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SmackDown's first offering of 2025 needed to accomplish several things ahead of RAW's huge debut on Netflix. The episode joined the three-hour club for the first time and should have allowed many other stars some time to shine.
DIY and the Motor City Machine Guns battled over the WWE Tag Team Titles. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cody Rhodes, and Jey Uso learned they need eyes on the back of their heads.
After an emotional match between Nia Jax and Naomi, the women's division has a new top star. What worked and what didn't on the blue brand's first offering of 2025? Here's the best and worst of the first three-hour episode of SmackDown.
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#3. Best/Worst - Opening segment with Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes opened SmackDown to hype his Royal Rumble match with Kevin Owens. He didn't say anything he hadn't already said. Before Rhodes could leave, Drew McIntyre came out and hugged the champ.
It shocked the fans in attendance but didn't fool The American Nightmare. The Scottish Warrior pleaded with Cody that he was making a mistake by trying to appease the fans by taking on an unhinged Owens.
The interesting facet is that McIntyre said the same thing to Seth Rollins ahead of The Architect's two matches at WrestleMania 40.
Rollins lost in tag team action on Night One and then lost the World Heavyweight Title to McIntyre on Night Two. As he left, McIntyre said "Watch your back" before Owens blindsided Rhodes.
#3. Worst - Michin and Piper Niven are stuck in neutral
Despite losing to Chelsea Green in the Women's US Title tournament final, Michin is still likely to get another shot at the championship. Niven interfered in the title bout and paid for it with a Kendo Stick attack on last week's SmackDown.
The HBIC defeated the larger Niven, much to Green's chagrin. It's nice to see Michin get some wins on SmackDown, but it came at Niven's expense.
The Scotswoman shouldn't lose every week like she's holding the Money in the Bank case. She's also a physically imposing star. It puts both stars in neutral as beating Niven doesn't really do much since she's lost so much.
#2. Best/Worst - Paul Heyman/Solo Sikoa exchange ahead of Tribal Combat
Paul Heyman came out to start the second hour of SmackDown. He claimed that both he and Roman Reigns groomed Solo Sikoa to one day become the new Tribal Chief. Sikoa just didn't wait very long to claim the title.
It was an average promo from The Wiseman to hype Tribal Combat. Solo came out and scared Heyman like a deer in headlights. Sikoa said his usual three lines, but things got interesting when he asked Heyman to hold onto the Ula Fala during the showdown on RAW.
He wanted someone who respected his family to hold it. The caveat was that The Wiseman would have to adorn the winner with the necklace, even if it was Solo. Heyman would then belong to him.
#2. Best - Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Andrade
When Michael Cole isn't biased against a competitor, his commentary can be very good. He brought up how these two stars feuded 10 years ago in Japan. It's tidbits like this that he should focus on rather than playing favorites.
Both men hit their signature moves and Andrade almost won after hitting his big double Moonsault. Nakamura took advantage when he ran into the ringpost, blasting El Idolo with a knee before delivering the Kinshasa.
Before he could bask in his win, LA Knight ran out and the two briefly fought. The Megastar promised to return the favor of blindside attacks until he got his rematch, which he got later in the night for next week's SmackDown.
#2. Worst - Michael Cole's biased commentary on SmackDown
When Michael Cole is good, he's good. The problem is that when he's bad, he's often intolerable to listen to. He only called Kevin Owens "delusional" once but turned his "unbiased journalism" to other SmackDown heels.
Cole claimed that many people call Johnny Gargano "Johnny Cheater" after DIY "stole" the titles from Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin. Corey Graves claimed Gargano has always been a manipulator and both said Johnny Wrestling was doing so with Tommaso Ciampa.
Has he not watched any of the duo's history? Ciampa was the one who turned on Gargano. The constant arguing and need to run down the heels takes away from the match in the ring.
When Tiffany Stratton finally cashed in, he called her Nia's "Judas" for turning on her friend. He also said she stabbed Nia in the back despite Nia and Candice talking down to her and bullying her for months. Does he not watch the product that he calls?
#1. Best - It's officially Tiffy Time
Regardless of Cole's thoughts, it's officially Tiffy Time on SmackDown. After nearly eight months of allying with Jax, Stratton cashed in her contract and became the new WWE Women's Champion. It was the first cash-in on SmackDown in six years.
The title swap gives the women's division a jolt in the arm. Jax did well but wasn't likely to enter WrestleMania 41 as champion. The months of bullying and talking down to The Center of the Universe came back to haunt The Annihilator.
It was another great match between Jax and Naomi but Naomi already holds the women's tag titles with Bianca Belair. Speaking of Belair, she comes off foolish for essentially having helped Stratton cash in.
After Stratton blasted Jax with the case and went to the ref, The EST hit her finisher on Jax. Stratton then attacked Belair and tossed her over the announce table. She wasn't the smartEST on this particular SmackDown.
#1. Best/Worst - The WWE tag title match
As expected, DIY and the Motor City Machine Guns have great chemistry. That will happen when both teams have tagged together for years.
Shelley and Sabin had the champs trapped in dueling submissions and almost regained the titles. However, Pretty Deadly and Los Garzas inadvertently caused a no-contest finish by falling atop all four stars.
The in-ring portion of the contest was fine and the finish protects both teams. The inclusion of Pretty Deadly and Los Garzas will likely set up a four-way match soon. It just felt a little overbooked since DIY could have cheated again to get to the four-team bout.
#1. Worst - Where's Roman Reigns ahead of a huge Tribal Combat match on RAW?
Instead of having the exciting title swap close SmackDown, bookers opted for the Bloodline saga to close the show. Heyman and Solo had their promo exchange mid-show. The main event was one of the biggest letdowns in recent memory.
The final match/segment took up the last 40 minutes of SmackDown. Solo's side came out first but had to wait in the ring for 15 minutes. WWE hyped a few other matches before Sami and The Usos even entered through the crowd. It lasted about 10 minutes.
The fans in attendance probably loved it, but for viewers, it was a long, slow slog to end the show. The match itself was boring and slow and didn't even have the most important setup - an appearance from Roman Reigns. He needed to show up live in person before his huge Tribal Combat match at RAW on Netflix.
Reigns hasn't shown up before a live crowd since WarGames. It was a huge mistake since his other two offerings were pre-taped promos. Solo has done the heavy lifting and deserves to win the Ula Fala on RAW next week.
