WWE SmackDown 9/11/2026: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show that gave us a shocking WWE Championship change when Sami Zayn defeated CM Punk! Don't you worry — the WINC crew has lots of thoughts about that, from WWE's endless interference finishes to what this means for the WWE title picture in broad strokes. We also have thoughts about both the AAA Cruiserweight Championship match and the WWE Women's Championship match, as well as Paige vs. Nikki Bella and the continuation of the feud between Trick Williams and Baron Corbin.

Of course, we can't cover absolutely everything in this column, because that's not what this column is for — if you want to read about things like Damian Priest turning on R-Truth, you need to check out our "WWE SmackDown" 9/11/26 results page, which is fully comprehensive and can help you catch up on anything you may have missed. This column is only for the matches and segments that gave us the best and the worst feelings over the course of the evening. Or to put it another way, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 9/11/26 episode of "WWE SmackDown!"

I had hopes for the match between Paige and Nikki Bella going into this edition of "SmackDown," but they were quite quickly dashed from the second the bell rang.

The big problem with this match really boils down to it not being allotted enough time on this show for it really to have been given a chance to be anything good. WWE has positioned Paige and Nikki as hating one another (despite it primarily being in videos and backstages and that kind of thing), so when you combine that with the accomplished careers both women have had, they really deserved more time to tell a story in the match rather than whatever that two-minute mess we got was.

I also was not a fan of the abrupt ending that this match had. There was nothing wrong with Nikki getting a heel win by having her feet on the ropes when she pinned Paige especially if WWE wants to continue this storyline, but it came completely out of nowhere after the two women had spent most of this brawling on the outside of the ring. It didn't feel like there was any build up to the moment at all, and the bizarre nature of it all took away any sort of emotional resonance WWE was looking to evoke in their fanbase.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Rey Fenix may have a big four-way match for his AAA World Cruiserweight Championship on Sunday night during night two of Triplemania, but the man has been putting in work over the last few months, also defending the title on WWE main roster programming. That's exactly what he did tonight, and I loved seeing him go up against Ricky Saints in Mexico City. The crowd was hot, and while the match was a bit clunky in places, more so on Saints' side, it was still really fun.

While I thought Saints did look a little slower than Fenix — maybe that's because I'm used to much faster-paced title defenses from the champion — he still had a few good spots, and he was working really well as a heel, showboating around for the Mexico City crowd. He hit a nice Revolution DDT after flying through the ropes, then showed off some more with his rope walk.

Fenix was his usual fantastic self, but even he had a slight misstep that he recovered so quickly from I wouldn't have known if they didn't run the replay. He righted himself after nearly slipping on the top rope before hitting a moonsault in the ring, and the recovery was impressive. In the end, it was Fenix to retain with the Mexican Muscle Buster to the delight of the crowd. I liked that Saints refused his handshake after the match, as it alluded to what was to come.

Later in the night, Saints laid out Fenix during a backstage interview segment, which I honestly didn't mind. There was another opponent in recent memory that Saints needed a warm-up match against, I'm thinking it was Carmelo Hayes, and their second bout was much better. I'm hoping that's the case if he and Fenix are going to start some kind of feud, because Saints deserves another shot against the AAA Cruiserweight Champion, whether he's holding the gold after Triplemania or not. If it gets Saints on TV, and keeps Fenix there, I'm more than okay with it.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Anyone who regularly watches the current WWE product knows that they are incredibly guilty of repeating the same matches and storylines over and over and over again, to the point where the fans are tired of it and no longer want to see it anymore. I think we've absolutely approached that point with the ongoing storyline between titleholder Trick Williams and Baron Corbin over the United States Championship.

To date, Williams and Corbin have had three singles matches for the United States Championship: the first at WWE SummerSlam Sunday on August 2, the second on the August 7 episode of "SmackDown," and the third at WWE Sunday Night's Main Event this past weekend. That also doesn't include the various multi-man matches that the two men have met one another in live events as well. I understand the idea of Corbin receiving his rematch because he lost the United States Championship back to Williams, but I would be far more into it if they already hadn't had their three other singles meetings. Sunday Night's Main Event really was the perfect chance to end the storyline between the two men and Lil Yachty, and it's beyond time that WWE gives the two parties something to do other than feuding with one another.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

WWE quietly dropped the "interim" from Chelsea Green's WWE Women's Championship reign, which was the right thing to do, and probably the right way to do it, and tonight, she had her first title defense against Nia Jax. This was yet another match tonight that was slightly clunky, and the ending certainly wasn't the cleanest, but it's about what I expected from Green's title reign, and I didn't mind it. I loved that she got in the ring to defend the title against Jax, especially in front of the super-hot crowd who absolutely loved her.

Jax also had a really good promo backstage ahead of the match where she said that while she normally makes careers when she breaks faces, she's going to end Green's when she breaks hers. I liked the callback, and it worked well with the fact Green is still working through an orbital bone injury and had to wear a bedazzled face mask to wrestle.

"The Irresistible Force" dominated a good portion of the match, which is what I expected. Green didn't look hopeless, however, as she had a few good hope spots and took Jax's brutal offense well. Jax tossed her over the commentary desk and sent her somersaulting right onto her back on the ring apron, and Green kept popping up for more.

Lash Legend and Tiffany Stratton were factors at ringside, but only for one spot instead of throughout, which was nice. Jax got Green out of the face mask and sent her to the outside for Legend to nail her with a big right hand, which Stratton took instead, after getting Green out of the way. That, of course, can always be used as ammunition for when Stratton inevitably turns heel on the champion.

Green took out Legend, avoided the Annihilator, and put her mask back on, a requirement from the doctor, and took Jax to the ropes for the Unprettier. The spot wasn't clean whatsoever, but I could see the vision, as I don't think there was a better way for Green to attempt the move on the larger Jax. I hope Green and Jax won't be facing one another anytime soon, and I'm hoping that we get Green up against Stratton sooner rather than later.

It was not the prettiest match by far, but Mexico City was the right place to give Green a defense. Hopefully Green is well on her way to being fully healed, and she can start a more meaningful feud with someone she can have better matches with. While I may sound harsh, I did love this, for the fact we got Green's official reign rolling tonight with this defense.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Another WWE main event, another match marred by interference. Even when it's expected, it's still annoying. Last week saw Johnny Gargano not only upright, but wrestling in a match. So of course, Sami Zayn had to get involved because he was obsessed with getting the title back. That led to Kevin Owens, GUNTHER, Finn Balor, and Candace LeRae also getting involved. None of it mattered and Punk retained.

Tonight was more of the same, except Zayn played the role of Gargano and Gargano played the role of Zayn. Like Zayn, Gargano tried to take Punk out with his own title while LeRae distracted the ref. Punk remembered what happened last week and was waiting with a GTS. Owens got involved again this week, except he mistakenly (or was it?) hit Punk with the title instead of Zayn.

Here's where things differ from last week. GUNTHER and Balor stayed in the back and Zayn lowblowed KO before landing a Helluva Kick on Punk for the win. At least that part was different and unexpected. Zayn could've won the title on his own, of course, but WWE has to overbook nearly every main event, especially in the men's title scene.

I expect more of the same with Zayn as champion. Prior to the match, Gargano made Zayn promise him that if he won, he would get the first shot — the same promise Zayn made Gargano make last week. LeRae will definitely try to help Gargano whenever he gets his title shot. KO will absolutely be gunning for his former best friend as will Balor and GUNTHER. What should be an exciting men's title scene is reduced to bloated nonsense because WWE uses interference and non-finishes as a crutch. It's hard to get excited when you're spoon-fed the same thing week in and week out.

Written by Samantha Schipman

As Wrestling Inc.'s resident Sami Zayn superfan, I'm obviously extremely stoked that Zayn is now a two-time Undisputed WWE Champion. I wasn't on the desk for his first win at Night of Champions, so I didn't get the chance to write about it, but it was long overdue and well-deserved, and it was a damn shame that his reign only lasted nine days. For his ride-or-die fans, it's beyond validating to see him win it again, just a couple months later, proving that his presence in the world title scene wasn't just a flash in the pan.

The match itself was excellent right up until people started interfering, as all Sami's matches with Punk have been. But beyond the quality of the contest itself, this was just a really good decision for a WWE title scene that feels alive with possibility in a way it hasn't in years. Anyone could beat Sami for the title — Finn Balor, GUNTHER, Randy Orton, anyone. Maybe Sami and Kevin Owens will get to wrestle for a world championship, something they've never done in WWE. Hell, I'm not saying Johnny Gargano is going to win the belt, but if he really does have next, that's going to be a tremendous match. Having Sami win the title on TV lends credence to the idea that the Undisputed WWE title picture is vibrant and unpredictable, and that feels like such a breath of fresh air after years of domination by Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.

Who knows — maybe Punk wins the belt back at Worlds Collide in two weeks. Maybe he wins it back even sooner. All I know is that for the time being, Sami Zayn is champion once again, and it's not just good for his fans; it's the best thing for WWE as a whole.

Written by Miles Schneiderman