San Jose, CA – The October 17, 2025, edition of Friday Night SmackDown kicked off with a major announcement and ended in utter chaos, leaving the WWE Universe with more questions than answers.
The night began with SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis in the ring, who declared that the scheduled main event between Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu would now be a #1 Contender’s Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The champion himself, Cody Rhodes, then made his way to the ring to a thunderous ovation. Rhodes spoke about his recent loss to Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel but affirmed his focus was squarely on SmackDown and the winner of the night’s main event.
Backstage, tensions were already brewing as Solo Sikoa and his faction, The MFT’s, confronted Rey Fenix during a photoshoot, leading to a physical altercation.
In the first match of the evening, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, the formidable duo of Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, successfully defended their titles against the athletic challengers from NXT, Sol Ruca and Zaria. In a hard-fought contest, Flair forced Ruca to submit to the Figure-Eight leg lock to secure the victory for her team.
The action continued as Sami Zayn issued an open challenge for his United States Championship. While The Miz initially seemed poised to answer the call, he was attacked on the entrance ramp by Carmelo Hayes. This led to a shocking return, as Ilja Dragunov, absent for over a year due to injury, made his dramatic entrance to accept the challenge. In a grueling and intensely physical battle, “The Mad Dragon” overcame Zayn to capture the United States Championship. The deciding factor came when Solo Sikoa appeared, creating a distraction that allowed Dragunov to hit his finisher, Torpedo Moscow, for the win. Following the match, Sikoa and The MFT’s stormed the ring, attacking both the new champion Dragunov and the former champion Zayn.
The veteran tag team, The Motor City Machine Guns, consisting of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, were victorious in their match against Los Garza.
The night took a dramatic and unforeseen turn before the main event could even begin. Jacob Fatu was discovered backstage, the victim of a brutal and mysterious attack that left him unable to compete. A smug Drew McIntyre then made his way to the ring, demanding to be named the #1 contender by forfeit.
This incensed Cody Rhodes, who, still in his suit, stormed to the ring and immediately began brawling with McIntyre. An impromptu and unsanctioned match erupted between the two rivals. The fight spilled all around the arena, with both men using weapons and unleashing their aggression. The wild brawl officially got underway but ended in a disqualification when a furious Rhodes struck McIntyre with the WWE Championship belt. The show went off the air with Rhodes continuing his assault on McIntyre, being pulled away by officials as chaos reigned in San Jose.