WWE SmackDown 10/31/2025: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," in this case the official go-home show for the latest edition of Saturday Night's Main Event — on Halloween, no less! The big story here was a new stipulation being added to SNME's WWE Championship match between Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes, but we also got a confrontation between Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton, the latest men's US title open challenge, and Carmelo Hayes vs. Kit Wilson, for some reason!

Of course, that doesn't cover everything that went down on the blue brand Friday night, and neither will we — though we will talk about some stuff we didn't see, but wanted to. If you need to catch up, check out our "SmackDown" results page. If you want to know what the WINC staff thought about the show, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 10/31/25 episode of "WWE SmackDown!"

I'm pretty over Tiffany Stratton's almost year-long title reign and I am very ready for Jade Cargill to end it on Saturday, but I have to admit that the opening minutes of "SmackDown" this week was the most I've enjoyed Stratton in a hot minute. I just really love it when characters are so mad that they come out without music or anything and just say "cut the crap, get her out here and let's do this," especially when they have every right to be upset. Not only did Cargill turn on Stratton last week, but doing so got Jade exactly what she wanted — another title match against Stratton, even though she's failed to end "Tiffy Time" on three previous occasions. I'd be mad too if someone I'd already beaten numerous times got yet another shot at my title, entirely for acting like a traitorous jerk.

So yeah, really enjoyed the opening segment here with Stratton and the subsequent brawl when Cargill came out in a 1990s Catwoman costume. WWE advertised Jade on the mic tonight, presumably to explain her actions, but I'm glad somebody backstage realized that everyone knows why Jade did what she did and nobodyu really wants to hear her talk about it –we want to see her and Stratton scrap about it, and that's what we got. I do wish this feud stayed more focused instead of diverting into more backstage stuff with Kiana James and Giulia, but while Stratton and Cargill were out there, they sure as hell made we want to watch them fight some more, and that's what this is all about.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

I have yet to profess my love for Ilja Dragunov's return and current run with the United States Championship here in our "loved" section, and I just need to gush for a moment about how ecstatic I am that he is back. I loved Dragunov in "WWE NXT," and while he was on the shelf with an injury, I found myself thinking about how much I was missing him on my TV screen at least once a month. 

He came back and made his mark on "SmackDown" in a big way when he won the US title from Sami Zayn. I'm happy that he's continuing the US Championship Open Challenge, which means he'll consistently be on television, and his match tonight with Nathan Frazer was an absolute banger. We also got the tease, almost a straight up confirmation, that Dragunov will be taking on Tomasso Ciampa next week, which I also loved, but I was glad that nobody interfered in the title match while it was going on.

Dragunov and Frazer beat the absolute snot out of each other, and the champion's hard-hitting style meshed just so well with Frazer's fast-paced, high-flying offense. Frazer immediately rocked Dragunov with a huge jumping knee right to the head, and the match did not slow down at any point. While Dragunov had an answer to almost everything Frazer threw at him, "almost" is the key word there. At numerous points throughout the bout, including when Frazer hit a Phoenix Splash, I thought we had a new champion. I didn't really think that WWE would take the title off Dragunov that quickly, but I was questioning my thinking the longer this match went on.

I loved what Sami Zayn was doing with the open challenge, elevating other talent to eventually put Dragunov over, and "The Mad Dragon" is picking the first part of that up right where Zayn left off. Dragunov made Frazer look like a million bucks tonight, not that he needs much help, but there was just something about this match and the pair's competing styles that really worked for me. I really, really enjoyed this match, and it's one I would seek out to watch again.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Another week passed and Ilja Dragunov booked another defense of his United States Championship against fellow "NXT UK" alumni Nathan Frazer. Theirs was an uber fun match as my esteemed colleague will expand on, but it was what came after that struck me – no, not the Tomasso Ciampa attacking Frazer and indicating he wanted next part, but rather the backstage part where Tama Tonga delivered the latest insight to his intentions. 

The Guerrillas of Destiny were a favorite of mine during their NJPW run, and much of that has to be attributed to the brother of the pair that can actually go in the ring. And while he did somewhat get a singles run in NJPW it was far from what one would have expected from the badass heel that had ousted Kenny Omega from the Bullet Club. Obviously, the ship has very much sailed for him to likely get a run at the top of the mountain, but it doesn't feel too impossible to view him as United States Champion. That aligns with the goal that Solo Sikoa has set out over the past few weeks, bringing the title he lost back to his MFTs, and it has since been teased as to who out of the group will be making a play for the title. 

So when Tonga came across Dragunov backstage, in the midst of dealing with the other tag teams on the roster, picking up the title belt and handing it off to Dragunov with his signature... hyena noise? ... it feels natural to take that as he is the one coming for the title. And if we're being honest, a bout between Dragunov and a notably larger Tama Tonga compels me more than the other options on the table at this current stage in time.

Written by Max Everett

Kit Wilson recently debuted a new gimmick, in which he decries toxic masculinity. Except it's WWE and they are making fun of it because they certainly aren't going to take a closer look at how toxic masculinity has run rampant in their company for decades. 

Wilson has been pointing out all the toxic behavior he witnesses backstage. Last week, Carmelo Hayes was angry about losing a title match due to an attack from The Miz. Wilson classified his reaction as toxic, which led to a match tonight. Unfortunately for everyone that could hear his voice, we were forced to listen to Corey Graves spend all match long using "therapy speak" to try to explain Wilson's new gimmick to Michael Cole. He tried to explain what toxic masculinity is, why it's not the same inside the ring, and how Hayes exemplified toxic masculinity. He told Cole it was okay to cry. While it was practically a squash match, that didn't stop Graves from chattering about with buzzwords all match long.

Graves's commentary only added to the fact that Wilson's gimmick is mocking actual toxic masculinity. It's unfortunate that Wilson has been saddled with such a crappy gimmick while his tag team partner is out of action. It's the complete opposite of what Pretty Deadly is and doesn't do Wilson any favors. This gimmick and Graves's commentary is a big "no, boy" for me.

Written by Samantha Schipman

For "SmackDown" landing on Halloween tonight, WWE certainly didn't make much of an effort to play off the holiday. Of course, the set was kind of decorated a bit, at least with some graphics, and the women were decked out in cute costumes, as is tradition, but it certainly didn't feel like a Halloween episode. Maybe it's just me, after working Wednesday's episode of "Fright Night Dynamite" and growing up with over-the-top Halloween-themed episodes of WWE, but something felt like it was missing.

Just last week, McIntyre took on Jimmy Uso in a no disqualification match. I'm sure WWE officials would be worried about McIntyre getting hurt before his match with Rhodes tomorrow, but they'd probably be in the same boat if McIntyre got hurt last week during their match, anyway. That could have easily been run as a (carefully booked to avoid any major bumps) Trick-or-Street fight tonight as the main event, rather than yet another lame contract signing. Rhodes and McIntyre still could have come to the new stipulation for their match tomorrow somehow after that fight, with either man jumping on the microphone to issue the challenge.

Or, Damian Priest and Aleister Black could have easily slotted in to the Trick-or-Street fight. It seemed like for awhile there that WWE was running big matches before premium live events. While I'm not exactly sure if Saturday Night's Main Event counts as a major event anymore, a Black and Priest street fight would have made all the sense in the world here to me tonight, since they're not on the PLE card tomorrow. I'm assuming the thought process was that a match like that would be a little too hokey for the Black and Priest feud, but in WWE, there are a quite a few other matchups that could have worked for something fun like that. Chelsea Green was backstage tonight, she could have taken on any woman not doing anything on the roster to get a Halloween-themed women's match on the show.

The entire show, outside of one match, was a miss for me tonight, and it did nothing to get me excited for Saturday Night's Main Event tomorrow. "SmackDown" was pretty snooze-worthy tonight, and if you missed out for your own Halloween celebrations tonight, you certainly didn't miss anything outside of the United States title match.

Written by Daisy Ruth

There comes a time in one's viewership of WWE that one begins to question the point of said viewership. Wrestling, at its very best, is a weird and maniacal entertainment medium with stunts and no stunt doubles, acting and no actors, and fighting with no fighters, and yet it somehow works when tied together with a story that almost anyone can get behind. Without that story, nothing else has changed, but the absurdity of professional wrestling is no longer obscured by something tangible or compelling. It just is. 

There are times where it feels like the support of the product isn't for creative but the cast, justifying quality of everything based on just a handful of the ingredients and the work put in. The mother sauce is still spoiled, recycled gloop that would have been fine when it was used the first time many years ago. There are new and exciting ingredients added to the mix, an attempt to obscure the fact that the entire recipe needs an overhaul, but it doesn't change the feeling at the end of its consumption. Nothing was achieved, no movement was made, everything of importance is saved for shows that matter [those with state sponsorship]. 

WWE is at a point where it is charging more than it has ever done for tickets, always has some form of media availability to tout its superiority in both sports and entertainment. But that's only when the world and its sponsors are watching. There is a tangible sense of, "Let's get this show out of the way so we can get to the good bit," and it's quite grating that, even in writing this, it will be accepted and lauded by those who blindly parade a company that exploits them. There is no reason for any weekly show, let alone a go-home show, to feel so shallow. 

It feels as though there could be a weekly unraveling of stories, characters and interpersonal dynamics; organic reactions, catalytic plot points, and real tangible development. We could be reading into the smallest dialogue in the days between shows, trying to unearth where the story is headed only to be genuinely and earnestly surprised by whatever the result winds up being. Everything is predictable, down to the fact that there will be at least one secondary finisher near-fall, followed by another secondary finisher near-fall, followed by a primary finisher ending the match for whomever the victor. And not in a good, "Oh I can see where this is going, that's cool," way. Rather a, "Oh yeah I've seen this one before, get a new idea please," way.

Happy Halloween!

Written by Max Everett