Tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown (April 17, 2026) emanates out of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and will air at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network.
This post here will be updated frequently throughout the night to reflect live coverage of Friday Night SmackDown, including all the match results, rundowns of the promos, and any other interesting or noteworthy things that take place. Keep refreshing for updates to find out all the winners and more!
Preview & Predictions for WWE SmackDown:
On tap for tonight's episode, this will be the go-home last chance show WWE puts on before WrestleMania 42 (unless you count the unnecessary 3 hours of pre-show "Countdown to WrestleMania" filler that will happen both Saturday and Sunday). Over the course of these three hours, expect to see lots of video packages and recap promo segments that mostly just remind you that Mania is happening this weekend. Expect to see some brawl segments throughout the night either in the ring or backstage with people like Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, too.
At the very least, it's good that they have the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal returning. All previous 11 years haven't amounted to any real push for the winner, but maybe the 12th time is the charm? Royce Keys is my pick to win, but a few others like Aleister Black and Ilja Dragunov could very well win. Frankly, there's a good chance they give this to Danhausen, too.
The Wyatt Sicks and MFTs will also have their fifth or sixth "clearly this is their last match" scenario, with this time being a street fight. I expect this to be when Tama Tonga officially breaks away from the MFTs, with The Wyatt Sicks coming out on top. They've already got the lantern back, but there really isn't a single reason I can think of to give the win to Solo Sikoa's group and keep this going. WWE should have wrapped this up months ago.
Here are your results for WWE SmackDown - April 17, 2026:
- TBD - "How will Jacob Fatu respond to Drew McIntyre's brutal attack before WrestleMania?"
- TBD - Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
- TBD - Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
- TBD - Eight-Man Tag Team Street Fight: The Wyatt Sicks ("Uncle Howdy" Bo Dallas, Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis with Nikki Cross) vs MFTs (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Talla Tonga, JC Mateo, Tonga Loa)
- TBD - Women's United States Championship #1 Contender's Match: Tiffany Stratton vs Jordynne Grace
- TBD - "Cody Rhodes has a message for Randy Orton one night before WrestleMania"
What are your thoughts on tonight's episode of Friday Night SmackDown? Drop your reactions in the comments below and spark a discussion!
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