WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades Highlights After WrestlePalooza 2025

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on October 3.

We just got done with WrestlePalooza but WWE already has Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia coming up next Saturday, so it's all hands on deck to hype the PLE.

Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Friday's show:

• Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed
• Tiffany Stratton focused on Stephanie Vaquer
• Sami Zayn's U.S. title open challenge continues

Let's take a look at what happened on this week's SmackDown.

Opening Segment

Rhodes came out to start the show, and he had on his Crown Jewel ring from last year just to remind everyone who won the first Crown Jewel Championship.

The American Nightmare only got to speak for about 10 seconds before Paul Heyman and the Brons interrupted him. Orton arrived to provide backup before anything could happen.

Heyman did his usual thing and tried to plant seeds of doubt in the mind of Rhodes regarding his friendship with The Viper. They left without incident, but they will be back for the main event.

This was relatively uneventful and predictable. It's gotten to the point that WWE relies on Rhodes for too many promos, so none of them ever feel fresh.

Grade: C

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Orton literally seemed to arrive out of nowhere. Was he under the ring?
• The text-heavy shirt designs WWE has been doing are kind of boring. Wrestling merch has needed a serious overhaul for a long time.
• SmackDown never seems to have as much sponsorship as Raw and the PLEs, but the Call of Duty logo in the ring was a little distracting.

Sami Zayn vs. Aleister Black

Last time in action: Zayn defeated Je'Von Evans (SmackDown, Sept. 26), Aleister Black defeated Damian Priest (SmackDown, Sept. 5)

The United States Championship open challenges continued this week. Zayn was challenged by Hayes, who gave a quick promo saying he no longer had anyone holding him back.

Before he could head to the ring, The Miz hit him with a Skull Crushing Finale after Hayes had dumped him as a partner backstage earlier in the show. Aleister Black came out and said he would take the spot instead.

The two former NXT champions immediately started trading takedowns and counters to get the action going. The Dutch Destroyer took control with a couple of stiff kicks.

The champion began to make a comeback when the show returned from a break. They went back and forth until another commercial break, so they had a decent amount of time to make this a good performance that got better as it went.

Priest showed up and distracted Black long enough for Zayn to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for the win. This would have been way better with a clean finish, but this helps keep the feud going with Priest and Black, which will be fun.

Priest cleared off the announce table and put Black through it with a Razor's Edge to end the segment.

Result: Zayn defeated Black

Grade: B+

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Zayn sold Black's first kick like he was hit by a truck.
• Black's springboard moonsault always looks great.
• Zayn deserves a lot of credit for being versatile enough to work with anyone and make them look good.
• Before this, the only televised match these two had was six years ago on SmackDown, which was won by Black.
• The way Black hit Zayn with a knee while he was diving off the top rope looked awesome.

Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre vs. Sol Ruca and Zaria

Last time in action: Sol Ruca and Zaria lost to The Culling (NXT, Sept. 9), Green and Fyre lost to Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair (SmackDown, Sept. 19)

During a backstage segment, Nick Aldis booked Green and Fyre to face Ruca and Zaria in a tag match, which upset Green because she was just looking for new members of her Secret Hervice.

Fyre and Zaria started with a hard-fought lockup. Zaria took control and held Fyre up in the corner by her head in a submission before hitting a flying clothesline. Green made a hesitant tag but still went after her opponent.

Green almost hit her finisher, but Ruca managed to counter and hit the Sol Snatcher for the pin and the win. This was a decent match, but it felt like it was just getting going when it ended.

Result: Ruca and Zaria defeated The Green Regime

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Green is consistently the most entertaining person in every segment she's in.
• It's so weird how WWE just ignores the men's speed title now that it's not a Twitter/X thing anymore.
• It's wild how Ruca can accurately hit that finisher so often.

Los Garzas vs. Rey Feniz and Je'Von Evans

Last time in action: Evans and Leon Slater defeated The Culling (NXT, Sept. 30), Rey Fenix lost to Zayn (SmackDown, Sept. 12), Los Garzas lost to Fraxiom (Main Event, Sept. 12)

The next segment saw Tiffany Stratton and Stephanie Vaquer sign their Crown Jewel contract. They each gave a quick promo, signed the contract, and it looked like that was going to be it before Giulia and Kiana James showed up.

They took out Tiffy in the aisle and then proposed Vaquer join them in an alliance. Stratton attacked Kiana, but Giulia escaped unharmed. This will probably lead to a tag team match, possibly next week before the PLE.

Following a backstage altercation, Fenix teamed up with Evans to take on Angel and Berto. Michael Cole reminded us that Angel and Berto defeated this duo a few months ago, so this was technically a rematch.

All four of these men could be classified as high-flyers, so it was nice to see that they incorporated some other kinds of offense along the way. They still did lots of high-risk moves, but that wasn't all this was.

All four men worked hard to put on an entertaining show. It was especially nice to see Angel and Berto get a chance to shine after feeling neglected in recent months. Fenix got the win for his team with a Muscle Buster.

Result: Evans and Fenix defeated Los Garzas

Grade: B+

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Notable Moments and Observations

• The five-second backstage segment with Rhodes and Orton was so unnecessary.
• Booker T's commentary whenever Vaquer is in the ring has gotten so obnoxious.
• WWE seems determined to have Fenix team up with everyone except Penta.
• The way Angel and Berto did a slingshot to send Evans into a big right hand was a fun spot.
• Evans took out a cameraman when he hit a suicide dive.

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed

Last time in action: Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre (WrestlePalooza), Orton lost to McIntyre (SmackDown, Sept. 12), The Vision lost to The Usos (Raw, Sept. 29)

This week's main event was the tag match with Orton and Rhodes taking on Breakker and Reed.

The Viper immediately took control and backed Breakker to the corner for some punches before clotheslining him over the top rope.

Orton eventually had to make a hot tag to Rhodes, who took on both men by himself for a bit, but was eventually overwhelmed.

This match had a good amount of time, but it felt very basic in a lot of ways. It was like you could predict every move before they did it. Nothing surprising or interesting happened, but on the plus side, nothing looked bad either.

Seth Rollins came in and hit a Stomp to Orton while Heyman distracted the ref. This allowed Reed to hit the Tsunami for the pin and the win.

Rollins took one too many risks and tried to Stomp Cody but ended up getting hit with a Cross Rhodes to end the show.

Result: Breakker and Reed defeat Orton and Rhodes

Grade: B

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Priest was shown taking out Kit Wilson backstage again.
• The show cut to a break about a minute after the bell rang. The entrances took up so much time.
• Breakker can be really funny when he talks trash sometimes.
• The way Breakker put Rhodes through the barricade was great.