wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 12.19.25
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hey there people, it’s time for another episode of WWE Smackdown. We’re in a bit of a lull period with the holidays coming up but the Royal Rumble is the next major event. Unfortunately Kevin Owens doesn’t seem to be on hand to lose in a WWE title match at the Rumble, breaking a long tradition. Instead it’s looking like WWE champion Cody Rhodes will take on Drew McIntyre again at that event. During this last week Cody did a home invasion and Nick Aldis told Drew that he could get a title math, not be touched by Cody before then, and that Drew gets to pick the stipulation for the match. At this point Drew’s stipulation could be “if I lose I still become WWE champion” and I’m positive he wouldn’t walk out with the belt. Also tonight some confrontation between Solo Sikoa and his Many Fancy Telemarketers and the Wyatt Sicks. They’re just pushing ahead with that whole thing I guess. It looks like Aleister Black and Damian Priest are at a cross roads spot, they could continue feuding or Priest could move on after getting the win last week in a sloppy mixed tag team match. The women’s tag team scene is chaotic as ever, women’s champion Jade Cargill desperately needs something of substance to do, and women’s US champion Chelsea Green is still around somewhere. Ilja Dragunov defeated Tommaso Ciampa last week to retain the US title, but Ilja’s open challenges have been carrying the wrestling on Smackdown so hopefully there’s another one.
So there’s also some mild confusion around spoilers since an episode of WWE Smackdown was taped before RAW this week. Those spoilers can be found HERE and while initially indicated for next week, they look an awful lot like what we know this episode is supposed to have. Anyway we’ll find out pretty quickly one way or the other. If they are airing that episode tonight then the people in Grand Rapids will be getting a live show that will air next week. Only one way to find out what’s going on there so let’s get to the action.
We open with a recap of SNME, mostly about John Cena’s final match and tapping out to the Ring General Gunther and Cena’s final curtain call.
Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett welcome us to the show from Hershey, PA. So yeah, those above spoilers will be accurate it seems.
We see WWE champion Cody Rhodes arrive in his bus, the Solo Squad wander around too.
Damian Priest heads to the ring for promo time. First Priest puts over Cena and gets a “thank you Cena” chant going. That leads to him saying his business with Aleister Black and Zelina is done, so of course it isn’t. Zelina cuts him off and walks and talks, calling Priest a hypocrite and saying getting his Mami to fight his battles is pathetic. Priest didn’t even get the pin last week, now Priest has to live with what’s coming. Black then attacks Priest from behind and unloads with elbows. They fight back and forth for a bit then spill out of the ring but Priest hits a chokeslam onto the apron. Priest goes under the ring and finds a table, that gets a pop, and he sets it up on the floor. Black has recovered though and lays into Priest with a chair, Priest no sells because he’s a jerk, and tries a chokeslam but Black rams him into the post. Head kick from Black then a spinning back elbow, Black then hits a Meteora to Priest through the table. Black has to limp out of the ringside area.
In the back Byron talks with Lash Legend and Nia Jax, they put themselves over and plan to beat the Kabuki Warriors tonight. That needed to be shorter, long promos aren’t either woman’s strength and they don’t quite have a rhythm down yet between them.
Back to the ring and here come the Kabuki Warriors. This match is non-title so the champs will of course lose after this break.
Officials walk Priest in the back but Black attacks him again. Black batters Priest around some crates then gets a plastic snow shovel and brains him with it. Safest weapon spot all week. Black then hits a Black Mass to leave Priest unconscious.
Back to the ring and here come Lash and Jax. Lash’s theme is everything wrong with the Def Rebel era.
Match #1 – Tag Team Match: Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) vs. Nia Jax and Lash Legend
Sane and Lash start us off, they tie up but Lash is bigger and stronger. Sane gets to the back of Lash but Lash fights free. Lash misses a corner pump kick and Sane lands some strikes then heads up top only to get caught jumping at Lash. Sane tries a Sunset Flip but Lash stays upright, Sane does finally hit a head scissors but runs into a diving elbow from Lash. Jax tags in and Sane takes some corner offense. Sane avoids an elbow drop and tags Asuka, Jax then takes some kicks. Asuka lays in more kicks, Jax then botches a slam spot but does hit a pop up headbutt. Codebreaker from Asuka then she tags Sane and they hit a double dropkick to send Jax out of the ring. Lash gets sort of low bridged which sets up Sane to dive onto both Lash and Jax on the floor and send us to break.
Jax is working over Sane as we come back. Lash tags in and grabs a rest hold. Jax tags in and cheap shots Asuka then Sane counters a double suplex with a double DDT. Asuka gets the hot tag and hits a double dropkick. Head kicks for both women then a striking flurry to Jax. Flying armbar from Asuka, she has to switch to a triangle choke but Jax powers her up so Asuka slips free and avoids a big sit then hits a sliding kick and Lash breaks up the pin. Lash gets to run wild for a bit and floors Sane with an elbow. Asuka with a superkick to Lash then Jax posts herself. Next Asuka goes up but Lash slows that down so Jax can climb up with her, Sane with a blind tag and Asuka hits a Sunset powerbomb. Lash rams Asuka into the ring steps, Sane then dives onto Lash. Sane up top for the InSane Elbow but Jax bkocks, hits a chokeslam then an Annihilator to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Nia Jax and Lash Legend won in 12:04
Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: OK match, the crowd defaulted to cheering Asuka and Sane but nominal heel vs. heel match here and that did hurt the match. Also a little overlong, felt like they didn’t have the material for this much time though the real match might have been shorter given it was pretaped.
Post match Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss run down to lay out Lash and Jax making the two heels run away.
In the back Jackie talks with Giulia, Kiana James objects to that but allows the interview anyway. Giula insults Chelsea Green for hiding then says she’ll take out Alba Fyre and warns Green that her time is running out.
After this break we’ll get the video of Cody and Drew when they got into things at Drew’s house.
Post break we do get that video of Cody committing a felony. First is Aldis negotiating with Drew about getting him back to work. Aldis offers Drew a one on one WWE title match and Drew issues a public apology for Claymore kicking a ref, plus there’s a fine attached to all this. Drew declines the terms and says he wants a fair shot, which means Drew chooses the stipulation and Cody is prevented from engaging in physical contact with Drew before that title match or he’ll be stripped of the title. Aldis doesn’t like it but he makes the deal. While they’re talking Drew’s phone goes off, Cody has showed up outside the house and is yelling at “cops” out there. Aldis goes out to try and talk things down, Drew then shows up to escalate things so he and Cody start fighting and eventually they’re pulled apart and the video ends.
In the back Byron talks with Smackdown GM Nick Aldis. Aldis says this whole thing has gotten out of hand and he says what Cody did was out of line but it’s out of his hands as it wasn’t at a WWE event. Miz interrupts and wants a match with he who should not be named. Aldis says “Joe Hen-” but Miz doesn’t want his name said, he just wants a match with him next week. Aldis is down, but if Miz wants that match he could just say his name. R-Truth is here and hops around saying he believes in Joe Pesci. Miz stalks off, and Truth says Miz is just mad that Truth saw Aldis’ British Balls. OK then.
Back to the ring and here comes Giulia along with Kiana James. She’ll take on Alba Fyre after this break.
Post break Fyre is in the ring.
Match #2: Giulia w/ Kiana James vs. Alba Fyre w/ Chelsea Green
Just north of 20 minutes between matches. Quick double leg from Giulia then mounted strikes and a dropkick. More strikes from Giulia, Fyre lands a chop but Giulia cares not for selling and knees her in the corner. Running corner knee from Giulia then a suplex for a 2 count. Green distracts things and Fyre gets to take over with some strikes. Tornado DDT from Fyre for a 2 count. Giulia fights back and they kind of screw up the timing on a hair mare. They repeat the spot and it goes cleanly this time. Fyre avoids a corner attack but Giulia winds up grabbing an Abdominal Stretch then transitions into a Kobashi style Rolling Cradle for a 2 count. Fyre avoids a Glamorous Driver and lands a superkick for a 2 count. Giulia with a back slide for 2 then an Arrivederci Knee and a Northern Light’s Bomb to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Giulia won in 3:47
Rating: Acorn Squash
Thoughts: Trying to turn Giulia face after losing the title feels like it’s not working, the crowd are more pro-Green and so Giulia is kind of falling a little flat in terms of presentation. This was a decent reminder of Giulia’s style but the woman gets over based on her hard hitting wrestling and she’s largely been not allowed to wrestle so she’s not really over.
Post match Giulia scares Green away from the ringside area.
In the back Cody Rhodes walks, he’ll talk after this break.
Wyatt Sicks video, Howdy warns Solo that his greed for status and power have led him down a dark path. His image is only going to get his family in a world of adversity and abandonment. Tonight that journey begins and Solo’s group will surrender.
Back to the ring and here comes WWE champion Cody Rhodes. Cody gets a mic and wants to know what we want to talk about. He says recaps the video we saw earlier then says Drew has claimed WWE is an unsafe working environment. Well that’s everyone here too, including the fans, and apparently we’re all an unsafe environment. Cody puts over the roster and then asks what’s a safe environment for Drew? That little brawl on the yard was just 1/10 of what should happen. Aldis comes out and says he doesn’t think Cody appreciates what’s going on here. Drew’s claims might be a load of crap, but when Cody did a home invasion he made Drew’s point for him. Aldis also had to make a bad deal, so as Cody’s friend you’re not above the law and he can’t help him with it. Cody should have trusted him, but he didn’t so now when Drew comes back if he pays the fine and makes the apology then Cody can’t touch Drew until their title match. Cody asks or what like he didn’t see the video package, so Aldis says he’ll strip him of the title because apparently that video was for the home audience not the live one. Well Cody does promise not to touch Drew, but in the spirit of demands he’s doing to ask Aldis for a little something. He thinks Aldis might have forgotten who he’s talking to here and Cody puts himself over. Cody says as long as he has the title he’s Judge Dredd, the law. While holding this title Cody doesn’t work for Aldis, he works for the fans and the GM works for him. Slightly heelish tint to Cody there and I appreciate it, he could use the edge back to his character.
In the back Carmelo Hayes talks with Ilja Dragunov and Ilja thanks him for helping him last week. Hayes says he doesn’t jump people from behind, Ilja says “anymore” which Hayes agrees to. They’ll team up against DIY later tonight. Fraxiom wander over and says they want some of DIY as well and hope they’ll leave them a little. A bit of back and forth between the teams but it’s respectful intensity as Ilja says Tommaso Ciampa is now his prey after last week.
To the ring and DIY are here, that tag team match will be up after this break.
Post break here come Ilja and Hayes.
Match #3 – Tag Team Match: DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) w/ Candice LeRae vs. Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes
22 minutes between matches. All four men with some early brawling, Ilja and Ciampa pair off as do Hayes and Johnny. Eventually Ilja and Ciampa settle into being legal. Chops from Ilja to retain control then Hayes tags in and attacks Ciampa with strikes. Back elbow from Hayes then a jumping leg drop. Ilja back in and hits an overhead throw, then he goes up top but Candice distracts the ref so Johnny can cheap shot Ilja then Ciampa with a knee that launches Ilja from the apron to the announce desk and we go picture in picture.
Johnny tags in and starts working over Ilja in the ring. Some stomps from Johnny then Ciampa tags back in. More corner work including some cheap shots from the illegal man then Ciampa hits a backbreaker. Ilja with chops to fight back but Ciampa kicks his bad knee and retains control. Johnny tags in for more corner work. Some taunting to Hayes then more corner strikes. Ciampa tags in and goes after the leg of Ilja again before grabbing a chin lock. They start trading chops as we come back to broadcast. Eventually Ilja lands a leaping enziguri. Johnny tags in and tries to block the tag, Ilja wrecks him with a Konstantin Special though. Hayes wants in and does get the hot tag so he can run wild on Ciampa and Johnny. Springboard clothesline to Johnny then La Mistica facebuster for a 2 count. Ilja tags back in, Hayes dives onto Ciampa then Ilja with a senton to Johnny for a near fall. German suplex from Ilja, Johnny blocks the second but Hayes tags in then takes a superkick from Johnny. Ciampa tags in, Project Ciampa connects but only a 2 count as Ilja breaks up the pin. Ilja and Johnny fight to the floor, Ilja gets rammed into the ring post but Hayes cuts off Ciampa with a superkick. Candice trips up Hayes on the ropes and Ciampa follows with a running knee but again only a near fall. Superkick and Fairy Tale Ending but that’s never beat anyone so Hayes kicks out again. Ciampa tags in, they want Meet In The Middle but Ilja cuts off Johnny with a Torpedo Moscow and Hayes hits Ciampa with a First 48. Ilja tags in, H-Bomb to Ciampa then Hayes tags in for Nothing But Net and the win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes won in 10:26
Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Good stuff there, well paced and the right kind of impact. Hayes is finally getting over and it’s nice to see while Ilja is still the man. These guys have been holding down the actual wrestling on Smackdown for a while now and this was no exception, it’ll likely be the best match of the night when it’s done.
In the back Bliss and Charlotte walk, Jackie finds them and they promise to be waiting for whoever wins the tag tam titles. Jade Cargill wanders over but no words are exchanged. Jackie asks Jade about attacking Michin last week, and Jade says she’ll give Michin a little spotlight then knock her lights out. Michin shows up with a kendo stick to whack Jade before officials pull them apart.
Still to come Tonga Loa and JC Mateo will try to take the titles from Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis and we head to break.
Post break we get the talk of next week, Ilja’s open US challenge will be on as will Joe Hendry taking on Miz, and Drew McIntyre will return. There should be spoilers for that show up pretty soon if you want them.
In the back Solo walks and talks. He says Howdy talks nonsense, will Solo would know about pointless hot air. He says he doesn’t play about his family and they’ll embarrass him in front of the world. The firefly’s are going to watch them take the titles, and Solo’s got the whole world in his hands. Well it only took 4 weeks but Solo finally found a reference that might have landed, the overall promo was his usual forgettable stuff though. They head to the ring and we head to break again.
Post break here come the Wyatts.
Match #4 – WWE Tag Team Title Match: (c) Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy w/ Uncle Howdy, Erick Rowan, and Nikki Cross vs. JC Mateo and Tonga Loa w/ Solo Sikoa, Talla Tonga, and Tama Tonga
Lumis and Loa start us off. Quick side headlock from Lumis then some rope running and a few strikes. Loa misses a clothesline and takes a back suplex then a leaping leg drop. Gacy tags in, Loa lands a terrible punch then hits some corner stomps. JC tags in and they both stomp on Gacy for a bit then they barely connect a dropkick spot. Lumis tags in and JC takes some tandem offense. JC powders so Gacy tags in and cheap shots Loa then superkicks JC off the apron and fakes a dive. Gacy does get out of the ring and Loa hits him with a clothesline. JC catches a jumping Lumis and rams him into the ring post and we go picture in picture after a minor broadcast issue.
Back in the ring JC works to keep Lumis grounded. Loa tags in works some strikes. JC back in and they hit a double headbutt. Lumis tries to fight back with strikes but JC drops him then hits a standing moonsault. Chin lock from JC then Loa tags back in. Some corner work to Lumis then a spinebuster from Loa for a 2 count. We come back to Loa with a headbutt. Jumping leg drop from Loa. Terrible corner strikes from Loa then JC tags in. The crowd with an “OTC” chant, which should tell you everything about how much they care about the people involved to chant for a guy not even remotely attached to any of this. Powerslam to Lumis then Loa tags back in. Walking powerslam from Loa for another 2 count. Lumis hits a superkick to drop Loa, JC tags in though so Lumis has to avoid a back suplex and land another superkick. Gacy wants in and gets the tag to start attacking JC. Suplex to JC, odd edit cut there, then a cheap shot to Loa and a back suplex to JC for a 2 count. JC avoids a Lionsault then hits a swinging back suplex for a 2 count. Handspring clothesline from Gacy, Loa then takes one too for good measure. Gacy then with an ugly dive onto Loa and JC. Back in the ring Lumis tags in and they want The Plague, it connects but Lumis goes up top for a Splash and Loa saves the match. Gacy gets tossed out of the ring and Talla boots him down. Rowan shows up to attack and the brawl is on between all parties. The match gets thrown out.
OFFICIAL RESULT: No Contest in 10:31
Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Decent match, Loa’s control segments are still poor and JC has been treated like the low man on the totem pole for so long that even his impressive physical stuff tends to get muted reactions. I’m still not sold on this overall pairing of groups, doubly so with the tag team division basically not existing because of it. Loa and JC is also a weird team, but Tama Tonga is getting a singles push so Loa needed someone to carry his weight around I guess.
Everyone fights in a big brawl around the ringside area. In the ring Lumis and Gacy get isolated, Talla climbs up top and hits a crossbody onto several people. Rowan shows up and dropkicks Talla then clotheslines him out of the ring. Nikki wants to contribute, Rowan then powerbombs her over the ropes onto Talla. Solo shows up to Spike Rowan a couple of times. Howdy teases Sister Abigail on Solo but that doesn’t happen and they just keep brawling as the episode ends.
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