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WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
NOVEMBER 21, 2025
DENVER, COL. AT BALL ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Mark Nash
Attendance: WrestleTix reports as of today 11,513 tickets were distributed so far. The arena was set up for 11,904 spectators. Last time in this arena on Sept. 2, 2024, they drew 11,396.
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller will be joined by PWTorch’s Eric Corbridge 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 wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Smackdown. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
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[HOUR ONE]
-They showed the exterior of the arena in Denver and then a college football stadium in Boulder with the local mascot. They showed Alexa Bliss and Charlotte, arms around each other’s shoulders, strolling through the concourse. Then J.D. McDonagh and Finn Balor, Penta, The Vision’s Paul Heyman, Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker, and Logan Paul.
-A video recap aired of Drew McIntyre aligning with The Vision last week and a show-closing angle on Raw with the chaos breaking out when Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns brawled with “NYPD” officers.
-Mark Nash introduced Paul Heyman and The Vision. (Interesting that The Vision is announced as being separate from Heyman, rather than Heyman being the leader of The Vision.) Heyman said they have a vision for WarGames and he would “bestow that wisdom upon each and every single one of you.” He said five of the fans’ heroes would be locked inside a double cage and Tsunami’d by Reed, “the original Tribal Thief.” He said five heroes would learn their need for an evil, ruthless, violent strategy, “something so putrid that the devil himself would sell his soul to you so when you die and go to hell, there is no competition for running the joint.” He said that man is “The Maverick” Logan Paul. Fans booed. Heyman handed Logan the mic.
He told Denver to shut their mouths “because I have a lot to say.” As he said he had five things to say, Jey and Jimmy Uso interrupted with Jey’s entrance theme playing as they made their way to the ring from the stage. Jey asked Heyman if he’s alright because he was running his mouth as if they didn’t just drop his entire crew on Monday. Heyman said they made a mistake because they just pissed off Logan Paul.
Heyman said when he created The Bloodline, he did it so Roman Reigns’s family could eat so the Usos didn’t live off of him anymore. He said he taught them that the numbers game always wins. Fans chanted “OTC! OTC!” Breakker yelled off mic, “He’s not here! He’s never here! He’s not coming!” Heyman said they’re outnumbered and about to get their asses kicked. Fans chanted “C.M. Punk!”
Cody Rhodes’s music played. Drew McIntyre was shown getting out of a bus in the parking lot. (Oddly, the cameraman was running toward the bus as the view was shaky, but there was no pretense for why.) Drew then opened the door to the bus and stepped out with a sinister look. Then it showed a bloodied Cody in the bus. (I suppose we could assume the cameraman was alerted to noises of someone getting decimated inside the bus.) They showed Cody being tended to and then cut to a break. [c]
-They went to a bloodied Cody being tended to with the Usos and others checking on him. Drew yelled out of an open car window, “See you at WarGames, champ!”
-They went to Michael Cole and Corey Graves at ringside. Cole said it was ridiculous since Drew was suspended a couple of weeks ago. Graves said he’s not wrong to be upset, but Heyman is “masterfully skirting the rules.” He said Drew didn’t technically step foot inside the arena.
(1) ILJA DRAGUNOV vs. J.D. MCDONAGH – U.S Title Open Challenge
McDonagh came out as Dragunov’s mystery partner. They plugged AAA Alanazas airing tomorrow with Dominik Mysterio. Cole said that’s why Dom wasn’t present. The bell rang 19 minutes into the hour. Graves and Cole talked about their history on the indy scene. Graves said rivalries don’t end, but they can sit dormant. McDonagh threw Dragunov into the ropes and he hit them hard face-first and rolled to ringside. They cut to a sudden double-box break as the ref checked on him. [c/db]
McDonagh took control for a while. Dragunov made a comeback and hit a series of unreleased suplexes. McDonagh countered Dragunov with a Spanish Fly for a near fall at 8:00. They tumbled over the top rope on a suplex sequence. [c]
Dragunov superplexed McDonagh off the top rope after the break. McDonagh countered with a brainbuster for a two count. (McDonagh was testing the resilience of Dragunov’s trunks before and after the break.) McDonagh countered a Torpedo Moscow with a high knee and then landed a top rope moonsault for dramatic near fall.
Dragunov landed a powerbomb and an H-Bomb for the win.
WINNER: Dragunov in 15:00 to retain the U.S. Title.
(Keller’s Analysis: A really good 15 minutes, as you’d expect with these two.)
-A video recap aired of the Bliss-Charlotte drama over the last week.
-Backstage, Bliss told Charlotte she was proud of her. Charlotte said she did it for her, not because she trusts anyone else. Bliss said, “For sure.” She then added, “About that.” She opened a door and invited Charlotte to enter a lounge area backstage. She told Charlotte she needed to have a chat with Rhea. “Have fun” Bliss said before leaving. Rhea asked Iyo Sky to step away so she could chat with Charlotte. Ripley walked up to Charlotte and they glared at each other. The director cut away.
-Jackie Redmond asked Nick Aldis for an update on Cody. He said medics were checking on him. Aldis saw The Vision and walked over to them. He said he doesn’t know what they have planned, but it’s probably not good. He said the only reason Reed is in the building “in my building” is because he has a match in the Cena tournament. He said his hands are tied. He said it’s not WarGames, so Drew is still persona non grata.
Heyman said they got off on the wrong foot. Heyman said he has no cause to have a beef with him. He said Reed just needs opponents stupid enough like Carmelo Hayes to step into the ring with him. As Heyman and his men left, Heyman said to Aldis, “And you were not nice to Logan Paul.”
-Carmelo Hayes made his ring entrance. [c]
-Backstage, Dragunov crossed paths with Tama Tonga who said he’s coming for him. Then he bumped into Tomasso Ciampa. He said he’s the one who is taking the title from him. Dragunov, selling the pain of the match, told Ciampa he’s a jackass. Johnny Gargano, with Candice LeRae, told him not to worry about him and prepare for their tag match.
(2) CARMELO HAYES vs. BRONSON REED (w/Paul Heyman) – Last Time Is Now Tournament match
The bell rang 48 minutes into the hour. Reed knocked Hayes down with a punch to end his early offensive flurry. Reed dominated for a couple minutes. When Hayes made a comeback and scored a two count, Reed rolled to the ring apron. Hayes dropkicked him to the floor. Logan and Breakker then came out to check on Reed as they cut to a break at 2:00. [c]
Back from the break, Reed had taken control. Logan tripped Hayes a minute later as Reed distracted the ref. Hayes avoided a senton and scored a two count. Hayes took over and landed a top rope frog splash for a near fall at 10:00. Reed powerslammed Hayes a minute later followed by a senton and then a Tsunami attempt. Hayes avoided it and then he landed a running flip dive onto The Vision at ringside. Hayes threw Reed back into the ring as fans chanted “Holy shit!” Hayes then landed a leaping DDT for a two count.
[HOUR TWO]
Reed caught Hayes with a hard clothesline. Hayes flip-bumped. Breakker charged at ringside at Hayes, but Jey Uso superkicked him to stop him in his tracks. Jimmy and Logan brawled. Reed lifted Hayes at ringside. Cody charged to ringside and attacked Reed, throwing him into the ringpost and then delivering a Cross Rhodes. He threw Hayes back into the ring which led to Reed getting counted out.
Cole called it “one of the biggest wins of Hayes’s career.” Graves said, “That is one of the biggest upsets we’ve seen recently.” (Hayes did not earn that, so the announcers can celebrate karma for The Vision, but they should be more nuanced in how they credited Hayes for what happened.)
WINNER: Hayes in 14:00.
-Cody said afterward on the mic that a Steiner will never be better than a Rhodes. He told Brock Lesnar into the camera that he’s the last person to beat him and he did it twice. Cody said WarGames isn’t just any match, “it’s my damn birthright.” He said he’d see them in San Diego. Cole said he’s never seen Cody more fired up than that.
-Backstage, Chelsea Green ran past Alba Fyre into her locker room. Then Kiana James and Giulia walked up to Fyre and asked where Green was. Fyre said she hadn’t seen her all day. Green wasn’t sure they should have their celebration as she wasn’t feel great about it. She told her to reschedule. Jade Cargill walked up to Green and said she can show her exactly what a real world champion looks like. Green fled.
-Fraxiom made their entrance. [c]
-Backstage, Sami Zayn led his teammates (Shinsuke Nakamura, Dragon Lee, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley) in a pep talk about their match next week.
(Keller’s Analysis: That felt so old school in its vintage Survivor Series presentation, like a circa 1990 AEW Team Challenge Series promo segment. “Sami’s Squadron”?!? “Zayn’s Zephyr?”)
(3) FRAXIOM (Nathan Fraser & Axiom) vs. DIY (Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano w/Candice LeRae)
The bell rang 15 minutes into the hour. Graves talked about the backstory of Fraxiom, saying they each thought they could have more success together as a team. They cut to an early break with DIY in control. [c]
After more back and forth action, Axiom gave Gargano a Spanish Fly. Fraser leaped at Ciampa at ringside. LeRae yanked off Axiom’s mask which. led to Gargano scoring the pin.
WINNERS: DIY in 7:00.
-A (stupidly overproduced) vignette aired with Rhea Ripley and Charlotte talking backstage, with a musical score and heavy editing (we’re to believe all rushed in the prior hour after their meeting). Ripley told Charlotte she has always respected her and she would be happy to go to war with Charlotte. Charlotte stood and said, “Yes.” She then said she can trust her. Ripley said she can trust her too. They shook hands.
-A snippet aired of John Cena’s sitdown promo with a (performatively) soft-spoken and reflective Cena talking about being authentic. He talked about rapping in the back of the bus on a tour in Europe, something he used to do in college and high school. He said he ripped on everyone on the bus. He said Stephanie McMahon asked how he memorized all that. He said he explained to her what freestyling is. He said he decided at that point to be “more authentic” and not listen to others.
-Cole said he can’t believe they are down to two dates with Cena at Survivor Series and SNME.
-Finn Balor’s ring entrance aired. [c]
(4) FINN BALOR vs. PENTA – Last Time Is Now Tournament match
Penta’s ring entrance took place. When he entered the ring, Balor charged at him. The ref immediately called for the bell 35 minutes into the hour as Penta punched him to stop his attack in its tracks. They cut to a very early break after a dive to the floor. [c]
After more back and forth action, Penta finished Balor with a Mexican Destroyer.
WINNER: Penta in 9:00 to advance.
(Keller’s Analysis: Too bad they only allotted less than ten minutes for those two.)
-Cole and Graves discussed the brackets: Jey Uso vs. Rusev and L.A. Knight vs. a mystery opponent in the left bracket, and Penta vs. Solo and Hayes vs. Gunther in the right bracket. Graves explained that Sheamus was out with a shoulder injury and thus will be replaced. Cole said Aldis and Pearce are discussing a replacement for him in next week’s match.
-A Solo Sikoa vignette aired where he talked about facing Sami’s team next week. Solo said when the smoke clears out “and it’s just you and me, I am going to put you away for good.”
(Keller’s Analysis: That came across as if Solo didn’t have confidence his teammates would last, suggesting it would come down to just him and Sami. They are doing a nice job making this match – being taped tonight, by the way – feel like the wrestlers involved are invested in the outcome.)
-They showed the women’s babyface team backstage. [c]
-Charlotte, Bliss, Sky, and Ripley each came out onto the stage to their entrance themes. They entered the ring. Ripley touted her teammates one at a time. She said that’s four on the team, but in WarGames, they need a fifth member. Out came A.J. Lee to a nice pop. The heel women’s team then attacked the four in the ring. Lee absorbed the scene for a few seconds, then ran toward the ring. Becky Lynch stopped her from reaching the ring. Jax then gave Ripley an Annihilator in the corner. The heels gathered and gloated as the show ended.
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 Eric Corbridge 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 wadekellerpodcast@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.
VIDEO CALLER CODE: CLICK HERE
LINK TO BE A CALLER: https://streamyard.com/khu2pyjhed
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).
OPEN TO EVERYONE – LINK TO WATCH LIVE RIGHT AFTER WWE SMACKDOWN TONIGHT: CLICK HERE
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