WWE Friday Night SmackDown Results
August 25, 2023
KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
Commentary: Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick
Results by: Roy Nemer of Wrestleview.com
WWE SmackDown kicks off with a graphic paying tribute to both Terry Funk and Windham Rotunda “Bray Wyatt”.
Live in the arena, WWE superstars, including Erick Rowan are on stage with Michael Cole welcoming everyone to the show. He states that this week, we lose two beloved members of the WWE family. Hall of Famer Terry Funk and the one and only Bray Wyatt.
Cole says that tonight, they will honor their legacy and lives. A 10 bell salute rings across the arena. The 10 bell salute is followed by a video package paying tribute to Bray Wyatt. Back in the arena, fans chant “thank you Bray” and sing “He’s got the whole world in his hands”. Bray’s rocking chair stands in front of the WWE superstars as the lights go out and light shines on the chair.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, a tribute video airs as we see pictures and tweets about the late great Terry Funk.
Rey Mysterio vs. Grayson Waller
The bell rings and we are under way. An arm drag take down by Rey to start the match. He grabs Grayson but Grayson gets him in a head lock and Rey throws Waller to the ropes but Waller knocks him down with a shoulder tackle. Waller with a head lock but Rey throws Waller to the ropes and Rey with a head scissor take down. Rey with right hands onto Waller in the corner and Rey trips him up on the second rope. He goes for the 619 but Waller moves out of the way and throws Rey onto the ring apron and knocks him to the outside. Waller slides to the outside of the ring but Rey throws him into the barricade.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, Waller climbs the second rope and walks the ropes, landing an elbow drop. He goes for the cover but Rey kicks out. Waller throws Rey to the ropes and knocks him down with a leg to the chest. He goes for the cover but once more Rey kicks out. Waller grabs Rey and goes for a power bomb but Rey hits back with right hands and he flips, throws Waller shoulder first into the turnbuckle.
Rey climbs the top rope and lands a sit down senton. Rey with a spring board cross body off the second rope. Rey to the ropes and a tornado DDT onto Waller. He goes for the cover but Waller kicks out. Rey runs towards Waller but Waller with a kick to the face and he slams Rey onto the mat. He goes for the cover but Rey kicks out. Waller to the ropes but Rey hits him with a clothesline followed by a splash. Rey trips Waller onto the second rope and Austin Theory’s song hits. He walks down and that distracts Rey as Waller rolls him up but Rey kicks out. Both men with double cross bodies.
Santos Escobar runs down and attacks Theory from behind but Theory throws him into the barricade and attacks his leg. Rey with a baseball slide onto Theory on the outside. Waller rolls to the outside and lands a clothesline on Rey. He throws Rey back into the ring and hits Escobar with a right hand. Waller jumps into the ring but Rey with a hurricanrana and gets Waller on the second rope. Rey lands the 619. Rey on the ring apron as Theory grabs his leg but Escobar superkicks him. Rey with a splash onto Waller. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
We cut to audio and hear Bray Wyatt’s voice asking if we want to hear something very scary as “fireflies” plays.
-Commercial Break-
Back on SmackDown, a video graphic displaying tweets from superstars paying tribute to Bray Wyatt air.
Kayla is backstage with Damage CTRL. Bayley cuts Kayla off as Kayla was asking about Zelina Vega. Bayley tells Kayla that she could be a good fit for the LWO as she hears they only hire short people.
Bayley tells Kayla that Zelina’s wins against IYO were flukes because IYO is a once in a life time, generational talent. She says IYO is a former NXT, former Women’s Tag Team Champion, Money in the Bank winner and current WWE Women’s Champion.
WWE Women’s Championship – IYO SKY (c) with Damage CTRL vs. Zelina Vega
A graphic showing shots of Bray Wyatt’s debut as The Fiend airs.
The bell rings and we are under way. Zelina with an arm bar but IYO gets out of it and gets her in a head lock. IYO goes for a hip toss but Zelina reverses it, slamming IYO onto the mat. Bayley distracts Zelina and IYO slams her onto the mat. IYO stomps on Zelina as she picks her up and slams her onto the mat. She goes for the cover but Zelina kicks out. A forearm to the face by IYO. She goes for a power slam but Zelina lands on her feet, rolls her up but IYO kicks out. Zelina climbs the second rope but IYO with a right hand and she slams her onto the mat. IYO goes for the cover but Zelina kicks out. IYO runs towards Zelina but Zelina moves out of the way and she lands a clothesline. Zelina with a hammerlock, leg sweep DDT.
Zelina climbs the second rope and lands the meteora. She goes for the cover but IYO kicks out. Zelina runs towards IYO but IYO moves out of the way and she lands a drop kick off the top rope. IYO grabs Zelina but Zelina with a DDT. Zelina goes to lift IYO up but IYO lifts Zelina up and lands a powerbomb. IYO climbs the top rope but Zelina trips her down and she lands Code Red as IYO rolls and falls to the outside. Zelina goes to the outside and grabs IYO but IYO throws her into the ring steps. IYO throws Zelina into the ring and she hits her with the double knees to the face. IYO climbs the top rope and lands the moon sault. She goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Still WWE Women’s Champion, IYO SKY
-Commercial Break-
Cody Rhodes makes his way down to the ring as the fans chant “Cody” and a loud pop. He tells the crowd that he knows what he wants to talk about. One time, at 11 years old, he is at the airport travelling with his father and he hears a man yelling the most peculiar insult. He heard a man calling his father an egg sucking dog.
Rhodes asks Michael if they can say that on Fox, well, they said it. And choice words for his grandmother. He says he couldn’t see the man yelling but he assumed there was going to be a domestic incident and then he saw him. It was the Terry Funk. The fans chant “Terry” as his graphic is shown on the titantron.
He says they get to say they are WWE superstars. Over the years, they have been called other things. Wrestlers, athletes, artists, competitors, some carneys but there is a fabled few who earned the right to call themselves cowboys. And both Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt were cowboys in the best of ways. He has the privilege to talk about Terry Funk. He wore the 10 pounds of gold, went to West Texas State. Terry Funk has been a constant in pro wrestling and sports entertainment for 50 years. And for 50 years, Funk has constantly been changing. There is a little thing called the rub. When someone with such a legacy, equity, steps in the ring with someone who doesn’t have it. Lifts them up and does it. He says Funk did that for an entire company, movement and revolution.
We take a look at Terry Funk’s Hall of Fame career.
Back in the ring, Cody says from Texas to Tokyo, Terry Funk was passionate. And he is glad he has been given the authority to say that the next tag team match is a Terry Funk Hardcore match and out come the Brawling Brutes.
-Commercial Break-
Terry Funk Hardcore match – Brawling Brutes vs. Street Profits
The bell rings and we are under way. All four men fight on the outside of the ring. Butch twists Ford’s ear as Dawkins throws Ridge into the ring steps. Butch throws Ford back into the ring and throws him to the ropes but Ford hits him with a shoulder tackle. Ford to the ropes but Butch with a drop kick. Dawkins gets on the ring apron and Butch hits him with a drop kick. Butch twists Ford’s leg as Dawkins gets in the ring and throws butch to the outside. In comes Ridge who throws Dawkins to the outside. Ridge with a DDT onto Ford as Dawkins gets in the ring and hits Butch from behind. They double team Ridge in the ring. Butch gets back in and hits Dawkins with chops to the chest. Ford with chops onto Butch and they double team him.
Street Profits double team Dawkins in the corner. Butch climbs the top rope and lands a moon sault onto Street Profits. Ridge lifts Butch on his shoulders and spins him, knocking down Street Profits. Dawkins on the outside as Ridge knocks him down. Ridge goes for a power bomb but Dawkins with a back body drop. Ford to the outside knocks Dawkins down. Ford with a splash onto the outside, knocking down the Brawling Brutes.
Bobby Lashley’s music hits and out he comes.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, the Brawling Brutes double team Ford in the ring. Butch goes for the cover but Ford kicks out. Butch to the outside but Dawkins with a shoulder tackle knocks him down. Dawkins in the ring and a spinning elbow onto Holland. Dawkins places Holland on his shoulders and Ford with a blockbuster. He goes for the cover but Butch breaks it up. Butch with kicks onto Dawkins as Ford kicks Butch in the face.
Ridge with a clothesline and all four men are down. Dawkins climbs the top rope but Ridge with a right hand. Ridge on the second rope and he lands a suplex. Ford with a frog splash onto Ridge. He goes for the cover but Butch breaks it up. Butch to the outside of the ring as he grabs a table from under the ring and it accidentally hits Lashley who is at ringside. The fans chant “Bobby” as Butch gets the table in the ring. Ford knocks Holland down and Butch who gets on the ring apron. Ford grabs Ridge but Ridge blocks it. He gets Ford on his shoulders and he hits Dawkins with a DDT as he slams Ford. Ridge places Dawkins on the table as Butch climbs the top rope but Lashley pushes him down and hits Butch with a spear. The Street Profits lands the Revelation as they slam Holland through the table. Ford goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winners: Street Profits
-Commercial Break-
We see a clip of The Miz doing an interview with TMZ Sports. He says if LA Knight continues like this, he won’t make it to WrestleMania.
Out comes LA Knight to the ring. He says he will get to The Miz in a second but from what he can tell, tonight is about Bray Wyatt. He says he walked out tonight and he saw everyone representing with the fireflies and it got him thinking. He says sometimes your greatest foes can turn out to be your greatest helpers.
He sells he and Wyatt went through hell, he did everything imaginable to him. And through that, he was getting him ready for anything. LA Knight says and he will be honest, he held himself together well tonight until he saw pictures of his family because his heart breaks for that. But as he looks around tonight, he can hear it and see it. He knows they can all feel the spirit of Bray Wyatt in the building.
Fans chant “Thank you Bray” as he says that he won’t come out and pretend like they were best friends but he will say thank you Bray. Just like they feel the spirit, it’s the same spirit that allows him to say let me talk to you. The Miz gets on the screen and talks to TMZ about how LA Knight is just a fad, how he is yesterday’s news. He tells Miz if he is a fad, he is okay with that because Miz never was. Even when he had a stunt double, he was the star. When he talks about his Championship reign from 12 years ago, he was background news for Rock and John Cena.
He tells Miz anytime, anywhere, SmackDown, Raw, TMZ, he will show him once and for all who’s game is it with everyone saying LA Knight, yeah. But one more thing, Miz, a wise man once told him “the next time you see me, run”.
-Commercial Break-
LA Knight vs. Finn Balor
The bell rings and we are under way. LA Knight with a shoulder tackle onto Finn and he rolls to the outside. LA Knight slams Finn’s face into the announce table several times and throws him back into the ring. LA Knight with a shoulder tackle. He goes for the cover but Finn kicks out. LA Knight climbs the second rope but Finn trips him up.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, LA Knight with a neck breaker. LA Knight hits Finn with a DDT. He goes for the cover but Finn kicks out. LA Knight grabs Finn by the legs but Finn kicks him away and he lands a Russian leg sweep. Finn with a slingblade as he goes for a drop kick but LA Knight hits him with a clothesline. He lifts Finn up but Finn lands on his feet and trips LA Knight up. Finn with a drop kick and he climbs the top rope. Finn goes for the Coup de Grace but LA Knight moves out of the way and he hits Finn with a powerslam. LA Knight runs to the ropes and lands an elbow drop. He goes for the cover but Finn kicks out. He goes for the BFT but Finn reverses it and slams LA Knight onto the mat. Finn climbs the top rope but LA Knight trips him up. LA Knight gets on the second rope but Finn knocks him down. LA Knight jumps onto the top rope and lands a superplex. LA Knight with the BFT as he goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: LA Knight
He celebrates on the ramp as the ring fills with smoke and the lights go out. Bray’s lantern is in the ring as we get a shot of Bray standing in the ring. The fans chant “Thank you Bray” as they hold up their cell phones and SmackDown goes off the air.