WWE SmackDown – 11/28/2025: 3 Things We Loved And three We Hated

With the Thanksgiving leftovers tucked within the fridge, and the primary vestiges of Christmas decorations going up, the Black Friday edition of “WWE SmackDown” has come and gone. There was plenty to do on the ultimate show before tomorrow’s big Survivor Series event in San Diego, CA, including establishing the semifinals for the Last Time Is Now Tournament, in addition to determining the advantage for Saturday’s Women’s War Games Match. It also played host to the normal Survivor Series 5-on-5 Match, which saw Solo Sikoa and his MFTs defeat Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rey Fenix, and MCMG. But enough about what happened, that has been handily covered over on the outcomes page.

It is time to break down the great and the bad from the pre-taped edition of “SmackDown.” There was plenty to like, just like the blistering match between Charlotte Flair and Asuka, in addition to the show-closing moments that featured a surprise attack from The Wyatt Sicks. There was also plenty to hate, corresponding to the way in which that “SmackDown” has develop into a pre-show for PLEs like Survivor Series, despite PLEs having fewer matches than ever, or the confusing interactions between the WWE Women’s Champion and the WWE Women’s US Champion.

Enough of my pontificating, it is time for the Wrestling Inc. Staff to dig into the great, the bad, and the downright ugly of the November 28, 2025, edition of “WWE SmackDown.”

Having read the spoilers ahead of tonight’s show, I used to be fully convinced I used to be going to have a “lol, in fact Charlotte Flair wins again” moment, but I surprisingly, to myself not less than, ended up not feeling that way in any respect. It was one line Flair had backstage in the course of the babyface WarGames team segment that modified my way of enthusiastic about this match pretty quickly. I still don’t love the babyfaces getting the advantage in this type of match, and it might not bode well for them tomorrow, but I loved this for Flair’s character.

With all the opposite girls hyping her up going into her WarGames advantage match against Asuka, “The Queen” mentioned that she hadn’t faced “The Empress of Tomorrow” since she tore her ACL (and MCL, and meniscus, if I remember appropriately) back in December 2023. I definitely thought they’d gone one-on-one since Flair’s return in the beginning of the yr, so I used to be surprised by that.

Shocking to nobody, they placed on a wonderful match, which probably felt much more special, as there have not been many ladies’s matches on the previous few episodes of most important roster programming. While it wasn’t so long as it probably must have been, likely due partially to the normal Survivor Series match afterward within the night, I believed these women did a wonderful job. Flair looked to have it won at one point off a moonsault, but Asuka kicked out, and it was the Natural Selection to finish the match.

Following the bout, Flair looked very emotional and was giving heart hand symbols to the group. Ever for the reason that real-life Ashley Fliehr’s emotional Players Tribune article, in addition to Charlotte Flair’s team-up with Alexa Bliss, complete with a tag team championship reign, I feel as if Flair’s passed through a really effective character rehab. It’s definitely turned me around on her character. Nevertheless, knowing WWE in addition to I do during the last almost 30 years, that would thoroughly mean we’ll see a Flair heel turn at WarGames, but for now, this was a beautiful highlight of the night.

Written by Daisy Ruth

While I understand why it was WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill to interrupt Chelsea Green’s Women’s United States Championship celebration on tonight’s edition of “SmackDown,” I still don’t like it. Cargill did it because she’s been running into the now two-time women’s mid-card champion, who has been calling herself the “best women’s champion in history,” backstage and having words along with her over the previous few weeks. While I really like each of them, I do not think this storyline is doing either of them any favors. It looks like WWE made them each champions without providing any clear direction for who they’d face.

I’m confused as to why Giulia didn’t crash Green’s party, though I do not believe we have seen much of her since she lost the title to Green, who won by nefarious means, back on November 7. While I have been whining without end now that I need Giulia to maneuver on to larger and higher things, it seems slightly silly that she doesn’t seem like upset over losing her gold in storyline by any means. Perhaps that is WWE creative wanting us to forget she even had the belt, because it was quite the lackluster run.

While each Green and Cargill need their first opponents for his or her current reigns, it should not be one another. I do think that Green is destined to develop into the highest women’s champion in some unspecified time in the future, but she should not be feuding with Cargill in any respect, along with her own title to fret about. And, it really looks like WWE put the gold on Cargill with none direction for her in any respect. I’m truthfully really curious to see who Green’s first opponent goes to be, because it definitely doesn’t seem like Giulia.

Thankfully, in a fast backstage interview with Cathy Kelly, Cargill said that she was just making an example of Green to place the remaining of the ladies’s locker room on notice, so hopefully we’re moving on from it, since Michin and B-Fab were shown immediately after. Michin said someone needed to repair Cargill’s attitude, and it was going to should be her. While I actually have my thoughts on that potential match/feud, that is a rant for an additional day. For now, I’m just sad that Green’s celebration was interrupted by anyone, really, as she’s all the time some of the entertaining features of “SmackDown.”

Written by Daisy Ruth

It’s hardly ever that you just see a star be given a second probability in a tournament in WWE, nevertheless it’s actually a refreshing change of pace to see the corporate turn an unlucky situation with Sheamus’ injury into something helpful for The Miz.

Now I will be the primary to confess: The Miz was never going to win The Last Time Is Now Tournament in the primary place. Nevertheless, Miz’s backstage with Nick Aldis, wherein Aldis just so happened to attract Miz’s name, was a much-needed little bit of fun on this show. He also had an excellent showing with LA Knight of their quarterfinals match, and the finish with Miz being caught together with his feet on the ropes just for Knight to surprise him with a BFT brought things full circle by having Miz essentially cost himself the second probability that he was given once more. It was creative and unique to what WWE tends to do, and an interesting element on an episode of “SmackDown” that felt pretty random and thrown along with little relevance to Survivor Series: WarGames.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

The standard 5-on-5 Survivor Series match couldn’t make it to tomorrow night’s PLE with two WarGames matches on the cardboard, so it got the most important event slot on the go-home SmackDown. After seeing the match (which aired commercial-free, btw), it didn’t even should be on TV, which is insane if you take a look at the quantity of talent in Team Sami (I just wrote about my love for this team on this very column). Talla Tonga eliminated each members of Motor City Machine Guns consecutively. WWE appears to be really high on him, as not only did he eliminate one among the best tag teams in the trendy era, but he’s beaten Rey Fenix and Jey Uso. They protected him by having Talla eliminated via countout.

As soon because the match was announced, it was obvious the ultimate two can be Solo Sikoa and Zayn because it was their feud that brought in regards to the match. That is exactly the way it played out, and the match played out in a really WWE way. Zayn landed a Sunset Flip and an Exploder. Sikoa blocked a Helluva Kick and connected with a Superkick. Zayn blocked the Samoan Spike and rolled up Sikoa and nearly got the win. Alas, Sikoa would just barely kick out and hit a weak Samoan Spike for the win.

Following the match, Sikoa was surrounded by the Wyatt Six and took a Sister Abigail from Uncle Howdy. The match should’ve been the MFTs vs. The Wyatts since they have been stalking the MFTs for weeks. They’ve also been targeting the tag team division as well. This match didn’t do anything for anyone involved, except Talla. Sikoa might need bragging rights, but he got laid out almost immediately. Everyone within the Survivor Series match looked dumb by the top.

Written by Samantha Schipman

The most important event of this week’s “WWE SmackDown” was hardly riveting or particularly developing as Solo Sikoa and his MFT, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga took on the team of Sami Zayn, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Rey Fenix in a standard Survivor Series elimination match – one night before the actual Survivor Series event.

Talla tore through much of the opposition before Zayn ran the MFT gauntlet to eventually whittle things all the way down to just him and Sikoa; Zayn continued to survive every little thing Sikoa threw at him, until he didn’t, and Sikoa won the match after the ever-dangerous thumb to the throat. But then there was a glimmer of something higher, something slightly compelling, even when something very, very small: the lights went out, Uncle Howdy appeared behind Sikoa, the remaining of the Wyatt Sicks stood on the apron, and delivered Sister Abigail to the bootleg “Tribal Chief” to shut the show.

Running the seemingly everlasting feud between Sikoa and Zayn disguised as a five-on-five match is one thing, but on the very least, it was a way to an end – said end being the continuation of the faction war. It worked because Sikoa had been procedurally isolated within the match beforehand, even when that match in itself was slightly flat, to go away him alone within the ring and vulnerable to the Wyatts. Perhaps it will have been higher to simply proceed with the Wyatts-MFT feud with a match between the factions, however the ending not less than achieved what it got down to do, and that is to be appreciated.

Written by Max Everett

WWE teased me with a wonderfully good match between Tommaso Ciampa and WWE United States Champion Ilja Dragunov. It feels like it may very well be a killer title match. Some other week, I’d simply be excited for the indisputable fact that somewhere down the road, two former WWE NXT Champions are gonna tangle for the title of John Cena, Lex Luger, and Blackjack Mulligan, but this is not some other week. That is Survivor Series weekend, and there are currently 4– Did I say 4? Yes, count them, 4. Yet another time for emphasis: 4 matches on the Survivor Series card.

Are you actually going to inform me that WWE cannot fit yet another match onto the show that shall be happening in a baseball stadium? I’m not asking for an AEW-style marathon, but surely yet another match could fit on that show.

No, no, it apparently cannot. If they may fit more matches onto the cardboard, then surely the Traditional Survivor Series 5-on-5 match can be on the freaking Survivor Series PLE. It’s unconscionable to have such a skinny PLE, War Games Matches or not. Let Ciampa and Dragunov off the chains for quarter-hour. Set The Wyatts loose on the MFTS for a 20-minute elimination match. I can only watch so many ads for WWE podcasts and low-cost cellular data plans.

WWE is conditioning fans to expect the bare minimum, and it’s making me feel like Goldilocks. Surely, there is a wrestling promotion on the market that may split the difference between AEW’s 7-hour epics and WWE’s barebones supershows. 

Written by Ross Berman.