WWE SmackDown Results & Booking Grades (10/23/26): Chelsea Green Defends, New Champions Crowned

Friday night's episode of WWE SmackDown took place at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

Last week's episode featured a scary moment when a match between R-Truth and Damian Priest had to be stopped due to an untimely injury. In the main event, we got an impromptu match between Cody Rhodes and Baron Corbin, with interference from Randy Orton.

You can check out the complete results from tonight's episode below.

WWE SmackDown results:

This week's episode kicked off with WWE Champion Sami Zayn, Johnny Gargano, and Candice LeRae coming out to the ring to address the WWE Universe. Zayn reflected on his face-to-face encounter with Roman Reigns on Monday before putting over the importance of the WWE Championship.

They are interrupted by Rey Fenix, who made it clear they have no issues, but if he has a problem with his brother Penta, they might have a problem. Zayn said he has no problem with Fenix and it's more about people who show disrespect. This brings out Trick Williams... again.

Williams reflected on their encounter last week before proceeding to utterly bury every aspect of Zayn on the microphone. Trick said he wants a shot at the WWE Championship. Zayn fired back, telling Trick he's nowhere close to getting a shot at the title. Williams said he's not asking for a title match; he's demanding one. Williams tried to get physical with Zayn, but Gargano stepped in, allowing Zayn to attack Williams from behind.

Nick Aldis came out and made a tag team match for the main event of the show with Sami Zayn and Johnny Gargano taking on Trick Williams and Rey Fenix.

Booking Grade: 5/10

• The story between Williams and Zayn is tiresome at this point
• Fenix wasn't overly impressive on the microphone
• Why is the United States Champion demanding a shot at the WWE Title?

It's Tiffy Time once again

In the opening contest of the evening, Chelsea Green defended the WWE Women's Championship against Raw Superstar Roxanne Perez. In the closing moments, Raquel Rodriguez and IYO SKY interfered and brawled on the outside. The distraction allowed Green to hit Perez with the Unpretty HER to score the pinfall victory.

After the match, Liv Morgan hit the ring as the three women from The Judgment Day attacked both Green and SKY. This led to the return of Tiffany Stratton, who cleaned house. Stratton laid out Morgan with the Money in the Bank briefcase and tried to cash in, but Rodriguez and Perez pulled Morgan out of the ring before she could.

Booking Grade: 9.5/10

• Fun match between Green and Perez
• Despite the interference, we got a clean finish
• A nice return for Stratton with a tease of cashing in on Morgan

They announced on commentary that Baron Corbin is out indefinitely with a cervical muscle strain after Cody Rhodes punted him on last week's show.

Backstage, Chelsea Green, Tiffany Stratton, and IYO SKY celebrate them taking down The Judgment Day tonight and decide they will continue the celebration with some drinks.

This is the feud that doesn't end... but this match made it worth it

The next match of the evening was a street fight between Giulia and Blake Monroe. This match went all over the place, including into the backstage area. Monroe finished the match by hitting Giulia with the Neutralizer to score the pinfall victory.

Booking Grade: 10/10

• Easily the best match of their WWE rivalry
• The street fight actually expanding past the ringside area was a nice touch
• A definitive win for Monroe's WWE main roster run

After a commercial break, Randy Orton made his way to the ring to address the WWE Universe. Orton tells Cody Rhodes he's proud of him for what he did last week when he punted Baron Corbin in the head. However, Orton said none of that matters unless Rhodes can do it to him. Orton said he knows if Rhodes gets the opportunity to punt him again, he will once again hesitate.

This brought out Cody Rhodes, who questioned when Orton became a coward. Rhodes said he's not afraid of Orton as he believes he's the anomaly to him. The two tease that things are going to get physical until Nick Aldis sets up a match between the two men at Crown Jewel. Rhodes said he'll wrestle Orton there, but it has to be a Last Man Standing match. Orton accepted the challenge and told Rhodes to remember he asked for this.

Booking Grade: 8/10

• A much better promo segment than the one that opened the show
• Rhodes seems to have forgotten the fact that Shelton Benjamin is still active
• It will be interesting to see if a Last Man Standing match can end this feud

A shocking title change

In the next match of the evening, Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley defended the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles against Michin and B-Fab. In a shocking turn of events, thanks to some outside interference from Jade Cargill, Michin was able to hit a Styles Clash on Paxley to score the pinfall victory.

Booking Grade: 8.5/10

• A shocking and short title reign for Bliss and Paxley
• This felt like a weird transition title change
• Charlotte Flair's absence loomed large this evening

A match between BAKUSAI and The MFTs was scheduled, but a brawl before it even began prevented it from taking place.

Nick Aldis hosted a sit-down face-to-face between Kevin Owens and CM Punk. A match between the two will take place in two weeks in Brooklyn. Owens and Punk traded verbal shots, both blaming each other for not being WWE Champions. But things didn't get physical. The two men will finally settle their differences next month on SmackDown.

One main event match leads to another

In the main event of the evening, WWE Champion Sami Zayn and Johnny Gargano took on Trick Williams and Rey Fenix in tag team action. The match didn't go for long before Ricky Saints came out to ringside to attack Rey Fenix, leading to a DQ win for Williams and Fenix.

This brought out Penta, who challenged Zayn, Gargano, and Saints to a six-man tag so there's a new impromptu main event.

Keep refreshing throughout the evening for the Takedown on SI's live coverage of tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown.

WWE SmackDown quick results:

• Chelsea Green defeated Roxanne Perez to retain the WWE Women's Championship

• Blake Monroe defeated Giulia in a street fight

• Michin and B-Fab defeated Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles

• Trick Williams and Rey Fenix defeated Sami Zayn and Johnny Gargano via disqualification