WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Highlights Before Survivor Series 2025

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on November 28.

Survivor Series takes place Saturday, which means it's almost time for the annual WarGames matches.

However, the traditional Survivor Series Elimination match made a return on Friday when Solo Sikoa and his MFTs took on Sami Zayn, Shinsuke, Nakamura, Rey Fenix and The Motor City Machine Guns.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on Friday's go-home show before Survivor Series. .

Jey Uso vs. Rusev

Mike Owens/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: The Usos lost to Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre (Raw, Nov. 24), Rusev defeated Otis (Main Event, Nov. 17)

SmackDown opened with a WarGames preview before LA Knight was told backstage that he would be facing a mystery opponent in the Last Time is Now tournament due to Sheamus being injured.

The semifinals of the tournament also kicked off the show with Rusev taking on Jey Uso. The Bulgarian Brute immediately took control and hit a suplex for an early two-count.

This is one of those matches that's hard to judge. Nothing they did looked bad, but they also didn't do anything to make this stand out. It felt very paint-by-numbers.

The best part of the match was Rusev kicking out of a Spear at one, but he wasn't able to make enough of a comeback. Main Event Jey scored the win with an Uso Splash to advance in the tournament.

Result: Uso defeated Rusev

Grade: C

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Notable Moments and Observations

There was a bit less branding around the ring this week.

Rusev is a valuable talent, but WWE doesn't seem to know what to do with him. A run as a tag team with someone might be a good idea to freshen him up.

Jey showed some good power getting Rusev up for the Samoan drop.

The Miz vs. LA Knight

Mike Owens/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: The Miz lost to Jey (SD, Nov. 14), Knight defeated Zack Ryder (SD, Nov. 14)

The Miz was shown tricking Aldis into selecting him to be the mystery opponent for Knight. After a break, Chelsea Green came out to celebrate winning the U.S. title a few weeks ago. Jade Cargill came out and put her down with Jaded to end the short segment.

The next match was the Knight taking on The Miz in the LTIN tournament. The way The Miz got this bout was funny, but it was probably the least satisfying surprise WWE could have booked.

These are two guys who both know how to work with just about anyone, so it wasn't surprising to see them find their groove right away. It's just unfortunate that the mystery opponent was a disappointing reveal, and the match that followed was as predictable as it gets.

The A-Lister worming his way back into the tournament didn't help him in the end. Knight hit the BFT to get the win and advance to the semifinals.

Result: Knight defeated The Miz

Grade: C

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Notable Moments and Observations

Nick Aldis and R-Truth made a lot of ball jokes backstage.

It's wild how The Miz basically looks exactly the same as he did when he and Cena were in the main event of WrestleMania.

Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair

Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images

Last time in action: The Kabuki Warriors defeated Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss (Raw, Nov. 10)

Asuka and Charlotte met for a singles match this week to determine which woman's team would have the advantage heading into WarGames.

The longtime rivals took their time and sized each other up a bit before wrestling each other down to the mat. The Empress of Tomorrow took control as the show went to a break.

These two have always worked well together, and this time was no exception. This won't end up being in their top matches, but it was definitely a step up from the two bouts that came before it on this show.

Asuka accidentally misted a crew member instead of Flair, and this led to The Queen getting the pin to earn the advantage for her team on Saturday.

Result: Flair defeats Asuka

Grade: B

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Ilja Dragunov was impeccably dressed during his backstage interview.
• Calling Tommaso Ciampa a jackass is becoming the same thing as calling Marty McFly a chicken.
• Flair hit one of her better moonsaults in this match.

Elimination Match

Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images

This week's main event was the 10-man Survivor Series Elimination match. Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Talla Tonga and JC Mateo took on Zayn, Nakamura, Fenix, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley.

It took longer than expected for the first elimination to happen, and having it be the biggest powerhouse on the MFT side was surprising.

After a few eliminations, it came down to Zayn being alone against Talla, Tama and Solo. From that point, it was a pretty-one-sided fight.

Zayn tried his best, but three opponents was too much for him to overcome. He managed to eliminate Tama and Talla before Sikoa finally got the better of him with the Samoan Spike.

Result: MFTs defeated Zayn's team

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• This match got started with only 22 minutes left in the show, but they didn't try to rush things.
• Too many people used a red and black color scheme. Only Fenix wore something different with his blue gear.

The Final Word

Michael Owens/WWE via Getty Images

Friday's SmackDown managed to hype both Survivor Series and the upcoming Saturday Night's Main Event at the same time.

We got two matches in the Last Time is Now tournament, a WarGames advantage bout, and an elimination match to close the show.

The five-on-five contest had some fun moments, but the best thing on the show was Flair vs. Asuka.

Saturday's PLE doesn't appear to have anything that could be potentially groundbreaking for WWE, so let's hope the company has a surprise or two in store.

Grade: C