WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Before Backlash '25
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of the go-home episode of SmackDown before Backlash.
John Cena returned to the blue brand this week to hype his final match against Randy Orton this weekend.
The WWE Women's Championship was also a prime focus this week as Nia Jax faced Jade Cargill to see who would get the next shot at Tiffany Stratton.
We also saw a big tag match with Damian Priest teaming with LA Knight to take on Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Friday's SmackDown.
LA Knight and Damian Priest vs. Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu
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The show opened with Byron Saxton stopping Damian Priest backstage to get a quick word before he and LA Knight headed to the ring for their tag match against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.
Sikoa attacked Priest as the bell rang, so he became the legal man by default. It didn't take The Archer of Infamy long to take control and hit Old School.
Knight and Priest got into an argument as the show cut to a break to hammer home that this is an odd couple pairing that doesn't get along. They did a good job playing up the tension as the match progressed.
Knight and Priest got on a bit of a roll, but the former world champion tagged himself in instead of letting Knight finish off Fatu. A moment later, Knight did the same thing.
Sikoa tried to take advantage of their arguing but Knight was able to dodge the Samoan Spike and hit the BFT for the win. Priest and Knight got into a fight once the match was over. Fatu ended up taking both men down.
This was a decent match that followed a familiar pattern. Ending it with Drew McIntyre hitting Fatu with a Claymore out of nowhere added a little fun at the end.
Result: Priest and Knight defeated Fatu and Sikoa
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—The backstage interaction with Priest and Knight seemed off. It might have been improv because it made no sense for what Priest said to make Knight question him.
—It was weird how Knight just watched Sikoa attack Priest but didn't try to do anything to help him.
—It's too bad Sikoa has lost some of his mystique. He went from being a lock to win a world title to almost playing second fiddle to Fatu. His character will recover but how long it takes is the question.
—Priest hit a forearm to Sikoa that looked stiffer than he intended it to be, but Sikoa seemed fine.
Piper Niven and Chelsea Green vs. Zelina Vega and
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Chelsea Green was holding a memorial service for her U.S. title reign when Nick Aldis and Zelina Vega walked in. This led to Aldis booking Green and Piper Niven vs. Vega and a partner of her choosing in a tag match.
Vega's partner ended up being Alexa Bliss, who got a nice pop from the crowd when she made her entrance. Vega started against Niven and fell victim to the powerhouse at first, but as soon as Green tagged in, the champ took control.
It took until after a break for Vega to finally tag in Bliss, but once she came in, she was on fire. She hit Sister Abigail on Green to get the pin after a short rampage.
The majority of what we saw in this match was good, but there were enough awkward and mistimed moments to keep it from being as good as it should have been when you consider the level of talent involved.
Result:
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—SmackDown's theme song just doesn't fit the show. It's been a while since WWE made the change and it still doesn't feel like it fits.
—Green remains the funniest person in WWE. It's effortless with her.
—We got a promo video from Aleister Black. This was not as spooky as his previous gimmicks but still created some intrigue.
—During their entrance, Bliss did a subtle look at the title around Vega's waist.
Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax
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Charlotte Flair came to the ring after we returned from a break to give a promo. She said she was going to get back to the women's title before berating the crowd for disrespecting her. She was about to storm off when Cargill made her entrance.
Cargill grabbed a mic and told The Queen to get to the back of the line. After a break, Jax made her way to the ring. This was two of WWE's strongest women competing in a singles match, so there was some pressure on them to make it feel big.
Tiffany Stratton arrived to watch from ringside as they fought for a future title shot. Cargill put Jax in the corner, but the former women's champ ran her over a moment later.
This was never going to be a technical showcase of high-flying contest. This was two powerhouses going at it, so they needed to play to their strengths both literally and figuratively.
They battled through a break and we returned to see Cargill hit a big Samoan drop. She had a few more impressive displays of power like a suplex and a press slam in the corner, but none of it was enough to finish off Jax.
Naomi showed up at ringside and attacked Stratton, which distracted Jade long enough for Jax to take control and hit her finisher for the win.
While this match had a couple of cool moments that showed Cargill's power, that wasn't enough to make it memorable. It was slower in some places than it should have been, but the second half definitely picked up.
Result: Jax defeated Cargill
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Legado Del Fantasma attacked Rey Fenix backstage, so Aldis booked Fenix and Andrade vs. Los Garzas.
—The changed Def Rebel has made to Charlotte's music were not an improvement.
—Charlotte ran into Bliss backstage but it's unclear what Bliss wanted to talk about.
—The announcers clearly had no idea a break was coming because Joe Tessitore was cut off when it happened.
The Street Profits vs. Fraxiom
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Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins came to the ring bandaged up after their brutal TLC match a couple of weeks ago. They spoke for a bit before Fraxiom came out to ask for a title shot. Aldis came out and booked a non-title match to see if Fraxiom could hang with the champs.
We returned to see the match already in progress. Ford and Dawkins were both selling their injuries from the TLC match, so Nathan Frazer and Axiom were able to take advantage of being the fresher of the two teams.
With Ford and Dawkins doing so much to sell their injuries, this match wasn't as fast-paced as it usually would be. That being said, they still put on a great show with a lot of fun spots, especially for Fraxiom.
The good thing about the Profits purposely working slower than usual was that it allowed them to leave a lot of room to grow in future encounters between these two teams. The fact that this was still as good as it was is a testament to how great both duos are.
After a fantastic back-and-forth contest, Fraxiom scored the win and possibly earned a title shot in the process. Make sure you don't miss this one.
Result: Fraxiom defeated The Street Profits
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
—It's kind of a weird coincidence that both WWE and AEW had moments that involved prosthetic legs in recent weeks.
—Ford had several little moments on the mic that were great. He is someone WWE needs to put front and center more often.
—The way Dawkins sent Frazer out of the ring with a flying elbow was funny.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Aleister Black
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The next match we got featured Black taking on Carmelo Hayes, who had The Miz at ringside for support. Black defeated The Miz in his return match, so Hayes was hoping to learn from his partner's mistakes.
They locked up and had a great exchange of counters and takedowns to get the action going. Hayes unloaded with some strikes in the corner, but Black no-sold it and fired back to send him out of the ring for a moonsault.
The match got more competitive during the break and saw Hayes get in a lot more offense, but Black still maintained control most of the time.
They quickly developed a lot of chemistry and put on a fun match that allowed both of them to shine, but The Miz accidentally cost Hayes the match.
He tried to distract Black, but Hayes crashed into him and Black rolled him up for the win. He immediately took out The Miz with Black Mass before exiting the ring and sitting in the aisle.
Result: Black defeated Hayes
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—The pairing of The Miz and Hayes still hasn't clicked yet.
—Thank whatever deity you pray to that Black was able to keep his old entrance music.
—The Miz did a good job of being animated at ringside without distracting from what was going on in the ring.
Los Garzas vs. Andrade and Rey Fenix
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The next bout was the tag match booked earlier in the show with Andrade and Fenix taking on Berto and Angel.
Fenix and Angel started things off with a fast-paced exchange, but it didn't take long for Berto to tag in.
Santos Escobar accidentally distracted the ref when Berto had Fenix pinned. El Idolo was able to hit his finisher to get the win for his team.
As expected, this was a fast-paced and entertaining match. All four of these guys are tremendous athletes, so they would have to try to have a bad match.
Escobar ripped into Berto for losing and things got tense before Berto stormed off. Angel just looked confused.
Result: Andrade and Fenix defeated Los Garzas
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Having Fenix be in a tag match with someone other than Penta felt weird.
—Wade Barrett and Joe Tess talked about WWE buying AAA and said the spotlight on lucha libre has never been brighter. Time will tell.
—The double moonsault spot was awesome.
The Champ is Here
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When Cena came out for the final segment, he got a lot more cheers than expected, but the crowd still sang "John Cena sucks" along with his music.
Someone threw a beer bottle in the ring and Cena just shook his head and threw it away with a look of disgust.
Cena spent the last 10 minutes of the show verbally trashing Orton. He even insulted Orton's dad and grandpa and brought up a failed drug test from Orton's past.
This was a solid promo from Cena that included a couple of lines that are going to be popular on social media.
Someone in a hoodie and mask tried to hit an RKO and Cena took him down, but it was all a ruse as the real Orton showed up and hit the RKO a moment later.
Grade: B
The Final Word
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Friday’s SmackDown was a bit of a mixed bag, but the good far outweighed the bad when it came to in-ring action.
Andrade and Fenix picked up a fun win over Los Garzas, and Black put on a good show against Hayes in what is almost guaranteed to be the first of many encounters.
However, nothing on the show held a candle to The Street Profits vs. Fraxiom. Not only did they steal the show, but they did so while the Profits were intentionally holding back to sell injuries.
The SmackDown tag team division has been one of the bright spots in WWE recently and that does not appear to be changing anytime soon. If Fraxiom can continue to perform at a high level like this, they are going to be very successful.
Ending the show with Cena’s promo made sense. He did a good job hyping his match with Orton on Saturday night, but nothing he said was surprising.
Grade: B
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