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WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS
JULY 24, 2026
OAKLAND, CALIF. AT OAKLAND ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett
Ring Announcer: Mark Nash
Attendance: WrestleTix reports as of today 7,310 tickets were distributed so far. The arena has a capacity of 19,596 spectators when configured for concerts.
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller will be joined by PWTorch’s Joshua White to review WWE Smackdown LIVE on YouTube. We’ll be incorporating live viewer comments into the show so join us LIVE!
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[HOUR ONE]
-Joe Tessitore introduced the show as they showed aerial views of Oakland, Calif. Then they showed backstage arrivals of Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Paige & Brie Bella, and Fatal Influence. They cut to fans in the front row and then to the ring.
-A video package aired on the developments with Gunther and Nick Aldis.
-GM Adam Pearce stood in the ring with Aldis. He said he was there to make a match between Gunther and “my colleague Nick Aldis.” He said there are some terms and conditions that need to made clear first. He introduced Gunther, who made his way to the ring. Gunther and Aldis sat at the table. Pearce said once Aldis signs the contract as a wrestler, he relinquishes his role as GM of Smackdown. He said he’d take over his duties. He said Aldis has to agree that WWE bears no responsibility for what happens to him in his match against Gunther.
Aldis said he knows exactly what he was signing. He said he never wanted this, but Gunther brought it to this point. He congratulated Gunther for finding his breaking point. He signed the contract. Gunther told Aldis this would be greatest moment of Aldis’s career. Gunther said ever since he joined Smackdown, Aldis had a problem with him. “You are jealous of me,” he said. Gunther said Aldis is a former NWA World Champion. “But let’s be honest, you never really made it, did you?” he said. He said Aldis dreamed of being a WWE Superstar and it never happened. Gunther said he walked into WWE and got it all. He said he got the titles, broke records, and became a multi-millionaire. He told Aldis that he had to tell himself, “You’re just not good enough.”
Gunther signed the contract and said he’s going to turn Aldis into a legend. He listed Goldberg, AJ Styles, and John Cena. He said they were stupid enough to get in the ring with him as they were chasing one more moment. “I’ll end your career before it has properly started,” he said.
Aldis said Gunther has said that before, but if he actually believed it, he wouldn’t be saying it over and over again. Aldis stood and said Gunther is trying to get him to believe it because he never thought it’d get to this point. He said Gunther thought he’d pay his fine and that’d be it. He said when he slapped him and Triple H made their match at Summerslam, he saw in his eyes he didn’t want any of this. He said Gunther has now put his career in jeopardy. “I haven’t had a match in three years, so I have nothing to lose,” he said. He told Gunther if he loses to him at Summerslam, he “goes from the Career-Killer to the man who got made a bitch by his boss.” Gunther shoved Aldis in the chest. Aldis punched him. They brawled as Pearce tried to separate them. Gunther kicked Aldis in the crotch and then powerbombed him through the table.
(Keller’s Analysis: It was good they finally got around to overtly acknowledging Aldis’s pro wrestling history in WWE TV canon. Aldis represented himself well, Gunther was effective as a heel, and Pearce’s exasperation as things broke down was as usual top notch.) [c]
-A replay aired of the powerbomb before the break as Tessitore and Barrett commented on it.
-They went backstage to Cathy Kelley, but a worked up Sami Zayn barged in and said he had something to say. He said management didn’t want him to be champion, as shown by him being forced to defend his title on a different show with just days notice. He said then when Cody was taken out, CM Punk was waiting “fresh as a daisy, ready to go.” He said Punk is “corporate poster boy number two.” He said management love having Punk vs. Cody on a poster. “Everyone’s happy,” he said. “But what about me?” He said 18 days ago he was WWE Champion and now he’s riding the bench at Summerslam. “Make it make sense to me!” he said. He confronted Pearce as Pearce was about to check on Aldis in the Doctor/Trainer room.
Pearce said Sami got caught in the crosshairs and it didn’t go right. Sami asked him to make it right and make it a Triple Threat. Pearce said the one-on-one match is locked in. Pearce told Sami there is a Fatal Four-way tonight and the winner goes on to Summerslam in a no. 1 contendership match against him. “Earn your way back in,” he said. Sami still wasn’t happy because those four were mentioned by Punk and got an opportunity and Punk sat on the sidelines for four months and got a shot, and now he has to wrestle for it. Pearce told him he gave him an option, so take it or leave it. Sami considered it and then said, “Fine, fine, I’ll take it.” He said no more shenanigans or surprises or funny business.
(1) BRIE BELLA (w/Paige) vs. LAINEY REID (w/Jacy Jayne, Falon Henley)
Brie was already in the ring with her music fading. Fatal Influence taunted Brie and Paige on their way to the ring on the mic. Jayne blamed them for helping Tiffany last week, costing her a chance to be in the ladder match at Summerslam. She said she came up with a perfect solution. Jayne addressed the camera and said the US Title will be hers in due time. She said Lainey is going to “humiliate Brie and put her out of her misery once and for all.” Reid charged at Brie, but Brie ducked and knocked her out of the ring. Reid yanked Brie to ringside and threw her toward the ringside steps. Brie leaped onto the stairs and then leaped off and clotheslined her. They both entered the ring and the bell rang 25 minutes into the hour. They cut to a very early break. [c]
Henley tried to knock Brie off the top rope. Brie kicked her, but Reid recovered and then set up a superplex. Brie blocked that. Jayne yelled at Brie on the ring apron. Paige yanked her off the ring apron. Reid went for a cover, but she held the ropes. The ref saw it and stopped her count. Brie then leveraged Reid’s shoulders down for a three count.
WINNER: Brie in 5:00.
-Nikki Bella ran out to stop a post-match attack, making her surprise return from injury. Nikki gave Jayne a Rack Attack 2.0. Reid and Henley pulled Jayne to ringside. Nikki called them bitches and said they thought they could “sneak up from the minor leagues” and steal from her sisters and get away with it. She said they are the reason they are there, so now it’s time for a wake-up call. She challenged them to a six-woman tag team match at Summerslam.
(Keller’s Analysis: NXT is never referred to as the “minor league” by anyone. I’m curious if that was scripted and authorized. Also, reset the Bitch-o-Meter for the second time this show.)
-Kelley interviewed Finn Balor backstage. She asked him about his momentum going into Summerslam. He said he’s been scratching and clawing to get back the glory from his first Summerslam as champion ten years ago. Gunther interrupted and said he’s next in line, and he doesn’t care who holds the title, he’ll take back what’s his. He laughed and said, “Ten years, that’s a very long time.” [c]
-Tessitore plugged WWE Radio being added to SiriusXM starting Monday.
-They showed Royce Keys using stretch bands backstage to warm up. Solo Sikoa walked in and said they get to win in front of their family and friends tonight in Oakland. He said if he wins tonight, he gets another match at Summerslam. “It looks like we’re wrestling Saturday and Sunday,” Solo said. Keys said he’s focused on tonight’s match. LA Knight walked in and said he always needs to worry about The Bloodline. He said he hoped he wins the World Title shot. He told him to keep his eyes in the back of his head on alert. Solo told them to calm down. He said they are it and he’s got their back. He closed with Knight’s catch phrase. Knight asked Keys if he was for real.
-Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green were chatting backstage about how good things could go for them. They were delighted with each other. When Green left, Blake Monroe walked in and said Tiffany seems like she likes the finer things in life, unlike Green. She told Tiffany that the higher she climbs, the more people are chasing what she has.
(2) CHELSEA GREEN vs. KIANA JAMES – Qualifying Match for Summerslam Ladder match
The bell rang 48 minutes into the hour. Tessitore said Kiana is becoming increasingly formidable in the ring after disbanding with Guilia. They fought at ringside early. Kiana rallied in the ring until Green caught her with an Unprettier for the win.
WINNER: Green in 4:00.
-A graphic noted that R-Truth & Damien Priest are the longest-reigning champions on Smackdown.
-They went backstage to Priest stretching when R-Truth walked up to him. He told him he has to “stay loose as a goose.” Truth thought their tag team title match was tonight. Priest said that’s next week, and tonight is a four-way. Truth questioned whether it was even PG. Truth asked if he was frazzled because he used his credit card to buy hot dogs on the Fourth of July. Cody walked in and said he likes hot dogs. Cody said maybe he and Punk will end up beating them for the tag titles. Cody told Priest that he’ll be the champion he’s facing if he earns a title match. Priest said, “We, the boys, are sick of the same people being the face of this brand.” A noticeable cheer erupted. He said whoever stands as champion after Summerslam gets dropped. Cody said he likes his attitude and wished him luck. [c]
[HOUR TWO]
-Tessitore hyped Summerslam weekend.
-A video recap aired of the SNME main event tag match including CM Punk throwing the belt over his shoulder and it hitting Cody followed by Cody confronting Punk the next day and accusing him of doing it on purpose and Punk saying it was an accident and then pie-facing Cody and saying that was on purpose.
-Cody made his entrance. When his music stopped, fans booed and cheered him. He smiled. A “Cody!” chant picked up steam. He then asked Oakland what they wanted to talk about. He then introduced Punk. Punk came out this entrance theme. Tessitore talked about the belt smacking Cody in the face. A “CM Punk!” chant rang out. Punk waved at cheering fans after his music stopped.
Punk walked up to Cody and asked for one of the mics. Cody dropped it. He paused and then said, “That was an accident.” Punk took off his jacket and looked upset. He got in Cody’s face off-mic and had heated words for him. Cody told Punk to pick up the mic. Punk instead walked to the ropes and got a different one handed to him from someone at ringside.
Punk said it’s a damn shame they’re at a point where he doesn’t want to turn his back on him or bend over and pick it up. “I don’t know if you’re going to kick me in my teeth.” Cody said he isn’t paranoid and it was an accident. He said he now accepts Punk’s explanation that the belt shot was an accident. He said Punk has the title that the entire company revolves around. He said he needs to beat him for himself. Punk said if he has another reason, he doesn’t need one, but if he does, reveal it.
Cody said people have heard them say how much they respect and love each other. He said he doesn’t think Punk has heard that those two things can be true, but he doesn’t like him at the same time. He said in 2011, Punk cut the Pipe Bomb and showed everyone there was another way. Cody said he followed the promo and did all of those things. “I dropped a nuke on the business.” He said they’ve talked about that, and he’s well-aware that when he was doing it, “they wished it was you every step of the way.” He said he lived with it and understands it. He said someone just told him they are tired of the same faces. He said he’s done apologizing for what he worked for and earned.
He said there’s a reason he got the call to do “The Tonight Show” and ESPN. He said he has gone from the guy knocking to his door being knocked on. He said he has stood in the ring with the very best. He said the roster today is the best ever. He thanked Nick Khan and Triple H for that. “I don’t sweat any of them, but you,” he said. He said he doesn’t have a chip on his shoulders anymore. Cody said for this story to have a proper ending, though, he has to beat him at Summerslam.
Punk said he casts a very large shadow that he and some others can’t get out from underneath. Punk said some are jealous, but when it comes to him, “brothers fight.” Punk said if Cody learned from great things he did, good for him for being smart enough to pay attention. He said it’s not for them to decide who did it bigger; that’s up to the people and the history books to decide.
Punk said in 2022 he learned from Cody “because I was on the outside looking in and I watched you show me that there was a way back.” He said he followed that path and since before that moment, they’ve been chasing each other. He said they’re not chasing each other anymore and that ends at Summerslam. He said Cody is lying to himself if he says he doesn’t like him. Punk said Cody can’t handle the pressure of trying to take the title off of someone he cares about and loves. He said he can’t handle the pressure of rising to the occasion and instead he has make himself the victim and everybody else his enemy.
He said if Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, and John Cena are his enemies, then that makes him his only friend. He said he promised him years ago he wouldn’t stab him in the back, but rather in the front. He said he’ll do that at Summerslam. He said he’s going to break his heart.
Cody said it sounds like they’ve said all they need to say. He said they’re tagging together between now and Summerslam including a house show next Thursday in Springfield. He said Cody’s lesson after he loses at Summerslam is that he’s the best in the ring and on the microphone. “Nobody can touch me, not even Dusty’s kid.” Punk’s music played and he began to leave. Cody interrupted and said he wanted his music to play because that’s what Punk will hear after he beats him at Summerslam and becomes a four-time WWE Champion. They had some more heated words.
(Keller’s Analysis: I liked that. It was personal pride and tension, but neither did anything to undercut the other in a deeply personal or meta manner. In fact, they put each other over.)
-They cut to Tessitore and Barrett at ringside.
-A clip aired of Charlotte-Jade Cargill last week that helped Jade advance.
-Kelley interviewed Charlotte backstage about last week. Charlotte said all she was focused on was getting revenge for what Jade and her cohorts did to her best friend, Alexa Bliss. She said Jade is going to learn really quick that she can come after her all she wants, but she’ll pay a price for going after her best friend. She said Jade will learn that “payback is a… and you know the rest of that sentence.” (No Bitch-o-Meter reset there!)
-Charlotte began her ring entrance. [c]
-They showed clips from Fanatics Fest.
(3) NIA JAX vs. CHARLOTTE – Qualifying Match for Summerslam Ladder match
The bell rang 27 minutes into the hour. They cut to a very early break after Charlotte landed a top rope crossbody press for a two count followed by a Jax sitout powerbomb for a two count. [c]
Jade, Michin, and B-Fab came to ringside. Charlotte fended off Michin and B-Fab at ringside. Then she snapped Jax’s neck over the top rope. Charlotte knocked Jade off the ring apron. Jax set up a Samoan Drop. Charlotte avoided it and knocked Jax out of the ring with a boot to the face. Jade then entered and attacked Charlotte. The ref called for the bell.
WINNER: Charlotte via DQ in 8:00.
-Jade gave Charlotte a Jaded afterward. Jade and her cohorts left. Jax threw a fit and cleared the announce desk. Barrett said Jax has been screwed over two weeks in a row.
-Tessitore and Barrett ran through the Summerslam line-up.
-Priest’s ring entrance aired. [c]
(4) FINN BALOR vs. DAMIEN PRIEST vs. TRICK WILLIAMS vs. ROYCE KEYS – No. 1 Contendership match qualifier
Keys and Priest were already in the ring. Balor’s entrance aired. Then Trick’s. The bell rang 46 minutes into the hour. They cut to a very early double-box break. [c/db]
Balor landed a running flip dive onto all three opponents at 6:00 and they cut to yet another double-box break. [c/db]
Back from the break, Solo Sikoa had made his way to ringside. When Trick slammed Keys to the mat and made the cover suspiciously close to the bottom rope, Solo draped Keys’s leg over the bottom rope to stop the count. Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso ran out and attacked Solo. Knight charged out through the crowd as his music played. (How did they know to play his music if he was hiding out in the crowd?)
Meanwhile, in the ring, Priest turned away from Trick and leaped off the top rope onto a crowd at ringside. Balor rallied against Trick. He went for a Coup de Grace, but Trick moved. Trick landed a Cyclone Boot for a believable near fall. They showed Sami and Candice LeRae watching backstage while Johnny Gargano was lying on a rolling crate as usual.
Knight and Solo fought Jimmy and Jey to the back. Trick was about to hit a Trick Shot on Balor when Priest intervened. Priest gave Trick a South of Heaven. Keys broke up his cover and threw Priest into the ringpost. Keys then gave Priest a spinebuster. Fatu yanked Keys out of the ring by his boot. Balor gave Priest a Sling Blade and a dropkick followed by a Coup de Grace for a three count.
WINNER: Balor in 12:00 to earn a match against Sami Zayn at Summerslam to earn a future WWE Title shot.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS…
PWTorch editor Wade Keller will be joined by PWTorch’s Joshua White to review WWE Smackdown LIVE on YouTube. We’ll be incorporating live viewer comments into the show so join us LIVE!
Email our post-show at wadekellerpostshow@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Smackdown. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
If you can’t join us live on YouTube, stream the show on demand later at YouTube or listen or stream later on a podcast app. Subscribe to all of our free podcasts by searching “wade keller” and “pwtorch” in your podcast app of choice including Spotify and Apple Podcasts and most other iOS and Android apps.
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Click that link during the post-show to enter the waiting room as “live video caller” (or just audio if you turn off your cam, which is fine).
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