WWE Friday Night SmackDown in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, Live on the USA Network, September 4th, 2026 — My Episode Review:
Date: Friday, September 4, 2026.
Location: Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
TV: LIVE on the USA Network
Streaming: LIVE on Netflix Internationally.
The September 4th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown Official Match Results:
The Opening Match: Charlotte Flair & Tatum Paxley (with Alexa Bliss) defeated Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) (with Jacy Jayne) in a Tag Team Match | via Pin-Fall — (06:48)
The 2nd Match: Nia Jax (with Lash Legend) defeated Tiffany Stratton (with Chelsea Green) in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (02:42)
The 3rd Match: Bakusai (Kyoki & Shinsuke Nakamura) defeated Kit Wilson & The Miz in a Tag Team Match | via Pin-Fall — (09:26)
The Main Event Match: CM Punk (c) defeated Johnny Gargano (with Candice LeRae) in an Undisputed WWE Title Match | via Pin-Fall — (13:02)
My Official Review of the September 4th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown:
My Official Review: SmackDown has a glaring issue and it's the fact the matches every week aren't good maybe they'll get one good match every month like they did tonight with the CM Punk and Johnny Gargano Match was this episode was just a mess Blake Monroe once again dioesn't debut but on the bright side Giulia looked great in the angle as she didn't look like a joke she looked badass. The Women's World Title Division is a joke, as Nia Jax gets millions of chances for the title. SmackDown Tag Team Division attempted revival isn't working. Next week's card has four title matches, so hoping for a good Mexico City episode, as it'll be a good crowd.
My Official Match Ratings for the September 4th WWE Friday Night SmackDown Episode:
The Opening Match: Charlotte Flair & Tatum Paxley (with Alexa Bliss) vs. Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) (with Jacy Jayne) in a Tag Team Match | My Match Rating: — What's it with SmackDown not giving these women more minutes to allow their matches to have actual progression? This match was awful, and not because of the wrestlers, but because it was short and didn't reach any notable climax. You've four talented women in this match who can actually wrestle, and this is what we get? Now, granted, I did enjoy the post-match beatdown to build some heat for the Six-Woman Tag Team Match at Sunday Night's Main Event, but WWE does better in the use of women on SmackDown because the roster is stacked, but they never seem to get any notable time for matches to actually have meaningful progressions. Let these women have 12-15 minute fun matches on SmackDown.
The 2nd Match: Nia Jax (with Lash Legend) vs. Tiffany Stratton (with Chelsea Green) in a Singles Match | My Match Rating: N/A — This match makes sense in terms of the built-up frustration for Tiffany Stratton, as we know a pending heel turn is coming on the horizon. But why’s Nia Jax’s in every single World Title feud for the Women’s Division? Does Triple H know he has Blake Monroe, Charlotte Flair, Giulia, Jacy Jayne, Jordynne Grace, Lash Legend, Lainey Reid, and Tatum Paxley? Like, they have a well-built roster of people who can easily be great feuds for Chelsea Green. This match was basically a squash match, as Nia Jax got an easy win over Tiffany Stratton.
The 3rd Match: Bakusai (Kyoki & Shinsuke Nakamura) vs. Kit Wilson & The Miz in a Tag Team Match | My Match Rating: **.50 — They watered down Hiromu Takahashi, which is quite hilarious. I thought this match was very average; nothing really notable. We knew Kit Wilson and The Miz weren't going to beat a debuting Hiromu Takahashi. WWE is trying to make the Tag Division serious, but once you get rid of Motor City Machine Guns, The New Day, and Tommaso Ciampa, who were big counterparts in the resurgence of the SmackDown Tag Division. Now we look at it, and there's nothing to take home about it. It's a very gutted division now. NXT has many good tag teams that can easily fix that, but with Triple H not caring about anything but licking TKO's ass, this division won't be good until someone competent comes in and makes use of all the divisions in WWE on the Men's and Women's side. WWE has Fraxiom, who were in Tag Team of the Year talks in 2024, but Triple H derailed all their momentum. Then, after this match, the MFTs went face-to-face with Hiromu Takahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura. WWE needs to invest in this division and stop leaving Fraxiom off the shows, because they can easily boost it with their fun tag team style.
The Main Event Match: CM Punk (c) vs. Johnny Gargano (with Candice LeRae) in an Undisputed WWE Title Match | My Match Rating: **** — Finally, Johnny Wrestling is back. This was a great way of reintroducing himself; he had his old theme back. The crowd was happy he was back, and yes, I know they were in Cleveland, Ohio, his hometown. But this was a good title defense by CM Punk; so many near-falls happened, with chaos on the outside, with Gunther, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn all having brawls on the outside. I liked how Johnny Gargano was presented in this match, as he had many chances to get the win, but even with Sami Zayn's help, CM Punk came out and fought back. Sami Zayn planned failed as General Manager Nick Aldis didn't allow this to go on further. Candice LeRae even got her hands dirty with an attack on CM Punk to help Johnny Gargano, but it just wasn't working. But CM Punk hit a GTS to get the win and retain his Undisputed WWE Title. Then now next week on SmackDown, CM Punk will defend his Undisputed WWE Title against Sami Zayn in Mexico City on the Night of AAA Triplemania Night One, with a hot crowd will be at hand as Sami Zayn will try to regain the Undisputed WWE Title, the title he lost two months ago to CM Punk.
My Official Match of the Night for the September 4th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown: CM Punk (c) vs. Johnny Gargano (with Candice LeRae) in an Undisputed WWE Title Match | My Match Rating: **** — Johnny Wrestling is back with his old theme, earning cheers in Cleveland, Ohio. CM Punk’s title defense was intense, with many near-falls amid chaos involving Gunther, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn. Johnny Gargano was prominent, nearly winning multiple times, despite Sami Zayn’s interference, which was stopped by GM Nick Aldis. Candice LeRae attempted to help Gargano with an attack on Punk, but Punk secured the win with a GTS to retain the Undisputed WWE Title. Next week on SmackDown in Mexico City, Punk will defend against Sami Zayn, who aims to reclaim the title lost two months ago.
My Official Highlight of the Show for the September 4th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown: Johnny Wrestling is Back — This was the best part of the episode, not only because he got his first World Title match on the main roster since joining in 2022, but also because the match against CM Punk was a lot of fun, with plenty of near-falls. If the rumors about Johnny Gargano and Sami Zayn uniting as a tag team are true, it should make for good television. Still, I’m very happy to see Johnny Wrestling the man who made NXT so fun from 2016 to 2019 back, and hopefully he becomes an upper-card act delivering great matches every week.
My September 4th Official Episode Grade for WWE Friday Night SmackDown: 4.75/10 (D+) — SmackDown's biggest issue is its consistently weak weekly matches, with tonight's CM Punk vs. Johnny Gargano being a rare bright spot. Blake Monroe still hasn't debuted, but Giulia looked like a badass instead of a joke. The Women's World Title scene is stale with Nia Jax getting endless title shots, and the tag division revival isn't clicking. Next week's Mexico City show has four title matches, so hopefully the hot crowd helps deliver a stronger episode.
Next Week Announced Appearances, Matches & Segments for the September 11th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico, Live on the USA Network:
CM Punk (c) vs. Sami Zayn in an Undisputed WWE Title Match.
Chelsea Green (c) vs. Nia Jax in an Interim WWE Women’s Title Match.
The War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) (c) vs. Damian Priest & R-Truth in a AAA World Tag Team Title Match.
Rey Fenix (c) vs. Ricky Saints in a AAA World Cruiserweight Title Match.
Nikki Bella vs. Paige in a Singles Match.
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