2 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (31 Oct - Results & Review)

Raw will definitely end up with a new champion at this weekend's Saturday Night's Main Event, but what about SmackDown? WWE tried to up the ante on Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre during Friday's show, but the stipulation they added might backfire on the night. After all, Cody vs. Drew has been a rivalry built on violence and sneak attacks, so chipping away at the babyface's revenge act is certainly an interesting choice.

Triple H should be thankful for Ilja Dragunov and Nathan Frazer too. Without their United States Title bout, this might've been in the running as one of the blandest SmackDowns of 2025. It was a 'go home' show for a 'B' tier TV special, not a major PLE, and it honestly showed. WWE's creative team seemed hesitant to pull the trigger on much of anything, and that didn't create much drama.

The live crowd picked up on that too. They were almost completely silent at points following the energetic US Title stuff, and they didn't heat back up again until Cody and Drew came out with Nick Aldis for their contract signing. Not even stars of that stature could save the day, but that might have something to do with the lack of logic prevalent during their segment.

Unlike last week's SmackDown, finding positives on this week's episode wasn't easy. That aforementioned title match stole the headlines and another clash was decent, but other than that? Nah, there wasn't much to get truly excited about. It was an inoffensive 2 hours, sure, but a little more was needed heading into SNME.

Here's all the good and bad.