Thefinal episode ofWWE SmackDownbeforeWrestleMania 41has arrived.WWEwill kick offWrestleMania weekendat the T-Mobile Arena on Friday night, featuring a WWE Tag Team Championship match between The Street Profits and The Motor City Machine Guns as well as the annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. John Cena and Cody Rhodes have also been confirmed to appear on the Blue Brand in their final face-to-face confrontation before their Undisputed WWE Championship match on Sunday.
This will mark the first time Cena has appeared in front of a live United States crowd since turning heel and aligning himself with The Rock at theElimination Chamberevent back in February. The 16-time world champion would go on to explain his actions in a series of promos onWWE Rawduring the company’s recent European tour. He described his time in WWE as being the victim of a “toxic relationship” with WWE fans, and that he planned to “ruin wrestling” for them by winning Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Championship, breaking Ric Flair’s record for most recognized world title reigns, and retiring with the title to damage its lineage.
Here are your key moments from tonight’sFriday Night SmackDownfor July 29, 2025:
Here are your results from tonight’sFriday Night SmackDownfor July 05, 2025:
Cody Rhodes Stands Tall Again
Rhodes and Cena’s final face-to-face confrontation may have been the briefest of the bunch, but it still managed to keep the hype for theWrestleMania 41main event rolling. Cena drove home just how far he’s turned to the dark side by emphasizing how not caring about the WWE fans fuels him, while Rhodes put on a master class of getting a divided crowd back on his side with a flurry of cutting insults. Cena also finally addressing the events ofElimination Chamberand bringing up The Rock was a nice touch, even if Dwayne Johnson’s absencestill feels like the biggest missed opportunity of the entire WrestleMania season.
But the decision to have Rhodes once again knock Cena out could be a massive red flag for his chances on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. Typically, WWE will have a wrestler that is booked to lose a major match on a premium live event stand tall over their opponent at least once in the weeks of build-up on television. But Rhodes has gotten the better of Cena twice. So now, if Rhodes wins, it’ll feel like his championship reign was never in real jeopardy - not to mention it’ll make Cena look incredibly weak for the final eight months of his farewell tour. If history is any indication,all signs now point to Cena winning his 17th world championshipby the end of the weekend.
Rey Mysterio Injured
This Could Put His WrestleMania Match In Jeopardy
Mysterio seemed to suffer some sort of injuryduring Friday night’s six-man tag match. There’s no official word on his status, but videos from the arena showed he had to be carried to the back by WWE’s medical trainers after struggling to walk.
The former WWE Champion is scheduled to face El Grande Americano on Saturday. If he’s unable to compete, WWE will likely have to find a replacement (Fenix or Lee could fit right in) or scrap the match completely.
“Melo Don’t Miss”
Carmelo Hayes Finally Picked Up A Big Win
When Carmelo Hayes was drafted to theWWE SmackDownbrand a year ago, it felt like one of the company’s next big stars had arrived. Hayes racked up accolades during his time in NXT, including a six-month reign as NXT Champion and an outstanding rivalry with Trick Williams. But outside of a “Best of Seven” series with Andrade, it felt like there was nothing for him to do on the Blue Brand beyond take the occasional loss to bigger names like Rhodes or Randy Orton.
But now he finally has a big accomplishment to his name by winning the annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Between that and his budding tag team storyline with The Miz, it looks like WWE is finally ready to start giving him a push.
