WWE Friday Night SmackDown for June 26th, 2026 was taped on Tuesday, June 23rd from The O2 Arena in London, England, as WWE continued its overseas run on the road to Night of Champions. Credit to Fightful Select for the original full spoiler rundown. Since this episode was taped ahead of Friday’s broadcast, SmackDown will air in its usual 8 p.m. ET time slot on tape delay. This is a spoiler article, so stop reading here if you want to go into Friday’s show clean.
Here are the full spoilers
- Trick Williams and Ricky Saints opened the show with an in-ring promo segment.
- Jackie Redmond interviewed Alexa Bliss before Tiffany Stratton got involved, which helped set up a tag team match.
- Michin and B-Fab defeated Alexa Bliss and Tiffany Stratton after Jade Cargill got involved. Chelsea Green made the save afterward.
- Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga told Solo Sikoa they were out, splitting away from him and ending the current version of MFT as it had been presented.
- Jade Cargill had a backstage segment with Nick Aldis.
- Rey Fenix (c) defeated Nathan Frazer (AAA Cruiserweight Championship).
- Damian Priest and R-Truth were interviewed, with The War Raiders being positioned as their next title challengers.
- LA Knight arrived, then later had an in-ring promo segment with Solo Sikoa.
- Sami Zayn had a backstage segment with Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano.
- Paige defeated Jacy Jayne.
- Danhausen had a backstage segment involving Los Garza, The Miz, Kit Wilson and Matt Cardona.
- Finn Bálor had a backstage segment with Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga.
- Danhausen had an in-ring segment.
- Danhausen and Matt Cardona defeated Los Garza after help from The Miz and Kit Wilson.
- Gunther had a backstage interview.
- Jade Cargill defeated Chelsea Green, then attacked Tiffany Stratton after the match and stood tall.
- Solo Sikoa had a backstage interview that was interrupted by Royce Keys.
- Trick Williams had a backstage interview.
- Giulia defeated Kiana James, but Blake Monroe made her official SmackDown debut angle by attacking Giulia after the match.
- Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn and Gunther closed the show with an in-ring segment before Jey Uso and Oba Femi interrupted, leading to all five men getting physical.
- Seth Rollins and Oba Femi vs. Bron Breakker and Austin Theory was advertised for the taping and was expected to be a post-show dark match for the live crowd.
Blake Monroe Makes The Biggest Statement Of The Taping
The biggest headline coming out of this SmackDown taping is Blake Monroe being thrown into the mix in a meaningful way. WWE had already teased her arrival, but having her attack Giulia after Giulia’s win over Kiana James immediately gives her debut some weight instead of making it feel like just another introduction.
That matters because Giulia is not a random target. She is one of the most protected and important women on SmackDown, so Monroe going right after her tells you WWE is not easing her in slowly. They are putting her next to a serious name right away and asking the audience to treat her like a major player from the jump.
It also gives SmackDown’s women’s division another real direction beyond the Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill story. Giulia beating Kiana James keeps her strong, but the post-match attack makes Monroe the talking point. That is smart debut booking because the match result still matters, but the angle afterward is what creates the next headline.
Jade Cargill Stands Tall Over Tiffany Stratton
Jade Cargill had a heavy presence throughout the taping, and that was clearly by design. She influenced the tag match earlier in the show, beat Chelsea Green later on, then attacked Tiffany Stratton afterward to close that part of the story standing tall.
That is WWE keeping the focus simple: Jade is being presented as the powerhouse threat, Tiffany is the champion or top target in her orbit, and Chelsea Green is being used as the loud personality piece around the edges. The booking was not subtle, but it did what it needed to do. Jade needed momentum, and this taping gave it to her.
The only thing WWE has to be careful with is making Tiffany look too secondary in her own story. Jade standing tall is the easy visual, but Tiffany’s character works best when she still feels dangerous, arrogant and capable of stealing the moment back. This spoiler direction gives Jade the physical edge, but Friday’s final edit will matter in how balanced the feud feels on television.
Solo Sikoa Loses Control Of MFT
The MFT story finally moved in a real way with Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga walking away from Solo Sikoa. For weeks, Solo has been orbiting around LA Knight and the larger Bloodline-adjacent drama, but this taping appears to push the story into a more unstable place.
Tama and Talla telling Solo they are out is a major shift because it strips away the image of Solo being in command. Instead of looking like the leader of a dangerous group, he now looks like someone losing control of the very people who were supposed to give him power.
That also makes the LA Knight segment more interesting. Knight is still tied to this world, but Solo’s side of the story is no longer just about numbers. It is about damage control. If WWE follows through properly, this can become less about repeating Bloodline leftovers and more about Solo being forced to prove who he is without everyone standing behind him.
Rey Fenix Retains Against Nathan Frazer
Rey Fenix retaining the AAA Cruiserweight Championship over Nathan Frazer is exactly the kind of match that should play well on television if it gets time. Fenix and Frazer are both built for pace, movement and highlight-reel exchanges, so this has a chance to be one of the cleaner in-ring pieces of the taped episode.
The result also makes sense. Fenix retaining keeps the AAA Cruiserweight Title strong and continues WWE’s crossover presentation without immediately undercutting the championship. Frazer being in that spot still helps him because he is working with someone who brings credibility and a different flavor to SmackDown.
Paige Picks Up A Win In London
Paige defeating Jacy Jayne in London was the right call. With SmackDown being taped in England, there was no reason to overthink that one. Paige getting a win in front of that crowd gives the episode a feel-good local moment while also keeping one-half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions strong.
Jacy being the opponent also works because Fatal Influence can absorb losses better than most acts. Their whole presentation is built around attitude, numbers and frustration, so Jacy losing does not kill her. It gives Paige the moment without needing to derail anything long-term.
Danhausen And Matt Cardona Get A Featured Win
Danhausen and Matt Cardona defeating Los Garza after involvement from The Miz and Kit Wilson sounds like one of the more personality-driven parts of the taping. It is not the biggest storyline on the show, but it does give SmackDown a different kind of segment instead of making the entire episode revolve around Night of Champions tension.
This feels like WWE leaning into the weirdness around Danhausen while using Cardona’s presence to keep it from being completely random. Add Miz and Kit Wilson into the mix, and it sounds like a midcard comedy-chaos lane that could work really well on television if the pacing is right.
Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Gunther, Jey Uso And Oba Femi Close With A Brawl
The closing segment tied the biggest Night of Champions pieces together. Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn and Gunther were already enough for a heavy main-event segment, but bringing out Jey Uso and Oba Femi turned it into a full go-home show pull-apart brawl.
That is the kind of ending WWE usually goes with when it wants to sell urgency more than complexity. Everybody touches the same segment, everybody gets a physical moment, and the final image is built around chaos before the premium live event.
Gunther, Cody and Sami being in the same ring keeps the WWE Title issue front and center, while Jey and Oba being added gives the King of the Ring side of Night of Champions more weight. It is a lot of star power in one closing angle, but for a taped go-home SmackDown, that makes sense. WWE needed one final visual that made Friday’s episode feel important even though the results were already out there, and this ending appears designed to do exactly that.
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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?!