Smackdown Review – 08.08.25

It’s been a busy week for WWE programming so let’s catch up: Summerslam P1 | Summerslam P2 | Raw | NXT | Evolve

Then, Now, Forever…TOGETHER

Smackdown comes to us LIVE AND IN LIVING COLOR from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, CA. The announce team for tonight’s show is Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett on match call and analysis, Mark Nash on ring introductions, and Cathy Kelley on backstage interviews.

Here’s John Cena in full Les Habitants color scheme to an IMMENSE pop. (Unshackled from that ridiculous heel turn, smilin’ John for a few months just soaking in the end of his run and getting giant face pops, I can dig that.) Mark Nash does his “Never Seen 17 – Last Real Champion” intro and this crowd is coming unglued. Cena says that for the longest time WWE was afraid to come to Montreal because they thought the audience would “hijack the show”. Cena says he’s never been afraid of that because the audience IS the show. The noise is deafening and Cena can barely hear himself talk and people watching at home can feel the energy through our screens, says Cena.

Cena prompts the crowd to sing, which they immediately do. Cena says that the crowds taught him to overcome his fears and embrace every single second no matter how they react to him. (A “Merci, Cena” chant breaks out here and Cena looks genuinely touched by it.) Cena says he’s been coming to Montreal for over two decades and done a lot of things in this building, and then he thanks the fans. He’s got eleven appearances left after tonight’s show and with every day that goes by, Cena gets more afraid that he might let the fans down the rest of the way. Cena says he’s also afraid that after he’s gone and the WWE moves on that the fans will forget about him. Cena says with all that, he’s also afraid of Brock Lesnar because there’s no universe where he would “choose” Lesnar as an opponent. (That’s an interesting remark right there.)

Cena says the crowd has known him for a long time and they know there’s also no universe where Cena would back down from Brock Lesnar. Cena is actually afraid that Brock Lesnar just got himself a John Cena problem. Cena puts the entire locker room on notice as well because he plans on going down “guns blazing” and if anyone wants some, come get some.

Here’s Logan Paul to join the proceedings. Paul says that whatever version of Cena this is, it’s making him sick. (A “f*ck you Logan” chant breaks out here and I’m guessing the rest of this promo might be difficult to recap due to the censors.) Paul steps in the ring and Cena says he might have just made the biggest mistake of his life. Paul says Cena doesn’t know who he is, the people don’t know who he is, but Paul has been real since day one. Cena admits that he did say that Paul “does WWE” than any other professional wrestler, including himself, but he’s also the biggest dumbass that Cena has ever seen. Paul says Cena says whatever people in the back tell him to say, but Paul IS the show. Paul says Cena’s just out here giving out matches so how about him? Cena asks the crowd if they want to see that, and Paul says it will be in a “beautiful French-speaking country” but he’s talking about Paris.

Here’s Drew McIntyre to attack Cena from behind. He and Paul put the boots to Cena and here’s WWE Men’s Champion Cody Rhodes to turn the tide and help Cena dump Paul and McIntyre to the floor. Cena grabs the mic and accepts Paul’s challenge for Clash in Paris. Cena also makes him and Cody versus Paul and McIntyre in a TAG MATCH PLAYA and hits his “The Champ is HERE” catchphrase while pointing at Cody.

It’s interesting that this entire thing was more focused on Cena’s farewell than the Lesnar attack, but who knows what’s happened internally since the weekend. They still showed Lesnar’s Summerslam attack of Cena, but maybe they moved that match from Paris to Perth or something.

Here’s Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin backstage (Shelley’s vest has a patch that reads “Wake, Bake, Skate” and well, I can get down with two parts of that.) with Cathy Kelley. Kelley asks if they’ve recovered enough from the TLC match to be ready to take on the MFT’s tonight. Shelley, who’s got a bandage around his ribs, says even though they’re banged up they have built a legacy of showing up no matter what. Sabin says they’ve been champions their entire career and tonight is them starting on the road to getting back to the top. Sabin and Shelley leave and make their entrance as we go to commercials.

Motor City Machine Guns vs JC Mateo and Talla Tonga

WWE Men’s United States Champion Solo Sikoa and Tanga Loa are seconding Mateo and Tonga. It will be Shelley and Mateo to start as the bell rings. (Thirty minutes in and we’re having a match on a wrestling show! Superb.)

Mateo shoulders Shelley down, but Shelley responds with rights before Sabin tags in. Shelley holds Mateo prone as Sabin missile dropkicks Mateo from behind. Sabin hits a shotgun dropkick that drops Tonga to the floor as Shelley hits a baseball slide on Mateo. Shelley holds the ropes open for Sabin to hit a tope suicida on Mateo. Mateo gets dumped in as Sabin and Shelley deal with Tonga on the floor. Sabin and Shelley hit Mateo simultaneously, and then Sabin tags in Shelley. Tanga Loa jumps up on the apron to distract the ref as Tonga storms over to pull Shelley to the floor before running him into the barrier. We go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Mateo starts working Shelley over as Sikoa is sitting comfortably in an announcer’s chair. Shelley wants a tag but Mateo drops him with some rights and an elbow. Mateo drags Shelley to his corner and tags in Tonga. Tonga comes flying in and waffles Shelley with a lariat and an elbow drop. Shelley tries to come back but Tonga stops that with a kick to the gut and a giant headbutt. Tonga uses the ropes for leverage to stand on Shelley and when the ref backs him off, Loa comes in with some shots on Shelley from the floor. Tonga wallops Shelley with some forearm shots and then punches him in the lower back. Tonga runs Shelley into a neutral corner and then hoists Shelley for a backbreaker over Tonga’s knee. Tonga hoists Shelley into a bear hug

Back to full screen with Shelley fighting his way out of the bear hug only to have Tonga slap him senseless. Mateo tags in as a recovered Shelley gets his boots up to stop a Mateo charge. Shelley finally tags in Sabin who comes off the top with a cross-body on Mateo. Sabin throws rights and tries some lariats, but his elbow is damaged from the TLC match and they don’t have much effect on Mateo. Sabin ditches that and hits Mateo with a superkick and a springboard tornado DDT before covering and getting two.

Shelley tags in and he and Sabin hit stereo superkicks on Mateo before Shelley covers and gets two. Sabin tags in and he and Shelley knock Tonga to the floor before Mateo runs them over with lariats. Mateo hits a vicious spinning neckbreaker on Sabin and gets two as Shelley breaks it up. Shelley starts clubbering but Mateo stops that with a big right to the gut. Tonga tags in as Sabin and Shelley recover to superkick a charging Mateo. Tonga drops Shelley to the floor and chokeslams Sabin for the three count.

The finish kind of came abruptly and half of this match happened during PIP. The Guns are just jobbers now, I guess. I really thought they’d be doing more than this. The MFT’s are not great workers by any means, but they are very effective in their jobs nonetheless. Mateo feels like he’s lost a step and isn’t even as good as say, Bronson Reed. Talla works at a snail’s pace but his Nash-like offense is fine for who he is. Not much to rate here, really. 2*

Winners – Talla Tonga and JC Mateo (Tonga chokeslam on Sabin)

Post-match sees Solo Sikoa grab a mic to address the crowd. Sikoa, flanked by his group, tells Montreal to take a look because this is what greatness looks like. Sikoa says they’re looking at the future WWE tag team champions and the most dominant US champion. Sikoa says it’s a shame, he’s in his gear, he’s feeling good but there’s nobody in the back to fight him. Sikoa wants to leave this “crappy city” and go celebrate but here’s Smackdown GM Nick Aldis to interrupt. He says since Sikoa claims to be ready for a fight, he’s brought a guest to do that very thing that Montreal knows very well.

Here’s Sami Zayn to an IMMENSE pop as we go to commercials.

Sami Zayn vs Solo Sikoa

Zayn soaks in the crowd singing to him as Sikoa covers his ears. They lock up to start before Sikoa bullies Zayn into the corner and tries to remind him of their time in the Bloodline. Zayn fires up with rights before Sikoa clobbers him with an elbow. Zayn fights back with rights and a chop as Sikoa is driven back to the corner. Zayn mounts the second rope and drops a bunch of rights on Sikoa. Sikoa pushes Zayn off and trucks him with a shoulder tackle. Sikoa chops Zayn in the corner before mounting the second rope himself. Sikoa drops a few bombs but Zayn is able to duck out and drop Sikoa face-first on the top turnbuckle. Zayn mounts the second rope again and this time fires off about twenty or so right hands as the crowd erupts.

Sikoa tries a charge but Zayn slips it and clotheslines Sikoa over the top rope to the floor. Zayn hits a tope con hilo on Sikoa in front of the MFT crew, who all look like they want to murder Zayn. Zayn cautiously dumps Sikoa back in and catches him with an elbow. As the ref is checking on Sikoa, Talla Tonga jumps on to the apron and wipes Zayn out with a clothesline. We go to commercials.

Back live with Sikoa mounted on the second rope hoisting Zayn onto his back. Zayn slips down and hits a sunset flip powerbomb on Sikoa for two. Zayn wants a backdrop suplex but Sikoa fires up with some elbows to the back of Zayn’s head. Zayn tries for a Blue Thunder Bomb but Sikoa blocks it and crushes Zayn with a uragage. Sikoa covers for a long two. A frustrated Sikoa goes to ground and pound before waffling Zayn with a headbutt. Zayn blocks a Spike attempt and stops Sikoa with a big boot. Sikoa charges and Zayn lofts him into the Exploder. Zayn wants the Helluva Kick but Tanga Loa jumps on the apron. Zayn drops Loa with a right and when a recovered Sikoa charges over Zayn hits another Exploder on him. Zayn lines up for the Kick again but Mateo now jumps on the apron. Zayn wipes Mateo out with a right as Talla Tonga jumps on the apron. Zayn invites Tonga in, but as Zayn turns back Sikoa wipes him out with a superkick. Sikoa goes for the Spike but Zayn ducks it and rolls up Sikoa for three.

The hometown boy gets a win is not something I was expecting to write, but here we are. Things have certainly changed in creative over time, that’s for damn sure. Sami is just a pure underdog babyface now, and he works very well in that role. I would assume this result should lead to a title shot for him, regardless. Sikoa is really great at being a cheating shit-heel and it’s nice to see he and his crew show a little ass from time to time. Good stuff here, even if slightly overbooked. 3*

Winner – Sami Zayn (roll up)

Here’s WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair. Flair says she knows tomorrow is Bliss’s birthday, er, well she saw that it was Bliss’s birthday tomorrow on the company calendar. Flair says she has something for Bliss but she has to give it to her on a stage and Bliss will love it. Flair leaves as Bliss says “God help me.” We go to commercials.

Did you know that WWE PLE’s are moving to ESPN in 2026? WELL YOU DO NOW, COUSIN

Here are The Wyatt Sicks as Uncle Howdy says they’ll never lead us astray. They will tell the truth because that’s what they have always set out to do, says Howdy. Joe Gacy says they’ve shown everyone else that their power is just a harmless illusion. Dexter Lumis TALKS and says that they’ve woken everyone up from their dreams and made them realize the true reality that they’ve kept hidden. Nikki Cross says it’s not about fear or glory. Erick Rowan says it’s something much bigger than that and there are more lessons to be learned. Rowan says the Wyatt’s story is just beginning.

Here’s B-Fab questioning what that even meant as the Street Profits look entirely baffled at the monitor they’ve been watching. DIY and Candace LeRae enter as Ciampa berates the Profits for losing their titles to the Wyatts and then nearly “killing” LeRae at Summerslam. (That was a nasty bump LeRae took, for the record, and she has a GIGANTIC bruise on her leg from it.) Ciampa takes Ford’s ice bag and puts it on LeRae as she tells everyone that her son cried when she got home. Gargano steals the ice bag and puts it under his chin as Dawkins questions why LeRae was even at ringside at Summerslam. Nick Aldis walks in to break up the yelling and calls himself a “silly goose” for thinking that everyone could have calmed down after the TLC match. Aldis makes DIY versus the Profits for next week as DIY and LeRae leave.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss make their entrance as Bliss thankfully helps Flair out of her robe. There’s a cake (Uh-oh) and a big present in the ring as Flair tells the crowd that “Lexi’s” birthday falls at the same time as their title celebrations. Flair says she could have made it all about her but she decided to be gracious and share the spotlight. Flair wants to start with the cake which has “Congratulations Charlotte Flair!” in enormous letters, and “& Alexa – P.S. Happy Birthday” in much smaller letters.

Flair says her present is basically for both of them as Bliss says Flair didn’t need to do that. Flair says she did need to, but Bliss says they’re just tag team partners and Flair didn’t need to do it. (They’re pushing this present back and forth at each other like Martin Prince trying to hand his birthday invite to Nelson Muntz.) Bliss says she’s scared so Flair says she’ll open it. Flair hands over a Lilly doll with a “We’re Not Friends” t-shirt on it. Flair’s present is actually a “Charlie” doll with long yellow hair. Bliss thanks Flair sincerely and Flair says she appreciates it, but she needs something else from Bliss. Flair invites Bliss to hug her. A dubious Bliss inches forward and here’s Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice to interrupt.

Green says she’s a Canadian hero but listening to the crowd cheer these “self-absorbed American weirdos” have her wanting to turn in her passport. Green gets heat by insulting the Canadiens saying that Montreal isn’t used to watching champions anyway. Since they’re in Canada Green says they should be celebrating her homecoming, not Flair and Bliss’s “freaky little dolls”. Flair says she has one more gift for Bliss and that’s watching her beat Green’s ass tonight. Nick Aldis emerges with a referee, who’s wearing a bow, and says he thinks that’s a great gift and it’s on RIGHT NOW. We go to commercials. (I just know who’s going to be wearing this cake before this is over.)

Here’s Carmelo Hayes knocking on Nick Aldis’s door, but The Miz emerges instead. Hayes complains that Miz told him he was going to take him to the top but Miz “dipped out” for two months and what’s up with that? Hayes wants a US title shot but Miz tells him it takes time. Miz says John Cena walks in and gets main events, and he beat John Cena. Miz says Logan Paul gets headline matches and Miz is the one who brought him into WWE. Miz says he went to Aldis and got them a tag match for next week. A clearly unimpressed Hayes reluctantly says okay and leaves. Aldis walks up and Miz asks if they can talk in his office.

Charlotte Flair vs Chelsea Green

Green grabs a wristlock to start but Flair cartwheels out of it and trucks Green with a shoulder tackle. Flair runs the ropes and Green tries to spin so Flair will jump over her, but Flair sees it and simply walks over Green’s back before back thrust-kicking Green to the floor. Green comes back to the apron and pulls Flair throat-first over the top rope. Green misses a pump kick as Flair fires up with chops. Green kicks Flair in the mid-section and then runs her into the top turnbuckle in two corners. Flair reverses the third attempt at it and then goes to work with chops on Green. Flair hits an enziguri. Green reverses an irish whip as Flair goes up and over to the apron. Flair boots a charging Green and then wipes out an advancing Piper Niven with a kick.

Flair ascends and hits Green with a cross-body and that gets two. Flair goes behind for a waistlock as Green rifles off a back elbow. Green pushes Flair towards Niven and Fyre before jawing with the referee. As they keep Flair occupied Green comes in and whips Flair down by her hair. Flair slips a Green charge and rolls her up for two. Green kicks Flair off and Flair goes face-first into the second turnbuckle. Green puts her foot on Flair’s back and drives her face-first again into the turnbuckle. Green ascends and salutes the crowd as we go to commercials.

Back live with both competitors on the mat. Green crawls over and her and Flair start slugging it out. Flair gains the advantage and goes back to her chops. They run the ropes and Flair wallops Green with her cartwheel-into-a-lariat move. Flair yanks Green into a nasty looking German suplex before nipping up to a pop. Flair wades into a Green superkick but as Green strides forward Flair gets a superkick of her own. Flair hits Natural Selection on Green and covers for two.

Flair walks into a Green big boot and Green dumps Flair to the apron. Flair shoulders Green and ascends. Green recovers and slaps Flair down to being seated on the top turnbuckle. Green hits a superplex and covers Flair for a LONG two. Green orders Niven and Fyre to grab the birthday cake which is still at ringside. They slide the cake in as Niven literally pushes Fyre towards Green with the cake. Alexa Bliss has had enough and she hits the Hervice with a rolling tackle from the apron. Green wants the Unpretty-her onto the cake but Flair predictably reverses it as Green goes in face-first. Flair slaps on the Figure Eight, takes a quick taste of the cake off of Green’s face, and Green taps immediately.

Hey look, a party match on Smackdown. Why not, Bliss and Flair are over as hell right now and everyone loves a good birthday cake spot. Chelsea Green is just a wonderful professional wrestler in all regards, for real. She can take an asskicking, she’s good on promos, her offense is solid, she’s a true heel, and can get heat wherever she is. Flair didn’t have her full working boots on tonight but it was okay because of the match type. A fun diversion match. 2.5*

Winner – Charlotte Flair (Figure Eight)

Post-match sees Bliss offer Flair a bite of the cake which she takes. Bliss and Flair pose with their belts to a huge ovation. Tessitore throws it to Cathy Kelley.

Kelley is backstage with WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton. Kelley says that Stratton has been on quite a run and wonders what’s next for her. Stratton says she’s going to keep doing what she’s been doing for the last 216 days (Damn, she’s been champ that long? Where does the time go?) which is keeping her title and defending it. Here’s Jade Cargill to tell Stratton that the next time they face each other the story is going to be different. Stratton says the story may be different but the outcome will always be the same with Stratton ending up champ. Stratton leaves as Kiana James and WWE Women’s United States Champion Giulia saunter up. James introduces herself to Cargill and says if she wants to get a title around her waist, she should call James. Cargill takes James business card and says if she’s going to take the US title, she’ll do it on her time and do it her way. Cargill hands the business card over to a new-on-the-scene Michin and says she can have it. We go to commercials.

John Cena is on the cover of People Magazine. Congratulations!

Here’s Aleister Black in a pre-taped promo. Black says he’s allowed to use violence to stop a greater violence from happening. Black says there’s no such thing as good or evil. The crowd was laughing and happy as Damien Priest was clearing off the announce table last week, so Black just up and whipped a chair at Priest to cause the DQ. Black says he’s not an eye for an eye type, he’s an eye for a life type and that’s why he “exacerbated” the violence against Priest. Black says Priest is home nursing a hairline fracture of his jaw (I wondered about that knee lift strike last week, it was nasty as hell.) Black says when someone pushes Priest, he pushes back, but when someone pushes Black, he pushes them off a cliff.

Here’s John Cena backstage running into Ron “R-Truth” Killings. They eye each other up and do the mirror each other bit. Truth realizes Cena is back and hops for joy over it before giving Cena a big hug. Cena makes a joke about his five month heel run by saying it was Truth doing all of it, but it’s good to have Truth back now. A baffled Truth looks on as Cena leaves. (I’m glad they paid this off, but now I’m really worried that Truth doesn’t have anything to keep him going.)

Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre make their entrance to a chorus of boos as we go to commercials before the main event. (I can see this finish coming a mile away and I bet you can too.)

WWE Men’s Champion Cody Rhodes and John Cena vs Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul

It’s Rhodes and Paul to start as the bell sounds. Rhodes grabs a side headlock and then trucks Paul with a shoulder tackle after Paul shoved him off. (Cody does a celebratory cartwheel in a clear alliance with Charlotte Flair to finally end the long-standing hostilities between the families.) Rhodes goes back to the wristlock but Paul lifts a knee into Rhodes ribs to break it up. They run the ropes and Rhodes catches Paul with a gut to the stomach followed by his patented fall down punch to the face. The crowd goes back to the “f*ck you Logan” chants here as the censor gets his/her button going.

Rhodes hoists Paul and drops him face-first on the mat. Rhodes wants to tag in Cena but in hesitating he gives Paul time to recover. Paul hammers Rhodes and shoves him into the team corner where McIntyre tags in. McIntyre wallops Rhodes with a right and some chops. Rhodes slips a McIntyre charge and hits a snap powerslam on him. Rhodes grabs a wristlock as he again could tag in Cena, but McIntyre reverses an irish whip and charges in. Rhodes elbows him and then nails Paul with a right hand sending him to the floor. McIntyre wades in and crushes Rhodes with a Glaswegian Kiss headbutt. Paul clotheslines Rhodes on the floor as the cameras completely miss the live shot. (You don’t see them mess things up like that often.) They then replay the spot from the right camera angle before going to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP McIntyre walks into a recovered Rhodes. Rhodes fires off right hands but McIntyre stops it with a double throat thrust before running Rhodes into the ring steps shoulder-first. McIntyre runs Rhodes back into the ring and stomps on his hand. Paul tags in and he and McIntyre hit a combined backdrop suplex on Rhodes but Paul’s cover only gets one. Paul grabs a rear headlock. Rhodes slips out of it and Paul waffles him with a right. Paul yanks Rhodes into a tilt-a-whirl side slam and covers for two. Paul drags Rhodes back to his team corner and works him over with rights and lefts to the mid-section. McIntyre tags in and hoists Rhodes up for a long backdrop suplex. McIntyre covers for two.

Back to full screen with Rhodes firing forearms at McIntyre in a desperate attempt to tag Cena. McIntyre catches a charging Rhodes and dumps him into a neutral corner. Rhodes slips McIntyre’s charge as the big fellow goes shoulder-first into the ring post. Rhodes finally tags in Cena as Paul tags in for the other team. Cena trucks Paul with his shoulder blocks before hoisting Paul for the release slam. (The crowd is going bonkers with this for the record.) Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and then rolls a dazed Paul into the Attitude Adjustment. Cena covers and gets two as McIntyre breaks it up.

McIntyre lines up Cena for a Claymore but Rhodes charges in with a superkick to prevent that. Rhodes clotheslines McIntyre over the top rope to the floor. Rhodes hits McIntyre with a tope suicida and they both sprawl on the floor. Cena yanks up Paul who immediately low-blows Cena for the DQ.

I mean, yes, this was going to be the finish when this was announced, no one was laying down here and they set up two clear matches for Paris. This was all about the post-match angles and with Cody needing some time to go shoot his movie stuff, I wasn’t surprised they wrote him off this way. The match itself was pretty good up until the wet-fart ending and Montreal really doesn’t like Logan Paul. Cena is over like rover again, though. 2.75*

No winners – Logan Paul DQ’d for a low blow on John Cena

Post-match sees Paul whaling away on Cena as he staggers to the back. Rhodes runs McIntyre face-first into the ring post and then head-first into the ring steps. Rhodes clears off the announce table but as he turns around McIntyre wallops Rhodes with his own belt. McIntyre stares at the title in his hands before placing it on the ring steps. McIntyre eyes up Rhodes and then destroys him with a Claymore through the bottom of the announce table in a vicious-looking spot. (It looked especially heinous on replay, they’ll be showing that one for weeks.) McIntyre whispers a few things to a devastated Rhodes as Security and the producer goons show up to break it up. The credits roll and we’re out.

Kind of a middling episode here, nothing that you can’t breeze through on youtube with a highlights package. I enjoyed Sami’s hometown win, and Charlotte’s match with Chelsea Green was a fun watch. The main event was pretty much what I expected and it delivered even with that crap finish. Thumbs in the middle tonight, and we move on to Boston which I would expect to be a big night for John Cena next week.

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