WWE Friday Night SmackDown in Albany, New York, USA, Live on the USA Network, July 17th, 2026 — My Episode Review:

CM Punk & Cody Rhodes unleashed an attack on Gunther and Sami Zayn before tomorrow night's Main Event at MSG, involving all men in a Tag Team Match. (Image courtesy of WWE)

• Date: Friday, July 17, 2026.

• Location: MVP Arena in Albany, New York, USA.

• TV: LIVE on the USA Network.

• Streaming: LIVE on Netflix Internationally.

The July 17th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown Official Match Results:

The Opening Match: Finn Bálor defeated Talla Tonga (with Tama Tonga) in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (09:32)

The 2nd Match: Tiffany Stratton defeated Jacy Jayne in an Interim WWE Women’s Title Qualifier Match | via Pin-Fall — (07:46)

The 3rd Match: Jade Cargill (with B-Fab & Michin) defeated Nia Jax in an Interim WWE Women’s Title Qualifier Match | via DQ — (00:57)

The 4th Match: The War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) defeated Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) in a Tag Team Match | via Pin-Fall — (10:36)

The Main Event Match: Cody Rhodes defeated Gunther in a Singles Match | via DQ — (12:52)

My Official Thoughts on the July 17th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown:

My Official Thoughts: Now let's talk about this. I thought this episode lacked in a lot of areas, like, for example, where's Jordynne Grace? Why's Blake Monroe still attacking people? She's been on SmackDown since April and hasn't done anything notable. What's the payoff for the Johnny Gargano angle? Why is Triple H always halting the momentum of stars like Carmelo Hayes, Jacy Jayne & Fraxiom, like he thinks WWE is going to get better by not pushing them when, in reality, not creating stars is the reason why this company is free-falling? Why is SmackDown so depleted with Tag Teams outside of Fraxiom? The bright side of this episode was the closing angle, the awesome Fraxiom and War Raiders Tag Team Match, and the fact we have been seeing progression with Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams, as I hope it's a singles title match not involving Baron Corbin and Ricky Saints. But man, Triple H needs to stop letting Bruce Pritchard get in his ear, and actually allow the youth to flourish.

My Official Match Ratings for the July 17th WWE Friday Night SmackDown Episode:

The Opening Match: Finn Bálor vs. Talla Tonga (with Tama Tonga) in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: *** — The funniest thing happened: Talla Tonga had a semi-decent match on his catalogue, and what makes it even better is that Finn Balor gets the win. I was so happy seeing that Finn Balor swept the Tonga Brothers. I hope this is the end. Funny thing is, in NJPW, yes, Prince Devitt and Tama Tonga were united, but it's 2026. Bullet Club is over. We need Finn Balor to get one World Title reign, and push the Tonga Brothers to the Tag Division. But it's a great win for Finn Balor, and Finn Balor is climbing back up the momentum, and the crowd is behind him; could he be in a World Title feud once again?

The 2nd Match: Tiffany Stratton vs. Jacy Jayne in an Interim WWE Women’s Title Qualifier Match | The Match Rating: ** — Triple H, what are we doing? Jacy Jayne came onto SmackDown blazing, now suffering a loss to Paige weeks back, and lost the chance to head to SummerSlam in the 5-Way Interim Ladder Match for the WWE Women's Title. What has she done to kill off her momentum? Now I know Fatal Influence is 100% winning the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles, but you have chances to make starts, but you always seem to halt them. Stop that. Tiffany Stratton is on the worst stretch of her career. I get she’s from Minnesota, but she's the WWE Women's United States Champion. Have her defend that title on the show, and allow Jacy Jayne to fight for the chance at the Interim WWE Women's Title.

The 3rd Match: Jade Cargill (with B-Fab & Michin) vs. Nia Jax in an Interim WWE Women’s Title Qualifier Match | The Match Rating: N/A — There was no poing this match taking place, and what I thought would be a Singles Match at SummerSlam with Jade Cargill entering the Interim WWE Women’s Title 5-Way Ladder Match tyhat possibility is out of the window this was not needed, and it really disapoints me how lazy WWE Creative has been for the past two years now as they can’t even get a feud where two women who i know can have an awersome build have the chance to do that because of who runs the operations at Creative. Also, Nia Jax gets her redo against Charlotte Flair next week, and we know Charlotte Flair will be the 3rd Entry to the 5-Way Ladder Match at SummerSlam.

The 4th Match: The War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) vs. Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) in a Tag Team Match | The Match Rating: **** — This was the best match of the night. Fraxiom is still the best tag team in all of WWE, and probably, if booked right, the best or top five tag teams in the world today. Also, since the War Raiders went to AAA, and then moved back to SmackDown with the AAA World Tag Team Champions, they have been booked well as well. This was fun, fast-paced, and the crowds got into it easily because when good things are on display, you get the crowd’s attention. But Fraxiom suffered defeat, as the War Raiders won, as not only do they have to focus on AAA, but they have a pending Double Title Match against the WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest & R-Truth, as both titles will be up for the taking in the near future.

The Main Event Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: N/A — I would've been excited, but I remember this is WWE they always afraid to have the stars lose clean, so they have to protect both wrestlers and manage to ruin everything. The match was good. CM Punk was out there, then Sami Zayn, who is irate and now a 100% heel, attacked CM Punk as Cody Rhodes looked on. Gunther was battering, and we got an old-school classic brawl before rthe Saturday Night's Main Event in MSG.

My Official Match of the Night for the July 17th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown: The War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) vs. Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) in a Tag Team Match | The Match Rating: **** — This was the best match of the night. Fraxiom remains among the top WWE tag teams and possibly in the world. Since the War Raiders returned to SmackDown with AAA Tag Team Champions, they’ve been well booked. The match was fast-paced and engaging, capturing crowd attention with a quality display. Fraxiom lost as the War Raiders won, with their focus on AAA and a pending Double Title Match against WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest & R-Truth, with both titles upcoming.

My July 17th Official Episode Grade for WWE Friday Night SmackDown: 4.25/10 (D) — This episode fell short in several areas. Where was Jordynne Grace, and why is Blake Monroe still attacking people with no real story since April? What’s the payoff for the Johnny Gargano angle? Triple H keeps stalling talents like Carmelo Hayes, Jacy Jayne, and Fraxiom, as if avoiding new pushes will fix WWE, when the real issue is the company’s refusal to create stars. SmackDown’s tag division also feels thin outside of Fraxiom. The positives were the closing angle, the excellent Fraxiom vs. War Raiders tag match, and the continued progression of Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams hopefully toward a singles title match that doesn’t involve Baron Corbin or Ricky Saints. Still, Triple H needs to stop letting Bruce Pritchard influence him and finally let the younger talent flourish.

Next Week Announced Appearances, Matches & Segments for the July 24th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown in Oakland, California, USA, Live on the USA Network:

1. Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax in an Interim WWE Women’s Title Qualifier Match.