Friday Night SmackDown Review - June 19, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes def. Gunther (Sami Zayn Served as Special Guest Referee); Gunther def. Rhodes by Disqualification

I was doubtful that we were getting a title change on SmackDown (especially since the Undisputed WWE Championship already changed hands on SmackDown earlier this year), and the fact this kicked off the show foreshadowed the finish even more. Despite that, the back-to-back bouts were entertaining. Zayn screwed over Gunther in the first match, which led to it getting restarted with a regular referee, but Zayn attacking Gunther caused the contest to be thrown out. The shenanigans were expected, but they were well executed to set up the now-official Triple Threat match for Night of Champions.

WWE Tag Team Champions R-Truth and Damian Priest def. The MFTs (Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga)

The match was whatever, but this was more about furthering the story they're telling with The MFTs than the actual action. It was a lose-lose situation because I don't want the tag titles on either of these teams, but maybe the tension being teased within The MFTs means they're finally going to end soon? Probably not. Even if they did, Solo Sikoa would likely rejoin The Bloodline, so it's not like we'd get any shortage of these guys.

Ricky Saints def. Carmelo Hayes in a United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

These two have had some enjoyable encounters over the last month and this was no exception. The fact it had something at stake also helped. Hayes connected with the exposed turnbuckle right before Saints pinned him, so he was protected in defeat. Saints will now face Trick Williams for the title at Night of Champions. I'm fine with them not going the Triple Threat route since we're now getting one for the Undisputed WWE title on that same show.

Jey Uso def. Je'Von Evans in a King of the Ring Semifinal Match

Evans had "injured" ribs coming into this contest after Bron Breakker hit him with a midair Spear on Monday's Raw, so that pretty much gave away the ending. They had a quality contest and were afforded a ton of time. Evans won't lose anything from this, but I'm more so disappointed that Uso will be the finals. I get it, he's a bigger name, but I have zero desire to see him win the whole thing, and it's looking like that's where they're headed. 

Women's World Champion Liv Morgan def. Charlotte Flair in a Queen of the Ring Semifinal Match (Non-Title)

As soon as Flair got ambushed by Jade Cargill and her crew backstage beforehand, it became obvious that Morgan was winning, and that was disappointing. Again, I understand it was designed to prevent Flair from taking a clean loss, but it made the match way more predictable with Flair selling the "knee injury" throughout. I'm fine with Flair feuding with Cargill, but Flair vs. IYO SKY would have been much more appealing in the finals of the Queen of the Ring.

Overall Show

As appalling as it was that there were only five matches over the course of the three hours (with no talking segments in between), each of the matches got more time and, more importantly, they all had something on the line. There were a ton of backstage segments and plenty of Night of Champions developments. With all of that said, it wasn't an outstanding edition of SmackDown by any means, but I've seen far more boring installments this year. At least it wasn't a waste of time due to so much happening.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews