Posted on 9/05/126 by Bob Magee
The September 4, 2026 edition of SmackDown was taped at the
Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The show drew a reported
10, 550 fans for the double-header event, with Raw having
also taken place earlier that evening.
Also tonight, Kyoki (the former Hiromu Takahashi) makes his
debut as he teams up with Shinsuke Nakamura against The Miz
& Kit Wilson.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
**************
– The show opened with a recap of last week’s Undisputed WWE
Championship #1 Contender’s match and Sami Zayn disrupting
things to render the match a No Contest.
Let’s Hear From Gunther
The self-proclamed “Ring General”, one of the men involved
in the aforementioned match last week, made his way down to
the ring, clearly incensed about what happened.
With very little pomp or circumstance, Gunther entered and
said that he was looking for Sami Zayn all day, stating that
this show wouldn’t begin until Zayn showed himself. At that
moment, Zayn appeared from the crowd and told Gunther that
if he had something to say, he should spit it out. Zayn
played victim again and said that everyone was getting mad
at him and that there should be some perspective taken here.
Zayn said he was robbed and that he should still be the
Undisputed WWE Champion. He talked about how the champion
should be the last real good guy, but instead, it’s an
arrogant snake named CM Punk.
Zayn said that he was the real working class hero and that
all he was asking was the opportunity to get back what was
stolen from him, the Undisputed WWE Championship. Zayn
complained about how he had to jump through obstacles every
week, and stated that Gunther should get used to
disappointment like with everyone else. No number one
contender matches on Zayn’s watch until he got his. “No
justice, no peace,” said Zayn.
Gunther got right to business and said that if Zayn wasn’t
going to go to the ring, he was going to go take care of
business himself. And now, Finn Balor interrupted
proceedings, stating that he also wanted a piece of Zayn.
Finn chased Sami into the ring as Kevin Owens showed up and
gave chase right through the crowd to end the segment.
Backstage, CM Punk and Nick Aldis were chatting about the
No. 1 Contender’s situation until Johnny Gargano and Candice
LeRae were spotted. Punk took notice and said that inside
Gargano’s endless planking was “Johnny Wrestling”, a man who
was known as Cleveland’s favorite son. That led to Punk
proposing that Gargano face him for the WWE Chmapionship. It
didn’t appear to work, but LeRae tried to beg him from
leaving. Gargano stood up and simply told Punk, “Let’s do
it”.
The main event title scene of SmackDown, believe it or not,
is a bright spot in an otherwise dull overall package. At
this point, it’s worlds better than Raw’s Bloodline drama
consuming the main event.
Gargano vs. Punk should make for a good event, even if the
payoff to “Johnny Planking” was a bit sudden and kind of
unearned.
**************
– Charlotte Flair was prepared to tag with Alexa Bliss, but
it turns out, Bliss subbed herself out for Tatum Paxley.
This was treated as a surprise even though the graphic
before the commercial break spoiled Paxley partnering with
Charlotte.
Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) vs. Charlotte
Flair & Tatum Paxley
As the bell rang, Paxley found herself in enemy territory as
Reid and Henley showed some nice team work early on, as we
took a strangely-timed commercial break just under thirty
seconds into the match.
Back to action with Paxley escaping Henley and Reid to tag
in Charlotte, who hit the Fatal Influence duo with a two-
for-one crossbody. Chops a plenty for Reid and Henley from
Flair, followed by a trademark walkover clothesline to Reid.
Flair had her foe in Figure-Four position, but Henley jumped
in and ate a fallaway slam for her troubles., Natural
Selection from Charlotte to Henley as Paxley got the tag and
launched herself to Reid and Henley outside the ring.
Jacy Jayne tried to get involved, but Alexa Bliss threw her
into the ringpost. Back in the ring, the big boot from
Charlotte on the apron caused Reid to stumble into Paxley’s
Cemetery Drive for the pin and win.
After the match, The Baddies, led by Jade Cargill attacked
Flair, Henley, and Bliss. Fatal Influence allowed The
Baddies to take care of their business.
Charlotte Flair & Tatum Paxley def. Fatal Influence via
pinfall
This was a decent match. The post-match beatdown with The
Baddies was also fine, I suppose, in building the Sunday
Night’s Main Event six-woman tag match.
**************
– Backstage, Nikki Bella was interviewed about her attack on
Paige. Nikki said that her trust in Paige was taken too far,
and that she diluted the Bella brand. Paige supposedly had
more passion behind closed doors and she was the reason for
why Brie was hurt. Just then, Paige herself showed up and
said she wasn’t going to touch Nikki. Paige said that Nikki
never liked her since day one, because she built her career
on hustle, loyalty, and respect, while Nikki just “slept
with it” And that Nikki had better bring it next week in
Mexico City, because she was going to end her career faster
than her last relationship. (Not sure how I feel about
Nikki’s prior relationship with John Cena again being used
for cheap heat. It just feels needless, in my opinion.)
– Gunther talked to Nick Aldis, again complaining about
being overlooked for opportunities, stating that Nick Aldis
was making crazy decisions to stay on the spotlight. He was
“worried” for Aldis, but he was told by the SmackDown GM
that he needed to worry about important business with the
WWE Women’s Championship. Danhausen appeared behind Gunther,
and tried to pat him on the back. Gunther threatened to
never touch him again before leaving as he gripped
Danhausen’s hand tightly. Meanwhile, Danhausen left not long
after, but not before he put an “Employee of the Month”
photo of himself on Aldis’s desk.
A Decision on the WWE Women’s Championship
SmackDown GM Nick Aldis in the ring with a Doctor Woodruff,
who was here to discuss the Chelsea Green injury situation.
As such, Green was called down to the ring by Aldis for this
conversation.
Once Green got to the ring, she told Dr. Woodruff that she
didn’t care what he had to say. Green said that we wouldn’t
get her sobbing and crying, we’d get a pissed-off WWE
Women’s Champion. Green noted how Aldis told her she would
be a fighting WWE Women’s Champion, and he wasn’t going to
take that away from her. Green knew that she had a big
bullseye on her because she’s the champion, but she didn’t
care. Green said that she wasn’t concerned about her safety,
she was concerned about her legacy.
Aldis rebutted by talking about how he was concerned about
Green’s safety, but it wasn’t up to him. It was up to Dr.
Woodruff. The good doctor spoke about Green’s orbital bone
that has been fractured, but it is heeling. In the opinion
of Dr. Woodruff, as long as Green wore her protective
facemask, she was cleare dto compete.
Nia Jax interrupted and again called her shot for the WWE
Women’s Championship, as she was accompanied by Lash Green.
Jax threatened Green to give her a match now, or that she’d
break her other orbital bone. The Irresistable Forces
menaced Green until Tiffany Stratton ran in for the save.
Stratton fended off Jax and Legend.
Aldis decided that Jax will face Green for the WWE Women’s
Championship next week in Mexico City. In the meantime,
however, Jax will take on Tiffany Stratton tonight.
To be honest, I thought this was an effective segment.
Chelsea Green as a courageous babyface champion kinda works
out for her and they did a good job in establishing that
once more.
**************
Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax
This match began during the commercials as we returned with
Jax applying a chinlock on Stratton. However, that hold
wasn’t Bulldog strong, so Stratton broke out of it with a
jawbreaker as she then took down Jax with a dropkick. Big
standing spinebuster by Jax got a two-count on Stratton. On
the top rope, Jax looked for an Annihilator, but Stratton
kicked at her foe’s foot to trip her up. Stacking pin wasn’t
enough for the three.
Running shoulder blocks from Stratton staggered Jax, as did
a pair of wheelbarrow stunners. The crucifix bomb from
Stratton finally took Jax off her feet, but only for a two-
count. Lash Legend got on the apron, but she got dropkicked
by Stratton. That opened her up for the Samoan Drop and the
Annhiilator, and this one’s done.
After the match, Jax got a hold of Green’s protective mask
as she and Legend mocked the champion. Green stepped into
the ring and faced off with Jax and Legend. The
aforementioned two left the ring, clearly confident about
Jax’s chances next week.
Nia Jax def. Tiffany Stratton via pinfall
This was kind of a sloppy match, not gonna lie. Stratton and
Jax never really had the best in-ring chemistry together.
Hopefully Green vs. Jax next week will turn out a bit
better.
**************
– Kevin Owens was interviewed about Johnny Gargano getting a
title shot tonight, something that wasn’t done out of the
goodness of Punk’s heart. He almost certainly did it to draw
out Sami Zayn. Owens implied that if Zayn was going to be
out there for this match, that he was gonna get involved
himself.
Corey Graves sits down with Cody Rhodes
Just as Graves was about to start his interview with Rhodes,
Randy Orton barged right in and got into Rhodes’ face,
reminding him of the things said last week. He again called
Mama Rhodes “trailer park trash” in an attempt to get Cody
to hit him. He mocked Brandi and Pharaoh again, but he
didn’t get a response. Orton said that Rhodes was such a
good guy, he wouldn’t lay a finger on him to protect his
family.
Orton called Rhodes an “addict” for loving the WWE
Championship more than he loved his family. That got Rhodes
to stand up and respond. Rhodes said that it may be the
case, and that meant Orton is screwed on Sunday.
A bit of an understated final go-home segment for this
Sunday Night’s Main Event match. I do find it weird that
this supposed blood feud doesn’t have a stipulation, but I
suspect that Sunday won’t be the end of it between Orton and
Rhodes.
**************
Sunday Night’s Main Event Card
Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes
Bron Breakker vs. Oba Femi
The Baddies (Jade Cargill, B-Fab, & Michin) vs. Alexa Bliss,
Tatum Paxley, & Charlotte Flair
Li’l Yachty vs. Baron Corbin (If Yachty survives five
minutes, Trick Williams gets a U.S. Title shot)
– Backstage, Li’l Yachty was given some advice from Trick
Williams, who told him to just duck, dodge, and weave his
way to win. Yachty said he had been working out all week as
he had something to show him. This “something” was a music
video (I guess?) of Yachty “training” in the ring, as a song
calling Baron Corbin “Baron Boring” played in the
background.
After the video ending, Corbin himself appeared and said
what he was going to do to Yachty in his hometown at Sunday
Night’s Main Event wouldn’t be funny. Williams stepped in
that once Yachty survived, he’s getting a shot at he title.
Corbin said that Williams’ hopes and dreams would be dead,
just as Yachty would be on Sunday.
The Miz & Kit Wilson vs. Bakusai (Shinsuke Nakamura & Kyoki)
Miz and Wilson were here back as their normal selves,
apparently not feeling the effects of Danhausen’s mind
control antics for a while now.
Kyoki, for those curious, is the former Hiromu Takahashi.
The bell rang with Kyoki and Wilson mixing it up. Wilson
backed Kyoki into the corner and taunted him. That led to a
pair of running crossbodies, followed by the big dropkick to
a seated Wilson. Miz tagged in and looked for a lockup, but
Kyoki stomped on the foot. Crossbody caught by Miz, as Kyoki
tanked a pair of chops and begged for more. He launched back
with some chops of his own as Nakamura tagged in. Kick to
the chest of Miz by Nakamura got a two-count.
Nakamura dodged Miz’s corner clothesline and hit the sliding
German suplex on him afterwards. Miz lowblowed Nakamura as
he got into the ring, as that led to the big reunning elbow
from Wilson on the outside and a timeout for us.
Back from commercial as Miz hit Nakamura with a boot while
he jawjacked with Kyoki. The resthold applied with aplomb
from Miz, but Nakamura fought out of it with strikes to the
gut. He tried to reach out to Kyoki, but couldn’t get the
tag. Nakamura tried to fight out of the corner as he rolled
up Miz for a near-fall. Miz grabbed at the foot of Nakamura
and he paid for it with the spinning kick as both men were
down.
Nakamura reached out and got the tag to Kyoki, who ran right
at Wilson with a nice hurricanrana. Noggin knocker by Kyoki
on Miz and Wilson as he then caused an accidental
hurricanrana from Miz to Wilson. On the top rope, Kyoki
barreled right into both Miz and Wilson at ringside. Back in
the ring, Kyoki nailed the Falcon Arrow, but Miz broke up
the subsequent pinfall. Nakamura stepped in and got sent out
of the ring by Miz from the corner. Miz lined Kyoki up for
the Skull-Crushing Finale, but that got blocked. Kinshasa by
Nakamura as Kyoki got the win by hitting Wilson with the
reverse stunner for the three.
After the match, Tama and Talla Tonga appeared at the ramp,
flanked by their father Haku. The WWE Tag Team Champions
simply stared down Bakusai, making it clear that they were
the team for the newcomers to beat.
Bakusai def. The Miz & Kit Wilson via pinfall
This was… an alright debut. I am not sure how to feel about
this Nakamura/Kyoki pairing just yet, but I am hoping they
become more than the sum of their parts. Not terrible, but
not overly exciting, either, at least for now.
**************
– We heard from The War Raiders, who said they were prepared
to hurt R-Truth and Damian Priest. The challengers for the
AAA Tag Team Champions responded by stating they were ready
to face the Raiders. Truth said that that the Raiders, who
he called “chicas”, wouldn’t even be allowed in their own
“pueblos”.
Next Week on SmackDown in Mexico City
AAA World Tag Team Championships: The War Raiders vs. R-
Truth & Damian Priest
WWE Women’s Championship: Chelsea Green (c) vs. Nia Jax
Paige vs. Nikki Bella
Blake Monroe vs. Giulia
Before Blake Monroe faced Giulia, she complained about not
getting a grander opponent or entrance. At that point,
Giulia attacked Monroe and threw her right into the entrance
videoboard. Referees tried to step in, but Giulia kept
attacking Monroe. The Arrivederci Knee to Monroe from Giulia
knocked her out and it seems the scheduled match will not be
taking place tonight.
Blake Monroe vs. Giulia never happened… again.
I’m not sure what’s going on, especially with the hesitation
of having Monroe actually have a debut match. Giulia at
least got her heat back here, but again… just really weird
stuff going on with Monroe’s booking.
*************
– As Johnny Gargano was getting ready for his match with CM
Punk, Sami Zayn interrupted him tried to sweet-talk to him.
Zayn said that this match was justice for him and Gargano.
Zayn said that if an opportunity falls on his lap, Gargano
should take it. As Gargano left, Zayn said that he’d better
be first if Gargano beats Punk.
Undisputed WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
Gargano made his way to the ring to the original version of
his Rebel Heart theme song and to a good ovation from his
hometown crowd here in Cleveland.
This main event match got underway as the fans were 100%
behind Gargano. Punk started right away with the scoop slam
on the hometown boy, followed by another one. Punk went for
a third, but Gargano countered and started swinging with the
rights to the face. Running shoulder tackle by Punk, but
Gargano fought back with the flip. In the corner, Gargano
teed off on Punk with repeated punches to the face. On the
apron, Gargano went for the slingshot DDT, but he was caught
in position for the GTS. Gargano countered it into a
headscissors and followed it up with the vaulting press over
the top rope to leave Punk down and out as we headed to a
commercial break.
Back to our main event as Punk had Gargano in a resthold.
Gargano got himself out of it with strikes to the gut. Punk
hit Gargano with the single-leg lariat followed by the knee
in the corner and a clothesline. Punk headed to the top rope
and soaked in the crowd’s booing. He took a bit too much
time as Gargano met him at the pass. A shove led to a
crossbody, but Gargano rolled through and nearly got the
two. Another roll-up pin got yet another two-count for
Gargano. Swing and a miss on the kick by Punk and Gargano
responded with a Superkick. One, two… NO! Both men recovered
and began trading strikes with one another. Gargano
seemingly got the best of Punk, but the boot to the face put
a stop to that. One, two… not quite.
Punk got up and and put Gargano in position on the apron.
Gargano stunned Punk and hit the Slingshot Spear for another
near-fall. Gargano looked like he had the upper hand as he
mocked Punk’s GTS taunt. Superkick, but Punk caught him and
connected with a Blue Thunder Bomb for the near-fall. Punk
motioned that it was time to put Johnny Wrestling to sleep
as he had him in position. Sami Zayn ran in and tried to get
involved. Punk punched at him as Zayn headed into the ring.
This gave Candice LeRae a chance to hit Punk with a
hurricanrana while the referee was preoccupied with Zayn.
Suicide dive by Gargano was followed by One Final Beat on
the champion. One, two… 2.99999999999!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Zayn took the Undisputed WWE Championship as Kevin Owens ran
in from the crowd and began to fight with Zayn. Gunther
attacked Owens with a big boot as Finn Balor got him with
the Slingblade not long after. Zayn struck all three men
with the title belt. In the ring, Punk hit the GTS on
Gargano as Candice LeRae distracted the referee. This gave
Zayn the opening to strike Punk with the Undisputed WWE
Championship! Gargano crawled over and made the cover… One,
two….. Punk kicked out at 2.9999999999! Zayn remained at
ringside until Nick Aldis told him to get out of here. Back
in the ring, Gargano saw this and was left open for the GTS
by Punk and that’s it, over. CM Punk retains his Undisputed
WWE Championship in our main event.
After the match, Punk addressed the situation and said that
he can call some shots around here. He said that Zayn
doesn’t want this title as badly as he wants to break his
face. As such, Punk made it official for next week in Mexico
City: Punk vs. Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Punk promised to put Zayn to sleep next week.
CM Punk def. Johnny Gargano via pinfall to retain the
Undisputed WWE Championship
*************
What we got before the expected Zayn/KO/Gunther/Balor
involvement was some good stuff between Punk and Gargano,
but I do wish they got a bit more time to cook for that
match. Punk vs. Zayn next week for the title in Mexico City
should be a good time.
The show tonight was kinda decent, although in terms of
being a Sunday Night’s Main Event go-home show, it wasn’t
really accomplishing that goal. A lot more time was spent
building towards next week’s Mexico City SmackDown, while
the assumed main event for SNME got a short video segment (a
good one, at the very least).
Kyoki’s in-ring debut was… alright. I’m sure I’ll grow more
fond of him as he gets time to work in the ring, but I do
wonder if the WWE style will be a perfect fit for the high-
octane offense that made him a household name with New
Japan.
What wasn’t so good however, was the Paige & Nikki Bella
segment. Yes, it was short, but the line from Paige using
Nikki’s past relationship with Cena as an insult did not sit
well with me. It’s an odd comment given that Nikki and Cena
haven’t been together for quite some time, and the fact that
Paige is supposed to be the babyface in this feud. Moreover,
a woman wrestler being reduced to nothing more than who they
slept with for cheap heat is just lazy, lazy stuff. The feud
between Paige and Nikki being over Nikki’s resentment about
Paige was good enough as it was, it didn’t need what was
said in the segment tonight.
It’s 2026 and women wrestlers trading insults about who they
slept with shouldn’t be a thing, no matter what promotion
you follow.