Blake’s WWE SmackDown 7/17/26 Review: A Big Announcement

In this WWE SmackDown 7/17/26 review, Cody Rhodes goes one-on-one with Gunther, Adam Pearce makes a big announcement regarding the WWE Women’s Championship, and much more.

Here are some thoughts on SmackDown.

Blake’s WWE SmackDown Thoughts

1. The added stipulation to the CM Punk and Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther and Sami Zayn match doesn’t do much, but it’s something. I’m not sure how many people are buying Gunther and Zayn actually joining the clash for the Undisputed WWE Championship. However, WWE has done a good job swerving the audience with these four superstars’ storylines in recent weeks, so you can at least consider a four-way for the title.

Something else worth mentioning: Why did Adam Pearce say that Nick Aldis petitioned to keep the match on, despite Gunther attacking him? Hmmmm…

2. Rhea Ripley can’t compete at SummerSlam due to injury, so WWE has opted that rather than strip her of the title, they’re gonna do the interim champion thing. The positive? A five-way Ladder Match to crown the champ should be a lot of fun. The negative? It’s an underwhelming decision when they could just as easily use the same approach without the “interim” tag. Couldn’t Rhea challenge the new champion once she returns? Why overthink it?

3. Finn Balor now has wins against Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga. That’s a step in the right direction for Balor. I’m not sure what it means for Tama and Talla.

4. Speaking of former Judgment Day members, Damian Priest is coming for Punk and the Undisputed WWE title after SummerSlam. If you thought Balor was getting a momentum boost, that would be monumental progress for Priest, who is stuck in a lackluster tag team division.

5. Tiffany Stratton defeats Jacy Jayne in a Ladder Match qualifier. I would have preferred that Jayne get the SummerSlam spotlight, especially since her momentum has been halted since that red-hot debut. But Stratton is a fine choice. Will she win at SummerSlam? She seems to be one of the least likely interim title winners since she’s already the Women’s United States Champion.

6. Baron Corbin is coming for Trick Williams and everyone else. As I said in last week’s SmackDown review, Corbin’s return adds another veteran to the roster, but there isn’t much momentum for it. Trick has the stuff with Carmelo Hayes, and that should be the focus.

7. The most ridiculous professional wrestling finish of the week goes to Charlotte Flair attacking Jade Cargill in the latter’s Ladder Match qualifier against Nia Jax. Yes, Charlotte is pissed at Cargill for what she did to Alexa Bliss. However, in what universe does it make sense for her to force a disqualification that allows Cargill to move one step closer to being the champion again?

If they’re going with the “she was so angry that all she wanted to do was get revenge” argument, why didn’t Charlotte aim for revenge in the one week she had prior to this match? The backstage follow-up was Jax complaining that Charlotte cost her the match (the heel makes an accurate remark), so Pearce set up a qualifying match between the two next week. Charlotte gets rewarded for what she did! There’s no logic to this.

8. I have no clue where the Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae thing is going, but they’re interacting with people like Gunther, so that’s a decent connection. Blake Monroe‘s attack on LeRae keeps the theme going that she has arrived on SmackDown, but they don’t have anything for her until SummerSlam and beyond.

9. A good tag team match between The War Raiders and Fraxiom. Two things can be accurate: WWE gave them a nice showcase in this match, but their inconsistent booking over the years has limited fans’ investment in either team.

10. Danhausen‘s secret weapon for Saturday Night’s Main Event is….a cat?! Wait a second, there’s another KAT that New York is familiar with…

11. Did you expect a clean finish in Cody vs. Gunther? Yeah, me either. Zayn’s return was inevitable, and it gives the tag match a spark with all four men brawling.