WWE SmackDown live results: CM Punk and Cody Rhodes come face to face
WWE SmackDown tonight is scheduled for the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Three segments are scheduled for the show, which will be the go-home episode of SmackDown before WWE SummerSlam on Saturday and Sunday.
CM Punk and Cody Rhodes are scheduled to come face-to-face one final time before Punk defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Rhodes at SummerSlam.
Also scheduled for tonight, the WWE Tag Team Championships will be on the line as Damian Priest and R-Truth defend against the War Raiders, Erik and Ivar.
Plus, the final qualifying match for the WWE Interim Women’s Championship ladder match at SummerSlam will take place, with Julia facing Lash Legend.
Tonight’s lineup:
- CM Punk and Cody Rhodes come face-to-face
- WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest and R-Truth vs. Erik and Ivar
- WWE Interim Women’s Championship ladder match qualifier: Julia vs. Lash Legend
Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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– Our show got going with the pre-requisite arrivals of our cast of players for tonight’s show, including CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Chelsea Green & Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill and the Baddies, Lash Legend, and Giulia, among others.
Finn Balor kicks off SmackDown
The man who will face Sami Zayn on Sunday for a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship made his way down to the ring to a good ovation from the Green Bay crowd.
After Balor got into the ring, he took the mic and started off how every time SummerSlam season rolled around, his minds raced back to 2016. That was the year where he won the Universal Championship, the highest of highs, which was followed by the lowest of lows when injury forced him to relinquish the belt. And now, in 2026, Balor spent years and years to scratch and claw to reach those glories again. He said that with the Balor Club behind him, they were so close to getting back. That was when Sami Zayn interrupted him .
Zayn said that he understood that this was an emotional time for Balor, but there were things that he needed to get off his chest. Zayn complained that the Punk vs. Rhodes match should’ve been a triple threat match. He said that everyone had a skin in the game, but Zayn noted how he wanted Cody Rhodes to win at SummerSlam, for the simple reason that he had already beaten him once, and that he could do it again.
That said, Zayn noted that there was a small part of him that wanted Punk to win over Rhodes. He called him a hypocrite for becoming a corporate poster boy. Zayn talked about how it would be a treat for him to take the title back from the man who allegedly stole it from him. Balor interrupted and challenged Zayn to get in the ring and say whatever it was he wanted to say in his face.
Zayn marched down to the ring and told Balor he had all the respect for him and that he oculd easily have been a world champion many times over. However, Balor needed to understand the moment, which supposedly belonged to Zayn. He said that this moment was all about justice, namely justice for Sami.
Balor again cut off Zayn, talking about how this was his moment and that he worked hard for ten years to get to this point. Balor pointed out that Zayn held the title for nine days, not because he was injured or screwed over, but simply because Zayn lost.
Zayn said that Balor’s remarks sounded like fighting words, and that if he didn’t respect Balor as much as he did, he would’ve dropped him already. But, Zayn said he wouldn’t do that because he was a good guy. As Zayn tried to make exit, Gunther entered the ring and attacked both Balor and Zayn, laying the two out with lariats.
Gunther took the mic and called himself the real number one contender. Adam Pearce appeared on the stage as Gunther confronted him. Balor attacked Gunther from behind as Zayn joined in and it became a massive brawl amongst the three. Gunther took Zayn and Balor out with a double clothesline, but Nick Aldis ran in and got into it with Gunther. Inside the ring, Aldis countered Gunther’s powerbomb into a Texas Cloverleaf. As the security forces tried to break both guys up, Gunther hit Aldis with a big boot.
I think I’ve been clear on how the Aldis/Gunther feud has been one of the few best parts of the SummerSlam build. Whether that speaks about how weak the road to SummerSlam has been and how well this feud has been built is up to you to decide, but I think it’s a bit of both. That said, Zayn’s “last real good guy” thing has been an entertaining part of an otherwise weak stretch for SmackDown.
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Tiffany Stratton & Chelsea Green vs. The Baddies (B-Fab & Michin)
B-Fab hit Stratton with a forearm as she then threw her into the corner and hit her with a spinning kick. Stratton got out of it and hit B-Fab with a dropkick. With both Baddies prone on opposite ropes, Green and Stratton hit them with simultaneous running hip attacks. We took a weirdly-placed ad break just as Green was in control.
Back from the break and suddenly, the Baddies were in command of the match as B-Fab duked it out with Green. B-Fab got hit with an enzuigiri, which allowed her to get Stratton in for the hot tag. Faced with Michin, Stratton was on fire with the floatover cartwheel Alabama Slam on Michin, as she headed to the top rope for a swanton bomb. The cover, but Michin kicked out at two. Green tagged in blindly as Stratton hit B-Fab with an attack on the stairs. Cargill took out Stratton with a throw to said stairs. Back in the ring, Green got Michin with a dropkick, but B-Fab tagged in. Superkick by Michin led to the B.T.A. double team finisher and the win for the Baddies.
The victory celebration was interrupted by Charlotte Flair, who showed up wearing an oversized jacket. Green and Stratton recovered and fought with B-Fab & Michin. Flair removed the large jacket and stood face to face with Cargill in the ring. Then the fight was on.Flair dodged Cargill’s pump kick and got her with a big boot to send her rival retreating.
The Baddies def. Chelsea Green & Tiffany Stratton via pinfall
Pretty much a standard tag match, and I’ve been iffy on the booking of Cargill and her faction, I will say that they’ve been at least booked consistently strong for months now and it doesn’t seem so out of the blue for them to be winning matches on the regular.
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– Fraxiom & Dragon Lee were confronted by Dominik Mysterio & J.D. McDonagh. The two Judgement Day members were looking for Danhausen, as this led to a challenge for the AAA Cruiserweight Championship.
– We got a video from Tama & Talla Tonga. The two talked about how they’d put the family first. They were confronted by Haku, who gave marching orders for his sons to make themselves feared names once again.
WWE Tag Team Championships/AAA Tag Team Championships: Damian Priest & R-Truth (c) vs. War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) (c)
This was a “Title for Title” match.
We got underway with Erik and Priest going blow for blow. Priest threw Erik into his corner and battered him with strikes as Truth tagged in and got his foe with a spinning elbow. Erik blasted Truth from behind after an Ivar distraction, as the War Raiders had the advantage now. Priest went for a leaping attack from the stairs, but Erik and Ivar slammed him against the barrier. Ivar then ran into both Truth and Priest on opposite ends, into the barrier for both. We again took a commercial break literally two minutes into the match.
Back to our match as Priest kicked Ivar and looked for a poison rana off the top. He nailed it, but Erik tagged in blindly. Priest caught Erik with the bellclap and got ready to wind up for the home run swing. He instead got caught in a pop-up powerslam. The cover, but Truth broke up the pin. The War Raiders battered Truth and pushed the referee away. Priest stepped in and fought the Raiders as the referee got pushed. This forced a disqualification to be called.
After the bell, the fight between the Raiders and Priest/Truth continued into the crowd. Truth got on the barricade and leapt onto everyone with a splash. Priest hit both men back into the ringside area as Tama Tonga & Talla Tonga entered the fray. Emboldened by Haku’s words, the Tonga brothers went on the warpath and destroyed everyone. Once all was said and done, Haku walked down and saw his sons with both sets of tag titles in their hands.
R-Truth & Damian Priest vs. The War Raiders ended in a No Contest
This match was a complete waste of time. I will say Haku getting involved with his sons is a nice development, at the very least.
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– We got house show footage of CM Punk & Cody Rhodes scuffling over an “accidental” hit after a tag match celebration.
– Punk was interviewed about his match with Rhodes tomorrow. He talked about how at the end of the day, he’d still be the Undisputed WWE Champion. Trick Williams showed up and challenged Punk for a future title match. Punk said that he hoped that Williams would a contenders match soon, as he was ready to whoop that Trick.
– We got a video package on Nick Aldis that showed his history as an in-ring competitor in Impact Wrestling and NWA. Aldis said that he was committed to being the best GM he could be, even if it meant putting his in-ring dreams on hold. But, Gunther forced his hand by attacking him, and it meant that he was going to face him tomorrow at SummerSlam like a man.
Let’s Hear From Trick Williams
The United States Champion was ready to address his SummerSlam opponent, the returning Baron Corbin. Inside the ring, Williams introduced himself and said that he had a lot to get off his chest. Williams talked about Baron Corbin, who he said that he decided to wake up one day to hate on Trick Williams looking like a giant Tommy Pickles.
Williams, who walked down without Li’l Yachty, called out Corbin to figh thim right here and now. On cue, Baron Corbin walked down with a mic in hand. Corbin said that he learned some valuable lessons on his time away, like the virtue of patience. Corbin said that Williams’ downfall would be that how he felt more important than anyone else. Corbin told Williams that he was going to make Williams panic on Sunda.
Williams cut Corbin off and got right down to it, telling Corbin that the only thing he was collecting the size 15 Lemon Peppa Steppas up his ass. As Williams wanted to fight, Corbin said that this wasn’t going to happen. Corbin said he didn’t care what anyone wanted, and that Williams was a dumb rookie that didn’t understand. Corbin declarted that he was going to take the U.S. Title on Sunday and that there was nothing Williams could do anything about it.
The U.S. Champion got the last word in, stating that there would be only one thing happening on Sunday, the crowd in Minneapolis chanting one thing: “Whoop That Trick”.
This segment kinda highlights the huge disparity between Trick and Corbin, at least in promo work. While Corbin’s promo was just generic heel naff, Trick showed why he’s done really well with his promos. This was some good stuff from Williams here, even if the match on Sunday will probably be nothing to write home about.
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– To fill time, we got a Brock Lesnar/Oba Femi hype package, with the Hell in a Cell “cutting” a promo about the match.
AAA Cruiserweight Championship: Rey Fenix (c) vs. J.D. McDonagh
McDonagh kicked Fenix in the gut to gain an advantage in a test of strength. Fenix recovered and hit McDonagh with a monkey flip as the grip remained firm. Fenix got the best of his foe with a springboard armdrag. Fenix went for a springboard kick, but McDonagh caught him. Fenix countered as McDonagh rolled out of the ring. At ringside, Dominik Mysterio distracted Fenix by pulling at the foot, which allowed for McDonagh to take advantage with stomps in the corner.
Fenix recovered and hit Fenix with a springboard enzuigiri. McDonagh just missed getting hit with the feint kick from Fenix as he avoided a splash to the outside. He got up and then hit a splash of his own in the ring to Fenix, as we took another ad break.
Back to this match as McDonagh had Fenix caught in an arm submission. Fenix fought back and broke the hold, but McDonagh put him on the ground with a strike to the face. McDonagh missed on the splash, which opened him up for a frog splash by Fenix. Modified brainbuster by Fenix on McDonagh only got a near-fall. Both men struggled to their feet, but Fenix was up to his feet first. An exchange of strikes between the two, but Fenix got the best of it with the handspring springboard cutter. McDonagh countered with a running Spanish Fly on Fenix. One, two… NO
Fenix absolutely nailed McDonagh with the feint kick into the spin kick. As Fenix got on the top rope, Dominik caused a distraction, which got him thrown out of the ringside area after the referee got wind of it. Just as Dominik was leaving, Danhausen interrupted. He was about to be cursed, but Dominik punched Danhausen down. This brought the Mini Danhausens out to help Danhausen beat up on Dominik.
In the ring, McDonagh got hit with the Adios Amigo Kick, the double knees, and the Mexican Muscle Buster from Fenix. The cover and this one’s in the books.
Rey Fenix def. J.D. McDonagh via pinfall to retain the AAA Cruiserweight Championship
This was a good match, even with the expected Danhausen/Dominik antics. Rey Fenix is doing well in this role as the AAA Cruiserweight Champion, where he just puts on good matches on SmackDown and AAA’s weekly show. Not a bad spot for him, all things considered.
WWE SmackDown recapper. Former NXT PLE/WWE Saturday Night's Main Event/fill-in recapper.