A signed contract — with the obligatory brawl — between Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre, a potential Brock Lesnar-Paul Heyman reunion, another impressive victory for women’s tag team champions Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss and another U.S. title defense by Sami Zayn highlight SmackDown’s go-home show on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Wrestlepalooza (7 p.m. ET on ESPN Unlimited).
Here are the biggest takeaways from Friday night:
Signed, sealed and (head-butt) delivered
Contract signings rarely happen in WWE without someone getting hurt. If both competitors formally and cordially sign a match contract, shake hands and then walk away, it wouldn’t provide the same level of entertainment. The poor tables on which contracts are signed have a devastation rate (a flip-over counts) of 93% (unofficial stat) in WWE contract signing history.
The latest signing started cordial enough. Rhodes reminded McIntyre that 15 years ago to the day, they became tag team champions in WWE. Rhodes added that McIntyre — seated on a chair in front of an office desk inside the ring — has gone from Scottish Warrior to keyboard warrior and urged him to tweet live. McIntyre did just that, typing out “Thank you Cody,” for being a champion that will give Drew an honest title shot … but cares more about stock prices and brand image. Both Cody and Drew would sign the contract … then the physicality ensued, as you would expect it would. Drew refrained from incapacitating Cody, because he wanted him able to compete at Wrestlepalooza on Saturday.
Episode results
SmackDown; Sept. 19, 2025
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss def. Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championship
Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker def. Fraxiom
Sami Zayn def. Carmelo Hayes to retain the US Championship
The beast with a shocking attack
Lesnar smiled during his entrance, a happier version of “The Beast”, ( similar to when he ripped his jeans after his F5 to R Truth last week), at least until he walked down the aisle. He picked up announcer Michael Cole as if he was a stuffed animal, walked him around the ring, then threw him down near the turnbuckles and stepped on his ankle like a predator about to maul his prey, until fellow announcer Corey Graves tried to come to Cole’s aid. Lesnar looked at Graves, who was pleading for Cole’s safety, but instead “The Savior of Misbehavior” took not one but TWO F5s for his trouble. Lesnar then grabbed the front of the live camera with two hands and yelled “It’s D Day for you John [Cena], I’m coming for blood.”
Before leaving the arena, Lesnar saw Paul Heyman, who returned to TV for the first time since the Clash in Paris, and said, “we should talk” before walking away.
Cole said he had never felt so hopeless as he did in the ring with Lesnar, and “if that’s what awaits John Cena tomorrow… Then I don’t even think John has the answers.”
The beatdown by “The Beast” was also a surprise because it has been years since we saw Graves in any physical capacity in the ring. Graves retired from active competition in December 2014 because of concussion-related issues and transitioned to the broadcast booth. Could this mean that he is able to have another WWE match in the future?
Other takeaways, storylines
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss defeated Alba Fyre and Chelsea Green in a fun match. It seems as if Flair and Bliss are gelling as a tag team since they won the gold at Summerslam in August.
Fraxiom had speed on their dives from the ring to the outside onto Reed and Breakker, but even after seeing that, Breakker’s revs for his patented spear and his lightning pace never ceases to amaze.
Nia Jax drew the ire of Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill, cutting down their in-ring ability until both tried to get to the ring, with Cargill mowing down officials in her path until Smackdown general manager Nick Aldis stopped the brawl and announced a triple threat match for Smackdown next week in Orlando.
Sami Zayn and Carmelo Hayes had a terrific match, with Zayn retaining the US Championship. If the US Open Challenge is Zayn putting on clinics against fellow incredible in-ring competitors, that’s something wrestling fans would happily welcome and would want to continue for months.
A two-part mini-doc retrospective on Cena and Lesnar’s careers showed during the event was excellent storytelling. This treatment is great for main event matches and WWE has always done this well.