WWE Friday Night SmackDown Results and Recap: Drew McIntyre Sends A Warning To Cody Rhodes (September 19, 2025)

• Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair def. Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre via pinfall to retain the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships
• Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed def. Fraxiom via pinfall
• Sami Zayn def. Carmelo Hayes via pinfall to retain the United States Championship

Here Are Your Key Moments From Friday Night SmackDown For September 19, 2025

• The show opens with Michael Cole walking backstage to start a sit-down interview with Brock Lesnar, but Lesnar's music hits, and he comes to the ring. Lesnar grabs Cole and tosses him to the ring, prompting Corey Graves to get out of his chair and into the ring. Graves tries to reason with Lesnar, and Lesnar delivers a F5 to Graves in the ring. Lesnar grabs the in-ring camera and tells John Cena he's coming for blood. Referees attempt to check on Graves, and Lesnar gets back in the ring and delivers another F5 to Graves.
• Lesnar was seen backstage face to face with Paul Heyman and the two stared each other down. Lesnar tels Heyman they should talk. Nick Aldis appears and tells Heyman they don't see any more problems. Heyman tells Aldis that he, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed are just there to enjoy the show.
• The Street Profits are seen backstage with B-Fab trying to broker the peace, and tells them to get back to what's best for them. Michin interrupts and tells her she needs to talk to Nick Aldis. Montez Ford tells Angelo Dawkins that they'll always be good, and he's going to talk to Nick Aldis about their titles. Bo Dallas shows up and tells Dawkins that he'll listen when Ford won't. Ford attacks Dallas, and Dallas tells him he's trying to guide lost souls. Erick Rowan clubs both Street Profits and leaves them laid out.
• Paul Heyman and The Vision interrupt Fraxiom's match. Heyman says Fraxiom reminds them of the Usos and Heyman threatens the Usos. Fraxiom attacks Breakker and Reed and clears them from the ring. Aldis sets a match between the teams.
• Nia Jax comes to the ring to cut a promo on Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill. Jax says she's the Alpha of the Women's Division, not Stratton or Cargill. Stratton interrupts the segment and says everyone is tired of listening to her obsess over her. Cargill appears from the back to try and attack Jax, prompting Aldis to say the Women's Championship is now happening on next week's SmackDown.
• The final segment of the night features Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes and their contract signing for their match at Wrestlepalooza. Rhodes tells McIntyre that 15 years ago today, they won the Tag Team Championships together, and no one backstage cared. Rhodes shouts McIntyre for his accomplishments but calls him a keyboard warrior. McIntyre thanks him and tells him that he's finally giving him the match he wants without interference. McIntyre calls him the true corporate champion. McIntyre warns Rhodes that the fans will turn on him and he'll eventually be sitting in his position. Rhodes tells him that if he's wrong, his legacy will that his legacy will be that he lost to Rhodes at the first PLE on ESPN. They sign the contract, and McIntyre headbutts Rhodes and the two fight outside the ring. McIntyre gets ready to Claymore Kick him in the head, but he stops short, and says he's not going to take it away from himself.

Corey Graves Takes A Bump For The First Time In Years

Although starting with a promising career in WWE, Corey Graves retired from in-ring competition in 2011 after receiving a series of concussions that sidelined him from action. He's been one of the voices of WWE since that point, but tonight, he took two vicious F5s from Brock Lesnar in the ring after coming to the rescue of Michael Cole.

Graves has been cleared to return to the ring for a number of years, and outside a small tease from Edge during his expansion of The Judgment Day, he has not made an active return at this point. It's unlikely he's looking to make a return to the ring, but just seeing Graves take two monster bumps in the ring is a good sign that our favorite Yinzer commetator can still hang, and safely.

Is It Time For Another Drew McIntyre WWE Championship Run?

Drew McIntyre is still one of the biggest names in WWE, and is a former two-time WWE Champion. Although he's held it twice, his reign was during a truly unique time with no fans during the Pandemic and Thunderdome Era. McIntyre could add a significant heel factor to Rhodes' white meat babyface persona, and it might be time to give him a proper run in front of the fans.

After multiple back-to-back solid programs with Seth Rollins and CM Punk, the latter of which featured a Hell in a Cell match that sits in the top three best of all time, McIntyre has made himself one of the most compelling heels on TV. If WWE decides to move forward with McIntyre as their champion, expect an incredible run for him and a proper opportunity to show his worth as the face of the company.