The John Report: WWE SmackDown 11/28/25 Review

This is WWE SmackDown, featuring Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa leading teams in a Survivor Series elimination-style match, and the Last Time Is Now Tournament continues.

It’s the final SmackDown before Survivor Series: WarGames on Saturday night. Check out my WWE Survivor Series: WarGames preview here.

This episode was taped after last week’s SmackDown, and I did a post about the spoilers for it, so I’m aware of what’s to come. I can still enjoy or complain. The choice is mine. WWE did it that way so that they could have talent and staff some time off for the American Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. For the Americans out there, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I’m Canadian, and we had our Thanksgiving in early October, but I did enjoy watching and betting on NFL games on Thursday, so thanks, America, for the NFL. Go LA Rams, of course.

From the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, this is SmackDown for episode #1371. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

Since this episode is taped, the Netflix version of the show that I’m watching has a runtime of 1:31 or 91 minutes.

The opening video package was about setting up the Women’s WarGames match.

There was some pre-show walking shown of Asuka, Charlotte Flair, Solo Sikoa with MFTs, and LA Knight.

LA Knight was interviewed by Cathy Kelley, who mentioned that Sheamus has a shoulder injury, so he’s out of the Last Time Is Now Tournament, and she told Knight that Nick Aldis is going to film Sheamus’ spot in the tournament. Cathy said that Knight will once again face a mystery opponent. Knight complained about having to face a mystery opponent again. Knight said somebody is trying to stop him from making the rise he was meant to make. Knight said that he’s done it all with John Cena, but this tournament is pissing him off. Knight warned his opponent that he would eat a BFT.

It was Michael Cole and Corey Graves on commentary as usual. Mark Nash was the ring announcer.

Jey Uso did his entrance from the back of the arena, and the fans were on fire for him with their “Yeeting” on his way to the ring. Jey ran it back after the music stopped. Rusev was up next as the opponent, and there was no playing to the crowd from him.

Last Time Is Now Tournament Quarterfinals: Jey Uso vs. Rusev

The powerhouse Rusev punched and stomped on Jey to start the match. Jey tried to get some offense going, Rusev caught him and Rusev hit a spinning side slam. That’s where they went to a break, but it was right back to the action on Netflix.

Rusev had control with a bearhug until Jey headbutted his way out of it. Jey avoided a charging Rusev, who went crashing into the turnbuckle. Jey did a punch combo to knock Rusev down. Rusev tripped up Jey and went for a submission, but Jey got out of it, and Jey sent Rusev out of the ring. Jey hit a suicide dive to knock Rusev down on the floor. Back in the ring, Jey hit a Samoan Drop for a two count. Jey hit a Spear for just a one count as Rusev showed he had a lot left. Jey jumped off the top with nothing as Rusev hit him with a Machka Kick for a two count. Rusev applied the Accolade submission, Jey managed to break free and grabbed the rope to force a break. Rusev teased hitting an Attitude Adjustment, Jey slipped out of it, Rusev went for a kick, Jey avoided that, and hit a Spear. Jey went up top and hit an Uso Splash for the pinfall win after about 7 minutes, which is without the time in the commercial.

Winner by pinfall: Jey Uso

Analysis: *** A solid TV match between two veterans. Rusev had some moments when he looked strong, but it was not a surprise to see Jey make the comeback. Rusev going for the Attitude Adjustment was the crucial mistake that cost him the win. I expected Jey to win this.

Jey Uso goes on to the Last Time Is Now Tournament Semifinals against LA Knight or his mystery opponent. The other side of the bracket is Gunther against Solo Sikoa in the semifinals.

The Miz was talking to SmackDown GM Nick Aldis. Miz said that he wanted to be back in the tournament. Nick had the tumbler with names in the plastic balls. Aldis said it had to be random. Miz spoke about his history with John Cena. Truth walked in with his balls, so then Aldis claimed he had respect for his balls and he had his own balls. While Aldis was arguing with Truth, Miz put the piece of paper with his name on it and replaced it with what Aldis had. Aldis revealed that The Miz’s name was on the paper. Truth: “You just couldn’t take my balls, could you?” Aldis said, “Unbelievable” that Miz is in the tournament.

Analysis: From a logical point of view, you could have somebody say they watched the show and saw Miz change the paper to his own name, but when you watch WWE programming, you need to avoid using logic sometimes.

Damian Priest was interviewed by Cathy Kelley, and he said his eye is healed. Priest said that Aleister Black and Zelina think they can change him. Priest said it’s weird and it’s not going to happen. Priest said that Black has been able to piss him off and he looks forward to kicking Black’s ass. Zelina walked up to Priest to say he’s the one who has been receiving the punishment. Priest wondered if Black sent Zelina. Zelina said that Black has bigger things to do. Zelina claimed the last time anybody talked about Priest was when Black burned his face off. Zelina said if Priest wanted more punishment, they would be happy to oblige. Zelina said they wanted to show how easy it was to get to him. Black was in the background watching. Priest said every week they talk, and the less they understand.

Rhea Ripley walked in to hug her buddy Damian Priest. When he asked if she was ready for WarGames, Ripley said you know the answer to that. Ripley said she had to go help Charlotte Flair get ready for her WarGames Advantage match, but after that, she wanted to run an idea by Priest. Damian was looking forward to it.

Analysis: I guess the Priest-Black feud is still going. Long rivalry.

Chelsea Green’s Women’s US Championship Celebration

The WWE Women’s US Champion and AAA Mixed Tag Team Champion, Chelsea Green, made her entrance, joined by Alba Fyre. Green was wearing a blue dress and had a sash on. A replay was shown of Green winning the Women’s US Title for the second time three weeks ago on SD. There were US, Canada, and Mexico flags in the ring. Graves: “I bet you she has no time for guys that play with toys.” That’s a Matt Cardona reference. Matt is Green’s husband.

Green welcomed us to her championship celebration. Green claimed she’s the greatest Women’s Champion in WWE history, not just in US history, but in the continent of the North Americas (she said it that way). Green called for a very expensive display of pyrotechnics for her…but here is Jade Cargill instead.

The WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill made her way down to the ring, and Jade hit a pump kick on Fyre to knock her down. Jade picked up Green and hit Jaded on her. After Jade left, the pyro went off and Green complained about that.

Analysis: That was a quick celebration that ended abruptly. I’m not sure where the story is going since Green is a heel and Jade is a heel too, so if it leads to a match, then the fans may have a tough time figuring out who to root for. I do understand it from the perspective of Jade since she’s mad that Green claims she is the best champion.

Charlotte Flair was backstage with Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley, and Iyo Sky. Flair said that the last time she faced Asuka, she tore her ACL and said she’s going to rip her apart. Flair even said “mate” like Ripley. AJ Lee walked in to say she’s glad that Flair is feeling confident. Lee said she knows they will win tomorrow and she’ll make sure of it. Lee left. Flair said she’s going to win.

Sami Zayn and his team were getting ready for their Survivor Series elimination match later in the show.

A clip from John Cena’s video aired, discussing the early stages of his career and his time on Velocity. Cena’s message was that you have to make the best of a situation like that.

The LA Knight-Miz match was next.

Jade Cargill, the WWE Women’s Champion, was interviewed by Cathy Kelley, who asked what Jade’s problem was with Chelsea and Alba. Jade said she had a problem with anybody who runs their mouth. Jade said if anybody has a problem with it, they can step up and get stepped on, too. B-Fab walked up to Jade, who asked if B-Fab had a problem. B-Fab said nothing. Michin walked in to talk to B-Fab, saying nobody is checking on Jade with her attitude, so it might have to be her. B-Fab just said yeah to end it.

Analysis: I think it’s early in Jade’s title reign, so she’s going to run through some of the women who are lower on the card before moving on to the bigger names. Long term, I think they might go with Jade against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 42 next year.

Last Time Is Now Tournament Quarterfinals: LA Knight vs. The Miz

The Miz already lost in the first round of the tournament, but he’s back in the tournament as a replacement. Knight ran over Miz with a clothesline, followed by stomps against the turnbuckle. Miz tripped up Knight on the apron, along with a knee lift. Miz hit a running splash to Knight’s back against the ropes. Knight hit a neckbreaker. Miz sent Knight to the apron, with Knight’s throat hitting the top rope. Miz sent Knight into the barricade, followed by a boot to the face.

It was Miz in control with a headlock, so Knight broke free and hit a belly-to-back suplex. Knight worked over Miz with punches, along with a clothesline and a side Russian legsweep. Knight sent Miz into the turnbuckle, followed by a neckbreaker for two. Miz got a boot up to stop a charging Knight. Miz went up top for nothing, so Knight jumped to the top and hit a superplex. Miz got a rollup for two. Miz hit a kick to the side of the head and a DDT for two. Knight reversed a Miz move with a reverse DDT. Knight jumped off the top rope, but Miz caught him and Knight hit a Skull Crushing Finale for a two count. Miz got a hold of Knight’s foot and then turned it into an STF submission. Knight looked like he was nearly going to tap out, but he got to the bottom rope instead. Knight kicked Miz away. Knight got a drop toe hold. Miz raked the eyes without the referee seeing it. Miz got a rollup with his feet on the ropes, but great referee Charles Robinson saw it and stopped it. Miz went for SCF again, but Knight hit a Blount Force Trauma (BFT) on Miz for the pinfall win. This went about 10 minutes without the commercials.

Winner by pinfall: LA Knight

Analysis: ***1/4 A very good match between two veterans who have worked together in the past. The Miz rarely wins, so of course, Knight got the win here to move on in the tournament. I liked the spot where Knight jumped off the top, Miz caught him, and hit the Skull Crushing Finale for a believable nearfall. That worked well. Miz tried to cheat to win, the referee stopped it, and Knight was able to find a way to win after that. Good for Knight getting the big win.

The win by LA Knight means he’ll face Jey Uso in the Last Time Is Now Tournament semifinals. Gunther against Solo Sikoa is the other semifinal match.

The heel Women’s WarGames team of Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka, and Kairi Sane spoke in their locker room. Lynch bossed around the others, noting she was undefeated in WarGames, and they should follow her lead. Asuka said that the last time she faced Charlotte, Flair was out for a year. Asuka did some ranting after that.

Solo Sikoa and MFTs were featured in a video talking about the Survivor Series elimination-style match. Solo said that Sami Zayn’s team doesn’t stand a chance. Solo said he needed to put Sami away for good. Sami Zayn and his team were featured, with Zayn fired up about how his team was going to win.

The US Champion Ilja Dragunov was interviewed by Cathy Kelley. When she mentioned Tama Tonga, Ilja cut her off and mentioned Tama Tonga, but here’s Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa told Ilja he should be concerned with him. Ciampa said last week he took Axiom’s mask, and next week he’ll take the US Title from Dragunov. Ilja said you make a good point, and he’ll think about it…jackass.

Analysis: Poor jackass Ciampa.

Asuka made her entrance as one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Cole explained the importance of the WarGames advantage, which led to this match. Charlotte Flair was up next as the representative of the babyface team in the Women’s WarGames match.

Women’s WarGames Advantage Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka

Cole said it was their 15th match. Their records are even. They’ve had 8 World Title matches and have been Tag Team Champions together. They probably have more matches if you count live events, but they don’t usually count those. Both women had big knee braces on their left knees since they both missed significant time with knee injuries in the past.

Flair hit a shoulder tackle, followed by a kick to the head. Asuka went to the apron, so Flair kicked her. Flair kicked Asuka again. Asuka hit a roundhouse kick to knock Flair down on the apron.

The match continued with Asuka charging at Flair, who moved, and Flair hit a kick. Flair kicked Asuka to knock her down. Flair went up top and hit a cross body block, but Asuka rolled through for two. Asuka hit strikes to the body. Asuka ran off the ropes, and Flair hit a boot to the face for two. Flair chopped Asuka in the chest repeatedly. Flair hit a cartwheel clothesline. Flair connected with a fallaway slam across the ring. Flair went up top, and jumped off with a moonsault that she hit perfectly for a two count. Flair doesn’t always hit it perfectly, but it looked good this time. Flair kicked Asuka in the face, followed by a German Suplex. Asuka came back with her own German Suplex. Asuka kicked Flair, who came back with a punch and Asuka hit a sliding knee for two. Flair got a pin attempt for Asuka hit a knee smash to the face. Asuka applied an armbar on the left arm, so Flair powered out of it and hit a Powerbomb for two. They left the ring where Flair sent Asuka over the commentary table. Asuka went for the green mist spit, Flair ducked it and timekeeper Berkley took the green mist to the face. Flair sent Asuka into the commentary table. Back in the ring, Asuka countered Flair into an Asuka Lock and Flair countered for two. Asuka missed a kick because Flair ducked it and Flair hit a Natural Selection neckbreaker for the pinfall win after about 8 minutes, which is without the commercials. Graves referred to Berkley as Shockmaster Jr. since he is Fred Ottman’s son and also Cody Rhodes’ cousin.

Winner by pinfall: Charlotte Flair

Analysis: ***1/4 An entertaining match between two of the best women’s wrestlers in WWE history, with a lot of history. Flair was able to outsmart Asuka by avoiding the dreaded green mist. Flair’s Natural Selection isn’t an amazing finisher or anything like that, but she has won with it plenty of times in the past, so I can understand why she keeps using it as a finisher. Normally, I like heels having the WarGames Advantage, but the men’s match has the heels with the advantage, so I get why Flair won to give the faces the advantage, just to be different.

The win means that Charlotte Flair’s team will have the advantage in the Women’s WarGames match.

Team Sami against Team MFT was up next, so Team MFT was shown walking backstage.

There was a rundown of the Survivor Series card:

• Intercontinental Championship: John Cena vs. Dominik Mysterio
• Women’s WarGames Match: Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair & AJ Lee vs. Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka, Karii Sane & Becky Lynch
• Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Nikki Bella
• Men’s WarGames Match: CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso & Roman Reigns vs. Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre & Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman)

A video package aired about the Men’s WarGames Match at Survivor Series.

The final 30 minutes of SmackDown were commercial-free, leading into the main event. Solo Sikoa led Team MFT to make their entrance for this 5-on-5 elimination match.

The Motor City Machine Guns duo of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin made their entrance, followed by Rey Fenix, Shinsuke Nakamura, and the team captain, Sami Zayn.

Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match: Team MFT – Solo Sikoa, JC Mateo, Tama Tonga, Talla Tonga & Tonga Loa vs. Team Sami – Sami Zayn, Rey Fenix, Shinsuke Nakamura and Motor City Machine Guns – Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley

If somebody is pinned, submitted, counted out, or disqualified, then they are eliminated from the match.

Solo started against Sabin with a clothesline. Solo worked over Sabin with punches to the head. Loa tagged in with a headbutt. Sabin managed to tag in Shelley, which led to a bulldog by Sabin on Loa for two. JC tagged in with a punch. Shelley brought in Zayn, who hit a double axhandle on JC’s arm. JC caught Zayn and hit a spinning slam for a two count. JC hit a standing moonsault on Zayn for two. Tama tagged in with a barrage of punches on Zayn. Loa hit a suplex on Zayn, and Tama hit a senton splash onto Zayn. Solo was back in with an elbow smash to the head. Zayn jumped over Solo and hit a clothesline. Nakamura tagged in with kicks for two opponents. Nakamura hit a jumping kick on Loa, followed by a running knee lift to knock Loa down to the floor. JC was back in with a forearm smash on Nakamura. Nakamura caught JC by the ropes and hit a German Suplex. Solo broke up a pin attempt for a two count. There were four guys who were in the ring who were sent out of the ring. Talla clotheslined Fenix out of the ring, so MCMG flipped Talla out of the ring. Shelley hit a sliding dropkick. Sabin hit a suicide dive on Talla on the floor. Zayn and Fenix hit somersault dives over the top onto the guys on the floor. Shelley kicked JC, and Sabin tagged in. Sabin hit a bridging jackknife pin on JC for the pinfall.

JC Mateo has been eliminated

Analysis: I thought Tonga Loa would be first eliminated if it were live and I was watching it. Just saying.

Sabin and Shelley worked over Tama with kicks for a two count for Sabin. Nakamura hit a spinning kick on Tama. Nakamura hit a jumping knee smash on Tama by the ropes. Nakamura elbowed Solo off the apron. Tama avoided Nakamura and hit a jumping flatliner. Tama hit a Cutthroat elbow for the pinfall win.

Shinsuke Nakamura has been eliminated

Fenix was legal with a handspring back elbow. Tama hit a flatliner into the mat. Loa was back in for the heel side, and he hit a running clothesline. Tama splashed Fenix as well. Loa hit a spinebuster on Fenix for two. Fenix kicked Loa a few times, and Fenix countered a move into a hurricanrana pin to beat Loa.

Tonga Loa has been eliminated

The big man Talla went into the ring to run over Fenix with a shoulder tackle. Talla hit a body slam on Fenix. Talla hit another body slam. Solo was back, went for the Samoan Spike, but Rey avoided it and hit a boot. Sabin hit a cross body block off the top rope. Sabin was distracted by Talla, so Solo hit an uppercut. Sabin was back in, leading to a flurry of offense by MCMG. There was some interference from the guys outside the ring. Talla was legal and gave Shelley a Chokeslam on the apron.

Alex Shelley has been eliminated

Sabin tried to do a move on Talla, but Talla avoided it, and Talla hit a spinning lariat on Sabin for the pinfall.

Chris Sabin has been eliminated

Fenix was back in for his team with a missile dropkick on Talla. Fenix hit a spin kick on Talla. Solo went in illegally, he sent Fenix into the ropes and Fenix hit a kick to the head. Tama tagged in, Fenix walked the ropes, kicked Talla and Fenix hit a hurricanrana off the top on Tama. Fenix hit a cross body block off the top on Solo and Talla on the floor. Tama hit his running back elbow on Fenix to eliminate him.

Rey Fenix has been eliminated.

Sami Zayn was left 1-on-3 against Talla, Tama and Solo.

Talla nailed Zayn with an uppercut punch. Talla hit a running splash on Zayn against the turnbuckle. Talla hit a running clothesline on Zayn against the turnbuckle. Solo was back in with a running hip attack on Zayn. Tama hit a running splash on Zayn two times in a row. Zayn came back with a running Helluva Kick and fell on top of Tama to pin him.

Tama Tonga has been eliminated.

Talla attacked Zayn with kicks, and some choking against the ropes. Talla sent Zayn face first into the ring post. Talla hit an uppercut. Talla charged, Zayn avoided the running kick and Talla went over the barricade. The referee was counting them out, Zayn went back in, and the referee reached 10, so Talla was counted out.

Talla Tonga has been eliminated by countout.

Solo and Zayn were the last two men left in the match. Solo hit the Spinning Solo twice in a row for a two count. Solo went up top and hit a Superfly Splash on Zayn for two. They went to the turnbuckle, where Zayn got a sunset flip Powerbomb for a two count. Solo headbutted Zayn to knock Zayn down, but Zayn was back up with an Exploder Suplex into the turnbuckle. Zayn charged, Solo hit a superkick, Zayn got a rollup for two and Solo hit a Samoan Spike for the pinfall win.

Sami Zayn has been eliminated

Winner and Sole Survivor: Solo Sikoa

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a pretty good Survivor Series elimination match that was booked well. I thought Fenix and Zayn shone for the babyfaces while Talla stood out for the heels. The story became about whether Zayn could survive against the last three guys, and it looked like it might happen. Instead, Solo hit the Samoan Spike for the win. Perhaps the better finish would have been for Zayn to win, but based on what happened next, I understood why they had Solo win.

There was less than a minute left as the lights went out in the building. Cole wondered if they were still on the air. The Wyatt Sicks appeared on the apron. It was Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis and Nikki Cross. Uncle Howdy showed up behind Solo and hit him with a Sister Abigail. Howdy posed and that was the end of the show.

Analysis: There has been a tease of MFTs and Wyatt Sicks, so that furthered that story. It will probably lead to a WWE Tag Team Title match at some point since Gacy and Lumis have the titles. I can’t say I love the feud, but I get why it’s happening since they are both stables.

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Three Stars of the Show

1. LA Knight
2. Charlotte Flair
3. Sami Zayn and Rey Fenix

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The Scoreboard

7.25 out of 10

Last week: 7.5

2025 Average: 7.35

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Final Thoughts on WWE SmackDown

It was a solid episode of SmackDown, but I wouldn’t call it a great show or anything like that. The four matches were all pretty good and around the same level. None of them really stood out. Other than that, the rest of the show was really lacking in terms of interesting segments. Being a taped show probably hurt it in that regard.

The next WWE PLE is Survivor Series on November 29th in San Diego. Here’s the lineup:

• Men’s WarGames Match: CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso & Roman Reigns vs. Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre & Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman)
• Women’s WarGames Match: Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair & AJ Lee vs. Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka, Karii Sane & Becky Lynch
• Intercontinental Championship: John Cena vs. Dominik Mysterio
• Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Nikki Bella

You can watch WWE Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29 streaming live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on the ESPN App in the United States and on Netflix everywhere else.

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Thanks for reading. Go Los Angeles Rams, Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: [email protected]

Twitter/X: @johnreport