WWE Friday Night SmackDown takes over the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin, tonight for the final stop before SummerSlam invades U.S. Bank Stadium for a two-night Premium Live Event this weekend.
Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes will meet face-to-face one final time before their championship match Saturday night. WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest and R-Truth will defend against AAA Tag Team Champions The War Raiders, while Giulia battles Lash Legend for the final position in Sunday’s Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match.
Only three items are officially advertised, but tonight’s SmackDown has considerably more work to do than that lineup suggests. The blue brand helped fill nearly half of SummerSlam’s 12-match card, yet several of those rivalries still feel hurried, underdeveloped or more appropriate for weekly television than WWE’s second-biggest event of the year.
Last week moved everything into position. Tonight must finally make it feel important.
Here is everything advertised for tonight’s show
- Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes come face-to-face before SummerSlam
- Damian Priest and R-Truth (c) vs AAA Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (WWE Tag Team Championship)
- Giulia vs Lash Legend (Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match Qualifier)
CM Punk and Cody Rhodes Meet One Final Time Before SummerSlam
CM Punk and Cody Rhodes finally found the hostility their SummerSlam rivalry had been missing during last week’s SmackDown.
Punk insisted that he wanted their match to remain about the Undisputed WWE Championship, but quickly turned the confrontation into something much more personal. He accused Cody of being unable to take a championship from somebody he respects without first convincing himself that the person is his enemy.
Cody admitted that Punk helped create a path he eventually followed, but also made it clear that he does not like him and needs to defeat him.
Punk controlled most of the exchange. He questioned Cody’s motivations, promised to break his heart and crossed the obvious line by claiming nobody could touch him—not even Dusty Rhodes’ children.
That was the moment this program needed.
WWE spent too much of the build presenting Punk and Cody as respectful friends preparing for a competitive championship match. Respect is not enough to carry a SummerSlam main event. The rivalry became interesting once Punk stopped talking to Cody like an equal and Cody stopped pretending their history did not bother him.
Both men benefited from circumstances unavailable to nearly everyone else.
Cody earned an Undisputed WWE Championship opportunity before GUNTHER attacked him and prevented him from challenging Sami Zayn. Punk replaced Cody, defeated Sami for the championship and inherited Cody’s SummerSlam challenger without Cody being required to earn another opportunity.
Punk did not cheat to win the title. Cody also never received the championship match he originally earned.
Neither man is entirely wrong, but neither has shown much interest in acknowledging how fortunate he has been.
Tonight’s final confrontation cannot become another long exchange about friendship, mutual admiration and competitive spirit. WWE already found the conflict. It needs to trust it.
Punk should continue exposing Cody’s need to make every major championship pursuit deeply personal. Cody should finally challenge Punk’s belief that he remains the experienced older brother who understands him better than he understands himself.
Most importantly, the segment needs a decisive closing image.
Another handshake followed by an entrance theme would immediately cool down the tension created last week. This is the final SmackDown before one of SummerSlam’s two world-title matches. It should feel like the last time WWE officials can keep Punk and Cody from fighting before the championship is placed between them.
Damian Priest and R-Truth Defend Against The War Raiders
WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest and R-Truth will defend against AAA Tag Team Champions Erik and Ivar in a champion-versus-champion match.
The matchup should be one of the strongest parts of tonight’s show.
Priest and Truth remain an unconventional championship team built around Priest’s physical credibility and Truth’s unpredictability. The War Raiders are the complete opposite. Erik and Ivar are an established unit with years of experience, natural chemistry and a style capable of overwhelming both champions.
The match also exposes one of the biggest weaknesses of WWE’s SummerSlam card.
WWE has three major tag-team championships across Raw and SmackDown, yet none of them will be defended during a two-night event containing 12 matches. Priest and Truth are defending tonight because WWE apparently could not find room for its tag-team championship on either SummerSlam card.
That is difficult to justify.
SummerSlam has space for multiple non-title matches, a No. 1 contender’s match and a six-person tag built around several loosely connected rivalries. The WWE Tag Team Championship still could not make the lineup.
A strong television match does not erase that problem. It highlights it.
The War Raiders winning would restore a more traditional team to the top of SmackDown’s division. Priest and Truth retaining would preserve their odd-couple championship run, but WWE would still need to explain what comes next.
Priest also told Cody Rhodes last week that he and others were tired of seeing the same people positioned as SmackDown’s permanent faces. That was a strong statement, but it was immediately weakened when Priest lost the Fatal Four-Way main event.
He cannot continue talking about breaking through the established hierarchy while losing every match connected to the world-title picture.
A decisive performance tonight would at least begin rebuilding that threat.
Giulia Battles Lash Legend for the Final Ladder Match Position
Giulia will face Lash Legend to determine the fifth and final participant in Sunday’s Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match.
The winner will join Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill, Charlotte Flair and Chelsea Green.
Giulia is the stronger choice for the overall match. Her experience, timing and aggressive style would give the ladder match another reliable wrestler capable of keeping its more complicated sequences organized.
Lash offers something completely different.
Her size and power would create a useful contrast against Charlotte, Jade, Tiffany and Chelsea. She does not need to perform the same ladder spots as everyone else. Her value would come from disrupting those sequences and turning the match into a more physical fight.
The larger concern is Nia Jax.
Nia has now been denied qualification twice. Charlotte interfered during Nia’s original match against Jade, and Jade later attacked Charlotte during their qualifier, causing Charlotte to advance by disqualification.
Nia has a legitimate reason to be furious, but WWE does not need another interference-heavy finish.
The entire Interim WWE Women’s Championship build already feels like a collection of adjustments rather than one coherent title story. Rhea Ripley’s injury forced WWE to change direction, Charlotte and Jade’s rivalry was folded into the ladder match, Tiffany was pulled away from defending the Women’s United States Championship and Chelsea was added because her character fits the stipulation.
Tonight’s final qualifier needs an actual winner.
Another disqualification, no-contest or management decision adding multiple wrestlers would make the qualifying process feel pointless. Giulia and Lash deserve enough time to determine the final participant without the match becoming another excuse for Nia, Charlotte and Jade to start brawling.
GUNTHER and Nick Aldis Need One Final SummerSlam Statement
Although nothing involving them has been officially advertised, GUNTHER and Nick Aldis should not be absent from the final SmackDown before their match.
Last week, Aldis temporarily relinquished his responsibilities as SmackDown General Manager and signed a contract releasing WWE from responsibility for what happens at SummerSlam.
Aldis attacked first, but GUNTHER ultimately destroyed him with a low blow and powerbomb through the table.
The segment established the proper imbalance.
Aldis has championship experience and a respected career outside WWE, but viewers who only know him as SmackDown’s general manager have rarely seen him compete. GUNTHER has spent years dismantling former world champions and legends.
Aldis does not need to be presented as GUNTHER’s equal. He needs to be presented as experienced, desperate and dangerous enough to punish GUNTHER for overlooking him.
WWE also needs to avoid repeating the same formula it has used throughout GUNTHER’s recent programs. Threatening to end another veteran’s career can be effective, but it loses value when every rivalry is built around adding another name to the same list.
This match should be about GUNTHER believing Aldis became an authority figure because he could not succeed at WWE’s highest level. Aldis should be fighting to prove that choosing management did not erase the competitor he was before arriving in WWE.
That is considerably more interesting than another general manager becoming angry enough to put on wrestling gear.
Sami Zayn and Finn Bálor Must Make Their Match Feel Bigger Than Television
Finn Bálor defeated Damian Priest, Trick Williams and Royce Keys last week to earn a SummerSlam match against Sami Zayn.
The winner will become the No. 1 contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Bálor against Zayn should be one of the weekend’s better pure wrestling matches. The issue is not the talent involved. The issue is whether determining a future challenger feels important enough for SummerSlam.
SummerSlam is supposed to be the destination, not another step toward a later championship match.
Zayn has a legitimate grievance. He won the Undisputed WWE Championship, lost it nine days later to an unannounced replacement and was removed from the title picture almost immediately.
His championship reign now looks more like a bridge used to move the title from Cody to Punk without either man defeating the other.
Bálor has spent years occupying a different frustrating position. He remains visible and credible enough to defeat important opponents, but rarely receives a story that permanently changes how WWE presents him.
Bálor needs the victory more.
Zayn can survive another loss because his popularity and championship history are already established. Bálor needs a major singles win to prove that this is not another temporary opportunity before he returns to the middle of SmackDown.
Tonight should give both men a meaningful confrontation instead of expecting the No. 1 contender stipulation to sell the match by itself.
SmackDown’s Remaining SummerSlam Stories Cannot Be Ignored
Tonight also needs meaningful appearances from the rest of the blue brand’s SummerSlam lineup.
LA Knight, Solo Sikoa and Royce Keys will face Jacob Fatu and The Usos in a Six-Man Tag Team Match. The talent involved should produce a physical match, but the story remains another rearrangement of Bloodline-related relationships that WWE has used for years.
Royce Keys stands to benefit the most from the exposure, but he also risks becoming the least important person in a match dominated by larger personalities and family history.
The Bella Twins and Paige will face Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid of Fatal Influence.
Nikki Bella’s return last week created a strong television moment, but the SummerSlam match was announced only eight days before the event. Fatal Influence cannot be treated like disposable opponents brought in to lose to three established stars.
Trick Williams will defend the United States Championship against Baron Corbin on Sunday. That championship match has received nowhere near enough television time to feel like an important part of SummerSlam.
WWE has one final opportunity to change that.
Every SmackDown match does not need another brawl. It does need a clear reason for viewers to care beyond the fact that WWE placed it on a two-night card.
Current WWE SummerSlam 2026 Match Card
SummerSlam takes place Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2, from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
SummerSlam Saturday — August 1
- CM Punk (c) vs. Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE Championship)
- Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar (Hell in a Cell Match)
- Liv Morgan (c) vs. IYO SKY (Women’s World Championship)
- GUNTHER vs. Nick Aldis
- LA Knight, Solo Sikoa and Royce Keys vs. Jacob Fatu and The Usos
- The Bella Twins and Paige vs. Fatal Influence
SummerSlam Sunday — August 2
- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins (World Heavyweight Championship)
- WWE Women’s United States Champion Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Chelsea Green vs. Giulia or Lash Legend (Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match)
- Penta (c) vs. Chad Gable (Intercontinental Championship)
- Trick Williams (c) vs. Baron Corbin (United States Championship)
- Sami Zayn vs. Finn Bálor (Undisputed WWE Championship No. 1 Contender’s Match)
- Danhausen vs. AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio (Human Monies on a Pole Match)
Final Thoughts
Tonight’s SmackDown does not need more matches added simply to make the lineup look fuller. It needs urgency.
Last week’s show advanced nearly every major blue-brand story, but too much of SummerSlam still feels assembled instead of carefully built.
Punk and Cody finally have genuine tension. WWE cannot soften it now.
GUNTHER and Aldis have a personal issue, but Aldis still needs to feel like something more than an authority figure temporarily returning to the ring.
Zayn and Bálor can deliver an excellent match, but they need to make a future championship opportunity feel worthy of SummerSlam.
The women’s ladder match has talent, but its final qualifier needs a clean finish after weeks of interference and forced adjustments.
The tag-team title match should deliver, even while reminding everyone that WWE somehow found no room for a tag-team championship defense across two nights and 12 matches.
SummerSlam has star power. What it has lacked is a consistent build strong enough to justify becoming a two-night event.
Tonight is WWE’s final opportunity to change that before the talking stops and the company has to prove the card is actually worth two nights.
Make sure to subscribe to our Late Night Crew Wrestling YouTube Channel. Follow @yorkjavon, @kspowerwheels & @LateNightCrewYT on X.
I’m the quiet one until the bell rings then I’ve got takes. I live for WWE NXT and TNA, I want every promotion to succeed, and I will absolutely roast the bad decisions on sight (because someone has to). Anime taught me to respect long-term storytelling; wrestling taught me that sometimes the plan is “we panicked” and called it “unpredictable.” The Miz got me into all of this, so yeah I appreciate confidence, commitment, and the art of talking like you’re already the main event. Now I bring that same energy to the page as the main writer for Late Night Crew Wrestling because if you’re not here to be must-see and tell the truth, why are you here?!