WWE SmackDown 9/19/2025: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," in this case coming less than 24 hours before WWE kicks off their ESPN era with Wrestlepalooza! The blue brand's Friday night go-home show featured title defenses from both Sami Zayn and the team of Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, as well as a somewhat chaotic Brock Lesnar appearance, a strangely-timed women's title announcement, and a confrontation between the two men in the reported main event for the upcoming PPV. And yeah, the WINC staff are here to cover all of it — and more!

If you missed the show and just need a quick catch-up, don't forget you can do that easily via our "SmackDown" results page. What you can't find there, however, is our opinions and analysis of what we just watched, limited exclusively to the things we felt strongest about it one direction or the other. And in case you were wondering, yes, that is just a longer way of saying these are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 9/19/25 episode of "WWE SmackDown!"

In a WWE with all these young up-and-coming stars, more Brock Lesnar is just not what I needed on my television screen. Yes, I'm well aware that he's facing John Cena on "The Never Seen 17's" retirement tour tomorrow at Wrestlepalooza, but everything Lesnar did tonight to eat up time on the show just felt really unnecessary, especially because Cena wasn't booked for "SmackDown" since he has so few dates left. Lesnar threatened Michael Cole at the very beginning of "SmackDown" and it all just kind of continued from there.

He delivered two F5s to Corey Graves when he came to the veteran commentator's defense, which was really the only interesting aspect about this, because Graves hasn't taken a bump in forever despite being cleared. I guess The Miz replacing Graves on commentary was pretty interesting. At least he was a new voice to listen to for awhile, despite how irksome he could be at times.

If all the replays of what happened to Graves and Cole lamenting about it on commentary all throughout the night weren't enough, however, we got the ESPN video package about the careers of Lesnar and Cena. If we had just gotten this well-produced video, I would have been fine with that. But, everything combined was just too much. If Cena wasn't going to be on the show, just let Lesnar stay at home, too, and run the kind of videos that ESPN does best. The entire story was told there and it wasn't something you could do in the ring with these two guys anyway.

And finally, I was pretty surprised, and not in a good way, when Lesnar ran into "WWE Raw's" Paul Heyman, of all people backstage. When Lesnar said they should talk, the realization that Lesnar is likely hanging around WWE following this Wrestlepalooza match really hit, despite me even knowing he signed a new contract ahead of this return. I know I've been saying that I think he beats Cena, but I guess seeing him with Heyman really drove that thought home, and I don't like it one bit. On top of everything legally going on with Vince McMahon that Lesnar is named in, WWE just doesn't need another almost-50 year old nostalgia act when there are other guys and gals who don't get enough TV time as it is.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Stop me if you've heard this one, but WWE doesn't really care that much about tag team wrestling! I know, it comes as a shock, but hear me out because this week's "SmackDown" was particularly rough in that regard. Here are some things that happened on the show:

• Relatively new tag team Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed basically squashed Fraxiom
• Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss beat Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre without too much trouble
• The Wyatt Sicks' feud with the Street Profits was advanced in a lone backstage segment
• The rest of the teams in "SmackDown's" extremely cool and sick men's tag division were relegated to learning about the new ESPN app from R-Truth
• The only other team in "SmackDown's" extremely non-existent women's tag division is B-Fab and Michin, apparently
• In the absence of his Pretty Deadly tag partner, Kit Wilson is apparently doing WWE's latest attempt at a "woke" heel gimmick

I know it's been bad before, but this is pretty bleak, y'all. The Wyatts/Profits backstage segment was actually good, and I get why we have to build up the Vision guys for the Usos tomorrow, but it feels like Andrade's departure and the unexpected breakup of his team with Fenix has derailed any momentum the men's division has had recently. If Bron and Bronson beat Jey and Jimmy, is there any way this ends other than those dudes hogging the belts while the teams that have been in the trenches for years now continue to get overlooked and sent to Worlds Collide or whatever? And on the women's side, I don't even know. It's starting to feel like not even Charlotte Flair can escape the women's tag division black hole, and if she can't do it, who the hell can? I guess there is one silver lining: at least they're not in the women's US title division.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Nia Jax comes out. Jax talks about how she injured Tiffany Stratton and made her miss "NXT: Homecoming." Jax calls Jade Cargill hot (fair enough) but untalented. Stratton comes out and says that Jax is delusional. Cargill goes through some people. Aldis grows 15 more grey hairs before he can make the match official for next week, in Orlando. Congratulations, you're all caught up on all the WWE Women's Championship-related developments for Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown!" Remember when the WWE Women's Championship meant something?

Friday's episode of "SmackDown" might have seen Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss give one of WWE's female titles some screen time with their WWE Women's Tag Team Championship defense against Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre, but the same cannot be said for Stratton and her WWE Women's Championship. Granted, these title matches can't just be conjured out of thin air (unless Nick Aldis says so, but ssh). There needs to be a worthy challenger who is built up over the course of weeks, there needs to be a rightful claim to the gold, there needs to be a spectacular date — like a premium live event — to sell the importance of the title. All of these reasons are *exactly* why the WWE Women's World Championship will be defended on next week's episode of weekly, television programming against two challengers who have both lost to the champion within the past three months.

Are we so serious right now? There is absolutely no reason the WWE Women's Championship should be in the position it's in right now — defended on b-shows and with zero decorum. It's bad enough that this title isn't being defended at Wrestlepalooza (contradictory to reports), but to throw the title defense on a weekly show instead is crazy to me. It's even crazier when the segment that led up to this "match next week" announcement took approximately five minutes.

I don't know what else to say; this decision to put the WWE Women's Championship on the backburner is just so weird. It's like WWE forgets that they have another women's world title other than the one over on "WWE Raw." Is Stratton still injured? That wouldn't explain the fact that she wasn't scheduled for Wrestlepalooza earlier. Can they just not find any viable contenders? Put Green, Zelina Vega, Michin, Giulia — literally anyone against her. Port some women from "WWE NXT" or "Raw!" They don't have to win, but give Stratton something to do. Don't just give Stratton the same opponents over and over again with no build — and if you are, give the segment a little more time to even try to get people to care. Stratton is a draw, but her star power is not enough to hold up the absolute garbage condition of the WWE Women's Championship contender scene.

Congratulations, Orlando. You guys got Disney, mosquitoes, and a Triple Threat for the WWE Women's Championship, featuring the same three women who have been in the title scene for the past three months. Enjoy!

Written by Angeline Phu

These video vignettes WWE has done for the past two weeks now seemingly re-introducing, for lack of a better term, Solo Sikoa and his "MFTs" to the audience are really working for me, mostly, because I think it's a really smart idea. Sikoa and the MFTs, Tama Tonga (who's still out injured), Tanga Loa, Talla Tonga, and JC Matteo aren't doing anything on "SmackDown" right now. It didn't feel like they had a place to fit in at the moment, so it seems like WWE took them off TV to get things figured out. That's one of the smartest things I think WWE has done in recent memory.

I don't say that because I dislike the former United States Champion or anyone in the new Bloodline/the MFTs, or whatever you want to call them. It just makes a lot of sense to me to take the guys off the road if you have nothing for them, or what is being set up for them is still in the works in a slow build or whatever these videos are leading to. Keeps them fresh, both in the minds of fans and prevents unnecessary injuries. To me, it seems like Sikoa will introduce (again, for lack of a better term) every member of his MFTs and list their accomplishments and background a little bit, without being too overtly obvious that's what he's doing.

Last week, Sikoa set the scene and spoke about himself after losing the Unites States Championship. Tonight, he started with Loa. He mentioned he was the son of Haku, the most dangerous man on the planet, so that makes Loa dangerous. He called Loa the only loyal solider he has left, which was interesting, though that could be because, as Sikoa mentioned, Loa is currently the only MFT member that's been there for him since the beginning, since Tonga is on the shelf.

In this video, it seemed like Sikoa was saying he wanted to go on a tag title run with Loa. I don't think that's quite the direction, but I at least think I understand what they're doing with the video vignettes. I'm really interested to see where this goes, because I believe Sikoa deserves a lot more credit than what he was getting. I think these pre-records are going to make the faction seem a lot stronger and more like a threat to anyone on the "SmackDown" roster, and it's going to get fans excited for their eventual return to the brand.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Sami Zayn wrestled for the fourth time in as many weeks during this week's "WWE SmackDown" as he defended his United States Championship for the third time since wresting it from Solo Sikoa at the end of August, facing Carmelo Hayes in his ongoing Open Challenge series and really anchoring the title into one to platform the workhorses of the roster. Zayn proved to be victorious and is more than worthy of all the plaudits in the world at any given time, there was no such difference during tonight's performance but that should also be a testament to the work he and Hayes put in. 

Through the actions of Brock Lesnar, who decided for whatever reason that Corey Graves just had to go, The Miz was on commentary; that was about as fun and nauseating as one would expect, but during this match in particular his relationship with Hayes, a strained one prophesied to end only in betrayal at that, his analysis and reactions to the happenings in the ring added to the general urgency of everything. 

Hayes was never going to win the match, but it was a good demonstration of his ability in the moment – which really should never have been in doubt, he's an insanely good worker that doesn't get the treatment he deserves (argue with the wall). And it made for a good match, which is the foundation for a company that has wrestling in its name, whether it likes to admit it or not. As said, though, Zayn deserves his plaudits for this match, and the fact he has worked his rear-end off against all manner of bizarre booking over the years to be in the position he is, that just gives credibility to the idea that he is paying forward (perhaps even more so than when Cena did it). 

There's no way to hate an ongoing series of matches designed to platform the often underrated talent on the roster, it has worked every other time it has been done, and it's working now. Could one nitpick at it and ask questions of the format? Perhaps. Has the surprise element not really been captured in this world of announcing things ahead of time? Definitely. But at the end of the day, at its core, Zayn and Hayes presented a really fun 15 minutes of action, and that is literally all that should matter.

Written by Max Everett

There are three guaranteed things in life: death, taxes, and Drew McIntyre committing to the bit.

If there is anything I can appreciate, especially in wrestling, is commitment to a joke. In my personal life, I am known for taking jokes a bit too far — I joked about making a podcast with a friend, and before the end of the month, I was pulling an all-nighter equalizing our recording (albeit, very crudely) and splicing everything together in iMovie. I sometimes get carried away with a joke in these opinion pieces, like when I lost my mind over Bronson Reed's "shoe-la fala." So, when someone really digs their heels into something — whether it be a joke or a character choice — it resonates with me. There's a reason Drew McIntyre's work resonates with me.

McIntyre and Cody Rhodes met in the main event of Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown" to sign the contract for their upcoming Wrestlepalooza match, and in between their attempts to put pen to paper, the two men exchanged verbal barbs. Rhodes taunted McIntyre to pull out his phone to create another viral post, and, true to his past behavior, McIntyre pulled his phone out and began drafting a post as Rhodes continued to speak. When it was all said and done, "The Scottish Psychopath" send his post into the social media cyberspace. As of writing, "Thank you Cody" has been viewed over 218,000 times on X, formerly known as Twitter.

I just love a good bit, and to be honest, this was the highlight of the contract signing segment for me. I'm happy to see my man Rhodes back from the Street Fighter set, but if I'm being completely honest, nothing else of note happened during this segment. When I say McIntyre's antics were the highlight of "SmackDown's" main event for me, I mean it.

Really, I can say that about McIntyre's body of work. There are a fair share of critics when it comes to McIntyre's recent feuds, namely with CM Punk and Seth Rollins. Some will say that McIntyre's feuds tend to be overly drawn-out, with rematch after rematch plaguing his Cagematch page. I tend to agree, but it is that consistency and genuine commitment to his work that sets McIntyre apart. He is the definition of the phrase "sink your teeth into;" he takes every opportunity he is granted and runs with it, to the best of his diabolical ability. It's the reason I think he would do wonders with Rhodes if given the time for a fully-fleshed out feud. McIntyre goes into the deep end with everything, from his social media posts to his more serious, gory feuds. You can feel the passion he has — not everyone is committed as him. The devotion to everything he does is what distinguishes him from the rest.

Is he going to win on Saturday? No. Is he going to have a banger social media post afterwards? Yes, and I'm excited to see what he does post-Cody Rhodes.

Written by Angeline Phu