Friday Night SmackDown Review - September 12, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Brock Lesnar Attacked R-Truth

If you came into this segment expecting or hoping Lesnar would explain why he returned to attack Cena at SummerSlam, you were probably left disappointed. The video package that aired later on highlighting their history together was excellent, but otherwise, the latest iteration of their rivalry has been poor because fans have been given no reason for it. As for this segment, it had some fun moments (including Lesnar accidentally ripping his jeans), but it felt like it lasted a little too long and didn't accomplish anything. I also hate that Truth is back to doing the same silly crap he's been doing for years instead of taking a more serious approach as was teased early on in the summer, but that's another rant for another time.

United States Champion Sami Zayn def. Rey Fenix

It looks like Zayn is keeping the U.S. Open going after bringing it back in honor of John Cena last week, and he's the perfect person to be doing that gimmick. This match was a prime example of why. What an excellent outing from these two, and above all else, it was wonderful to see Fenix back on WWE TV getting to shine. I appreciated the clean finish and I look forward to Carmelo Hayes challenging Zayn next Friday night.

United States Champion Giulia vs. B-Fab Never Got Underway (Non-Title)

This was about as lame as last week's Giulia vs. Michin match, maybe even more so. Granted, I had next to no interest in Giulia facing B-Fab to begin with, but this angle gave viewers zero incentive to give a shit about the tag team match that we're clearly headed toward. It was logical storyline advancement I suppose, but none of this is making me any more invested in the Women's United States Championship picture.

WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill Ended in a Double Count-Out

Personally, I was underwhelmed by the match Stratton and Cargill had at SummerSlam, but I thought this rematch was a vast improvement. I'd say the crowd would agree based on how loud they were for a majority of it. It wasn't an entirely smooth encounter, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, even with the double count-out finish that sets up the need for another bout between them. The only part of this I wasn't a fan of was Nia Jax coming out afterward to lay out both women. Haven't we seen enough of Jax vs. Stratton this year? Why can't we move on from them together?

Drew McIntyre def. Randy Orton

This was a solid, well-worked main event that was given plenty of time, but they've definitely had better matches over the years. Orton spent most of it selling the knee, though that never factored into the finish. McIntyre winning decisively was the right call with Cody Rhodes returning afterward and basically confirming that they'll be facing each other for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Wrestlepalooza.

Overall Show

Last week's SmackDown was obviously more eventful with it being John Cena's last and AJ Lee returning, but this was a thumbs-up episode on the whole in my opinion. The stuff with the Women's United States Championship picture was a miss for me and Lesnar's appearance didn't offer much, but the rest of the show delivered, specifically Zayn vs. Fenix. If you have time for nothing else, at least check that out.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews