Did you watch Smackdown last week? If you did, then you know exactly why I am making this article. If you didn’t, let me break it down for you. Smackdown last week was easily one of the worst episodes of Smackdown I have ever watched, the show has hit complete rock bottom in terms of match quality, creativity and watchability. Go check out my review covering WWE content last week if you want a more detailed analysis, you can find that here.
This is not an anomaly by any means. Whilst still having bright moments, Smackdown has been on a gradual decline for the past year. Raw has been consistent, not without it’s flaws but a lot of the content being produced makes sense and is enjoyable. Smackdown is a different story. Their top stars are not being featured frequently so the show lacks star power. They recycle the same matches and feuds over and over and over again. We are sick of seeing LA Knight fight Solo Sikoa and his family! The Wyatt Sicks have returned and won tag gold but they have no interesting creative outside of ‘we are spooky and the other tag teams are scared of us’. WWE were building up Carmelo Hayes but he has been absent for weeks without reason.
Aleister Black, Carmelo Hayes, Chelsea Green, Drew McIntyre, LA Knight. All fantastic workers who have been hindered by horrible creative decisions. They have a roster full of amazing talent, yet Smackdown consistently borrow superstars from Raw or they’re relying on celebrity power such as fucking Jelly Roll.
I have had enough. Smackdown sucks right now and it needs fixed ASAP. So, here I am telling WWE how to do their bloody jobs. I am going to run down how I would book this week’s Smackdown in full, then I’ll cover how the show should progress in the future to save itself from being nominated for Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Worst Show of 2025.
SMackdown, 18th July 2025 from San Antonio Texas
Luckily for me, the only thing that has been pubically announced thus far is that both Cody Rhodes and John Cena will be on this show. That gives me a full 2 hours to work with. I am going to work with the table that Smackdown have set, rather than just destroying it and pretending the last few weeks of poor booking have not happened. That would be ideal personally, but it would be jarring and insulting to the audience for so much to go unresolved. First segment of the night comes from the Scottish Psychopath, Drew McIntyre. Commentary remind us that Randy Orton & country singer Jelly Roll are set to team up to face Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul at Summerslam.
Drew McIntyre Promo
Drew McIntyre calls his loss at Saturday Night’s Main Event to Randy Orton a complete farce. A talentless country singer does not belong anywhere near Drew McIntyre. The fact that Orton needs help from a “chubby Post Malone” only proves McIntyre’s point. Randy Orton has gone soft. He is no longer the Viper, the Apex Predator or the Legend Killer. He is a product, another corporate money maker just like CM Punk and just like John Cena. The words RKO have no meaning anymore, the only letters that Orton cares about is TKO.
Logan Paul comes out and agrees with everything Drew is saying. It is embarrassing that an industry legend like Randy Orton is hanging around with outsider’s like Jelly Roll. It is up to wrestling purists like himself and Drew McIntyre to protect the business. McIntyre cuts him off and says “you told me that you would have no problem taking care of Jelly Roll.” Drew says he used to like Logan purely because everyone else didn’t, but watching him get dropped by one punch from Jelly Roll made him realise something. Logan Paul is no better than Jelly Roll. A talentless outsider trying to gain clout from the business Drew has bled for.
Because of that, Drew McIntyre has no desire to be associated with Logan Paul anymore. He says that the tag match for Summerslam is off, he has no interest teaming with Logan unless he can prove to him that he deserves his time. Randy Orton now comes out. He hates to interrupt this squabble, but he cannot move past what Drew said about him going soft. Orton is not going soft, in fact he feels just as dangerous as he did back in 2010. It is no secret that he hears those voices and they have been growing louder recently it is hard to ignore them. Right now, they are telling him to get into this ring and kick both of their heads off.
However, he will show restraint and do the mature thing. If the Summerslam match is not going to happen, that is fine, but Orton still wants to get his hands on that disrespectful leech (he points at Logan Paul). Randy is going to go back to speak to Nick Aldis and get the match confirmed. Tonight Logan Paul will feel the power of the 3 most dangerous letters in WWE. RKO.
Commentary tell us that it has been confirmed that tonight’s main event match will be Randy Orton vs Logan Paul and also reveal that Jelly Roll is indeed backstage hanging out in Randy Orton’s tour bus. Other matches confirmed for tonight include Giulia defending her US championship against the former champion Zelina Vega, following on from Zelina eliminating Giulia from the Battle Royal at Evolution. Also confirmed for later on is Damian Priest vs Aleister Black, Black took out his frustrations last week and assaulted Priest. Damian requested this match and he is going to get it. That is all later on, now let’s get the action started with our first match of the night.
Fatal Four-Way Tag Team Match
The Street Profits, Andrade & Rey Fenix, Motor City Machine Guns & Fraxiom compete in a 4-way tag match to determine a number 1 contender for the tag champions, the Wyatt Sicks. DIY join commentary for the match and reveal that they were given the option to compete in this match but they turned it down. As much as they love tag team wrestling and want their titles back, they have no desire to stand across the ring from the Wyatts.
For months, Smackdown’s tag division was the highlight of the show but over the past few weeks the focus has shifted and they have been pushed into the background. That sucks because there is so much great talent here that can provide the high work rate matches people want to see. This match should get at least 15 minutes so that these 8 men can work their magic. In the opening few minutes of the match, Uncle Howdy strolls out only accompanied by Erick Rowan and Nikki Cross. He sits in the rocking chair and watches the match, studying the future challengers.
We get some fast back and forth action between Fraxiom, Andrade and Rey Fenix. The Street Profits take control and show off their chemistry, but the MCMGs show that their chemistry and experience is just a smidge superior. Street Profits get into a war of words with DIY on the outside, Fraxiom rush for stereo suicide dives but they wipe out DIY instead of the Street Profits. Street Profits go into the ring to face Andrade & Fenix. Andrade drops Angelo Dawkins with The Message. Rey Fenix hits the Fire Thunder Driver on Montez Ford and has the match won, but he is dragged out of the ring by Santos Escobar. Whilst Santos, Fenix and the referee argue, Angel & Berto Garza attack Andrade. Rey Fenix is left to fight on his own.
Fenix is eventually defeated by the Motor City Machine Guns, who are now the number 1 contenders for the WWE Tag Championships. Uncle Howdy stands up and claps at their performance. Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis appear from behind and beat down the Motor City Machine Guns. Uncle Howdy laughs at the chaos and he shouts “be prepared to be tested.”
We head backstage where Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss are walking and talking. Bliss thanks her for saving her from the spear at Evolution and thinks that Flair is starting to warm up to her. Flair smiles but simply says that she was trying to win the match. Flair says that they should have walked with the victory. Bliss says that Flair sacrificed a chance at winning to save her from a spear, which sounds an awful lot like friendship to her. She is teasing her. Flair says they are not friends, but she does want them to get a rematch against the Judgement Day.
They arrive at Nick Aldis’ office but of course Chelsea Green and the Secret Hervice are already there. She is complaining about being eliminated from the Women’s Battle Royal by Nikki Bella who doesn’t belong here anymore and hasn’t been relevant in 10 years. Flair tells Green that the Queen is here so it is time for her to leave. Green refuses to be disrespected, she is America’s Head of State. Bliss says the last time she checked, a Queen outranks a Head of State. Piper & Alba step up to Flair & Bliss for disrespecting the Green Regime leader. Chelsea backs the Secret Hervice down and they take their leave. Chelsea walks out of Aldis’ office and almost bumps into her former rival Zelina Vega. Green sarcastically wishes Vega luck before walking away. Zelina Vega is making her way to the ring. US championship is on the line, next.
Another quick backstage segment. The Miz has managed to secure him and Carmelo Hayes some interview time. The Miz thinks it is a crime that they were left out of the 4-way tag team match earlier. Before they can continue, a very upset Andrade & Rey Fenix burst into shot and are shouting in Spanish. They insult Legado Del Fantasma before they officially lay out a challenge to the AAA Tag champions Los Garza, a championship tag match to take place in August at AAA Triplemania XXXIII. Hayes & The Miz are upset and they do the whole “who do you think you are?” Andrade & Fenix drop them both with stereo kicks.
Giulia (c) vs Zelina Vega, United States Championship
I want this to be mostly a showcase for Giulia because she is the more exciting and, to put it bluntly, better wrestler. Zelina can have some offence, but this should be a dominant display for Giulia and a confident retention in like 7 minutes.
When Giulia is asked about what is next for her, she says that she is ready to take on all challengers. Nia Jax and Candice LeRae make their way out to the ring. Candice calls Giulia to flavour of the month that will quickly be forgotten about. She says that the US title looks nice, but it would sure look nicer around her waist. Nia pulls a face and looks at Candice. LeRae corrects herself and says that she meant over Nia’s shoulder. Nia Jax smiles and thinks that it is time that they give Giulia the welcoming gift that they never had a chance to give her.
Nia & Candice give Giulia a beat down. The champion fights but she succumbs to the numbers game. Nia goes for the Annihilator. “It’s Tiffy Time!” Tiffany Stratton runs down and makes the save, finding an excuse to take out her rivals one last time. Nia and Candice take their leave. Stratton and Giulia share a moment in the ring where they stand face to face and show mutual respect. Tiffany Stratton stays out here as she has something to say in the next segment.
We Hear From Tiffany Stratton
Tiffany Stratton says that getting the chance to face Trish Stratus at Evolution was a dream come true scenario for her. Being able to defeat Trish is one of the biggest moments of her career. She shows respect and love for Trish, but now it is time to focus on the next challenge. Summerslam. Stratton says a lot of people are intimidated by Jade, but not her. On cue, here comes the 2025 Queen of the Ring, Jade Cargill. Jade says at Evolution, they both handled their business. Tiffany got hers over Trish whilst Jade finally put Naomi in the rear view (pun intended) so that she can focus on the reason she came to WWE. She didn’t come to make friends or make enemies. She came to WWE to win championships. Jade congratulates Stratton for her victory at Evolution but she should celebrate that defence as long as she can, because it is going to be her last successful defence.
Stratton says that Jade Cargill walked into WWE with an undeniable aura, but she is not on her level. “Whilst fans cannot agree whether or not you are a good enough to be here, everyone around the world knows how good I am and agrees that it is and always will be, Tiffy Time.” Tiffany Stratton holds up her championship in Jade’s face. Cargill smiles, before dropping the champion with Jaded and posing with the belt over her.
Backstage R-Truth is wishing Damian Priest luck in his match with Aleister Black coming up next. Truth continues his walk and he walks by Logan Paul who is also warming up ahead of his match later. “What are you doing here? You do realise out there is a wrestling ring, not a boxing ring, Jake Paul.” Logan feels insulted that Truth doesn’t know who he is. He reminds Truth that he interfered during his tag match alongside John Cena at Money in the Bank. At hearing Cena’s name, R-Truth fades away and his Ron Killings persona comes in. He gets all serious and says that he knows who Logan is. “You are ruining wrestling more than John Cena ever could and that, is the truth.” He leaves, but Logan just brushes off the comment with little care for what he said.
We get a brief pre-recorded Aleister Black promo. He calls his loss to R-Truth last week a complete embarrassment that he will not allow to happen again. He got briefly distracted, blinded by his own emotions and that is not good enough. Black warns Priest that for the past few weeks he has been getting involved in his business, it was only a matter of time until he suffered consequences for his curiosity. This week, Black will not let his emotions get the best of him, but Priest will.
Aleister Black vs Damian Priest
This match starts off hot as their is already some bad blood between these 2 men. A very hard-hitting match, Black uses his catalogue of strikes to chop down Priest. Damian is the stronger man though and he is able to land some big power moves for a few near falls. The action spills out of the ring early on and Priest goes for a chop, but Black dodges and the hand cracks against the ring post. Black targets that hand and arm with strikes and submissions throughout, which just so happens to be the arm Priest uses for his South of Heaven finisher. Priest fights back and does manage to hit the South of Heaven chokeslam but he isn’t able to get all of it and Black kicks out.
Priest is frustrated, but that turns to rage when Black starts to mock him. He does the shooting an arrow taunt at Priest, which is the taunt Priest used to do during his first few years in WWE. Priest goes for the South of Heaven again, but this time he puts too much force into it and his arm gives way. He lets go of Aleister, who immediately drops Priest with a Black Mass to pick up the win in about 10 minutes.
We get a pre-recorded video from Solo Sikoa and his MFTs. He sarcastically welcomes Jacob Fatu back and hopes he enjoyed his brief time away. Fatu was only gone for a week, but Solo hoped that would have been enough time for Jacob to think about this situation he is in and make the correct choice. Jacob should walk away from this, go to Raw or leave WWE altogether and let Solo run things like he should. However, Jacob decided to come back and save Jimmy Uso. Why? Why do you suddenly care about “Big Jim?” Solo watched him destroy Jimmy Uso last year but now they’re playing friends? It is pathetic.
Solo knows what this is all about. Solo has something that Jacob wants, he understands. However, Solo Sikoa isn’t going to give Jacob anything for free. If Jacob wants the match, he can earn it by overcoming Solo Sikoa’s Trials. If Fatu accepts, next week he will be wrestling twice. First against Tonga Loa, then against JC Mateo immediately afterwards. If Fatu can overcome that, then the week after that he will meet Tala Tonga in a Street Fight. It will be a miracle if Fatu makes it out of that match alive, but if he does then Solo will destroy whatever is left of him at Summerslam.
After that video, Jacob Fatu is interviewed and he accepts the challenge. He is all gas, no brakes. You better get in, where you fit in. Drew McIntyre walks past Fatu and mockingly does ‘title around the waist’ taunt. You know the one right? Moving your hands back and forth in front and around your waist like you’re wearing an invisible title.
Randy Orton is talking with country singer Jelly Roll backstage. Randy’s match with Logan Paul is next.
Randy Orton vs Logan Paul
Jelly Roll is in Orton’s corner to provide support to his new friend. This will be a standard Randy Orton TV main event match. Orton starts off strong, Logan takes over and gets heat until Orton hits his comeback. I think Logan would be a great opponent to execute the faster, flashier moves whilst Randy can slow things down to his own pace. Towards the final stretch, Logan goes over to Jelly Roll and slaps him, baiting him to get on the apron which distracts the referee.
Logan goes into his tights and pulls out some brass knuckles, but Orton catches the punch and takes the knucks from him. Orton teases using them to the crowd, as he is doing this the referee finally turns his attention back to the match. Before the ref turns, Logan Paul falls to the mat and starts clutching his face. The referee sees the brass knuckles in Randy’s hand and Logan down on the mat, he puts 2 and 2 together and he decides to call the match. Logan Paul defeats Randy Orton via DQ in about 9 minutes. Orton is furious and he argues with the referee for the call.
Randy drops the referee with an RKO. He looks over at Jelly Roll and shouts about him getting on the apron in the first place. Logan Paul hoofs Orton in the genitals from behind, mounting him to throw some punches. He also takes back the brass knuckles, teasing using them but Jelly Roll comes in and pulls Logan off. Logan punches Jelly with the brass knuckles and knocks him out, then drops Orton with an RKO. Logan goes to leave but he sees Jelly Roll starting to come back around. He slides back in the ring and whilst a beaten down Orton watches on, Logan Paul hits Jelly Roll with an Orton Punt Kick.
Seeing this seemingly gives Randy an adrenaline rush because he tries to rush over to Jelly Roll and Logan, but Paul escapes the ring. Medical staff rush down to the ring to attend to Jelly Roll. Nick Aldis is shouting at Logan Paul for his actions. Logan walks up the ramp with a mean look on his face, waiting for him at the top is Drew McIntyre who is slow clapping at what he has just witnessed. Commentary really sell the seriousness of the situation and how Jelly Roll is going to be taken to a local medical facility.
Commentary gloss over what we can expect to see on the next week’s episode of Smackdown. The Miz & Carmelo Hayes will face Andrade & Rey Fenix. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss will take on the Secret Hervice, Piper Niven & Alba Fyre. Jacob Fatu will wrestle singles matches against Tonga Loa & JC Mateo. We will also hear from Bianca Belair who is returning to Smackdown to say what is on her mind.
Cody Rhodes & John Cena Face to Face
John Cena comes out to a mix of boos, cheers and singing. He spends some time mocking and criticising wrestling fans like he always does. He brags about his victory over CM Punk at Night of Champions and how WWE have ran out of heroes. There is no one left that can stop John Cena from ruining wrestling, they are now relying on a failure to try and fix their mistake. He hits us with the cold water. Cody Rhodes is not walking out of Summerslam as a 2-time WWE champion. He will be walking out of Summerslam the same way he walked out of Wrestlemania, an empty-handed loser who is a disgrace to his family name.
John Cena reminds us of a promo he cut several weeks back, where he accused Cody Rhodes of being a John Cena wannabe. He jokes about Cody Rhodes proving his point, talking about Cody being picked up to feature in the new Street Fighter movie coming out next year. “Just like Roman Reigns is trying to be the next Rock, Cody Rhodes is trying to be the next John Cena.” John Cena warns the WWE fans that eventually Cody will realise that Hollywood is a much more lucrative and enjoyable place to be. He will abandon these people and become another part-time guy collecting a much bigger paycheck for significantly less work.
Cody Rhodes comes out to confront his Summerslam opponent. Rhodes says he has noticed a shift within John Cena, something that wasn’t there when they fought at Wrestlemania. He noticed it when they met at Money in the Bank but he wasn’t sure if it was true. However, he saw it again at Night of Champions and confirmed his beliefs. The way that Cena looked and spoke to Logan Paul and the way he interacted with Seth Rollins and his gang. A brief moment where the real John Cena was stood in this ring. On both occasions, John Cena would revert back to his underhanded ways but there was a moment where we could all see John Cena (Rhodes does the you can’t see me taunt).
Cody says he hasn’t come out here to trade insults or work himself into a shoot, because he knows something John doesn’t. He has already won. John Cena is unsure about himself. He is questioning if he is doing the right thing, if this is how he wants to end his wrestling career. Cena is doubting himself and that makes him weak. John doesn’t know who he is or what he wants to be, whilst Cody Rhodes remains unchanged. He remains a servant to the fans, a man of the people and the flagbearer for the WWE. He remains focused on rescuing professional wrestling from John Cena and he is focused on reclaiming the WWE championship. Cody promises the fans that he will have his revenge at Summerslam and bring home the WWE title.
John Cena’s demeanour changes and he admits to Cody that he is right. He is struggling with who he wants to be in his final run. John wanted to give the fans something specials and he also wanted to guarantee his legacy by becoming a 17 time world champion. He wasn’t sure if selling his soul to The Rock was the right decision and every single night since then he flip flops on how he feels about his decisions. Sometimes he thinks to himself “let’s go Cena” but other times he thinks “Cena sucks”. John Cena says that a part of him wished that things played out differently, but he cannot take back what he has done. All he can do is move forward and do what he thinks is best in the moment. He tells Cody that at Summerslam he will get the best version of John Cena, then he offers Rhodes a handshake.
Cody hesitates but he shakes Cena’s hand. They pull in for a hug and we see the same devilish face that Cena had when he first turned heel and when he repeated this spot against CM Punk. They separate but before Cena can even attempt a low blow, it is Cody Rhodes who low blows Cena! He drops Cena with the Crossroads and holds up the WWE championship to close the show.
So that is how I would book this week’s Smackdown event. I found a way to use a significant amount of the Smackdown roster in a way that develops a bunch of stories. The only available big name that I didn’t use was LA Knight, however he is competing on Raw this week in the Heavyweight Gauntlet match so I don’t think that is too bad. Jelly Roll is written off screen in a way that benefits Logan Paul and develops that story with Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton a little more.
I think all 4 of the matches I booked would be good to watch, with the opening tag match probably being the best match of the night. I also think that the promo segments and backstage stuff sets up a lot of intertwining stories that were so interesting when WWE was doing it well in prior years.
So now that I have booked what I think would be an enjoyable episode of Smackdown, let’s look at what Smackdown can do with their product going forward to keep the show quality at an enjoyable level.
WWE WOmen’s CHampionship
I’ll run through a few Smackdown feuds and how they should play out at Summerslam. On the 25th of July edition of Smackdown, I would have Bianca Belair call out Jade to finally talk and clear the air between them. Bianca understands Jade’s entire point of view with regards to Naomi and she was supportive of her wanting to get her revenge. However, she did not like how Jade never reached out. Jade knew that Naomi attacked her, she kept it to herself and allowed Bianca to continue her close friendship with Naomi until Jade’s return at Elimination Chamber. It made Bianca feel stupid and shut out, plus it made Jade attacking Naomi initially hurt so much more than it had to. Jade could have communicated, but she chose to do things for a dramatic impact.
Jade agrees that maybe she should have reached out to Bianca beforehand, but admittedly she wasn’t sure if Bianca was involved or not. After her attack, Bianca continued to team with Naomi and sure, she was unaware of Naomi’s actions. However, Bianca seemed pretty happy and content to be women’s tag champion with Naomi. There was very little effort by her to figure out who attacked Jade, it shouldn’t have taken them 3 months to get CCTV footage and start investigating suspects. Both women go back and forth but ultimately they decide that they don’t want Naomi’s actions to destroy their friendship, they both apologise and hug to put their issues beside them. Bianca Belair wants to be in Jade’s corner when she wins her first WWE championship.
Jade Cargill vs Tiffany Stratton at Summerslam. Jade has a dominant showing and is about to win the match, but Bianca blasts her with the women’s championship behind the referee’s back, allowing Stratton to hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and retain. Bianca continues her attack after the match.
Bianca does not forgive Jade and her trust has completely broken after the whole Naomi situation. A heel Bianca will be so refreshing to see because she is a phenomenal wrestler but a stale character. I would have Bianca defeat Stratton for the women’s championship, maybe at Clash in Paris or just on Smackdown. Then your top women’s storyline on Smackdown is Jade Cargill chasing her former friend now enemy Bianca Belair for the women’s title. Give Jade good opponents to build up her skills and continue to have decent matches. She doesn’t need to have 20 minute classics. Keep her protected, hide her weaknesses and paint her like a dominant beast.
Jade Cargill wins the 2026 Royal Rumble, going on to Wrestlemania 42 to main event Night 1 and defeat Bianca Belair for the WWE Women’s Championship.
Undisputed WWE CHampionship
So, WWE are in a sticky situation with this one. John Cena only has 15 dates left on his farewell tour. Cody Rhodes won the King of the Ring and it seems like a pretty simple set up to have Cody avenge his Wrestlemania loss at Summerslam. However, that will most likely not be the case. Why? Well, Cody Rhodes will be in Australia starting in August to begin filming for the upcoming Street Fighter movie. I highly doubt that Rhodes will come in, win the WWE title and then disappear with the belt because that would go against his entire character.
Roman Reigns is also going to be in Street Fighter. So if Roman does appear for Summerslam, I expect it to be a one-off before he goes down under for Street Fighter filming.
So John Cena retains his WWE championship at Summerslam, there needs to be a reason for Cody Rhodes being taken off screen for the next few months after this. You can go about this a few different ways. The Rock and Travis Scott could come out and lend John Cena a hand, which is what should have happened at Wrestlemania. Although a lot of people are sick of The Rock, he is The Rock. He is still a megastar and he will get cheers whenever he shows up. Personally though, I think Randy Orton is probably the best solution for a screwy finish. He was pissed off losing to Cody in the King of the Ring. Drew McIntyre has stirred the pot how Cody was willing to hurt him to win the match. I think the heel turn is a matter of when. I’ll explain how we get there
I would keep Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul vs Randy Orton, but with a different partner. Logan gains some of Drew’s respect after attacking Orton and injuring Jelly Roll. McIntyre is willing to keep Logan around him but makes him “pay his dues” by carrying bags and getting changed in the hallways. Logan Paul really doesn’t like this, but Drew convinces him this is crucial for him to shed his outsider image and be truly accepted as a pure wrestler. Randy Orton looks for another tag partner and he finds on in Ron Killings who gets triggered by Logan Paul thanks to his previous association to John Cena. Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul defeat Ron Killings and Randy Orton at Summerslam, Killings being pinned after a Claymore.
After another big loss, Randy Orton is really unhappy and he snaps by attacking R-Truth. Orton assaults him and RKOs him. Fast forward to the main event of Summerslam night 2. We get the referee bump and John Cena trying to cheat to win but Randy Orton comes out to help Cody Rhodes. Orton stomps out Cena and tries to help Cody double team him and take the title away from John. Cody keeps pulling Orton off him, telling him that he wants to win this fight on his own but Orton is in a trance kicking Cena’s ass. Rhodes eventually has to pull Orton away aggressively, Randy instinctively drops Cody with an RKO. He looks in shock at what he has done.
John Cena pushes Orton out of the ring as the referee comes to. Cena hits a pair of AA’s to once again defeat Cody Rhodes. Afterwards, Randy Orton’s anger is out of control. He is pissed off that John Cena is still WWE champion, and it looks like he is blaming Cody Rhodes for not letting him help get the win. Randy Orton helps Cody up, then drops him with an RKO. Orton then pulls out the punt kick on Cody Rhodes, cementing his turn at the end of Summerslam.
Cody can take a few months off, before coming back to feud with Randy Orton all the way until their blow off match at Wrestlemania 42. Where does that leave the WWE title? In my eyes there are only 2 people who should be taking the WWE title away from John Cena. Drew McIntyre or LA Knight. Either option would be great, but I personally would be choosing Knight. McIntyre absolutely deserves another proper world title run soon, but LA Knight is yet to win a WWE world title. He is the top merch seller, he has been regularly appearing every week for years now and he always has something entertaining to do or say.
John Cena successfully defends his title against Drew McIntyre at Clash in Paris, AJ Styles at Crown Jewel in Perth and then he faces LA Knight at Survivor Series in California. Knight finally wins a WWE world championship in his adopted home state of California. Knight can have a brief feud with Randy Orton before Cody Rhodes returns, then maybe LA Knight vs Drew McIntyre for the WWE title at Wrestlemania? Sounds good to me.
WWE Tag Championships
I don’t mind the Wyatt Sicks holding the tag titles, but you cannot just reduce them to being another team when their characters are so much more than that. To not overuse the faction, there needs to be other feuds within the tag division to take up match slots on TV. That is why I set up Los Garza vs Andrade & Fenix which you can get a few weeks out of. Fraxiom & DIY can have a fun series of matches. Allow the more skilled wrestlers to fill up TV time with matches, whilst the Wyatt Sicks provide most of the story aspects.
The Wyatt Sicks accuse the tag division of being self-serving and not possessing the strong bond that they all have to each other. For the sake of them all, they will be put through the test to see just how strong these teams are. First is the Motor City Machine Guns. They applaud their longevity, but also question how solid they can be as a unit when they have broken up 3 times in their history. The Wyatts get in their head and they are off their game at Summerslam. A rare lack of cohesion prevents MCMGs from victory. Sabin accidentally hits Shelley towards the finish, allowing the champs to retain. Afterwards, Uncle Howdy watches as Sabin & Shelley bicker, but they are quickly able to put the loss behind them and hug it out. The Guns have passed the test.
The Wyatts then gradually work their way through the tag division, facing them in matches that are meant to test their unity. The Street Profits, Howdy talks about how successful Montez Ford could be as a singles star if he cut away the “dead weight” that is Angelo Dawkins. They defeat the Street Profits, but the Street Profits pass the test and prove to be a united team. Fraxiom is next and Howdy says that he has seen cracks in their friendship ever since their time in NXT. He questions if Axiom and Frazer even like each other. This is the closest we see to any of the teams to breaking as Axion and Frazer struggle to get on the same page, but they manage to pass the test. Although, I would use this as a catalyst to slow burn a Fraxiom break up a year down the line.
The Wyatts finally cross paths with DIY even though they don’t want a title shot, Uncle Howdy says that everyone has to be tested. This is when they dig up old wounds and talk about all of the issues Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa have. This leads to some heated conversations and fuelling DIY with rage enough that they are willing to fight the Wyatt Sicks for the titles. DIY fall short after a great match, and in a mirror image of how it happened down in NXT, Ciampa turns on Gargano and assaults him. DIY have not passed the test.
Ciampa vs Gargano is a feud Smackdown can run towards Wrestlemania. I’m not sure how you would take the titles away from the Wyatt Sicks, but I would like to see them enter a feud with Aleister Black so maybe he is responsible for them losing their titles to Motor City Machine Guns or someone like that.
Other Feuds
I don’t want to keep rambling on so here are some quick fire story ideas for Smackdown to implement.
We don’t want to see too much more of the Solo Sikoa family infighting with Jacob Fatu and Jimmy Uso. Have Solo ultimately retain his US title and allow Jacob Fatu to move on. Ideally there should be another WWE draft soon and I would move Fatu over to Raw. Give Solo something new to do other than feud with his family. Andrade, Rey Fenix, Carmelo Hayes or even Montez Ford could be some great opponents for a US title feud.
Whilst talking about the draft, bring in some fresh faces to compete on Smackdown. Jey Uso maybe? Rhea Ripley? A returning Ilja Dragunov? Smackdown needs some extra star power because Raw is far more stacked, but also people who can work good matches.
Make Aleister Black a legitimate unstoppable threat. Have him become unbeatable and Black Mass be the most dangerous finisher in WWE. A story between him and the Wyatt Sicks should be fun, but I would slowly be preparing him to make the ascension up the card towards the world title.
Continue the Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss story with them eventually winning the women’s tag championships together. This story has legs and we might not need to see a turn happen until sometime next year. Alexa Bliss can turn heel on Charlotte and reveal she was just manipulating her for personal gain. This not only helps resurrect Charlotte as a face character that the fans actually like, but we finally get heel Alexa Bliss again the right way because she thrives as a conniving heel.
Bloody push Chelsea Green! She gets positive reactions every week, she is a great character and a solid worker. She has everything to be a chicken shit heel champion. Prepare her for a 2026 Money in the Bank win so that she can reign over WWE with help from her security. It doesn’t need to be a long reign, but she should get one.
I think I have covered a lot of bases where Smackdown can go forward as an improved product. Essentially it boils down to WWE refocusing their programming. Give more weekly match time to the superior wrestlers who can put on the best matches, even if they are not massively over with the crowd, the match quality will get the crowd behind them. Spend more time properly developing stories that run week to week. Not just running an angle, letting it cool for weeks then picking it back up and calling that “long term booking”.
WWE have the talent and the tools, they just need to let them do it. Don’t give to much screen time to outsiders and neglect the core of the show. Celebrities doesn’t mean more viewers. Good wrestlers means more viewers.
Check out Part 1 of my Fantasy Booking of WWE if there was no Invasion storyline.
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