WWE SmackDown - 10/2/2026: 3 Things We Hated & 3 We Loved

October has arrived and the road to WWE Money In The Bank is nearing its end. Both Money In The Bank Ladder Matches rounded out their respective lineups and Ricky Saints got a big win over the AAA Cruiserweight Champion on Friday's show in Denver,. You can read all about what happened over on the WWE SmackDown – 10/2/2026 Results Page.

As always, "SmackDown" stirred plenty of emotions in the Wrestling Inc. Crew, and this is the space designated to them venting their frustrations and singing their praises. There was plenty to love, like Blake Monroe's long-awaited main roster in-ring debut or the wild main event, that saw Kevin Owens punch his ticket to next Saturday's PLE. There was also plenty to hate, like the shambolic display by the opening Women's Money In The Bank qualifier, or the endless parade of promos that Sami Zayn -and the unfortunate audience- had to endure. If you have more to contribute, the comments section will be open.

Enough of my talking, fall is here, the days are getting shorter, and we should just get right to what you came here for.

I have nothing against Tiffany Stratton, Candice LeRae, and Tatum Paxley as individual performers. I just don't think that they have the best in-ring chemistry with one another, as was very apparent in their Triple Threat Qualifier for the Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match.

I found this contest to be extremely clunky, with a lot of noticeable botches sprinkled in throughout it that kept taking me out of the action. It was really rough from the start of the match to the final moments, and was not a great way to set the tone for the rest of the show as the opening contest. No one in this match really came off looking that great if I'm being entirely honest, and there was something about this that did not click at all for me.

Stratton pinning LeRae to win the match may have also been a very predictable outcome here, but that wasn't even the reason that the ending of this match didn't work for me. Almost all of the Triple Threat Qualifier matches for both the Men and Women have ended in someone stealing the pin, and it was no different here, with Stratton landing the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to break a fall that Paxley had on LeRae, only to pin LeRae herself.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

A long time ago, Bryan Danielson admitted that he had to become a parody version of himself to succeed in WWE. Some have taken this as a kind of backhanded comment, and from someone like Danielson it absolutely is, but that doesn't change the fact that WWE is a cartoon parody of wrestling. If you want to succeed in WWE, you need to find the most cartoonish version of yourself, and Trick Williams is there.

I agree with my colleague, that the promo train on Friday's show was a painful slog, but for the moment where Trick Williams took center stage, as well as his little moment backstage, I got the feeling that he might actually be ready for WWE's main event scene. Considering his growth as a wrestler, as well as his history with current WWE Champion Sami Zayn, I think there's an argument to be made for the former NXT Champion winning the briefcase, cashing it in, and becoming champion.

I have been a Trick Williams skeptic, but there is a certain electricity to him. He is developing that intangible "it" factor. He's only 32 years old, which puts him in stark contrast to the 40-somethings currently making up the main event. It's been a while since WWE elevated a former NXT Champion in the Men's Division. Bron Breakker was held back by the vision, and Carmelo Hayes has been eclipsed by his former manager. I have never been more sure that it's time to pull the trigger on Trick's ascension.

Written by Ross Berman

I am always going to hate a promo parade, or when multiple competitors come out, one after the other, to interrupt one another during a segment. We got that tonight around Sami Zayn's Undisputed WWE Championship and the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, and it felt way too early to be doing so, especially with talent from "WWE Raw," and before the final competitor even qualified.

It doesn't help that I'm just not a fan of Zayn's current character, despite how happy I am that he has the championship, and he started out the segment before he was interrupted by Je'Von Evans. It was cool to see the "Young OG" go toe-to-toe with a big champion, but everything the pair said was to be expected. He was then interrupted by Penta, and the crowd went crazy for the luchador, overshadowing the young star a bit.

Penta's material was also pretty cliché for a pre-MITB promo-off, and he basically gave Evans the ol' "if you want that contract, you'll have to go through me." Williams then came out with his long, aura-farming entrance, and it was around this time that I thought we might even get a commercial break during this all. He got to the ring and told Penta and Evans he respects them, but they belong on "Raw," and Evans' little nod of, "yeah, he's right," did make me laugh.

He insulted the heck out of Zayn, called him the gingerbread man, and used all of the same insults from their previous feud, and it just went on forever with nothing new said. Just when you thought it was over, Finn Balor confronted Zayn on the stage, and they had words before GUNTHER took them both out. And, honestly, it took me until now, writing this, to realize Balor and GUNTHER aren't even in the Money in the Bank ladder match. They lost their qualifiers, but they're still in the title picture, and probably should have had their own backstage segment with Zayn or something to break this all up.

We got the promo parade tonight, and we're bound to get one, men's or women's, or both, on Monday's episode of "Raw," and then again next week on the go-home episode of "SmackDown." Tonight's took up so much time that I'm really not looking forward to next week, and there's no chance that WWE makes it any more interesting. The men might yap at one another on ladders set up in the ring, and there may be a brawl, and I guess I have to sit through it all to get to the ladder match at the premium live event that I'm actually looking forward to.

Written by Daisy Ruth

With the way WWE had been putting off Blake Monroe's in-ring debut for so long, I was a bit worried about how they'd portray her character when she finally got between the ropes. I know General Manager Nick Aldis demanded this match take place no matter what tonight, but I half expected Monroe to run away from Giulia and look stupid to start things out. Thankfully, these women got down to it, and actually got more time than I expected. Honestly, I just love that this finally happened, and I also love the fact it looks like their feud is going to continue, with just how this match ended.

After Monroe's new entrance, which was fine, but nothing compared to her "WWE NXT" entrance with the vanity and mirror, they locked up and slugged it out. Monroe looked good throughout the bout, and while it was no Hollywood Ending, you could barely tell this was her first televised match since April.

Monroe took Giulia's hard strikes, including her missile dropkick and the Arrivederci Knee. Monroe hit a nice sling blade into a suplex at one point, then looked for the Neutralizer, but Giulia countered. Monroe hit her headbutt, which Giulia just absorbed, which looked pretty cool and worked, just because she's Giulia.

The match ended after Giulia dragged Monroe over to the turnbuckle, but Monroe tripped her up, and the "Beautiful Madness" went face-first into the ring post, knocking herself out, in kayfabe. Monroe got the pin off of that, which did admittedly feel pretty anticlimactic, but I'm choosing to stay hopeful about it.

It does leave the story open for more matches between these two women, which I do want to see. Getting Monroe's in-ring debut out of the way was the first step, though it didn't need to be so difficult, and now, hopefully, she can continue to grow on the main roster, as it's well beyond time for her to shake things up and hopefully make things a bit more exciting within the blue brand's women's division.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Rey Fenix teamed with FrAxiom to take on Ricky Saints and the War Raiders this week, a match that wasn't bad so much as very clearly designed to take up time.

Fenix is, of course, the AAA Cruiserweight Champion, and much has been made about his role defending the title across the WWE brands; in the absence of anything meaningful, Saints has become one of his aspiring challengers. FrAxiom and War Raiders share being AAA visitors, the latter formerly reigning as AAA Tag Team Champions. Beyond all of that, the why behind this match was like tartan paint.

That can be mitigated when a match is fun or even, dare one say, good. This was not. This was any six-man tag team match that has ever existed. Evidently, the WWE LLM has got stuck on the notion of stolen wins. Saints made a blind tag as Fenix appeared to be on course to win the match for his team, delivering Rochambeau and stealing the win. It appears that no heel in this company has the ability to just win a match.

One would imagine this was to set up a future title match between Fenix and Saints. Though Fenix has made 10 defenses in 126 days as champion already and has not really needed a reason to put it on the line. Maybe there is a program between FrAxiom and War Raiders brewing, though to what end would be a mystery. FrAxiom are currently in the Dusty Rhodes Classic on "WWE NXT" and this was the Raiders' first match since losing the AAA Tag titles.

All in all, it just feels as though this was a thrown-together match with no reason to be good. Sure, everyone in the match is a solid-to-great worker. But this match proved that it isn't basic arithmetic. There has to be something else in the equation for it to work. That didn't exist because this wasn't supposed to be good; it was supposed to pass the time in an inoffensive way.

To an extent, it worked. It's not as though the match was ostensibly bad. But one tunes into weekly wrestling to be moved in one way or another, to watch the beginnings and/or the continuation of compelling stories either in the ring or another medium the wacky sport of wrestling allows.

This wasn't can't miss. This wasn't a hidden gem to be recommended. It was just there. On a two-hour show that has a whole lot of that going on, this stands out as that little more egregious.

Written by Max Everett

After a heavy week in the wrestling world, it was nice to see Kevin Owens pick up a victory (even if it was because Randy Orton screwed Cody Rhodes). Owens was the only wrestler to openly acknowledge the passing of PAC tonight by wearing an armband with "BEN" on it. Before the match started, Owens sat on the turnbuckle with his head down. During the match, he landed a suplex that Corey Graves called "Neville-esque". After the match was over, Owens paused against the ropes before wiping his eyes, pulling off his armband and holding it in the air (the camera nearly missed it because they cut to Orton and Rhodes).

To be clear, I'd be happy with Owens winning anytime. This win just had something extra given the loss of PAC. Owens posted photos of them to social media this week and found a way to honor him tonight. Considering the fact that Owens may not have been able to wrestle again, it's great to see him back in the ring and excelling. Perhaps a ladder match is a bit concerning for someone coming off a neck injury, but upon his return, Owens said he wanted to go all out for whatever time he had left in the ring.

Even with Owens getting the win via interference, the match was fun. It was the highlight of an otherwise underwhelming show. Rhodes didn't need the spot, and Gargano has only been upright and competing for a few weeks. Owens will be in a match with his longtime nemesis, CM Punk, and that will definitely make things more interesting with ladders involved. He'll also share the ring with Je'Von Evans, Bron Breakker, Penta, and Trick Williams. Owens may be a long shot to win the briefcase, but never count him out.

Written by Samantha Schipman