Smackdown
Date: September 18, 2026
Location: Hilliard Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’ve got a new World Champion as Sami Zayn beat CM Punk last week in Mexico City. The big story continues to be a bunch of people wanting the title and that fits perfectly with Zayn, as he’s always been good at running for his life. That should be the focus here, along with Money In The Bank qualifying matches of course. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We look at Zayn regaining the World Title last week.

Here is Nick Aldis to get things going. Aldis says sometimes you have to deal with some people who just drive you nuts, so here is Sami Zayn. He knows that it killed Aldis to introduce him as the World Champion but he’s a bit surprised by the reception he’s getting here. When he said JUSTICE FOR SAMI, it was for everyone including these people here and this is what it looks like. He also expects equality, which brings out Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae (not Michelle, Cole).

Zayn is glad to have them here for the celebration, but Gargano wants something else. They had a deal last week and he’s here to collect his title shot. Zayn said Gargano was the only one who said that and all Zayn said was he’d take care of Gargano. That doesn’t work for Gargano, who wants his title shot tonight. Aldis says not so fast because Gargano already got a title shot and lost. The man Aldis thinks is next in line isn’t here tonight, but that man is CM Punk.

This brings out Kevin Owens, who wants a title shot but LeRae says not so fast. Owens says hang on a second and Stuns Gargano, leaving Aldis to say bad behavior doesn’t get title matches. Owens: “Are you high?” He brings up Zayn causing all of the chaos in recent weeks and it got him a title shot. Aldis listens to Owens, including calling Zayn an arrogant jackass. Aldis: “Well I can’t argue with that one.”

Zayn snaps and grabs Aldis’ jacket, which has Aldis looking livid. That’s enough to earn Zayn a title defense tonight….against Owens. Aldis says the first title reign was nine days so let’s see if we can lower that. A panicked Zayn leaves and here is Randy Orton for his match, making sure to polish the title up on the way.

We look at the South American/Mexico tour.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Randy Orton vs. Rey Fenix vs. Trick Williams

Non-title. Fenix gets knocked down and Williams shoulders Orton but Fenix is back up to kick away. Fenix is back up to kick Orton down and dive onto Williams for two. Williams faceplants Fenix and stomps him down in the corner before knocking him outside. That means Orton can drop both of them onto the announcers’ table, with Lil Yachty getting dropped as well.

We take a break and come back with Orton giving Williams the circle stomp and taking him up top. Fenix is back in for a springboard sunset bomb to turn it into a Tower Of Doom and a near fall. Orton blocks a Fenix kick and throws it at Williams so Fenix gets a running kick to knock Orton down. The rope walk kick hits Orton but Williams shoves Fenix off the top. Back in and Fenix hits a heck of a superkick on Williams but dives into the RKO. Williams hits a quick Trick Shot on Orton though and pins Fenix at 10:28.

Rating: B. Some of Fenix’s spots were incredible of course and it’s cool to see him getting involved in the bigger matches. At the same time, he was the only choice to take the fall here as you don’t want the US Champion losing and Orton isn’t about to get pinned. It’s a good match as they packed a lot into a short amount of time and now we get to see Williams on a bigger stage.

Johnny Gargano is icing his face when Sami Zayn comes in to rant. Zayn thinks Gargano deserves a title shot but he can’t go through losing the title again so soon. He seems to hint that if Gargano wants a title shot, Zayn wants help tonight against Kevin Owens. Gargano seems to get it.

The MFT’s are ready for Kyoki and Shinsuke Nakamura, with the latter needing help and being the cause of Kyoki’s pain.

Kyoki and Nakamura are ready to fight.

Tatum Paxley has a bunch of candles to try to get Alexa Bliss ready but Charlotte (in what looks like a Flintstones skirt) comes in to blow them out. Paxley points out that one was bad luck and Charlotte tries to re-light it.

Bakusai vs. MFT’s

Non-title and Haku is here with the MFT’s. Kyoki and Tama start things off with Kyoki knocking him to the floor and hitting a running dropkick off the apron to both MFT’s. We take a break and come back with Tama striking away at Kyoki before Talla comes in. Kyoki counters a chokeslam into a DDT and there’s the big dive to take out both of them on the floor. Back in and Nakamura belly to back suplexes Kyoki onto Talla for two before kicking Talla in the head. The sliding German suplex drops Tama but Haku hits Nakamura with the walking stick for the DQ at 7:21.

Rating: C+. This had some moments but there was only so much here, especially with the ending being a way to save the champions. If nothing else, this makes me want to see Nakamura fight Haku and have all of the strikes do absolutely nothing. Odds are we’ll be seeing a rematch here and I’ve heard worse ideas, as these teams getting more time with higher stakes could be a good idea.

Post match Bakusai gets destroyed, including with a high/low.

Kevin Owens talks about how this is where he had his first WWE match, which happened to be against John Cena. He beat Cena that night and he’ll beat Sami Zayn tonight. Finn Balor pops up and suggests that there are some shenanigans behind Owens getting a title shot that fast. Balor is coming for the winner, even if that means with the Money In The Bank remake.

Chelsea Green and Tiffany Stratton are in the back with Nick Aldis, who congratulates Green on her win last week. Danhausen pops out of Aldis’ office with Aldis’ phone, saying Gunther isn’t happy. Also some guy named Mickie keeps calling and isn’t happy. Green and Stratton go off and Stratton is in a Money In The Bank qualifying match. That’s totally fine with Green but Nikki Bella comes in to say she’s a legend and is coming for the title.

We look back at Cody Rhodes pausing in his match with Randy Orton and getting hit low to set up Orton’s victory.

Rhodes sits down with Michael Cole and isn’t making any excuses for what happened. Cole takes us back to Rhodes winning the title at Wrestlemania XL and everyone praising him. Everyone in that ring has turned on him but that comes with being the champion. Rhodes is tired of everyone asking about going in a different direction but he has experimented and changed things up in wrestling like no one except for maybe Mr. Heyman (oh my).

He was uncompromised and won two Royal Rumbles and beat Roman Reigns. He’ll face Orton again and he won’t make the same mistake again. They’ve planted some seeds of Rhodes working with Heyman more than once now and that could be rather interesting, whenever it might wind up happening.

Jade Cargill, with the Baddies, is going to win Money In The Bank.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Jacy Jayne vs. Jade Cargill vs. Alexa Bliss

Non-title. Jayne pulls Bliss down by the hair and then rolls outside to pose on the announcers’ table. Bliss cuts that off and gets grabbed by Cargill, only to be sent outside by Jayne. That leaves Jayne to low bridge Cargill out to the floor, with Cargill pulling Bliss down with her. Back in and a Boss Man Slam gives Cargill two on Jayne as we take a break.

We come back with Cargill (kind of) powerbombing them down with a Tower Of Doom for two each. Cargill is sent outside and Bliss is up to take over on Jayne. A flip dive off the apron hits Jayne but Cargill knees Bliss in the face. Cargill is knocked down again and Bliss loads up Twisted Bliss, with Jayne rolling to the floor. Back in and the Sister Abigail DDT connects but Cargill pulls the referee out. Jaded plants Bliss so Jayne kicks Cargill away and steals the pin at 11:27.

Rating: B-. Good grief I could go a long time without the steal the pin finish to a triple threat. This is the second time in a show that someone (the US Champion in both cases) stole the pin and I have no idea how there is no better way to go. I like Jayne winning as she could become a threat to win the ladder match and again, at least the champion didn’t get pinned.

Giulia is ready for her Money In The Bank qualifying match next week but the Irresistible Forces interrupt. They mock the idea of Giulia beating Lash Legend, with Giulia threatening some kicking.

Lil Yachty hypes up Trick Williams and they run into Sami Zayn. Williams wants Zayn to keep the title so he can beat him again. Well that was cold.

Damian Priest says the only thing people should be asking why he took so long to turn on R-Truth. He was sick of R-Truth losing again and he’s a bad man.

Smackdown World Title: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

Owens is challenging and jumps him to start fast and stomps Zayn down in the corner. Zayn gets crushed on the floor and we take a break. We come back with Zayn snapping Owens’ neck across the top rope and slaps him on the mat a bit. Zayn stops to yell at the referee before hitting a middle rope elbow to the back of the head for two.

Owens avoids a charge though and hits a superkick, meaning the Cannonball can connect in the corner. An AA gives Owens two and the Stunner is countered into the Blue Thunder Bomb as we take a break. We come back again with Owens hitting a Swanton for two as the fans are rather invested.

Cue Johnny Gargano for a distraction so Candice LeRae can sneak in with a tornado DDT. That sets up the Helluva Kick for two so Zayn tries to try it again and charges into a pop up powerbomb. The Stunner connects but Gargano puts Zayn’s foot on the rope. Owens goes outside and loads up the powerbomb to put Gargano through the table until Zayn makes the save. Zayn goes through the table instead so Gargano tries a belt shot, which earns him a Stunner. Cue CM Punk to hit Owens with the belt….for two (that might have been a mistake) so Zayn hits a quick Helluva Kick to retain at 15:58.

Rating: B. Somehow this is their first World Title match in WWE and that continues to feel pretty special. They have incredible chemistry together just from knowing each other so well, though you know this isn’t likely to be the last match between the two of them. Punk continues to add another twist to the whole thing and you can pretty easily feel the multi-man title match coming at Money In The Bank.

Post match Punk gives both of them a GTS to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show had another solid focus with the Money In The Bank matches and the World Title stuff as the big focal point. It’s something that has been done for years but it does make for an easy to follow show. I do like the World Title stuff and the Tag Team Title match has me wanting to see a rematch. This show was an efficiently put together two hours and had the matches to make it work. Well done here.

Results
Trick Williams b. Rey Fenix and Randy Orton – RKO to Fenix
Bakusai b. MFT’s via DQ when Haku interfered
Jacy Jayne b. Alexa Bliss and Jade Cargill – Jaded to Bliss
Sami Zayn b. Kevin Owens – Helluva Kick

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: September 4, 2026
Location: Rocket Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

So the big story here is all about the World Title, with a bunch of people coming after CM Punk. That’s more than enough to carry things, but there is also Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes, with the two of them set to collide this Sunday. Other than that, we’re on the slow road to both Crown Jewel and eventually Survivor Series so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Sami Zayn interrupting last week’s #1 contenders match.

Here is Gunther to get things going. He gets right to the point by calling out Sami Zayn, saying the show is sitting still until Zayn gets out here. Zayn pops up in the crowd to say he’s not coming to the ring with a broken hand but the reality is he is the real victim. He’s the last real good guy around here and CM Punk is a fraud. All he wants is his title back and no one gets theirs until he gets his, no matter what happens.

Gunther is tired of this and comes into the crowd, with Finn Balor popping up to cut Zayn off. Balor chases Zayn into the ring and up the aisle, where Kevin Owes shows up to send Zayn running into the crowd. Everyone hates Zayn is good, as Zayn is such a weasel of a heel that it’s easy to want to see him get what’s coming to him.

CM Punk is watching in the back when Nick Aldis comes in, to say we need a #1 contender (Punk agrees). Hold on as they pass Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae, with Punk saying we’re still doing this. Johnny Wrestling is still in there and we’re in his hometown…so what about a title match tonight? Gargano actually gets up and says let’s do it. Works for Aldis.

Fatal Influence vs. Charlotte/Tatum Paxley

Non-title and Jacy Jayne and Alexa Bliss are here too. In the back, Charlotte thinks she’s teaming with Bliss, even though Paxley was announced as the partner before the break. Shouldn’t she know that in advance? Anyway Reid takes over on Paxley to start but gets sunset flipped out of the corner. Henley comes in to knock Paxley down and we take a break. We come back with Paxley fighting out of trouble, allowing Charlotte to come in to clean house. Paxley is right back in to dive onto the other two on the floor and Charlotte kicks Reid into the Cemetery Drive for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C+. This was quick and to the point with the break cutting out so much of the match. Paxley and Charlotte are another odd couple team and this at least gets their feet wet before the six woman tag on Sunday. I’m not sure how well it’s going to work long term, but it worked for one match. Now, get Charlotte and Paxley a title shot after beating the champs yes?

Post match Jade Cargill and the Baddies come in to help Fatal Influence with the beatdown.

Nikki Bella says Paige failed the “Bella Brand” but Paige comes in to say Nikki never liked her. Paige built her career on hustle, loyalty and respect while Nikki just slept with it. If Nikki doesn’t bring it next week, Paige will end it faster than Nikki’s last relationship. Yeah they’re basic cheap shots but they still work.

Gunther comes in to see Nick Aldis and can’t believe that Johnny Gargano is getting a title shot. He thinks Aldis is doing this to get back at him for the Summerslam loss but Danhausen comes in to greet Gunther. This goes badly again, but Danhausen whips out a photo naming himself the Employee Of The Month.

Nick Aldis is in the ring with the doctor and has Chelsea Green join them. Green isn’t about to have her title taken away from her and if anyone wants to try, let them come after her. She’s not worried about her health, but rather her legacy. The doctor approves Green to wrestle if she wears a facemask, but here are the Irresistible Forces to interrupt. Nia Jax wants a title shot right now so here is Tiffany Stratton for the save. Nick Aldis makes Green vs. Jax for the title next week and Stratton vs. Jax right now. The “Green is injured” story ending with “yeah she’s fine” is a bit jarring.

Nia Jax vs. Tiffany Stratton

We’re joined in progress with Stratton fighting out of a chinlock but getting dropped throat first across the top rope. Stratton breaks up the Annihilator though and grabs a handspring Stunner. A crucifix gives Stratton two but Jax is right back up with a Samoan drop. The Annihilator finishes Stratton at 2:42, as it should have.

Post match Jax rips off Green’s facemask so Green gets in to go after the Forces. Jax drops the mask and leaves. Well that seemed pointless.

Kevin Owens doesn’t like CM Punk but if Sami Zayn comes out there tonight, he won’t be alone.

Corey Graves sits down with Cody Rhodes but Randy Orton immediately interrupts to mock Rhodes for not being able to touch him. Orton keeps calling Rhodes’ mother trailer park trash and then mocks Rhodes’ wife and dog. He gets it though: Rhodes loves the title and following the rules so much that he cares about it more than his own family. That’s really sick. Rhodes says maybe he’s sick and if that’s true, Orton is screwed on Sunday. Orton seems to realize he’s in trouble.

Sunday Night’s Main Event rundown.

Lil Yachty ensures Trick Williams that he’s ready for Baron Corbin and we get a training montage. With money, dancing girls and alcohol of course. Corbin comes in to say Yachty is dead.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki are now known as Bakusai. They’re ready.

The Miz/Kit Wilson vs. Bakusai

Kyoki knocks Wilson into the corner to start and hits a basement dropkick, meaning it’s quickly off to Miz. Nakamura hits a running knee and the sliding German suplex in the ropes as we take a break. We come back with Miz kicking Nakamura in the face but getting sunset flipped. It’s back to Kyoki to clean house, including a missile dropkick to the floor. Miz comes in to hammer away until Kyoki gets in a jawbreaker. Nakamura’s running knee takes Miz down and Kyoki grabs a jumping jawbreaker to pin Wilson at 9:26.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure about Bakusai just yet but it’s more about giving Kyoki a rub to start things off. Nakamura is too talented and popular to be left sitting on the sidelines so let him be the veteran in a tag team. It’s better than nothing and it gave us Miz and Wilson again, so we’ll call this quite the good situation.

Post match Haku and the MFT’s come out for a staredown.

Video on the War Raiders vs. Damian Priest/R-Truth.

Blake Monroe still doesn’t think much of the venue or facing Giulia. Cue Giulia to jump Monroe and the brawl has to be broken up. Giulia gets in a cheap shot though and Monroe is left laying. No match, again.

Sami Zayn comes in to see Johnny Gargano and is glad that he’s back. Zayn calls this justice for both of them and makes sure he’s first in line if Gargano wins.

Smackdown World Title: Johnny Gargano vs. CM Punk

Gargano, with Candice LeRae, is challenging in his hometown. Gargano slips out of a slam to start and fires off the right hands, with the fans certainly approving. Punk’s early GTS attempt is countered into a hurricanrana and Punk is in trouble as we take a break. We come back with Gargano fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught with a leg lariat.

Punk hits a high crossbody so Gargano rolls through for two, followed by a superkick for the same. Gargano slugs away until a high kick gives Punk two. A slingshot spear gives Gargano the same so Punk loads up the GTS, which draws out Sami Zayn. LeRae gets in a distraction so Gargano grabs a quick One Final Beat for two.

Zayn grabs the belt and is quickly jumped by Kevin Owens, which draws out Gunther and Finn Balor to join in on the brawl. Zayn is up with belt shots as the GTS connects but LeRae distracts the referee. That means a belt shot to Punk for a rather near fall so Zayn whispers something to LeRae. Zayn is ejected and the GTS retains the title at 13:07.

Rating: B. Gargano wasn’t going to win here but it’s nice to have him back doing something after months of silence. I’m not sure why he’s been sitting around if he’s healthy but maybe he’ll be back in the ring after this. Either way, good main event here with Zayn continuing to be the agent of chaos, where he absolutely excels.

Post match Punk says he’s sick of this so Zayn gets a title shot next week. It’s time to go to sleep.

Overall Rating: B. This show felt more focused and it made for a good week, with the World Title situation carrying things again. Basically a bunch of people want the title and Punk is dangling it in front of them. That’s more than enough for a top story and it could go on for a good while. Throw in the Orton vs. Rhodes stuff and the top of the card is set. Chelsea Green is more than easy enough to like in the women’s division and that’s enough to carry most of the show. Good stuff this week.

Results
Charlotte/Tatum Paxley b. Fatal Influence – Cemetery Drive to Reid
Nia Jax b. Tiffany Stratton – Annihilator
Bakusai b. The Miz/Kit Wilson – Jumping jawbreaker to Wilson
CM Punk b. Johnny Gargano – GTS

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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