WWE SmackDown: Tiffany Stratton battles Kiana James; SNME build intensify & more set for next week (October 24, 2025)

The October 17 Crown Jewel fallout show of SmackDown was a chaotic affair.

The October 17 episode of Friday Night SmackDown aired live from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The episode served as the fallout show from the Crown Jewel PLE, which concluded on October 11 in Perth, Australia.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss defeated the team of Zaria and Sol Ruca to retain the WWE Tag Team titles in the first match of the show. On the other hand, Ilja Dragunov made his return to answer Sami Zayn’s US title open challenge.

A distraction by Solo Sikoa helped Ijla as he pinned Zayn to capture the United States title in his return. Solo Sikoa’s MFT attacked Zayn and Ilja after the match and were confronted by the Wyatt Sicks, teasing another clash between the two factions.

Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) defeated Los Garzas (Angel & Berto) in a tag team match to celebrate their one-year anniversary in the promotion. The #1 Contenders match for the Undisputed title between Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre was called off as Fatu was found lying beneath a scaffolding, blood spitting from his mouth, before the main event.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes accused Drew of being behind the attack and then floated the idea of a title clash between the two right then. McIntyre accepted, leading to a brawl which ultimately ended back in the ring as the bell rang.

The main event clash ended in disqualification as Rhodes dropped Drew with the title, and both continued brawling to end the show as security and officials rushed in to separate the two. Cody stood tall in the ring as security escorted McIntyre backstage to end the show.

Tiffany Stratton takes on Kiana James next week in Arizona

In a backstage segment on the October 17 show, Cathy Kelley interviewed Tiffany Stratton about her loss at Crown Jewel. Stratton praised Stephanie Vaquer, but emphasized that she was still the WWE Women’s Champion.

Kiana James interrupted Stratton, claiming that Stratton’s defeat to Vaquer was the reason she asked Vaquer to join her ranks instead of Stratton. Stratton fired back, floating the idea of a match between the two next week. Kiana accepted the challenge and walked off. The two will now battle in a singles match next week.

Elsewhere, Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) were in the locker room after the MCMG’s win over Los Garzas when Frazer, eager to make an impact, said he was ready to punch someone in the face. Axiom, on the other hand, wanted to be patient and wait for the right time to go for the titles.

#DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) walked in alongside Candice LeRae, poking fun at them for thinking about championships. Ciampa explained that they had stayed out of the spotlight for the last couple of months to avoid being targeted by the Street Profits, but now that they were back, nothing had changed.

The duo then tried to snatch off Axiom’s mask, joking it was for Johnny and LeRae’s son, Quill, for Halloween. Axiom didn’t take it lightly and challenged Ciampa to a match and left. The two tag teams will likely battle next week.

The October 24 episode of WWE SmackDown is set to air live from the Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona. The episode will continue the build towards the November 1 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Announced matches for WWE SmackDown (October 24, 2025)

• Tiffany Stratton vs Kiana James
• Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Tiffany Stratton, Solo Sikoa, Jade Cargill, and Drew McIntyre are listed as featured superstars

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