Join 411’s Live WWE Smackdown Coverage

Smackdown
Date: September 25, 2026
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re closing in on Money In The Bank and as usual we’ll be seeing more qualifying matches. The other big story is of course the World Title picture, with Sami Zayn escaping as champion last week. That’s going to be a bigger issue on the way to next month’s pay per view so let’s get to it.

We recap Trick Williams vs. Baron Corbin, which has been going on for a few months now. Tonight, it’s a cage match. You might want to mention that on TV the week before next time.

US Title: Trick Williams vs. Baron Corbin

Williams, with Lil Yachty (we need Corbin to bring in Tugboat to even things out), is defending in a cage. A leg lariat puts Corbin down to start but he’s back up with a toss into the cage. Corbin plants him down hard and we take a break. We come back with the two of them sitting on top of the cage and slugging it out. Williams gets the better of things and goes down but Corbin cuts him off with a superplex back down for two.

A ticked off Corbin kicks the cage door into Yachty, allowing Williams to get in the Trick Kick for two. Corbin gets in a chokeslam and goes for the door but Yachty slams the door on his head in a bit of revenge. The Trick Shot connects for two and Corbin gets in Deep Six for the same. Williams plants him with a Book End and then does it again and a third time for the pin at 12:05.

Rating: C+. I’m really not sure if this was as epic as they were hoping it to be, as it didn’t exactly warrant a cage match with no build. The three Book Ends wasn’t exactly Hogan dropping three legs on Zeus at No Holds Barred. At least Williams gets to move on though, which is what matters the most.

Nia Jax and Lash Legend are ready for Alexa Bliss and Charlotte, with Jax interviewing Legend about what she’s going to do.

Nick Aldis comes up to Punk and wants to see him in his office. Punk: “I’m not in trouble am I?” Aldis insists he isn’t so Punk goes along.

Post break Punk and Aldis go into the office where Kevin Owens is laying on the couch. Aldis says this has to end between them, especially with Money In The Bank qualifying matches taking place. Punk says Owens has nothing he wants and he’ll leave Owens alone if Owens leaves him alone. Owens (wearing a Randy Orton hoodie) leaves without saying anything.

Chelsea Green is panicking over Money In The Bank and Nikki Bella. Tiffany Stratton and Paige try to come her down before leaving. Bella pops in, with a grand total of no way that none of them saw her standing two feet away. Anyway, Bella says that Green is a joke and can’t trust Paige. This brings Paige and Stratton back in to get rid of her.

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Charlotte vs. Lash Legend vs. Giulia

Giulia goes after Legend and is knocked down to start but Charlotte is up for the chops. A double clothesline takes Charlotte and Giulia down but Giulia is back up with a guillotine to Legend. That’s broken up with Legend tossing her away, leaving Charlotte to hit a great looking high crossbody on Legend. The flip dive off the apron hits Legend (albeit in slow motion) but Giulia dropkicks Charlotte from the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Charlotte knocking Legend down again and giving Giulia a fall away slam. Giulia takes Charlotte up top so Legend powerbombs both of them down. Charlotte is up with a knee to Legend’s face but Legend muscles her up for a fall away slam. That earns Legend a missile dropkick from Giulia and Charlotte gives Legend a….well it was called a Backstabber but that’s a stretch at best.

Charlotte boots Legend off the apron so Giulia superplexes Charlotte, with Legend coming back in to steal the near fall. Legend goes for a Figure Four on Charlotte, which is quickly broken up. Instead Charlotte launches Giulia off the top into Legend and moonsaults onto both of them. The Natural Selection hits Giulia and Charlotte gets the Figure Eight (doesn’t look right) on Legend, with Giulia making the save. Giulia gives Charlotte the northern lights bomb but Legend is up with the Lash Extension for the pin at 12:43.

Rating: B-. Well, I’ll take that ending over Legend stealing a pin off of someone else’s move. They had some unique and fresh spots in here and it helped a lot, though it was hard to get interested in another triple threat. Legend belongs in the ladder match, though I’d be surprised if Charlotte doesn’t get in there either.

We look back at last week’s sitdown interview with Cody Rhodes. After the interview was over, Rhodes thanked Cole and said that he was going to take Orton’s f’ing head off.

Earlier tonight, Orton came up to commentary and demanded that Cole interview him tonight.

Blake Monroe blocks Giulia for her loss and gets slapped in the face. The brawl is on and Nick Aldis comes in to say they’re facing each other next week.

Michael Cole sits down with Randy Orton but isn’t sure what to ask him. Orton brings up the Cody Rhodes interview and what Rhodes said after it was over (the threat to Orton), which Cole explains again. Orton finds it funny that Rhodes only said that after the cameras were off and thinks it’s because Rhodes is compromised. The funny thing is that Rhodes has changed so much over the years and he’s still a good guy.

There is only one person who has never changed and that’s Orton himself. He’s been himself his entire time here and if Rhodes does go after him, Rhodes has compromised himself again. Otherwise, he has peaked, so Orton asks Cole what he thinks will happen. Orton yells at him for not responding and ends the interview. The mental chess continues, as Rhodes turning heel is starting to look more and more like a possibility.

Sami Zayn says Orton is back in the title picture and a lot of people don’t want Zayn to be champion. That’s the story of the title reign, because Zayn will survive no matter what. Zayn is going to keep his title because he’s doing this for the right reasons. Finn Balor pops up to say everyone is going after Zayn after he screwed them all over to get to the title. Balor is coming for the title, Money In The Bank or not.

Johnny Gargano comes up so Zayn wants his help. Gargano asks where his title match is and a frustrated Zayn finally says that Gargano deserves it. Zayn claims to have asked Nick Aldis for the title shot but got turned down. Instead Zayn has gotten Gargano and Candice LeRae Money In The Bank qualifying matches. Gargano asks if that’s how he gets his title match and seems to accept it. Zayn wants to know if Gargano has his back and after a less than happy look from LeRae, Gargano agrees. Zayn looks like he knows he dodged a bullet there.

Tiffany Stratton/Paige/Chelsea Green vs. Fatal Influence

Reid gets sent into the ropes to start for some running hip attacks. Henley is knocked down as well and we take an early break. We come back with Stratton in trouble. A running Blockbuster takes her down but she’s up for the tag off to Green a few seconds later. Everything breaks down and Paige hits a Paige Turner on Henley. Green is caught on the floor so Stratton dives onto the villains for the save. Paige loads up a dive but Nikki Bella pops up to cut her off. The Rolling Encore gives Jayne the pin on Paige at 7:30.

Rating: C+. This was all about the Bella interference because Bella has to have something to do around here. Her inclusion still feels totally forced in but the Bellas are going to be a thing no matter what. Other than that, I do appreciate a regular team of champions not losing, even with the shenanigans.

We look at Damian Priest attacking R-Truth at the Performance Center and blaming him for Priest not being a champion.

Gunther calls it a disgrace that he has to go to Money In The Bank. He’s most interested in Finn Balor and seeing what he’s dealing with here. Is it the legendary Finn Balor or is it his ghost? Danhausen pops up to say they can take the human money in the case and then split it to buy some nice watches and….hey wait. Gunther isn’t going to split the money at all is he? Gunther grabs him by the throat and chokes Danhausen away.

CM Punk threw out the first pit and sang Take Me Out To The Ballgame at a Cubs game.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes talks about how he had the World Title won at Summerslam until Randy Orton interfered. Now though, Punk has lost the World Title to Sami Zayn, but Rhodes can deal with that later. Instead, he needs to talk about the lunatic who talked to Michael Cole earlier. Orton is trying to put Rhodes in an unwinnable position.

Rhodes talks about things he’s had to do, such as not sell his soul in front of millions of people, beat John Cena on his retirement run and face all kinds of beloved wrestlers. He knows what it means to be in unwinnable positions and this time, he will not hesitate to kick Orton’s head off. The thing is, he might not be the only one. As Rhodes goes to leave, here is Punk for his match. Rhodes walks by him without saying anything. This wasn’t much to say here, as we’ve been here before and it doesn’t matter until Rhodes actually pulls the trigger.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: CM Punk vs. Gunther vs. Finn Balor

Gunther knocks Balor outside to start before hitting a big boot to Punk. The Boston crab goes on, with Balor making the save, which just earns himself a loud chop. Balor gives Gunther a Russian legsweep with Punk adding a running boot. A double DDT puts Punk and Gunther down but Gunther is back up to cut off Balor’s running dive. Balor is able to send Gunther outside though and now the flip dive connects as we take a break.

We come back with Gunther hammering on Balor before twisting his neck around. The standing choke in the corner has Balor in more trouble but Punk is back up. That doesn’t last long as Gunther drops him onto the barricade but Balor gives Gunther a Pele Kick. Punk is back in with the falling elbow drop to Gunther and a double clothesline to both of them. Gunther is back up with chops and tries a double powerbomb, which is countered into a double half crab.

That’s broken up with a small package and Gunther is knocked outside. Balor gives Punk a Sling Blade and the Coup de Grace connects but Gunther pulls Balor outside. The powerbomb to Punk is broken up with a Sling Blade, only for Gunther to knock him outside. The powerbomb gets two on Punk, who can’t hit the GTS. Instead Punk gets caught in the sleeper, with Balor hitting a Coup de Grace to break it up. Punk is able to cover Gunther and steal the pin at 11:55.

Rating: B+. That was kind of a reverse stolen finish and I’ll take that as a change of pace. This was a good case of a match where I didn’t know who was going to win and that is a very nice thing to see. Punk going forward is fine, especially if Sami Zayn winds up costing him the match in some way. Very good main event here, as it felt like something that belonged on a pay per view.

Post match Balor and Punk show each other some intense respect to end the show.

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