Friday Night SmackDown Review - July 31, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sami Zayn and Finn Balor Brawled; Nick Aldis Attacked Gunther

This bout between Balor and Zayn coming up at SummerSlam was added to the card so late that they didn't have much time to establish any real animosity outside of them both having their sights set on the Undisputed WWE Championship, but I think they did a nice enough job here of recapping their respective journeys over the last decade in this segment. Gunther attacking them indicates he'll be back in the title mix post-SummerSlam, and the crowd was hot for Aldis briefly getting the better of him. This was a rock solid segment to start the show.

B-Fab and Michin def. Chelsea Green and Women's United States Champion Tiffany Stratton

Green picked up a big win by beating Kiana James last week to qualify for the Interim WWE Women's Championship Ladder match at SummerSlam, and the grand follow-up was to... have her get pinned by B-Fab, who won't be a part of said Ladder matchup? Uh, okay. I assume the idea was to remind viewers that Green is a vulnerable underdog, but... B-Fab?! Come on, man. The match itself was fine, but the focus was more so on Jade Cargill and Charlotte Flair going at it afterward. You know, the real match we should have gotten at SummerSlam if Rhea Ripley was going to be out injured until then.

WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest and R-Truth vs. AAA World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders in a Title for Title Match Ended in a Double Disqualification

I'm sorry but this may have been the least exciting Title for Title match I've ever seen. They built it up in backstage segments over the last few weeks, but neither team is relevant right now and I personally couldn't care less about the AAA World Tag Team Championship. It was a fairly basic bout and the double disqualification finish was lame. The MFTs getting back in the tag title mix by attacking both teams afterward isn't interesting, either, but Haku seemingly becoming their new manager is pretty cool.

Baron Corbin Interrupted United States Champion Trick Williams

I'm still stunned they set this up for SummerSlam by announcing it after SmackDown went off the air last week. Putting aside how it makes zero sense that Carmelo Hayes wouldn't also be involved considering he also got attacked by Corbin earlier this month, this was a perfectly passable segment to build toward their championship clash at SummerSlam. I'm just glad Corbin is being booked like a legitimate threat on the main roster for the first time in many years. I actually wouldn't mind Corbin taking the title this weekend.

AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Rey Fenix def. JD McDonagh

We've been getting more and more of these title defenses from Fenix over the last month or so, and while I can't imagine many viewers give a shit about the AAA championships being defended on WWE TV (a la the tag title matchup from earlier on), at least it's an excuse to get Fenix on the show in a semi-regular role. He and McDonagh had the fun sprint they were capable of. We also got the obligatory interaction between Danhausen and Dominik Mysterio ahead of SummerSlam. I could've done without that since we already had that awful "concert" with them on Monday's Raw, but I know WWE couldn't help themselves.

Lash Legend def. Giulia to Qualify for the Interim WWE Women's Championship 5-Way Ladder Match at SummerSlam

Wow. This was Divas era-level short. I mean, why even bother? Why not just automatically give the last spot to Legend to avoid the embarrassment for Giulia? Giulia defeated James not too long ago, yet she may actually be worse off without her. I figured Legend would qualify for SummerSlam, but giving them barely two minutes isn't the answer. This was so short that I can't accurately say anything about it.

Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes Brawled

All of the "friend" talk between these two as of late has gotten more and more nauseating, but they've been at their best whenever they've amped up the intensity as they did here. It was a brief verbal exchange, but it was good and the subsequent brawl was better. It wasn't a hot closing stretch of the show by any means, but it was what it needed to be to sell viewers on their SummerSlam match.

Overall Show

Honestly, my favorite part of the show was the video package they aired for Aldis highlighting his history in TNA, the NWA and in other promotions. That and Haku's return were the two top highlights for me. Everything else was very average and not very effective in getting me invested in SummerSlam. SmackDown being two hours instead of three certainly helps make it more bearable, but I wouldn't exactly call this a stellar effort from the blue brand, especially ahead of a premium live event.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews