rope to start us off, but he soon found himself shelled by a clothesline from Priest that sent him out of the ring. Priest pointed towards Ripley and made the tag even as Zelina leapt on his shoulders. Back in the ring, Ripley blasted Zelina with clotheslines followed by a knee to the face, and then one more clothesline as we took a picture-in-picture break.

SmackDown’s main event continued as Zelina targeted Ripley’s arm with a submission over the corner, followed by the Meteora from the top rope for a near-fall. Zelina went after Ripley’s knee and whiffed on some sort of leg scissors move that she tried for. Zelina opted to connect with a DDT instead. Ripley caught Zelina and threw her down as she got the hot tag for Priest.

Priest took on legal man Black and dropped him with a suplex that got a near-fall. He had Priest targeted for a clothesline, but Zelina provided a good enough distraction, which allowed Black to hit Priest with a discus knee strike, then a bridging German suplex for the near-fall. As Ripley tagged in, things began to break down with Black and Zelina nailing stereo moonsaults on their respective foes on the outside.

Zelina tried to go for a crossbody, but she was caught by Ripley and had her set for Riptide. Zelina escaped and hit a rough looking Code Red before hitting a proper one for a near-fall. Ripley recovered and lifted up Zelina before she slammed her to the ground. Black broke up the subsequent pin attempt by pulling at Ripley’s leg.

Ripley and Priest had Zelina and Black at their mercy as they hit dual Razor’s Edges on them. This match then came to an end with Ripley getting the win from Riptide on Vega. The show simply ended with the Terror Twins celebrating their victory.

The Terror Twins def. Zelina & Aleister Black via pinfall

**********

An okay main event marred by some rather sloppy spots on the part of Zelina, especially with how rough the landing was on those spots for both her and Ripley. Fortunately, things didn’t turn out for the worse on those spots.

Other than that, this week’s episode was actually decent, and the focus on future stars like Oba Femi, Lash Legend, Je’von Evans, and Ilja Dragunov was a nice tie-in and lead-up to tomorrow’s Saturday Night’s Main Event show. The U.S. Title scene continues to be the one thing that’s doing a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of carrying SmackDown, in spite of how poorly booked it can be at times under the purview of Brian “Road Dogg” James. Those matches are reliably entertaining and often end up being the highlight of a given episode, something that has been very consistent since late August.

WWE NXT live results: Blake Monroe open challenge

Posted on by Jeff Moss

Tonight’s WWE NXT features the fallout from Deadline and the start of the road to New Year’s Evil.

Je’Von Evans and Kendal Grey earned title shots with their Iron Survivor Challenge victories at Deadline this past weekend. On the first NXT episode of 2026, they’ll challenge NXT Champion Oba Femi and NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne for their respective gold.

Blake Monroe won’t have to wait that long for her next Women’s North American Championship defense. She’s putting her title on the line tonight in an open challenge.

In another women’s division match, Kelani Jordan and Jordynne Grace will continue their rivalry after coming up short in the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Hank & Tank return to NXT following a stint in Japan that saw them win and lose the GHC Tag Team titles for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Plus, we’ll get the NXT debut of WWE LFG season two winner Shiloh Hill.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

It’s past Deadline, so I guess this episode is… late? Or something? Anyways, NXT is on the air with open challenges! New champions! A guy named Shiloh! And to kick it all off the new 2x NXT Champion Oba Femi!

-Femi danced his way to the ring to kick off the show, fresh off his crowd appearance on Monday Night Raw. Femi began a speech about the nature of power, how it never begs and stands still, etc. He gave respect to Ricky Saints and said that his reclaiming of the NXT Title was the will of the universe. Next, he mentioned Cody Rhodes, who Femi will face in a non title match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. He said that Rhodes will get him in all his glory.

Suddenly, Ricky Saints music hit and the man himself dejectedly sauntered to the ring, mic in hand. Saints said that he is man enough to admit that Femi was better man at Deadline. Saints said that there was a moment when he thought his chance to be NXT Champion had passed. But then he remembered that he is Ricky Saints and that he wants a rematch for the title.

Continuing the promo parade, Je’Von Evans’ music hit and the Young OG came out to interrupt. He reminded everyone that he won the Iron Survivor Challenge and has a title shot coming at New Years Evil. But why should he wait? He challenged Femi to a match tonight.

Saints asked “what’s the rush?” Evans said that he’s no longer “the future” he’s the “now” and no one is touching him right now. Saints agreed and said that Evans could go first. Then Femi got upset, wondering why these “beltless” guys were dictating terms.

Femi said that he’s not afraid of Evans, because he’s never beaten Femi. He then gave him the title shot for tonight!

-After a break, Tatum Paxley cut a promo about her loss to Izzi Dame at Deadline. She said that she has nothing left to lose, but Dame does. She then held up action figures of Shawn Spears and Niko Vance. Paxley laughed on her way off camera.

Kelani Jordan vs Jordynne Grace

Jordan and Grace have had a long history of battling not just in NXT, but over the TNA Knockouts Championship as well. At Deadline, they pretty much cost each other the match and started a Sheamus/Rusev fight in the back. No word on when that fight actually ended, but they are here tonight to go one-on-one in the actual ring.

Grace and Jordan started brawling before Grace even made it to the ring. Grace dropped Jordan with a serise of scoop slams and a Michinoku driver. Jordan fought back and delivered a big boot to Grace off of a suplex attempt.

Grace sent Jordan into the corner but missed the Grace Under Pressure, giving Jordon an opening to start working Grace’s leg. She dropped a bunch of elbows on it then hung Grace up on the ropes. Jordan joined her on the apron where they traded shots.

Grace tried to suplex Jordanoff the apron, but had it blocked. They went back and forth until Grace went to drop a knee and Jordan moved, causing Grace to slam her kneecap against the apron (the knee-est part of the ring!).

Back in the ring, Jordan went back to working the knee, wrapping Grace’s leg around the ring post and stretched it both ways. Then she went for a cover, but Grace kicked out at two while Booker T talked about absolutely nothing. Honestly, never have I heard a man take soe many words to say so little.

Anyway, Jordan stomped the knee and hung Grace up in the tree of woe in the corner. Grace pulled her off the turnbuckle by the hair though and the two traded forearms in the ring.

Grace went for a stretch muffler, but Jordan got out of it, slamming Grace’s head to the mat and sliding out of the ring. Grace followed and Jordan chop-blocked her knee. She then bounced Grace’s head off the steel steps and went under the ring for a chair.

She swung, but Grace moved and she hit the stairs with the chair. Grace used that to jump back into the ring with Jordan. She locked on a leg hold, but Jordan wouldn’t tap. Grace threw a few short arm clotheslines and Jordan whiffed on a kick.

On the outside, Grace managed to hit a Grace Under Presssure and grabbed a chair. Jordan then drove Grace through the barricade. Dragging her back into the ring, Jordan went up and nailed a 450 splash to get the pin and the victory.

Match Result: Kelani Jordan defeated Jordynne Grace

-After a break, the women of NXT were shown warming up(?) in the back. Jordynne Grace was lamenting her loss to Kelani Jordan. She was told by Thea Hale to buck up, she’s Jordynne Grace after all.

-Blake Monroe made her way to the ring next for her Women’s North American Title Open Challenge. She grabbed a mic and said that the women of NXT see her as a role model and with the Holidays coming up, she feels like giving back. She then asked to see who will be answering the challenge.

Literally all the women of NXT came out and Monroe started calling for Ava. Suddenly Thea Hale arrived and jumped Monroe from behind. She pinned her quickly and celebrated, but oops! The Open Challenge had never started. Whomp-Whomp. #LOL

-Shilo Hill was interviewed about his upcoming debut singles match and he used a lot of $10 words to say he’s ready. Then he put in a mouthguard and left.

Shiloh HiIl vs Lexis King

King was already in the ring as we came back from break, but Hill, winner of LFG Season 2, got a big entrance. King tried to jump him during his opening pose, but Hill saw it coming. The bell rang and Hill started throwing King around the ring.

King sent Hill into ther corner for a dropkick and slowed the pace down, chopping and punching Hill. King got cocky though and played a little too much to the crowd. Hill charged out of the corner and he and King collided in stereo clotheslines.

Hill began to hulk up, which to him means removing his mouth guard? Anyway, King hit a superkick, but Hill no-sold it as if he loved the pain. He put King up for a Whisper To The Beast cutter and that was it. Hill gets the victory and King’s transformation into CJ Parker is almost complete.

Match Result: Shiloh Hill defeated Lexis King

-After the break, Oba Femi was interviewed in the back about his upcoming title defense against Je’Von Evans. Femi said that he has learned to expect the unexpected and he hopes Cody Rhodes is watching because he’s going to see what Femi can do. He promised to break Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event and to break Evans tonight.

-Ethan Page then made his way to the ring. Page said that he came to NXT to ask the hard questions and do things Old School, body by body. He ran down other wrestlers using social media to try and gain clout. Page then said that John Cena will be forgotten in a week after his retirement, leaving a space for someone with a “huge ego” (aka Page).

Page said that he is 1 of 1 and the most important guy in WWE. Suddenly the lights went out and the same footage of Tony D’Angelo that was shown at Deadline aired. When the lights came up, a very sad-looking D’Angelo picked up Page in the ring and smashed him to the mat.

-After a break, GM Ava called the participants of the men’s Iron Survivor match to her office. She is going to give them a fatal four way #1 Contender’s match because they were all tied. Suddenly, Ethan PAge burst in complaining about Tony D’angelo. Then it was over.

Sol Ruca vs Wren Sinclair

Ruca was in the Iron Survivor Challenge at Deadline with Sinclair’s best friend (and eventuial winner of the match) Kendal Grey, who accompanied Sinclair to the ring. Ruca came out alone, but she is facing Bayley at Saturday Night’s Main Event, so she’s got that going for her.

The bell rang and they locled up with Rucal sending Sinclair to the corner. Sinclair shook off Ruca and her attempts at a waist lock and sent her into the ropes. Sinclair tried to roll Ruca up, but only got a teo count.

Ruca landed an X-Factor for a two count of her own when Zaria appeared in the crowd. Ruca looked at her forlornly, and Sinclair tried to steal one with a rollup. Rucak kicked out, but Sinclair hit a big bulldog and turned her attention to Ruca’s previously injured knee.

As Zaria watched, Ruca hit a back elbow and missile dropkick. Sinclair got her with a butterfly suplex though. Ruca turned it back around with a backstabber and Soul Snatcher to get the pin and victory.

Match Result: Sol Ruca defeated Wren Sinclair

-After the match, Ruca exited through the crowd to try and catch up with Zaria. Fatal Influence’s music hit and NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne, NXT Women’s Speed Champion Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid made their way to the ring.

Kendal Grey and Sinclair were still in the ring and Jayne started in on the Evolve Women’s Champion, Grey. She told her that it’s never going to get better for her so she should enjoy these moments of crowd support. Jayne said that Grey’s 15 minutes of fame are going to be up when they meet at New Years Evil.

Jayne said that 2025 was the year of Jacy Jayne. She held the NXT and TNA women’s titled at the same time and everyone realized this year that she is a rock star and the glue that holds NXT together. Grey doesn’t stand a chance.

Grey responded by saying that she understands she’s the rookie, the up-and-comer and has a lot to learn. But no one (even her) expected her to win the Iron Survivor challenge. She has shown that she can rise to the occasion and Jayne shouldn’t underestimate her. Becuase this underdog bites back.

Reid and Sinclair jawed a bit and Henley sucker punched Grey and the beatdown was on. The damned numbers game got to Sinclair and Wren with Fatal Influence beating up both until the segment came to a close.

-Next, Hank and Tank appeared in kimonos, back from their trip to Japan. Their return was cut short when OTM showed up and said they should have stayed in Japan. So, as you do, Hank and Tank challenged them to a match next week.

-After a break, Blake Monroe barrelled into GM Ava’s office. She blamed Ava for the fiasco that was her open challenge. Monroe declared “no more open challenges ever.” Ava said that was fine becuase she is going to defend her North American Title against Thea Hale next week.

-The scene shifted and Sol Ruca finally tracked down Zaria in the parking lot. Ruca invited Zaria to Saturday Night’s Main Even and they hugged and made up.

NXT Championship Match: Oba Femi (c) vs Je’Von Evans

Evans cashed in his title shot from the Iron Survivor Challenge to get this match tonight instead of at New Years Evil. Ricky Saints was there and agreed to hold onto his rematch with Femi and step aside so Evans could take his shot first. Femi for his part shrugged his shoulders and said “sure, whatever” but in a way much more menacing way.

Just let me say, I cannot wait for the day when Oba Femi has to dance his way down a 200ft Wrestlemania ramp.

The two locked up off the top with Femi driving Evans into the corner. Evans hit a superkick out of the corner into a cutter, trying to steal one, but Femi blocked it. Evans hit a surprise knee and actually got a 2.5 count out of it.

That fired Femi up though and he started chopping the much, much, much smaller Evans. Femi sent Evans off the ropes and Evans turned it into an insiguri for another two count. Evans’ strategy was clearly leveraging his explosive bounciness.

Femi picked Evans up in a stalling backbreaker and folded Evans in half. He put on a face lock and Evans started throwing elbows. He hit a dropkick that sent Femi out of the ring. Evans followed and went for a springboard, but Femi caught his ankle and threw him at the ground. Femi threw Evans at the ring apron, but Evans jumped up and turned it into a spingboard.

Femi caught him and slammed him against the ring. Femi dropped Evans face-first on the ring apron (the faciest part of the ring!) and climbed back in.

Femi threw a big lariat and stomped Evans in the center of the ring. Femi slammed Evans knee into the mat and stalked over to him for more stomping. The he did a little ab workout after suplexing Evans, who looked like he had the wind knocked out of him.

Evans and Femi traded punches until Femi grabbed Evans for another backbreaker. Femi set Evans up for a powerbomb, but Evans crumpled to the mat. Evans tried swinging from his knees, but Femi just knocked him back down.

Femi pciked up Evans who used his legs to send him out of the ring. Evans followed and Femi looked to powerbomb him through the table. Evans reversed it and Femi backed off and charged. Evans dodged and Femi went flying across the Announce table.

Both made it back to the ring to break the count, but Evans was waiting for Femi with two frog splashes for a 2.75 count. Evans started taking shots into Femi’s gut and hit a spinning kick to send him out of the ring. Evans dove after him and landed it, tossing Femi back into the ring. He went for a springboard, but Femi caught him with forearm on the way down.

Evans hit a quick cutter, but Femi kicked out. Femi came back with a huge shot, but this time Evans kicked out at two. Femi threw Evans across the ring and Evans came back with another two cutters and a pin 1-2- and Ricky Saints pulled the ref out of the ring!

Evans ate a big lariat from Femi in the ring who hit the Fall From Grace on Evans to get the win and retain the NXT Title.

Match Result: Oba Femi defeated Je’Von Evans

WWE Raw live results: Gunther speaks ahead of John Cena’s final match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: December 8, 2025
Location: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO 

The Big Takeaway —

Gunther wants to make John Cena give up, The Usos are back in the tag division (and have a date with The New Day next week), and Raquel Rodriguez is next in line for Stephanie Vaquer’s world title. 

Logan Paul beat LA Knight with help from the masked man before The Vision seemingly wrote Knight off television. Bron Breakker had another message for CM Punk. 

**********

Show Recap — 

Raw started with a video package highlighting the John Cena tournament, culminating with Gunther beating LA Knight in the finals on Friday. 

Gunther kicks off Monday Night Raw

Gunther entered wearing all black and was roundly booed. The boos turned into chants for John Cena as Gunther egged them on. 

Gunther said he would be the final opponent for the greatest sports entertainer of all time, but Cena would be facing the greatest professional wrestler of all time. 

Gunther called Cena the man who never gave up. But beating Cena wasn’t enough. He would break Cena’s spirit, bully him, drop him on his head, wrap his arms around his neck, and squeeze until the last bits of hustle, loyalty, and respect left his body. 

There was only one way out, and Cena would do the one thing he said he never would: give up. 

Gunther dropped the mic and left. 

********

Rey Mysterio, Lyra Valkyria & Bayley, AJ Styles & Dragon Lee, Stephanie Vaquer, and Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley were shown arriving earlier today. 

Oba Femi was shown in the front row with his NXT Championship belt, and they plugged his (non-title) match against Cody Rhodes on Saturday Night’s Main Event. 

Iyo Sky (w/ Rhea Ripley) vs. Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka)

Sky was about to go for a dive, but Asuka leaped on the apron to block it (as Sane distracted the referee). Sky went after Asuka, but Asuka dropped the rope, and Sky spilled out of the ring. Ripley confronted Asuka, and Sane used the distraction to knock down Sky with a leaping forearm off the apron. (There was another distraction spot during the break, and Ripley decided not to do anything about it this time.) 

Sky fought back when they returned from break and hit a springboard missile dropkick and corner meteroa for two. Sky set up for a moonsault, but Sane quickly went up to block it and followed with a double foot stomp for two (as Sky held herself upside down in the corner).  

Sane tried a back drop on the apron, but Sky landed on her feet. Sane didn’t notice, so Sky gave her a German suplex on the apron. Sky followed with an Asai moonsault. 

Sky set up for her moonsault in the ring again, but yet another Sane distraction allowed Asuka to interfere again, this time by knocking Sky off the top rope. Ripley had enough and dumped Asuka into the timekeeper’s area. 

Sane failed to take advantage of the distraction, and Sky hit a moonsault for the pinfall win. Sane leaped into Ripley’s arms to celebrate. 

Match result: Iyo Sky defeated Kairi Sane (11:34) 

A perfectly good TV match, and the crowd was into Sky (and Ripley).

******** 

Logan Paul approached the rest of the Vision backstage. He asked if they didn’t see Rey Mysterio smack him in the face last week. Bronson Reed said he didn’t like it. Bron Breakker seemed unperturbed. Logan wanted something to be done about it. The Brons stood up and said they would handle it tonight. Logan was glad. 

Logan pulled Paul Heyman aside and said he wanted the situation handled tonight. Heyman assured him that, for the first time in his life, he had backup. Logan was cool with that, but wanted them to know he was their backup if needed. Heyman was happy to hear that, but handed him brass knuckles, just in case. 

(Normally, it’s stupid when these stablemates seemingly don’t speak to each other when they’re not on the show, but it’s believable that the Brons don’t talk to Logan in their free time.) 

******** 

Mysterio walked through the back and walked by Adam Pearce, who was off to the side, arguing with The New Day. 

There was a Cena video package about the ‘you can’t see me’ hand gesture. 

There was a War Raiders video package. 

********

Rey Mysterio / Logan Paul / LA Knight segment 

Mysterio made his way to the ring (presumably to face Finn Bálor) but was decked from behind by Logan Paul. Mysterio fought him off and set up for 619, but was attacked from behind by the masked man. The man superkicked Mysterio and hit a curb stomp before being chased away through the crowd by security. 

Mysterio slowly got to his feet, but Logan knocked him out with the brass knuckles. 

LA Knight ran out to his music, and Logan bailed. Knight said he would have an aneurysm if the masked man really was Seth Rollins. Knight wanted to stomp his head in. Knight said he thought the Vision couldn’t suck anymore, but then Logan joined them. 

Knight was pissed off, and it didn’t help watching Logan attack a legend like Mysterio. Knight said Logan would pay, not on Friday or Saturday, but tonight in KC. Knight said “Yeah” over and over as the fans sang along. 

The crowd was really into Knight here. Knight vs. Paul was made official after a break. 

******** 

The announcers congratulated Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on being nominated for a Golden Globe for best male actor. 

Je’Von Evan was shown in the crowd. Evans and Leon Slater will face AJ Styles and Dragon Lee on SNME. 

World Tag Team Championships: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. The War Raiders

Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Grayson Waller watched the match at ringside. 

Erik and Ivar blocked early dive attempts by Styles and Dragon Lee. Erik drove Dragon into the barricade, and Ivar squished Styles into the side of the ring ahead of a break. 

They worked over Styles until Dragon Lee got a hot tag and ran wild after a break. With Erik hanging upside down in the ropes (holding himself up), Dragon Lee hit a double foot stomp—a spot we saw in the opening match. (It’s ok to repeat spots, but not that one.) 

There was an ill-advised spot where Dragon Lee hoisted Ivar up on his shoulders for something, but he collapsed. The crowd cheered as Lee hoisted Ivar up again on his shoulders. He stumbled again, and Ivar tried to make up for it by pretending to counter. Dragon Lee tried it a third time and hit an accidental DVD that didn’t look like much. (The crowd was very forgiving.) 

Lee continued to fight off both men on his own until Ivar powerslammed him outside the ring. Ivar followed with a moonsault, but Styles just barely broke up the cover. Erik got a two count on Styles with a knee strike. 

Moments later, Styles used a hurricanrana to bring Ivar off the top rope, and Ivar collided with Erik on the way down. Dragon Lee wiped out Erik with a dive, and Styles hit Ivar with a Phenomenal Forearm for the pinfall win. 

(This wasn’t the smoothest match you’ll ever see. It certainly wasn’t boring.) 

Match result: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee defeated The War Raiders to retain the World Tag Team Championships (11:22)

The New Day and Waller approached Styles and Lee in the ring when Jey Uso’s music hit. The Usos entered together, and they ran the music back as the other men in the ring patiently waited. 

Jimmy Uso had a big announcement: The Usos were back in the tag division. They’ve been getting hit hard the past few months. They lost at WarGames and Wrestlepalooza. Jey lost his world title and lost in the Cena tournament. Jimmy saw his brother crashing out and knew he had to do something. He called Jey in the middle of the night and asked him what they would do about it. 

Jey said they would get back to us. They would block the noise, body them all, and put the tag team on notice. The best damn tag team was now in your city. “We need gold. We need gold, Uce.” 

The Usos meant no disrespect to the current champs, but said Styles and Lee didn’t know the Usos. But the New Day did. The Usos got in the faces of Kingston and Woods and compared their rivalry to Ali vs. Frazier and The Rock vs. Stone Cold. (This confrontation might’ve meant more if New Day weren’t ice cold.) 

The Usos turned their attention to Styles and Lee until New Day tried to attack them from behind. The Usos decked Kingston and Woods. (Waller bailed.) 

The Usos faced off with Styles and Lee as the segment ended. 

********

There was a Cena video package on his feud with The Rock. 

SNME card (start time 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT): 

  • John Cena vs. Gunther — Cena’s retirement match 
  • Bayley vs. Sol Ruca 
  • World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater (non-title) 
  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. NXT Champion Oba Femi (non-title) 

********

Stephanie Vaquer segment 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Stephanie Vaquer in the ring, although Vaquer quickly took the mic to speak on her own. Vaquer said she wanted to face everyone. She didn’t talk much, but she spoke with her actions. She was the best—and not because of Devil’s Kiss. 

Vaquer said Nikki Bella was a legend, but the women’s division was different than what it was 15 years ago. They had Ripley, Bayley, Natalya, Iyo Sky, and they were all amazing. Vaquer asked Bella if she knew who was on top. 

Bella interrupted. Bella called herself a legend, a Hall of Famer and a celebrity, and she was not done with Vaquer. Bella demanded a rematch. 

Raquel Rodriguez suddenly hopped the apron, effortlessly yanked Bella off the apron, and lawn darted her into the ring post. (That was a great spot, but Rodriguez didn’t get much of a reaction.) 

Rodriguez confronted Vaquer. She told her to name the time and place so she could kick her ass and take the title. 

******** 

Byron Saxton interviewed Ivy Nile during a break, and she appeared with the Creed Brothers. Nile has an IC title shot against Maxxine Dupri next week. Nile didn’t care that Natayla, her old friend, was training Dupri. She said Dupri would drop the ball just like the KC Chiefs did yesterday (the crowd booed). 

(Nile hasn’t wrestled on Raw since June, and her last televised win was over a year ago.) 

******** 

The Judgment Day met backstage. Bálor was happy he had an easy night after Mysterio got laid out. 

Morgan was surprised that Rodriguez didn’t run her plan by her. Rodriguez said she didn’t realize she needed to. Morgan played it down and said it was cool. She wanted to see Rodriguez become world champion. Rodriguez was content and left to talk with Pearce. 

Morgan turned her attention to Roxanne Perez and said they could be the next tag team champions. 

********

Sol Ruca was shown in the crowd. It’s been almost 30 minutes since the previous match ended.

Lyra Valkyria (w/ Bayley) vs. Roxanne Perez (w/ Liv Morgan)

Morgan distracted the referee so Perez could rake Valkyria’s eyes as she set up for her finisher. Bayley knocked Morgan down, so Perez kicked Bayley down. 

Perez countered a roll-up attempt and shoved Valkyria into the ropes. Morgan was still down on the apron, but alert enough to kick Valkyria in the face (and the ref just simply wasn’t watching). 

Perez took advantage of the interference and hit Pop Rox for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Roxanne Perez defeated Lyra Valkyria (10:15) 

They were having a nice match until the finishing interference sequence, which looked pretty bad. We also saw tons of interference in the first match, but the heel happened to win this time. 

********

Kingston and Woods cut a promo during commercials. Kingston mocked Jey for losing his smile, and Woods said they would bury the Usos under their own penitentiary next week. 

There were clips from a John Cena interview. He spoke about the ‘you can’t wrestle’ chants. They were spawned from him winning matches with the same five moves every night. He seemed to take it to heart and decided to do more stuff. Over time, he worked with the likes of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and AJ Styles to teach him stuff and do better. He didn’t resist the audience’s chants; he used them to get better. (Full interview is on WWE.com.) 

They aired the Dupri/Natalya training video again. Or maybe it was a new one. Joe Tessitore said he was impressed with Dupri’s level of training based on this dimly lit video. 

******** 

LA Knight vs. Logan Paul (w/ Paul Heyman)

Logan gave Knight a cheap shot as he entered the ring, and the ref decided this was a good time to start the match. Knight fought back anyway and cleared the announce table before bouncing Logan’s head off of it repeatedly. Knight was in control until Logan hit a Zig-Zag for two. 

Logan maintained control through a break and hit an alley-oop facebuster when they returned. Knight fought back with a leaping clothesline, Russian leg sweep, and neckbreaker for two. 

Breakker and Reed marched out as Knight set up on the top rope. Logan used the distraction to knock Knight off the top and hit a clunky-looking flying crossbody for two. Knight countered a gut-wrench slam and hit a reverse DDT, followed by a flying elbow drop. 

Knight knocked Breakker off the apron, but was knocked down instead by Reed. The referee eventually figured out what happened and ejected the Brons from ringside, but they didn’t immediately leave. 

Knight attacked Logan by the announce desk as the referee tried getting rid of the Brons. The distraction allowed the masked man to fly in and give Knight a curb stomp on the announce desk. 

Logan followed with a frog splash in the ring for the pinfall win. 

— The Brons attacked Knight after the match. Breakker speared Knight, and Reed hit consecutive Tsunamis. 

Match result: Logan Paul defeated LA Knight (12:44) 

Officials and medical staff rolled Knight out of the ring as the Vision stood tall. 

Heyman grabbed a mic and started his promo as they went to a commercial break. (Heyman told a stagehand that he would still be talking when they returned, and he was.) 

Heyman put over his guys before stating that Bron Breakker would beat CM Punk for the world title on the anniversary of Raw’s debut on Netflix. The crowd chanted for Punk. 

Breakker grabbed the mic. He wondered where Punk was. He wasn’t wondering where Punk was physically—he wondered where the CM Punk was. He didn’t buy this new, nice guy CM Punk. All of a sudden, Punk returned and was the nicest guy ever. He followed the rules and took pictures with the young talent just to post them on social media for people to see what a nice guy he was. 

Breakker repeated a joke we’ve heard before, saying Punk preached about being straight edge, but still looked like the biggest crackhead anyone has ever seen. 

Breakker didn’t want to face the nice guy because he could beat that guy easily. He wanted the old Punk. The guy from 2011-2013. The guy who walked the halls as a feared man. The guy who beat The Rock. (Punk never beat The Rock.) The guy who held the world title for over 400 days. The guy who was one of the greatest wrestlers to lace up a pair of boots. 

Breakker was on his hands and knees, begging for the old Punk. He wanted to beat the greatest superstar ever to lace up a pair of boots. Otherwise, he would destroy Punk and send him to the hospital. He would break Punk, take his championship, and while he was at it, take his wife, too. 

Breakker wanted to keep it simple for Punk: it would be spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. 

A camera showed Knight in the back getting to his feet, so Logan and Reed ran back to deal with him. Knight fought them off and punched a security guard, too. It was all too much for Knight, so Reed slammed him through a table. 

Reed and Logan were about to leave, but Knight wouldn’t stay down. They slammed Knight into a car and placed him on the roof. Reed climbed atop some stacked-up equipment boxes and gave him a Tsunami onto the roof of the car. Pearce appeared with officials and screamed for medics as the show ended.

WWE NXT live results: Deadline go-home show

Posted on by Chris Aiken

With two weeks of Gold Rush now over, WWE NXT is back tonight with its Deadline go-home show.

An eight-man tag team match headlines tonight’s card with Je’Von Evans, Myles Borne, Leon Slater & Joe Hendry taking on DarkState. The bout features all five of the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge competitors, with Evans, Borne, Slater, Hendry, and Dion Lennox set to face off at Saturday’s PLE.

The women’s Iron Survivor participants — Kelani Jordan, Sol Ruca, Jordynne Grace, Lola Vice, and Kendal Grey — will meet for a summit in advance of their upcoming match. The Iron Survivor bouts at Deadline will determine future challengers for the NXT Championship and NXT Women’s Championship.

Jacy Jayne is the NXT Women’s Champion once again after winning the belt from Tatum Paxley at Gold Rush. The Culling will address their betrayal of Paxley tonight.

Plus, Tavion Heights vs. Josh Briggs is set to take place on the episode. Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.

**********

NXT is on the air from a sound stage at the Performance Center in Orlando with a live studio audience. Vic Joseph is commentary as usual, but Booker T is not on the show this week. Instead, Corey Graves is back on NXT for tonight’s episode.

In the ring is NXT General Manger Ava, and she is joined by the participants of the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge. Sol Ruca, Jordynne Grace, Kelani Jordan, Lola Vice and WWE Evolve Women’s Champion Kendal Grey are in the ring for a summit of sorts.

All five participants gets to speak, but they are soon interrupted by the Fatal Influence trio. Before the interruption, each of the five cuts a promo of some kind. Sol Ruca speaks first, and she mentions Ethan Page putting her over in a recent promo. Ruca then talks her trials this year, but there is an easy path back to a championship. That is winning at Deadline and going on to win the women’s title.

Jordynne Grace interjects to say no one can stand in her way. Lola Vice says John Cena all picked her for a reason. Kendal Grey says she is the only women in the ring with a title. Kelani Jordan cuts a promo and is booed more than anyone else in the ring.

Fatal Influence interrupts the summit, with NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne cutting a promo flanked by Women’s Speed Champion Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid. Jayne says she cannot wait to see which loser she faces after Deadline. Jayne then singles them all out to cut promos on all of them. In the ring, Jordan insults Grace by calling her a “meat head”, which ignites a brawl.

Cut away from the melee to footage for earlier today with Joe Hendry talking with Thea Hail backstage. In walks Stacks and Arianna Grace. Hail and Grace exchange words, which sets up a match between the two that is up next.

But first, Ava wants to talk with Fatal Influence. Ava books them in a trio match later on against three of the women they interrupted earlier tonight.

Thea Hail (with Joe Hendry) vs. Arianna Grace (with Stacks)

—

They had a fun match for an NXT show, although it was short. Hendry gets involved to counteract Stacks, and Hendry chokeslams Stacks on the ring apron. Hail then applies a Kimura lock, and Grace taps out.

Match result: Thea Hail defeated Arianna Grace via submission.

— A skit from earlier this week in the parking lot, Andre Chase apologizes to OTM after the Chase U students almost run over OTM with a Tesla. OTM says next time it’s on sight, and Chase cuts a promo on the students. This sets up a tag match for later on tonight.

Josh Briggs vs. Tavion Heights

—

They had a really good match in what is continuation of their feud. They picked up where they left off by brawling before the bell. They trade near falls before the fight spills outside again, where Heights sends Briggs crashing through a gimmicked section of the barricade.

After a commercial break the match continues with Briggs getting another near fall. Briggs gets heat on Heights, but Heights eventually makes a fiery comeback. When they collide together, Briggs rips off the chain he was wearing as a necklace. The referee grabs the chain and goes to toss it out of the ring. With the ref distracted with the chain, he is late to see Heights covering Briggs after a belly-to-belly. With the ref late to count, Briggs has time to get his foot on the rope.

For the finish, Briggs lands a big boot. He follows with a Stan Hansen lariat, and Briggs covers Heights for a three count.

Match result: Josh Briggs defeated Tavion Heights via pinfall.

— The Culling faction is headed to the ring for a promo. After a commercial, they are in the ring for a promo from Izzi Dame. The reception for my local CW affiliate is in and out like a fiddler’s elbow, so Dame’s promo was a bit jumbled for me. She is basically cutting a promo on Tatum Paxley, which addresses Dame turning on Paxley on a previous episode. That turn cost Paxley the NXT Women’s Championship. Dame and Paxley are booked in a grudge match at Deadline.

Paxley interrupts the macabre promo on the Titantron. A dejected Paxley is sad and seemingly in tears over the turn. Dame calls her out to come to the ring unless she is scared to face her. Paxlet admits she is scared and does not know what to do without Dame in her corner.

— Sol Ruca apologizes to Zaria for not being in her corner, with Ruca saying she needed some space. Zaria is not buying it, and says she will not be in Ruca’s corner tonight. They are in the locker room with others, which led to Wren Sinclair volunteering to be in Ruca’s corner. Zaria seems displeased with that development.

— After a commercial break and hype video that explains the Iron Survivor Challenge at Deadline, up next is the trios match made earlier tonight.

Fatal Influence (NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne, WWE Women’s Speed Champion Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) vs. WWE Evolve Women’s Champion Kendal Grey, Lola Vice and Sol Ruca (with Wren Sinclair) in a six-woman tag team match

—

The match goes through a commercial break. The heel trio is in control as the show goes into the break. When the show returns from the break they build to a hot tag. Vice runs wild after tagging in. For the finish, Ruca executes a Sol Snatcher on Jayne. Ruca then covers the women’s champ to win the match.

Match result: Sol Ruca, Kendal Grey & Lola Vice defeated Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid when Ruca pinned Jayne.

In a post-match angle, Zaria runs in out of nowhere to spear Grey. The bayface team was on the floor celebrating when Zaria came running in for the sneak attack on Grey. Ruca shoves Zaria, and they argue as Vice steps in between them.

OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price) vs. Chase U (Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors with Andre Chase)

—

This match was set up with the parking lot skit shown earlier in the show. Babyfaces shine in the early stages of the tag bout, which led to stereo dives. Both teams have improved greatly in the ring, and both teams have far more stage presence. Dixon & Connors especially show a ton of fire. Too bad they lost clean. They are running wild ahead of the finish, but Nima & Price catch them on dives to cut off the babyface duo. For the finish, OTM execute their assisted spinebuster on Connors.

Match result: OTM defeated Chase U when Lucien Price pinned Uriah Connors.

— In a skit from the parking lot, NXT North American Champion Ethan Page is in his car. Ava is outside the car talking with Page when Mr. Iguana scares Page with La Yesca. Page freaks out at the sight of the stuffed lizard. Mr. Iguana then commits grand theft auto in front of Ava and a national wide television audience, as he steals Page’s car.

— Shiloh Hill is featured in another weird personality profile. He tells a story of getting lost on a snowmobile trip as a youth, and he took shelter. He rejoiced in being one with the earth, and he marks out for wolves. He then shifts to talking about his Undertaker being his coach on LFG. Hill concludes by rushing off to get some bleach. Not sure what the heck to think of this vignette.

— This has been a weak go-home show so far, albeit with good matches. Next up is the main event, which is far from exciting. Nevertheless, there is a stipulation. If the babyface team wins, the wrestler that scores the win gets his choice of when to enter the Iron Survivor. On the other hand, Dion Lennox gets to choose if the heel team wins.

Je’Von Evans, Joe Hendry, Leon Slater & Myles Borne vs. Darkstate (Cutler James, Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin & Saquon Shugars) in an eight-man tag team match

—

This was pretty good eight-man tag, although it did not have the feel of a main event. Nonetheless, they all worked hard. The match goes through a commercial break. Wild brawl as the show cuts to commercials. After the break, hot tag brings in Joe Hendry.

Lot of wild action down the stretch. Evans does some impressive high spots, including flying over the announce desk. The babyfaces get several near falls. Setting up the finish, Slater does a 450 splash on Griffin. Borne tags in and somewhat steals the pin after executing a Borne Again (Zig-Zag). Borne then covers Griffin for the deciding pinfall. Therefore, Borne gets to determine when he enters the Iron Survivor. There is tension among the babyfaces over Borne getting the pin.

Match result: Myles Borne, Je’Von Evans, Leon Slater & Joe Hendry defeated Darksate when Borne pinned Griffin.

— Closing the show is a contract signing with NXT Champion Ricky Saints and Oba Femi, which builds towards their title match at Deadline. They cut quick promos on each other in this backstage segment. While this closed the show, Ava announces the NXT men’s title match will open the card at Deadline for the first time in NXT history. Despite that announcement, this remains a weak go-home show. However, the wrestling itself was decent enough.

WWE Raw live results: Survivor Series fallout

Posted on by Joseph Collins

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WWE Raw is at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona tonight for the fallout from Survivor Series: WarGames.

The main event of Saturday’s PLE saw a mysterious figure help the team of Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre & Brock Lesnar defeat CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns & The Usos. We’ll see if we officially find out the mystery man’s identity tonight — and we’ll also find out what the fallout is of Breakker pinning World Heavyweight Champion Punk.

On the women’s side, AJ Lee tapped out Becky Lynch to secure the WarGames win for Lee, Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair. Lynch is claiming that she did not actually submit and will be boycotting Raw until all of the supposed injustices against her have been corrected.

A World Tag Team title match is also part of tonight’s lineup with AJ Styles & Dragon Lee defending against The New Day.

In addition to that, we’ll get another step closer to finding out the identity of John Cena’s final opponent. The Last Time is Now Tournament continues with both semifinal matches — Gunther vs. Solo Sikoa and Jey Uso vs. LA Knight — taking place tonight.

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

Live from Glendale, Arizona. Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore started the show in the crowd surrounded by fans. “It’s like the energy from Survivor Series followed is here!” Boy, I hope not. Tessitore kicked it to a recap of Survivor Series. 

Paul Heyman escorted the Vision through the backstage area. Solo Sikoa walked around the parking lot. Dragon Lee and AJ Styles walked around backstage. The Judgement Day also walked around the parking lot, meting up with Dominic Mysterio & Liv Morgan in a low rider.  So much walking! It’s World Walking Entertainment! 

Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley Opening Promo. 

Poor Iyo can’t do her head-pointing taunt without aggravating her injured shoulder. So she opts for jumping around the ring and waving to the crowd. Ripley welcomed the crowd to “Monday Night Rh-yo.” I mean I guess that’s how to spell that. Ripley gloated about winning the war at War Games Saturday. But, the fight isn’t over because the Kabuki Warriors betrayed her “best friend Iyo,” and Ripley wants the Women’s Tag Team Championships as revenge. 

While Iyo and Rhea want the tag champs, the former champs Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss come out instead. Bliss wanted Rhea to “pump the breaks” on going after the tag team titles, since Charlotte and Alexa are still owed a rematch for the tag team titles. Rhea invited Charlotte and Alexa to get to the back of the line because they already lost to the Warriors, and of course this leads to Alexa challenging Rhea & Iyo for tonight. Iyo accepts. Joe Tessitore said “didn’t see that coming.” Really? 

— Cut to the back, where Adam Pearce made the women’s tag match official for tonight. Ivy Nile demanded a title shot with Maxxine Dupri, and Pearce will make that match for later, once Maxxine is done training with Natalya. Pearce turned around to find Bron Breakker and Paul Heyman. They pled ignorance as to the identity of the masked man that interfered in War Games. Paul would rather discuss the implications of Breakker pinning the World Champion in War Games. To be continued…

— After a video package on the CM Punk/John Cena feud, Tessitore casually dropped that CM Punk is not cleared to wrestle after War Games. 

Jey Uso v. LA Knight in the Semifinals of The Last Time Is Now Tournament

This match had great heat. The crowd “Yeah’d!” when Knight landed a punch and “Yeet’d!” when Uso landed a punch. After Uso hit a dive onto the floor, the match went to a commercial. 

Uso fought his way out of a superplex attempt, and both guys exchanged punches before tumbling to the floor. The referee started to counted them out, and the crowd counted along with the ref. They made it to the apron, and Uso sent Knight into the ring with a gamengiri. Knight hit a Burning Hammer (called by Barrett!) for a near fall. 

Uso hit a spear, but Knight kicked out at two. There was a crazy drone camera shot of the match that was really cool. Uso went to the top, and Knight popped up, slipped, then popped back up to superplex Uso from the top for a near fall.  Uso escaped Knight’s finisher with a rollup attempt, then hit a spear, a superplex and a splash. Uso went for the cover, but did that cover where he laid on his back. Knight rolled Uso up in a crucifix and got the pinfall. Knights moves to the finals to face Solo Sikoa or Gunther. 

Match Result: LA Knight defeated Jey Uso by pinfall to advance to the finals of The Last Time is Now Tournament (9:39) .

After the match, Jey sat in the corner and looked despondent. The crowd gave him polite applause for his hard fought match. Uso dropped to the floor and started banging his head against the commentator desk before flipping out like Bret Hart at the 1997 Survivor Series, tossing around the Prime Energy Drink stand and flipping over some ringside stairs. 

— Bailey and Lyra Valkyria asked Adam Pearce about getting into the tag title scene. Pearce kind of blew them off, wanting to see the results of the match later tonight. Asuka and Kari Sane came along to blame Bailey for their loss at War Games (since she didn’t team with them). Bailey called them idiots.

The Judgement Day Promo & The Return of Liv Morgan

The Judgement Day came out without Liv Morgan, at first. Dominik Mysterio proclaims himself the greatest Mysterio of all time, the greatest luchador of all time, and the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time by virtue of his win over John Cena. Dom then brought out Liv Morgan. All of this was getting babyface heat. 

Liv is happy to be back and missed everybody in the Judgement. But Live is here to right the ship with the Judgement Day, who have been losing titles (close up on Finn Balor looking disappointed in himself). The Judgement Day are back to run Monday Night Raw and take back everything that belongs to them. Liv slapped, then hugged Dom.

— A video aired of Natalya and Maxxine Dupri sparring. 

— Adam Pearce asked one of the referees IN FRONT OF A CAMERA MAN AND THE ENTIRE RAW AUDIENCE to discretely poke around and see if he can find out if Seth Rollins is faking his injury again. Or, maybe find out the identity of the masked man who interfered at Survivor Series. Because no one will talk to “the boss.”

Dragon Lee & AJ Styles v. The New Day (w/ Grayson Waller) for the World Tag Team Championship

The New Day jumped AJ Styles before the bell and double-teamed him liberally. Dragon Lee got the tag and took Kofi Kingston down with a step up rana. Lee then jumped over the ropes and snagged Xavier Woods with a rana, sending him to the floor as well. 

After a break, AJ Styles got the hot tag (the heat was during the commercial), but he soon fell victim to a double team from the New Day. Woods held Styles open for a legdrop from Kingston for a near fall. Woods went for the Boom Drop, but Styles countered it into a sunset flip for a near fall. Styles locked in the Calf Crusher, but Woods made the save. 

Kofi got a near fall with a roll up while  holding the tights. Styles sent Kingston into a sitout powerbomb from Lee for a near fall. Lee and Kingston had a weird collision in the middle of the ring. Woods hit Styles with a superkick, then hung Lee up in the corner. Kofi then dove in with a dropkick on Lee for a near fall. 

Lee hit Kingston with a back elbow. Styles hung up Kingston in the ropes, and Lee jumped off the top with a double stomp. This sent Kofi into the waiting arms of AJ, in perfect position for a Styles Clash. Lee hit Woods with a dive on the floor, Styles hit the Styles Clash on Kofi, and Styles got the pinfall. 

Match Result: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee retained the tag team titles by pinfall when Styles pinned Kingston (9:03) 

— Jackie Redmond interviewed Stephanie Vaquer. Vaquer said her victory showed that if you betray Vaquer, you get burned. Just as Vaquer wondered who would be coming next for her championship, Liv Morgan appeared to remind Stephanie that she is back. 

The Vision & Bron Breakker Get Promo Time.

Paul Heyman lead the Vision out to the ring. Heyman took the mic and started giving shout outs to every member of the Saturday’s winning team in the War Games main event. Heyman praised Logan Paul for how he will fit into Heyman’s vision of the future. And then Heyman makes the big announcement: on January 5th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the first anniversary of Raw on Netflix, CM Punk will defend and lose the world title to Bron Breakker. 

Breakker took the mic and he’s a little bit upset. He’s not upset about Bat-Man interfering in War Games and trying to steal his moment, or being in Arizona. But no, he was disappointed that it was so easy to beat CM Punk, who is nothing but a “soft a$$ b!tch.” Punk is no different than any veteran who is living off of past accomplishments. Punk is no different than Seth Rollins, who was holding everyone else down. Also, Punk should be worried about how his wife is a bigger star than he is. 

Bron promised a different kind of fight. Bron pivoted to Punk trying to break his neck in the War Games and now he’s really mad. Breakker said he’s coming for every good memory these fans of CM Punk. Breakker recalled Punk big-timing him backstage at WrestleMania, asking if Bron “can cut a promo with the big dogs now.” “Well, la-di-da, consider the promo cut!” Punk will be looking up in the lights on January 5th and realize he’s not even close to the Bad A$$ Bron Breakker, the real best in the world. 

THAT WAS A MONEY PROMO. This was easily the best thing on the show. It had shoot vibes and Breakker did a great job of being “out of control” at the end of the promo. Breakker stormed off without the rest of the Vision, leaving them in awe, applauding, in the middle of the ring.

— Jackie Redmond won’t leave Jey Uso while he’s trying to leave, annoying him with questions about the Masked Man and Bron Breakker being the number one contender. He finally said that the titles look best on Roman Reigns shoulders and left.

Gunther v. Solo Sikoa in the Semifinals of The Last Time Is Now Tournament

Barrett suggested on commentary that beating John Cena in his last match would be the equivalent of ending the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak. It’s weird it was face/face in one semi-final, and heel/heel in the other. This does not start out with the crowd heat of the other semi-final. Gunther worked a headlock before he and Solo exchanged shoulder blocks. 

Sikoa finally put Gunther down on the mat with a shoulder block. Gunther responded with a big boot that sent Sikoa down to the floor and sent the show into a commercial. 

During the commercial, Talla Tonga tripped up Gunther while he was trying to get back in the ring, allowing Sikoa to get control with a nerve hold. Sikoa sent Gunther into the turnbuckles hard, and both guys were on the mat selling. The ref checked on both of them to see if they could conintue. 

They did continue, and Gunther started chopping away at Sikoa. Gunther blocked a bodyslam attempt. He tried to slam Sikoa. Gunther couldn’t hold him and fell backwards, allowing Sikoa a near fall. Sikoa went to the top rope. Gunther hit Sikoa with a chop, then superplexed Sikoa and both men were down again. 

Both guys got to the feet and started exchanging chops and strikes. Gunther hit a boot, Sikoa hit a superkick but neither guy went down. Finally, Sikoa hit a spike to the throat and both guys were down again. 

After a second commercial, Sikoa hit Gunther with a hip attack in the corner. Sikoa charged for a second one, but Gunther bounced out with a clothesline. Sikoa backdropped out of a powerbomb attempt, but Gunther hit a second clothesline for a near fall.

 Gunther went for the powerbomb again, but Sikoa countered with a Samoan drop for a near fall. Sikoa telegraphed going for the spike again, and Gunther countered with a flurry of chops. Gunther backed Sikoa into the corner and hit more chops, but walked into a uranagi. Sikoa came off the top with a splash for a near fall and now the crowd was really into the match. 

Sikoa went for the spike again, but Gunther spun behind him and locked in a sleeper. Sikoa made it to the corner to force a break, but Gunther dropped down a gave him a German suplex. Talla Tonga lured Gunther to the floor, and Tonga hit him with a boot. The Samonas went to double team, Gunther, but Gunther got out of it and smashed Sikoa’s hand against the ring apron. 

Back in the ring, the ref was still involved with Talla Tonga. Seeing the ref distracted, Gunther gave Sikoa a kick to the giblets. Gunther dropped Sikoa with a powerbomb and the ref turned around to count the pinfall. Started out slow but built really well. Probably the best match on the show.

Match Result: Gunther advanced to the finals of The Last Time is Now Tournament, pinning Solo Sikoa (18:31). 

After the match, LA Knight came out to talk trash to Gunther. Gunther v. LA Knight in the finals this Friday on Smackdown.

— In the back, Adam Pearce’s spy didn’t find out anything. AJ Styles came along and informed Pearce that Seth Rollins was seen running around without his arm in a sling. Which Pearce had already heard. Styles wants to defend the titles against the War Raiders next week, and Pearce made the match official. 

Next Week on Raw: 

  • The winner of The Last Time is Now Tournament! 
  • AJ Styles & Dragon Lee v. The War Raiders 
  • Rey Mysterio v. Finn Balor 

— Jackie Redmond interviewed Rey Mysterio, who called his son Dom a b@st@rd. Rey hasn’t ruled out a challenge to Dom’s Intercontinental Championship. Logan Paul came along to disabuse Rey of that notion, since the IC title belongs to the Vision. Paul promised to to retire Rey, Rey slapped him, and a gaggle of suits came ran in to pull them apart. 

Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss v. Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky

The match started and almost immediately went to a commercial, but not before Charlotte “accidentally” booted Ripley to the floor. After the break, Ripley had Bliss locked in her submission hold. Bliss escaped, but Ripley “accidentally” collided with Flair and sent her to the floor. Sky hit Bliss with a flapjack. 

Ripley and Flair each got tags and squared off. The crowd was into this, chanting for Ripley. Ripley got a go-behind, but Charlotte escaped with an elbow. They started exchanging forearms, and Flair went to chops to get the advantage. Ripley ducked a chop and caught Flair with a headbutt. Flair sent Ripley into the turnbuckles, but Ripley caught Flair with a kick and both women were down. 

After another commercial, Flair sent Ripley to the floor. Iyo caught Ripley with a meteora. Ripley tried to powerbomb Flair, but over-rotated and they both fell down. Ripley picked her up again and gave her a crucifix powerbomb, and Sky followed up with a top rope dropkick. 

Ripley went for a Riptide, but Flair countered with a DDT. Bliss got the tag and hit another DDT for a near fall. Bliss went for Twisted Bliss, but Ripley got her knees up. Flair and Sky got tags, and Flair put Sky down with a boot and hit Natural Selection. Bliss followed up with Sister Abigail, but Ripley broke up the pin attempt. 

Bliss went after Ripley with forearms. Bliss tried for the Sister Abigail, but Ripley escaped and hit a headbutt. Ripley hit the Riptide, and Sky followed up with a moonsault, but Flair broke up the pin attempt. 

With everyone down, the Kabuki Warriors ran and attacked Charlotte Flair, dumping her to the floor. The Warriors then sent Ripley into a ringpost to send her to the floor. No winner was ever announced. 

Match Result: No-Contest? (14:30) 

Lyra Valkyria and Bailey ran in to attack the tag champs. Then the women from Judgement Day ran in and attacked everyone. Valkyria was about to dive off of a table, but Liv Morgan yanked her down. Back in the ring, Raquel Rodriquez gave Asuka the Tahani Bomb, and Roxanne Perez hit Bailey with the Pop Rocks. Rodriquez and Perez grabbed the tag team title belts. Perez tried to hand a belt to Liv Morgan, but Morgan insisted Perez keep the belt.  The Judgement Day stood tall to end the show. 

Bron Breakker’s promo was pretty awesome, but the rest of this was a pretty paint-by-numbers Raw. Certainly not the “great show” that was promised.

WWE Raw live results: Survivor Series WarGames go-home show

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: November 24, 2025
Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK 

The Big Takeaway —

Penta was injured very early in his Last Time is Now tournament match and was unable to continue. Solo Sikoa advanced as a result, and he will face Gunther in a semifinal match. 

The heel men’s team will have the advantage in their WarGames match on Saturday. The men’s team brawled to build their match. The women’s team brawled to build their match. 

**********

Show Recap — 

Ozzy Osbourne’s “War Pigs” welcomed us to Raw in Oklahoma City as they displayed footage of the WarGames cages being built at Petco Park in San Diego for Saturday’s Survivor Series. 

The Vision (with Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre), Penta, Carmelo Hayes, and Becky Lynch were shown arriving at Paycom Center. 

Roman Reigns kicks off Monday Night Raw

Reigns entered and was greeted with chants of “OTC,” so he greeted them with, “OKC. Acknowledge me.” They did. That’s all he could say before Cody Rhodes interrupted. 

Rhodes did his full entrance, and it was 8:14 pm by the time they got going. Rhodes wanted to acknowledge that Reigns was a man of his word, but the last time Reigns gave him his word, it was for a match. This time, it was for war. Rhodes wondered what was in it for Reigns. 

Reigns said he’s been involved in this war, whereas Rhodes was just joining now. Reigns said they didn’t know each other well, but they did know something about each other, and that’s that they didn’t play around when it came to family. Half of this team was his family. He’s been invested in The Usos for a long time, and he was there to see that investment through. 

Rhodes was content with that and stated, “Welcome to my team,” before offering a handshake. Reigns didn’t shake his hand, and they were interrupted by CM Punk. 

Punk looked directly in Reigns’ face before starting with his usual line. He then said, “OKC. Acknowledge us.” Punk admitted he was stealing Reigns’ best stuff, but it was for good reason. This was an all-star WarGames. 

Punk didn’t need Reigns’ word because he saved his life at last year’s event. Reigns quickly said Punk ruined his life just four months later. Punk knew that gave Reigns a reason to stab him in the back, but Punk wasn’t worried because that meant Reigns would be stabbing his own family in the back. 

Punk sarcastically stated that Reigns would never be mean to his own family, or put them between a “rock” and a hard place. 

Rhodes tried to settle things down, but Punk asked Rhodes why he referred to them as his (Rhodes’) team. Punk reminded him that this was his show. Reigns quipped that Punk and Rhodes should just whip ‘em out now and start measuring. 

Reigns didn’t care whose team it was. He hated Paul Heyman and hated The Vision. Punk could count on the fact that Reigns hated them more than he hated him. 

Reigns left the ring, but not before stating that the title belt would look better on his shoulder. Punk asked which of them they were referring to. Reigns answered off-mic by saying they could figure it out themselves. 

(Punk was good here, but I’m not sure how much intrigue this really added to WarGames. If Punk and Rhodes are concerned with who the team leader is, they may be the only ones.)

********

The Vision met backstage. Heyman wanted Drew McIntyre to behave tonight. He was only allowed on Raw because Heyman picked him for the advantage match—which is now a tag team match. 

Logan Paul suggested they pick Brock Lesnar to be McIntyre’s partner tonight. Heyman said that wasn’t a good idea and warned Logan not to utter his name. Logan did so anyway, and Heyman said Lesnar was coming to Raw to go after Reigns. 

Logan suggested that Bron Breakker or Bronson Reed team with McIntyre, but Heyman said it would be him. This was not what Logan wanted, but he made it seem he was on board. 

******** 

The Last Time is Now tournament quarterfinal: Gunther vs. Carmelo Hayes

Gunther held control through a break and cut off Hayes’ comeback when they returned. There was a smattering of chants for Hayes as Gunther looked into the camera and questioned why he even had to face Hayes. 

Hayes ducked a chop, which was easy given their height difference. Gunther cut him off again and went for a powerbomb, but Hayes countered into a DDT. This led to a second commercial break, and Gunther took over quickly again. 

Hayes ducked another chop on the apron, and Gunther’s arm hit the ring post. Hayes tried a slingshot DDT onto the apron, but they basically fell straight to the outside. Hayes followed with a flip dive and backdropped Gunther into the timekeeper’s area. 

Gunther wasn’t about to let Hayes attempt a count-out win, so he dumped Hayes into the timekeeper’s area next. Hayes quickly reemerged on top of the barricade and dropped Gunther with a leaping DDT before scampering back in the ring. 

Hayes almost won by count-out, but Gunther slipped back in just in time. The crowd really got into it here, remembering that Hayes won by count-out on SmackDown. 

Hayes went for Nothing But Net, but Gunther dodged it and clobbered him with a clothesline and powerbomb for a nearfall. Gunther applied a sleeper, but Hayes fought to his feet. It wasn’t enough, and Gunther dropped him with another powerbomb for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Gunther defeated Carmelo Hayes to advance in The Last Time is Now tournament (17:20)

The first part was kind of dull, but this wound up being pretty good, particularly once they returned from the last break. 

********

Jey and Jimmy Uso approached Reigns, Rhodes, and Punk. Jey said they should be focusing on what was actually important tonight, and that was the advantage match. Jimmy and Jey said they were on the same page and their partners could count on them. Yeet. 

After the Usos left, Reigns asked Punk and Rhodes who the team leader was. He told them to fix this, and he left. (It’s possible he was just egging them on, but it seemed like, suddenly, he sincerely wanted them to pick a team leader.) 

******** 

Dominik Mysterio segment 

Dom entered. He was booed. He said he would embarrass John Cena in his hometown. He would take back his Intercontinental Championship, and he would continue to be the greatest Mysterio of all time. Dom said it didn’t matter if the fans cheered for Cena or not, because he wasn’t even here tonight. 

Cena’s music hit, and the crowd exploded. It was a swerve. A long time passed with no Cena. Finally, a little person dressed as Cena entered. (Along with a little person dressed as Stu the cameraman.) He had trouble leaping into the ring like Cena, so he ran around and entered using the steps. 

Dom talked to him like he was the real John Cena and threatened to drop him at Survivor Series. The fake Cena called him the worst Mysterio of all time. Dom was caught off guard and whispered something in his ear. The fake Cena told Dom that if he wouldn’t fight him tonight, he could come get some at Survivor Series. 

Dom booted fake Cena to the ground and hit him with a five knuckle shuffle, 619 and a frog splash. 

Rey Mysterio ran out to his music, so Dom bailed. Rey checked on the guy as Dom left up the aisle, where he was greeted by his Judgment Day teammates. 

(This angle was a mistake. Dom was getting plenty of heat before they did any of the stuff with the Cena impersonator, and the crowd quickly died when he came out, like they were disappointed to be watching this on their modern WWE product. It probably doesn’t help that, deep down, the fans like Dom and didn’t want him doing this even as a heel.) 

********

Rey Mysterio vs. JD McDonagh (w/ Finn Bálor) 

McDonagh applied an abdominal stretch during the break, and Bálor held his arm back for leverage from outside the ring. The referee caught him, but instead of kicking him out, just yelled at him. Rey made his comeback and went for a 619, but McDonagh caught him with a Spanish Fly for two. Rey responded with a Code Red for two. 

Rey went for a 619 but was tripped by Bálor, who was still out there because of the stupid referee. Rey went after Bálor as the ref yelled at him some more. McDonagh tried a cheap shot, but Rey dropped him into Bálor, knocking him off the apron. Rey followed with a 619 and a springboard splash for the pinfall win. 

Bálor tried attacking Rey after the match, but Rey avoided and left the ring. 

Match result: Rey Mysterio defeated JD McDonagh (12:44) 

******** 

Timothée Chalamet will be a guest on Rhodes’ podcast. 

Raquel Rodriguez spoke to Adam Pearce backstage. She was pissed that Nikki Bella got involved in her title match, and was now getting a title match herself. Pearce, who made the title match, claimed that he agreed with Rodriguez. He promised that she would be in the title mix after Survivor Series. She was content with this. 

New Day and Grayson Waller approached Pearce next, and I had to double-check that this wasn’t happening in a commercial break. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were being annoying, so he told them to shut up. He let them know that AJ Styles and Dragon Lee wanted to defend their tag titles against New Day next week. 

Woods and Kingston were initially upset because they assumed it would be anyone but them in the title match, but they were surprised and happy upon learning it was them. They left. Waller put a wig on Pearce’s head before leaving too. Pearce screamed at him to get out. 

********

Brock Lesnar arrived and entered a room with Heyman. 

Women’s WarGames segment 

Becky Lynch entered and was joined by Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka and Kairi Sane. Lynch called last week’s result an injustice, and she had the best lawyers in the world working to overturn it. She was advised not to talk about it, but did want to say that she followed the rules, unlike Maxxine Dupri and referee Jessika Carr. The result would be overturned, and the company would be better off. 

The company would also be better off when she got rid of AJ Lee once and for all. Lee made a mistake by coming back to cost her the IC title, but the biggest mistake she’ll ever make is entering WarGames with her. 

Lynch admitted she had her differences with her teammates. She put her arms around Asuka, who wasn’t thrilled with this. Lynch called Jax very powerful. Not powerful like her, but powerful enough to break her face. Jax was the only person ever to damage her face, but at least she didn’t need a mask like Rhea Ripley. Lynch called Legend her new friend and a fine specimen of a woman whom Lynch would make into a star. 

Ripley, Iyo Sky, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and AJ Lee all entered the stage individually to their music before walking down to the ring together. 

Lee said the old her would have run to the ring and torn Lynch’s face off, but therapy worked. Lee knew Lynch was just feeling insecure and afraid. Lee didn’t need to run her mouth to lift herself up, because she knew who the hell she was. She didn’t need to bark like an angry chihuahua. She doesn’t bark—she bites. 

Lee said Lynch poured gasoline on the fire, and now she was locking herself in a cage with her. Lee would be free to do whatever she wanted, and she wasn’t alone in wanting to see Lynch get knocked off her pedestal. 

Lee asked Ripley if she agreed. Ripley took the mic and smashed it into Jax’s face. That led to a brawl, and the babyfaces stood tall. Sky wiped out a few heels with a moonsault as Lynch backed up the aisle with a look of regret on her face.  

******** 

The Last Time is Now tournament quarterfinal: Solo Sikoa (w/ Talla Tonga) vs. Penta

Penta was injured. 

Sikoa chucked Penta over the barricade and into the crowd, but he reemerged on the barricade and brought Sikoa down with a hurricanrana. 

Penta landed right on his shoulder, and medical staff checked on him throughout a planned commercial break. When they returned from break, the referee called for the bell, and it was announced that Penta could no longer compete. Sikoa was announced the winner. 

Penta slammed his hand against the barricade in frustration as he was followed to the back by medical staff. 

Sikoa advances and will face Gunther in the semifinals. 

Match result: Solo Sikoa defeated Penta via medical stoppage to advance in The Last Time is Now tournament (4:20)

******** 

Backstage, Pearce told Maxxine Dupri that more women have called him about taking the belt off her than any title he can remember. Pearce advised her to focus and work hard. Dupri said she would. She wanted to be the type of champion people could be proud of. She told Pearce she wanted to call Natalya, and Pearce left.  

Ivy Nile accosted Dupri and told her the title was hers. After Nile left, Dupri turned around and bumped into Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez. Perez said she could take the title any time. Pearce got between them, so Perez left with Rodriguez. Pearce told Dupri she might want to call Natalya now. 

********

There was a good Stephanie Vaquer pre-taped promo. Vaquer said Nikki Bella was clever, but she wasn’t as smart as she thought. Vaquer knew all about Bella’s history, but Bella didn’t know about hers. If Bella were as smart as she pretended to be, she would know who she was messing with. Vaquer stated, “Are you sure you want to get in the ring with me?” 

Survivor Series begins at 7 pm ET. The pre-show is at 5 pm ET. 

Survivor Series card: 

  • Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Nikki Bella for the Women’s World Championship 
  • John Cena (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship 
  • Women’s WarGames: Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss & AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka & Kairi Sane 
  • Men’s WarGames: Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso vs. Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre & Brock Lesnar 

********

Men’s WarGames advantage match: Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul

As has been the pattern, not much happened before they went to break about 80 seconds into the match. The heels worked over Jey Uso, and Logan knocked Jimmy off the apron before he could make a hot tag. McIntyre chucked Jey over the announce desk, leading to a second break. (McIntyre posed, so Jimmy chucked a Prime bottle at him.) 

Logan and McIntyre held up Jey in a delayed vertical suplex, and they flexed with opposite arms while doing so. Jey booted McIntyre and finally made the hot tag to Jimmy, who hit Logan with an enzuguri before superkicking McIntyre off the apron. Jimmy hit some sort of dive off the top for two, and Logan responded with a blockbuster for two. 

Jimmy ducked a punch and followed with a superkick, spear and an Uso splash, but McIntyre broke up the cover. Jey and McIntyre brawled outside the ring as Bron and Bronson entered to check on Logan. 

Punk and Rhodes ran out next to take out the Brons. As everyone brawled, Jey wiped them out with a big dive. Jimmy was too busy celebrating, so Logan caught him in a schoolboy for the pinfall win. 

The heels gain the WarGames advantage thanks to a win in a mostly nothing match. 

— Punk immediately attacked Logan, and the brawl continued. Reigns entered (to his music) and greeted Bron and Bronson in the aisle with Superman punches. Reigns went to the ring and handed out Superman punches to Paul and McIntyre, too. 

The babyfaces stood tall, and the trademark graphic aired to make you think the show was over, but you knew it wasn’t if you were paying attention. 

Lesnar entered with Heyman. Fireworks went off for Lesnar as he did his little pose, and he actually tripped and fell backwards. It would have been an embarrassing moment for some, but he popped right up laughing at himself. 

Lesnar marched down to the ring and joined his new teammates on the apron. The two teams faced off one final time and brawled as the show came to a predictable close. 

Match result: Logan Paul & Drew McIntyre defeated The Usos to earn the advantage in WarGames (17:02) 

WWE SmackDown live results: Last Time is Now first round concludes

Posted on by Marc Quill

The Last Time is Now tournament to find John Cena’s final opponent rolls on as part of tonight’s WWE SmackDown from Denver, Colorado.

In the final two first-round bouts, Carmelo Hayes battles The Vision’s Bronson Reed while Penta takes on Finn Balor. The winner of Hayes vs. Reed will move on to face Gunther on this Monday’s Raw while Solo Sikoa awaits the winner of Penta vs. Balor at a date to be announced.

We’ll also find out how WWE plans to move forward with Sheamus having to withdraw from the tournament due to injury.

On their website, WWE is hyping fallout from this past Monday’s show-ending brawl on Raw that included Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk and the other combatants for the men’s WarGames match at Survivor Series.

The final members for the women’s WarGames match at next weekend’s Survivor Series will also be confirmed tonight.

After weeks of back and forth conflict, DIY and Fraxiom finally get to settle their score in tag team action.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.

**********

– Over a live shot of the University of Colorado stadium and the school’s football mascot posing, we’re welcomed to the show by the voice of Michael Cole. We then see the requisite shots of Penta, Finn Balor, as well as Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair arriving. This then segued into a recap of the goings-on in the men’s WarGames and the new additions to the match happening next week.

The Vision open SmackDown

After the recap, we saw the three members of The Vision’s WarGames team: Logan Paul, Bronson Reed, and Bron Breakker. They were accompanied by Paul Heyman, who started with his usual opening spiel. He then said that at WarGames, five of the crowd’s heroes would be locked inside a double cage where Breakker would “take a bite out of every one of their asses”. They’d be also locked in a double cage where they’d be Tsunami’d over and over again by the “Original Tribal Thief”, Bronson Reed. These five superstars would learn that you’d need an evil and violent strategy to win WarGames, which led to Heyman giving the mic to Logan Paul.

Before Paul could get far, he was interrupted by The Usos, Jimmy and Jey. With a mic in hand, Jey said that nobody wanted to hear what Paul wanted to say. Heyman interjected by saying that Jey pissed off Logan, as well as stating that he created The Bloodline was to make sure that nobody would have to live on the streets. Heyman also pointed out that the one thing he taught them in The Bloodline was the numbers game as he counted the Vision members in the ring.

Jimmy noted that they weren’t showing up to this fight alone, as the sounds of Cody Rhodes’ theme heralded the seeming arrival of the Undisputed WWE Champion. However, he never showed up as the Titantron cut to Drew McIntyre emerging from Rhodes’ bus, leaving behind the champion beaten down. The Usos ran down to check on him.

An okay start to the show, with the McIntyre bus attack on Rhodes, but I’m thinking that this feud is getting a bit stale seeing as while McIntyre gets the upper hand in the attacks, he just ends up losing when it matters, which doesn’t help his standing at all. It kinda feels like they’re going through the motions.

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U.S. Title Open Challenge: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. J.D. McDonagh

Dragunov and McDonagh locked up to kick off the match as their standoff reached the corner. After McDonagh chopped at Dragunov, he was met with a hard boot to the face by the U.S. Champion. Dragunov knocked McDonagh loopy with an enzuigiri to the head but couldn’t connect with a suplex as he was chopped in the chest against the ropes. McDonagh gained the upper hand by throwing the champion hard into the middle rope, which sent him outside as we took a break at this early juncture of the match.

Live action resumed as McDonagh pummeled away at Dragunov with hard strikes to the face, as well as the Kawada-styled kicks. Dragunov answered with chops to McDanagh, followed by the Constantine Special, as both men struggled to get themselves back up. Once McDonagh and Dragunov got back up, they traded strikes until the U.S. Champion connected with a set of German suplexes that kept McDonagh down and out. Dragunov smashed the back of McDonagh’s head with repeated elbow strikes as he then nailed a nice suplex.

As Dragunov tried for another Constantine Special, McDonagh turned that into a standing Spanish Fly for the near-fall. McDonagh escaped a suplex as he then sent himself and Dragunov out of the ring with a nasty-looking suplex as the match headed into its second commercial break.

The match continued from the break as Dragunov nailed a superplex on McDonagh. Upon impact, McDonagh grabbed at Dragunov’s hair and countered into a brainbuster for an incredibly close near-fall. McDonagh headed to the top rope and missed on a moonsault, which opened him up to a big boot from Dragunov, followed by the standing uranage. Dragunov’s attempt at Torpedo Moscow was intercepted by a running knee from the Irishman, and the challenger took advantage with an incredible moonsault. One, two…. NO!

As both men got themselves up, Dragunov connected with the Torpedo Moscow after absorbing a headbutt from McDonagh. One powerbomb and H-Bomb later, and Dragunov picked up the victory in this hard-fought battle.

Ilja Dragunov def. J.D. McDonagh via pinfall to retain the United States Championship

These U.S. Title Open Challenge matches have remained the highlight of SmackDown for consecutive weeks now and this one was no exception. McDonagh and Dragunov battered the heck out of each other and we got a fantastic match out of it. Incredible way to kick things off in terms of in-ring action.

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– After a recap of Charlotte Flair deciding to join the WarGames skirmish on Raw, we saw Flair and Alexa Bliss walking to an unmarked door. The door opened to reveal Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY inside as Bliss left Flair to have a chat with Ripley to work out whatever issues they may have. SKY left soon after as Ripley and Flair stared down one another, presumably getting ready to have that chat.

– Nick Aldis wasn’t able to give an update on Cody Rhodes after what happened as he confronted The Vision about it. Mr. Aldis told Paul Heyman that Drew McIntyre was still persona non grata even after being named to The Vision’s WarGames team. Heyman said that he’d respect Aldis’s request as McIntyre was apparently not at the building after what happened earlier.

– We got more clips of the University of Colorado’s football team as it was mentioned that Bill Goldberg’s son, Gage Goldberg, was a player for the Buffaloes.

– Backstage, Ilja Dragunov was walking, licking his wounds after his U.S. Title match as Tama Tonga silently stared him down before walking off. Tommasso Ciampa then confronted Dragunov and told the champion that he was lucky that he and Johnny Gargano were busy with Fraxiom, because he’d be holding the title instead. Dragunov rebutted by calling Ciampa a “jackass”.

Last Time Is Now Tournament First Round Qualifier: Carmelo Hayes (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Bronson Reed

Michael Cole gave his condolences to legendary commentator Bob Caudle at the start of the match.

In the ring, Reed easily took down Hayes with a fierce running chop, as he continued the attack in the corner. Reed taunted Hayes, followed by another hard running chop and a headbutt on his downed foe. Reed attempted a powerbomb, but Hayes turned that into a powerbomb for a two-count. Hayes maintained the attack with a springboard DDT, followed by a dropkick to the outside. The Vision’s Logan Paul and Bron Breakker ran out from the back as we took a break in the action.

We returned from the break as Reed applied a resthold on Hayes, having gained the upper hand during the commercial break. Hayes fought out of the hold, but got dropped with a back suplex by Reed for the two-count. Reed tried for another back suplex, but Hayes landed on his feet. As Breakker created a distraction, Paul pulled at Hayes’ feet to give his fellow Vision member an assist. Hayes avoided a senton from Reed and rolled him up for the near-fall.

Hayes stunned Reed with a running knee, followed by the flying clothesline. With Reed trapped in between the middle rope, he was blasted by a leg drop by Hayes. A DDT on to the hardest part of the ring by Hayes was followed by a frog splash on the gargantuan Reed for a near-fall. Hayes’ First 48 was countered into a World’s Strongest Slam, followed by the senton. Reed headed up top for the Tsunami, but Hayes rolled out at the last minute to avoid calamity.

Hayes hit Reed with the First 48 as he then leapt at the three members of The Vision at ringside. Back in the ring, Hayes leapt from the top rope and hit a nice DDT, but that wasn’t enough to pick up the victory. Hayes went up top once again, but missed Nothin’ But Net, as he instead was cracked with a hard lariat by Reed.

Outside the ring, Breakker was setting up Hayes for the super spear, but the Usos interrupted and fought with Breakker and Paul. With the referee still distracted, Cody Rhodes emerged from the crowd and hit Reed with a Cross Rhodes that left him out cold. The referee began his count as Reed struggled to get himself back up. Reed was ultimately unable to reach the ring by the count of ten, which gave Hayes the victory.

After the match, Rhodes took the microphone and said that he no longer wants to be done with Drew McIntyre because of what he did. Rhodes called out each member of The Vision, as he then turned his attention to Paul Heyman, stating that he’ll beat his guys (“you build them and I’ll beat them!”) Rhodes then said that WarGames was his birthright and that he’d see Heyman at San Diego.

Carmelo Hayes def. Bronson Reed via countout

This was an good match and a good showing for Hayes. The inevitable WarGames-adjacent events helped keep things exciting, and did their job of setting up Hayes vs. Gunther on Raw this coming Monday.

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– Chelsea Green was fretting about her championship celebration, as she confided with Alba Fyre that maybe she shouldn’t be holding this celebration. As Green called herself the “Greatest Women’s Champion Ever”, Jade Cargill confronted her and took exception to that bold claim.

– Sami Zayn was with Rey Fenix, The Motor City Machine Guns, and Shinsuke Nakamura and had remarks ahead of the big five-man elimination tag match against The M.F.T.s next week on SmackDown. Zayn said that his team was an international assembly of the best wrestlers as he put Fenix, the MCMGs, and Nakamura over.

#DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommasso Ciampa) vs. Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom)

Fraxiom started off fast as they stunned both Gargano and Ciampa with their fast-paced tandem offense. At ringside, both #DIY members were left shelled by consecutive dives to the outside by Fraxiom. Back in the ring, Frazer hit a splash on Ciampa, but Gargano broke up the pin as he then took out Axiom of the equation. Gargano was now the legal man and continued the attack on Frazer, who countered a back suplex by landing on his feet. Ciampa pulled Frazer out and threw him against the steps, as he and Gargano did their self-pats on the back. We took a break at this point in time.

The match returned from break as Frazer sped things up as only he could with a running moonsault on Gargano for the near-fall. Frazer made the climb to the top rope with Gargano stunned, but he missed on the splash. This opened him up to a Shatter Machine from #DIY for an incredibly close near-fall. Frazer had his knees clipped by Ciampa, but he was able to make the tag to Axiom. A dive from the top from the masked star was met by a hard knee to the face from Ciampa, as #DIY connected with a nice double team move. Frazer managed to break the pin up with a splash.

On the top rope, Axiom connected with an avalanche Spanish Fly, while Frazer flew from the top to take out Ciampa. In the ensuing fracas, Candice LeRae got on the apron and took off Axiom’s mask, which allowed Gargano to get in a sneaky victory for #DIY.

#DIY def. Fraxiom via pinfall

Some solid tag team action to keep up the excellent in-ring action we’ve had so far tonight. If there’s one good thing about the rumored return to three hours for SmackDown, it should be the added focus on the tag division to fill the time, and they deserve that bigger spotlight.

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– We got a video of Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley’s conversation, where it simply boiled down to the two acknowledging that they could trust one another for WarGames.

Last Time Is Now Tournament First Round Qualifier: Finn Balor vs. Penta

Balor tried to attack Penta as he was still posturing in the ring, but was cut off at the pass instead as the match got underway here. Balor attacked Penta in the corner, but was met with a hurricanrana, followed by the elevated dropkick in the corner by the fearless masked man.

Penta slammed Balor with a slingblade, as he hit a nice dive over the top rope on his foe to take us into the commercial break.

After the break, we returned on Penta landing a crossbody on Balor as both men tried to get themselves back up on their feet. Balor got to his feet first and teed away on Penta in the corner with a series of punches. However, Penta started to gained some steam with repeated clotheslines, then the superkick on a prone Balor against the middle turnbuckle. Penta tried to hit the Penta Driver, but Balor turned that into a Final Cut for the two-count.

Balor kicked away at Penta, but got a pair of hard chops for his troubles. Penta then hit a modified Muscle Buster on Balor for the close two. Penta pulled at Balor’s arm with his signature armbreaker, but he got rolled up for the near fall. Balor hit the Slingblade, then the shotgun dropkick, which was the final setup for the Coup de Grace. Penta escaped and connected with a variation on his Penta Driver. One, two…. NO!

Balor pushed Penta into the corner, but he found himself in the crosshairs for the Mexican Destroyer as Penta picked up the victory to advance in the Last Time is Now Tournament.

Penta def. Finn Balor via pinfall

A great match to cap off the in-ring action on tonight’s SmackDown, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the matches on tonight’s show. Penta and Balor work together so well, which made this match a fun one.

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– Cole and Graves ran down the remaining spots for the Last Time is Now tournament as they mentioned Sheamus’s shoulder injury, which forced him out of the tournament, revealing that a mystery opponent will face LA Knight in the LTiN quarterfinals in place of the injured Sheamus.

Women’s WarGames Match face off

The team of Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, IYO SKY, and Rhea Ripley were out as a united front ahead of next week’s Survivor Series: WarGames.

Ripley had the microphone first and said that she could hear what the Denver crowd was chanting for. She said at MSG, the Kabuki Warriors, Nia Jax, and Lash Legend didn’t realize how united they were at that moment in time, and when going into war, she wanted to make sure she’d be going to war with the right people. Ripley pointed out her best friend IYO SKY, someone who would keep fighting even if they went down swinging. Ripley then turned her attention to Bliss and Flair, people who weren’t the best of friends with her, but they could trust people. However, that was only four people, as she introduced the fifth member of their WarGames teams: AJ Lee.

As AJ made her entrance, the heel women attacked Rhea’s team in the ring. Becky Lynch ambushed AJ as she was making her way to the ring. The battle was heating up in the ring, as the heel WarGames team had the upper hand in the ensuing skirmish. The Levesque & Fitting producer credits were up as the heel WarGames team stood tall.

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Kind of a standard WarGames setup ending for a surprisingly great SmackDown, but I suppose they had to get that out of the way, even if the setup of adding Lynch and AJ into the mix seemed a bit forced. Even with that, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the in-ring action was this week, which carried a lot of the show this week.

The U.S. Open Challenge, as usual, stood out the most, but the other matches on the night were enjoyable in their own right, which helped make this episode a lot better than previous weeks. However, the big downside that does put a damper on things was how the SmackDown women’s division seemed to be sidelined, especially in favor of the WarGames build.

Jade Cargill, the current Women’s Champion, only got a fifteen-second cameo, and the planned Chelsea Green segment (which likely would’ve involved Giulia crashing the party) got bumped off the show altogether. On top of all that, there was no women’s match on the show. That is a huge disappointment and does not shake off the notion of how poorly booked the SmackDown women’s division is as a whole. This is an issue that’s been a nagging one and something that the women’s WarGames build cannot hide.