On Friday night from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, WWE brought the electricity for the final SmackDown before the first ever two night SummerSlam 2025 at MetLife Stadium. In the opening segment, John Cena made his big return in a face role when he interrupted challenger Cody Rhodes, berating his own former heel run and saying he was going back to hustle, loyalty, and respect. The two shared a round of beers to toast to the crowd, symbolizing unity for now.
John Cena is back! That was a great baby face promo. He touched on The Rock, being something he is not and even Travis Scott. Very properly done. This one was great. #SmackDown
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) August 2, 2025
The First Match
The first match featured Giulia (w/ manager Kiana James) retaining her Women’s United States Championship over Zelina Vega in a competitive opener. Vega kicked out of the Glorious Driver, but eventually succumbed to Giulia’s Northern Lights Bomb for a successful defense.
An AAA tag team open challenge was answered by Los Garza defeating Mr. Iguana & Psycho Clown; debuting AAA stars in WWE. The fans reacted well to the newcomers, but Los Garza retained their titles with a double gorilla press slam finish.
Damian and Aleister Collision
In a very physical contest, Damian Priest defeated Aleister Black by disqualification. After Black had hit a moonsault, he hit Priest the steel chair causing the disqualification to occur which led to an intriguing finish and another chapter in their growing feud.
Interesting that WWE not only have the AAA World Tag Team titles being defended but also had Mr. Iguana and Psycho Clown. This was a fun tag team match and everyone seemed to enjoy it. #SmackDown
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) August 2, 2025
Chaotic steel cage
In the following match, Talla Tonga wrestled Jimmy Uso. Talla dominated the match with a devastating head butt that led to a chokeslam for the victory. After the match, there was a lot of chaos in the ring with Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, JC Mateo, and Jacob Fatu attacking Jimmy Uso in the lowering steel cage.
A fun ending to #SmackDown. Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul were great with their promo and it ended with the brawl against Randy Orton and Jelly Roll.
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) August 2, 2025
RKO and all away
The show ended with a big brawl: Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul were battering Jelly Roll when Randy Orton, who confronted Jelly Roll, got involved. Randy dished out RKOs to the security personnel when the live feed went off the air, setting up their tag match at SummerSlam.
Also Read: ‘No Fake Way’: Jelly Roll Opens Up About His Minor Injury
