Welcome to WrestlingInc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the final piece of programming before the weekend WINC staffers have affectionately dubbed "Wrestlegeddon!" Fittingly, Friday's episode of blue brand TV advanced storylines for both "Saturday Night's Main Event" and Evolution; additionally, we got to watch Sol Ruca's main roster debut, Jelly Roll kick off a storyline with Randy Orton and Logan Paul, and the Wyatt Sicks win the WWE Tag Team Championship. And yes, we will cover all these things and more here in the opinion column "SmackDown" being two hours long again really helps with that. In fact, the only thing we're really not covering, ironically, is the main event, though as always, you can read about that match and more in highly objective fashion over on our "SmackDown" results page.
How did "SmackDown" send usinto the massive weekend of wrestling that lies ahead? Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 7/11/25 episode of "WWE SmackDown."
He might have taken a loss tonight, but Solo Sikoa won in my heart.
Ever since the implosion of Sikoa's original Bloodline (with Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga), Sikoa has really been putting the work into his character. This is not to say that his character has become more serious, or more introspectively compelling. No, Sikoa's been putting the work into his character in a more lighthearted aspect. Sikoa is not becoming more introspective or narratively complicated, but there is sort of lighthearted cockiness behind his promo segments that just feels like he added some secret ingredient to himself: one that takes his presentation from a strong five to a stellar nine (or ten, if you're generous). This is no longer the brooding, angry Sikoa that we used to see when he was Roman Reigns' right-hand man, or the new Tribal Chief who barely had a grip on Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Jacob Fatu. Sikoa has really been putting the work into his character, and it is showing. Like, I didn't know Sikoa was funny like that!
Okay, he's not just funny. When Sikoa confronted Paul Heyman and LA Knight in the opening segment of Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown," it was no laughing matter as Sikoa and his gang of dogs backed Heyman up and out of the ringside area. This isn't to diminish his comedic capabilities either: his work with LA Knight, finger lick to taunt mockery and all, got a laugh out of me! No, Sikoa's improvement on the mic doesn't lie in whether he is funny or not. That trait does not exist in vacuum. Sikoa's improvement lies in his confidence.
Sikoa is confident, and that confidence, visibly, runs deep. There is something internal, from-the-soul about his new demeanor. Said confidence has been on display for months now, admittedly, but it has always been overshadowed by a bigger star (Fatu comes to mind first). Now that he's being paired with new guys like Talla Tonga and JC Mateo, you can really start to see his confidence. There's a certain suaveness to him that he didn't have before as Reigns' muscle, or as the new Tribal Chief, or as Fatu's frenemy. Sikoa's new in-ring demeanor is, on paper, the same as it's always been, but there is just something elusive about it that makes the world of a difference there is something that I notice and admire, but struggle to name.
He sounds comfortable. That's a good word to describe it: comfortable. In that comfort comes natural confidence that is a good word to describe it as well: natural. Sikoa was such a forced presence, especially when he debuted on the main roster. Now, it seems like he's cutting loose, and is letting his experience and confidence carry his promos rather than his scripted, bestowed-upon-thee character. He is comfortable, he is confident, and his character feels natural now. The secret ingredient to Sikoa's vast improvement and newfound persona was a dash of non-GMO, all-natural, from-the-roots confidence.
Written byAngeline Phu
Usually I'm not a huge fan of matches with a combination of opponents from opposing teams or stables or anything like that facing each other heading in to a premium live event where matches are already set, but tonight, the women's fatal four-way bout involving a member from each team from the Women's Tag Team Championship match was excellent for many reasons. The wrestling was, of course, solid, and Alexa Bliss getting the victory was a smart move going in to Evolution.
I didn't like her being paired up with Charlotte Flair at first, but I'm thinking that I see the point of it all now. Flair's character needed some serious rehabilitation following her return from injury and WrestleMania 41 loss toTiffany Stratton. Fans weren't connecting to her character even more so than ever before, but fans do love Bliss. Putting the two together in this odd-couple pairing initially seemed silly, but I think it's actually working. Flair had some personality in their little backstage segment ahead of this match, and I think she and Bliss work really well together, despite my initial skepticism.
I predicted that Flair and Bliss walk away with the tag titles at Evolution and after this fatal four-way tonight, I still think that. Champions Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez were not a big focus of this match, which was a bit surprising to me with all the storyline work put in to Perez becoming a champion and part of Judgment Day while Liv Morgan is on the shelf. I think Bliss and Flair winning the titles would both further their storyline as an odd couple team, and also Perez's story over on "Raw." Even if Bliss and Flair don't win, however, as long as neither one of them takes the pin during the Evolution match, I think their story is still okay to continue, even with some possible added tension from the loss.
I also really liked Sol Ruca being in the match. I really enjoy her work on "WWE NXT," so getting to see her "SmackDown" debut was pretty cool. Zaria was of course at ringside with the other halves of the teams and is the more formidable looking of the two, but Ruca is the Women's North American Champion, so giving her some shine here was good. Overall, this was a great, fun addition to "SmackDown" tonight going in to the huge weekend of wrestling.
Written by Daisy Ruth
It has been a long time coming since their debut, but the Wyatt Sicks were finally crowned champions for the first time in their run on Friday. The group born from tragedy, a literal ode to Bo Dallas' late brother Bray Wyatt, far and away one of the most creative minds to touch this frankly bizarre-enough industry, and one that has similarly captivated and enamored every time they appear, whether by vignette, production glitch, or in person.
The one thing they were missing was the seal of legitimacy, and while the Tag Team titles could credibly be argued as low on the rung of relative success, it was certainly nice to see them get at least something to that effect this week. None of the characters within the unit are particularly exceptional in the ring, and it would be disingenuous to say the moment had anything to do with the actual wrestling part of the match. The story was there, but it was lacking the fluidity you would find with the Motor Machine Guns or #DIY with the Street Profits. What was important here, however, and this is being said purely as a matter of taste, the story was there.
The story that had been told in a vignette prior to the bout, that the Profits are a team held together at that moment by the tag titles. Taking those titles was seen as the catalyst for their demise, as Bo Dallas declared that his group would be the ones to expose their issues for all to see. It was also seen in a segment following that the wider tag team division has a common foe to unite against, as if that hadn't already been made clear. Having the team that everyone within the narrative fears or wants rid of as the champions just seems like a logical creative decision, giving you the North Star to build the challengers towards. All in all, I stand by my enjoyment of the Wyatt Sicks as characters and something truly different even if not optimized and this felt like the right title change at the right time.
Written byMax Everett
This may be a hot take, but I truly despise celebrity matches more than anything else in the wild world of professional wrestling. Not everyone will agree, but I'm personally a firm believer in the idea that anyone who steps in the ring has earned their spot by working hard to perfect their skills and character. So, you can already imagine how unhappy I was upon hearing the rumblings that Jelly Roll was set to team up with Randy Orton against Logan Paul and another opponent at SummerSlam. Tonight's segment between the three men did nothing to change my mind about the matter.
If this were a one off segment, then I may have enjoyed this more as it was a fun and unserious segment on the surface level. However, this is supposed to kick off a storyline for a notable match that involves big names but it didn't really quite feel like that was the case. In theory, the idea of having Paul say that Jelly Roll had no place being in the ring to get himself some heat made sense but Paul was in that exact position not too long ago and in my opinion, hasn't had enough matches in his career to deserve the title of being a real wrestler rather than just an influencer. Things just didn't quite click into place for me throughout the duration of this segment, and was a low point on a show that was nothing more than mediocre.
Written byOlivia Quinlan
Ron Killings' match on Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown" against Aleister Black started off fine good, even. Killings got some great offense on a very scary Dutchman, and Black got to get some of his signature strikes in. The match featured a brawl on the outside between the two competitors, but when the two re-entered the ring, things went downhill. Like, dramatically, comically, stock-market-crash levels of downhill.
I need to know why Black was awkward with that steel chair. The match finish saw Killings introduce a steel chair to the contest, and some less-than-legal hijinks were foreshadowed as Black intercepted the chair to stop Killings' plot in its tracks. Black stared down at Killings before spurring to life with an enthusiastic growl-shout hybrid (which did make me giggle for the way it literally popped out of him), before taking the tiniest of baby steps to pick up the steel chair all with the slowest, most deliberate movements. You could practically hear the match screech to a halt. As if the waddling wasn't bad enough, Black gave us the stiffest, most awkward bend to grab the steel chair from the canvas it was like he had just learned proper deadlift form and was really focusing on the stretch in his glutes. How does Killings move like he does at 50 years young, but it takes Black three whole baby steps to move less than a foot towards a steel chair? Killings moved like water in the opening of this match, but Black moved like he is an warehouse pallet jack from the 90s. Like, I understand that Black is creepy. I understand that his slow movements are intentional, as to strike terror in the eye of the viewer, similar to the menacing lurk of a monster. When these spookily slow moves clunk together like Black's did, however, it decimates the intended effect.
The situation was not made any better by the referee, who took approximately five business days to get the chair from Black. Again, it's the sin of generosity: yes, we know that these match-defining actions can't happen too quickly at risk of underselling the story. However, you also can't play the world's longest bluff without grinding the match to a halt. Black and the referee's combined slowness stopped all of the match's momentum and just left things awkwardly hanging that is, until Killings swooped in to win via roll-up.
See, now we have the opposite problem. I've always hated the roll-up finish, and I think it was the weirdest way to end this match. Sure, have your distraction you can't even let Killings land a finisher? Between Black and the referee's deliberate slowness and the shocking, blink-and-you'll-miss-it nature of the roll-up, this finish felt so weird, and the match's preceding action was essentially wasted by the severe oddity of its conclusion. Sure, Killings got the victory, but at what cost?
Written by Angeline Phu
When people outside the industry criticize wrestlers or bookers, we are often criticized in turn by those very same wrestlers and bookers, because we have not been in those positions and could not do those jobs. Speaking personally, I wholeheartedly agree, and I think a segment like the one between Tiffany Stratton and Trish Stratus Friday night proves once and for all that I do not have what it takes to run a wrestling show.
See, if it had been me putting together a women's world title segment on the go-home show before Evolution, a card that has been roundly (and rightly) criticized for having one of the laziest builds in modern memory, I might have done something to try and negate that perception. You know, come up with something really creative or interesting to do with the women's world title feud heading into Evolution, not just to generate buzz, but so fans might think twice before they smack-talked the build (more). But of course, that's not what WWE did, because that's not the WWE way. Bend to the psychotic demands of the fanbase? Preposterous. Instead, they did exactly what they should have done: The most boring, cookie-cutter segment possible.
You might not think that was conceivable with a face-vs-face feud in which the challenger earned a title shot by doing nothing, but "SmackDown" pulled it off! Stratton and Stratus began the festivities by explaining the logic behind their match Stratton has beaten everyone on the roster and the stakes: Stratton needs to beat Stratus to cement herself as the greatest of all time. Honestly, you can't argue with it. In her six-month reign as WWE Women's Champion, Stratton has defended the title a whopping FIVE TIMES. In those defenses, she's beaten every top name WWE has to offer. We're talking about Bayley. Nia Jax (by DQ). Charlotte Flair. Nia Jax again. And finally, Nia Jax again. And that's added to the fact that Stratton initially won the title by cashing in a briefcase, which allowed her to beat, of all people, Nia Jax! Honestly, who's left for Stratton to defeat at this point? Because that's not even mentioning the non-title singles wins she's racked up during her reign, which include victories against Candice LeRae, Chelsea Green (by DQ), Piper Niven, and Roxanne Perez (she went to a no contest against Jade Cargill). Truly one of the greatest of all time.
But if you thought the "I've beaten everyone except this Hall of Famer" promo segment couldn't make things any more boilerplate, WWE still had a couple more tricks up its sleeve! Before the promo could go too long or get any ideas about becoming interesting, Money in the Bank briefcase holder Naomi came out to hold up her briefcase and remind the people in the title match that she can cash in at any time (mind BLOWN). And then she got attacked from behind by Cargill, who she's wrestling at the PLE. And then we were done. And just like that, in response to criticisms about the lazy build to Evolution, the build to Evolution somehow became even lazier.
All I can say is, bravo, WWE. Bravo. You did it. We did it.
Written byMiles Schneiderman
