WWE SmackDown Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From September 25

Before we head to Chicago for Worlds Collide this weekend, WWE made a stop by Indianapolis for this week's SmackDown.

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

• CM Punk vs. Gunther vs. Finn Balor (MITB Qualifier)
• Charlotte Flair vs. Giulia vs. Lash Legend (MITB Qualifier)
• Fatal Influence vs. Chelsea Green, Paige and Tiffany Stratton
• Trick Williams vs. Baron Corbin (United States Championship, Steel Cage)

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

Trick Williams vs. Baron Corbin

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Last time in action: Trick Williams defeated Baron Corbin (SNME, September 6)

When the USA Network went live in the arena about 10 minutes before the show started, Randy Orton interrupted Michael Cole and said he is going to interview him before the end of the show. It then suddenly cut back to a commercial and the end of the show that aired before SmackDown.

When the show finally started, we saw the cage being lowered for the United States Championship match between Williams and Corbin. Cole called this the final chapter of their story.

They started the match with a flurry of punches, so there was no wasting time with lockups or headlocks. Trick Willy was the first to take control, but Corbin used the cage to his advantage.

This has been a hot and cold feud, but Corbin and Williams have developed good chemistry as opponents. They clearly know each other's strengths, and the fact that they have a lot of physical similarities makes it an even contest.

Cage matches used to be a big attraction in WWE, but these days, it can feel more restrictive than anything else. There is only so much you can do with the cage, so giving fans anything fresh is almost impossible. That being said, this wasn't a bad match.

Corbin played a great bully, and Williams had the crowd behind him whenever he had the upper hand. This match won't set the world on fire, but it was a decent way to get the show started with something other than a talking segment.

Corbin kicked the cage door into Lil Yachty's face at ringside, but it came back to bite him when Yachty slammed it back in his face as he tried to escape. Williams was able to put him away to retain the title in the end.

Result: Williams defeated Corbin

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Putting something semi-interesting in that little pre-show segment was a nice change of pace. It's usually just a shot of the crowd.
• The video to hype this match was good.
• The sound completely cut out about 30 seconds before the first commercial break.
• The superplex from the top of the cage was a cool spot.

Charlotte Flair vs. Giulia vs. Lash Legend

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Last time in action: Giulia lost to Michin (Main Event, August 14), Legend won a tag match with Nia Jax (SmackDown, August 24), Flair lost a six-woman tag (SNME, September 6)

The second match of the night was another women's MITB qualifier with Giulia, Flair and Legend fighting for one of the remaining spots.

Legend came into this bout with the biggest power advantage, and Giulia was definitely the underdog due to her size, but the nature of a triple threat match evened the playing field and made it feel like any of them could win and it would be believable.

This was a pretty typical three-way. We got to see every combination one-on-one, and we saw several moments that included all three competitors. They did a good job making it feel less predictable than a lot of matches, but there wasn't much to it overall. It was a solid match that gave all three women some good moments.

Flair being the only former world champion of the three made her the easy choice, as well as the predictable choice, so the more interesting outcome was either of the two other woman winning. Thankfully, that is exactly what happened.

The final few minutes were the best part of the match. Legend ended up spoiling the win for Giulia and hitting her finisher to qualify for MITB.

Result: Legend defeated Giulia and Flair

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Paige, Chelsea, Nikki and Tiffany had a backstage segment. Nikki vowed to win the title from Chelsea.
• The fact that WWE hasn't done more with Giulia is a travesty. She is one of the best workers they have.
• The modified Tower of Doom spot looked good. They had a unique setup instead of the usual suplex.