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WWE SmackDown Results [12/5/25]: Gunther Wins Last Time Is Now Tournament

Gunther defeated LA Knight Friday night on WWE SmackDown and will now face John Cena in his retirement match at Saturday Night's Main Event. Here are all the results and highlights from the show in Austin, Texas.
Rick Ucchino|
Gunther
Gunther | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Gunther is simply inevitable.

It seemed like a foregone conclusion that The Ring General was going to emerge victorious from The 'Last Time is Now' Tournament from the moment he was announced as a competitor, and the former World Heavyweight Champion proved that to be the case Friday night on SmackDown.

LA Knight took Gunther to the absolute limits in an effort to hand him the first non-title singles loss of his WWE career, but an apparent neck injury cost The Megastar the opportunity at the match of a lifetime.

After Gunther dropped Knight on the back of his head with a German suplex, the cerebral Austrian focused a furious attack on his neck and eventually forced him to tap out with a grovit submission hold. He then looked into the camera and promised to do the same thing to John Cena at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13.

Speaking of which, the first two exhibition matches for that show have now been announced. WWE Champion Cody Rhodes still wants a piece of Drew McIntyre and Tommaso Ciampa is finally going to get his shot at the Men's United States Championship.

Here's everything you may have missed from Friday night's show in Austin, Texas.

WWE SmackDown Match & Segment Results:

Drew McIntyre was shown arriving at the arena in a white pick-up truck, but he was immediately met in the back by General Manager Nick Aldis and a number of security guards. Aldis informed the Scottish Warrior that he was still suspended and needed to leave the building. He reluctantly sat back into the driver seat, but Cody Rhodes had snuck into the truck from the passenger door and started whaling on McIntyre.

It took several security guards to yank Rhodes out of the truck, but once they did, Drew slammed on the gas and promptly drove away from the arena.

A nuclear hot Cody Rhodes then made his way down to the ring and demanded that Nick Aldis reinstate McIntyre to the active roster. He said that Drew broke an unwritten rule when he broke into his bus, his home away from home, and attacked him prior to Survivor Series. Rhodes called McIntyre WWE's resident cockroach and said that he needed to be stomped out.

Damian Priest found an ally in his fight against Aleister Black and Zelina Vega, and you guessed it, it's Rhea Ripley. The Terror Twins will reunite next Friday night on SmackDown to take on the Black and Vega in a mixed tag team match.

Ilja Dragunov defeated Carmelo Hayes to retain the Men's United States Championship. The Mad Dragon was in the midst of another absolute banger with Hayes, but the match was spoiled by Tommaso Ciampa. Furious that another Superstar jumped him in line for a shot at the U.S. Title, Ciampa emerged to shove Hayes off the top rope as he was going for Nothing But Net. Neither the referee nor Ilja saw what happened, but Dragunov did capitalize with a Torpedo Moscow and an H-Bomb to pick up the victory.

Dragunov saw the replay of Ciampa's interference as he was walking back up the ramp and he was visibly upset that his win was tainted. He called Ciampa a jackass as he stormed off to the back.

LA Knight spoke to Cathy Kelley backstage and said that Gunther may be a former World Heavyweight Champion, but he's an unstoppable force that The Ring General has never seen before. The Megastar promised to drop Gunther on his head like all the rest and move on to face John Cena at Saturday Night's Main Event.

Alexa Bliss w/ Charlotte Flair defeated Kairi Sane w/ Asuka. The Pirate Princess actually controlled much of this match-up, thanks to some timely interference from Asuka, but Kairi hesitated for just a moment as she went for the Insane Elbow and it cost her. Alexa caught her mid-air and drilled her with Sister Abigail to pick up the win. Nia Jax and Lash Legend hit the ring after the match was over and laid out both teams, before posing with the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles.

General Manager Nick Aldis invited NXT Champion Ricky Saints and Oba Femi to the show ahead of their title match Saturday night at Deadline. They were informed that the winner of that match will face WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in an exhibition match at Saturday Night's Main Event.

WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill defeated Alba Fyre w/ Women's U.S. Champion Chelsea Green. This match never really had the opportunity to get out of first gear. Chelsea attempted to help Alba from the outside, but she was quickly attacked from behind by former Women's United States Champion Giulia. The assault distracted Alba, which allowed Cargill to hit a spinebuster and a big pump kick. She then finished her off with Jaded.

Fraxiom were shown chatting with Nick Aldis backstage. They wanted a match with #DIY, but Ilja Dragunov interrupted their conversation. He said if Tommaso Ciampa wanted a shot at the United States Championship, then he could have it next week. The Mad Dragon then said that Fraxiom could have what ever was left, after he was done with him.

Solo Sikoa and his MFT's addressed the attack last week by the Wyatt Sicks. He said now that Sami Zayn has been taken out, he can focus on moving forward. Solo claimed the Wyatts have something that belong to him, the WWE Tag Team Championships. Sikoa promised that he was going to take everything from Uncle Howdy and prove that he is undeserving of the name Wyatt. All he has to do is Bo-Lieve.

The Wyatt Sicks would the surround the ring and an all out brawl broke out between both families. The Wyatts eventually stood tall after Erick Rowan sent Talla Tonga flying to the outside with a big boot.

The Miz was shown backstage in Nick Aldis' office. He was complaining about not being booked on Saturday Night's Main Event, when Bayley walked in and was informed that she is booked for next weekend's show. She'll be facing NXT star Sol Ruca in an exhibition match.

Michin confronted Jade Cargill backstage with a kendo stick as the WWE Women's Champion was trying to tough talk B-Fab for the second week in a row. It appears a match is coming between these two women at some point in the near future.

Cathy Kelley spoke to Gunther backstage who said that the results of The Last Time is Now Tournament have always been a foregone conclusion. He hopes John Cena watches when he beats LA Knight, and more importantly, watches how he beats LA Knight.

Gunther defeated LA Knight to win The Last Time is Now Tournament. The Ring General outlasted The Megastar in an exhilarating main event. Knight pulled out all the stops to win this one and nearly did after connecting with a BFT, but Gunther got his foot on the bottom rope just in time to stop the count. Knight appeared to injure his neck after taking a German suplex, and that's where Gunther began to channel all of his offense. He rained down a series of elbows to LA's neck and shoulder area before locking in a grovit submission hold. Knight held on as long as he could, but ultimately tapped out to give the win to The Ring General.

Gunther will now face John Cena in his final match at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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