Skip to main content
Wrestling On FanNation

WWE SmackDown Results & Booking Grades (9/18/26): Sami Zayn Defends the WWE Championship

Tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown saw Sami Zayn in the main event defending his newly won WWE Championship against one of his greatest rivals.
Matt Black|
Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn | WWE

Friday night's episode of WWE SmackDown took place at the Hilliard Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Last week's episode featured a shocking moment that saw Sami Zayn defeat CM Punk to become WWE Champion for the second time. Kevin Owens was involved in the finish when he accidentally hit Punk with the title, allowing Zayn to capitalize and hit the Helluva Kick to capture the championship again.

The September 18 edition of the Blue Brand featured Sami Zayn's first title defense in his second reign as WWE Champion against Kevin Owens. We also saw two more Money in the Bank qualifying matches, in which Trick Williams and Jacy Jayne qualified for their respective ladder matches next month in New Orleans.

You can check out the complete results from tonight's episode below.

WWE SmackDown results:

This week's episode kicked off with General Manager Nick Aldis bringing out the new WWE Champion, Sami Zayn. The WWE Universe didn't give him a hero's welcome. Zayn said his win was all about justice, not only for him but for everyone. Sami believes justice has finally been served.

Zayn continued to talk about justice until Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae interrupted. Gargano said he wouldn't miss Zayn's celebration for the world, but he's out there because he promised him that he would be first in line for a title shot and he's out here to collect. Zayn tried to backtrack, but Gargano wants his title shot tonight.

Aldis interrupted and told Gargano that Zayn doesn't make title matches; he does. Aldis believes that CM Punk is entitled to his rematch. This brought out Kevin Owens, who said he should be next in line for a title shot. LeRae tries to talk down to KO and Gargano eats a Stunner for it. Aldis told KO he doesn't reward bad behavior, but Owens runs down the last several weeks of WWE programming that prove Zayn was rewarded for bad behavior.

Nick agreed with Owens and Zayn immediately tried to bully the GM by putting his hands on him. Aldis said Zayn just made his decision very easy and announced that Zayn will defend the WWE Championship tonight against Kevin Owens.

Booking Grade: 9/10

  • Even though he doesn't want to in character, Sami Zayn is a fighting champion
  • Kevin Owens calling out all of the booking over the last several weeks of Zayn ruining title opportunities was fantastic
  • Johnny Gargano doesn't need another title shot right now, get him some wins, please!

Why are current title holders qualifying for Money in the Bank?

Tonight's opening contest was a triple threat match between Randy Orton, Trick Williams, and Rey Fenix to determine the next participant in next month's Men's Money in the Bank ladder match. The finish of the match saw Orton hit Fenix with an RKO, but Williams hit Orton with a Trick Shot and scored the pinfall victory over Fenix.

Booking Grade: 6/10

  • Current title holders shouldn't be competing in the Money in the Bank ladder match
  • If they wanted Trick Williams in this match, they could have left the US Title on Baron Corbin
  • The match itself was entertaining, which is why the booking grade isn't lower than it is

Backstage, Gargano was shown icing his face while talking with his wife, LeRae. Zayn comes in distraught about the possibility of losing his title tonight and tries to manipulate Gargano into helping him retain it by telling him that if he loses tonight, Aldis will never give Gargano another shot at the WWE Championship.

Elsewhere backstage, Charlotte Flair is talking up Alexa Bliss in the locker room. Tatum Paxley tried to offer Bliss a candle, but Flair blew it out. Bliss said she needs to focus tonight because she has to win on her own. Paxley tried to explain to Flair what her candles meant, but Flair blew out one meant to keep away bad luck. Flair panicked and tried to relight it.

The MFTs aren't fighting champions

Unlike Sami Zayn, the MFTs didn't have to defend their titles tonight as they took on BAKUSAI in tag team action. The match ended when Haku got involved at ringside and attacked Shinsuke Nakamura with his walking stick, giving BAKUSAI the disqualification win. Tama and Talla laid out Kyoki in the ring, with Nakamura laid out outside the ring.

Booking Grade: 7/10

  • If that was going to be the finish, why weren't the titles on the line?
  • A DQ win pretty much just gives BAKUSAI a title shot anyway
  • The match itself was good until the finish

Backstage, Kevin Owens spoke with Cathy Kelley about how they are in the same city where he had his first official match on the WWE main roster, defeating John Cena. Finn Balor interrupts passive-aggressively about KO getting the title shot tonight over him and makes it clear he's coming for the championship regardless of who holds it after tonight.

Elsewhere backstage, Chelsea Green and Tiffany Stratton speak with Nick Aldis. Danhausen interrupted by using Nick's phone, and they argued about it. Stratton told Green she has a Money in the Bank qualifying match, but Green is very happy about it. They run into Nikki Bella, who runs down Green and tells her she's coming after Green's title.

Can Cody Rhodes pull the trigger?

Michael Cole had a sit-down interview with Cody Rhodes backstage. Cole talks about Rhodes being unable to pull the trigger on Randy Orton at Sunday Night's Main Event. Rhodes tried to downplay the situation.

Cole asked what Rhodes will do the next time he's in the ring with Orton. Rhodes ran down his list of accomplishments since joining WWE, but he got back to the question and said that when he's in the ring with Orton again, he won't make the same mistake twice.

Back in the ring, Jade Cargill took on Jacy Jayne and Alexa Bliss in a triple threat match to determine the next participant in the Women's Money in the Bank ladder match. The finish saw Cargill hit Bliss with Jaded, only for Jayne to push her out of the ring and take the pinfall for herself.

Booking Grade: 5/10

  • Two titleholders qualify for a Money in the Bank match on the same night...? Seriously?
  • Cargill or Bliss would have been much better choices since they currently don't hold titles
  • The finish was almost identical to what we saw earlier in the show

Giulia doesn't like Nia Jax and the feeling is mutual

Backstage, Cathy Kelley spoke with Giulia about her qualifying match next week on SmackDown. Nia Jax and Lash Legend interrupted them. The latter will also be in the qualifying match next week. Giulia made it clear she doesn't like Nia Jax, and Jax clearly isn't a fan of Giulia either. Charlotte Flair is the third woman in that matchup.

Elsewhere backstage, Sami Zayn ran into Trick Williams, who got in Zayn's head about possibly losing his title tonight to Kevin Owens. Williams talked about winning Money in the Bank and said he hopes Zayn is champ when he does. Zayn gets frustrated and throws things.

We get a video package for Damian Priest recapping his heel turn on R-Truth last week, and we believe he is justified because Truth kept handing out title matches, and Priest had to win them all for both of them.

Can Sami Zayn have a successful WWE Title defense?

In the main event of the evening, Kevin Owens took on Sami Zayn for the WWE Championship. The finish of the match saw interference from Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, and CM Punk, who ultimately hit Owens with the WWE Championship. Zayn pinned KO, but a miscue of some sort resulted in a two-count. Zayn would hit the Helluva Kick to retain the title.

Booking Grade: 8/10

  • Awesome in-ring main event until the overbooked finish
  • Did Kevin Owens kick out by accident?
  • Why are the fans cheering for CM Punk when he helped Zayn retain?

After the match, CM Punk attacked everyone and then celebrated on the stage as WWE SmackDown went off the air.

WWE SmackDown quick results:

WWE SmackDown Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn | WWE
  • Trick Williams defeated Randy Orton and Rey Fenix to qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder match
  • BAKUSAI defeated the MFTs via disqualification in a non-title match
  • Jacy Jayne defeated Jade Cargill and Alexa Bliss to qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder match
  • Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens to retain the WWE Championship
Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Matt Black
MATT BLACK

Matt Black got involved in the wrestling media industry over two decades ago, covering WWE video games released by Acclaim, THQ, and 2K. He has been covering professional wrestling for multiple digital outlets since 2019. He is the former Senior Editor of WrestleZone and has extensive knowledge of the entire wrestling industry. In his spare time, Matt enjoys cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Lakers. He's also a diehard comic book movie fan and doesn't pick sides when it comes to the endless debates of Marvel versus DC.

Share on XFollow RAWFShowtime
Home/WWE