**SmackDown Recap: Greenville, South Carolina Edition**
*Highlights:*
– Jade Cargill returns to heel persona
– Chelsea Green regains Women’s US Championship
– Nick Aldis reveals participants for John Cena Farewell Tournament
– Drew McIntyre suspended after interfering in Cody Rhodes vs. Aleister Black main event
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The latest episode of SmackDown from Greenville, South Carolina, was better between the lines than at the bookends. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what went down.
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### Ilja Dragunov Defeats Johnny Gargano to Retain the United States Championship
Ilja Dragunov continues to shine in his role defending the United States Championship through open challenges. He showcased his outstanding in-ring ability in a solid match against Johnny Gargano. Initially, Tommaso Ciampa answered the open challenge, but Dragunov dismissed him and chose Gargano instead. The storyline with Ciampa and Dragunov doesn’t seem poised to develop into a major feud, so we’ll keep an eye on where this goes next.
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### Cody Rhodes’ Opening Segment Falls Flat
Cody Rhodes opened the show by declaring he was done with Drew McIntyre — though, naturally, that turned out to be untrue. Just as Rhodes said he would watch the show from the crowd, Aleister Black and Zelina showed up unexpectedly, making the segment feel somewhat awkward and out of place. It’s clear WWE is still struggling to find meaningful direction for Rhodes.
This confrontation led to a main event match between Cody Rhodes and Aleister Black, which ended in a no contest after Drew McIntyre interfered and Claymored the referee. Damian Priest then entered to attack Black, sparking a four-man brawl that closed the show. Following the chaos, Nick Aldis announced that McIntyre was suspended.
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### Jade Cargill Has Arrived
WWE appears ready to push Jade Cargill similarly to how she was utilized in AEW. After decisively defeating Tiffany Stratton to become the new WWE Women’s Champion, Cargill kept her mic work brief but impactful, reintroducing her signature “I’m still that b****” line before exiting the ring.
She is far more comfortable portraying a heel and a bully, a vibe she carried into backstage segments by dwarfing Chelsea Green and challenging B-Fab — setting up what figures to be a brutal encounter on next week’s SmackDown. Before leaving the ring, Cargill bumped into Charlotte Flair, suggesting a clash with “The Queen” is inevitable.
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### Nia Jax Defeats Charlotte Flair
The match itself was a bit clunky, but Lash Legend’s official main roster call-up helped save the segment. Legend aligned herself with Nia Jax and assisted her in defeating Charlotte Flair, thereby igniting a potential feud with the women’s tag-team champions, Flair and Alexa Bliss.
Lash Legend possesses the character, style, mic skills, confidence, and look necessary to make a significant impact. With Jax, they seem poised to become future women’s tag-team champions.
After the match, the Kabuki Warriors dressed as medical staff to attack Flair and Bliss, adding an exciting layer of backstage chaos reminiscent of WWE’s classic storytelling. This six-woman rivalry could lead to a major tag-team match at Survivor Series later this month.
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### Nick Aldis Announces Participants for the John Cena Farewell Tournament
WWE is handling the John Cena Farewell Tournament impressively by elevating the spot opposite Cena to near-title significance.
On Raw, it was revealed that Damian Priest, Rusev, Sheamus, and Shinsuke Nakamura would participate. During SmackDown, Nick Aldis announced two matches: The Miz vs. Jey Uso and L.A. Knight vs. a surprise entrant. The identity of this mystery competitor has yet to be disclosed but is expected to be revealed on next week’s SmackDown.
The tournament is being meticulously paced, with successive rounds unfolding across November episodes of Raw and SmackDown. The climax is scheduled for Survivor Series, where the tournament winner will earn the right to face Cena in his final match on December 13th’s Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, DC.
If executed well, this storyline promises a significant push for the tournament victor.
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### Chelsea Green Defeats Giulia to Win Women’s United States Championship
Chelsea Green’s victory to reclaim the Women’s US Championship is a smart move, although the match itself failed to impress. Giulia has yet to find her footing in WWE, and the match offered her little opportunity to shine. Hopefully, she’ll get another shot at the title in the future.
Green’s partnership with Ethan Page—a formidable duo currently holding the AAA Mixed Tag-Team Championship—is fantastic. It would be exciting if WWE starts featuring this division more prominently on Raw, SmackDown, and pay-per-views, perhaps even creating a dedicated WWE Mixed Tag-Team Division full of compelling storylines.
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### Tanga Loa Smashes Rey Fenix
This encounter went largely as expected. Rey Fenix showed some impressive offense early on, but Tanga Loa dominated the match and earned a clean pinfall victory.
During the match, The Motor City Machine Guns and Shinsuke Nakamura attacked the other members of the Muscle Flex Team removing them from ringside, effectively highlighting Tanga Loa’s strength.
After the win, Tanga Loa was about to lay further punishment on Fenix, but Sami Zayn—who has not been medically cleared—emerged with a chair to save the day, adding another intriguing twist.
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### Summary
Overall, this week’s SmackDown had its high points, including Jade Cargill’s strong heel return and the escalating John Cena Farewell Tournament. However, some segments, especially Cody Rhodes’ opening and main event, fell short of expectations.
Drew McIntyre’s suspension marks a critical moment; either he needs to capture the top title soon or be repositioned on the card. Meanwhile, fresh faces like Lash Legend are gaining momentum, and renewed storylines hint at an exciting build toward Survivor Series.
Stay tuned for next week’s episode to see how these stories unfold.
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