WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS (11/14): Keller’s report on Jey Uso vs. Miz and LA Knight vs. Mystery Opponent in tournament matches, Jade Cargill vs. B-Fab, Sami Zayn with a message
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WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
NOVEMBER 7, 2025
ALBANY, N.Y. AT MVP ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Mark Nash
Attendance: WrestleTix reports as of today 8,122 tickets were distributed so far. The arena has a capacity of 17,500 spectators when configured for concerts.
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller will be joined by PWTorch’s Chris Maitland to review WWE Smackdown LIVE on YouTube. We’ll be incorporating live viewer comments into the show so join us LIVE!
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[HOUR ONE]
-A video recap aired of last week’s happenings with the Women’s Tag Team Title match main event and the involvement of Nia Jax and Lash Legend.
-Rhea Ripley made her ring entrance to her music, accompanied by Iyo Sky. Michael Cole said wrestlers from Raw would be appearing on Smackdown in the lead-up to WarGames. Ripley was still wearing her nose guard. (Sky was a bit over-the-top excited for this moment.) She said since she’s been out with a broken nose, the Kabuki Warriors have been causing chaos. She said now that they have won the tag titles, they feel untouchable. She said with Nia Jax and Lash Legend in the mix, they now feel invincible.
Sky said enemies always catch up to you and now there is nowhere to hide. Ripley said they’re not going in alone. She introduced two of her teammates – Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. Charlotte walked out first. Bliss held the ropes open for Charlotte. Bliss said she’s excited about getting all four of them in the ring at one time. She said they started the war and they’ll be the ones to end it. She said as soon as Ripley said “WarGames,” she knew they were in. “Right, Charlotte?” Bliss asked.
Charlotte said she can’t keep doing this and she can’t pretend anymore. She looked at Ripley and said, “I don’t like you, I don’t trust you, and I think you’re a snake.” (Sky’s reactions here were comical.) She said Rhea probably feels the same about her. She said they have too much history, and just having the same enemy doesn’t change that. She told Bliss that she trusts her, but “count me out.” Charlotte turned and left.
-They went to ringside. Cole said he didn’t know what to say. Graves said that was awkward. Cole pivoted to plugging the show, calling it “a star-studded night.” They showed Jade Cargill walking backstage. Then B-Fab signing an autograph outside the arena. Then L.A. Knight. Cole said they’d find out his opponent live later on the show.
-Jey Uso stood in the concourse and then made his way to the ring through the fans. Cole said he was going to “try to get back into the rhythm of the Yeet.” [c]
(1) JEY USO vs. THE MIZ – The Last Time is Now Tournament match
Miz’s ring entrance aired. Cole said Miz had been complaining on social media about not being named John Cena’s final opponent. Cole said he can now earn it. The bell rang 21 minutes into the hour. Jey clotheslined Miz over the top rope and then dove onto him at ringside. They cut to a break at 2:00. [c/db]
Miz took over and did Cena’s finishing routine. Graves said he was signaling to Cena that he has “another decade in the tank.” He landed the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Jey countered with a superkick. Miz countered a Samoan Drop with a Skull Crushing Finale for a near fall. Jey then speared Miz and landed a top rope frog splash for the win.
WINNER: Jey Uso in 10:00 to advance.
-Tomasso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Candice LeRae interrupted Ilja Dragunov having an intense conversation with G.M. Nick Aldis. Ciampa told Aldis to tell Dragunov how to respect the rules of an open challenge. Aldis said it’s Dragunov’s open challenge to execute however he wants. Dragunov said when he took on the legacy of the U.S. Title Open Challenge, he vowed to do things the right way, and not defend against jackasses, but only those who fight with honor. Dragunov said he can wrestle someone he respects with honor tonight. In walked Axiom.
Aldis walked away and the camera followed him. Paul Heyman and Bronson Reed were standing by. Heyman said he needed to talk to Aldis for a minute. [c]
-Aldis told Heyman, “Before you are escorted from the building, what can I do for you?” Heyman said he’s so dramatic. He showed Aldis the WarGames agreement that says he can take any talent across all brands. Aldis said that indeed is in the paperwork. He said unless there is anything else to discuss, he’d like to kindly ask them to leave because The Vision would not disrupt his show. Cody Rhodes walked up to Heyman. Cody asked him what he wanted to talk about.
Heyman said he wants to talk about him getting involved in The Vision business on Monday. Cody said he put his friends to the fire, which meant he was next. He said this is Smackdown, and the business of the day is his WWE Title. He said if he’s not there to fight, he should leave. Reed stepped up and said, “I’ll fight.” Cody told Aldis he wanted that match. Heyman asked why he would do that and not make it a title match. Cody told Aldis to book it. Aldis tried to tell Cody what they were doing, but Cody yelled, “Book it!” Heyman was satisfied. Cole said, “Corey, what is Cody thinking?”
(2) ILJA DRAGUNOV vs. AXIOM – U.S. Title Open Challenge
The bell rang without ring entrances or fanfare on TV 41 minutes into the hour. Cole said this was the 12th straight week the U.S. Title has been on the line. Dragunov landed a senton for a two count. They cut to a double-box break at 3:00. [c/db]
Axiom took over after the break. He landed a top rope dropkick. Dragunov fought back and landed a kick to Axiom’s face. Dragunov made a bit production of setting up his H-Bomb, but Axiom recovered and then springboarded off the top rope into a DDT for a near fall. “Holy cow!” exclaimed Cole. A brief “This is awesome!” chant broke out. Axiom landed a Spanish Fly, but Dragunov landed a Torpedo Moscow and H-Bomb for the win.
WINNER: Dragunov in 11:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Exciting athletic match. Good to see a match just be a match here. This open challenge series should have some matches that are presented on TV as being enough just being a basic competitive match without an angle or big backstory.)
-R-Truth told Aldis that he wanted to be in the John Cena tournament. He presented him with his two plastic balls with his name written on the paper inside. An agitated Aldis agreed. R-Truth left. Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre walked up to Aldis. Green wanted to know when her championship celebration will be scheduled. She said all will be forgiven if it happens next week with pyro. Aldis handed the plastic balls to Green. She looked at them and asked, “Whose balls are these?”
-They showed Sami Zayn backstage. [c]
-Cole hyped Elimination Chamber taking place in Chicago, Ill. at United Center, which Cole touted as the largest indoor arena in the Chicago area.
-A clip aired of Ciampa attacking Axiom after the U.S. Title match a few minutes earlier. Nathan Frazer made the save.
-They went to Cole and Graves at ringside. They plugged the Cody vs. Reed match later. The camera stayed on Cole for an extra second or two.
[HOUR TWO]
-Sami Zayn made his ring entrance. Cole said, “Well, that was awkward,” presumably over the camera staying on him a little long. He said Sami was sidelined due to injury and had to watch Solo Sikoa and his MFTs attack friends of his. He called Solo to the ring and said that ends tonight.
Solo and the MFTs walked out. Solo said Sami is desperate and pathetic. He said Sami doesn’t really care about the fans or his friends. Solo said he cares about his family. He warned Sami to watch his mouth before he enters the ring and kicks his ass. He said he’s still wounded. He snapped his fingers and the MFTs hopped onto the ring apron. Solo entered the ring and said he’s going to wait until he’s 100 percent cleared, and then he’s coming for him.
Sami said the good news is he won’t have to wait long because as of tonight, he is 100 cleared now. He told him to do something about it “right now.” Solo nodded and smiled. Sami said he should keep in mind one thing. He said he didn’t come alone. Shinsuke Nakamura, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, and Rey Fenix brawled with the MFTs at ringside. Sami then punched away at Solo. Talla Tonga pulled Solo to safety. The MFTs then attacked Sami in the ring. A brawl with all of them broke out. The babyfaces cleared the ring of the heels. Fenix leaped off the top rope onto a crowd below him. He pretty much just landed with a splat in front of them and all three heels just fell voluntarily. Sami’s music played.
-Cody was shown warming up backstage when Jey walked up to him. They shook hands. Jey said he had Cody’s back out there tonight. Jimmy Uso walked in and said he has his back too. He said he talked to C.M. Punk earlier and he’s also got his back in WarGames. [c]
-Solo demanded to Aldis that he book him against Sami. Aldis said he didn’t have more time tonight, but he booked a five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination match for the Smackdown before Survivor Series.
(3) L.A. KNIGHT vs. ZACK RYDER – The Last Time is Now Tournament match
Ryder was revealed as the surprise opponent for Knight. Graves said Ryder has faced the “who’s who” of wrestlers not part of WWE as he’s active on the indy scene and has reinvented himself. Cole said he was in NXT a few weeks ago. The bell rang 16 minutes into the hour. Cole talked about Ryder having quite the history with Cena. Knight avoided an early Rough Ryder. Knight charged at Ryder, but Ryder side-stepped him. They cut to a break at 1:00. [c]
Cole said Knight has had more matches than anyone else on Raw or Smackdown this year. Ryder avoided a Knight leap and then landed a Rough Ryder for a near fall. A small “This is awesome!” chant broke out. Knight caught a leaping Ryder into a sitout powerbomb followed by a BFT for the win.
WINNER: Knight in 9:00.
-Bliss told Ripley and Sky that she didn’t think Charlotte would just walk out like that. Ripley said she thought they could set aside their differences for just one night. She said now she has to find two more wrestlers to fill out their team. Bliss asked for time to try to get through to Charlotte. Lash Legend and Nia Jax attacked them. Producers ran into the scene as the heels retreated.
-Jade Cargill made her ring entrance. [c]
(4) JADE CARGILL vs. B-FAB
The bell rang 33 minutes into the hour. Jade fended off a flurry early by B-Fab and landed Jaded for the win.
WINNER: Jade in 2:00.
-After the match, Michin checked on B-Fab. Michin and Jade ended up shoving and yelling at each other.
(Keller’s Analysis: There was not much to that at all. It’s probably good for her to win decisively and quickly against B-Fab, but these matches don’t give her much real-world practice to get better.)
-Backstage, Aldis revealed the next matches in the Cena tournament: Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed and Penta vs. Finn Balor.
-They went to Cole and Graves at ringside. Cole said so far Rusev, Sheamus, Jey Uso, and Knight have advanced. He said Gunther vs. J’Von and Solo vs. a mystery opponent. They plugged Fraxiom vs. Ciampa & Gargano next week, plus Reed vs. Hayes and Penta vs. Balor.
-Cathy Kelley interviewed Carmelo Hayes backstage. She said he has said he idolized Cena and he’d love to be his final opponent. Carmelo said he wants to be the one who puts him down and hangs his jersey in the rafters. He said if he gets that shot, he won’t miss. Reed walked up to Hayes and said he’s going to go end Cody, then end him last week, and then end Cena’s career at SNME. [c]
(5) CODY RHODES vs. BRONSON REED (w/Paul Heyman) – WWE Undisputed Title match
The bell rang 50 minutes into the hour. Graves said he loves that Cody wants to be the quarterback, “but this is nuts.” Graves said Cody put his nose in business that didn’t concern him. They cut to a very early break with Reed in control after ringside. [c/db]
Back from the break, Reed gave Cody a Jagged Edge (Death Valley Driver) for a two count at 4:00. He followed up with a Tsunami attempt, but Cody moved. Cody landed a Cody Cutter for a near fall seconds later. They fought to ringside. Cody side-stepped a charging Reed, so Reed tumbled into the time keeper’s area. Bron Breakker and Logan Paul attacked Cody at ringside. The ref called for the bell at 6:00.
WINNER: Cody via DQ in 6:00 so Cody retained the WWE Title.
-The Usos ran out for the save. They gave Logan a 1D. Jimmy pulled a table out from under the ring and slid it into the ring. They set up the table. Drew McIntyre shoved Jimmy off the top rope. “Drew was suspended last week!” Cole said. “Somebody call the cops!” Aldis got in Heyman’s face. Heyman said he was able to work with anybody. Fans chanted for C.M. Punk. Breakker speared Jey through a table leaning in the corner.
Cody re-entered the ring and went after Drew and Logan. Drew gave Cody a Claymore. Drew dragged Cody into position and then Reed landed a Tsunami. Heyman handed Drew a contract. Cole said The Vision has their fourth man with one slot remaining. Fans chanted “OTC!”
JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS…
PWTorch editor Wade Keller will be joined by PWTorch’s Chris Maitland to review WWE Smackdown LIVE on YouTube. We’ll be incorporating live viewer comments into the show so join us LIVE!
Email our post-show at wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Smackdown. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
If you can’t join us live on YouTube, stream the show on demand later at YouTube or listen or stream later on a podcast app. Subscribe to all of our free podcasts by searching “wade keller” and “pwtorch” in your podcast app of choice including Spotify and Apple Podcasts and most other iOS and Android apps.
VIP MEMBER EXCLUSIVE VIDEO CALLER CODE: CLICK HERE
LINK TO BE A VIP CALLER: https://streamyard.com/gw6yicaai3
Click that link during the post-show to enter the waiting room as “live video caller” (or just audio if you turn off your cam, which is fine).
OPEN TO EVERYONE – LINK TO WATCH LIVE RIGHT AFTER WWE SMACKDOWN TONIGHT: CLICK HERE
