The superstars of the World Wrestling Federation returned to USA Network Friday night for the final edition of SmackDown before tomorrow’s Crown Jewel premium live event. Tonight’s show came to us from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where CM Punk and Kevin Owens finally settled their differences in a No Holds Barred match, The Baddies defended the WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship, and several ongoing rivalries continued to develop.
Tonight’s episode was taped Monday night following RAW, allowing the superstars to travel to Saudi Arabia ahead of Crown Jewel. With four advertised matches, including a big main event, and several important developments involving tomorrow’s event, let’s get into the results!
WWF SmackDown 11/6/26 Quick Results
- Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Tama Tonga via pinfall following the Kinshasa.
- WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Baddies (B-Fab and Michin) vs. Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid) ended in a no contest following outside interference. The Baddies retained.
- Damian Priest defeated Nathan Frazer via referee stoppage after a Razor’s Edge onto the announce table.
- No Holds Barred Match: Kevin Owens defeated CM Punk via pinfall after a chain-assisted punch.
Other major developments: Sami Zayn refused to help Jimmy Uso during an attack by 946, Finn Bálor got the better of Gunther in a physical confrontation, and Chelsea Green and Liv Morgan exchanged words ahead of Crown Jewel.
Sami Zayn Leaves Jimmy Uso to the Mercy of 946
Undisputed WWF Champion Sami Zayn opened SmackDown addressing his upcoming Crown Jewel match against Roman Reigns, making it clear that he was tired of being overlooked and was determined to prove himself against the Tribal Chief. Jimmy Uso interrupted and confronted Sami over his actions on RAW, where Sami attacked Roman with a Helluva Kick after 946 had already beaten him down.
Sami reminded Jimmy that he was the first member of The Bloodline to turn against him years ago, while Jimmy warned that Roman was coming to Crown Jewel looking for a fight. Sami insisted that he wanted Roman at his best and he wanted Roman to think about him when he goes to sleep and when he wakes up, but things took another turn when 946 arrived and attacked Jimmy as Sami was leaving.
Rather than helping his former Bloodline brother, Sami stepped away and slowly left ringside as Royce Keys, Carmelo Hayes and the rest of 946 continued the assault before walking to the back.
Stinger’s View: I thought this was a strong promo from Sami and also Jimmy. I think the post-promo beatdown of Jimmy with Sami standing on the apron initially, and then on the floor at ringside looking conflicted, would’ve meant a little more had it been Jey instead of Jimmy. The segment accomplished what it needed to do on multiple fronts, and I said in my AVFR Crown Jewel predictions earlier today that I expect Sami to win due to interference from 946.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tama Tonga
The ongoing rivalry between Bakusai and the MFTs continued with Shinsuke Nakamura taking on one-half of the WWF Tag Team Champions, Tama Tonga. The two exchanged strikes early, with Nakamura delivering a running knee to the ribs and a sliding German suplex before taking the fight outside. Haku and Talla Tonga were at ringside, and Talla got involved by delivering a big boot to Nakamura. Tama followed with a series of moves, including a brainbuster and a facebuster, but couldn’t put Nakamura away. When Talla attempted to interfere again, Kyoki created a distraction that occupied both him and Haku, allowing Nakamura to recover and connect with the Kinshasa for the victory.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall.
Stinger’s View: This one went almost 10 minutes, but it wasn’t what it could’ve been or what I would’ve liked to have seen. I thought it was a decent match, but both of these guys are capable of putting on a much better one. Granted, they’re in the middle of a tag team feud, so this singles match was never going to be a classic. With that said, they need to move this along at a quicker pace because the audience didn’t seem to care that much, although again, SmackDown was taped after RAW so that might have played a role in it.
Gunther and Finn Balor Come to Blows
Gunther made his way to the ring and continued running down Finn Balor, calling him a has-been and suggesting that he should retire before embarrassing himself any further (damn I love Gunther promos and his way with words). Gunther also mocked Balor’s association with Danhausen and demanded that he come to the ring and confront him. Finn answered the challenge, explaining that even he wasn’t entirely sure what he tapped into when becoming The Demon, but reminding Gunther that it was the regular Finn Balor who had gotten the better of him last week. The confrontation quickly turned physical, with both men exchanging blows before Balor connected with a dropkick that sent Gunther retreating from the ring. Gunther continued talking trash as he made his way backstage as Balor who stood tall.
Stinger’s View: This was a strong segment. I’d like us to hurry and get to the match though because these two have been at it in some fashion since Summer Slam. It was planned to happen at Crown Jewel, and I thought maybe WWF would announce it at some point during SmackDown but they still haven’t. At this point, I have to assume the match isn’t happening, because I can’t for the life of me come up with a valid reason to have the match but not announce it. Good segment from both guys though.
WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Baddies vs. Fatal Influence
The Baddies made their first televised defense of the WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship against Fatal Influence’s Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid, but the match didn’t last more than a couple of minutes before things broke down. Both teams had opportunities to gain the advantage, with B-Fab and Michin showing some teamwork while Fatal Influence attempted to isolate the champions.
Eventually, all four competitors were down following a double clothesline between B-Fab and Henley. At that point, Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley arrived and attacked Jade Cargill and Jacy Jayne at ringside before getting involved in the match itself, causing the referee to throw it out. The brawl continued after the bell, with Bayley arriving to get some revenge on Jade for Monday’s attack, followed by Charlotte Flair, who helped clear the heels from the ring.
Result: No contest. The Baddies retain the WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Stinger’s View: Well, this went about as well as I expected. I assumed they were setting the stage for a Triple Threat Women’s Tag Team Championship match, but with the Bayley and Charlotte involved it seems the direction is pretty clear that this will resolve in WarGames. Fatal Influence is great, but I’m not sure The Baddies need to be in WarGames. Are we doing six on a team like AEW did, or is B-Fab getting left out and who joins Alexa, Tatum, Charlotte and Bayley? What an absolute mess, and this is why you don’t wait a few weeks before an event you knew was coming all year to try and force something to come together.
Chelsea Green and Liv Morgan Have Their Final Confrontation
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis introduced WWF Women’s Champion Chelsea Green and gave her an opportunity to respond to the comments Liv Morgan made about her last week. Chelsea admitted that Liv’s criticism had gotten to her and that she sometimes questioned whether she deserved to be champion herself. She explained that defeating Liv at Crown Jewel would prove that she belonged among the company’s top women, but Morgan interrupted before she could finish making her case.
Liv mocked Chelsea’s emotional speech and offered her a tissue, and then called her a charity case rather than a legitimate champion. Morgan also claimed that Chelsea only became champion because Rhea Ripley was injured and promised to leave Crown Jewel as a two-time Women’s Crown Jewel Champion.
Stinger’s View: This was a fine segment. Chelsea is great in this role, and Liv Morgan is easy to dislike with her highly annoying character. I don’t think the match tomorrow is likely to be that good, and I’m certain will involve a lot of outside interference, but the war of words here was good.
Damian Priest vs. Nathan Frazer
Nathan Frazer didn’t wait for Damian Priest to enter the ring before launching himself at the former World Heavyweight Champion, getting the match off to an aggressive fast start. Frazer used his speed to keep Priest off balance early, but Priest eventually caught him with a right hand and began taking control. After escaping an attempted South of Heaven, Frazer sent Priest to the floor and attempted another dive, only for Priest to catch him and launch him into the barricade. Priest then picked Frazer up and delivered a Razor’s Edge onto the announce table, leaving Frazer unable to continue and forcing the referee to stop the match. Following the bell, Axiom attempted to attack Priest in defense of his partner, but he was quickly dispatched into the ring post for his efforts.
Winner: Damian Priest via referee stoppage.
Stinger’s View: This is what we need to see from Damian for a while. I like what they did with Nathan in the beginning using his speed and flying to get in some early offense. I could’ve done without the outside spot and ref stoppage, but that’s mainly because I wanted Damian to get a dominant, decisive victory in the ring. Still, this was good. Let the record show that it didn’t last three minutes, and I’m not sure the women’s tag team match did either. That puts us at three matches with probably less than 15 minutes of combined wrestling heading into the main event. When I complain about there being too much wrestling, I mean throughout the week, I think we can find time for a little bit more of the actual wrestling on a two-hour show.
No Holds Barred Match: CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens
CM Punk and Kevin Owens finally settled their differences in a No Holds Barred match that saw both men make full use of the stipulation. The fight quickly spilled outside the ring and into the crowd, with steel chairs, trash cans, ring steps and tables all coming into play in the standard WWF style no-disqualification match (or I’m sorry, No Holds Barred even though they’re basically the same thing now).
Owens delivered a cannonball into a trash can positioned over Punk, while Punk fought back with a Go to Sleep near the entranceway and later put both men through the announce table with an elbow drop from the barricade. The closing stretch saw both men survive several big moves, including Owens putting Punk through tables with a Fisherman’s Buster from the apron and following with a Stunner that only earned a near fall.
Owens eventually wrapped a steel chain around his fist, but Punk avoided the initial punch and connected with another Go to Sleep. Unfortunately for Punk, Owens rebounded off the ropes and managed to land the chain-assisted punch anyway, collapsing on top of Punk for the three-count. Both men remained down following the match as SmackDown went off the air.
Winner: Kevin Owens via pinfall.
Stinger’s View: Alright, this match actually delivered some wrestling as it went over 20 minutes. I thought this was a really strong main event. I’m not a fan of calling it No Holds Barred when it’s really just a No Disqualification or Street Fight considering no holds that have been barred are used and it’s just an excuse for chairs and other foreign objects. I didn’t see Kevin Owens winning because I didn’t think Punk would drop two matches in the same week, but that’s why I should have read the spoilers before making a public prediction. And let’s take a minute to thank WWE and USA Network, this was a PLE quality match and they delivered it to us without any commercial breaks. I don’t think this feud is over quite yet though.
Stinger’s View: A Strong Main Event
Overall, this was a good episode of Smackdown. A little light on the wrestling, but the main event was great enough to more than make up for that. We got some decent build towards tomorrow’s Crown Jewel with the Sami promo and the Chelsea/Liv segment, and continued building towards Gunther/Balor whenever it happens.
It was really a one-match show though, and thankfully that match delivered.
Tomorrow is Crown Jewel, and if you haven’t already, you can check out my predictions for it in the latest edition of A View From the Rafters that hit the site earlier today.
Until next time, this has been Stinger reporting from the rafters of Titanquisitor Hall where I’m tired but the wrestling just doesn’t end.
