Tonight, the superstars of the World Wrestling Federation are back on USA Network for a taped edition of Friday Night SmackDown from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York! Tomorrow, the WWF presents the big Crown Jewel premium live event from Saudi Arabia, but before we get there we’ve got a No Holds Barred match and a championship match to get through.
Tonight’s main event is a No Holds Barred match that sees Kevin Owens and CM Punk settling their differences. Also on the card, The Baddies defend their WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship against Fatal Influence.
Let’s take a look at what’s advertised for tonight’s Crown Jewel go-home show, spoiler-free, of course:
WWF SmackDown 11/6/26 Preview At a Glance
Tonight’s advertised matches include:
- No Holds Barred Match: CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens
- WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship: B-Fab and Michin (c) vs. Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid)
- Damian Priest vs. Nathan Frazer
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tama Tonga
Also advertised to appear tonight are Undisputed WWF Champion Sami Zayn, United States Champion Trick Williams, WWF Women’s Champion Chelsea Green, Gunther and Finn Balor.
WWF Friday Night SmackDown airs tonight at 7 PM CT on USA Network!
No Holds Barred: CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens
CM Punk and Kevin Owens have been at odds for months now, and tonight they’ll finally get another opportunity to settle their differences in a good old-fashioned No Holds Barred match. The issues between the two intensified back in August when Owens challenged Punk for the Undisputed WWF Championship, a match that ended with Punk winning due to help from Sami Zayn. Since then, things have only gotten more personal between the two, and tonight there won’t be any disqualifications (thank goodness) or count-outs to worry about. Both men have always been willing to take the fight to the outside, so tonight’s No Holds Barred stipulation seems appropriate for a rivalry that has become increasingly bitter.
Stinger’s View: I haven’t seen any spoilers, but I’m going with CM Punk to get the win, unfortunately. I say unfortunately because I really think Owens should get the victory, and would say he needs it. But considering CM Punk just got pinned on NXT by Grayson Waller because of interference from Owens, I can’t see Punk losing twice. As far as I know, neither man refused to travel to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel (but I wouldn’t blame them if they had), so I don’t get why they wouldn’t do this match on the PLE. Regardless of the reasoning, we’re getting a big match on free TV, and it’s hard to complain about that. This should be a great match.
WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship: B-Fab and Michin vs. Fatal Influence
The Baddies captured the WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship two weeks ago on SmackDown when they upset Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley. Tonight the duo defends their titles for the first time on TV when they take on Fatal Influence’s Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid. Can the former champions make it a short reign for The Baddies, or will B-Fab and Michin do what Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley couldn’t do… successfully defend the titles in their first defense?
Stinger’s View: I still think it was too early to take the titles off of Alexa and Tatum, mainly because I’m not a real big fan of championship reigns that only last a week or two. But, B-Fab has improved and Michin is a veteran force, so I don’t really have a problem with The Baddies being champions. It is a little odd that their first defense comes against Fatal Influence of all people. I love Fatal Influence, so that’s not a knock on them, it’s just that you don’t see WWF running heel-against-heel matches too often. I don’t think we’ll see new champions, but it should be a decent match, so I am looking forward to it.
Damian Priest vs. Nathan Frazer
Damian Priest has made life hell for R-Truth since betraying him, and last week Nathan Frazer intervened to tell Priest to back off, which didn’t sit well with the former World Heavyweight Champion. Tonight, the two will meet in the ring in what’s sure to be an interesting clash of styles.
Stinger’s View: I like Nathan Frazer a lot, but I really hope that Damian Priest beats him down tonight. I say that only because I want to see Priest elevated back up the card, and to do that he needs to look dominant for a while. Frazer is exactly the kind of talent that can bump and sell for Priest in a way that reestablishes him as a badass persona. This could be a good match, but I’d much rather it be a dominant win for Priest over a good back-and-forth wrestling match.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tama Tonga
The war between Bakusai (Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki) and the MFTs continues tonight when Nakamura and Tama Tonga collide in singles action. The two teams were scheduled to clash for the WWF Tag Team Championship last week, but couldn’t stop fighting on the entrance to ever let the match begin. While tonight is a one-on-one match, a tag-team championship showdown looms.
Stinger’s View: I will always be a fan of Nakamura against Tama Tonga, so count me as being excited to see this match. Considering what happened last week, I think it’s a pretty safe prediction that Shinsuke will pick up the victory against one-half of the tag team champions. It’s almost a rule in WWF that if a tag champ is in a singles match against someone the team is feuding with, the champion loses. I see no reason to go against tradition. I hope this match gets a decent amount of time and ends somewhat cleanly. I say somewhat because I’m a realist and know that Talla and/or Haku will most likely be involved, though probably countered by Kyoki. And I still like typing Haku. He was one of my favorites as a kid, both in WWF and especially in WCW as Meng, so it’s cool to have the legend back in the fold as a manager for his sons.
The Final Stop Before Crown Jewel
Tomorrow afternoon, the WWF will be LIVE from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Crown Jewel, and several of the superstars involved in the event are advertised for tonight’s SmackDown. Undisputed WWF Champion Sami Zayn has a major showdown awaiting him against WWF World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, while WWF Women’s Champion Chelsea Green prepares to face Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan. Gunther and Finn Bálor still have issues to settle following their recent confrontation, and United States Champion Trick Williams is also scheduled to appear. Tonight’s SmackDown is WWF’s last opportunity to build anticipation for tomorrow’s premium live event. And remember, because it takes place in Saudi Arabia, the event airs at 11 AM CT on ESPN Unlimited.
Stinger’s View
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have four matches announced, and two of them are important ones. The No Holds Barred match between Punk and Owens is, of course, at the top of the list as one of the bigger main events we’ve seen on SmackDown in a while, but the WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship is notable too. I know someone probably laughed at that statement, but from my vantage point up in the rafters, I think all title matches should be considered at least somewhat important, even if they do happen too frequently for my liking.
I think tonight’s SmackDown should be a good episode. The main event should easily deliver, the women’s tag match should at the very least be entertaining, and Shinsuke and Tama would have to deliberately try not to have a good match in order for it to not be a good match. Priest and Frazer could be good; I just don’t want it to be. I want Priest the destroyer, not Priest having a competitive match with Frazer (who, again, I like).
WWF SmackDown airs tonight at 7 PC CT on USA Network!
Later today, I’ll have my WWF Crown Jewel Preview and Predictions edition of A View From the Rafters up on the site, so stay on the lookout for that.
Until next time, this has been Stinger reporting from the rafters of Titanquisitor Hall where the wrestling seemingly never ends, and we’re tired of wrestling on college football Saturdays.
