WWE Smackdown – June 13, 2025

Then, Now, Maybe, Sort Of, Who Knows, Forever, Together, IguanaMan

Man, that new opening is something. Smackdown is coming to you LIVE AND IN COLOR DADDEH from Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. We’ll have two men’s King of the Ring qualifiers tonight, and two women’s Queen of the Ring qualifiers as well. Walk-ins tonight: US Men’s Champion Jacob Fatu, and Naomi (with the MITB briefcase containing who knows what in hand).

Here are our announcers Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore. Tessitore throws it to a MITB / Worlds Collide highlights package.

Here’s the Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena to start things off. He gets the big “One Last Time” announcement from Mark Nash and gets a solid pop. Cena names his “wrestling Mt Rushmore” and it’s him in all four spots (thank goodness we won’t have to debate that in the Daily Thread today). Cena talks about how much smarter he is than everyone because all they do is worry about here and now. He lays out the entire timeline from his retirement announcement through the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, Wrestlemania, talking about manipulating Cody, Randy Orton, Logan Paul and R-Truth, and turning CM Punk into a hypocrite by making him come to Saudi to potentially win the title. Here’s Cody Rhodes to join the proceedings. Cody agrees that Cena’s plan worked, but the variable he didn’t count on was Cody pinning him at MITB in the tag match. Here’s Randy Orton as Barrett says the ring is filling up with WWE royalty. Orton is so significantly bigger than Cena now it’s wild. Orton runs down what happened at Backlash and pointedly stares at Cody as he mentions he doesn’t care who he has to go through to get title number 15. Here’s Los Angeles Knight for some reason. He says he’ll go through a Viper, a Nightmare and “balding bitch” John Cena to get what’s his. Cena leaves without a word. As he’s leaving Ron Killings attacks from behind until he’s yanked off by Security and we go to commercials.

Back live, John Cena and Smackdown GM Nick Aldis are nose to nose arguing (Cena turns his hat backwards like old-time baseball dudes to really get close to Aldis).

King of the Ring qualifier: Randy Orton vs LA Knight vs Carmelo Hayes vs Aleister Black

Hayes and Black grapple to start and Black dumps Hayes outside while Knight and Orton lock up. Hayes gets a quick rollup on Knight for two. All three team up on Hayes to dump him outside and Black hits him with a second rope moonsault. Orton, Knight and Black all try and fail their finishers and we go to commercials.

Back live with Knight running over Hayes with a clothesline and then putting the boots to him, followed by doing it to Orton in the opposite corner. Hayes pops out to superkick Knight and hit a tilt-a-whirl sideslam on Black. Hayes drops Knight throat-first on the top rope and hits a reverse springboard legdrop on him before dropkicking Orton to the floor. Hayes hits Black with a reverse springboard clothesline and does his Melo Don’t Miss pose. Knight dropkicks Hayes on the floor to stop the momentum. All four are in front of the announce table and Orton drops Black back-first onto it before Knight pushes Orton into the apron to slow him down. Back in the ring, Knight and Hayes slug it out before Hayes knocks him away. Orton charges and gets knocked down but Black utterly destroys Hayes with a kick to the chest. Black and Orton go outside and Black runs Orton into the ring post, as Knight leaps up to try for a superplex on Hayes. Hayes pushes Knight off and hits a monster frog splash for two as Black breaks it up. We go to commercials.

Back live Black hits Hayes with kicks, Knight with a back elbow, and misses Black Mass on Orton. He goes full muay thai on Hayes with kicks and gets two as Orton breaks it up. Orton hits Black with two clotheslines and his scoop powerslam, which Orton then also hits on a charging Knight, and then Hayes eats one as Orton mugs. In a clever spot, Orton is going for his draping DDT on Hayes and Black, but Knight sneaks up and hits Orton with a reverse neckbreaker which causes Orton to actually hit the DDTs. Knight covers Orton for two. Another “we all try and fail to hit our finishers” sequence ends with Knight actually hitting the BFT on Black for a REALLY long two as Hayes breaks it up. Knight hits a jumping slam on Hayes and ascends but here’s Bronson Reed to pull Knight from the second rope, while Bron Breakker leaps into the ring to hit Knight with a huge spear. Hayes ascends thinking Knight will be easy pickings but when he comes off the top Orton hits him with an RKO in mid-air onto Knight. Hayes falls out of the ring and Orton covers Knight for three. Orton will now face Sami Zayn in the KotR semi-finals. I notice on the replay that Knight’s right boot was actually coming off so if you want to say Breakker speared him out of his boots, you might have a point.

The crowd was really into this and luckily it wasn’t just “two guys on the floor, two guys in the ring” the whole way. I thought Hayes looked solid here, Black got most of his stuff in, and Knight and Orton did what they always do. Perfectly fine television match. 2.5*

Winner – Randy Orton (RKO to Hayes, covers Knight for the pin)

Jacob Fatu is on his way to the ring as we go to commercials.

Back live and Tessitore runs down the Lexington/WWE stats. Jacob Fatu is here to chat as Barrett narrates the turn on Solo Sikoa at MITB. Fatu says that just because someone is in his family bloodline does not mean they can take credit for his hard work. He says he’s on his own now and goes for the catchphrase, but here are Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo on the video board. Solo says he can forgive Fatu for MITB because he brought him into WWE and made him a superstar. Sikoa will be in the middle of the ring next week with open arms as long as Fatu says “I love you Solo”.

Here’s Nick Aldis with Secret Hervice. As it turns out Chelsea Green is not at the show, so Alba Fyre will take her place in the women’s QotR qualifier. You would think this might make Fyre happy but she seems grumpy. In walks Women’s US Champion Zelina Vega to demand to fight Giulia, who’s also apparently not there according to Aldis. DID EVERYONE GET THE WEEK OFF SHEESH. Vega will confront Giulia next week. We go to commercials as Jade Cargill makes her entrance.

Queen of the Ring qualifier: Jade Cargill vs Nia Jax vs Piper Niven vs Michin

I had forgotten that Jax won the QotR last year. Cargill and Jax start in one corner while Michin and Niven are in the other. Niven and Michin spill out to the floor and Niven runs her into the barrier, then chokes Michin up against the ring post. Niven charges Michin and misses. Cargill whips Jax into the ring steps on the other side. Cargill and Michin tangle in the ring and Cargill gets a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on her knee for one. Michin slips a couple of Cargill charges and hits Cargill with a rana and a shotgun dropkick for one. Niven catches Michin and slams her on the floor. Niven hits a running senton on Michin while Jax is working over Cargill in the ring. Jax hits a Samoan drop on Cargill as Niven re-enters to hit a running senton on Cargill. Jax and Niven agree to work together and start working Cargill over in the corner. Cargill fights them both off and Jax and Niven end up on the floor. Jax drags Cargill out and they all slug it out as Michin hits all three with a reverse springboard moonsault. We go to commercials.

Back live with Cargill running wild on Niven and Jax. Cargill superkicks Jax but Niven runs Cargill over with a clothesline. Jax waffles Cargill with a hip attack and Niven follows with a cannonball. Niven covers Cargill but Jax yanks her off to end that short partnership. As they yap, Michin hits Jax with a top rope rana and hits Niven with a jawbreaker and tornado DDT. Michin covers for two. Cargill recovers and hits a sit-out powerbomb on Michin for two. Niven hits a running splash on Cargill, but then Michin hits Sliced Bread #2 on Niven for two as Jax breaks it up. Jax hits a running senton on Michin for two. Niven and Jax head to the floor to confront Cargill, and it ends with them whipping Cargill over the announce table as Barrett is in the line of fire. Jax whips the Smackdown cover of the table onto both of them and then flips the double bird (OH HELL YEAH) as she and Niven slap five. Okay then. Niven is back in the ring and Michin hits her with a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two as Jax breaks it up. Michin tries to deal with both of them but Niven and Jax double-chokeslam her as Barrett chastises Tessitore for not protecting him. Niven goes to hug Jax but Jax slugs Niven down and dumps her out. Jax hits the Annihilator on Michin for two as Niven breaks it up. Niven runs Jax into the post and then spears Jax through the barrier into the timekeepers area. Niven hits the Piper Bomb on a prone Michin but Cargill charges in to hit Jaded on Niven and that gets three. On replay it appears Jax took a pretty nasty bump onto a chair during the barrier spot, so hopefully she’s okay. Cargill will face Roxanne Perez in the QotR semifinals.

Can’t say I’m surprised at the result. Niven and Jax did solid hoss work in this and Michin bumped and sold like she usually does. Cargill isn’t really asked to do more than she can. It wasn’t a masterpiece but I’ve seen worse. 2.25*

Winner – Jade Cargill (Jaded on Piper Niven)

Back from commercials and here’s Ms MITB Naomi to chat. She’s through accepting scraps, she took what she deserved and now she’s Ms MITB. Naomi points out the irony of her trying to beat Nia Jax for the title while she held it, only to be screwed over by the then-Ms MITB Tiffany Stratton, who’s now the champion. Here’s WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton to interrupt. Stratton, who’s in her gear, dares Naomi to cash in right now claiming she’s all talk and no action. Naomi says she’s not stupid, she’ll cash in on Stratton when she least expects it and in the meantime she’s going to make Stratton’s life hell. She advises Stratton to proceed with caution and leaves as the champ glares at her. Here’s Nia Jax to attack Stratton, and after Stratton gets the upper hand Naomi comes back to distract as Jax chops Stratton down. Jax hits the Annihilator on Stratton and Naomi charges back with the briefcase but Jax tells her no.

Here’s Nick Aldis in his office EARLIER TODAY with DIY with Candace LeRae, Fraxiom, MCMG and WWE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits to chat about the Wyatts problem. Johnny Gargano thinks Fraxiom should take them on, but Aldis has decided that it will be MCMG to deal with the Wyatts tonight.

Motor City Machine Guns vs Wyatt Sicks

The Wyatts get the full fireflies entrance and as a side note, I think “Shatter” is the best current entrance theme. It will be Gacy and Lumis in this match. The bell rings and we’re right into it. Lumis and Gacy isolate Sabin and hit a big splash and running senton as Gacy covers for one. Lumis tags in and hits Sabin with a side suplex. Lumis nips up impressively to hit a legdrop for one. Gacy tags in and hits Sabin with a backbreaker and a springboard moonsault for two. Gacy wipes out a returning Shelley and tags in Lumis, who gets in a couple shots and tags Gacy back in. Sabin breaks up a double team attempt and sends both Wyatts to the floor. Sabin tags in a returning Shelley and they hit tandem baseball slide dropkicks followed by tandem cross-bodies to the floor. Rowan vaguely threatens the Guns with his giant oversized novelty hammer as we go to commercials.

Back live and it’s Gacy and Shelley in the ring as Sabin is begging for a tag. Shelley gets there and Sabin ascends to hit Gacy with a top rope drop kick and as Gacy tumbles back he tags in Lumis. Sabin hits some chops on Lumis and catches him with a running bulldog. Sabin roundhouse kicks Lumis for two. Sabin tags in Shelley and they hit stereo back-kicks to Lumis’s head. Shelley clotheslines Lumis in the corner and tags Sabin back in, but a Skull and Bones attempt is broken up by Lumis (this crotches Sabin in the corner). Gacy tags in and hits his goofy back handspring clotheslines on both Guns, and he tags Lumis back in. Lumis and Gacy hit a double-team powerbomb on Sabin and Lumis covers for two. Sabin fires up and tries to hit Lumis with a very awkward sit-out DDT, and the Guns do their double-team offense resulting in Sabin’s shotgun dropkick to a prone Lumis. Another Skull and Bones attempt is broken up by Gacy. The Wyatts hit their double-team offense on Sabin and then signal to Uncle Howdy that it’s time. Lumis ascends and hits a huge flying legdrop on Sabin for the three. Lumis’s leg hit Sabin full in the forehead and I sincerely hope he’s okay.

There’s going to be takes on this match, I’m guessing. Lumis and Gacy are just workers, man. Really nothing special about either one. MCMG are finding out that the booking here in the big leagues might not be as friendly as TNA’s was. Lumis in particular had some very awkward stuff here. We’ll see where it all leads, I guess. 1.5*

Winners – Wyatt Sicks (Lumis top-rope legdrop on Sabin)

Backstage, and John Cena runs into Big Jim Uso. Cena asks if Uso has seen either R-Truth or Ron Killings and Uso says no. Cena’s on his way to the ring and orders Uso to tell Killings to meet him there. We go to commercials.

Back live and John Cena storms into the ring, grabs a mic and tells the crowd to shut up. He says Truth has crossed some lines in terms of the disrespect Cena will tolerate. Here’s CM Punk to a gigantic pop. Punk gets his cheap pop for mentioning the city they are currently in (THUMBS UP, BIG GRIN). Punk says it’s not Cena who’s disrepected, it’s THESE PEOPLE. Punk compares himself to Obi-Wan Kenobi trying to find Anakin Skywalker in what’s become Darth Vader and I feel I know a certain Canadian moderator who will be involuntarily cringing without knowing why. Punk tries to use the Force to convince Cena to give the fans a happy ending. Cena runs down Lexington, basketball and horse racing and says his title is the only thing that matters. Punk says fine, we gave you an out, but now it’s about to get REAL. Punk says the truth is that Cena can’t beat him and Punk is going to save wrestling from Cena trying to ruin it. Punk talks about his “sociopathic confidence” that Cena mentioned earlier and that he relied on it when people like Cena said he didn’t have it as a performer. Punk calls out Cena’s outfit and says he sounds like PG Cena, and then Punk points out the irony of Cena saying he’s going to take the title and leave actually making him sound like Punk. (Sidenote: Someone in the crowd has a t-shirt of Cena as Chairman Mao and it’s cracking me up). Cena laughs as Punk says he’s making Cena’s retirement run palatable, but then sobers up a bit when Punk says he’d follow him to Mars to beat his ass. Punk calls himself and Cena GOATs, he’s beaten Cena in Chicago and Boston and he’ll beat him at Night of Champions. Punk shouts out Terry Funk, Harley Race, Bret Hart, and Eddie Guererro and says Cena’s a joke for his earlier Mt Rushmore remark. Punk says he can see through Cena, and that’s the truth. He shoulders past Cena and leaves.

Ron Killings jumps Cena from behind and puts him in the STF as Punk tells him the Truth hurts. Security drags Killings off of Cena. Cena grabs at his knee on the way out.

Backstage here’s Byron Saxton with Alexa Bliss. Bliss says she’s not shaken by losing MITB, she’s going to win tonight and become Queen of the Ring. Here’s Charlotte Flair who says there’s room for only one Queen in this division WOO and then she leaves to make her entrance. Flair’s entrance is cut off by Bliss’s entrance theme and she grins at Flair as she strides by her. We go to commercials.

Backstage Nick Aldis confronts Ron Killings and Killings wants John Cena in a match next week, which Aldis agrees to.

Queen of the Ring qualifier: Alexa Bliss vs Charlotte Flair vs Candace LeRae vs AlbaFyre

Well, it’s either Alexa or Charlotte, I guess. The bell rings and we’re off. Flair and Bliss face off and are immediately jumped by Fyre and LeRae. In another world Alba Fyre and Charlotte Flair would be putting on terrific singles matches but here we are. LeRae is hammering Bliss in the corner with back elbows while Flair chops Fyre down. Flair drives Bliss into LeRae and then dumps Bliss. Flair drives LeRae into Fyre and covers Fyre for one, and then covers a returning LeRae for one. Flair chops LeRae and Fyre a bunch before Fyre kicks Flair in the gut and LeRae goes to ground and pound. LeRae holds Flair while Fyre chops her, and the double-teaming continues. Flair recovers and Bliss comes flying off the top rope with a cross body on Flair and then goes for Sister Abigail, but she’s stopped by LeRae and Fyre. Flair flies out of the corner with a clothesline on Fyre that gets two. We go to our first picture-in-picture commercials of the evening.

Back live and LeRae and Fyre have been double-teaming Flair for almost the entire commercials time. They set Flair up for a double superplex but Bliss scampers in and we get the Tower of Doom spot from Bliss’s apparent super-human strength. Bliss covers Flair for two. Bliss fires up and handles LeRae and Fyre, and then fires Flair to the mat when she charges. Bliss steps on Flair while walking over her and as she goes for a splash, LeRae catches her in a Codebreaker while landing on Flair’s back. Fyre hits a gourdbuster on LeRae and then Bliss catches Fyre with a rolling blockbuster. Flair hits Natural Selection on Bliss and then locks her in the Figure Eight. It’s broken up by LeRae who hits Flair with a springboard Lionsault. Fyre hits Flair with a Widow’s Peak and covers but Bliss breaks it up. Bliss hits Fyre with her rolling DDT and Bliss ascends. She hits Twisted Bliss on Fyre but Flair drags her off after a two count. Flair hits a big boot and drops Bliss to the floor. LeRae rolls up Flair for two. Flair spears LeRae for two. Fyre superkicks Flair but Flair responds with a boot to the face and the Figure Eight. Bliss hits LeRae with the Sister Abigail DDT and gets three as Fyre taps to Flair just after the three count. Bliss will face the winner of the Raw qualifier match on Monday night in the semifinals. Flair glares at Bliss after the match while Alexa mimes putting on a crown.

I guess this will lead to Flair and Bliss being major rivals now and I’m okay with that. LeRae and Fyre were sadly just there to make up the numbers. This match could have really used Chelsea Green’s nonsense, actually. Call the whole thing 2.5*.

Winner – Alexa Bliss (Sister Abigail DDT to LeRae)

Cody is on the way to the ring when he runs into CM Punk. Punk shakes Cody’s hand and wishes him luck after Cody points out they can’t avoid each other forever. Cody’s theme hits and he makes his entrance. We go to commercials.

Next Friday Smackdown is in Grand Rapids, MI with Randy Orton vs Sami Zayn in the KotR semifinals, Alexa Bliss vs someone from the Raw qualifier, and John Cena vs R-Truth.

King of the Ring qualifier: Cody Rhodes vs Damien Priest vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs Andrade

Nakamura being the only heel here is a weird dynamic. Nakamura bails instantly so Cody topes him into the barrier. Priest hits a discus punch on Andrade, but Andrade hits what Heenan would call a Flying Burrito on Priest, and nips up to a pop. Cody intercepts an Andrade charge but eats a back elbow, and Andrade runs into a sitout Broken Arrow from Priest which gets two. Cody goes for Flip Flop Fly on Priest but Priest boxes his ears. Cody sends Priest out with a clothesline and they slug it out on the floor. Nakamura hits Priest with a double thrust and Cody with a kick, and they fight it out on the floor until Andrade hits all three with a huge moonsault and all four men are down. We go to picture-in-picture commercials. Andrade takes a particularly nasty looking bump to the floor off a missed flying knee attempt to Nakamura. Cody goes to armdrag Priest who ducks it and kicks Cody HARD in the stomach. Nakamura works Priest over in the corner as Andrade rolls up Cody for two. Priest and Cody square off as Nakamura is working over Andrade.

Back live with Nakamura hitting a huge knee on a prone Andrade which knocks him to the floor. Nakamura sets up Priest and baseball slides under him while yanking him headfirst to the canvas. Nakamura puts the boot to Cody’s neck in the corner, and then misses a charge. Cody puts Nakamura in the Figure Four, but Andrade hits a frog splash on Cody to break it up. Priest recovers and works Andrade and Cody over in opposite corners, and then hits a two handed smash to Nakamura’s head from the ring steps. Priest wants to do his rope walk but Cody leaps up and Nakamura ends up crotching both of them. Andrade rolls up Nakamura for two. Nakamura puts an armbar on Andrade but Cody breaks it up. Cody dumps Nakamura and covers Andrade for two, and then another two. Cody gets a table from under the ring that of course has Slim Jim logos on it but Andrade blocks his backdrop attempt. Priest and Cody attempt to double-team Andrade but Nakamura breaks it up, backdrops Andrade and then kicks Cody who goes through the table. We go to picture-in-picture commercials. Nakamura and Andrade work Priest over on the outside and toss him over the announce table but luckily Barrett was prepared and moved for this one. They toss Priest over the barrier into the timekeeper’s area. Nakamura immediately whales Andrade in the back of the head and tosses him back in the ring for a two count. Nakamura is working Andrade over as I know neither one is winning this match.

Back live with Nakamura working over Andrade in the corner as Cody hasn’t been seen since the table bump and Priest since the barrier bump. Priest finally comes back in and goes for the Razor’s Edge, but Nakamura fights it off. Priest hits Nakamura with a facebuster but Andrade comes off the top rope to hit a rolling springboard splash on Priest for two. Andrade charges Nakamura and they trade strikes as Cody finally rises. Cody hits clotheslines on Nakamura and Andrade, then charges Priest and hits him with his rolling powerslam. Andrade wanders over and Cody catches him with the Disaster kick. Cody goes for CrossRhodes on Nakamura who blocks it, and Nakamura hits KINSHASHA to the back of Cody’s head only to have his cover broken up at two by Andrade. Andrade rolls Priest hard into the second turnbuckle and Andrade fires up the crowd. Andrade hits Nakamura with a full speed double knee Meteora. He goes for the same move on Priest who catches him and tries for the chokeslam, but Andrade catches him with a back elbow and Scorpio Rising for two as Nakamura breaks it up. Nakamura and Andrade slug it out again but Cody comes flying in with a double Cody Cutter on both. Cody eats a kick from Priest who tries the Razor’s Edge again, but Cody slips out and hits a top rope Cody Cutter on Priest. Cody fires up and hits CrossRhodes on Andrade and as he goes to hit it a second time, Nakamura puts him in the sleeper hold and then signals it’s over. Cody reverses and hits the CrossRhodes on Nakamura and that gets three. Cody will face the winner of the Raw KotR qualifier in the semifinals.

I think this mostly did what I would have expected although I’m sensing some real drifting from Priest lately after the McIntyre feud ended so spectacularly. Nakamura and Andrade were fine here in supporting roles, and Cody got his stuff in. Probably match of the night but not by much. 3*

Winner – Cody Rhodes (CrossRhodes to Nakamura)

Tessitore sends us to the credits as Cody celebrates and we’re out.

It was a much breezier show tonight. There was more in-ring and less yap, and I’m always in favor of that. Thumbs slightly up as everyone worked really hard tonight, the Wyatt Sicks dudes notwithstanding.

Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend.