Posted on 12/27/125 by Bob Magee
On the final SmackDown of 2025 — and the final two-hour
edition before a return to three hours starting next week —
Drew McIntyre makes his return to SmackDown to address being
granted another WWE Championship shot against Cody Rhodes.
We’ll find out more information about that upcoming title
bout tonight.
Joe Hendry makes his official SmackDown debut tonight when
he faces The Miz in one-on-one action. Miz took exception to
Hendry and R-Truth attacking him at Saturday Night’s Main
Event and is looking to spoil the debut of Hendry.
The United States Championship open challenge continues on
as Ilja Dragunov is set to take on a mystery foe after he
and Carmelo Hayes dispatched #DIY in short order last week.
Tonight’s show was taped last Friday at Van Andel Arena in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. Full spoilers can be found here.
Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
– Previously on SmackDown: Cody Rhodes addressed the Drew
McIntyre situation and declared himself “the law”, much to
the chagrin of Nick Aldis.
– Following that, we saw Rhodes being confronted by Nick
Aldis, who reminded him if McIntyre issued the apology to
referee Dan Engler and paid the fine, Rhodes cannot touch
him or he’d be stripped of his Undisputed WWE Title. After
Rhodes left, The Miz angrily demanded that Joe Hendry’s
music not be played. However, just as Aldis said his name,
the ever-infectious music of Mr. Hendry hit and we cut to
the ring.
Joe Hendry arrives on SmackDown
In the ring, Hendry was with people dressed as Santa (which
included Alpha Academy’s Akira Tozawa and Otis) and the
Easter Bunny. Hendry then proceeded to sing a song about how
Miz supposedly has “tiny balls” in the style of Jingle
Bells. The Miz himself interrupted in anger as he marched
down to the ring. Hendry said that he knows the reason why
Miz was upset, it was because he wasn’t here to sing the
song with everyone. Hendry then continued his song as Miz
raised his hand to shut everyone up.
Miz said that he was chasing a legacy earned with pain,
while Hendry was chasing choruses. And now with John Cena
retired, Miz claimed he earned the right to be the locker
room leader to lead WWE in the future. Miz then challenged
Hendry to a match right now. GM Aldis interjected and said
that this Miz vs. Hendry match would be a Miracle on 34th
Street Fight.
This segment was a decent primer on who Joe Hendry is, but
not sure if I approve of the whole “tiny balls Miz” bit
continuing to be a thing. Honestly, just not my kind of
humor.
**********
Miracle on 34th Street Fight: Joe Hendry vs. The Miz
The ringside area was surrounded by Christmas-themed
decorations, as well as Santa Otis, Tozawa, and the Easter
Bunny.
As the bell rang, Hendry went for a side headlock takeover
and escaped a hold by Miz. In response, Miz kicked Hendry in
the gut, but got dropped by a shoulder block. Hendry lifted
Miz for a long stalling suplex, which sent his opponent
rolling out of the ring. As Hendry headed out of the ring,
he opened a gift and found a guitar inside it. Meanwhile,
Miz pulled out a ukulele, and then a pair of small ornaments
— because he supposedly has tiny balls, you see.
Hendry hip tossed Miz into a Christmas tree as he pulled out
the Slim Jim-branded table from underneath the ring, which
then set up inside the ring. Miz snuck up on Hendry and
tried for a roll-up pin, to no avail. Skull-Crushing Finale
was countered by Hendry, who then attempted a Standing
Ovation on his opponent. Miz managed to escape that move. An
incensed Miz began to elbow drop a gift thrown in the ring
by the Easter Bunny as we took a break in the action.
The match returned from commercial as Hendry and Miz willed
themselves to get back on their feet. Hendry was first as he
nailed a clothesline on the Miz before he requested Santa
Otis and Tozawa to hand him the Christmas tree from
ringside. With tree in hand, Hendry struck Miz as he then
delivered a fallaway slam on him. Hendry then took the tree
and did a fallaway slam on it that sent the tree towards
Miz.
Hendry got himself hyped as he went for another Standing
Ovation, Miz countered and escaped the ring as he kicked
Tozawa. He took a candy cane kendo stick and struck the
Easter Bunny with it before Santa Otis blocked the shot from
the weapon. This opened Miz up for a kendo stick strike from
Hendry. Santa Otis, Tozawa and the Easter Bunny entered the
ring with Hendry as they surrounded Miz. Hendry delivered
another fallaway slam as Santa Otis then hit a very festive
Caterpillar on Miz. Tozawa hit the senton from the top rope
on Miz following that. The Easter Bunny then unmasked to
reveal it was R-Truth underneath all along. “Happy Easter!”
shouted Truth as he did the Five-Knuckle Shuffle. Hendry hit
Miz from behind with the guitar as he then hit Standing
Ovation through the table for the victory in this match.
Joe Hendry def. The Miz via pinfall
Just a fun little match, and a perfect way to integrate
Hendry into the SmackDown roster. These holiday-themed
street fights are always entertaining.
**********
– Backstage, Carmelo Hayes was talking with Fraxiom before
Ilja Dragunov interrupted and asked to speak with Hayes.
Dragunov said that he enjoyed teaming up against #DIY with
Hayes last week, but it eats him alive that his U.S. Title
match against Hayes went the way it did a few weeks back.
Dragunov said that the Open Challenge was closed because
it’d be him against Hayes for the U.S. Championship. Hayes
shook Dragunov’s hand as the match was set for tonight.
– Drew McIntyre was shown arriving and immediately asked
about what stipulation he’d choose for his match against
Cody Rhodes. McIntyre said he was tired from the flight for
Scotland, but he promised that tonight, we’d have all the
answers as it related for this match.
– We got another promo from Aleister Black as he talked
about a talented man named Damian Priest, as he and Zelina
discussed that they were there to remind him about what he
buried, and that they made him supposedly honest. Black said
that this would end when he says it ends, and that he would
end what he created. We learned that these two would face
off on next week’s SmackDown.
– Byron Saxton interviewed WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill
about her fight with Michin, as she challenged her to a
fight. Elsewhere, Michin & B-Fab discussed how things would
get bad real quick because of the current situation. Michin
said that nobody respected Cargill in the locker room and
that she needed to be humbled. And that lesson in humbling
would come next week, according to Michin.
Lash Legend (w/ Nia Jax) vs. Charlotte Flair (w/ Alexa
Bliss)
Flair sized up her massive foe as the bell rang before the
two got into a test of strength. Legend showed her strength
as she had the advantage on Flair early on. Legend dropped
Flair with a scoop slam as she got chopped in the chest in
response. Legend fought back with a hard clothesline that
left Flair reeling as she then slammed her opponent’s face
on three separate turnbuckles. Flair avoided calamity in the
corner, but could not avoid the big roaring uppercut by
Legend for the near-fall.
Legend missed with a running boot in the corner and got
kicked on the side of her head by Flair. However, she slowed
down her foe with a pop-up powerbomb as we took a break in
the action.
SmackDown continued from the break with Legend hoisting
Flair and repeatedly dropping her up and down across the
middle and bottom ropes before she hit a scoop slam. Legend
then applied a resthold on Flair that was promptly broken
out of. Flair showed some fire with a rally of strikes,
followed by her signature turnbuckle dodge and a big boot to
Legend. Flair headed up top and connected with the
crossbody, which fired her up.
Flair chopped away at Legend as only she could as she tried
for her somersault clothesline. Legend countered that with a
hard big boot for a cover that Flair kicked out of. Legend
lifted Flair up for a powerbomb, but got turned into a
sunset flip pin for a two-count of her own. Legend attempted
the Lash Extension, but Flair reversed it into a DDT
instead. Flair climbed to the top rope and connected with a
moonsault for another near-fall.
Flair targeted Legend’s leg as Nia Jax got on the apron to
cause a successful distraction. Outside the ring, Alexa
Bliss attacked Jax for a bit. Back in the ring, Flair got
the victory with a quick roll-up pin from the corner.
Charlotte Flair def. Nia Jax via pinfall
A good little match and Legend did manage to keep pace with
a veteran like Flair. 2025 has been a fantastic
revitalization for Charlotte Flair, which is nice to see.
This run with Bliss has been one of the few highlights in
WWE in an otherwise dull year.
**********
– In Nick Aldis’s office, Trick Williams from NXT was here
to meet with Aldis, stating that he was expecting a huge
offer from Raw to sign with them, so he wanted Aldis to
hurry up on a deal of his own. Cody Rhodes appeared and had
a brief staredown with Williams, who left. Rhodes asked if
Drew McIntyre has apologized to Dan Engler and paid the fine
yet. Aldis said that Rhodes needed to control his emotions.
Williams returned and said he wasn’t done and told Rhodes to
hold onto that Undisputed WWE Title real tight.
– Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s addressed the Wyatt Sicks,
stating that his group doesn’t run from fear, they crave
fear. Sikoa said that the fireflies were fading away and
concluded by again mockingly singing “He’s Got the Whole
World in His Hands”.’
United States Championship: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Carmelo
Hayes
The match started fast with both Dragunov and Hayes striking
one another as things turned into hard-hitting violence
right away. Dragunov hit Hayes with repeated knee strikes as
he then stunned him with an enzuigiri. The U.S. Champion
then connected with his German Suplexes on Hayes, that the
challenger valiantly tried to escape. On the third attempt,
Hayes tried to escape, but got battered by hard elbows to
the back of the head from Dragunov.
Dragunov threw Hayes overhead with a modified back suplex,
as he then hit him hard with a chop. In the corner, a big
boot from Dragunov sent Hayes crashing into the floor as we
took a break in the action.
As this U.S. Title match resumed from commercial, Dragunov
still had the momentum with strikes in the corner on Hayes,
who was barely surviving the onslaught. Hayes blocked a big
boot from Dragunov and hit him with a slap across the face.
Hayes was on the offensive as he hit a hard clothesline on
the U.S. Champion. Hayes ducked a strike from Dragunov and
leapt from the second rope for a springboard clothesline.
Dragunov blocked an attempted hurricanrana from Hayes and
then hit him with a running knee to the face. Dragunov
headed up to the top rope and missed with the senton as
Hayes dodged at the last second. This allowed Hayes to hit
his own version of La Mistica for the near-fall.
Hayes kicked at Dragunov’s head repeatedly as he then
chopped away at his chest. Dragunov beckoned him to hit
harder as he then responded with a strike. Dragunov teed up
Hayes for the H-Bomb, but was met by a kick instead. Hayes
leapt again from the second rope and hit an incredible look-
from behind DDT on the U.S. Champion. That, however, was
still not enough to clinch the victory. Hayes headed up top
and looked like he was going to go for Nothin’ But Net, but
Dragunov caught him. Constantine Special from Dragunov
managed to hit its target successfully as he had equal
success on the senton. One, two… Hayes just kicked out at
two! We took another break in the action in this fantastic
match.
As we returned to the action, both Hayes and Dragunov were
struggling to get themselves back up, but the champion was
up first as he exposed his left knee. He demanded Hayes to
get back up and fight, to which the challenger obliged with
a superkick. Dragunov caught Hayes’ attempt at First 48 and
placed him on the top turnbuckle. Dragunov was met with a
punch and headbutt from Hayes that sent him down on the mat.
Hayes again went for Nothin’ But Net, but he was intercepted
by a kick from Dragunov. The champion fought with his
challenger on the apron and lifted him up for a superplex.
Hayes blocked the H-Bomb with a knee, but got rocked by a
big boot stomp. Standing uranage from Dragunov, but that was
somehow not enough as Hayes kicked out at two. In the corner
again, Hayes and Dragunov dueled on the top turnbuckle.
Dragunov looked like he had a superplex all set, but Hayes
countered it into a cutter! One, two… Dragunov kicked out at
2.9999999!!!!!!! On the apron, Dragunov lifted Hayes on his
shoulders, but couldn’t capitalize on whatever move he was
going to hit. The two men battered one another until
Dragunov got the best of him and hit a Death Valley Driver
on the hardest part of the ring.
Dragunov headed for the top rope and appeared to have Hayes
right where he wanted him lying on against the bottom
corner. Coast-to-Coast…. NO! Hayes intercepted with a First
48 on the U.S. Champion as he headed up top right away and
connected with Nothin’ But Net. One… two… THREE! Ladies and
gentlemen,. we have a new U.S. Champion.
After the match, Dragunov took the U.S. Championship belt
and respectfully crowned Hayes as our new U.S. Champion.
Carmelo Hayes def. Ilja Dragunov to win the United States
Championship
An incredible match from start to finish, and could be in
conversation for best WWE weekly TV match of the year. As
far as a finale for Dragunov’s fantastic run as United
States Championship, this was as good as ending as you could
hope for. The way that Dragunov and Hayes had the crowd
invested in this battle was just excellent. I critique a lot
of what goes on every Friday on SmackDown, but the U.S.
Title scene has remained one of the consistent highlights of
the blue show ever since Sami Zayn won the title back in
September. I’m optimistic that the trend will continue with
Carmelo Hayes as champion.
**********
– Backstage, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss talked strategy
about regaining their WWE Women’s Tag Titles back while we
saw Nick Aldis talking with Dan Engler in the background.
Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY appeared and talked about how they’d
become the next WWE Women’s Tag Champions. Just then, Lash
Legend and Nia Jax, as well as the Kabuki Warriors
confronted both teams as we got a yelling contest between
everyone. Aldis then announced that we’d see an eight-woman
tag match between everyone present in this altercation on
the first SmackDown of 2026.
– Carmelo Hayes was interviewed about his U.S. Title
victory. He talked about how the jerseys were going up the
rafters and he was ready to elevate his game before Johnny
Gargano ambushed him from behind and declared that Hayes
ruined everything. Gargano declared that he’d take the U.S.
Champioship.
Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre vs. Giulia & Kiana James
Green and James got things going in this tag match with a
lock-up in the middle. Green complained that James was
pulling her hair as she then attempted a flash roll-up to no
avail. James targeted Green’s arm as Giulia made the tag.
Green retreated to her corner and tagged Fyre into the
match. An angered Giulia yelled at Green to stop hiding as
James found herself back in the match.
Fyre attempted a tornado DDT, but James blocked it
successfully and attacked Fyre in the corner. On the second
go-around, Fyre connected with the springboard-off-the-ropes
DDT for a near-fall. Green tagged in and hit James with a
sliding clothesline as she applied a resthold on her
opponent. Green threw James out and saluted the crowd, which
allowed James to enter the ring and tag Giulia into the
match. Giulia threw Green across the ring Biel-style before
she hit a snap suplex. On the top rope, Giulia dropped Green
with a missile dropkick. Fyre got involved and found herself
thrown out of the ring by Giulia. This left the Women’s U.S.
Champion at the mercy of Giulia’s Northern Lights Bomb for
the three.
Giulia & Kiana James def. Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre via
pinfall
Giulia’s main roster booking confounds me, if we’re being
honest. She had a strong run on NXT, but hasn’t been really
used to the best of her abilities, and it’s resulted in
crowds not really caring about her and her feuds. I hope
it’s something that can be rectified in the new year, and it
starts by just elevating her into the barebones-as-it-is WWE
Women’s Title scene.
**********
– In Nick Aldis’s office, Kit Wilson was discussing his
“crusade” against toxic masculinity and wanted an
opportunity to continue that. Aldis said that there’d be a
new opportunity for Wilson next week on SmackDown. Cody
Rhodes entered Aldis’s office and asked Dan Engler if he had
been apologized to yet. Engler said no, as Rhodes said it
was the end of the night and ready to do something as Drew
McIntyre’s theme music hit. Aldis asked for Rhodes to
control his emotions as he went to go deal with McIntyre.
– We got a vignette for Oba Femi, presumably heralding his
arrival on either Raw or SmackDown.
Next Week on SmackDown (1/2/26)
Eight-Woman Tag Match: Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Rhea
Ripley, and IYO SKY vs. Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka, and
Kairi Sane
Jade Cargill vs. Michin
Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black
Drew McIntyre’s apology?
Nick Aldis was in the ring with Dan Engler as the two stood
in front of Drew McIntyre. Aldis said things were getting
way out of hand between McIntyre and Cody Rhodes, but that
things really got off the rail when McIntyre attacked
Engler. Aldis said that it was McIntyre’s chance to be a man
of his word, so that he can finally focus on his title
match.
McIntyre said he was indeed a man of his word as he gave
Aldis the fine. He then turned his attention to Engler and
said he was “genuinely” sorry for hitting a Claymore kick on
him. He claims that he should’ve never attacked a WWE
official and asked Engler to accept his humble apology.
McIntyre continued as he said that he apologized that it was
Engler’s dream to become a wrestler and that he wasn’t good
enough so he had to be a referee. McIntyre said that he
apologized to Engler’s wife Melissa for having to watch him
kick her husband in the face and that she supposedly wished
that she had a husband like Drew who stood on his
convictions. McIntyre railed on as he called Engler a
corporate stooge and dared him to hit back.
Cody Rhodes emerged from the ramp and looked like he was
going to fight McIntyre, despite Aldis’s protestations.
McIntyre tried to goad Rhodes into hitting him so that he
could be stripped of the Undisputed WWE Title. McIntyre said
that he wished Rhodes’ children and wife could see a real
man looks like. McIntyre said that we would see this title
match in Germany in a Three Stages of Hell match. Rhodes
accepted the challenge as McIntyre said that there was one
more thing. When it was time for McIntyre to send Rhodes to
hell, to say hi to his dad for him. This allowed McIntyre to
hit a sneaky Claymore kick on the champion. McIntyre took
the Undisputed WWE Title.
**********