Smackdown Review – 10.10.2025

The week in WWE has included: Raw | NXT | Evolve | Impact

This show is coming to the entire world from the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on the day prior to Crown Jewel: Perth. The television presenters for the show are Michael Cole and Wade Barrett on match calls and analysis, Alicia Taylor on ring announcements, and Cathy Kelley on backstage announcements and breaking news.

Then, Now, Forever…TOGETHER

The enormous Crown Jewel belts have been flown from Riyadh to Perth in anticipation of the big show. Here’s the current WWE Men’s Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes, who coincidentally happens to be the current Men’s Crown Jewel Champion as well. Cody seems to now understand the weight of Paul Heyman’s comments about him being Seth Rollins “achilles heel”. Rollins loves WWE and the business but Cody points out that Rollins seems to think he’s the only one allowed to be that way. Cody calls the roster “the greatest ever assembled” and shouts out Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley (Happy 28th birthday, Rhea!), Jey Uso, and CM Punk. A “Seth is a wanker” chant begins so Cody consults with Michael Cole and Wade Barrett and Barrett confirms the chant. Cody knows that he’s the one that Rollins just cannot beat as his music plays and the crowd helpfully sings along.

Arrivals: Damien Priest and The Street Profits with B-Fab.

Chelsea Green approaches WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer about becoming a Slaygent while calling her “La Primavera”. WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton wanders in to break that up as Green scurries away. Vaquer promises to have Stratton’s back in their tag match but tomorrow, it’s on between them. Stratton is cool with that.

WWE Men’s US Champion Sami Zayn makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

Cody Rhodes is confronted by Jacob Fatu backstage and he wants a shot at Cody’s title. Cody seems cool with it and walks off. Smackdown GM Nick Aldis comes over and mentions wanting a word with Fatu in his office. As soon as he leaves Drew McIntyre attacks Fatu from behind. Aldis and some security goofs break it up.

WWE Men’s United States Championship Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (C) vs Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is back to his old music and look, so I guess it’s over for Shogun Shin. This is Zayn’s sixth open challenge match since winning the title.

Zayn works a wristlock to start but Nakamura breaks out and we reset. Nakamura snaps Zayn over and drops a knee on his head to take control. Nakamura yanks a prone Zayn to the mat as we go to commercials.

Back live with Zayn and Nakamura slugging it out mid-ring. Nakamura hits a suplex and an enziguri. Nakamura ducks some clotheslines and hits Zayn with a knee strike before covering and getting two. Nakamura stops a Zayn flurry with a bunch of kicks but Zayn manages to leapfrog Nakamura and wipe him out with a clothesline. Zayn ascends but misses whatever he was going to attempt. Nakamura hits another back kick but runs into a Zayn Michinoku Driver. Zayn covers for two. They exchange roll-ups for two counts and then Zayn whips Nakamura into the corner with an Exploder. Zayn misses a Helluva Kick and then gets caught by a Nakamura Kinshasha to the back of his neck. Zayn kicks out at two as Nakamura is stunned. We go to commercials.

Back live with them again slugging it out mid-ring. Zayn wants a Blue Thunder Bomb but Nakamura slips out and hits another Kinshasha on Zayn who tumbles to the floor. Nakamura wanders out and Zayn hits him with an Exploder into the barrier followed by a Helluva Kick. They beat the count and as Zayn rolls in at nine Nakamura hits a third Kinshasha. Zayn gets his foot on the rope at two. Nakamura hits a Scorpio Rising and has Zayn in his sites when he’s attacked by a masked man as Carr calls for the DQ.

This was just…okay. I think Nakamura is starting to show his age a bit but he’s still a credible opponent for stuff like this. Zayn carried him a bit here up until the horrendous finish. 2.5*

Winner – Sami Zayn (DQ)

Post-match sees the masked man drive Nakamura into the crowd with a clothesline, and the big reveal is that it’s Tama Tonga and he and the rest of the MFT crew surround Zayn in the ring. Nakamura charges back in but the numbers game overwhelms him and Zayn. JC Mateo hits a Tour of the Islands on Zayn and Tama Tonga hits a Hidden Blade on Nakamura. Solo Sikoa saunters in to survey the damage and stands over Zayn and Nakamura. We go to commercials.

The MFT’s were all wearing Dead Presidents-style face paint for this and I kind of dig the look but going back to Solo and Sami is kind of a retreat creatively. I guess we’ll see how it plays out.

Nick Aldis informs Drew McIntyre that he’ll face Jacob Fatu in San Jose on next week’s Smackdown. Fatu flies in and they start whaling on each other again. Security and Aldis get it broken up pretty quickly.

WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer and WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton vs Kiana James and WWE Women’s United States Champion Giulia

It’s James and Vaquer to start. James fakes a handshake and rudely lifts a knee into Vaquer’s mid-section. Vaquer immediately hits a back suplex and goes into the Devil’s Kiss. Giulia tags in and we go to commercials with her and Vaquer going nose-to-nose.

Giulia whips Vaquer into her team’s corner as we return from break. James tags in and drives some shoulders into Vaquer as Giulia tags back in. Giulia hits a missile dropkick and covers Vaquer for two. Vaquer recovers and hits a jawbreaker on Giulia. James tags in and Vaquer manages an enziguri before tagging in Stratton. Stratton is a HOUSEAFIRE dropping Giulia from the apron and running James over with a clothesline. Stratton hits a prone James with her handspring back elbow and a spinebuster before covering James for two. They exchange roll up attempts and Stratton eventually gets a one count on one of them.

Giulia distracts Stratton long enough for James to nail her with a superkick. Giulia tags in and wallops Stratton with the Arrivederci knee. Giulia hits a Northern Lights Bomb on Stratton but Vaquer breaks up the cover at two. James charges in and dumps Vaquer to the floor before tagging back in officially. Stratton recovers and hits James with an Alabama Slam before tagging in Vaquer. Vaquer hits a modified Angel’s Wings but Giulia breaks up the cover at two. Stratton saunters in and dumps a charging Giulia to the floor. Vaquer hits a top rope cross-body on Giulia who’s still on the floor, while Stratton gets rolled up by James for two. Stratton hits a rolling senton and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever finishes James as the ref counts three.

At some point Giulia is going to utterly destroy James for continuously losing these matches or at least stop doing tags with her. This was mostly a showcase to set up the Crown Jewel match, I suppose, and both champs looked decent here even if everyone was working mostly in second gear. 2.5*

Winners – WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer and WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton (Stratton Prettiest Moonsault Ever on James)

WWE Women’s Speed and NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca and Zaria are backstage chatting when WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss stop by. Bliss doesn’t think that Ruca and Zaria are ready to face the champs even if they were impressive last week. Zaria insinuates that Bliss might be hinting at being scared so Flair says Zaria reminds her of her. Ruca requests the shot and Flair and Bliss say it’s on.

The Street Profits with B-Fab make their entrance and they have their old music back, much like Shinsuke Nakamura earlier. We go to commercials.

WWE Men’s Tag Team Championship: The Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis) (C) vs The Street Profits

Nikki Cross and Erick Rowan accompany Gacy and Lumis, but there’s seemingly no Uncle Howdy this evening. Gacy and Lumis fly into the ring as the bell sounds and it’s on. Gacy and Dawkins end up in the ring and Dawkins wipes out Gacy with a flying elbow. Ford tags in and he and Dawkins truck Gacy and then hit double-team offense on a charging Lumis. Ford dumps Lumis to the floor and Dawkins does the same to Gacy. Dawkins charges around and blasts the champs into the barricade in front of the timekeeper’s area. We go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Gacy and Lumis gain control. Lumis hits a backdrop and covers Dawkins for two. Gacy tags in and he and Lumis work Dawkins over. Gacy’s backdrop senton gets a two count. Lumis tags in and wallops Dawkins with a back elbow. Lumis wrenches Dawkins’s neck and then snuffs a brief flurry with a knee lift. They clothesline each other and both make tags. Ford crushes Gacy with a clothesline and then cracks him with an enziguri from the apron. Ford hits a cross-body from the top rope and covers Gacy for two. Dawkins tags in and he and Ford hit a double-team neckbreaker but Lumis breaks up the cover at two.

Lumis prevents Ford from interfering but he and Gacy get caught by Dawkins. Ford hits them both with a top rope Blockbuster but when Dawkins covers Gacy Nikki Cross puts Gacy’s foot on the ropes. B-Fab charges over and runs Cross over the ring steps. As B-Fab is threatened by Rowan, Cross flies off the ring steps and starts whaling away on her. Ford takes offense to this and crushes Rowan with a tope. Dawkins hits a spinebuster on Gacy and Ford tags in. Ford misses a frog splash and Gacy and Lumis immediately pounce to hit Ford with The Plague. Gacy covers Ford and gets three.

Based on the post-match angle, I don’t think the Wyatts are going to be champs much longer but I’ll give Lumis and Gacy credit, they have been a solid duo and considering the current state of Smackdown’s once impressive lineup of teams, that’s saying something. The division is kind of in a shambles at the moment, but the Profits always entertain and I like watching them work. Nothing to complain about match-wise here as everything was fairly crisp, the tag formula was applied, and the heel champs won relatively cleanly. 3*

Winners AND STILL WWE Men’s Tag Team Champions – The Wyatt Sicks (The Plague on Ford)

Post-match sees the MFT’s re-emerge for a face to face stand-off with the tag champs. Sikoa goes nose-to-nose with Nikki Cross in a funny visual. The MFT’s back down as Sikoa chirps at Cross.

Highlights are shown of the break-up of Melo Don’t Miz and Miz’s subsequent attack on Carmelo Hayes. Cathy Kelley is backstage with The Miz who tells her that he only wanted to mentor Hayes and wonders if Kelley actually knows who he is before running down his resume for her. Miz tells Melo he missed, and then barks at Kelley again before wandering off.

Aleister Black cuts a pre-taped promo regarding his upcoming Last Man Standing match with Damien Priest which will be our main event of the evening. We go to commercials.

Highlights are shown of WWE Men’s Champion Seth Rollins leaving the promotional event held earlier in the day without saying a word. Cole and Barrett list the matches for Crown Jewel and I’m sure it will all just be magical.

Last Man Standing: Damien Priest vs Aleister Black

Priest catches a Black kick attempt and nails him with a right hand to start. Priest dumps Black to the floor and follows him out. Priest finds a kendo stick but by the time he returns Black has recovered. They scuffle and Priest manages to run Black head-first into the ring steps. Black pulls the top of the ring steps off and nails Black with it a couple of times. We go to commercials.

Black has a kendo stick in hand but he eats a Priest superkick to put the kibosh on whatever he was planning. Priest runs Black into the barricade and Black only rises at eight. Priest has put the bottom section of the ring steps inside the ring. Priest hits a Flatliner on Black but Black recovers quickly and waffles Priest with a knee to the jaw. Priest stops the momentum with an enziguri. Black slips off the top turnbuckle but Priest fights his way out of what would have been the gnarliest powerbomb in wrestling history (Priest has the ring step piece literally in the middle of the ring.) Black trips Priest who goes face-first onto the steps. Priest tries for the South of Heaven but Black stops it with a knee. Black hits a Meteora that drops Priest back-first onto the ring steps.

Priest makes his feet at seven as Black grabs the ring steps. After a quick flurry Priest manages to dump Black face-first onto the steps which are now vertical. Priest charges but Black pulls down the top rope and Priest tumbles to the floor. Black misses a moonsault but manages to dump Priest onto the other set of ring steps. Black rams Priest’s head into the steps repeatedly. Priest rises at seven and then launches a charging Black onto and over the announce desk. We go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Priest continues pounding away with rights. Priest picks up the ring steps from inside the ring and tosses them at Black who scampers away before they can hit him. (The front row fans were legit scared at this.) We reset in the ring as Black grabs a kendo stick. Priest boxes Black’s ears and then hits him with a giant running forearm. Priest turns Black inside out with a lariat as we go back to full screen.

Black beats the count at nine only to be immediately whaled with the kendo stick to his hamstring. Priest rope-walks with the kendo stick and pounds away from up there. Black pulls Priest down into a kick to his face. Both guys are down and the ref’s count is beaten by both at eight. Black goes to the floor and grabs a chair. Black hammers Priest with some shots to the chest but Priest stops the flurry with a chokeslam on the apron. Priest hoists Black and hits him with the Razor’s Edge on the announce desk. Black beats the count at nine.

An irate Priest hoists Black up and nails him with a second Razor’s Edge on the announce desk. Black falls off the announce table at nine and the ref signals to keep going. Priest dumps Black over the barrier and then hops over himself. Priest dumps a staggering Black onto a production cart. Priest hits Black with a Broken Arrow and here’s Zelina Vega (Black and Vega are married in real life if you weren’t aware – I was waiting for this on-screen pairing to finally happen.) to get between Priest and Black.

Priest drops the straps but Black hits him with a FIREBALL to the face and then a Black Mass that drops Priest through a table. The ref counts to ten and that’s it.

While I’ve enjoyed their matches, I hope this is it for this feud. I’m surprised they did the fireball spot so close to the crowd but it was an impressive visual. I’m not the biggest fan of Last Man Standing and plunder matches in general, as you may know by now, but this felt organic within the feud so I was able to get through my biases. Black needs to move on and up but it seems like Cody’s next opponent may be Jacob Fatu so we’ll see what happens at Crown Jewel. Well, you will, I won’t see it until tomorrow more than likely. Let’s call the whole thing 3.25* and move on with our lives.

Winner – Aleister Black (Black Mass after a FIREBALL)

Post-match sees Black and Vega come over to stare at the fallen Priest before leaving together. The credits roll and we’re out.

A mildly decent effort from the B show tonight, but it’s in such creative sludge at the moment that I hope the reports of new writers being brought in is true. This show is in dire need of a reset roster-wise. Thumbs in the middle for tonight but I did enjoy the LMS more than I thought I would.

Enjoy Crown Jewel, and thanks, as always, for reading and commenting.