WWE Friday Night SmackDown in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA on the USA Network | December 12th, 2025 — The Episode Recap:
- robbyplaha
- 15 hours ago
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The December 12th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — The Match Results:
The Opening Match: Ilja Dragunov (c) defeated Tommaso Ciampa in a WWE United States Title Match | via Pin-Fall — (17:04)
The 2nd Match: Lash Legend (with Nia Jax) defeated Alexa Bliss (with Charlotte Flair) in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (03:30)
The 3rd Match: Je’Von Evans defeated The Miz in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (08:07)
The Main Event Match: The Terror Twins (Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley) defeated Aleister Black & Zelina in a Mixed Tag Team Match | via Pin-Fall — (09:45)
My Thoughts on the December 12th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown:
My Thoughts: The show kicked off with the WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and discussed Drew McIntyre, but before he could speak further, we saw Oba Femi, the WWE NXT Champion, come out and confront Cody Rhodes before their match tomorrow, which was such a smart decision, and Oba Femi is already over with the even greater crowd. This was a solid segment, and I thought it made Oba Femi look like a threatening opponent towards Cody Rhodes, as he’s the future of the business. The Opener was something out of All-Japan Pro Wrestling in the 1990s. It was such a hard-hitting match where we saw Ilja Dragunov defend his WWE United States Title Match as Tommaso Ciampa was doing everything he could to become champion, but came up short, and afterwards, Carmelo Hayes made the save for Ilja Dragunov to a loud reception by the crowd. This was great, and I’m happy that they dropped The Miz storyline and are now booking Carmelo Hayes in a better position as he chases the WWE United States Title. The Wyatt Sick and MFT Segment was probably one of the weakest points of the show, as this did nothing for me. The Tag Titles have been an afterthought since The Wyatt Sicks got the belts many months back, but now, next week, a WWE Tag Team Title Match will take place. Lash Legend blew us away as she took down a 5x WWE Women’s World Champion. I think the sky is the limit for her, and I can’t wait for what she does on SmackDown. Je’Von Evans got his biggest victory to date as he took down a 2x WWE World Champion in The Miz, and I think Je’Von Evans tomorrow night with Leon Slater is going to steal the show against the WWE World Tag Team Champions, AJ Styles and Dragon Lee. It’s going to be a very fun one. WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill made an example of Michin, and this version of Jade Cargill has been great. She is a natural as a chicken-shit heel, as she made an example out of Michin, not once but twice. The Main Event was the Mixed Tag Team Match as real-life husband and wife Alesiter Black and Zelina took on The Terror Twins in Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley. It was a very underwhelming match with Zelina Vega messing up so many moves and looking sluggish. I hope this is the end of this feud because Aleister Black and Damian Priest need something new heading towards 2026. Overall, this was a much better episode of SmackDown, as you want to know why. Because the young talent & good wrestlers were the focal point of the show, seeing Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov, Jade Cargill, Je’Von Evans, Lash Legend, Oba Femi, and Tommaso Ciampa were the people who made the show that much better. Next year needs to be a strong year for SmackDown, as this year was abysmal for the show, and they need the young talent to take over and make the show more watchable.
The December 12th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — The Match Ratings:
The Opening Match: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa in a WWE United States Title Match | The Match Rating: ****.50 — Amazing, amazing, and amazing. What an opener this felt like something you would see in All-Japan Pro Wrestling in the 90s, just a hard-hitting, technical, and physical battle. Tommaso Ciampa was targeting the repaired knee of Ilja Dragunov throughout the match. Tommaso Ciampa was amazing in this match, same with Ilja Dragunov. I want this to be run back on a Premium Live Event. The visual of Ilja Dragunov being bloodied up was great; it added to made this match very hard-hitting. Also, to note, this match build was great; they made it so that Tommaso Ciampa was desperate to become WWE United States Champion. The ending moments of this match were fun. Candice LeRae attacked Ilja Dragunov while the referee was attending to Johnny Gargano was trying to help Tommaso Ciampa get the win, but it didn’t work as Ilja Dragunov got the win by roll-up. Afterwards, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa attacked a beaten-up Ilja Dragunov afterwards but guess who came and made the save? Carmelo Hayes, who came out to a good reaction and is starting to get over it, saved Ilja Dragunov. This was such a great opener, and the ending of the match left the door open for a future match, and if that happens, make it on a Big Four Premium Live Event.
The 2nd Match: Lash Legend (with Nia Jax) vs. Alexa Bliss (with Charlotte Flair) in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: N/A — This was a good way to show how unstoppable Lash Legend can be. This was kinda a squash match. The match went by quickly, but my goodness. She beat a 5x WWE Women’s World Champion in her Debut Singles Match on SmackDown, which goes to show how much they value Lash Legend. One thing I liked was how they presented her. She felt like a huge deal, and that’s something in NXT that they lacked in doing so. I do expect Lash Legend to have a super fun 2026, and I can see her winning some gold sooner than later.
The 3rd Match: Je’Von Evans vs. The Miz in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: ***.25 — This was a fun little sprint before his match tomorrow as he tags with Leon Slater to take on the WWE World Tag Team Champions, AJ Styles and Dragon Lee. This was so much fun because Je’Von Evans is just someone you are wowed by when you watch him in the square circle. The Miz has done a good job, and I’ll give where credit is due. He does put over and help young talent. He helped out tonight by giving Je’Von Evans his biggest win to date as he took down the 2x WWE World Champion. Now he can focus on facing AJ Styles and Dragon Lee tomorrow night at John Cena’s Final Match Event with Leon Slater.
The Main Event Match: The Terror Twins (Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley) vs. Aleister Black & Zelina in a Mixed Tag Team Match | The Match Rating: ** — This was a very much a letdown for many reasons the given time it had wasn’t enough for a feud that been ongoing since July, the match was very much underwhelming, and Zelina Vega botched so many moves it was ridcilous and threw off the floe of the match. The only part of the match I enjoyed was the ending with the double Razor’s Edge by Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley, which proceeded to a Riptide by Rhea Ripley to get the win and seemingly end the feud. I wonder what’s next for Aleister Black and Zelina, as I say the same for Damian Priest. They need something that can benefit them, and I felt like this feud did do a lot for Aleister Black, but Damian Priest should have some fresh feuds. I would like him to be back in the title picture, maybe be a filler feud for Cody Rhodes, or chase after the WWE United States Title, something new for him and Aleister Black.
The December 12th WWE Friday Night SmackDown — The Match of the Night: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa in a WWE United States Title Match | The Match Rating: ****.50
The December 12th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — The Episode Grade: 7.25/10 (B-) — A very passable episode of Friday Night SmackDown the young talent dominated the show and guess what they made it enjhoyable and that’s what SmackDown should be a show for the younger talent to show-out and make the television much more enjoyable in which they did. The Ilja Dragunov and Tommaso Ciampa match was such great stuff, and I enjoyed seeing Lash Legend and Je’Von Evans getting wins. This is how SmackDown needs to be: you have a formula, use it.
Next Week WWE Friday Night SmackDown December 19th Episode in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA — The Announced Matches & Segments:
The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy) (with Erick Rowan, Nikki Cross & Uncle Howdy) (c) vs. MFT (JC Mateo, Solo Sikoa, Talla Tonga, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa) in a WWE Tag Team Title Match.
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