Smackdown Review – 12.12.25

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Smackdown comes to the airwaves this evening from The Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, PA. The television presenters 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. This show is the go-home prior to tomorrow evenings HUGE Saturday Night’s Main Event that includes the last match in the storied career of John Cena, so let’s watch some wrestling!

Then, Now, Forever….TOGETHER

Cole and Graves open the show by talking about how bittersweet this weekend will be in terms of John Cena’s last match. They then throw to Smackdown GM Nick Aldis who EARLIER TODAY said that Drew McIntyre will not return any reach-outs that Aldis has made. Aldis invites McIntyre directly to come to Wilkes Barre to discuss things. Here’s WWE Men’s Undisputed Cody Rhodes running into Aldis backstage live, and Aldis says he’s actually going to go to McIntyre’s house this week to discuss things since McIntyre isn’t coming tonight and has claimed, through his lawyers, that Smackdown is an “unsafe working environment”. Rhodes crumples up the paper with McIntyre’s claims, stomps through Gorilla, and heads to the ring.

“Kingdom” gets the crowd to their feet as Rhodes slaps some hands on his way to the ring. A graphic reminds us that Rhodes will face NXT Men’s Champion Oba Femi on Saturday Night’s Main Event tomorrow night. Rhodes says it’s time to talk about Drew McIntyre’s “unsafe working environment” claim. Rhodes says there’s a reason why McIntyre isn’t WWE champion because he’s only “half in” and Rhodes doesn’t sweat him. Rhodes says he’d fire McIntyre if he was the boss, but since he’s not, his only recourse is to whip McIntyre’s ass.

Here’s NXT Men’s Champion Oba Femi to interrupt the proceedings. Femi gets a good pop from the crowd and goes right to Rhodes to stare him down. Rhodes gets a mic and hands it to Femi who admires Rhodes passion. Femi says Rhodes focus is on McIntyre when it should be on Femi who’s actually in the building. Femi calls himself “the mountain you can’t climb” and then mentions tomorrow evening’s match. Femi says usually people think of the future as something you see from far away, but the future is here and the now is Femi. Femi says with all due respect, Rhodes time is up, and Femi’s time is now. Rhodes says he’s glad Femi looks up to John Cena, but then points out that he was the one who beat John Cena for the title he’s currently holding. Femi stops Rhodes from leaving, and they hoist their belts at each other. Rhodes leaves and the graphic for tomorrow night comes up.

Here’s Aleister Black and Zelina arriving, as well as their opponents tonight, Damien Priest and Rhea Ripley. Alexa Bliss and CharlotteFlair make their way backstage as well as Bliss’s opponent for the evening, Lash Legend who is accompanied by Nia Jax.

FrAxiom run into WWE Men’s US Champion Ilja Dragunov and Nathan Frazer mentions that they will have Dragunov’s back against Tommaso Ciampa should Dragunov want that. Dragunov politely declines, and says he will punch Ciampa down if he needs to. Dragunov invokes John Cena’s Open Challenge ethos and says the Dragon will burn Ciampa down if he has to. Tommaso Ciampa makes his entrance alone as we go to commercials.

WWE Men’s US Championship: Ilja Dragunov (C) vs Tommaso Ciampa

There’s a chop exchange to start before they start firing forearms at each other. They slap each other mid-ring before Dragunov drops Ciampa with a high boot. Ciampa snaps off a low dropkick and a running knee before covering and getting two. Dragunov hits a knee lift and a running high boot before kicking Ciampa to the floor. Dragunov misses a charge and Ciampa suplexes him into the ring steps as we go to commercials.

Dragunov hits some back elbows but his knee gives out during a Constantin Special attempt. There’s a kick exchange and both guys end up on the mat. Dragunov goes to some chops and slaps and then rams a knee into Ciampa’s jaw. Dragunov plants Ciampa with a couple of Germans and then drops a bunch of elbows on Ciampa’s jaw. There’s a slap exchange before Dragunov hits a side suplex. Dragunov’s cover gets two. Dragunov ascends but Ciampa springs up to kick Dragunov in his bad knee. Ciampa hits an Air Raid Crash on the apron and covers Dragunov for two. Ciampa mounts Dragunov on a top turnbuckle but Dragunov headbutts him away and hits a dropkick on the back of Ciampa’s neck. We go to commercials.

There’s another slap fight in a corner when the show returns that Dragunov gets the better of. Dragunov gets hoisted and Ciampa smashes him with a second rope Air Raid Crash before covering and getting two. Dragunov is bleeding from his nose as we reset. They meet mid-ring for another slap fight and Ciampa catches Dragunov with a Dragon Screw. Ciampa hits a German but Dragunov no-sells it and smashes Ciampa with Torpedo Moscow. Johnny Gargano sprints to the ring to distract the ref while Dragunov gets dropped over the top rope by Candice LeRae. Ciampa hits a running knee on a dazed Dragunov and is stunned when he kicks out at two. Dragunov turns a Fairy Tale Ending attempt into a roll-up cover and that gets three.

The finish was kind of abrupt but they really kicked the shit out of each other. Dragunov was a bloody mess by the time this was over and I’m guessing he’ll be the next mask-wearer who’s on every week. The crowd was into it but I didn’t think this got to the level of some other recent Dragunov defenses. 3*

Winner AND STILL WWE Men’s US Champion – Ilja Dragunov (roll-up)

Post-match sees an irate Gargano attack Dragunov before being joined by Ciampa. Here’s Carmelo Hayes sprinting down to even up the numbers. Hayes sends Gargano and Ciampa to the floor before getting Dragunov to his feet.

Cathy Kelley is backstage with Je’von Evans to talk about his match at SNME, but here’s The Miz to complain about Evans not even being born when John Cena debuted while he doesn’t have a match tomorrow night. Evans calls Miz “Unc” which he objects to strenuously, so Evans proposes they settle this beef in the ring. Miz mentions to “nephew” that if Evans gets injured tonight he won’t be able to compete tomorrow. Miz heads off to get a match made.

Here’s an actual uncle in the form of Uncle Howdy to mention that the Wyatts are apparently here. We go to commercials.

“Shatter” plays as the fireflies light up the arena when the show returns. The Wyatt Sicks make their way to the ring as Graves calls their last collision an “unholy war”. Howdy has a mic and says Solo Sikoa has made a lot of claims that try to discredit him and his family. Howdy says Sikoa’s real family have all turned their backs on Sikoa because he uses and abuses the people he claims to love. Howdy says Sikoa is out of his mind when he claims the MFT’s run Smackdown because they actually run nothing. Gacy and Lumis put their belts on the canvas, and Howdy kneels to say that if they want the titles, come get them.

Here’s Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s on the video board to say that it doesn’t work like that because Sikoa calls the shots. Sikoa says they’re doing things his way and next week they are coming for the titles. Sikoa says if the Wyatts don’t hand over the titles they should consider the only other thing they can do, which is…run.

Here’s Charlotte Flair giving a pre-match pep talk to Alexa Bliss regarding Lash Legend being young and inexperienced and perhaps a bit overconfident. Rhea Ripley slides into frame to mention that she and IYO Sky have “next” when it comes to the women’s tag titles, but Bliss says her and Flair aren’t giving up their quest to regain them. Ripley scoffs but wishes Bliss good luck in her match before leaving. We go to commercials.

A bunch of celebrities celebrate and congratulate John Cena and they include Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Snoop Dogg, Peyton Manning, Jelly Roll, and Jimmy Fallon.

Sol Ruca is in the crowd as is her opponent at SNME, Bayley.

Alexa Bliss vs Lash Legend

Bliss is accompanied by Charlotte Flair, and Legend is seconded by Nia Jax. Bliss leaps onto Legend’s back and then snaps off a rana that sends Legend to the floor. Bliss tries her rolling tackle but Legend catches her and drops Bliss over the barricade in the timekeeper’s area. Legend rolls Bliss back in and then cranks on Bliss’s elbow. Legend hoists Bliss and then drops her to clothesline Bliss. Legend’s cover gets two. Legend splashes Bliss and gets two. Bliss fires up with a high boot and then drops Legend with a DDT. Bliss fires off some right hands and a knee lift but Legend crushes Bliss with a forearm when she comes off the ropes. Jax drops Bliss on the apron and Flair charges over to superkick Jax. Legend sees this and wallops Flair with a high pump kick. Legend prevents a DDT and then hits the Lash Extension on Bliss. Legend covers and gets three.

Well that was short and to the point. Cole puts over that Legend has just beaten a five-time world champion, which yeah, but Legend is huge compared to Bliss. It never really got to second gear at all, and was just a short television match to get to what will probably be Flair beating Jax next week because….well, you know why. Anyway, nothing to go out of your way to seek out here. 1.25*

Winner – Lash Legend (Lash Extension)

Here’s Aleister Black and Zelina running into Cathy Kelley who wants a word about the mixed tag match. Zelina mentions that Priest used “phone a friend” to try to make things right, and Black says if Priest is keen to drag his friends to hell with him, so be it.

Cole says that Smackdown will return to three hours in three weeks. Y’all…I’m unhappy. The Progressive Spotlight highlights Je’von Evans and TNA X Division Champion Leon Slater. The Miz makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

The Miz vs Je’von Evans

Miz trucks Evans and preens to the crowd. Miz pushes Evans down so Evans smashes him with a monkey flip and a dropkick. Evans hits a springboard rana that sends Miz to the floor. Miz lifts a knee when Evans slides out. Evans shakes it off and hits a springboard moonsault. Miz fires up with a big boot and then runs Evans into a ring post. Miz snaps Evans arm over the bottom rope and we go to commercials.

Miz is working a rear chinlock when the show returns. Evans rolls it over and gets a quick two. Evans fires up with some chops but Miz cuts it off with a high boot. Evans snaps off a superkick and a running rolling rana before covering Miz for two. Evans ascends but misses his moonsault attempt. Miz goes into Cena’s five moves and smashes Evans with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Miz wants the AA but Evans slips off and sends Miz to the floor. Evans waffles Miz with a tope con hilo. They exchange roll ups for two before Evans leaps up to hit the OG Cutter. Evans covers Miz for three.

Graves pointing out that Miz has ZERO singles wins on television in 2025 is some shit, man. He’s Smackdown’s Finn Balor. They keep talking about retirement tours for Styles and Lesnar and whomever else but sheesh, maybe Michael Mizanin ought to be considering it. I kid, I kid. Evans is really going to be something when he’s full time on the main because the crowd just loves his crazy athleticism and buoyant personality. He’s only 21 so if the “you have to be 25 years old to be on the main” still holds up, it might still be awhile, but I guess we’ll see. This was fun, if a bit perfunctory in terms of the outcome. 3*

Winner – Je’von Evans (OG Cutter)

Rhea Ripley is confronted by Lash Legend and Nia Jax who say that things have changed around Smackdown. Ripley asks if that’s a threat because Ripley is a problem Legend and Jax don’t actually want. Ripley says that if IYO and her get a shot at the tag titles, they will take them as Legend and Jax leave in a huff. Damien Priest sidles in to make sure Ripley is good, and she assures him that she’s ready. Priest exits, and here’s WWE Undisputed Women’s Champion Jade Cargill to slide into scene and grin warily at Ripley before heading to the ring.

Here’s Michin to yell about Cargill as she makes her way to the ring, but Cargill smashes her just before she can get to Gorilla. Cargill stomps out and isn’t wearing anything resembling gear, so I’m guessing it’s angle time. Cargill gets her music cut off and says what she just did is what happens when women don’t know their place in the back. Michin’s music hit and she’s got a kendo stick and a phalanx of refs trying to stop her. Michin wallops a charging Cargill a few times with the kendo stick and then grabs a table from under the ring. Cargill smashes Michin with a high boot and then waffles her with a chokeslam. Cargill barks at the camera as she heads to the back.

Graves and Cole throw to a highlights package surrounding John Cena’s last match with GUNTHER. They then run down the SNME card before throwing to an Oba Femi highlights package. Aleister Black and Zelina make their entrance for the main event as we go to commercials.

Aleister Black and Zelina vs Damien Priest and Rhea Ripley

Ripley gets the expected MONSTER pop and it is good to see her and Priest back together, even if it’s only one night. Black and Zelina attack prior to the bell as Black will start with Priest. Priest tosses Black into a corner and smashes him with some right hands before sending Black to the floor with a clothesline. Zelina jumps on Priest’s back so he calmly tags in Ripley. Zelina bails and Ripley gives chase. Ripley catches Zelina and hits her with a pump kick, a knee, and a big clothesline as we go to commercials.

Zelina hits a Meteora and covers Ripley for two as the show returns. Ripley fires up with some rights but Zelina snaps off a DDT and covers Ripley for two. Ripley catches Zelina and drops her back-first to the mat. Ripley tags in Priest and he starts whaling away on Black before catching him with a Flatliner. Priest hits an elbow and a sit-out Falcon Arrow before covering and getting two. Zelina leaps on Priest’s back but he shakes her off before running into a German suplex from Black. Black’s cover gets two. Priest hits a high boot and tags in Ripley. Black uses Zelina as a battering ram to smash Priest and then Zelina hits a rana on Ripley. Black hits a high knee lift that sends Priest to the floor and he and Zelina ascend to hit simultaneous moonsaults. Ripley catches Zelina’s cross-body attempt and Zelina blocks a Riptide by almost killing Ripley with a botched something or other that drops Ripley right on her neck. Zelina hits a Code Red and covers Ripley for two. Ripley catches Zelina and hoists her up before smashing her face-first into the mat. Black breaks up the cover at two. Black and Ripley go face to face before Ripley smashes Black with a headbutt. Zelina gets a sneaky roll-up on Ripley for two. Black charges in and Priest catches him with a kick. Priest and Ripley hit simultaneous Razor’s Edges on their opponents. Ripley hauls Zelina up for Riptide, and that ends things as Ripley covers for three.

Zelina had a terrible match, there’s no glossing over it. Ripley not getting hurt here was probably the best outcome anyone could have hoped for and I just wonder if this little experiment with Zelina and Black wrestling together will be over for awhile. When Ripley got invited to show up for this match, I knew her and Priest were winning, it was just a matter of how. I would very much like it if Priest and Black could get away from each other for awhile but it’s probably not over, because it seemingly never is. This was a heatless mess and I can’t go higher than 1* because of Zelina’s incredible botchy-ness, but at least the Wilkes Barre crowd got a Ripley appearance to send them home happy.

Winners – Damien Priest and Rhea Ripley (Riptide to Zelina)

Cole and Graves hype up SNME as the credits roll and we’re out.

This show is going to be a hard watch at three hours unless there’s a bunch of call-ups. Tonight was a middling effort, all things considered, but at least Je’von Evans and Lash Legend got some shine. I liked both of those developments, even if Legend’s match was short and to the point. You can tell Michael Cole is feeling some type of way about the end of John Cena’s career since every time they talked about it Cole had the hushed tones of quiet respect he usually reserves for someone’s passing. The Rhodes-Femi confrontation was good and I’m excited to see them tangle tomorrow night. Thumbs in the middle for tonight, some good, some bad, and some VERY BAD Zelina.

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