WWE Friday Night SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Oct. 17, 2025) with a live show emanating from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, featuring all the fallout from the Crown Jewel premium live event that went down just this past weekend all the way over in Australia.
Advertised for tonight: WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will take be kicking off the show to address his loss to World Heyweight Champion Seth Rollins and we’ll likely learn whatever is next for him.
Plus, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss put the tag team titles on the line against Sol Ruca & Zaria from NXT, Jacob Fatu takes on Drew McIntyre, and more!
Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA Network. It will be below this line here. (Note: Links to illegal streams are prohibited. Pics and GIFs are allowed.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS & LIVE BLOG FOR OCT. 17She’ll always be there trying to grab a hold. She thought she knew me, but she didn’t know that I was sad and wanted to liveblog this pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with a recap focused on the main event of Raw and the rest of the Vision turning on Seth Rollins.
General manager Nick Aldis is in the ring, mic in hand.
He informs us that tonight’s scheduled match between Drew McIntyre and “Samoan Werewolf” Jacob Fatu is now a #1 contender’s match for the WWE Undisputed Champion, held by--
Enter “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes
Rhodes gets on the mic and says on Saturday Seth Rollins beat him for the Crown Jewel Championship and it split him to the bone to do so. He doesn’t think they need to face each other in the ring ever again but that’s not how things work around here, and it doesn’t take 20/20 vision to see that he’s got problems with his Vision.
Seth needs to handle his business, and Cody will handle SmackDown business, and the business of SmackDown is being here tonight in the bay area (thrash til death!) to watch a #1 contender’s match. He polls the crowd on Drew McIntyre winning (boo) or Jacob Fatu winning (yay)
Backstage, Solo Sikoa rolls up on Rey Fenix doing a photoshoot and demands he make way for him. Fenix asks if he has a problem, and Solo signals for the MFTs to attack him, throwing him into a road case and putting boots to him!
Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Blake Monroe is shown in the front row.
Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair (c) vs. ZaRuca (Sol Ruca & Zaria) (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship)Flair and Ruca to start, collar and elbow, Charlotte with a wristlock, reversed and back, Sol with a fancy evasion and the Queen gives her a polite round of applause. Whip reversed, Flair Flip, boot from the apron, boot takes Zaria out, Ruca lands a kick, Charlotte with a kick in the corner and then a tag to Bliss!
Zaria tags in, blocks a Sister Abigail, big thrust spinebuster and we go to break!
Back from commerical, Zaria in control, denying Bliss the tag, taking her into the corner for a tag to Ruca. Revolution back suplex facebuster, spinning Alexa about a dozen times before tagging back. Off of Zaria’s shoulders with an Iconoclasm… BLISS ROLLS AWAY! Zaria charges into a boot, low bridge sends Sol to the floor, kick sends Zaria away, tag to Flair!
Diving crossbody takes out both members of Zaruca, two-for-one chops, handspring lariat from the Queen! Fisherman suplex from Flair, kip-up, waistlock, Ruca with a blind tag, springboard punch, uppercut, back elbow, clear the apron, whip to the corner, German suplex connects, off the second, missile dropkick caught and reversed into a Boston Crab!
Reversed to a victory roll for two, block the figure four leglock… SOL SNATCHER CONNECTS BUT BLISS BREAKS THE COVER UP! Zaria throws Alexa to the floor but gets sidestepped, she blocks a Frankensteiner and swings Bliss hard into the barricade! Charlotte bowls her over with a big boot, Ruca to the floor, Blake Monroe jaws at her and Flair lands the chop block!
Taking Sol back inside, spinning toehold to the figure four leglock, breaking the hold to drop a knee and reapplying and bridging up, Ruca reaching desperate…
Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair win by submission with the Figure Eight from Flair on Sol Ruca, retaining the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Jacob Fatu runs into Cody Rhodes backstage and says he’s gonna win tonight and show him the real meaning of “ghost ride the whip” and that he’s all gas, no breaks.
Cody shakes his hand and says he hopes he’s right and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get an Aleister Black promo where he’s hanging out with a snake and also his wife, Zelina Vega.
He says everything he’s been doing is calculated and he’s never felt more accomplished than reuniting with his wife. This was the inevitable truth, and there’s none more methodical nor more violent than his wife. They’re not the infection but the mirror that shows it, and you might call them a necessary evil.
The venom isn’t poison, it’s salvation.
We get a recap of Tama Tonga’s return last week.
Miz is backstage chatting with Nick Aldis, saying he wants something to be big, and Aldis says he’ll do what he can.
Sami Zayn rolls up to complain about not being on the show tonight.
Nick says he supports the US Open Challenge but Shinsuke Nakamura deserves a proper rematch but he’s still in Japan, and the MFTs he been enough trouble without offering Sami up on a silver platter. Zayn says that doesn’t work for him and this means something to him and to the fans and to a locker room hungry for opportunities, so he’s sorry but he’s gonna go out there and defend it tonight.
Miz is still there and Nick asks him if he needs anything but he says he’s good, real good, and we go to break.
Back from commercial we get some hype for noted racist Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n Wrestling cartoon show making its way to YouTube. Sure.
Sami Zayn makes his entrance to issue his open challenge.
The Miz makes his entrance and complains about open challenges treating the championship like a charity and-- CARMELO HAYES BLINDSIDES THE MIZ AND THEY BRAWL TO THE BACK, SWARMED BY REFEREES!
…ILJA DRAGUNOV IS BACK AND HE’S ANSWERING THE CALL!
Ilja Dragunov vs. Sami Zayn (c) (WWE United States Championship Open Challenge.Wading in and trading punches with abandon, big right hand gets Zayn some breathing room, front chancery, Dragunov floats over, Sami blocks the German suplex, standing switch, Ilja reverses, standing switch again! Zayn slips out, elbows get an enzuigiri, running corner knee, big boot and Dragunov is fired up as we go to break!
Back from commercial, Zayn in control, whip across, drop him with a lariat, cover for two! Drawing him back up, chops for elbows, tornado DDT connects and Dragunov is gasping! Sami charges in, cut off with a big knee… SO CLOSE! Rolling German suplexes from the challenger, victory roll pin counters, Zayn with rolling Germans of his own over vigorous objections in the form of back elbows!
Ilja with a back suplex dropped into a lariat, off the top, nobody home, roll through, Michinoku Driver connects for two! Fighting out to the apron, Dragunov gets the better of him, fireman’s carry, Sami fights out… APRON BRAINBUSTER SENDS US TO BREAK!
Back from commercial, jockeying for position in the turnbuckles, Dragunov knocks Zayn down, off the top… SAMI KICKS OUT OF THE DIVING SENTON! Back up top, Ilja wading in with chops, climbing up with him, jockeying for position… ILJA DRAGUNOV SUPERPLEX CONNECTS! Dragunov calls for it… H-BOMB COUNTERED WITH AN UPKICK!
Sidestep the boot, cradle Olympic Slam… STILL NOT ENOUGH! Duck a backfist, Blue Thunder Driver countered, Constantine Special connects! Calling for it, big boot counters, Sami draws him up… ILJA KICKS OUT OF THE BLUE THUNDER DRIVER AT THE LAST FRACTION OF A SECOND! In the corner, calling for it, Solo Sikoa appears on the stage to catch Zayn’s attention but he walks to the back and Sami barely catches Dragunov with the corner exploder!
Charging in… TORPEDO MOSKAU COUNTERS! H-BOMB CONNECTS! ILJA DRAGUNOV DOES IT!
Ilja Dragunov wins by pinfall with the H-Bomb, becoming your new WWE United States Championship.
Post-match, the MFTs hit the ring, once again wearing their corpse paint, and beat Sami and Ilja down!
REY FENIX MAKES THE SE! TALLA TONGA CHOKESLAMS HIM HARD INTO THE MAT!
Solo Sikoa gets on the mic and asks if we all forgot that the MFTs run SmackDown and says they’re going to get everything back that his family has lost and he will make his family tree champions again.
The lights go down.
They come back up with Wyatts footage on the tron, VHS style.
Bo Dallas says seek and you shall find, knock and the door will open, but are you prepared for what’s on the other side?
The Wyatt 6 appear on the apron behind the MFTs! The two teams square up as the crowd chants something that immediately gets censored, and then the MFTs back down to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of WWE’s recent international tour.
A recap of the WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Championship match follows.
Tiffany Stratton is interviewed backstage.
She’s not gonna pretend she’s happy about losing but this setback doesn’t define her and she’s still WWE Women’s Champion and she’s focused on what’s next.
Kiana James rolls up.
She talks about how she only represents premium talent like Giulia, an investment that pays off every time, but Tiffany Stratton accuses her of not being able to get it done in the ring and a match is booked for next week.
Motor City Machine Guns are backstage chatting about the one-year anniversary of their debut when Los Garza roll up to make fun of them. MCMG point out they beat Los Garza then and want to make it a yearly tradition and challenge them to a match for tonight.
Los Garza (Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)Shelley and Garza to start, Carillo with a distraction and Angel puts boots to Alex! Side headlock, blind tag from Sabin, dropkick-assisted reverse STO, action to the floor, Shelley holds the ropes open and Chris dives! Back inside, Garza working Sabin over, tag to Shelley, tag to Carrillo, assisted Alarm Clock, clear the apron, superkick sends Alex flying and we go to break!
Back from commercial, tag to Sabin, diving crossbody wipes out both Garzas, double lariat, German suplex for Angel, backslide and a crucifix on Humberto, no fall! Tag to Shelley, double hip toss, Liger Bomb from Carrillo… NOPE! Sabin legal in there somewhere, Garza with the Gory Special, Humberto tags in and hits a blockbuster… ALEX BREAKS IT UP!
Shelley slides to the floor, Garza gets a Cheeky Nando’s on the apron, Sabin with a kick, Carrillo lands a corkscrew tope con giro and throws Chris back inside! A little back and forth, a tag…
Motor City Machine Guns win by pinfall with Skull and Bones on Angel Garza.
Fraxiom are chatting in the locker room and Nathan Frazer wants to go punch someone in the face and make an impact. Axiom wants to wait for the right opportunity to win the titles, but #DIY roll up to make fun of them for thinking about titles.
Tommaso Ciampa says they’ve been staying out of the way these last two months so Street Profits couldn’t point fingers at them and now that they’re back, nothing has changed around here. They try to yank Axiom’s “stupid mask” for Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae’s son Quill for Halloween but he just ends up challenging him to a match later.
We get the beginning of introductions for our main event when we hear a commotion and the camera rushes backstage where Jacob Fatu is under some scaffolding bleeding heily from the mouth.
Nick Aldis, road agents, and referees swarm to assist him and we go to break.
Back from commercial we see Jacob Fatu, slightly recovered but still sputtering blood backstage.
Drew McIntyre makes his entrance, a smug grin on his face as he awaits his victory by default and #1 contendership.
He gets on the mic and greets San Jose and says Bleeding Gums Fatu is all gas, no brakes after all, huh? He asks referee Ryan Tran to raise his hand as #1 contender but Tran refuses.
Nick Aldis comes out to the stage and tells Drew not to say another word and says he doesn’t know what happened but he swears to god, if he finds out McIntyre had anything to do with this-- Drew cuts him off and says he had absolutely nothing to do with it and Aldis has known him for twenty years and he needs to do the right thing and give him his match, right now.
“American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes comes storming down, furious.
He says enough is enough and these people didn’t want to see Drew talk, they wanted a #1 contender’s match, so they should give them something right now. If McIntyre wants his title match he can he it right here, right now! (Van Halen is kicking ass in America?)
A brawl starts at ringside and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Rhodes and McIntyre are still brawling and Ryan Tran rings the bell!
“American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE Undisputed Championship)McIntyre with a belly-to-belly suplex, mounted punches, taking a breather in the ropes, Cody with a double leg, gouging the eye, Drew pops up, throat thrust and a huge tossing suplex! Armbar, commentary debating if this is even a title match, Future Shock DDT… RHODES KICKS OUT!
Back and forth, Drew with a big headbutt, Cody cuts him off, Cody Cutter connects, fired up, McIntyre falls to the floor, Rhodes off the ropes, dive countered with an elbow! Over the timekeeper’s barricade, Cody smashes the title belt into Drew’s face…
Drew McIntyre wins by disqualification.
Cody Rhodes, a furious bellowing god of war, clears the announce desk and stalks after McIntyre but Drew gouges his eyes! Fireman’s carry, Cody slips out, smashes McIntyre into the desk, climbs up with him, inverted facelock but security swarms and breaks it up before he can hit Cross Rhodes into the table!
Nick Aldis tries to talk sense into him but Rhodes gets away and goes up top… PLANCHA INTO MCINTYRE AND A BUNCH OF SECURITY! Cody rolls back inside, security keeps the big Scot away from him.
That’s the show, folks.
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