Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show where we can't have a No. 1 contender's match not even a pre-taped one because Sami Zayn will show up and ruin it. The WINC staff has some thoughts about that, as well as Tatum Paxley making her in-ring main roster debut, Jacy Jayne defending her women's US title, and more!As always, if you missed the show, you can catch up by checking out our "WWE SmackDown" 8/28/26 results page, which contains all the objective information you could possibly want about what happened on this week's edition of the blue brand. If you want to know the WINC crew's subjective opinions about the matches and segments that stood out to us the most, this column is the place to be! Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 8/28/26 episode of "WWE SmackDown!"
I did not love WWE Women's Champion (or interim champion, I still really have no idea) Chelsea Green taking the pin tonight in her tag team match alongside Tiffany Stratton against Nia Jax and Lash Legend, the Irresistible Forces. What I hated even more than her eating the pin, however, was how silly she was made to look. I know WWE is trying to play up her orbital bone injury, but if you think about all of this for too long, you realize how silly Green seems through it all."SmackDown" General Manager Nick Aldis gave Green 30 days to get cleared and defend her title, or she'd be stripped of it. So, what does she do when she gets cleared? Wrestle a tag team match alongside Stratton instead of either continuing to heal until the last possible moment, or defending her gold to get it out of the way. It doesn't seem like Stratton is trying to manipulate her or anything, either, as she asked Green backstage if she was certain she wanted to go through with the tag match.At one point in the bout, Jax ran her knee right into Green's face mask, taking her out of the ring, where she needed to be checked on, in kayfabe, by doctors before she could get back in the ring. With how obvious her injury is being played up, I'm hoping that means she's just once again being portrayed as the underdog to retain in her first title match, which will seemingly be against Jax, who hit her with the Annihilator for the pinfall victory tonight.When Jax went back to demand her title match from Aldis, which did make complete sense, the general manager told her that Green needed to be re-evaluated following the match. I guess that also makes some kind of sense, as she had to be checked out by doctors at ringside, but it was almost like Aldis needed to be reminded that he told Green she had 30 days to defend the gold, days that are slipping away.I suppose it doesn't matter, as long as Green keeps the title, but at some point, I'd like to see her looking a bit smarter, in addition to being the loveable underdog babyface.Written by DaisyRuth
While the WWE Championship picture continues to devolve into a bit of a mess, the program between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton stemming from that has begun to pick up. Orton returned to cost Rhodes the title at SummerSlam and they will be facing one another in a grudge match at Sunday Night's Main Event, and after constant fighting in the weeks in between there has been a no-contact order put on the both of them.As a result, this week they were both left with nothing but verbal assault as an option, forced to channel their hatred for one another into a promo exchange that delivered in that regard. Rhodes got the ball rolling to that effect with a monologue designed to get beneath Orton's skin, answered by a venomous "Viper" who only continued to test the resolve of Rhodes.Rhodes said Orton was a mess and he had a front seat to most of that, Orton acknowledged that but said during all that time he was a mess, Rhodes was his b****. Then Orton jabbed further calling Rhodes' mother trailer park trash, as well as Brandi Rhodes trashy, and probed as to the health of his family dog Pharaoh.Just when it looked as though Orton had been the one to win the exchange, Rhodes said he always knew this was what Orton was going to do, he knew that he was going to try and rile him up and get him to forfeit the match. But he is just counting down the days until he finds out whether Orton is truly a generational talent like Dusty Rhodes, or a generational wash-out like Bob Orton.That left Orton seething and on the verge of doing what he had tried to coerce Rhodes into doing. But it was the overall sense of hatred and resentment in their history together that helped to drive the story home. Rhodes now has a legitimately laid out grievance with Orton, having previously fallen second fiddle to the man who has rested on his gifted laurels. Rhodes now believes himself to be not only on the level of Orton, but having surpassed him and truly taken the role of face of the company on.Orton's vitriol is coming from a place of having been the first pick for so long, viewing Rhodes' ascent as an audacious affront, while also contesting with the fact that some of it rings true. It helps shape the grudge match into something a little more than that, laying out exactly what is at stake for each man heading into it. And aside from all that, it just made for enjoyable TV.Written by Max Everett
Paige has over 20 years of in-ring experience both inside and outside of WWE. From a character standpoint, you would think that she would know better by seeing there will be some trouble when it's a case of one wrestler against a faction with three individual members as it was when she challenged Jacy Jayne for the Women's United States Championship. It seemed pretty inevitable that Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley would get involved at some point during all this, so why Paige's character couldn't predict this either makes absolutely no sense to me and ruined what was otherwise a fine match.Whether it was having Paige getting the rest of Fatal Influence barred from ringside or featuring a quick backstage that saw her able to get another woman or two on the roster to back her up during the match, there were plenty of workarounds to have the odds evened a little bit more and avoid such a boring ending. When you take into consideration that interference would be taking place in a much more prominent role on this show to end the main event No. 1 Contender's Undisputed WWE Championship triple threat match, there was no need to have it done again on this show. I also didn't really think that Nikki Bella's post-match attack on Paige really added anything of significance to this, nor did it really do anything to really advance the ongoing storyline between Paige and Nikki. As much as I enjoyed seeing the women get as much time as they did on this show and take up half of the in-ring segments and matches on this show, this just wasn't something that was for me.Written by Olivia Quinlan
I really loved Tatum Paxley's work in "WWE NXT," and I'm thrilled that she was called up and is actually being used in a really interesting position on the blue brand. Tonight, she defeated Michin in her debut match on "SmackDown," and after everything we're seeing, or, really not seeing at all, with Blake Monroe on the brand, it's refreshing to see a brand new "NXT" call-up kick some butt.I thought Michin was a good first opponent for her. Paxley sold really well throughout the match, without looking weak at any point herself. Paxley hit some cool moves of her own throughout the match, including a wicked Matrix-like counter, then a moonsault off the apron, and she finished the match with a Cemetery Drive to Michin.It wasn't the best looking Cemetery Drive I've seen Paxley do, which is possibly partially due to Michin not being familiar with working with Paxley and taking the move, but it's one of my favorite finishers in WWE right now. There's plenty of time for Paxley to get it down as beautifully as she did in "NXT." This wasn't Paxley's most interesting bout I've ever seen, but it was a solid introduction to the main roster fan base, and I'm just so happy she scored the victory here.It was also revealed that she'll be teaming up with her maybe-stablemates, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, to take on Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab at Saturday Night's Main Event, which is so cool for Paxley and a good match for that card, possibly as the opener. I also think that's where she officially wins over Flair.The duo of Flair and Bliss were getting close to needing a bit of a refresh, and the addition of Paxley is a breath of fresh air. She looked great being flanked by the women as she made her entrance to the ring tonight, and having Bliss and Flair behind her, without interfering on her behalf, made Paxley look like a big deal. I think Paxley's going to do well on the main roster, and tonight's victory over Michin was only the beginning for her, with both what she can do in the ring, and how interesting she is as a character.Written by DaisyRuth
Last week, Blake Monroe was set to finally make her in-ring debut against Giulia. Keep in mind she made her "SmackDown" debut in June when she attacked Giulia from behind. Two months later and these two still have not wrestled one another. Jackie Redmond asked the question the rest of us asked last week.:Why would Monroe risk her in-ring debut by attacking Giulia once again and causing the match not to happen? Monroe was offended by the question and said the match was beneath her.Beneath her? A match with Giulia? The same Giulia who was considered one of the best wrestlers before she signed with WWE? The same Giulia who held multiple titles in STARDOM, NXT, and WWE? Granted, her booking on the main roster has been lacking since she barely defended the US title both times she held it, but if Giulia is beneath Monroe, why did Monroe attack her in London in her debut?Monroe said when there is an opponent up to her standards and "an entrance worthy of 'The Glamour'" (whatever that means), then she'll wrestle. Girl, what? You had that with Giulia. WWE continues to waste Monroe (and Giulia for that matter) and every day they prove their only goal with Monroe was to sign her away from AEW. They clearly have no idea what do with her (or Jordynne Grace, who is also having her talents wasted) and are just spinning their wheels. WWE could have a great women's division if they actually booked them to wrestle matches.Written by Samantha Schipman
It may not have been the most ideal scenario for Sami Zayn to cause a triple threat match between Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, and GUNTHER to end in a no contest given that triple threat matches aren't supposed to have disqualification endings, but I still think it was a great choice for that to end up being the case as it makes the Undisputed WWE Championship really feel like it's the top prize to win in all of WWE.Over on "Raw," Roman Reigns tends to be given the same challengers and allies again and again including the likes of Seth Rollins and The Usos. It makes the World Heavyweight Championship picture feel quite stale, and also creates a sense that the top title on the brand that everyone should be after really doesn't feel like it's the top title at all. Having five men including reigning Undisputed WWE Championship CM Punk all fighting over that one title and being in the ring at the same time gives it a sense of urgency that top titles in WWE don't always receive. It also made Zayn feel like a very credible threat to Punk now that he's taking action after weeks on end of doing nothing more than complaining, and doesn't do too much damage to Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, and GUNTHER as other challengers for Punk all while Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes still keep their eyes on the title.Written by Olivia Quinlan
