Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show that some of us here at WINC had been looking forward to since reading the spoilers from Lyon, France earlier in the day! And yeah, we had some thoughts about Sami Zayn winning the men's United States Championship, as well as John Cena apologizing to a kid, Jade Cargill being named No. 1 contender, and more!
As usual, we can't get to everything sorry,Alexis Bliss vs. Chelsea Green, maybe try remaining a tag title match next time but if you missed the show and need to catch up (or just don't want to read anyone's opinions) you can always check out our "SmackDown" results page.If you do want to know what gave the WINC staff the strongest feelings from Friday night's shenanigans, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 8/29/25 episode of "WWE SmackDown."
I feel like Ihave hated everything about the John Cena versus Logan Paul Clash in Paris match across the board on just about every opinion piece or feature on this website over the last few weeks, but I had a thought that crept into my head last week that was confirmed tonight. I know WWE was going for this match to help Cena's babyface stock after the absolute wreck of a heel run, and I still don't think that much is necessary, but, Paul is doing one thing for Cena right now. He's not just getting him major babyface love from crowds, he's almost turning him into an old school Cena, the Cena I fell in love with as a kid.
Even Cena's cadence, especially last week, I noticed, sounded more like Cena when he was in his Doctor of Thuganomics era. Not entirely, he wasn't rhyming or rapping or anything, but just the way he was speaking reminded me of my favorite iteration of Cena's character back in the day. Cena has also had some great lines he's used on Paul, last week it was him saying he knew all about hustle, but nothing about loyalty or respect, and this week, he ran down Paul for not being as influential of an influencer (I guess that makes sense?) as he once was.
My favorite part of this all tonight was Cena acknowledging the young fan who became the meme when Cena turned heel. I didn't remember that little guy was from an international crowd, so it was really, really cute and fun seeing him tonight. I loved that Cena went right up to him in the crowd to acknowledge him and talk with him while still cutting the promo on Paul. It was a really nice touch with all of this, and worked well in the sense of WWE wanting to put the babyface rub back on him.
I know I've crapped all over this match, and while I still don't like it and I do agree with the argument that it's a waste of Cena's dwindling dates, I do like the fact that Cena is pulling out some of his old character, but very subtly, in this feud. Maybe it's because Cena is a much better actor now than he was back then, that it's really working for me, especially when you throw the dash of nostalgia in there. And honestly, after tonight, I need Cena to win this match for the meme kid as much as I need him to win to make it worth it and to shut Paul up.
Written by DaisyRuth
I've said this before and I'll say it again: squash matches and matches that have abrupt endings for shock factor have their place in wrestling, but they need to have a good reason behind them. The match between Kiana James and Michin didn't necessarily have a good reason for either of those things happening tonight.
Given that she's shaping up to be Giulia's next challenger for the Women's United States Championship, Michin scoring the victory over Kiana James does make sense and should've ultimately been the outcome of this match. That being said, Michin's victory shouldn't have happened as quickly as it ended up happening tonight. This was James' debut match on "SmackDown" and her third overall match on the main roster (not including all of her "Main Event" appearances), meaning that at least a good portion of the WWE fanbase and those who didn't watch regularly "NXT" between 2022 and 2024 haven't really been exposed to her too much. While her match with Michin didn't necessarily need to be a long one, it wasn't a great look for her to lose within a matter of seconds and not really participate much in the post-match beatdown that was largely dominated by Giulia. There was just a much better way to do this without making James as weak as she ultimately came off looking tonight.
Written byOlivia Quinlan
Holy airball.
Carmelo Hayes and The Miz locked up with The Street Profits' Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford on Friday's special, Lyon-based episode of "WWE SmackDown," and things went even worse than you expect. Hayes, who has been suffering in his partnership with The Miz, walked into the match with the tiniest glimmer of hope for a title opportunity, as promised to him by his senior partner, but by the time things ended in France, Hayes was looking up at the lights, his shoulders pinned the ground, and nothing had changed.
I am so sick and tired of WWE constantly putting disrespect on Hayes name. I know this is my third or fourth time taking to one of these crowdsourced pieces to express my discontent, but when Hayes himself has taken to social media to tell WWE to "pass him the ball," I don't think I'm alone in my dissatisfaction. It's one thing to chain Hayes' feet with a sinking anchor like The Miz, but it's another thing to give Hayes this glimmer of hope with victories over teams like Fraxiom and Motor City Machine Guns, only to have him take the pin when it arguably counted the most (like The Miz hasn't been the problem in this entire tag run).
Why The Miz refused to take the pin when he is being positioned as Hayes' anchor is beyond me. It is The Miz that keeps Hayes locked into this partnership, week in and week out. Hayes tries to break up with The Miz, Miz shuts him down. Hayes tries to go out on his own, The Miz has other plans. Logically, The Miz, in all of his stifling, selfish behavior, would be the heel going into this incoming Melo Don't Miz implosion storyline, so why don't they let The Miz act like the dead weight that he is? Why make Hayes take the pin, as if any of this is his fault? Why not put Hayes over, for once, even in loss?
To this day, I don't know why WWE refuses to push Hayes. He's a great performer with a great look and a lot of innate charisma just look at all of the edits on TikTok, X, and Instagram. He is literally the full package, and with a few years on the main roster at this point, I don't quite know why WWE is hesitating on pulling the trigger. It's not like there's too many people on the main roster not ones that can do what he does, at the quality he does it, anyway. He has been a consistently great performer who deserves a big push. I don't necessarily want to rush the story between The Miz and Hayes, but that's only because I want Hayes to have a cohesive storyline in order to offset, at least a little, the damage that this partnership with The Miz has done for his career. Otherwise, Hayes needs to get out of this sinking Melo Don't Miz ship, and fast.
Written by Angeline Phu
For this week Bo Dallas put aside the mask and "Uncle Howdy" character in backstage segments with the Street Profits and the pair of The Miz and Carmelo Hayes before the teams squared off for the next shot at the Wyatt Sicks' WWE Tag Team Championship. It was cool to see Dallas come through as himself with foreboding warnings playing on the insecurities between the teammates, playing the psychological game with the division and asserting his "family" as the symbol of cohesion.
Both the Profits and Melo Don't Miz are teams that have the potential to break up for different reasons respectively; Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins have accomplished effectively everything there is to accomplish and have been teased to break up over the years, and it feels like as time goes on their bond may get thinner and thinner with further losses. Hayes and Miz have been an uneasy alliance from the beginning, with both having a track record for betraying their teammates when the going gets tough and Hayes still holding a greater upside potential compared to the former WWE Champion.
Dallas playing on that sows the seeds of doubt, and they could very well sprout into dissent and legitimize the Sicks as the catalyst. Not only does that make sense for each team at some stage or another, it also adds another layer of significance to the Sicks in their reign and the mind games that come with it. Dallas is portrayed as more than just a spooky guy adorned with a slasher-style gimmick, and it puts weight behind the words he speaks in the well-produced vignettes. When all was said and done, the Wyatt Sicks emerged with "Uncle Howdy" appearing at ringside, and that provided the distraction to The Miz for the Profits to win. That ensures the better team gets the title shot at Clash in Paris, Hayes now has another good reason to turn on Miz, and it plays on the history between Miz and the Sicks. And the hook for the match this weekend is how the Profits react if they don't win.
That's all boxes ticked for this writer. Great stuff.
Written byMaxEverett
The "SmackDown" women's division lacks depth when it comes to the WWE Women's Championship, and that was further proved tonight when Tiffany Stratton's next contender was revealed to be none other than her previous opponent, Jade Cargill.I guess this could have been worse, as Stratton was set up in the Maybelline mirror/vanity area that WWE has been using for little commercial segments and this could have somehow been roped into an advertisement. But, Ijust wasn't a fan of Cargill just walking up to the champion to reveal that General Manager Nick Aldis had named her number one contender.
While it does make a bit of sense, thankfully, as it was Cargill to get the pin during her and Stratton's tag team match against Nia Jax and Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch on last week's show, I just don't like it. It seems pretty obvious to me now that Cargill is beating Stratton whenever they have their match, likely at Wrestlepalooza next month, if I had to guess, and it makes me wonder why the heck WWE didn't just have Cargill win big at SummerSlam.
If Cargill doesn't win their second match, it's going to make her look pretty silly, and definitely very weak. Stratton also hasn't done much of anything since their SummerSlam match.Other than the tag team match when she teamed with Cargill, Stratton's last televised match was at SummerSlam. She's been working Cargill and Jax in triple threat matches on the Road to Clash in Paris, however. The champion has had no story for weeks, even leading in to "The Biggest Party of the Summer," with the only real beat coming from Cargill being Queen of the Ring. Stratton's reign has gotten stale and boring, and I'm even a big fan of hers saying that.
But, even though I'm bored of it, the anticlimactic reveal of Cargill as Stratton's next opponent, and the fact it seems extremely likely at Cargill beats her this time around, just isn't exciting to me. There aren't many other women, especially heels, to go up against Stratton on "SmackDown," so I guess WWE thought a babyface Cargill was the best option, especially if they're ready to belt her up. Whether Cargill is ready is an entirely different story This just feels extremely lazy, and I almost wish Cargill would have somehow turned heel before this. I guess there's still time before the match actually happens, but with how unexciting things have been for this championship since the beginning of August,I don't have much faith.
Written byDaisyRuth
You want the definition of a "feel good" moment in wrestling? Here it is.
Friday, Sami Zayn, just a few weeks fresh off of a transfer to "WWE SmackDown," took the fight to Solo Sikoa for his United States Championship Friday. You would've had good reason to bet against Zayn coming in to this match-up: Sikoa's MFTs are a force to be reckoned with, Sikoa himself has established himself as a high-priority performer, and Zayn has not been in a contender in the title scene for quite some time. There were a litany of reasons to believe that Sikoa would go over tonight, and yet, with some help from the returning Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu, Zayn scored a resounding "one, two, three" to dethrone the seemingly-untouchable Sikoa for his first-ever United States Championship. This is a "feel good" moment in wrestling. Sami Zayn is the in-ring embodiment of the indomitable human spirit.
Before we get into introspective stuff, let's say this much: Zayn and Sikoa absolutely killed it. Zayn has only been on the blue brand for two weeks a whole 14 days and he has already set the bar high for other acts to follow. Despite having so many years of wrestling behind him, Zayn still remains entertaining in the ring. I always pop for his Suicide Dive fake-out, and the rest of his in-ring offense is equally as entertaining, Blue Thunder Bombs, Exploder Suplexes, Helluva Kicks and all. Sikoa was able to keep up with him in the ring, and the timing of the missed Samoan Spike into the two-Helluva Kick finish was so seamless. Of course, it is always good to see Uso and Fatu taking care of business (especially the latter, who has been missing since the August 15 episode of "SmackDown").
I genuinely think Zayn is an in-ring manifestation of hope. Maybe I've been watching a bit too much "Superman," but Zayn's inspiring grit is one of his core character traits, and it is what keeps us rooting for him. We watch wrestling because it's cool and entertaining, yes, but the babyface/heel dynamic relies on our ability to empathize with the people we see on screen. We made #WeWantCody trend because The Rock tried to screw him out of WrestleMania 40, and that wasn't right. Becky Lynch became "The Man" because we've all understood the experience of being in someone else's shadow, and rallied behind her for it when she finally stood up for herself. Zayn is in that same lane: he is an incredibly effective babyface because he stands for hope. No matter how much punishment you give Zayn no matter how many Tsunamis, Samoan Drops, Spears, or outside interference you throw at him he is always going to get back up. Zayn is the embodiment of man's resilience. To see Zayn finally get the win over a dastardly heel like Sikoa is a classic feel-good moment.
Zayn, and the indomitable human spirit, triumphed. He has the United States Championship to prove it.
Written by Angeline Phu
