Hershey, Pennsylvania was honored to close out the year for WWE with several shows, including SmackDown. The show is definitely feeling the end of the year vibe, as when 2026 begins, the show will gain an extra hour.
real tag team chaos
WWE has gone from paying zero attention to the women’s tag team division to completely over-paying it and sinking it into obscurity. A good heel match is always fun, but on the rare occasion that the champions Kabuki Warriors take on Lash Legend and Nia Jax, the latter wins cleanly. Mind you, the Kabuki Warriors defense against “RhIyo” is only a few weeks away. There was no reason to expect the Championship team to defend successfully in the first place, but now, when they’ve been humbled by such a ridiculous result, why bother playing at all?
Legend and Jax’s alliance would be best if it were short-lived, as a world title scene would probably be desperate to use her, and that’s the problem with throwing a lot of star power into the tag team division. After the match, Charlotte Flair and Alex Bliss also randomly rushed to the ring like Legend and Jax to continue their attack. But they didn’t. Bliss and Flair’s attack made them look like heels as there was no way to save it.
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It’s maddening how chaotic the entire WWE women’s roster has become since Evolution. They even let Julia stay focused on the United States Championship. All these initiatives go in the wrong direction.
Burglary is back!
The production value that WWE put into the feud between Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes must be examined. The house meeting type video between “SmackDown” general manager Nick Aldis and McIntyre felt like something out of a movie. Aside from the stale static on screen, it’s very well done. The thing is, this feud and story continues for no reason other than because Rhodes has turned into a maniac and wants to keep wrestling a guy he’s beaten multiple times – thereby giving him more championship opportunities.
There’s only one way to save this: Rod have lose. He now looked crazy and Kefabe attacked McIntyre at his home. He must do this. McIntyre has become something of a joke. If he loses after getting another shot at the title, then I don’t know what you can reasonably do with this guy.
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In the ring, Rhodes engaged Aldis in a solid, brief, confrontational promo. I’ve lost faith in any further development and in-ring return for Aldis, so unless that eventually happens, these types of moments feel relatively pointless other than to try and fill a quick hype.
As a sideways turn, don’t be surprised if Oba Femi fires back and ruins McIntyre’s match. Granted, while this may be nonsense, it would be the only way to prove that Rhodes won – if it resulted in one or both of the Fermi plans. Because in kayfabe, Rod’s character is supposed to be upset if this happens.
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👍Friday Night Fire👍
1. Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes beat #DIY with hydrogen bombs into “Nothing But Net.” It was an interesting match; the combination of Dragunov and Hayes was as great as you’d expect, but overall it was short. I’m not sure there’s any upside to a #DIY loss when Dragunov and Hayes probably won’t continue to be a thing.
👎 Frustration and depression 👎
1. Damian Priest opened “SmackDown” but was interrupted by Zelina and then attacked from behind by Aleister Black. The fight continued backstage, with Black gaining the upper hand after attacking the priest with a shovel and performing a black mass. I have absolutely no idea when this feud will end, but I support Black and Zelena’s on-screen alliance because it deserves to end.
2. Giulia defeated Alba Fier in what was essentially a squash match. It was the right result and a good match as well. Nothing stupid. The problem is that Julia is still wasted in the American opening image, and the wrestlers are constantly recycled in the scene itself.
3. It’s crazy that Jade Cargill and Michin are still continuing their little feud – especially since Flair had one more banter with Cargill before Michin attacked Cargill. Honestly, let’s just say it, WWE. Why is there so much beating around the bush now?
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4. In the main event, Wyatt Sicks’ title defense against MFT ended in a DQ as Erick Rowan and Talla Tonga began attacking each other on the outside, causing everyone else to get involved. The match was uninteresting to begin with and didn’t reach any climax. Then it ended in a fight. Not to be missed in every aspect.
👑 Are you ready for an extra hour of SmackDown in 2026? My rating for this drama is: 1.5/10. 👑