The superstars of the World Wrestling Federation were back in action Friday night for another episode of SmackDown, coming to us live from the Amerant Bank Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida!
After spending all afternoon wondering whether WWF management was going to announce more than one match, we ended up with four matches, including Gunther taking on Finn Bálor in the main event and the MFTs defending their Tag Team Championship against Bakusai. John Cena was also on hand to invite more superstars to the John Cena Classic, while new WWF Women’s World Champion Tiffany Stratton made her first appearance since cashing in her Money in the Bank contract at Crown Jewel. We also got more a few more developments heading into Survivor Series on November 28th.
Let’s take a look at what happened on Friday Night SmackDown!
WWF SmackDown 11/13/26 Results at a Glance
- Bakusai defeated MFT by disqualification — MFT retained the WWF Tag Team Championship after interference from the War Raiders.
- Damian Priest defeated Axiom — Pinfall following the Razor’s Edge.
- Charlotte Flair defeated Jacy Jayne — Pinfall following a chaotic ringside confrontation involving several women.
- Gunther defeated Finn Balor — Pinfall following a low blow and powerbomb.
John Cena Invites Charlotte Flair to the John Cena Classic
SmackDown opened with John Cena in the ring to announce another participant in the John Cena Classic, and his first invitation of the night went to Charlotte Flair. Charlotte gave an emotional speech about how much Cena had meant to her career, including a conversation they had after WrestleMania when she was struggling personally and questioning her future in wrestling. Cena praised Charlotte for carrying her family’s legacy and told her that he had always considered her someone capable of breaking his championship record. They hugged to end the segment.
Stinger’s View: A fine opening segment I guess. Charlotte is as good as anyone to put in the Classic and she gave a good promo. My problem is I just don’t care about or see the point of the John Cena Classic and the whole championship thing just seems bizarre.
Bakusai vs. MFT — WWF Tag Team Championship
The MFTs defended their WWF Tag Team Championship against Bakusai in the opening match, with Tama and Talla Tonga controlling much of the early action. Kyoki eventually made the comeback and tagged in Shinsuke Nakamura, who went to work on Tama with a series of kicks before connecting with the Kinshasa. Nakamura appeared to have the match won, but the War Raiders stormed the ring and broke up the pinfall, causing a disqualification. After the match, the Raiders continued their attack, laying out both teams and hitting Ragnarok on Bakusai.
Result: Bakusai defeated MFT by disqualification (9:13). MFT retained the championship.
Stinger’s View: Anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation… except a championship match on TV ending in something other than a disqualification due to outside interference. Are we going to get a triple threat tag match between these teams for the titles at some point? Just seems weird to have the Bakusai/MFT feud coldly running for so long to have the title match end with adding another team to the mix.
Damian Priest vs. Axiom
Damian Priest took on Axiom in our second match of the night, and it didn’t take long for Priest to take control. Axiom managed to get some offense in, including a moonsault to the outside, but Priest eventually caught him with a lariat and finished him off with the Razor’s Edge. After the match, Nathan Frazer came to his friend’s aid, only for Priest to return to the ring and lay him out with a South of Heaven chokeslam.
Result: Damian Priest defeated Axiom by pinfall (3:12).
Stinger’s View: A decent outing for what it was. I’ve said that I wanted to see Priest be booked as an ass kicker and this week and last week they’ve done that. Now let’s move on from Fraxiom for him and find something better for him to do.
John Cena Invites Fatal Influence to the John Cena Classic
Backstage, John Cena was confronted by Fatal Influence, who weren’t too happy about Charlotte Flair getting an invitation to the John Cena Classic ahead of them. Cena agreed that they had the ruthless aggression he was looking for and invited the group to participate in the December 14 event.
Stinger’s View: I like Fatal Influence a lot, so I like all three getting invited to the Classic and whatever that actually entails or however it works. This is the last time I’m going to say it; I just don’t care about the John Cena Championship or whatever.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens Confront Each Other
Sami Zayn came to the ring with Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae and wasn’t exactly greeted warmly by the Fort Lauderdale crowd. Sami talked about finally getting Roman Reigns to acknowledge him at Crown Jewel and demanded that the fans show him the same respect.
Kevin Owens interrupted and reminded Sami that despite everything they’ve been through, he’s always considered him one of the best wrestlers in the world, but he hasn’t forgotten what happened at SummerSlam. Owens blamed Sami for costing him the opportunity to win the WWF Championship in front of his family and friends, and warned that his championship reign was on borrowed time.
Gargano eventually attacked Owens, but Owens fought him off before telling Sami that he would be the one to take his championship.
Stinger’s View: This was a great segment, and I especially liked Sami calling the fans a bunch of “bitch ass haters.” I’m assuming we’ll get Owens against Gargano on SmackDown next week (though we’ll have to wait until the show starts since they’re allergic to announcing stuff ahead of time). Will they work a Sami/Kevin championship match in at Survivor Series or will they hold off until WrestlePalooza? But considering how the Federation works these days, it’ll probably be WrestlePalooza assuming they don’t run it on a random SmackDown. Come to think of it, I’d actually like to see a Triple Threat between Owens, Sami and Gargano as it’d at least be something fresh.
Survivor Series Developments Backstage
In the back, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk talked about their plans for Survivor Series and afterwards, with both men stating that they eventually wanted another opportunity at the WWF Championship. Rey Mysterio introduced Rey Fenix as the newest member of Team Mexico, and then Punk handed Cody his list of potential recruits for their team.
Stinger’s View: Rey Fenix is a great addition to Team Mexico, and was to be expected as it just made the most sense. I could go another half a year or so without CM Punk or Cody Rhodes being in the WWF Championship picture.
Charlotte Flair vs. Jacy Jayne
Charlotte Flair returned to the ring to take on Jacy Jayne, and what started as a singles match eventually turned into quite the gathering at ringside. Charlotte and Jacy traded offense and near falls, while Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid attempted to interfere, bringing Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley out to even the odds. B-Fab, Michin, Bayley, and Jade Cargill also got involved in the chaos before Stephanie Vaquer showed up with a kendo stick and started swinging. Charlotte took advantage of the distraction and picked up the victory. After the match, the women gathered in the ring and issued a challenge for WarGames at Survivor Series.
Result: Charlotte Flair defeated Jacy Jayne by pinfall (12:18).
Stinger’s View: The match was pretty good, but man this build for WarGames is just paper thin. It could’ve made a good traditional Survivor Series match, but it most definitely doesn’t belong in WarGames. There are three Baddies and three members of Fatal Influence, and five faces. And so the weekly guessing whether or not we’ll have a sixth face or if B-Fab will be left out of WarGames continues. Like I said with Blood and Guts, I don’t like making WarGames be six-on-six, but at this point IYO SKY isn’t doing anything and I’d hate to see her left out since she’s a yearly WarGames staple dating back to NXT. So leave B-Fab in, and bring in IYO.
Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green Confront Each Other
New WWF Women’s World Champion Tiffany Stratton made her way to the ring to celebrate her championship victory at Crown Jewel, dedicating her reign to her former best friend Chelsea Green. Chelsea confronted Tiffany about betraying her, after knowing how much Crown Jewel meant to her. Tiffany accused Chelsea of stealing her moment at SummerSlam, and then they argued over Chelsea’s Crown Jewel ring before things turned physical. Tiffany eventually put the ring on her finger and punched Chelsea with it, leaving the new champion standing tall.
Stinger’s View: I liked the promo from Tiffany, and I think she works better as a heel. It’s Tiffy Time again! And backstage, Blake Monroe (one half of our beloved Monroe twins) told Chelsea that she was never championship material. It wouldn’t work long term of course, but I’d like to see a little alliance between Tiffany and Blake.
Finn Balor vs. Gunther
Finn Balor and Gunther finally met in the main event, and Gunther wasted no time going after Balor with knees, elbows, and those nasty chops of his. Balor fought back with a dive to the outside, a reverse DDT, and several near falls, while Gunther continued to wear him down with his power advantage. Balor eventually connected with a shotgun dropkick and went to the top rope for the Coup de Grâce, but Gunther moved out of the way and shoved Balor into the referee. With the referee distracted, Gunther delivered a low blow followed by a powerbomb to steal the victory. Gunther then celebrated his win to close the show.
Result: Gunther defeated Finn Balor by pinfall (14:53).
Stinger’s View: A pretty good main event. It could’ve been better of course, and I assume we’ll probably see these two go at it again at WrestlePalooza. I’m not a fan of Gunther using a low blow to set up the win, but that’s par for the course in WWF these days. Gunther isn’t allowed to be a heel that wins cleanly anymore, but whatever. It sets up the rematch, where it would be a safe bet to assume Balor would get the win.
Stinger’s Overall View
Overall, this was an enjoyable episode of SmackDown. Nothing great, but nothing bad either. A perfectly fine night of wrestling with some build to Survivor Series and beyond.
Until next time, this has been Stinger reporting from the rafters of Titanquisitor Hall, where SmackDown is over and now we turn our attention to AEW and some college football.
