By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@jakebarnett)
WWE SmackDown (Episode 1,414)
Indianapolis, Indiana, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Simulcast on September 25, 2026, on USA Network and streamed internationally on Netflix
Various wrestler walk ups were shown at the top of the show for the advertised matches, including Finn Balor, Guilia, and Charlotte Flair. A video featuring Trick Williams and Barton Corbin was shown ahead of their cage match that will kick off the in ring portion of the show. Trick Williams made his ring entrance first, followed by Baron Corbin. Trick was accompanied by Lil Yachty. Cole and Barrett said that Randy Orton would be interviewed by Cole later in the show.
1. Baron Corbin vs. Trick Williams in a Steel Cage Match for the United States Championship: Williams started with a spin kick and then sent Corbin face first off the cage. He then delivered a chop and stomped on Corbin in the corner. Corbin recovered quickly and fired back with some strikes. He then tossed Trick into the cage…[c]
Corbin dominated the action during the break, and when the show returned both men were sat atop the cage and trading punches. Williams punched himself free and tried to drop to the floor, but Corbin got a hold of him and pulled him back into the cage with a superplex. Corbin then collapsed into a cover for a near fall. Trick then turned over and tried a cover himself and got a two count. Williams crawled over to the door and tried to escape, but Corbin pulled him back into the ring. Corbin then kicked the ring door and sent it flying into Lil Yachty at ringside.
He then turned around into a Trick Kick, which got another near fall. Corbin fired back with a lariat and then landed a chokeslam, but he couldn’t immediately make a cover. Corbin crawled towards the door, but Yachty slammed the door in his face to get a measure of revenge. Trick then delivered a Trick Shot, but Corbin kicked out at 2.9. Trick got to his feet and went for another knee strike, but Corbin avoided it and landed a German Suplex. He then delivered a Deep Six and covered for a near fall.
Williams avoided an End of Days and delivered a pair of Book End style Uranages. He then delivered a third Book End and make the cover for the win.
Trick Williams defeated Baron Corbin at 12:20
Backstage, Lash Legend said she wasn’t worried about Guilia and Charlotte Flair. Nia said there’s nobody like her, and then Lash promised to win the Money in the Bank Briefcase and bring it back to the Irresistible Forces. A video was then shown of the conclusion of last week’s Smackdown where CM Punk took out Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Nick Aldis then approached CM Punk and asked him to meet him in his office. Punk asked if he was in trouble, and Aldis smirked and said not at all…[c]
My Take: The Cage was fun, but not a technical masterpiece by any means. It was probably the best Corbin and Trick match in comparison to their previous encounters. Here’s hoping Trick can move on to a new opponent. I vote for Damien Priest.
WWE World’s Collide was advertised for tomorrow on WWE’s Youtube Channel on September 30th, which I believe is a change from last word. Nick Aldis was backstage with Kevin Owens and CM Punk. He said their rivalry has crossed a line into ruining each other’s careers, and he won’t have it messing up with the Money in the Bank Qualifiers. Punk said he would stay out of Owens’ way if he would stay out of his, but Kevin just walked off and bumped into Punk on the way out of the room.
Elsewhere, Chelsea Green was in a panic over Nikki Bella and the upcoming Money in the Bank winner. Bella walked up and said what she said last week was a warning, and that nothing would stop her becoming a Champion again. Paige and Tiffany Stratton walked up and Nikki left the room. Charlotte Flair then made her entrance in the arena for the upcoming Money in the Bank qualifier…[c]
WWE World’s Collide was advertised for tomorrow on WWE’s Youtube Channel on September 30th, which I believe is a change from last word. Nick Aldis was backstage with Kevin Owens and CM Punk. He said their rivalry has crossed a line into ruining each other’s careers, and he won’t have it messing up with the Money in the Bank Qualifiers. Punk said he would stay out of Owens’ way if he would stay out of his, but Kevin just walked off and bumped into Punk on the way out of the room.
Elsewhere, Chelsea Green was in a panic over Nikki Bella and the upcoming Money in the Bank winner. Bella walked up and said what she said last week was a warning, and that nothing would stop her becoming a Champion again. Paige and Tiffany Stratton walked up and Nikki left the room. Charlotte Flair then made her entrance in the arena for the upcoming Money in the Bank qualifier…[c]
Guilia completed her entrance as the show returned, followed by Lash Legend.
2. Lash Legend vs. Guilia vs. Charlotte Flair in a Money in the Bank Qualifier: Guilia and Lash exchanged strikes to start the match. Charlotte then joined in and Lash knocked both women down with a double clothesline. Lash picked up Guilia and tossed her into the corner. She then turned her attention to Charlotte and delivered a thrust kick. Guilia jumped and applied a guillotine choke on Legend, but she eventually powered out and delivered a vertical suplex. Charlotte then flew back into the action with a flying cross body, and then sent Lash to the floor with a clothesline. She somersaulted onto Lash from the apron, but Guilia climbed the barricade and delivered a missile dropkick to Charlotte a moment later…[c]
Charlotte and Lash clashed in the ring, and Charlotte delivered a cartwheel into a lariat. Charlotte then picked up Guilia and began to climb the ropes with her. Lash joined the party and turned it into a tower of doom spot. Lash covered Charlotte and got a two count, then covered Guilia and got the same. Lash caught Charlotte diving off the ropes and delivered a fallaway slam. Guilia then delivered a missile dropkick and took Lash off her feet.
Charlotte and Guilia exchanged strikes. Lash got involved, but Charlotte took her down with a chop block. Guilia landed some strikes and a headbutt to Flair. Flair battled back with strikes to Guilia and a big boot to Lash. Guilia and Charlotte battled on the top rope, and Guilia landed a Butterfly Superplex. Lash shoved Guilia out of the ring and covered for a near fall. Lash and Charlotte battled, and Charlotte delivered a German Suplex. Lash recovered and got to her feet, but Charlotte launched Guilia from the top rope into a tackle on Legend.
She then climbed the top rope and landed a big moonsault on both women. Charlotte covered both of them and got a near fall. She then landed a Natural Selection on Guilia. She then applied a Figure Eight on Legend, but Guilia broke it up with a knee strike. She then followed up with a Northern Light’s Bomb, but Lash broke up the cover. Lash delivered a Lash Extension on Guilia and got the win.
Lash Legend defeated Guilia and Charlotte Flair at 12:51 to qualify for Money in the Bank
After the match, footage of Cody Rhodes telling Michael Cole after their interview concluded that he would kick Orton’s f’ing head off at the next opportunity was shown. Orton was then shown backstage on the interview set telling Cole that he was ready for him….[c]
My Take: A good match where both Guilia and Legend gave encouraging performances. Charlotte is a made woman, and she worked hard to make everyone else in the match look good.
Randy Orton and Michael Cole sat across from one another backstage. They got right to the point and Orton said that Cody said what he did off camera last week because contrary to what he says he has been compromised. Orton said there have been a lot of compromises over Cody’s 20 year career, even if he still thinks he’s a good guy. He detailed Cody being Dusty’s Kid, Dashing, Stardust, and now the American Nightmare.
He continued and said he’s never changed. Orton said he’s not Randy Orton turned up to 11, he’s Randy Orton tuned to 1. He then said in Cody’s fantasy land if he kicks Orton he’s no longer the good guy, and asked Cole if he thought he had the capability of kicking him in the head. Orton got right in Cole’s face and demanded an answer, and Cole said no. Orton said he was right, and told Cole the interview was over.
Elsewhere, Sami Zayn was interviewed and said it’s only natural that Randy Orton wants to be the WWE Champion, but there are a lot of others that don’t want him specifically to be WWE Champion. Zayn said he was going things for the right reasons, and while he was the Champion it would remain a symbol of hope and he would be the last real good guy. He claimed other men are doing it for the wrong reasons, but Finn Balor approached him from behind.
Balor told Zayn that he screwed all of them over on the way to the top, and he was coming for him and that title whether or not he wins the Money in the Back briefcase and that would be justice. Gargano then walked up and demanded his title shot, and Sami said Nick Aldis has told him no. Zayn said he was able to get Johnny and Candace qualifying matches for Money in the Bank. He then asked them if they were ride or die, and Gargano agreed. Candice looked significantly less impressed.
In the arena, Chelsea Green made her ring entrance for a six woman tag match…[c]
My Take: It’ll be interesting to see when we get Cody and Orton in the ring together again. Will it be before or after Orton goes after a title match with Sami Zayn? Candice LeRae’s facial expressions were the highlight of the segment with Sami Zayn.
Tiffany Stratton completed her entrance. Paige was already in the ring. Stratton was followed by Fatal Influence.
3. Fallon Henley, Lainey Reid, and Jacey Jayne vs. Tiffany Straton, Paige, and Chelsea Green: Paige and Henley started the match. Paige landed a slap and a kick, which forced Henley to scramble for a tag to Reid. Paige delivered a series of knee strikes to Reid and made a tag to Green. Stratton and Green landed a series of hip attacks to Reid, and Paige landed a kick to the face of Jayne as she ran into the ring…[c]
Jayne landed a running elbow strike to Stratton as the show returned. Reid tagged in and delivered a somersault neckbreaker for a two count. Henley tagged in a hit the ropes, and she and Stratton both hit the mat hard after a collision. They crawled to their corners and Chelsea Green made a hot tag. She took down Reid with a lariat and then Henley with a kick.
Jayne and Paige tagged into the match, and Paige delivered a Fisherman’s suplex. She then delivered a Paige Turney, but Henley broke it up. Green slapped Henley and sent her to the floor. She then did the same to Reid, but Henley dragged her out to the floor. Stratton took out both Henley and Reid with a Dive. Jayne then took out Stratton and Green.
Nikki Bella appeared and tripped up Paige, and Jacey Jayne delivered a Rolling Encore for the win.
Fatal Influence defeated Paige, Tiffany Stratton, and Chelsea Green at 8:04
After the match, Nikki Bella stared down the babyface trio from the crowd. R-Truth was then shown from earlier this week at the performance center, where he was attacked by Damien Priest. After the attack, Priest told Truth that he should be champion instead of wasting his time with him. Elsewhere, Gunther was interviewed by Cathy Kelley. Gunther said it was a disgrace that he had to participate in a qualifier for a ladder climbing contest. He said it was a real opportunity for Finn Balor, and he would find out if he’s dealing with the legendary Finn Balor or a ghost.
Danhausen walked up and said he wanted to help Gunther get the briefcase so they could split the human monies. Gunther grabbed him by the collar and throttled him, ultimately preventing Danhausen from cursing him…[c]
My Take: The Women’s Tag was well worked and got the job done. Nikki Bella is better as a heel but I can’t say the feud with Chelsea Green is lighting my fire. Chelsea’s character still plays everything for comedy and I think they have to find some fire in her for this to succeed.
Cody Rhodes made his ring entrance after the break. He did his intro shtick and then spoke about Randy Orton interfering in his WWE Title match at Summerslam. He said Punk subsequently lost to Sami Zayn, and he knows he can beat Sami Zayn, but for now he has to address Randy Orton. He recalled Orton trying to create a no-win situation for him during his interview with Michael Cole earlier. Rhodes said he’s the king of no-win situations, and rattled off examples related to The Rock and John Cena. He then addressed Orton and promised him that he would kick his head off his shoulders, but said he couldn’t promise he would be the only one.
As Rhodes left the ring, CM Punk’s music hit. The announce team speculated whether Rhodes would go through with his promise or whether he was trying to convince himself he could. Rhodes and Punk exchanged a glance as they crossed paths on the ramp. Punk will face Gunther and Finn Balor up next…[c]
My Take: Another tease of this idea that Cody Rhodes is going to develop a killer instinct. Only time will tell, but it has felt like his boy scout character was due for an evolution.
Finn Balor completed his entrance as the show returned. Gunther was the final competitor out to the ring.
4. Gunther vs. Finn Balor vs. CM Punk in a Money in the Bank Qualifier: Gunther attacked Balor immediately after the bell. Punk and Gunther exchanged chops, and then Balor got chopped down to the mat. All three men then started exchanging chops. Balor and Punk joined forces to cut down Gunther. Punk tried to pick up Balor for a GTS, but Gunther kicked him down and applied a Boston Crab. Gunther broke up the hold with a kick, but got chopped in response.
Balor managed to grab Punk in a reverse DDT position, and then grabbed Gunther and dropped both men. Gunther recovered, but Balor sent both men to the floor. He then dove onto both Gunther and Punk with a flip dive…[c]
Gunther performed a neck twist on Balor and then rolled to the outside to deal with Punk. He tossed Punk into the barricade and then returned to Balor in the ring. Gunther draped Balor over the top turnbuckle and then stepped on his neck. Punk returned to the action and got dropped spine first onto the ring barricade by Gunther, who returned back to the ring. Balor fired back with strikes and took Gunther off his feet. Punk delivered an elbow drop onto Gunther for a two count.
He then delivered a bulldog into a clothesline combo to both Gunther and Balor. Gunther raked Punk’s eyes in response. Balor and Punk joined forces to apply a Double Boston Crab on Gunther. He crawled towards the ropes. Balor broke first and rolled up Punk in a small package for a near fall. He then delivered a slingblade and a shotgun dropkick to Punk. He followed up with a Coup de Grace, but Gunther pulled him out of the ring.
Gunther set up for a powerbomb on Punk, but Balor cut him off with a slingblade. Balor got cut off by Punk for a GTS, but Gunther immediately landed a shotgun dropkick to Punk. He followed up with a powerbomb, but only got a near fall. Balor was on the outside after a GTS, and Gunther signaled for the end. He hit the ropes, but couldn’t land a lariat. Punk went for a GTS, but he avoided it and landed a chop to the back of the neck. Gunther applied a sleeper, which Balor broke up with a Coup de Grace. Punk rolled over and covered Gunther for the win before Balor could crawl over there.
CM Punk defeated Gunther and Finn Balor to qualify for Money in the Bank at 12:46
After the match, Punk’s image was added to the Money in the Bank graphic. Punk and Balor shook hands after the match as Gunther was raging from the floor.
My Take: A fun main event that the live crowd seemed to want Finn Balor to win. The finish was clever and it’ll be interesting to see how Punk integrates into the Money in the Bank match as a veteran presence. Overall, this was an above average edition of Smackdown. I’ll have more to say in my audio review for members later tonight.
