Smackdown Review – 10.24.25

Let’s look at the week in WWE/Impact: Raw | NXT | Evolve | Impact

Smackdown comes to us LIVE and in LIVING COLOR from the Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ on the USA Network in America and on Netflix around the world. The hosts of the show are Michael Cole and Corey Graves on match calls and analysis, Mark Nash on ring introductions, and Cathy Kelley on backstage interviews and breaking news segments.

Then, Now, Forever….TOGETHER

We start with some highlights of last week‘s show. People are trying to connect the “Cody is turning heel” dots again and well…I have my doubts. Speaking of which, here’s WWE Men’s Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes greeting Big Jim Uso who thanks Cody for doing what he did for Jacob Fatu last week. Cody asks about Jimmy’s relationship with Jey Uso, and they discuss having brothers in the business. Cody heads to the ring next and gets a pretty big pop as usual.

Cody mentions Drew McIntyre and that name gets some boos and then he wonders if he should apologize for using his title belt to smack McIntyre in the head last week. Here’s Drew McIntyre wandering out to mention he doesn’t want Rhodes’s apology and then chastises the crowd for cheering Rhodes and booing him. McIntyre, who’s now standing on the announce desk, says that the fans are brainwashed by “Corporate Cody”. McIntyre says he’s been screwed so many times it’s now about him “finishing the story” next week at SNME. McIntyre mentions hating all of the Anoa’i/Fatu people but he wasn’t the one who attacked Fatu. Rhodes has had enough and says if McIntyre wants to fight they can go right now. Jimmy Uso flies out to attack McIntyre from behind but Security pours out to attempt to break it up. They finally get things slightly under control and here are Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s making their entrance. We go to commercials.

Drew McIntyre is barking at Smackdown GM Nick Aldis when the show returns, and conveniently here’s Jimmy Uso to continue to attack McIntyre. Security once again is needed to break things up.

The MFT’s (JC Mateo and Tama Tonga) vs Shinsuke Nakamura and Rey Fenix

Nakamura starts with Tonga. Tonga gains the early advantage but Nakamura fires up with a strong style exchange. Nakamura drops a knee and his cover gets one. Fenix and Mateo tag in and Fenix gets his rope-walk armdrag to start. Fenix hits a dropkick and covers Mateo for one. Nakamura tags in and he and Fenix hit some double-team kicks on Mateo who bails to the floor. We go to commercials with Nakamura and Fenix egging on the MFT’s.

The MFT’s are in control when the show returns, having used a Tonga clothesline on Fenix while the ref was distracted. Tonga hits another clothesline and turns Fenix inside-out before tagging in Mateo. Mateo hits a weird looking suplex and covers Fenix for two. Fenix snaps off an enziguri and that allows him to tag in Nakamura. Mateo misses a charge and Nakamura mounts him to crush Mateo with a knee lift. Nakamura’s cover gets two.

Mateo hits a belly-to-back suplex and tags in Tonga. Fenix tags in and hits a moonsault as Tonga kicks out at two. Tonga misses a charge and Fenix springs up to hit a rope-walk kick. Fenix hits a top rope cross-body and his cover is broken up by Mateo at two. Tonga Loa causes some distraction and that allows Tama Tonga to wreck Nakamura with a clothesline. Tonga dumps Nakamura to the floor but when he charges Fenix Tonga ends up tumbling out himself. Fenix ascends and wallops Loa and Tonga with a torneo. A grumpy Solo Sikoa confronts the referee giving Talla Tonga the chance to snatch up Fenix for a chokeslam on the apron. A dazed Fenix gets walloped by a Tonga Cutthroat (think the Hidden Blade elbow) and Tonga’s cover gets three.

Given how the MFT’s are being positioned to be the next challengers for the Wyatts, I wasn’t surprised at this outcome. Everyone got their stuff in, mostly, and there was at least a heat sequence on Fenix that made for some decent hot tag action once Nakamura got back in. Nak is starting to look a step slow to me, but maybe he was in second gear knowing he was on the losing end tonight. 2.25*

Winners – The MFT’s (Tonga Cuthroat elbow on Fenix)

Nick Aldis is berating Jimmy Uso who insists everyone knows that McIntyre is the one who attacked Jacob Fatu. Jimmy wants a fight tonight so Aldis makes a no DQ main event between them.

Here’s WWE Women’s United States Champion Giulia on the phone and as she hangs up, here are Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre to pitch a merger of their respective brands. Nikki Cross is seen listening in on this in the background. Here’s Kiana James to insult Green and tell her that Giulia is booked up for quite some time.

WWE Women’s Undisputed Champion Tiffany Stratton vs Kiana James

This is a non-title affair, and Giulia accompanies James to ringside. Stratton hits an armdrag and then we share some acrobatics. Stratton grabs an armbar but James escapes and grabs the advantage with a knee lift and some kicks. Stratton catches James with a quick roll up for one. Stratton fires up with a shotgun dropkick and a hip attack along the ropes. James misses a moonsault attempt and gets walloped by a Stratton right as both are now on the floor. Giulia wanders over to chat with Stratton who then gets immediately thrown into the barrier by James. We go to commercials.

James is working Stratton over in a corner when the show returns. James hits a big boot and covers Stratton for two. Stratton and James both try for sling blades and both end up on the mat. They start slugging it out and Stratton lifts a knee and a couple of clotheslines. James drifts to a corner so Stratton nails her with a back handspring elbow. Stratton hits an Alabama Slam and a rolling senton. Stratton misses a PME attempt and James smashes her with a desperate superkick. James hits a Falcon Arrow and covers Stratton for two.

James bullies Stratton to a corner and mounts her on the top turnbuckle. Stratton dumps James off and hits an immense swanton followed by the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Stratton covers and gets three.

I mean, yeah, that’s what should happen in this match, in terms of the finish. The biggest thing coming from this is the post-match angle and Michael Cole getting clowned by Graves for calling Nia Jax “Nia James”. Stratton continues to be a weird fit as a face to me but she got some face pops from this crowd so maybe I’m the dumb one. Anyway, the post-match angle cements her in this role for quite some time to come, I’m guessing. 2.5*

Winner – Tiffany Stratton (Prettiest Moonsault Ever)

Post-match sees Giulia immediately attack Stratton with the Arrivederci knee. Here’s Jade Cargill to charge out and smash Giulia with some kicks. Giulia and James bail and Cargill offers a hand to Stratton. Cargill raises Stratton’s hand and then crushes Stratton with a clothesline. Cargill lays waste to Stratton and smashes her around ringside. Cargill dumps Stratton over the announce desk and stomps away. A bunch of officials pour out but Cargill just continues to pound away. Stratton ends up with a leg on the ring steps and Cargill stalks over to stomp on her knee. Cargill dumps Stratton’s belt to the mat and leaves.

Highlights of Ilja Dragunov winning the Men’s US Championship on last week’s show are next up. Conveniently here’s WWE Men’s US Champion Ilja Dragunov running into Sami Zayn outside of medical. Zayn congratulates Dragunov on winning the title. Dragunov puts over the Open Challenge and Zayn bequeaths it to him and Dragunov fires up as Zayn talks up what it takes to be able to do it on a weekly basis. We go to commercials.

Cathy Kelley catches up with a grumpy Jade Cargill who says she’s not worried about the consequences of her attack. Cargill says she now understands the world doesn’t reward patience, it rewards power and she’s taking it when she wins the championship.

Ilja Dragunov thanks the crowd for supporting him during his absence and giving him love when he returned. Dragunov promises to defend the title in the way that Sami Zayn did and will continue the Open Challenge.

WWE Men’s US Championship Open Challenge: Ilja Dragunov (C) vs Aleister Black

Black is accompanied by Zelina Vega. This is apparently their first ever meeting and Graves issues a “banger alert” as I cringe. There’s a strike exchange to start and Black dumps Dragunov to the floor. Black distracts the referee and Vega snaps off a rana that sends Dragunov into the barrier. Black crushes Dragunov with a kick and we go to commercials.

They’re striking each other mid-ring when the show returns. A series of kicks ends with Dragunov hitting an enziguri that drops Black. Dragunov hits a running knee followed by a running pump kick. Dragunov hits two Germans and then a bunch of elbows. Dragunov hits tilt-a-whirl suplex throw and covers Black for two.

Vega distracts Dragunov long enough for Black to recover and drop him to the mat. Black hits a second rope Meteora and a bridging German before covering for a LONG two.Dragunov gets a sneaky inside cradle for two. Black hits a charging Dragunov with a knee and a big axehandle kick. Black’s cover gets two. There’s an elbow exchange and Dragunov manages to crush Black with the Constantin Special. We go to more commercials.

Dragunov hits a top rope dropkick as the show returns and then ascends again. Dragunov hits a big senton and covers Black for two. Dragunov gets caught by a Black knee when he tries for Torpedo Moscow, and then Black yanks Dragunov up for a sheer drop brainbuster. Black’s cover gets two. Black misses a Black Mass attempt and Dragunov immediately nails him with Torpedo Moscow but he’s unable to make the cover. Vega trips up Dragunov and gets ejected for her troubles. Here’s Damien Priest to stalk down to ringside and show the crowd his eye that was burned by Black a few weeks ago. Dragunov wallops Black with Torpedo Moscow when Black finally remembers he’s in a title match and Dragunov’s cover gets three.

The match itself was pretty good but the finish just sucked the life out of the room. First of all, everyone and their brother said that the Last Man Standing match was it for the Black-Priest feud but because this show is in a terrible creative rut right now, I guess it actually wasn’t the feud-ender. Secondly, using the Open Challenge to continue an months-old angle between two guys who aren’t the champion is LAZY as hell. I guess I can be generous up to a point here but man oh man did I hate that finish. 3*

Winner AND STILL WWE Men’s US Champion – Ilja Dragunov (Torpedo Moscow)

Post-match sees Priest enter the ring and start dropping bombs on Black’s head. Priest whips Black to the floor and kicks him on to the announce desk. Priest grabs a couple of chairs and then dumps Black back on to the announce desk. Priest wants a conchairto but a returning Vega leaps onto Priest’s back and rakes his bad eye. Black and Vega immediately beat it through the crowd as a grumpy Priest stares them down.

Highlights are shown of Carmelo Hayes attacking The Miz last week. Cathy Kelley is with Hayes backstage and Hayes says he’s not going to berate the Miz, he’s grateful for Miz’s career. Hayes says he owed Miz a beating for what happened. Hayes says it’s even between them and he just wants to move on. Hayes says he wants to get back to being HIM. Here’s Kit Wilson to interrupt and talk about Hayes’s toxic masculinity. Hayes says he’ll see Wilson in the ring next week. We go to commercials.

Here’s a struggling Ilja Dragunov backstage where he runs into FrAxiom. They mention both wanting to be in the Open Challenge and Dragunov says he’s happy to accomodate. DIY and Candice LeRae slide in to chirp at FrAxiom as Ciampa calls them “Pinky and the Brain, always trying to take over the world”. Axiom says Gargano is scared to wrestle him, and LeRae says this is a waste of their time. Gargano mentions that Axiom’s mask has no earholes as they leave. Here’s Tama Tonga to slide into frame and make the throat-slash gesture at FrAxiom before making his weird “yeah yeah yeah” noise. HE’S WEIRD, MAN.

Here’s Cathy Kelley with WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. Apparently Bayley made a challenge on social media and Flair and Bliss question whether or not Bayley and Lyra Valkyria are even friends. Here’s Nia James Jax to question whether or not Bliss and Flair are actually friends. Flair says she has trust with Bliss and Jax mentions Bliss’s previous turn on her. Bliss says if Jax wants to go, they can go, it’s on for next week apparently.

Drew McIntyre makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

They are loading up Saturday Night’s Main Event in a big way, as it’s announced Tiffany Stratton will defend her title against Jade Cargill on that show.

No DQ: Jimmy Uso vs Drew McIntyre

They meet in the aisle and start slugging it out. McIntyre runs Uso into the ring and starts throwing bombs. Uso fires up but his flurry is cut off by a McIntyre kick. Uso fires up again and dumps McIntyre to the floor. Uso’s charge is met by a McIntyre right hand. They slug it out again and Uso manages to slam McIntyre’s head into the ring steps. McIntyre cuts off the flurry with a throat thrust and goes to leave through the crowd. Uso chases after and they start battling in the crowd. Uso hits a suplex and then runs McIntyre back to the ringside area. Uso yanks out a SLIM JIM TABLE as we go to commercials.

McIntyre is working Uso over when the show returns. Uso slips off of McIntyre’s back and hits an enziguri that sends McIntyre to the floor. Uso gets help from a fan to help him mount the barricade but when he runs at McIntyre he’s caught and hit with a belly-to-belly. McIntyre runs Uso in and covers him for two while having his feet on the ropes. McIntyre grabs a chair and smashes Uso in the ribs with it before wasting him with a shot to the back. McIntyre smashes Uso’s face into the chair seat and then goes to work with right hands. McIntyre poses Uso and goes for the Claymore but Uso springs up and hits a drop toe-hold that sends McIntyre face-first into the chair.

Uso hits an uppercut and smashes McIntyre with the Uso In The Wind before covering and getting two. Uso smashes McIntyre with repeated chairshots and then sets up the table. A recovered McIntyre snaps off a Future Shock DDT and covers Uso for two. McIntyre nips up and when he charges he gets caught as Uso hits a Samoan Drop through the table. Uso poses McIntyre and ascends but McIntyre smashes him in the face with the chair. McIntyre hits the Claymore and covers for three.

A heck of a fight here and McIntyre got cut up a bit during the table spot. A lot of folks talk about Jimmy as a singles and I know what the typical complaints are but I think this kind of match suits his stuff a lot more, so this worked well. McIntyre is still killing it in his role and whether or not he gets to beat Cody, he’s done the work to remain at the top of the card. I don’t have any problems with this match whatsoever. 3.5*

Winner – Drew McIntyre (Claymore kick)

Post-match sees McIntyre wrap the chair around Uso’s neck and squeezing on it. The refs and Security pour out and here’s a charging Cody Rhodes to start pounding away on McIntyre. Rhodes runs McIntyre into the timekeeper’s area and then goes to check on Uso. McIntyre sneaks back in and hits a Claymore on Rhodes. McIntyre stares down and barks at Rhodes as the credits roll and we’re out.

Kind of angle-heavy tonight overall, but not a horrible outing by any means. Most of the matchwork was good and I’m glad the Open Challenges will continue on. The Cargill heel turn was needed and was very well done as she really whooped up on Stratton. The Black-Dragunov match was really good until the wet fart finish. The main event was good and the post-match puts the heat on for SNME, which they are really loading up. Anyway, I’ve got no problems with this show tonight overall and that’s a good thing.

Thanks for reading and commenting. I’ll see you all here tomorrow morning for Halloween Havoc, and I’ll have Collision up on Monday morning since it’s a taped show and the results are everywhere. Have a good Saturday.