WWE SmackDown was a wild, leaked mess before Night of Champions

The London leak and the Bloodline's midlife crisis

A leaked go-home show ruins the O2 surprise

Pull up a chair and grab a cold energy drink, because the WWE booking circus is in town. SmackDown was supposed to be the grand go-home show for the Night of Champions premium live event in Riyadh. Instead, the entire broadcast leaked online days before it hit the USA Network, turning WWE's O2 Arena surprise into a giant spoiler-fest.

Backstage officials were reportedly absolutely furious about the leak. You can't blame them; if your entire TV show is floating around on wrestling forums three days early, it deflates the television viewing experience. Still, the London crowd brought their typical high-energy noise, unaware that the internet had already spent seventy-two hours arguing about the results.

The leak might have ruined the surprise, but it couldn't stop the drama. From faction breakups to verbal homicides, this episode gave the internet enough ammunition to argue for weeks. As PWInsider reported in their detailed coverage, the night set up a massive crossroads for several major storylines.

Solo Sikoa's faction collapse and the Bullet Club tease

The Bloodline is currently having a midlife crisis. Solo Sikoa's faction, the MFT (My Family Tree), is officially dead after Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga packed up their bags and walked out on him backstage. Their sudden departure leaves Solo completely isolated in the Bloodline hierarchy.

During the taped broadcast, as detailed in the SmackDown recap, Solo stood face-to-face with LA Knight. Solo explained his attack on Jimmy Uso on Raw, stating he hates Roman Reigns, the Usos, and Jacob Fatu. He proposed that he and Knight team up to finish off the rest of the Bloodline, a pitch that Knight rejected with a classic line:

He does things his way… so thanks, but no thanks.

Knight rejecting Solo was the most logical booking choice WWE could have made here. Knight has two working brain cells and knows that aligning with a Bloodline member is a fast track to getting stabbed in the back. But the internet is deeply divided on how this makes Solo look as a leader.

The debate over Solo Sikoa's recruitment pitch boils down to three distinct fan perspectives:

• The enthusiasts believe a paranoid, isolated Solo creates a chaotic, unpredictable dynamic.
• The skeptics argue that disbanding his faction backstage makes months of build look completely pointless.
• The contrarians think Solo is being set up to look weak before Roman Reigns eventually returns.

To make matters more chaotic, Finn Balor confronted the departing Tonga brothers backstage. He told Tama Tonga that seeing him make his own decisions reminded him of their time running together in the Bullet Club. Naturally, the internet went into meltdown over this NJPW nostalgia bait.

Some fans predict a massive Bullet Club reunion, while contrarians roll their eyes. They argue this is cheap tease booking that leads to a random tag match on Raw rather than a stable. I lean toward the skeptics; WWE loves teasing international connections but rarely delivers the full payoff.

Cody Rhodes drops verbal pipe bombs on Sami Zayn

If you thought Cody Rhodes was going to remain a generic, smiling babyface champion, he just proved you wrong. The Undisputed WWE Champion opened the show by confronting his Night of Champions challengers, Gunther and Sami Zayn, and he chose absolute violence on the microphone.

Cody went straight for Sami Zayn's throat, comparing him unfavorably to Kevin Owens. He remarked that Owens would have stabbed him in the front, not the back, and pointed out that Owens actually won the WWE Championship. That is not just a promo; that is a verbal demolition of a babyface colleague.

Unlike Zayn, Kevin Owens would have stabbed him in the front, not the back.

This promo injected some much-needed bite into a title feud that was starting to feel a bit too respectful. The enthusiasts loved the edge, arguing that a babyface champion with actual balls is exactly what the product needs to stay interesting. They want Cody to be a champion who is tired of being tested and isn't afraid to hurt feelings.

However, the contrarians hate this direction, claiming Cody sounded like a heel burying a beloved babyface. They argue that undermining Zayn's credentials right before a major title match hurts the contest's credibility. Why believe Sami can win when the champion just explained why he is not on Owens' level?

The segment then degenerated into a massive brawl with the arrival of Jey Uso and Oba Femi, leading to a wild five-man melee. While it sent the crowd home happy, the booking was criticized by many online. Throwing the King of the Ring finalists into the WWE Championship segment diluted the focus when the spotlight should have remained solely on the Triple Threat match participants.

Cruiserweight clinics and Chelsea Green's hero arc

Rey Fenix defends his gold

Thankfully, the in-ring action delivered some absolute gold. Rey Fenix defended his AAA World Cruiserweight Championship against Nathan Frazer in a match that went over 10 minutes. Fenix won after countering a late offensive flurry into a Mexican Muscle Buster that looked like it compacted Frazer's spine into an accordion.

This was a breath of fresh air for a show that often treats the cruiserweight division as an afterthought. Give two elite workers ten minutes and they will make the crowd care, simple as that. The enthusiasts are hoping this match signals a renewed commitment to high-flying workrate on Friday nights.

Chelsea Green is indeed a treasure

But the biggest reaction of the night belonged to Chelsea Green. She lost her singles match to Jade Cargill, but her real moment came during the post-match chaos. After Michin and B-Fab defeated Alexa Bliss and Tiffany Stratton, Cargill intervened to assist in a beatdown on Stratton.

Chelsea ran down with a kendo stick, cleared the ring, and saved Tiffany Stratton from the heels. The O2 Arena went absolutely feral for the save, and the internet consensus is unanimous: Chelsea is a treasure. She transitions from a delusional heel to a reluctant, kendo-stick-swinging hero seamlessly, proving she can make any segment entertaining.

The only real miss of the night was the comedy tag match featuring Danhausen and Matt Cardona defeating Los Garza. Taping a comedy match with Cardona and Danhausen in London felt like a time-travel experiment from 2021 that went wrong. It did nothing to advance any serious storylines and felt like booking by dartboard, wasting valuable TV time on a go-home show.

The final verdict: Who wins the internet debate?

So, which side has the stronger argument after this chaotic SmackDown broadcast? The skeptics are absolutely right about the Bloodline's current trajectory. Splitting the MFT backstage is a rushed, messy decision that makes Solo Sikoa's stable look like a minor footnote rather than a threat.

However, the enthusiasts win the debate on the main event build. Cody Rhodes needed to show teeth, and his promo on Sami Zayn was a masterclass in adding realism and intensity to a babyface run. Even with the online leaks spoiling the surprise, the Triple Threat match feels like a must-watch collision.

WWE has set the stage for a wild night in Riyadh, but they need to stop letting their television taping files leak to the public. If they can fix their security issues, they might actually keep us surprised next time.