Tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown (Friday, July 24, 2026) emanates from Oakland Arena in Oakland, CA and will air starting at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network.
Results, match winners, promo segment notes and other major developments from WWE's blue brand will be added below as Friday Night SmackDown airs.
Preview & Predictions for WWE SmackDown:
On tap for tonight's episode, Charlotte Flair faces Nia Jax in an Interim WWE Women's Championship Ladder Match qualifier for SummerSlam. WWE is also advertising Cody Rhodes, Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton, CM Punk, Gunther and Trick Williams for the event, while Oakland Arena locally advertises The Usos vs World Tag Team Champions Bron Breakker and Austin Theory with Maxxine Dupri.
I don't think there's a sane mind out there expecting Nia Jax to beat Charlotte Flair. The interim title situation is not going to revolve around Jax whatsoever. Flair vs. Cargill is their priority at the moment and it would be crazy if Flair wasn't also involved in this match, so she by default has to advance. Five spots and Flair not being one of them just doesn't make sense.
So far, they haven't announced anything else, but since there were two qualifiers last week, I'd assume another will take place here. Who competes and who advances is kind of up in the air until we know who is even in the running, but I'd pay attention to Blake Monroe as she needs to eventually step in the ring and winning a match maybe agaisnt Candice LeRae could be the direction to go. Chelsea Green is also somewhere in the mix, as is Lash Legend, and they could also throw B-Fab and Michin in there among a few others.
Along with that situation, we'll assuredly get some more arguing between Nick Aldis and Gunther, Sami Zayn flipping out over what happened at Saturday Night's Main Event, and is tonight finally the night where War Raiders will face Wepa Up or is that just going to be two entire months of "it'll happen eventually, but we don't have a plan for when yet."
Here are your results for WWE SmackDown - July 24, 2026:
- Adam Pearce moderated the SummerSlam contract signing between Nick Aldis and Gunther, confirming that Aldis will have to step away from his SmackDown general manager duties once the match becomes official. Gunther mocked Aldis' wrestling career and vowed to add him to the list of veterans he has put away, but Aldis fired back that Gunther has far more to lose if he gets beaten by someone who has not wrestled in three years. The exchange turned physical, with Aldis initially getting the better of Gunther before Pearce intervened, allowing Gunther to land a low blow and powerbomb Aldis through the table.
- Sami Zayn interrupted Cathy Kelley to vent about being pushed out of the Undisputed WWE Championship picture despite holding the title just weeks ago, arguing that Cody Rhodes and CM Punk were handed the SummerSlam spotlight while he was left off the card. Zayn confronted Adam Pearce and demanded to be added to the title match, but Pearce instead announced that the winner of a Fatal 4-Way later in the night will face Zayn at SummerSlam in a No. 1 contender's match. Zayn complained that he once again has to earn his way back while others receive opportunities outright, but ultimately accepted after insisting there be no interference or other funny business.
- Brie Bella beat Lainey Reid by pinfall. After the match, Nikki Bella returned to help Brie and Paige fight off Fatal Influence and challenge them to a six-woman tag team match, which will go down at SummerSlam.
- Chelsea Green beat Kiana James by pinfall, qualifying for the Interim WWE Women's Championship Ladder Match at SummerSlam.
- CM Punk and Cody Rhodes had their final major face-to-face promo before SummerSlam. Cody explained why he is essentially jealous of Punk and the emotional factors into why he "needs" to beat him. Punk did some psychoanalysis and told him that this was just Cody's way to trying to make an enemy out of him so that he doesn't have to have his feelings hurt when he loses, essentially. Cody got fired up and promised to win the title for a fourth time.
- Charlotte Flair beat Nia Jax by disqualification after Jade Cargill entered the ring and punched Charlotte. Charlotte therefore qualified for the Interim WWE Women's Championship Ladder Match. Jade then hit Charlotte with Jaded, while an enraged Nia tore apart the announce table after being screwed out of qualification for a second straight week.
- Finn Balor beat Damian Priest, Trick Williams and Royce Keys by pinfall, hitting Priest with the Coup de Grace. During the match, Solo Sikoa came to ringside, the Usos confronted him, LA Knight joined the fight, and Jacob Fatu later prevented Royce from pinning Priest by dragging Keys out of the ring. Balor will now face Sami Zayn at SummerSlam, with the winner becoming No. 1 contender to the Undisputed WWE Championship.
What are your thoughts on tonight's episode of Friday Night SmackDown? Drop your reactions in the comments below and spark a discussion!