Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 9.19.25

Alright everyone, it’s time for WWE Smackdown. This is the go home show for Wrestlepalooza (still the dumbest name I’ve had to type out or verbalize) and the Smackdown contribution to that show is lackluster at best. Last week WWE champion Cody Rhodes returned from filming Street Fighter and likely saved Randy Orton from the wrath of Drew McIntyre which will lead to Cody and Drew this Saturday. This represents the last chance they have to make us care about that match, but since the build was just Drew kicking Cody through a table then Cody being absent for weeks on end I think that’ll be a tall order. Tonight Sami Zayn’s open US challenge will be answered by Carmelo Hayes, Miz didn’t seem too thrilled about that last week and we did get some shots of Shinsuke Nakamura lurking in the background of Sami’s backstage stuff so we’ll see if he finally returns to TV proper tonight. Logically there was going to be a triple threat match for the women’s title since Nia Jax is useless in general but moderately less so in title matches if you’re writing Smackdown, but last week Tiffany Stratton banged her head on the floor pretty badly doing an orihara moonsault so we’re not sure if she’s cleared in time. Realistically that means we’ll get Jade Cargill and Jax in some capacity tonight, which just sounds awful. Brock Lesnar is apparently advertised so we’ll see if that’s accurate. Jacob Fatu has been cooled off for no good reason while Solo Sikoa and Midcard Fodder Team are still under contract. The Street Profits seem to be fraying, B-Fab and Michin are “feuding” with Giulia and Kiana James though Giulia getting downgraded like she has since coming to Smackdown should be studied as well. Damian Priest and Aleister Black are still going at it, Charlotte Flair is cleared to wrestle so she and Alexa Bliss will likely take aim at Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice. OK, serious question incoming. Has any babyface in particular but anyone in general on Smackdown gotten more over in the last 6-8 months since Road Dogg took over writing here? Because I feel like the answer is “no one” and that’s just criminal. Anyway that’s the preamble so let’s get to the action.

We see wrestlers arrive, Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes among them. Chelsea Green is here with Alba Fyre, still no Piper Niven, but Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair are here as well for a women’s tag team title match. Sami Zayn and Carmelo Hayes are here as well. Anyone else kind of miss the musical intros to wrestling episodes?

Michael Cole and Corey Graves are on commentary. Cole gets up to head to the back to talk with Brock Lesnar in the locker room. As Cole heads up the ramp here comes Brock Lesnar. Brock intercepts Cole and carries him to the ring like a small child. Once in the ring Brock pulls Cole up by his tie while the crowd chant for John Cena who will not be appearing. Graves comes over to try and reason with Brock, that goes poorly and Graves gets an F5. Brock grabs a camera and tells Cena tomorrow is D-Day and he’s coming for blood. Brock then tips over the Prime display to a good pop before getting the top of some ring steps and chasing away a bunch of goons, then he kills Graves with another F5. All the security and officials circle the ring but no one wants to get in Brock’s business physically. The crowd want another F5, Brock denies them and heads up the ramp where he collects his cowboy hat and then departs while we head to break.

We come back to officials looking over Graves and helping carry him towards the back. Naturally that means we get a replay of the opening segment. In the back Brock walks and finds Paul Heyman along with the Bronies, and he tells Heyman they should talk. Brock walks off, Nick Aldis comes over and warns the three men that any problems will not be tolerated. Heyman says they’re here to talk peace with the Usos, who are not here which Heyman of course already knew. Well since the goobers are here they might as well enjoy the show right? Ugh, Smackdown is so dire we’re just porting these guys over here?

Michael Cole returns to commentary, there’s a decent “Michael Cole” chant as Cole tells us Graves is getting medical work. Cole says he’s been beaten up and pushed around before, but never ever felt as helpless as he did just now. Heidenreich might take that personally. Cole says even John Cena might not have any answers for this version of Brock.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss head to the ring for our first match. The challengers follow.

Match #1 – WWE Women’s Tag Team Title Match: (c) Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair vs. Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre

Charlotte and Green start, they tie up and Charlotte out wrestles Green, Green cheap shots Bliss then Charlotte boots her down. Bliss tags in and hits a walk over senton, then Fyre takes a shoulder block from Charlotte and the same senton from Bliss. Green shoves Bliss into the heel corner and Fyre tags in then Bliss takes a couple of tandem moves to send us picture in picture.

Fyre and Green work to keep Bliss isolated. Green tags in and Bliss takes a few superkicks. Green stomps Bliss into a corner, and God help us the Miz has joined commentary. Fyre tags back in and they hit a really soft looking double gordbuster. Some control work from Fyre then Green tags back in. Bliss fights back as we rejoin the broadcast. DDT from Bliss and both women are down. Fyre yanks Charlotte off the apron to prevent the tag and Green retains control. Bliss avoids a charge and Green posts herself. Fyre tags herself in but Bliss tags out and here comes Charlotte. Charlotte gets to run wild for a bit including the stepover clothesline. Green gets booted off the apron but Fyre rolls up Charlotte for 2. Charlotte with a thrust kick then a Lethal Combination into the corner, Green then stops Charlotte from climbing the ropes and Fyre hits her with a superkick. Green tags back in and Fyre hits a Swanton Bomb on Charlotte but Bliss breaks up the pin. Fyre superkicks Bliss, then she and Green try a double suplex but Charlotte with a double chop block to stop that and we get stereo Natural Selections and that lets Charlotte pin to retain the titles.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair retained the titles in 8:00

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Decent little match, but these teams have been circling each other for so long that it feels a little stale. Bliss and Charlotte are still telling a decent story about their characters but at this point they need some decent foils.

In the back B-Fab tries to talks to Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins, she says if they want tag team gold they need to get past this. Michin comes over to say she and B-Fab need to talks to Aldis and B-Fab leaves the Profits to talk. Dawkins and Ford seem to bury the hatchet and Ford goes off to talk with Aldis. Bo Dallas wanders behind Dawkins and says Ford wont listen to him, but Bo will. Ford comes back over to menace Bo, Bo says they’re lost souls who need the right path. Erick Rowan then whacks them with his hammer and they head out while we head to break.

In the back R-Truth has a stand set up and is trying to tell people how to watch on the ESPN app tomorrow. Los Garza come over and talks with Truth, the trio do the usual schilling about how to watch on ESPN tomorrow. Even if you don’t have cable there’s a way. Truth will be showing us how to turn microwaves into hot spots later. Man that was painful, and I hate having to say that about Truth.

Fraxiom are in the ring, and the Bronie boys attack them. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed clear the ring then Paul Heyman shows up to talk. Heyman says Fraxiom remind him of the Usos, down and out. He speaks some Samoan to the Usos then translates for himself. As he’s talking Frazer and Axiom attack Bron and Reed then we get the rapid fire suicide dives from them. Nick Aldis shows up to make the predictable tag team match and we head to break.

Match #2 – Tag Team Match: Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer and Axiom) vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed w/ Paul Heyman

Joined in progress with Bron working over Axiom. They head up top, Axiom shoves Bron down but Bron pulls him down as well then there’s a throw from Bron. Bron into the ropes and runs over Axiom. Reed tags in and hits a senton then tags Bron back in. Suplex from Bron then he cheap shots Frazer. Bron then runs into a jumping kick from Axiom and both men are down. Both men tag out and Frazer then speeds up to attack Reed repeatedly. Frazer with a springboard dropkick then a superkick, Frazer up top for a Frog Splash and a 2 count. Frazer back up again but misses a Phoenix Splash then Reed with a Jagged Edge. Reed up top, but Axiom kicks him up there then climbs up but Reed shoves him down into a Bron Spear then we get the Tsunami to Frazer for the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Bron Breakker and Bronso Reed won in 3:56 shown

Rating: Acorn squash
Thoughts: Glorified squash match, little more than a reminder about the match tomorrow.

Post match we get some video from Jimmy and Jey Uso, they will take out the Bronies and do their usual tag team promo and welcome them to the Uso penitentiary.

Nia Jax walks in the back, that means she’ll talk after this break and we’ll all be sad.

Post break we get highlights from different wrestlers appearing on ESPN/ABC related shows over the last week.

After that here comes Nia Jax. Jax has a mic and we’re all sad. She asks what we’re sick of, besides her screen presence, then goes for cheap heat to get any kind of reaction. Anyway she’s sick of the women’s division, she is the alpha female. Man what a stupid title/catchphrase. She mocks Tiffany Stratton, then moves to Jade Cargill and says she’d trade appearances with Jade but Jade should trade in ring ability with her. No reaction to any of this. Jax begs for a reaction, doesn’t really get it. She says Jade looks great until the bell rings. She keeps talking then Tiffany interrupts. Tiffany says we’re sick of Jax talking about her, which isn’t exactly wrong. She says no one wants Jax near the title, and Jade isn’t a superhero and wont save anything. But if those two are still committed to this bit she’ll prove she’s the champion. Tiffany then marches to the ring, officials block her path as now Jade shows up. Jade says nothing just marches down and clobbers goons then heads right for Jax. More goons show up and Aldis appears to calm things down. Aldis knows the three want violence so he says next week we’ll get a triple threat match for the title. Well overall that was painful as a segment.

In the back Truth talks with the Motor City Machine Guns and Rey Fenix about how to watch the event tomorrow. Truth is just repeating himself from last time. Chris Sabin tells Truth to get the next season of the Great British Baking Championship, which Truth thinks is a good idea.

Back to the ring here comes Carmelo Hayes for the US title match, that’ll be up after this break.

Post break we get confirmation of that triple threat match next week. Then we get a recap of the opening to the show.

Back to the ring and here’s Sami Zayn.

Match #3 – US Title Match: (c) Sami Zayn vs. Carmelo Hayes

25 minutes between matches. They tie up then trade arm wringers and escapes then hit the ropes and Hayes lands a dropkick. Another tie up then Hayes starts laying in strikes. Hayes into the ropes but runs into a right hand from Sami. Sami with a 10 punch, he doesn’t get too much then Hayes sends him to the apron and hits a spring back leg drop to send us to break.

We come back to Hayes holding a headlock. Back elbow from Hayes then a leg drop for a 2 count. Chops from Hayes as he lays in strikes along the ropes but Sami bounces over him then lands a clothesline to floor Hayes. Sami with a back elbow then an ax handle. Again Sami goes for the 10 punch and gets it this time. Tornado DDT from Sami gets a 2 count. Sami goes up top, misses a flying nothing then hits a Michinoku Driver for a 2 count. Hayes avoids a suplex and they trade go behinds then Hayes lands a knee to the head. Hayes up top, but Sami blocks a Frog Splash with his knees. Sami lines up a Helluva Kick but Hayes intercepts with a superkick and we go picture in picture.

Both men are down for a while then pull themselves up, Hayes hits the ropes then hits a La Mistica facebuster for a 2 count. They start trading strikes then Sami hits a Liger Bomb for a 2 count. More strikes go back and forth then both men hit the ropes and we get a double clothesline spot and both men are down. That’s the state of things when we come back to broadcast. Sami pulls himself up but Hayes hits a superkick. Hayes then blocks a corner Exploder suplex and sends Sami to the apron then hits a jump over DDT onto the apron. Back in the ring Hayes goes up top for a Frog Splash and a near fall. Hayes tries a Codebreaker but Sami blocks, tries a Blue Thunder Bomb but Hayes counters into the First 48 for a near fall. Sami blocks a Black Crush, well he was supposed to take it apparently because they repeat the spot then Hayes with a fade away DDT. Sami avoids Nothing But Net and hits a boot then a Blue Thunder Bomb for the 3 count.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Sami Zayn retained the title in 15:09

Rating: 3.5 stars
Thoughts: Good match from both guys, Hayes still needs direction pretty badly but the way this is going with Miz might be his chance to break out. Sami continues to do what he normally does.

In the back Kit Wilson talks with Nick Aldis, Damian Priest interrupts this and Priest says he objects to Aleister Black’s tactics and he warns that if he doesn’t get Black then everyone will deal with the Punisher. Wilson rants a bit about toxic masculinity, Priest then does everyone a favor and throws him through a shoddily constructed wall and storms out.

After this break we’ll get the second half of that Cena and Brock retrospective that started las week.

We get that video as we come back, Cena’s ascent to the top of the wrestling world post Ruthless Aggression era while Brock left to become UFC heavyweight champion in just his third fight. Of course we ignore his losses and retirement due to health issues and flash forward to Brock’s return to the WWE and attack of John Cena in 2012. I still say Brock should have gone over in that match at Extreme Rules. Cena and Brock spent the next couple of years not really interacting but still being in the company, of course highlighted by Brock breaking the Undertaker’s Streak at Wrestlemania. Then at SummerSlam 2014 Brock just squashed Cena in glorious fashion. Brock objects to Cena’s retirement party and will mess that up. More of this video package tomorrow apparently.

Commentary then runs down the card for tomorrow.

Then we get a recap of Drew beating Randy Orton last week and Cody returning to attack Drew. They’re setting up for the contract signing as we head to break.

Post break another Solo Sikoa video promo because the only way they can get him over is with proper editing and a ton of takes. He puts over Botcha Loa and wants to make him a champion again. Please no. Tonga says he loves Solo. Can we just not do this please? This whole stupid Bloodline B-Team angle has been dead for a while, just move on.

Back to the ring, Nick Aldis brings out Drew McIntyre for the contract signing. Drew grabs a mic, shakes the hand of Aldis, then tries to talk but Cody’s entrance prevents that. Cody also gets a mic and talks, he says on this very day 15 years ago they won the tag team titles together. And no one talked about it backstage or elsewhere. The world doesn’t revolve around either of them, this is the crowd’s world and story. Sometimes they don’t need the lore, they just want to watch the best fight. Cody runs down Drew’s history and puts him over for all he’s done. But lately Drew’s just been a keyboard warrior. He tells Drew to pull the phone out and let’s see what happens. Drew obliges and creates a Tweet that just says “thank you Cody”. Drew says that means exactly what it says. All he’s wanted was a real shot at the WWE title, no BS, no interference, nothing like that and Cody will make sure that happens. Cody’s just the company man though, and while Cody’s thinking about corporate sponsors Drew’s here winning. Drew kicked Cody’s head through a table and Cody was gone for 5 weeks. Then Cody didn’t come after him, he put the company first. Well Drew warns that the company will turn on him, move on to the next flavor of the month and Cody will wind up where Drew is admitting that Drew was right. Cody says if Drew loses tomorrow his legacy becomes just the man who lost to Cody on the ESPN PLE debut. Cody signs the contract. Drew signs as well, then headbutts Cody. They head out of the ring and start brawling, Drew bounces Cody off the announce table then lines up the Claymore but stops himself and tells Cody that he wont get out of their match like that, he’s taking the title tomorrow. Drew heads up the ramp, but Cody follows him with a suicide dive and continues the brawl so we’ve got a standard pull apart situation, then Drew boots down Cody and stomps his head to close the episode. 33 minutes from the end of the last match to the end of the episode. That’s Attitude Era layout in the worst ways.

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

Less than 30 minutes of wrestling on a 2 hour wrestling program, even by go home show standards that's pretty poor. Bliss and Charlotte vs. Green and Fyre felt stale and a little cold, Fraxiom and the fans of MLP squash was sort of enjoyable if painfully predictable. R-Truth did his best to make the glorified commercial spots funny but even he couldn't save that. Sami and Hayes was a good match. Drew and Cody is a fine enough time filler for that title but it's clearly just that. Nia Jax is wasting time on the mic and back in the title picture because. . . reasons. Smackdown just feels stale and without energy these days, this feels more Average for a go home show than Good.