WWE SmackDown Results (September 18, 2026) - Sami Zayn retains as CM Punk attacks Kevin Owens; Trick Williams & Jacy Jayne win MITB qualifiers & more

Nikki Bella confronts Chelsea Green; Haku attacks Shinsuke Nakamura & more!

The build towards Money in the Bank picked up steam on the September 18 edition of Friday Night SmackDown in Hilliard Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The first MITB qualifiers on the Blue brand kicked off tonight with matches in the men’s and women’s divisions.

On the other hand, the show also featured the return of Cody Rhodes, who sat down with Michael Cole for an interview, while the newly crowned Undisputed Champion Sami Zayn defended his title against Kevin Owens.

Continue reading to get the full summary, match-by-match recap, biggest highlights, shocking moments, results, and winners list from this Friday’s 9/18 episode of WWE SmackDown.

WWE SmackDown Results & Summary

• General Manager Nick Aldis welcomed the newly crowned Undisputed Champion Sami Zayn to kick off the show. Sami delivers his ‘justice’ promo to a grinning Aldis and a hostile crowd in Corpus Christi. Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae then interrupted Sami, and after congratulating him on the win, Gargano reminded Zayn of their agreement that Gargano would get the first title shot.
  • Sami tries to play it off when Aldis steps in, stating that he makes the matches, not Sami, and Johnny just got a title match, while the man next in line, CM Punk, isn’t here tonight. Kevin Owens then arrived to hit a Stunner on Gargano. Owens made his case for the title shot, reminding everyone how Sami screwd up his chance to win the title in Quebec.
  • Zayn grabbed Aldis and said that he’s not going to be surprised by a last-minute match again. Aldis told Zayn to take his hands off him before making the title match official for later in the show. Randy Orton had a brief stare-down with Sami on the entrance ramp.

• Randy Orton vs Rey Fenix vs Trick Williams – Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying match: Williams pinned Fenix to win and secured the third spot in the MITB ladder match.

• Backstage, Sami Zayn tries to convince Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae to help him in his title defense, stating that he’ll work hard to get Gargano a title match and that if he loses, GM Aldis isn’t going to give Gargano a title shot.
• Backstage, the MFTs cut a promo, with Tama Tonga saying they had won the titles on their own and that Shinsuke Nakamura needed him. He added that Nakamura should have left Kyoki in Japan, warning that whatever happened to him would now be on Nakamura’s hands.
  • Bakusai then delivered their own promo in Japanese. Switching to English, Shinsuke said the MFTs had been confused, insisting that they were not the hunters but the prey.
• Backstage, Tatum Paxley & Charlotte Flair spoke with Alexa Bliss ahead of her MITB Qualifying match on countering the Fatal Influence, but Bliss insisted that she would do it on her own. Paxley supported the idea, stating that she and Charlotte can focus on winning the tag titles.
• BAKUSAI (Kyoki & Shinsuke Nakamura) vs MFTs (Talla & Tama Tonga) – Tag Team match: The match ended in disqualification for the MFTs as Haku attacked Nakamura with his walking stick. MFTs then laid out both Nakamura and Kyoki to conclude the segment.

• Backstage, in an interview, Kevin Owens reminded fans that Corpus Christi was where he made his main roster debut against John Cena and defeated him on his first night. He vowed to defeat Sami Zayn and become WWE Champion in the same arena.
  • Finn Balor arrived and said it seemed convenient that Owens’ best friend was giving him a title opportunity just one week after Owens had helped him win the championship. Balor said he was fine with it and would do things his own way, even if that meant winning Money in the Bank to get his opportunity.
• Backstage, Tiffany Stratton told Chelsea Green that she was set to compete in a Money in the Bank qualifier. Nikki Bella confronted the two and mocked Green for barely retaining her title and said that, after taking out Paige, she was coming after the championship. She added that, unlike some people, she was a legend and didn’t need to qualify for anything.

• Cody Rhodes’ sit-down interview with Michael Cole: Cole said he was proud to have Rhodes representing WWE, but pointed out that Cody was supposed to be QB1 and no longer seemed to have much of a team. He noted that nearly everyone who had celebrated with Rhodes in the ring after he won the title at WrestleMania 40 had eventually stabbed him in the back.
  • Rhodes admitted that he may have been arrogant or naive to think things would be different for him as champion, but they hadn’t been. However, he added that WWE was bigger than the people fighting over the championship.
  • When asked what would happen the next time he faced Randy Orton, Cody admitted that he wasn’t immune to the questions surrounding his morality. He added that he is the same man who returned at WrestleMania 38. However, regarding Orton, Rhodes made it clear that he would not make the same decision he had made at Sunday Night’s Main Event again.

• Alexa Bliss vs Jacy Jayne vs Jade Cargill – Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying match: Jacy Jayne pinned Alexa to win the match and secure the third spot in the MITB ladder match.

• Backstage, The Irresistible Forces (Nia Jax & Lash Legend) confronted Giulia. Legend claimed she would win their qualifying match the next week, prompting Giulia to warn her that she was going to kick all of her teeth out.
• Backstage, Trick Williams and Lil Yachty were chatting about the possibility of Williams becoming “Tricky Two Titles” after MITB. Williams said he had a plan for Baron Corbin as well as a plan for the Money in the Bank match. They then ran into Sami Zayn and started calling him “Gingerbread.”
  • Zayn reminded them that he was the champion and demanded some respect. Trick fired back that Sami’s previous reign lasted barely a week and this one could be even shorter. Trick clarified that he was actually hoping Zayn retained because he wanted to win MITB and take the championship away from him.
• Damian Priest delivered a video promo, saying he should have turned on R-Truth sooner. He declared that he was finished doing all the heavy lifting for their tag team and said he should call him a bad man because he is “El Malo.”

• Sami Zayn (c) vs Kevin Owens – Undisputed WWE Title match: Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae interfered in the main event, with LeRae taking down Owens with a Tornado DDT. In the closing moments, Gargano tried to hit KO with the title, but Owens fired back with a Stunner.

• LeRae continued distracting the official when CM Punk arrived to hit KO with the title. The match concluded with Sami pinning Owens after the Helluva Kick. Post-match, Punk stepped in the ring to attack Sami, taking him down with a GTS to conclude the show.

WWE SmackDown 9/18 Results

• Trick Williams defeated Randy Orton & Rey Fenix – Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying match
• BAKUSAI (Shinsuke Nakamura & Kyoki) defeated The MFTs (Tama Tonga & Talla Tonga) via DQ as Haku attacked Nakamura
• Jacy Jayne defeated Jade Cargill & Alexa Bliss – Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying match
• Sami Zayn (c) defeated Kevin Owens – Undisputed WWE Title match
• CM Punk laid out Zayn & Owens

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