By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE SmackDown (Episode 1,419)
Charleston, West Virginia, at the Charleston Coliseum
Simulcast live on October 30, 2026, on USA Network (Netflix internationally)
[Hour One] A black-and-white Danhausen video aired. He was in his laboratory and hyped the three title matches and the reveal of an experiment… Michael Cole checked in on commentary and narrated arrival shots of WWE Champion Sami Zayn, who met up with Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae, Trick Williams and Lil Yachty, WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green, and Nikki Bella…
Cody Rhodes made his entrance in non-wrestling attire. Cody apologized to Orton’s wife, children, and fans for what he intended to do to Randy Orton in their Last Man Standing match. A black-and-white photo showed a beaten-up Cody after being punted by Orton. Cody said he actually won the match before the photo was taken…
Cole and Corey Graves checked in from the broadcast table…
Cathy Kelley interviewed WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green and Tiffany Stratton. Green wore Nikki Bella’s gear. Kelley asked if it was a Halloween costume. Green said she was dressed up as a monster. Green excused herself, saying she needed to prepare mentally for her match.
Danhausen showed up and offered Stratton a jar of teeth in exchange for her Money in the Bank briefcase. Stratton said, “No, thank you,” and walked away. Danhausen told Kelley he thought that would work and then blamed her for scaring away Stratton…
Ring announcer Mark Nash introduced Nikki Bella, who made her entrance… An ad aired for Saturday’s Halloween Havoc show before the first commercial break… [C] NXT Women’s North American Champion Zaria was shown in the crowd… Chelsea Green made her entrance…
1. Chelsea Green vs. Nikki Bella for the WWE Women’s Championship. Graves played up the possibility of Green being too focused on her Crown Jewel match. A couple of minutes into the match, Nikki hit a Bella Buster for a two count. [C]
Nikki hit the Rack Attack. Nikki hooked Green’s leg while going for the pin, but she was overzealous and pulled Green’s leg into the ropes to break up the pin. Green came right back with an inside cradle and got the three count.
Chelsea Green defeated Nikki Bella in 8:00 to retain the WWE Women’s Championship.
Afterward, Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan walked out with a microphone and condescendingly congratulated Chelsea Green for barely beating Nikki Bella. Morgan talked about how she and Green climbed the ranks to win their titles.
Morgan entered the ring and said the difference between her and Green is that she is a real champion. Morgan said Green is a useless joke who adds nothing to the women’s division. Morgan said that no one would notice if Green got fired for a third time. Morgan said Green has been very lucky, but her luck would run out because she will eat her alive at Crown Jewel.
Tiffany Stratton made her entrance with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez ran out and hit Stratton from behind. In the ring, Green put Morgan down with the Unprettier. Stratton used the distraction to hit Rodriguez and Perez with the briefcase.
Stratton headed to the ring and hit Morgan with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Stratton was going to cash in her MITB contract, but Rodriguez and Perez entered the ring and attacked her from behind.
Iyo Sky ran out and joined Green and Stratton in the ring, causing the Judgment Day trio to head to the stage…
Powell’s POV: Green wore Nikki’s old “Fearless Nikki” gear, while Nikki wore her modern gear. At one point, I caught myself wondering why Nikki performed a Rough Ryder before I figured it out. I assume the post-match angle will lead to a six-woman tag match on Raw or next week’s Smackdown. By the way, I’m filling in for Jake Barnett. I believe he said he needed the night off to camp out for tickets to the Thanksgiving football game so he can see the halftime performance of the Goo Goo Dolls, but I could be mistaken. Finally, WrestleTix listed the venue as being set up for 7,977, with 7,452 tickets distributed. The total number of seats on the map is 8,518. The last time WWE ran the venue, 4,632 tickets were distributed for a June 18, 2023, live event.
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed WWE Champion Sami Zayn, who spoke about how he’s been disrespected since winning the title. Zayn mocked the idea of losing the title to Trick Williams. Zayn said everything good about Trick can be bought at a store. Sami said that things that make him great can’t be purchased. Sami declared that he would beat Trick later in the show, and then see Roman Reigns on the other side (at Crown Jewel)…
Graves hyped the AAA Cruiserweight Championship match… [C] Cole congratulated the Milwaukee Brewers for winning the World Series and pointed out the WWE-made replica title belt they celebrated with…
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Blake Monroe, who boasted that she’s world championship material. Paige interrupted and said that winning one match doesn’t make her championship material. Monroe acted excited and said she was a big fan of Page ten years ago. Monroe told Nikki to stay out of other people’s business. Paige told her to watch her mouth…
2. Rey Fenix vs. Ricky Saints for the AAA Cruiserweight Championship. Fenix went up top and executed a crossbody block for a two count. Saints dumped Fenix to the floor and then dove onto him. Saints worked over Fenix with knees to the chest and then tossed him over the broadcast table. [C]
Saints hit a Revolution DDT for a nice near fall. Saints went for a springboard moonsault, but he landed on his feet when Fenix moved. Saints sold knee pain, but he came right back with a Death Valley Driver for another nice near fall. A “this is awesome” chant broke out.
Fenix came back and went for a second rope moonsault that Saints avoided, but Fenix landed on his feet and rolled into performing a cutter. Fenix followed up with another rolling cutter for a near fall.
Saints fought back briefly, but Fenix cut off his Revolution DDT attempt. Fenix positioned Saints on the ropes and set up for a move, but Saints shoved him away. Fenix went right back at him and performed a Muscle Buster for the win…
Rey Fenix defeated Ricky Saints in roughly 11:15 to retain the AAA Cruiserweight Championship.
Powell’s POV: A good match. It wasn’t as hot as their previous matches, but it was still entertaining.
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Jade Cargill and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions B-Fab and Michin, who took exception to Kelley saying some people said the way they won the titles was unfair.
The Fatal Influence trio of Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid showed up. Jayne congratulated them on taking a page out of the Fatal Influence playbook to win the titles. Reid said they’d never beat them at their own game. Reid said they could continue to learn from them. Jade had to hold back B-Fab and Michin from going after Jayne, Henley, and Reid… [C]
[Hour Two] A video touted John Cena for Monday’s Raw. Michael Cole reminded viewers of the show’s early start time of 5CT/6ET…
Cathy Kelley interviewed U.S. Champion Trick Williams, who was with Lil Yachty. Trick spoke about beating Sami Zayn and then going to face Roman Reigns. As they were walking away, Yachty stopped when he saw “Top Secret” handwritten on a door.
Yachty walked into the room where Danhausen marveled at his Frankenstein-style Ginger Bread Man. Yachty ran away…
Powell’s POV: Should we call him FrankenGinger or Gingerstein?
Jade Cargill made her entrance with B-Fab and Michin, while Tatum Paxley was already in the ring…
3. Jade Cargill (w/B-Fab, Michin) vs. Tatum Paxley (w/Alexa Bliss). Paxley went for an early moonsault off the apron, but Cargill moved. Paxley landed on her feet, only for Jade to superkick her. Jade followed up with a knee strike. [C]
Late in the match, Paxley caught Jade with a kick. Paxley went up top, but Jade cut her off with a kick. Jade went to the ropes and tried to pull up Paxley, who clotheslined her over the top rope. B-Fab pulled Paxley off the apron. Bliss dove off the ring steps and performed a crossbody block on B-Fab. Michin dropkicked Bliss. Paxley kicked Michin and then headed back to the ring, where Jade drilled her with a pump kick. Jade followed up with Jaded and got the three count…
Jade Cargill beat Tatum Paxley in roughly 9:00.
Powell’s POV: The crowd was quiet throughout most of the match. Paxley needs character development. It’s not enough just to have her act kooky.
A girl dressed up as Chelsea Green was shown in the front row. Cole said the girl won a costume contest and had her tickets upgraded…
Cole hyped the reveal of Danhausen’s experiment for after the break. Graves said it was the Gingerbread Man, but Cole told him to stop… [C]
Footage aired of Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson leaving Thursday’s game in an ambulance, only to return in the ambulance and resume playing. They also showed a Tweet exchange between Paul Levesque and Watson (they didn’t acknowledge Paul Heyman’s humorous social media posts about Watson’s return)…
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Damian Priest, who complained that he’s never been given a shot at the WWE Championship. Priest said that’s what he gets for associating with R-Truth. He said Truth took himself out.
Axiom and Nathan Frazer showed up and took issue with Priest grabbing a chair after he noticed that Truth was injured. Frazer said they were going to Nick Aldis so that one of them could face Priest, who warned them that he’s not in the same headspace these days. Priest exited, and then Axiom was unhappy with Frazer’s latest outburst…
Danhausen stood on the stage with a stretcher that was covered. Danhausen started to fiddle with some of his equipment.
Gunther came out and attacked Danhausen. Gunther powerbombed Danhausen through a table and then took him to the ring, where there were two tables set up with pumpkins and Halloween decorations.
The lights went out, and the cloning machine fired up. A group of Minhausen’s ran to the ring. Gunther got the better of most of them, but one jumped from the middle rope and took him down with a huracanrana. Gunther took that one out with a big boot.
The other Minihausens cowered in a corner of the ring. Gunther grabbed pumpkins and threw them at the Minihausens. He set one on a table and then powerbombed another to put two through a table. Gunther roughed up Danhausen.
A heartbeat played over the house speakers. The Demon version of Finn Balor sat up on the stretcher. The Demon headed to the ring and fought Gunther, and eventually hit him with a shotgun dropkick through a table that was set up in a corner of the ring. Gunther ended up on the floor. The Demon pulled out a ladder and hit Gunther with it before setting it up on the floor.
The Demon climbed to the top of the ladder and performed a Coup de Grace that drove Gunther through the broadcast table. The fans were censored as they chanted “holy shit.” Cole said Danhausen’s experiment brought the Demon back “for the first time in months”… [C]
Powell’s POV: The Demon’s latest appearance was a much better payoff than the Minihausens, as Cole teased.
A CM Punk and Kevin Owens video package aired to promote their match for next week’s Smackdown…
Trick Williams made his entrance with Lil Yachty. Cole said Trick is 2-0 in singles matches against Sami Zayn.
NXT Champion Grayson Waller was shown in the crowd while Cole hyped his title match with Tony D’Angelo for Saturday’s Halloween Havoc.
Sami Zayn made his entrance with Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae. Ring announcer Mark Nash delivered in-ring introductions for the championship match…
4. Sami Zayn (w/Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae) vs. U.S. Champion Trick Williams (w/Lil Yachty) for the WWE Championship. Charles Robinson was the referee. Trick mounted Zayn in the corner and threw punches, but Zayn slipped between Trick’s legs and tripped him, causing Trick’s head to hit the top of the ring post before he fell to the floor. Zayn ran Trick into the ring steps before a picture-in-picture break. [C]
