Alright folks, SummerSlam is right around the corner, and that means it’s time for another action-packed episode of WWE SmackDown! With the biggest party of the summer just a week away, things are heating up fast. We already know the WWE Champion, John Cena, is set to put his title on the line against Cody Rhodes in a brutal Street Fight—courtesy of last week’s fiery contract signing. Meanwhile, U.S. Champion Solo Sikoa must defend his gold inside a Steel Cage against the returning powerhouse, Jacob Fatu.
What we don’t know, however, is what’s next for LA Knight. With Seth Rollins out due to injury, Knight’s direction has vanished into thin air—no storyline, no plan, just radio silence. But you know who does have a storyline? Country star Jelly Roll. Yep, he’s teaming up with the Viper himself, Randy Orton, to go toe-to-toe with Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam.
Tonight’s SmackDown lineup is stacked: we’ve got a tag team title clash as Andrade and Rey Fenix challenge the eerie duo of Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis. Over in the women’s division, Alexa Bliss takes on Roxanne Perez, adding more tension to the brewing rivalry over the Women’s Tag Titles featuring Charlotte Flair, Raquel Rodriguez, and current champs Perez and Rodriguez.
Last week, Kiana James made a mysterious background appearance beside U.S. Women’s Champ Giulia—whether that was a coincidence or a subtle teaser remains to be seen. Also on the radar: Damian Priest and Aleister Black are preparing for war, and sadly, there’s still no clear path forward for Shinsuke Nakamura, which is a real letdown.
And of course, Solo Sikoa will likely devour half the episode with his… let’s call them “colorful detours.”
Oh! And before I forget—Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill is set for SummerSlam. But without Naomi’s Money in the Bank threat looming, the spark that once lit that feud seems to have fizzled out.
Anyway, that’s your setup for tonight—let’s hope the in-ring action delivers some real fireworks!
We kick off the night on a somber note, with the entire WWE roster assembled on stage to honor the memory of Hulk Hogan, who sadly passed away yesterday. Triple H steps forward to pay tribute, speaking earnestly about Hogan’s immense contributions to the world of professional wrestling, reminding us that without Hogan’s influence, WWE might not be the global powerhouse it is today. The crowd responds respectfully, and we get the traditional 10-bell salute for Terry Bollea—the Immortal Hulk Hogan.
There’s no editorializing here—just appreciation that the audience showed class in the face of a human being’s passing. That leads us into a heartfelt memorial video package, celebrating Hogan’s legendary life and career before we head into the first commercial break.
Back from break, Joe Tessitore gently acknowledges Hogan’s complicated legacy, but emphasizes his unrivaled star power and promotional genius in wrestling history. Wade Barrett chimes in with agreement—until the moment is abruptly interrupted by none other than Logan Paul.
Logan struts to the ring, soaking in the boos in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. He grabs the mic and leans into the heat, telling the crowd that while Cleveland may have raised him, he made the city relevant. He dishes out some more local insults for cheap heat, then teases a live episode of his podcast tonight… with special guest: Jelly Roll.
That brings out Jelly, mic in hand and marching to the ring. He mocks Logan’s supposed “influence” and calls him out for being nothing more than a ring light with no soul. Jelly accuses Logan of being a spoiled silver spoon kid who’s never struggled for anything in life. He says he represents every underdog who’s ever had to deal with arrogant punks like Logan. “You bring a ring light,” he says, “I bring the light.”
Just as the insults reach their peak, Drew McIntyre sneaks in behind Logan. Things start to escalate until Jelly casually sings Randy Orton’s entrance theme to summon The Viper. Orton storms to the ring, no words needed—just fists. He decks Drew to kick off the brawl.
The chaos unfolds quickly—Drew shoves Jelly down, giving Logan a shot at him. But Randy pulls Drew out of the ring and delivers a classic Orton stomp. Jelly bounces back, throws some punches at Logan, and awkwardly lands a back elbow. Logan fires back with a knockdown kick, but Jelly dodges the big right hand and counters with a Black Hole Slam.
With Logan and Drew retreating up the ramp, the fan favorites stand tall. Randy raises Jelly’s hand as the crowd roars in approval.
We cut to a video package highlighting Andrade and Rey Fenix, hyping up their big tag team title opportunity in tonight’s main event.
We’re finally headed to our first match of the night as Alexa Bliss makes her entrance, joined by Charlotte Flair. With the tribute to Hulk Hogan taking up the early portion of the show, we hit our first bell a full 35 minutes in—not ideal, but understandable given the circumstances.
Coming back from commercial, Roxanne Perez enters with her tag partner Raquel Rodriguez, setting the stage for this high-stakes clash between two women’s tag champions and their top challengers.
Match #1: Alexa Bliss (w/ Charlotte Flair) vs. Roxanne Perez (w/ Raquel Rodriguez)
The action kicks off with Perez shoving Bliss, who answers back with a flurry of pin attempts—quick roll-ups, but nothing that gets the three count. Perez yanks Bliss down by the hair, asserting control, but Bliss isn’t done—more roll-ups force Perez to resort to a slap.
Bliss fires back with a slick modified STO and a burst of strikes, sending Perez tumbling to the outside. Bliss follows up with a cannonball from the apron, landing right in front of Charlotte and Raquel, who square up and stare down as we head into picture-in-picture.
Back from break, Bliss nails a double stomp before Raquel awkwardly cues a distraction. Bliss plays along anyway, allowing Perez to take advantage with a corner attack and a Russian leg sweep. Perez maintains control with basic offense until Bliss manages to rally with a jawbreaker and a Dragon Screw leg whip.
We return to full-screen as Bliss builds momentum—kicks, shoulder blocks, and a step-over Blockbuster. She sets up for Sister Abigail’s DDT, but Perez rakes the eyes, and Raquel throws in a cheap shot for extra insurance. Perez hits a Lionsault for a near fall, but Charlotte evens the odds by slamming Raquel into the timekeeper’s area.
Bliss spikes Perez with a DDT and climbs the ropes, but Raquel recovers just in time to boot Charlotte again, drawing Bliss’s attention. As Bliss dives to save her partner with Twisted Bliss to the outside, Perez capitalizes in the ring, grabbing the ropes and rolling Bliss up with an O’Connor Roll to steal the victory.
Winner: Roxanne Perez via pinfall (7:22)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 stars)
Thoughts: The match itself was decent, but the story was better—Bliss going out of her way to protect Charlotte, while Charlotte seems a little less inclined to do the same. Adds some intriguing tension to their dynamic as contenders.
Backstage, Cathy Kelley catches up with Jade Cargill, who confidently states that she was born to be a champion. As she walks off, Chelsea Green steps in to rant about being robbed in the Queen of the Ring tournament. Jade hears her griping and returns—Chelsea keeps complaining, unaware Jade is right behind her. When she finally realizes it, it’s too late—Jade drops her with a punch.
Jade grabs Chelsea and drags her toward the ring. Chelsea tries to flee, but she had conveniently sent Piper Niven and Alba Fyre for coffee. A referee appears, the bell rings, and we’ve got ourselves a match.
Match #2: Jade Cargill vs. Chelsea Green (w/ Piper Niven & Alba Fyre)
This one’s over before it starts. Jade immediately boots Chelsea out of the ring, and we head into another break. Coming back, Jade is dishing out elbows followed by a fallaway slam and two big corner splashes. She connects with a chokeslam before Alba Fyre tries to interfere. The distraction gives Chelsea a brief opening to hit a Zig Zag for a two-count, but her attempt at Unpretty Her gets reversed into a devastating Jaded for the win.
Winner: Jade Cargill via pinfall (5:10)
Rating: Acorn-level squash (borderline DUD)
Thoughts: This was more angle than match—90% commercial break, 10% offense. A showcase for Jade, nothing more.
Post-match, Piper and Fyre pounce on Jade, but the cavalry arrives in the form of Tiffany Stratton, who runs in to even the odds. Tiffany throws hands with Fyre, then helps Jade toss Piper out of the ring.
Jade lifts up the title belt and poses—but after a brief pause, hands it back to Tiffany, signaling respect… or maybe a future rivalry?
Backstage, Alexa Bliss—still nursing a bloody nose from earlier—shares a moment with Charlotte Flair. The two talk about their partnership, and Charlotte offers a glimpse of vulnerability: if they win the women’s tag team titles, maybe they can also become friends. It’s a subtle but interesting twist in their growing alliance.
Elsewhere backstage, Cody Rhodes walks toward the arena—he’s set to speak next.
Coming out of the break, Cody makes his entrance, and we get a recap of last week’s contract signing that set the tone for his SummerSlam showdown with John Cena.
Grabbing a mic, Cody opens by paying tribute to Hulk Hogan, calling his contributions to the industry “staggering.” As someone who now stands in the spotlight Hogan once commanded, Cody takes a moment to say, “Thank you, Hogan,” before moving on.
Then the mood shifts. Cody talks about the chaos of Street Fights—and how SummerSlam will be a different beast entirely: “No virtue, just violence.” He says that while Cena got a taste of that last week, Cody isn’t interested in fighting this version of John Cena—the tired one counting down his final days. He wants the real Cena: the fire, the hustle, the run-to-the-ring energy.
If this is Cena’s last SummerSlam, Cody wants it to feel like his first. Because for Cody, this fight isn’t just about fantasy or legacy—it’s about proving this story means something. And the only person who can confirm that is Cena himself. “I’ll see you next week,” Cody says, ending a solid, if not groundbreaking, promo. The return of the “real Cena” angle feels slightly recycled, but it sets the emotional stakes clearly.
We get a recap of how the Steel Cage match between Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu came together last week, including Fatu’s fiery confrontation and Solo’s brutal tactics.
Backstage, Jacob Fatu delivers a gritty promo. He admits he once loved Solo like family—but now feels betrayed. He made a promise to never go back to the man he used to be, the one who got locked up. But in that cage, he’s comfortable. And he plans to dog walk Solo.
The Miz interrupts, still furious that Fatu took him out a few weeks ago. In his hometown of Cleveland, Miz calls himself “the main character,” slaps Fatu, and challenges him to a match. Fatu grins—he’s clearly game.
As Miz makes his entrance, he can’t help himself from doing his signature twirl, despite being all fired up. Off to break we go.
Back from break, we get an eerie Aleister Black promo, warning Damian Priest that he’s meddled in the wrong business. Priest fires back in his own gritty segment, saying Black reminds him of predatory loan sharks from his past—people he’s used to dealing with.
Black replies that Priest fights to prove who he is, while Black fights to reveal what his enemies really are. He vows to unmake Priest, leaving him with nothing but the truth of who he truly is. Priest responds with a final warning: next week, he’s bringing violence.
Back to the ring, Jacob Fatu makes his entrance.
Match #3: Jacob Fatu vs. The Miz
Miz starts with a few clever misdirection attempts, but when he finally throws a strike, Fatu just smiles. A spinning back elbow and a series of headbutts from Fatu follow, then a big corner splash. Miz dodges a hip attack and tries to chop Fatu down, eventually posting him in the corner. But before momentum can shift, Solo Sikoa and his faction arrive, distracting Fatu as we head to another break.
Back from commercial, both men are down in the ring. Fatu rallies with a series of strikes, a powerful clothesline, and a senton. He delivers a ten-headbutt combo in the corner followed by a hip attack, then dives out of the ring with a suicide dive that takes out Solo’s goons.
Fatu superkicks Solo, then returns to the ring and hits a pop-up Samoan Drop on Miz for the win.
Winner: Jacob Fatu via pinfall (6:57)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 stars)
Thoughts: Fatu looked strong, but the match was more competitive than it should’ve been. The Solo interference formula is really getting stale.
Post-match, chaos erupts. Solo and crew jump Fatu, prompting Jimmy Uso to run out with a steel chair. He throws the chair right into JC Mateo’s face, but Tala Tonga shrugs off shots and boots Jimmy down.
Fatu tries to fight everyone off again—superkicks for days—and sets Solo up in the corner for another devastating hip attack. But before he can hit it, Tala intercepts with a clothesline that gets zero crowd reaction. Despite his size, he lacks presence.
Tala chokeslams Fatu, then Solo finishes things with a Samoan Spike. Solo finally gets a modest crowd reaction, but at this point, his act is dangerously close to running on fumes.
Backstage, the Street Profits (with B-Fab) chat with Cathy Kelley, commenting on how the Wyatts need to be handled differently. That’s interrupted by DIY, who throw some light verbal jabs. They claim they have an actual plan and tell the Profits to stay out of the way.
Honestly, this segment felt like déjà vu—something very similar aired just last week.
We close the segment with a John Cena highlight package, promoting the next episode of WWE Unreal as the retirement arc for Cena continues to build ahead of SummerSlam.
Backstage, Zelina Vega finds Giulia—and with her is Kiana James, acting as Giulia’s official representative. Vega wastes no time, demanding a rematch. James calmly informs her she’ll get her shot next week. Giulia, smiling coldly, says she’s looking forward to a “fiesta” kind of opponent.
Commentary then runs down the full SummerSlam card, reminding us of the high stakes ahead.
And with that, Andrade and Rey Fenix make their entrance for the main event: a WWE Tag Team Title match. After their entrance, we head to a break.
Post-break, the eerie presence of the Wyatt Sicks fills the arena as champions Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy make their entrance, flanked by Uncle Howdy, Nikki Cross, and Erick Rowan.
Main Event – WWE Tag Team Title Match:
Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy (c) w/ Wyatt Sicks vs. Andrade & Rey Fenix
The match starts at a rapid pace. Fenix opens with sharp kicks to Gacy before tagging in Andrade. The challengers double-team Gacy with seamless offense, Andrade even hitting the Three Amigos suplexes. Fenix climbs up for a high-flying move, but Lumis shoves him off the top rope to the floor. Gacy hits Andrade with a handspring clothesline, and Lumis drops a big splash on Fenix outside as we go into picture-in-picture.
Back in the ring, Lumis takes over, isolating Fenix with a scoop slam and working him over. Fenix battles out of a powerbomb and flips out of a suplex, but Lumis catches him with a stiff right hand. Fenix responds with a superkick, and both men collapse just as we return to full-screen.
Hot tags all around—Andrade runs wild, hitting double knees in the corner to Gacy for a near fall. Gacy blocks Andrade’s finisher and lands a headbutt, tagging in Lumis. We get a combo assault: a Manhattan Drop from Lumis, a clothesline from Gacy, then a senton by Lumis for a close two-count. Fenix breaks up the pin just in time.
Fenix attempts the Tiger Feint Wheel Kick, but Gacy counters and boots him off the apron. Gacy tags in, hoists Lumis, and powerbombs him onto Andrade, but Andrade counters with raised knees. He rolls Gacy up for a near fall, then nails him with a spinning back elbow. Fenix leapfrogs over Andrade and Gacy onto Lumis, setting up Andrade to hit The Message… but just as the ref counts, Nikki Cross yanks him out of the ring for the DQ finish.
Winners: Andrade & Rey Fenix via disqualification (6:19)
Rating: ★★½☆☆ (2.5 stars)
Thoughts: This was more of a prelude than a main event. Gacy and Lumis still feel a level below Andrade and Fenix, who look increasingly cohesive as a team. The match had energy, but the real purpose was what came after.
Post-match, the chaos explodes.
Erick Rowan storms the ring and starts dismantling everyone in sight—first Andrade, then Fraxiom.
The Motor City Machine Guns try to intervene, only to get flattened by a double crossbody from Rowan. Andrade and Fenix recover and try to fend him off, but it’s a losing battle.
Suddenly, The Street Profits hit the scene and finally get the upper hand on Rowan, standing tall… but it doesn’t last.
DIY rush down next with Nick Aldis, but they’re immediately swarmed by dives—Fraxiom launches onto DIY, Dawkins flies into a sea of bodies, and Montez Ford one-ups everyone, diving over the corner turnbuckle to take out another cluster of wrestlers.
Bodies are flying everywhere when Aldis grabs a mic in the chaos:
“Enough of this madness! If the last TLC match didn’t clear the air—then we’ll run it back at SummerSlam!”
A Tag Team TLC match is officially on the card, and the brawling continues as referees and officials struggle to restore order. The show goes off the air in total anarchy.
FINAL VERDICT: 6.8/10
This week’s SmackDown felt more like a placeholder than a true step forward. The Hulk Hogan tribute rightfully took time early on, but much of the show afterward felt like retreads:
- Solo Sikoa’s act is stale, playing out the same faction chaos over and over.
- Cody Rhodes’ promo was passable, but didn’t hit the emotional high it was aiming for.
- DIY and the Street Profits’ backstage segment felt like a rerun from last week.
- The wrestling wasn’t bad, but little stood out beyond the promise of the upcoming TLC match.
That said, the TLC stipulation for the tag division finally gives the chaos direction, and that’s a win.
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