WWE SmackDown July 4th Recap

UPDATED: JULY 10, 2025 at 8:01 pm EST: The pre-taped episode averaged 1.166 million viewers on USA Network, down 19.6% from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total WWE SmackDown has done since moving back to USA Network last September. WWE SmackDown drew a 0.32 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 22% from last week and ties the November 15th episode for the lowest rating the show has done in that category on USA Network.

On July 4, 2025, WWE SmackDown aired an exciting episode from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the PPG Paints Arena. This show was special because it was taped earlier in the week after WWE Raw. So the wrestlers could enjoy the Independence Day holiday with their families. It was also the first time in a while that SmackDown was only two hours long instead of three hours, which, in my personal opinion, is so much better. The two hours are packed with action, or at least appear so.

The show kicked off with Cody Rhodes, the 2025 King of the Ring, coming to the ring with his shiny crown. He talked about how hard he fought to win it in Saudi Arabia at Night of Champions. Cody mentioned a kid named Cam in the crowd who’s battling cancer, and the fans cheered for him. Cody said the crown means he’s one of the best in WWE and that he’s ready to face John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam.

Then, Randy Orton, who Cody beat in the King of the Ring final, came out. Randy said he hesitated to use the punt kick on Cody during their match, but he respects Cody for winning. He made Cody promise to beat John Cena at SummerSlam. Suddenly, Drew McIntyre returned to WWE after being gone for a while. He tried to make Rhodes and Orton upset with each other by saying how each felt differently than what they said. However, Randy shut him up with a huge RKO. Later, it was announced that Orton will face McIntyre at Saturday Night’s Main Event (SNME).

The first match was a Triple Threat Tag Team Match to decide who would get a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at WWE Evolution 2 on July 13th. The teams were Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, The Secret Hervice, and Michin and B-Fab. Charlotte and Alexa were only teaming up because SmackDown’s GM, Nick Aldis, suggested it. The match was wild. Michin started strong with chops and kicks, knocking down Charlotte and Piper. Piper fought back with a big cannonball move outside the ring. Alba dove off the top rope onto everyone. After a commercial break, Charlotte hit a huge spear on Piper. She then tagged Alexa in by patting her on the head. You could see the tension in Bliss’ face. Charlotte did a moonsault, and Alexa finished the match with her Twisted Bliss on Alba and Piper to win. Charlotte and Bliss earned a spot in the Women’s Tag Team Title match at Evolution, but their teamwork might cause problems later.

Next up was an 8-Man Tag Team Match. The Wyatt Sicks (Uncle Howdy, Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, and Dexter Lumis) faced a team of Montez Ford, Johnny Gargano, Berto, and Chris Sabin. Nick Aldis made this match to settle some chaos in the tag team division. The Wyatt Sicks started the match off strong. Joe Gacy slammed Berto with a clothesline and a senton. Berto fought back with a springboard elbow, but the Wyatt Sicks were too much to overcome. In the end, Erick Rowan used his Iron Claw Slam to pin Chris Sabin. This gave Wyatt Sicks the win. This victory means they’re closer to challenging for the WWE Tag Team Titles. With the way WWE does things, we will see the Street Profits vs Wyatt Sicks next week.

WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton came to the ring to talk about her big title defense against Jade Cargill at SummerSlam. Jade, the 2025 Queen of the Ring, interrupted and said she’s ready to beat Tiffany. However, Tiffany had a surprise. She wants to defend her title at WWE Evolution 2 against WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. Trish came out, and the crowd went wild. She said women’s wrestling has come a long way, and she’s excited to face Tiffany at Evolution. This promo set up a huge match and showed that Tiffany is confident. The problem for me is that Jade might cause trouble before SummerSlam. Then that will bring Naomi into the mix. Then WWE Creative has a tendency to start getting wild with their booking.

In a fast-paced tag team match, Andrade and Rey Fenix took on Fraxiom. Both teams showed off amazing moves. Rey Fenix did a crazy dive outside the ring to take out Axiom. This let Andrade hit his finishing move, The Message, on Nathan Frazer to win the match. This was Fraxiom’s first loss on SmackDown. This win makes Andrade and Rey Fenix look like strong contenders for the tag team titles in the future.

The main event was this heated tag team match (rolling my eyes) between Jacob Fatu with Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa with JC Mateo. Solo recently won the United States Championship from Jacob at Night of Champions with help from his new allies, Tala Tonga and Tonga Loa. So it was all about revenge. Jacob and Jimmy worked well together. Jacob pinned Solo with his moonsault. But after the match, Jacob tried to put Solo through the announce table, but Tala Tonga and Tonga Loa attacked Jacob and Jimmy. They ended up slamming Jacob through the table. This attack means the fight between Jacob and Solo’s group is far from over, and it could lead to more matches soon. Are we really going to have to deal with this over and over until November’s Survivor Series?

Damian Priest tried to calm Aleister Black down after R-Truth was acting weird. Things got tense quickly between them. A match was made between R-Truth and Aleister for next week’s SmackDown. This could be interesting, especially when Damian gets involved. I would like to see a new match between Priest and Black.

The Wyatt Sicks will face the Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) for the WWE Tag Team Titles next week. This was set up because of Wyatt Sicks’ big win tonight.

The matches and promos tonight set up big things for WWE Evolution 2 on July 13th and Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12th. Charlotte and Alexa’s win, Tiffany’s challenge to Trish, and Drew vs. Randy all make these shows big WWE events.

This episode of SmackDown was full of action. It tried to set up some huge upcoming matches, but I think it failed in getting most fans excited. I was excited that it only lasted two hours. Three hours is a slugfest trying to get through. The crowd of over 13,000 fans at PPG Paints Arena loved it. This had to be hard on them watching both WWE Raw and SmackDown on the same night.

WWE is trying to heat up the fights between Solo’s group and Jacob’s team. However, I think they are failing badly. No one knows who Tala Tonga is, and no one cares about Tonga Loa. Cody’s journey to SummerSlam is getting intense with Orton and McIntyre involved. Plus, the women’s division is on fire with Tiffany, Jade, Trish, and Charlotte and Alexa’s uneasy partnership leading to drama. This episode was a big step toward WWE Evolution 2 and SummerSlam.

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