“SmackDown” gave us a traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match in the main event on Friday, the day before Survivor Series (Saturday on ESPN Unlimited, 7 p.m. ET), with two WarGames matches but no traditional Survivor Series tag team match, and I’m grateful for that (more below).
We also saw LA Knight’s surprise opponent, Sheamus forced to withdraw from “The Last Time Is Now” tournament due to a shoulder injury, and another tournament matchup.
And to top it all off, Charlotte Flair and Asuka met to decide who would get the advantage for their WarGames match on Saturday.
friday smackdown results
• Jay Uso def. Rusev in “The Last Time Is Now” Tournament
• LA Knight def. The Miz in “The Last Time Is Now” Tournament
• Charlotte Flair def. asuka
• MFT defeated. Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rey Fenix and The Motor City Machine Guns in a 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Why does Sequoia winning matter?
Everyone is down! pic.twitter.com/VEbn2LzCHU
– WWE (@WWE) 29 November 2025
It made sense for Solo Sequoia to not only win the traditional Survivor Series elimination match but pin Sami Zayn to become the sole survivor. Sequoia is still in “The Last Time Is Now” tournament, so it made sense for him to get a big win before Monday’s match on “Raw” and continue his quest to become Cena’s last opponent on December 13. Sequoia also took some revenge on Zayn, putting their rivalry on hold for the time being. The Wyatt Six interfered after the match, causing fear in Sequoia, as Wyatt/MFT were always on a collision course. Will Wyatt lose his match in the tournament to Solo on “Raw”?
Other takeaways/storylines
• Charlotte Flair pinned Asuka, giving Flair’s team the numbers advantage in the WarGames match on Saturday. It would start out one-on-one, but after five minutes a member of Flair’s team would be allowed to join in. The numbers would always favor Flair’s team as members of alternate teams would join the match in five-minute intervals until all five members of both teams were in the cage and “The Match Beyond” began. I still think Becky Lynch and AJ Lee will be the centerpiece of this match, with Lynch pinning Lee to eventually set up their singles match (or a series, with one at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas?).
come on, @mikethemiz,
We saw that…😡 pic.twitter.com/01G9Z3FgyT
– WWE (@WWE) 29 November 2025
• The Miz entering “The Last Time Is Now” tournament instead of Sheamus may have disappointed some WWE fans who were expecting a big surprise, but it was understandable. The Miz defeated John Cena at WrestleMania 27 in 2011, and they have a lot of history together. The Miz would like to end Cena’s career with a defeat, but this is a moot point as The Miz lost the match against LA Knight. Gunther is still my favorite to win the tournament. I still wonder if we need to go one step further before setting up Cena’s final opponent.
“It’s an honor to serve as the greatest Women’s Champion of all time…”@Jade_Cargill Told you what would happen if you said that again, @ImChelseaGreen pic.twitter.com/wJIANu8cTs
– WWE (@WWE) 29 November 2025
• Chelsea Green did a lot with very little during her scheduled North American festival segment. As Green began the countdown to the “Firework Display”, Jade Cargill stormed the ring and attacked Green. As Green was recovering, the pyro exploded as Cargill stood near the entrance. Green is one of the best at reactions in WWE. It was a funny moment, also very logical, that adds to Green’s excellent performance.
• Bringing the Survivor Series match to “SmackDown” was a great idea. Survivor Series is the loosest concept of a top-tier premium live event, and WarGames has been a welcome addition to the event. Survivor Series sometimes lacks stakes and specificity – we see a lot of multiplayer tags and elimination matches throughout the year, so even with the Survivor Series label, it doesn’t feel special.
In contrast, WarGames (much like Elimination Chamber and Royal Rumble) occur once a year, so it maintains an aura of rarity and excitement. WarGames does not share the same high level of stakes as the Rumble (the winner gets a title shot at WrestleMania) and Elimination Chamber (often the same stipulation for another title, or even a title, is on the line), but the possibility is always there in future years. However, this year I have become so invested that I want to watch Saturday WarGames matches.
