WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from Sept. 25

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SmackDown opened with Styles coming out for what Michael Cole called The Intercontinental Championship Ascension Ceremony. Corey Graves was in the ring to give us a rundown of what we can expect from the Ladder match on Sunday.

Hardy, Styles and Zayn all had something to say about this situation. Zayn kept claiming to be the rightful champion while Styles and Hardy agreed that Zayn was lucky to even be in the title match on Sunday. Hardy called for the apparatus used to hold the belts above the ring to be lowered to they could hang the titles up. After they did, Zayn hit his rivals with a ladder.

As he tried to leave, Adam Pearce came out and added Styles to the singles bout Zayn was supposed to have with Hardy to make it a triple threat. Hardy immediately hit Styles with a Twist of Fate as the show went to a break. 

The match began when we returned. Zayn was immediately knocked out of the ring so Styles and Hardy could brawl for a bit. The Great Liberator came back in but The Charismatic Enigma took him out with a flurry of moves. The Phenomenal One recovered and went after Hardy's bad leg.

They took the fight out of the ring for a little while but nobody tried to use any of the ladders around the ring, which is perfectly legal in a triple threat match. As Hardy prepared to hit a Swanton Bomb, Zayn shoved him off of the top turnbuckle down to the floor. 

Zayn managed to avoid a Phenomenal Forearm that took out Hardy and capitalized by throwing Styles out of the ring so he could cover Hardy for the pin. 

Grade: B

Analysis

This was a really good way to open SmackDown. This is a strong feud with three veterans who are all loved by the WWE Universe for different reasons. The promo segment was predictable but entertaining because of who was involved. 

The match was a lot of fun and gave us a taste of what we will see when these three compete on Sunday for the IC title in what should be a tremendous Ladder match. 

Zayn getting the win almost guarantees he will not win on Sunday, so Styles and Hardy are the favorites since the person who wins a pre-PPV encounter usually loses at the PPV. 

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After a quick backstage encounter between The Miz, John Morrison and Heavy Machinery, Bayley came out to sit on the stage for a promo. She called Sasha Banks a crybaby before talking about Nikki Cross.

She said Cross was a fighter she respected but didn't appreciate some of the things she said about her last week in regards to needing Banks to retain the women's title. She promised to slap the smile off of Cross' face and implied she would use a chair to hurt her the same way she did to The Boss.

Grade: B

Analysis

This was a solid promo that did not last longer than it needed to. Bayley came out, spoke for a couple of minutes and said everything she needed to say. It was more effective than if she had tried to draw it out for 10 minutes or more like most promos.

Keeping her feud with Banks going while also fighting Cross means Sunday's match may have some interference. A disqualification due to The Boss getting involved would prevent Cross from suffering a loss, which would keep her looking strong as she prepares to feud with Bliss. 

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Ahead of their tag title match on Sunday, Lucha House Party's Gran Metalik was accompanied by Kalisto and Lince Dorado as he battled Shinsuke Nakamura, who had Cesaro with him at ringside. 

The Rockstar quickly took control and hit Metalik with a running knee to the face for a quick two-count. The King of the Ropes countered a reverse exploded suplex and hit a hurricanrana to send Nakamura out to the apron. He launched himself over the top rope to take Nakamura out as his partners cheered him on.

A slingshot senton scored Metalik a near fall. He dragged Nakamura to the corner for a moonsault but had to land on his feet when his opponent rolled out of the way. This allowed Nakamura to hit a brutal running knee and a reverse exploder before finishing him off with a Kinshasa for the pin.

Grade: C

Analysis

This match would have benefitted from having five more minutes but what we got was still an entertaining display from two talented Superstars. It just didn't have time to be memorable. 

Kalisto refusing to help Dorado and Metalik as they were being attacked after the match led to Dorado shoving him to the mat. The breakup of The Lucha House Party could happen as soon as Sunday.

Cesaro and Nakamura have grown into a great duo ever since they parted ways with Zayn. They might not be giving a ton of promos but they don't need to in order for people to know they are the best WWE has to offer. 

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Matt Riddle and Baron Corbin each gave quick promos from backstage before heading to the ring for this grudge match. The King seemed determined to do more than just beat Riddle. He wanted to hurt him.

Riddle went after Corbin before the bell, so the ref started the match right away. The Barefoot Bro sent The King out of the ring and continued going after him with punches and kicks. As they got back into the ring, Corbin took him down with a few well-placed punches.

Riddle kicked him out of the ring again and sent him flying over the announce table. Corbin took control during the break but when we returned, Riddle started to turn things around. He hit a series of signature moves for a close two-count. 

The King caught him with Deep Six for a near fall and countered a springboard with a stiff right hand. The Bro managed to avoid The End of Days before climbing up for the Floating Bro. Corbin got his knees up to block and hit End of Days for the win. 

Grade: C

Analysis

The last couple of minutes of this match were good but most of what came before was simple and formulaic. It was hard to care about what was happening in the ring.

Kayla Braxton interviewed Riddle after the match and he said losing sucks but he is going to keep pushing and grinding until SmackDown is the Bro show. 

Corbin coming out on top was a nice surprise. He hasn't had a lot of big wins in recent months, so this gives him some momentum as he heads into his next feud. 

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Bliss took Evans down early but The Sassy Southern Belle quickly turned things around and threw her into the corner as hard as she could. She hit a pendulum bronco buster for a quick two-count.

Evans had an answer for everything Bliss tried to do to make a comeback. The Goddess eventually hit a hard slam to give herself a little breathing room. As the show went to a break, Bray Wyatt's laugh began to echo throughout the arena.

We returned to see Evans back in control with a modified STO. She sent Bliss crashing to the floor with a slingshot dropkick from the apron. Bliss began to build a little momentum before the arena was bathed in red light and a small part of Wyatt's music began to play.

Bliss went into a trance and lost it. She viciously attacked Evans until the referee was forced to call for a disqualification. Bliss did not care one bit as she took Evans out of the ring to hit Sister Abigail on the floor. 

Grade: B-

Analysis


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This was one of the best performances Evans has had in quite some time. She looked good with everything she did and appeared more confident in her skills than in the past.

However, the whole match was dominated by the ongoing storyline with Bliss and Wyatt. This was the first time we have seen Wyatt's influence her in this way and it made for an entertaining moment at the end.

The way she stared at Reigns as he passed her on the stage was as ominous as it gets. It looks like Wyatt may still have his eyes on the universal title and Bliss might be the key to helping him regain it. 

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Jey Uso came out to the ring about halfway through the show and gave a promo asking why Reigns looked at him last week like an enemy instead of family. A video package played with members of the A'noai family talking about the feud.

Reigns and Paul Heyman were shown watching from the back. Heyman addressed the camera and said Reigns is not going to talk until he is ready and not a second before. Heyman promised it would happen later during the show.

Reigns came out at the end of the episode to address what Uso said. As Heyman began to speak, he was interrupted by Uso's music. Reigns did not look pleased.

The Big Dog looked him dead in the eye and said he would give his cousin the title if he could but he doesn't think Jey would know what to do with it. He said Uso doesn't understand the weight and the pressure that comes from being the face of WWE. 

He dropped the mic and left the ring as Uso stood there in silence. When Reigns was about halfway up the ramp, Uso asked “What if you're wrong?” He said he is sick of living in Reigns' shadow and people not knowing if he is Jimmy or Jey. Reigns walked away without looking back at his cousin.

As Uso was leaving up the ramp, Reigns came out of nowhere to deliver a Superman Punch. He yelled at Uso that he will never take the title from him. 

Grade: A

Analysis

For a feud that felt like it came out of nowhere due to lack of any better options, Uso and Reigns have made this one of the most interesting programs in the entire company. 

The attack at the end was the icing on the cake and immediately made this feud more personal. Their promos were great but that Superman Punch was like an exclamation point.

Reigns as a heel has been so much fun to watch and hopefully on Sunday, he and Uso put on a match worthy of this buildup. This whole segment was awesome. 

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