WWE Smackdown April 25th, 2025: Announced Matches, Predictions, How To Watch & More

At WWE WrestleMania 41, Cody Rhodes failed in spectacular fashion. John Cena dominated for most of the match before he finally pinned The American Nightmare thanks to a championship belt shot and a low blow.

Rhodes hasn't addressed this loss, and his first words will be heard on Smackdown today. Despite being booed at WrestleMania 41, I don't forsee any heel turn in the cards for Rhodes at this time. I expect Rhodes to fully take responsibility for being gun-shy and not putting down John Cena when he could have with his WWE Championship. If I had to bet, Drew McIntyre will likely lay out or confront the former champ which will lead to Rhodes's next feud. It seems like John Cena will be feuding with Randy Orton for his match at Backlash so don't expect an immediate rematch between Rhodes and Cena.

WWE Tag Team Championships: The Street Profits (c) vs. #DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns In A TLC Match

Prediction: The Street Profits Will Establish Their Reign In Dominant Fashion

On the final Smackdown before WrestleMania 41, The Street Profits' championship belts were stolen from them in the middle of a title defense by #DIY. This tag team title scene chaos has been ongoing for months and it seems it will finally blow off in a tag team TLC match.

The last TLC match to happen in WWE was all the way back in 2020 when Kevin Owens lost to Roman Reigns in a Universal Championship title defense. The last tag team variation of the match happened in 2019 when Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch lost to the Kabuki Warriors in a match which infamously saw Kairi Sane suffer a concussion but still finish the match.

As far as tonight goes, The Street Profits are easily the most over team in this match so expect them to walk away with the gold.

John Cena Will Appear On Smackdown

Prediction: Randy Orton Will Officially Challenge Him For WWE Backlash

Just when it seemed like John Cena was taking a victory lap on WWE Raw, his eternal rival Randy Orton stunned him with an RKO out of nowhere. Orton is technically a Smackdown superstar and John Cena is the champion of that show so it makes sense for them to square off again.

WWE doesn't have a lot of time to build for WWE Backlash which takes place in only two weeks. You can lock it in that Orton will challenge Cena for that championship at the event, which takes place in Randy Orton's hometown of St.Louis, Missouri.

What Else Is Happening On Smackdown?

• Mysterious segments counting down the weeks to this date have been airing on Smackdown lately. It is heavily rumored that former WWE and AEW star Aleister Black has resigned with WWE and is the returning star. Look for him to be in action and pick up a win tonight.
• With Jacob Fatu winning his first United States Championship at WrestleMania 41, look for some continued tension between himself and Solo Sikoa which has been shown in the months leading up to WrestleMania.
• Tiffany Stratton won her WrestleMania 41 encounter with Charlotte Flair. Given how controversial this feud has been, one has to wonder if Stratton and Flair will even have a rematch. Flair is rarely out of the title picture, but can WWE go on with this tense situation?
• Jade Cargill got her revenge on Naomi at WrestleMania 41, but it feels like this match is begging for some kind of stipulation match. Perhaps a rematch is in the cards for these two?
• Bianca Belair was absent from the mess of NXT and Raw female superstars on this week's episode of Raw. She definitely will have something to say about coming up short against Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky. Will she resist the fans' boos and stay babyface? Or will she lean heel?

How To Watch WWE Smackdown Today

• For American viewers, WWE Smackdown starts at 8 PM EST on the USA Network.
• For International viewers, WWE Smackdown airs live at 8 PM EST.

Every WWE show moved networks in the past year. NXT was a big success for the USA Network on Tuesday nights, but  they made the switch to the CW, which brought a new look to the developmental show.

In 2019, SmackDown made its own big move, going from cable to network TV on FOX. This led to a huge increase in ratings, thanks in part as well to The Bloodline story, but with FOX not getting the ad revenue they hoped for, they let the Friday night show go. On September 13 2024, it went back to the USA Network.