Charlotte Flair attacks Lash Legend with a kendo stick.
WWE
WWE SmackDown advertised two more first-round matches of the Last Time is Now Tournament. Carmelo Hayes faced Bronson Reed and Penta faced Finn Balor. Since Finn Balor was on Raw, his Judgment Day stablemate JD McDonagh tagged along and ended up answering Ilja Dragunov’s United States Open Challenge.
Last week’s SmackDown averaged 1,158 million viewers.
Who Attacked Cody Rhodes?
Cody Rhodes was attacked by a mystery assailant to begin SmackDown. The assault was similar to the anonymous attack on Jacob Fatu last month. Cody Rhodes was among the top suspects, but now that he’s been targeted, the WWE champion is far less likely to be the suspect behind these beatings.
Drew McIntyre was heavily implied as the mystery assailant, as he taunted a bloody Rhodes and the Usos as he drove off from the Ball Center. McIntyre was banned from the building, but the attack happened outside of Rhodes’ tourbus, so if he was indeed the attacker he was technically within his rights.
McIntyre is very likely a red herring for these mystery attacks as many are speculating that Randy Orton will emerge as the mystery attacker. Orton is rumored to make his return to WWE on the December 5 broadcast of SmackDown.
WWE SmackDown Match Card And Results
- Ilja Dragunov def. JD McDonagh | WWE United States Title
- Carmelo Hayes def. Bronson Reed | John Cena Last Time is Now Tournament
- DIY def. Fraxiom
WWE SmackDown Ratings And Viewership
- November 14, 2025 | 1,158 million
- November 7, 2025 | 1.141 million
- October 31, 2025 | 933,000
- October 24, 2025 | 1.147 million
- October 17, 2025 | 1.180 million
WWE SmackDown Ticket Sales
- WWE SmackDown Venue: Ball Arena (Denver, Colo.)
- WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 11,904
- WWE SmackDown Tickets Available: 391
WWE SmackDown Results And Highlights On 11/21/25
Cody Rhodes Attacked To Open SmackDown
- The vision taunted the WarGames babyfaces, but were interrupted by Jimmy and Jey Uso. Fans were happy to see the Usos, but they also chanted for CM Punk and Roman Reigns.
- Cody Rhodes’ music hit, but the camera cut to Rhodes’ famed tourbus. Rhodes was laid out and bloodied and it was heavily implied that McIntyre was the attacker.
Ilja Dragunov Def. JD McDonagh
- Michael Cole noted JD McDonagh was the last person to take a pin from John Cena on Raw. Between that, CM Punk and Cole singing McDonagh’s praises, WWE clearly wants McDonagh to be a thing.
- Ilja Dragunov screamed “this is fun!” as he brutalized JD McDonagh to start the match. The two hit an awesome, but scary, spot when they performed a suplex to the outside of the ring.
- McDonagh worked over Dragunov’s neck. McDonagh used countered a Torpedo Moscow with a flying knee followed by a moonsault for a nearfall. Fans chanted “this is awesome” as the match reached its climax.
- Ilja hit a powerbomb on McDonagh followed by an H-Bomb for the win. Corey Graves said it’s not a matter of if, but when JD will become a champion.
Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh Match Grade: A-
Carmelo Hayes Def. Bronson Reed
- Michael Cole paid tribute to the legendary NWA announcer Bob Caudle. It’s interesting to note that Caudle passed away on Sunday. WWE did not pay homage to Caudle the following night Raw. AEW paid tribute to Caudle on Dynamite, and two days later, so did WWE.
- Carmelo Hayes started out strong until Logan Paul got involved behind the referee’s back. Fans chanted “Logan sucks” as Reed took control of the match. Hayes battled back with one strike after another, stunning Reed. Hayes got fired up and so did the crowd.
- Reed is a bigger guy, but he’s actually shorter than Hayes. That made it jarring to hear Cole and Graves describe this match like it was David vs. Goliath. Fans got behind Melo as he hit a frog splash. Reed countered a crossbody with a World’s Strongest Slam followed by a Tsunami attempt. Nobody was home.
- After a First 48 from Hayes, Melo hit a dive to the outside on the entire Vision. Bron Breakker prepared for a Spear through the barricade, but he was thwarted by the Usos.
- A hobbled Cody Rhodes evened the odds and attacked the Vision. Rhodes’ attack on Bronson Reed led to a countout victory for Melo. Rhodes called out every heel member of the WarGames team, including Paul Heyman. Rhodes told Heyman “you build them, and I’ll beat them.” Rhodes said WarGames is his birthright, and a Rhodes is historically always better than a Steiner.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed Match Grade: B+
DIY Def. Fraxiom
- At the behest of Michael Cole, Corey Graves educated the audience about whom Fraxiom was. Fraxiom has been on the main roster for quite some time now, it seems like this conversation should have happened some time ago.
- Candice LeRae got involved throughout the match. Axiom hit a beautiful Spanish Fly. Unfortunately, Axiom was distracted yet again by Candice (who was distracting Nate Frazer.) LeRae pulled Axiom’s mask off, and Johnny Gargano stole the win.