Ahead of this weekend’s Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, WWE taped Friday’s episode of SmackDown at the O2 Arena in London, England, on Tuesday evening.
The show marks the final three-hour episode of SmackDown for the rest of the year, as WWE is set to shift back to a two-hour format for the remainder of 2026.
In the main event of the taping, Giulia picked up a decisive win over Kiana James, seemingly closing the book on a rivalry the two had been building since they were paired together last July. The bigger moment came afterward, when Blake Monroe appeared and attacked Giulia. Outside of a brief backstage appearance alongside Chelsea Green, this marked Monroe’s first appearance in front of a crowd as a member of the main roster. WWE has been airing vignettes for Monroe since calling her up from NXT in April.
Elsewhere, the ongoing saga of Danhausen continued, as he teamed with Matt Cardona to take on Los Garza. The duo picked up the win with an assist from an unlikely pairing in The Miz and Kit Wilson.
The closing segment set the stage for Saturday’s Night of Champions, as WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Gunther, and Sami Zayn built toward their triple threat match. Oba Femi and Jey Uso also got involved to promote their King of the Ring final. Predictably, the segment broke down into a brawl.
The complete spoilers for the June 26 SmackDown are below. SmackDown airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network and internationally on Netflix.
– A segment featuring Ricky Saints and Trick Williams opened the show.
– Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga split away from Solo Sikoa.
– Rey Fenix defeated Nathan Frazer.
– The War Raiders challenged Tag Team Champions Damian Priest and R-Truth in a backstage segment.
– Solo Sikoa had a back-and-forth with LA Knight in the ring.
– Paige defeated Jacy Jayne.
– Danhausen and Matt Cardona defeated Los Garza, with help from The Miz and Kit Wilson.
– Jade Cargill defeated Chelsea Green.
– Giulia defeated Kiana James, then was attacked by Blake Monroe.
– A brawl involving Gunther, Jey Uso, Oba Femi, Sami Zayn, and Cody Rhodes closed the show.
