Posted on 12/20/125 by Bob Magee
– Previously in WWE: It was John Cena’s last match at
Saturday Night’s Main Event. He tapped and he retired. After
that recap, we went to Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett at
commentary (as this episode of SmackDown was taped earlier
this week), who talked about Cody Rhodes’ home invasion
attack against Drew McIntyre. We then saw shots of Rhodes
himself, and then the M.F.T.s arriving to the arena.
Damian Priest kicks off SmackDown
Fresh off a mixed-tag match victory on last week’s episode
against Aleister Black & Zelina, Damian Priest arrived to
SmackDown and had some words to say following that huge win.
Priest thanked the Hershey, PA fans for their energy because
it has been a tough few days thanks to John Cena’s
retirement. Priest praised Cena for being the Greatest of
All Time, as he said “Thank you, Cena”. He then said it was
time to talk about some good times, namely when Aleister and
Zelina got their “asses dropped” by the Terror Twins. Before
Priest could continue with talking about his 2026 plans,
Zelina interrupted him.
Zelina said that Priest was a hypocrite and that he
shouldn’t be celebrating because he didn’t get the pin. She
noted that Black broke Priest, and that he had to live with
the decision that Black had made. As Black’s theme played,
he snuck up in the ring to attack Priest from behind. The
brawl broke out between the two in the ring as the action
spilled into ringside. Priest dropped Black on the apron
with a modified South of Heaven chokeslam before he pulled
out the Slim Jim-branded table from underneath the ring.
Meanwhile, Black recovered and hit Priest with a chair in
the chest. The two continued to fight until Black hit a
diving Meteora from the apron through the table.
I’m just going to get out front here and say that the idea
of Priest vs. Black continuing on longer does not move me in
the slightest. That this feud, like the Energizer Bunny,
just keeps going and going (and has been since July) is not
something I want to see every week. Without a doubt, one of
the reasons why SmackDown is languishing in terms of
engaging stories.
**********
– Backstage, Byron Saxton was with Lash Legend & Nia Jax for
remarks about Legend’s win over Alexa Bliss. The two noted
that it was not an upset as Legend dominated her foe last
week.
– Elsewhere, as Damian Priest was being helped by a litany
of referees, Aleister Black attacked and continued his
assault, ending with a Black Mass kick.
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) vs. Lash Legend &
Nia Jax
Sane and Legend started off for their respective teams. Sane
tried to get a sleeper hold on Legend, but got shoved into
the corner instead. She avoided a pump kick from Legend as
she then climbed to the top rope. Sane leapt, but got caught
by Legend instead. Sane got out of her predicament with a
hurricanrana, but Legend responded with a fierce running
elbow as she tagged Jax in.
The two crushed Sane in their corner as Jax got the pin, but
no three. Sane managed to tag in Asuka as the Women’s Tag
Champs used teamwork to keep Jax grounded momentarily. Jax
created some space with a pop-up spinebuster. However, she
found herself on the backfoot with a double dropkick from
the Kabuki Warriors. Legend also got sent to the outside,
which gave Sane time to launch herself from the top rope and
onto both Legend and Jax at ringside, which took us to the
commercial break point.
We returned from break with Jax working over Sane in the
corner as we saw a replay of Legend hitting a pump kick on
Sane during the break. Back to the match, Legend applied a
resthold on Sane for a bit until she slammed her foe down by
the head. Jax was tagged in as she knocked Asuka off the
apron. Jax and Legend tried to go for a double suplex, but
Sane turned that into a double DDT, which gave her enough
time to finally tag Asuka in.
Asuka got on the top rope and hit a double missile dropkick
on Jax and Legend. A little bit of friendly fire as Asuka
avoided Legend’s running attack, which sent her into Jax
instead. Asuka then locked in the armbar on Jax, who used
her power to escape out of it. Asuka connected with a
Shining Wizard, but Legend broke it up. Things began to
break down as all four women were in the ring as Asuka
headed up top. Legend pulled at Asuka’s leg, which allowed
Jax to head up top for an attempted avalanche Samoan drop.
Legend pulled Asuka out of the ring and threw her into the
steel steps. Sane took Legend out of the equation with a
divking knee. However, Jax recovered and knocked Sane out,
which let her get the victory with the Annihilator.
Jax and Legend didn’t get time to celebrate their win as
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss ran down to start a fight
with them. The former Women’s Tag Champs got the best of Jax
and Legend in the melee.
Lash Legend & Nia Jax def. The Kabuki Warriors via pinfall
A decent tag match, and I do think the women’s tag scene is
heating up, so not much in the way of complaints as far as
this match is concerned.
**********
– Jackie Redmond was set to interview Giulia, but was told
by her representative Kiana James to address her properly
before she could do so. Once she did, Giuia said that she
was going to make sure that Alba Fyre would be left saying
arrivederci.
Cody Rhodes attacks Drew McIntyre at home
We got footage of Nick Aldis & Drew McIntyre’s meeting over
the weekend. This meeting had Aldis & McIntyre agree on
terms for an Undisputed WWE Championship match, where
McIntyre gets to pick a stipulation, and an agreement that
Cody Rhodes cannot attack McIntyre before that match or he
will be stripped of the Undisputed WWE Title.
Afterwards, Rhodes appeared at the driveway of McIntyre’s
house and proceeded to fight him as police tried to separate
the two. Rhodes shouted “Merry Christmas, asshole!” at
McIntyre while the two were being separated.
– Mr. Aldis addressed the situation, where he was placed in
a tough situation due to everything surrounding Rhodes &
McIntyre, which has created a lot of legal headaches due to
the personal situation. The Miz appeared and demanded a
match against Joe Hendry (referrring to him as “He Who Shall
Not Be Named”) next week, to which Aldis agreed to. R-Truth
then imitated Hendry, misnaming him as “Joe Pesci”.
Giulia (w/ Kiana James) vs. Alba Fyre (w/ Chelsea Green)
Giulia didn’t waste time as she came right at Fyre with a
tackle, followed by strikes to the face. Giulia had Fyre in
the corner and punched away at her, as she taunted Chelsea
Green on the outside. Giulia maintained advantage with an
attempted surfboard, but Green’s distraction allowed Fyre to
avoid that fate.
Fyre took over with a tornado DDT for the near-fall. Giulia
recovered and pulled at Fyre by her hair to slam her down on
the canvas a couple of times. Fyre found herself trapped in
an octopus stretch, but escaped as she and Giulia rolled
around the ring to get a pinfall attempt in. Fyre kicked
Giulia in the face, but could not put her away.
In the end, Giulia caught Fyre with the Arrivederci Knee and
ended it in short order with the Northern Lights Driver.
Giulia def. Alba Fyre via pinfall
Not sure if a heel vs. heel match was the right call here,
but seems like the crowd was a bit muted for this match, and
honestly, with the way Giulia has been booked post-NXT, I
can’t say I blame them.
**********
– The Wyatt Sicks addressed Solo Sikoa via their videos.
They said that Sikoa’s greed has let him down to a dark
path, and this image he portrays will drive him into a new
world filled with adversity and abandonment.
Cody Rhodes addresses the Drew McIntyre situation
The Undisputed WWE World Champion made his way down to the
ring and got ready to talk about what was on his mind, but
not before asking what the Hershey crowd wanted to talk
about.
Rhodes started that yes, he did go to Drew McIntyre’s house
and throw a few cops in the water, but McIntyre did state
that in his eyes “WWE was an unsafe working environment”.
Rhodes said that McIntyre was surrounded by MMA fighters,
second-generation wrestlers NIL standouts, and asked if
Staples would be a safe work environment for McIntyre.
Before Rhodes could continue, the SmackDown General Manager,
Nick Aldis, interrupted.
Aldis said that because of Rhodes going to McIntyre’s house,
he was forced into a bad situation, and that Rhodes was not
“above the law”. Aldis said that Rhodes should’ve trusted
him and now as a result of the situation, once McIntyre
returns to issue his public apology, Rhodes cannot
physically touch McIntyre. Otherwise, he’d be stripped of
the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Rhodes responded that Aldis should know who he’s talking to,
as Wade Barrett and Marty the cameraman could. Rhodes then
listed off his accomplishments, as he declared himself
“QB1”, and “the law” around these parts. Rhodes said that he
didn’t work for Mr. Aldis, but he worked for the fans, and
that Mr. Aldis “worked” for him.
What interested me about this Cody segment was the rather
boastful tone he took there near the end of it. Whether that
gets paid off as a road to a potential heel turn down the
line is anyone’s guess, but still something interesting to
think about.
**********
– Carmelo Hayes & Ilja Dragunov discussed their upcoming tag
match against #DIY. Fraxiom approached the two and declared
that if Hayes and Dragunov missed, they’d be there to go
after Gargano & Ciampa. In the background, Tama Tonga was
seen scheming.
Ilja Dragunov & Carmelo Hayes vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano &
Tommaso Ciampa) (w/ Candice LeRae)
Gargano & Ciampa went after Hayes and Dragunov immediately,
but found themselvse being shelled by the double team.
Dragunov and Hayes blasted Ciampa with consecutive running
boots in the corner before things settled down in the ring.
Dragunov chopped down Ciampa and then dragged him to his
corner as Hayes tagged in. With Ciampa down on his back, he
got hit with a running leg drop from Hayes before Dragunov
re-entered the match. The U.S. Champion stunned Ciampa with
a suplex as he headed up top. Candice LeRae got on the apron
to distract the referee, as Gargano pulled Dragunov down.
This allowed Ciampa to crack his foe with a running knee,
which sent Dragunov flying into the commentary table. #DIY
surveyed the damage from the apron as we took a break in the
action.
Back from commercial, as Ciampa and Dragunov exchanged
strikes in the ring. After Ciampa got dropped, Dragunov
connected with the Constantine Special on Gargano. This
allowed Hayes to enter the match as the hot tag. Like a
house of fire, Hayes dropped Gargano with a springboard
clothesline. He then followed that up with a nice rendition
of Mistico’s La Mistica finishing move for the near-fall.
After Hayes tagged in Dragunov, he leapt over the top rope
with a pitch-perfect Fosbury Flop on Ciampa. Back in the
ring, Dragunov landed the senton on Gargano, but that wasn’t
enough to end the match.
As Hayes tagged himself in, #DIY regained momentum with a
superkick from Gargano, followed by Project Ciampa by its
namesake. Dragunov broke up the pin, but was thrown into the
ringpost at ringside by Gargano. In the ring, Hayes tried to
springboard again, but Ciampa caused a distraction, which
allowed LeRae to interfere. However, Hayes kicked out of
Ciampa’s knee to the face. #DIY teamed up with the Fairytale
Ending and superkick on Hayes, but again, Hayes kicked out
at two.
Gargano & Ciampa were in opposite corners and had Hayes in
position for a Meet in the Middle, but Gargano was blasted
by Dragunov’s Torpedo Moscow as Hayes connected with First
48 on Ciampa. With Ciampa left alone, Dragunov got him with
the H-Bomb, and Hayes finally finished it off with Nothin’
But Net for the win.
Carmelo Hayes & Ilja Dragunov def. #DIY via pinfall
This was entertaining, and as I said before, I find the
U.S.Title scene to be quite enjoyable and often the
highlight of SmackDown. Even without an Open Challenge match
this week, I loved this here and seeing Melo start to win
over the crowd is a nice bonus, too.
**********
– Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss were asked about why they
attacked Lash Legend & Nia Jax. The two said that Jax and
Legend were in their way as they called their shot for the
Women’s Tag Titles. WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill then
appeared and had a brief staredown with Flair & Bliss.
Interviewer Jackie Redmon then tried to get a word with
Cargill about why she attacked Michin. Cargill said that
since it was the season of giving, she was going to give
Michin a bit of credit for getting back up, and that she’ll
give her a spotlight soon enough. But, Cargill promised to
knock Michin’s lights out once that was done. Michin
appeared from behind and struck Cargill with a kendo stick.
Next Week on SmackDown (12/26/25)
Ilja Dragunov’s U.S. Title Open Challenge
The Miz vs. Joe Hendry
Drew McIntyre returns
WWE Tag Team Championship: The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis &
Joe Gacy) (w/ Uncle Howdy, Nikki Cross, Erick Rowan) vs. The
M.F.T.s (J.C. Mateo & Tonga Loa) (w/ Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga,
Talla Tonga)
As Solo Sikoa walked to the Gorilla Position, he said that
the fireflies were going to bear witness to the M.F.T.s
winning the WWE Tag Titles as he had the whole world in his
hands, again invoking Bray Wyatt.
Lumis got ahead on Loa by sliding underneath him, then
hitting two uppercuts on him. Lumis connected with a back
suplex, followed by a leg drop on Loa for an early pin
attempt. Gacy was tagged in, but Loa recovered and managed
to catch him by surprise with stomps in the corner. Mateo
entered the match and continued the punishment on Gacy.
However, that M.F.T. advantage was temporary as Gacy
delivered a dropkick on Mateo. Lumis tagged in and hit a
nice double team move on Mateo, who rolled out of the ring
for a breather.
Gacy tagged in again and looked like he was about to launch
himself over the top rope, but Loa got out of the way. Mateo
then barreled into Gacy with a hard clothesline, as he then
caught Lumis and slammed him against the ringpost, followed
by a slam on the floor. This took us into the break.
The SmackDown main event continued from commercial with the
M.F.T.s in firm control as they isolated Lumis in their
corner. Mateo flattened Lumis with a powerslam for the near-
fall as Loa got tagged in and landed a powerslam of his own.
Lumis woke up and hit a superkick on Loa as Mateo tried to
stop the hot tag. He, too, got superkicked by Lumis as Gacy
got the hot tag.
Gacy hit a suplex on Mateo as he knocked Loa off the apron.
He then slammed Mateo with a stalling Saito suplex, but he
missed with a springboard dive, which opened him up for a
spinning side suplex. One, two, not quite. Gacy rebounded
off the rope with his handstand clothesline on Mateo, as Loa
also found himself a victim of this unique move afterwards.
With both M.F.T. members outside the ring, Gacy launched
into them with a top rope dive.
The Wyatt Sicks hit a double team suplex/powerbomb combo as
Lumis headed up top for a high-risk maneuver. The spalsh
from Lumis as Loa broke up the pin. Outside the ring, Talla
Tonga kicked Gacy with the referee’s back turned. Erick
Rowan then attacked Talla and things broke down into a
massive brawl between the Wyatt Sicks and the M.F.T.s at
ringside, which forced the referee to throw out the match.
In the ring, Gacy and Lumis were held up by Mateo, Loa, and
Tama as Talla launched himsellf off the top rope onto
everyone. Rowan then took Talla out with a dropkick and a
clothesline. Nikki Cross wanted herself some too, and Rowan
obliged as he threw her onto Talla at ringside. Solo Sikoa
snuck up on Rowan and dropped him with a Samoan Spike. As
Sikoa bragged, he was in position for Uncle Howdy’s Sister
Abigail, but Tama jumped him. The brawl continued unabated
as the Levesque & Fitting producer credits were up to end
this show.
The Wyatt Sicks vs. The M.F.T.s. ended in a No Contest