Friday Night SmackDown Review - June 12, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Charlotte Flair def. Lyra Valkyria, Jade Cargill and Women's Intercontinental Champion in a Queen of the Ring Quarterfinal Fatal 4-Way Match (Non-Title)

It's a shame Cargill's wig came off near the end because it overshadowed everything that came after it. All of her spots involved her desperately trying to keep it on. Otherwise, this was mostly a well-worked, fun four-way. We've seen quite a few of them in the last two weeks because of the tournaments, but they've managed to keep them interesting. Flair advancing made the most sense. I feel bad Valkyria took the pinfall loss (especially after losing on Monday's Raw, too), but you had to see that coming.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Paige and Brie Bella def. Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid) (Non-Title)

It felt like a foregone conclusion that Fatal Influence would win to earn themselves a future shot at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, especially since it was non-title action. Needless to say, I was surprised by the result. This would have been an instance where predictability wouldn't have been a bad thing, as I don't know why it was necessary for Fatal Influence to lose. The match itself was fine, but I'm ready for Paige and Bella to drop the tag titles (specifically to Fatal Influence).

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn Slapped Each Other

The stuff with Zayn has far and away been the best part of SmackDown in recent months and this was another example of that. I love what he's going for as a character at the moment and Rhodes is also playing his role exceptionally well in this story. This was an excellent interaction between the two and I appreciated how they touched on everyone who was there when Rhodes "finished his story" two years ago that later turned on him, including Zayn. Obviously, this gave away that Zayn would be named the special guest referee for next week's Undisputed WWE Championship clash before it was revealed a little later on, but oh well.

AAA Cruiserweight Champion Rey Fenix def. Axiom

I can't imagine most viewers give a crap about AAA titles being defended on WWE television. I know I don't. That said, I'm just glad we got back on SmackDown, and winning! That's a plus. Granted, I'm skeptical this will actually amount to something significant for him, but it was better than nothing. He and Axiom had an enjoyable sprint, even though the crowd didn't really react to anything other than the cool spots.

United States Champion Trick Williams, Carmelo Hayes and Ricky Saints Attacked Each Other

It was established a few weeks ago that the United States Championship scene currently consists of these three, so honestly, I'm not sure what purpose this segment was supposed to serve. It definitely didn't accomplish anything. The mic work was good, but again, the overall segment underwhelmed because there was minimal physicality that ended abruptly. The inevitable Triple Threat for the title should have been made official here.

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

This was set up after Stratton thwarted Michin and B-Fab's interference in the opener and after Green came to Stratton's aid backstage. I thought it'd be a bit longer before Green and Stratton teamed up, but it's not like they're automatically allies or anything. Plus, they lost, so it should take some time before they're on the same page (and Stratton ideally betrays her soon after). The match was passable. The babyfaces had an out with Cargill costing them the win.

Jey Uso def. LA Knight, Royce Keys and Finn Balor in a King of the Ring Quarterfinal Fatal 4-Way Match

Despite the star power involved, this was among the weaker four-ways we've got in either tournament this month. There were some awkward spots early on, but it got better once they picked up the pace down the stretch. Any one of these guys could have realistically advanced, yet they went with the least compelling option of the four. Ugh. Oba Femi pretty much has to win the whole thing at this point, right?

Overall Show

I believe the end of SmackDown's three hour era is imminent so we can all rejoice. The three hours were slightly more bearable this week thanks to this being a show that was slightly better than usual, largely thanks to the two tournament matches making matters more eventful. The segment with Rhodes and Zayn was the highlight of the night to me and left me looking forward to Rhodes vs. Gunther next week. The rest of the show was decent.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews