Smackdown Review – 09.19.25

On the road to Wrestlepalooza, here’s what’s happened in WWE this week: LFG | Raw | NXT | Evolve | Impact

Tonight’s Wrestlepalooza go-home show comes to us LIVE IN LIVING TECHNICOLOR on the USA Network from the Huntington Arena in Toledo, OH. The presenters for tonight’s show are Michael Cole and Corey Graves on match calls and analysis, while Mark Nash handles ring introductions, and Byron Saxton provides backstage and breaking news segments.

Then, Now, Forever….TOGETHER

Walk-ins: Drew McIntyre, WWE Undisputed Men’s Champion Cody Rhodes, Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, Carmelo Hayes, and WWE Men’s US Champion Sami Zayn.

Cole and Graves preview the show and then Cole is told he needs to go back to the locker room to interview Brock Lesnar. As Cole makes his way up the aisle, “Next Big Thing” hits and here’s Brock Lesnar stalking towards Cole. Lesnar grins at the outset, but when he gets to Cole the mood changes and he snatches Cole up on to his shoulder. Lesnar carries Cole around the ring and then dumps him inside. Lesnar grabs Cole by the tie and here’s Graves to try to intervene. Lesnar doesn’t like this so he snatches Graves up for an F5. Lesnar grabs a camera and tells John Cena that tomorrow is D-Day and he’s coming for blood. Lesnar destroys the Prime cart at ringside (The crowd actually popped for this after being mostly weirded out by Lesnar’s attack on the announcers.) and grabs the top of the ring steps. At this point there’s a bunch of suits and security in the ring, which pisses Lesnar off. Lesnar goes back in and snatches up Graves for another F5 before daring anyone to come back into the ring. Lesnar exits to a chorus of boos. We go to commercials.

I don’t think beating up Corey Graves does a lot for the HEAT especially knowing that John Cena has done his last Smackdown and wasn’t in the building. Lesnar seemed annoyed at the crowd at the end but he’s such a grumpy asshole in real life who knows, maybe his elk tasted weird at breakfast or something. I am glad Cole didn’t take the bumps because at least Graves is trained, but Lesnar really put some stink on the second one. Hopefully Graves is okay, and no, I’m not like wildly worried about it.

Back live with Graves being tended to by referees and Cole as a replay of what just happened is played. Lesnar is backstage and he runs into Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. Lesnar tells Heyman they should talk, pats him on the shoulder, and leaves. Smackdown GM Nick Aldis stops his pursuit of Lesnar to tell Heyman and the crew that today is not the day for shenanigans because of the big contract signing later. Heyman says that he came to Smackdown to broker a peace between his guys and the Usos. Aldis says the Usos aren’t there, they’re in Indianapolis, and he intimates that Heyman likely would have known that. Heyman says he didn’t know that so now they’ll just go enjoy the show.

A dejected Cole comes back to the desk and the crowd chants his name. Cole says he’s been bullied and beaten up before but he never felt this helpless. Cole questions whether his friend John Cena will have the answers for Lesnar’s problems.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss (C) vs Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre

It’s Flair and Green to start. Green comes off of a Flair armdrag and pops Bliss in the mouth to drop her off the apron. Green turns into a Flair big boot. Bliss tags in and hits her rolling senton on a prone Green. Fyre charges in and gets trucked by Flair and then Bliss hits Fyre with the rolling senton. A recovered Green bullies Bliss to the heel corner and Fyre tags in. Fyre holds Bliss by the legs as Green wallops her with a shotgun dropkick. Fyre slams Bliss’s head into the ring post as we go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Fyre smashes Bliss in the back and then drapes her over the second rope. Fyre jams a knee into Bliss’s back as the ref’s count reaches four. Fyre argues with the ref so Green can then continue choking Bliss over the ropes. Fyre stands on Bliss’s hair and yanks her up by the wrist. Fyre kicks Bliss down and Green tags in to hit a superkick on Bliss. Fyre hits a superkick and exits as Green covers for two. Green runs Bliss into a neutral corner twice before putting a boot in Bliss’s back and driving her face-first into the bottom turnbuckle. The Miz joins Cole at ringside as a recovered Bliss rolls up Green for two. Green fires off a lariat in response and then taunts Flair. Fyre tags in and her and Green hit an awkward looking double-team facebuster on Bliss. (I think Alexa might not be fond of taking that bump given her previous nose issues.) Fyre’s cover gets two. Fyre and Flair chirp at each other. Bliss fires up with some rights but Fyre responds with a snap-mare and a knee to Bliss’s back. Fyre pushes Bliss to the heel corner and chops away as Flair tries to fire up the crowd. Green tags in and whips Fyre into a big boot from Bliss.

Back to full screen with Bliss fighting her way out of the corner with rights and a knee lift on Green. Bliss hits a DDT on Green and both are down. Fyre sneaks around to trip up Flair on the apron just as Bliss was trying for the tag. Green flies in to slam Bliss’s face into the mat repeatedly. Green drags Bliss back to the heel corner and drives in a shoulder. Green taunts a visibly pissed Flair but then misses a charge when Bliss slips out of the way. Fyre smartly tags in and flies in to try to prevent the tag. Bliss tumbles through anyway and Flair tags in.

Flair runs Fyre over with lariats and then starts chopping away. Green wanders over and eats a chop of her own. Flair flies off the ropes to hit Fyre with her front cartwheel lariat. Flair hits a fall-away slam on Fyre and nips up to a pop. Flair boots Green off the apron which allows Fyre to roll up Flair for a quick two. Flair pops up to hammer Fyre with a big boot. Flair hammers Fyre face-first into a turnbuckle and then ascends. Green comes down the apron to break up Flair’s momentum by smashing her head into the top turnbuckle. Fyre hits a superkick on Flair and Green tags in. Green waffles Flair with a lariat to the back of Flair’s head as Fyre ascends. Fyre hits a swanton and Green covers Flair for two as Bliss flies in to break it up. As Green and Fyre go to double-team Bliss, Flair rises and clips both of their knees. Flair and Bliss hit simultaneous rolling blockbusters and Flair covers Green for three.

It got better as it went along, and I wasn’t annoyed at the length of the heat sequence on Bliss. This formula they’re working with Bliss as Ricky Morton and Flair as the hot tag heater really makes a lot of sense from a presentation perspective. Fyre and Green are both pros and very solid heels, so this whole thing worked for me other than the one awkward face-buster moment. A good start to the in-ring portion of the evening. 3*

Winners AND STILL WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions – Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss (Flair rolling blockbuster on Green)

Here’s The Street Profits and B-Fab backstage. Ford and Dawkins don’t say a word and don’t look at each other as B-Fab pleads for them to work out whatever is going on between them. Michin apologizes for interrupting to tell B-Fab that Nick Aldis wants to speak with them about their tag match against Giulia and Kiana James next week. The women leave after B-Fab once again urges Ford and Dawkins to talk it out. Ford tells Dawkins everything is good, they dap it up, and Ford leaves to also speak with Aldis about what they can do to get the men’s tag titles back. Bo Dallas sidles up to Dawkins and says that Dawkins’s brother doesn’t hear what he actually has to say and that he will listen. Ford rushes back in and pushes Dallas up against a wall. Dallas says he’s going to show Dawkins the right path and here’s Erick Rowan to wallop Dawkins and Ford with rights. The Wyatts logo pops up and we go to commercials.

Ron “R-Truth” Killings is working a very poorly-constructed ESPN/Wrestlepalooza merch stand and also wearing a neck brace. Los Garza stop by and Truth tells them he’s actually working a “genius bar” because he’s a “tech guy” who’s showing people how to use the app to be able to watch the show tomorrow. This lame skit continues as the Garzas ask a bunch of FAQ questions and Truth gives the answers.

FrAxiom make an entrance for what Nash announces as a tag match, and here’s Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed to attack them. Paul Heyman stalks out with a microphone to do his introduction schtick. Heyman says that Frazer and Axiom remind him of the Usos, victimized and flat on their backs. Heyman speaks in Samoan and warns the Usos that they’re going to hear Reed and Breakker announced as the winners at Wrestlepalooza. Frazer and Axiom ascend and hammer Reed and Breakker with dropkicks. FrAxiom smash Breakker and Reed with tope suicidas and here’s Nick Aldis to make a tag match and it’s RIGHT NOW PLAYA. We go to commercials.

FrAxiom vs The Vision (Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed)

We’re joined in progress as Breakker hammers Axiom with a right and mounts him on a top turnbuckle. Axiom fights out of it with headbutts but Breakker shakes it off and hoists Axiom on to his shoulders. Axiom slips off and Breakker prevents him from tagging by flipping him into a back suplex. Breakker runs the ropes at full speed and destroys Axiom with a clothesline. Reed tags in and hammers Axiom in the heel corner. Reed hits a bodyslam and standing senton on a dazed Axiom. Breakker tags in and hits a snap suplex on Axiom and then clobbers Frazer on the apron. Breakker drops the straps and runs the ropes but Axiom recovers to crush him with a dropkick. (Axiom’s dropkick is a thing of beauty, friends.) Axiom kicks Breakker off and both Reed and Frazer tag in.

Frazer flies around hitting forearms on Reed and then escapes to the apron after Reed charges. Frazer hits a springboard missile dropkick and then a superkick on Reed. Frazer ascends and hits a frog splash before covering Reed for two. Reed fires up as Frazer misses a corkscrew moonsault attempt. Reed hits a gnarly looking Jagged Edge on Frazer and then ascends. Axiom charges in to enziguri Reed and then ascend. Reed pushes Axiom off directly into a Breakker spear. Reed hits the Tsunami on Frazer and covers for three.

If you’re going to toss around some small athletic guys, Frazier and Axiom are your dudes. Their offense is enough to make them seem dangerous and since they’ve joined the main roster they’ve clearly been reminded about selling because they used to not do it so much in NXT. Not a whole lot to rate here as this was mostly squash-tastic in nature. 2*

Winners – The Vision (Reed Tsunami on Frazer)

Heyman chastises Mark Nash and goes to announce Breakker and Reed as the winners of the match when The Usos appear on the video board. They cut a fired up promo and welcome Breakker and Reed to the Uso Penitentiary.

Nia Jax will speak next as we go to commercials.

Did you know that WWE has teamed up with ESPN? I won’t be watching the show because of other commitments but couldn’t anyway because I’m waiting for Xfinity to make a deal for authentication.

Here’s Nia Jax for a chat as highlights are shown of last week‘s attack on Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton. Jax insults Toledo and says that she’s tired of the women’s division calling themselves “alpha females”. Jax says she’s the alpha female and it’s definitely not “Tiffy Time”. Jax puts over Cargill’s look but says she cannot match up to Jax in the ring. Here’s WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton to tell Jax that what everyone is actually sick of is Jax running her mouth about Stratton. Stratton says she’s going to show Jax and Cargill that she’s the leader of the division and there’s nothing they can do or say about it. Stratton drops the mic and stalks towards the ring but she’s cut off by a host of referees. Here’s Jade Cargill to mash a couple of refs and glare at Stratton as she heads directly for Jax. Nick Aldis comes out and makes a Triple Threat match for the title for next week’s Smackdown (This ends the rumor that this match was going to be tacked on to Wrestlepalooza’s card.)

Truth is teaching Dragon Lee and the Motor City Machine Guns how to use the ESPN app. Thanks for coming to the show, guys.

Carmelo Hayes makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

Cole is forced to narrate highlights of Brock Lesnar assaulting him and Corey Graves at the start of the show. Lesnar and Cena will open the show at Wrestlepalooza.

WWE Men’s US Championship Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (C) vs Carmelo Hayes

They grapple to start and Zayn grabs an armdrag. They rise and Hayes gets a leapfrog as Zayn runs the ropes before crushing Zayn with a dropkick. Hayes bullies Zayn to the ropes and decides to not break clean. Hayes pops Zayn with a bunch of right hands and then grabs a side headlock. They run the ropes again and this time Zayn comes up with a big right hand that staggers Hayes. Zayn mounts the second rope and drives five right hands into Hayes but Hayes manages to slip out and dump Zayn to the apron. Zayn pops Hayes throat-first over the top rope but Hayes quickly recovers to hit a springboard reverse leg drop as Zayn makes his way back in. We go to commercials.

Back live with Hayes in control. A Hayes elbow drops Zayn and then Hayes flies off the ropes to crush Zayn with a leg-drop. Hayes covers and gets two. Hayes bullies a dazed Zayn along the ropes. Hayes whips Zayn across the ring but Zayn recovers and leapfrogs Hayes before walloping him with a lariat. Zayn hits a back elbow and a double sledge on a charging Hayes. Zayn mounts a dazed Hayes and drops a LOT of rights and lefts on his head. Zayn plants Hayes with a tornado DDT and covers for two.

Zayn ascends and notices Hayes coming towards him so he leaps over Hayes and then smashes Hayes with a Michinoku Driver. Zayn’s cover gets two. There’s a series of standing switches and then Hayes flies off the ropes to waffle Zayn with a knee. Hayes ascends but his frog splash meets Zayn’s knees. Zayn charges but is met half-way by a Hayes superkick and both guys are down. We go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Hayes slaps Zayn a couple of times and then hits him with a tilt-a-whirl neckbreaker. Hayes covers for two. Hayes drags Zayn up and they slug it out as Zayn gains the advantage. Zayn hits a sit-out powerbomb and covers Hayes for two. They start slugging it out again before running the ropes and hitting simultaneous clotheslines on each other.

Back to full screen with Hayes catching Zayn with a superkick. Hayes charges in and blocks Zayn’s Exploder attempt. Hayes dumps Zayn to the apron and then hits Zayn with a springboard facebuster (Zayn’s wrist got hung up on the top rope and he’s favoring it a bit). Zayn rolls in and Hayes ascends and crushes Zayn with a frog splash. Hayes covers for two. Zayn blocks Hayes First 48 attempt but then walks into it anyway. Hayes covers Zayn for two. Hayes snaps off a cutter before waffling Zayn with a springboard back elbow. Hayes ascends but misses his Nothing But Net attempt. Zayn hits a big boot and then drags Hayes up for a Blue Thunder Bomb. Zayn’s cover gets three.

Again, let’s stress that Sami Zayn is the best underdog babyface in the company right now and while these open challenge matches are going on, he’s putting out solid work weekly. Hayes is coming along nicely at this point and the variations in reps that he’s getting both in tags and singles are going to serve him well. I think he’s probably upper mid-card at best based on his size but we’ll see what the future holds. For a first big title opportunity, he did well. 3.5*

Winner AND STILL WWE Men’s US Champion – Sami Zayn (Blue Thunder Bomb)

Nick Aldis is chatting with Kit Wilson (God do I miss Pretty Deadly. Legit.) when Damien Priest storms in looking to fight Aleister Black. Wilson talks about toxic masculinity and what’s currently emanating from Priest is exactly that. Priest grabs Wilson by the throat and tosses him through a gimmicked sheet rock wall. Priest threatens Aldis and leaves. We go to commercials.

“Alpha” – Part 2 of the John Cena-Brock Lesnar retrospective is shown and you can watch it here.

Cole and Miz run down the Wrestlepalooza card. Highlights are then shown of the McIntyre-Orton match and Cody Rhodes’s subsequent return. We’re setting up for the contract signing as we go to commercials.

Here’s Solo Sikoa addressing Tonga Loa and telling him how proud Sikoa is of him while mentioning that he let Loa down. Sikoa says Loa’s loyalty will be rewarded and Loa reaches out to hold Sikoa’s shoulder in a sign of respect.

You can watch this next segment here because I’m not going to recap it word for word. Nick Aldis introduces Drew McIntyre who makes his way to the ring. McIntyre shakes Aldis’s hand and grabs a microphone. Before he can speak, “Kingdom” hits and here’s WWE Men’s Champion Cody Rhodes to make his way down to the ring. Rhodes also shakes Aldis’s hand and grabs a mic. Rhodes reminds McIntyre that it’s 15 years to the day since they won the tag titles as partners. Rhodes tells McIntyre isn’t a Scottish Warrior anymore, he’s just a keyboard warrior. McIntyre calls Rhodes a corporate champion before telling Rhodes that the crowd will turn on him for the next flavor of the month. Rhodes and McIntyre sign the contract and as Rhodes hands the doc over to Aldis McIntyre wallops him with a headbutt. Rhodes rolls to the floor and McIntyre follows to whale away at him. McIntyre drops Rhodes in front of the announce desk and apparently decides against kicking him again as Aldis barks at him from behind. McIntyre wants the match to happen so he tells Rhodes he’ll see him tomorrow and take the belt. Rhodes remarkably recovers quickly and waffles McIntyre with a tope suicida. Rhodes starts throwing punches as Aldis tries to break it up. The brawl continues as suits and referees storm out. McIntyre hits a big boot on Rhodes and then stomps directly on Rhodes forehead. The credits roll and we’re out.

A three match show and a whole lot of yap about Wrestlepalooza, and to be honest, that’s about what I was expecting. The Lesnar-Cena build has not been great and whipping Corey Graves doesn’t really add much to it. The McIntyre-Rhodes build has been better and I think that match will be pretty good as a main event. Lesnar going on first tells me he might be around for the aftermath of the title match, regardless, but I guess we’ll see. It’s funny to me that Xfinity is a presenting sponsor of Wrestlepalooza but still hasn’t struck an authentication deal with ESPN yet. The two title matches were the whole show tonight and both were pretty solid affairs. Thumbs in the middle because it was just SO MUCH YAP but that’s what they do now.

Thanks for reading and commenting, and enjoy Wrestlepalooza.