The Road to SummerSlam continues on tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown in Oakland, California.
Fresh off an intense event at Saturday Night’s Main Event, things are expected to get more heated with less than two weeks before the Biggest Party of the Summer. Nick Aldis cost Gunther and Sami Zayn a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship, while Cody Rhodes and CM Punk went from being friends to enemies real quickly.
Here are the announced matches and segments for SmackDown, as per Sports Illustrated:
- CM Punk and Cody Rhodes to have a segment to discuss what happened after Saturday Night’s Main Event and at the WWE SummerSlam Kick-Off show.
- Gunther to address Nick Adlis’ actions at Saturday Night’s Main Event
- Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax in a 5-Way Ladder Qualifying Match
- Chelsea Green vs. Kiana James in a 5-Way Ladder Qualifying Match
Tonight’s SmackDown is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. EST. It will be televised on the USA Network in the United States and on Netflix internationally.
WWE SmackDown Preview – July 24, 2026
CM Punk and Cody Rhodes were celebrating their win at Saturday Night’s Main Event after the show. Punk accidentally hit Rhodes in the eye, which set off alarm bells inside the head of The American Nightmare.
Things escalated at the SummerSlam Kick-Off event, wherein the two superstars traded barbs before becoming physical. Luckily, WWE officials were quick to separate Punk and Rhodes before any further incident happened.
Gunther is also set to confront SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis, who got involved in the main event of SNME. It’s an unprofessional move by Aldis, though it was coming after The Ring General’s repeated attacks on the GM without repercussions.
The real loser in that main event was Sami Zayn, who didn’t get a well-deserved rematch for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Zayn lost the title after nine days to Punk, who was a last-minute replacement to Rhodes two weeks ago on WWE Raw.
Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, Chelsea Green and Kiana James have an opportunity to qualify for the 5-Way Ladder Match for the Interim WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill have already booked their place in the match, which means one more spot will be available at the end of tonight’s show.
WWE SmackDown Results Last Week
Here are the full results from last week’s episode of SmackDown:
- Finn Balor def. Talla Tonga
- Tiffany Stratton def. Jacy Jayne to qualify for the 5-Way Ladder Match to determine the Interim WWE Women’s Champion at SummerSlam
- Jade Cargill def. Nia Jax via disqualification to qualify for the 5-Way Ladder Match to determine the Interim WWE Women’s Champion at SummerSlam
- The War Raiders def. Fraxiom
- Cody Rhodes def. Gunther via disqualification.
At Saturday Night’s Main Event, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid of Fatal Influence defeated Brie Bella and Paige to become the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
In the main event match, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk beat Gunther and Sami Zayn with help from Nick Aldis. If Gunther and Zayn won, they would have been added to the Undisputed WWE Championship match between Punk and Rhodes.
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