Friday Night SmackDown Review - August 8, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes Saved John Cena from Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul

Cena being back in total babyface mode here really hammered home that his heel run was a complete waste of time. I said (somewhere) a few months ago that Paul would be the perfect first opponent for Cena as a babyface, so I have no issue with that being the match for Clash in Paris (with Cena vs. Brock Lesnar being saved for another time, apparently). This segment played out predictably, but it set up the night's big tag team main event nicely.

The MFTs (Talla Tonga and JC Mateo) def. The Motor City Machine Guns

The Bloodline/The MFTs haven't been involved in the WWE Tag Team Championship mix since dropping the titles to Motor City Machine Guns late last year, and while it's a logical direction for them to go in, the division has gotten so much deeper since then with teams that are better. In other words, Motor City Machine Guns putting over Tonga and Mateo isn't exactly ideal, but I get it. The match was decent for what it was.

Sami Zayn def. United States Champion Solo Sikoa (Non-Title)

Sikoa was addressing the audience when Nick Aldis interrupted him and put him in an impromptu match with Zayn, the hometown hero. Yes, it was random, but the crowd clearly didn't mind. The match itself was solid. Zayn winning should earn him an opportunity at the United States Championship, and the fact he's a Raw Superstar shouldn't matter since the Brand Split hasn't mattered in ages.

Chelsea Green and The Secret Hervice Crashed WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss' Birthday Celebration; Flair def. Green

This was the second straight in-ring promo Flair and Bliss have had this week with the first one coming on Raw. It started off slow with some of their lines failing to generate any sort of reaction, but it improved right before Green and Secret Hervice came out. Flair vs. Green was an adequate outing with the expected result, though I'm not sure how this was supposed to get fans excited for a possible Flair and Bliss vs. Secret Hervice match.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and John Cena def. Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre by Disqualification

Cena wrestling in an impromptu match on SmackDown was refreshing, especially since I doubt it will happen too often in the remainder of his retirement tour. Cena and Rhodes teaming up was cool and the match was well worked, but you knew it wouldn't last long when it started so close to the top of the hour. The disqualification finish was disappointing, but I understand they wanted to protect all four years. In addition to Cena vs. Paul, Rhodes vs. McIntyre is looking likely for Clash in Paris based on the post-match angle.

Overall Show

This hot Montreal crowd made this show significantly fun than it may have been otherwise. None of what we got was anything out of the ordinary and even the star-studded main event had a non-finish, but the crowd being as into everything as they were made a major difference. Cena vs. Paul was confirmed for Clash in Paris and I assume we'll see more build for the event in the coming weeks.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews