WWE SmackDown results, grades (June 19): Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther ends in chaos; Jey Uso, Liv Morgan advance to finals
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Drake RiggsUncrownedSat, June 20, 2026 at 3:25 PM UTCKansas City, Missouri had an absolutely loaded "WWE SmackDown" — at least on paper — tonight (Friday, June 19). But what should have been a slam dunk was much more of a chaotic scramble of head-scratching booking choices. It all began with the Universal WWE Championship.
Rhodes to nowhere
How many times has Cody Rhodes given freebie title shots throughout his title reigns since returning to WWE? It's genuinely an uncountable number.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe "QB1" champion of WWE technically defended his title twice tonight. Impressively, the matches swung and missed on both attempts. The third time is hopefully the charm.
It was all about Sami Zayn as the special guest referee, which never made much sense, since Gunther had no connection to him whatsoever. So when Zayn began working the referee role that Gunther chose for him, Gunther began to get frustrated at his inability to cheat and get away with it. In kayfabe, it's as if the guy literally forgot this whole thing was happening because he chose it to happen.
Honestly, the entire angle has made Gunther look like a colossal bozo, which is absurd considering where he was months ago. And in the end, Gunther lost the first match because he pissed off Zayn, who hit him with a quick three-count off a roll-up.
AdvertisementAdvertisementRhodes went on to demand a restart of the match, which was only them trading sleeper holds before Zayn hit Gunther with a Helluva Kick for the DQ win.
To make this even more confusing, Zayn really cared about his referee role. Considering the build to this match, these story beats were all over the place and nonsensical as hell. Zayn even made good points about it later in the show, when he talked to "SmackDown" general manager Nick Aldis, who was pissed at him for how he officiated. But why? As Zayn said, he didn't ask for any of that, which is true — but you wouldn't have known it had you watched only the opening matches.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThis was one of the worst messes of a high-level segment and matches in a good while. The cherry on top? Zayn got a free title shot out of it for ruining the match. Why? Because Rhodes gave it to him. That's it. A triple-threat match at Night of Champions. That's the logic behind nearly every Rhodes feud. And in the end, it makes someone look beyond incompetent. In this case, Gunther takes that cake.
Finals unlocked
It just hit me. Both of tonight's King and Queen of the Ring semifinals centered entirely around worked injuries.
Jey Uso beat Je'Von Evans, who nursed his ribs the whole match after the massive spear he took from Bron Breakker on Monday. It was an Uso match, and a pretty decent one, to be fair. I just have no interest in him reigniting a singles push — especially at the expense of Oba Femi in the finals.
AdvertisementAdvertisementYou already know it's going to happen, folks. That match will be in the first hour of Night of Champions, which is essentially the giveaway that Brock Lesnar will cost Femi, since both his Femi matches were in that slot at WrestleMania and Clash In Italy.
The Queen of the Ring semifinal, like the first hour of "SmackDown," was an absolute mess. But that's unfortunately the entire story of the women's roster.
Getting this out of the way: Jade Cargill will challenge Tiffany Stratton for the U.S. title at Night of Champions. Just because. She didn't really earn it, and this is another recycled feud no one is asking for.
Despite that, Cargill and her jobber squad attacked Charlotte Flair before Flair's semifinal match with Liv Morgan, aka the Women's World Champion.
This was one of the biggest WWE protection bookings you'll ever see.
Morgan worked over Flair's knee the whole match, and that was the story of it. Yet it took her more than 15 minutes to beat a kayfabe one-legged opponent.
This makes the already weak-looking champion Morgan look all the weaker. First, she hasn't defended her title since winning it, and then gets a free pass into this tournament so she can continue avoiding defenses. How Flair, who has been pinned clean plenty, needed this much protection against a world champion is beyond me. Why? To build toward an eventual rematch? Then what about her beats with Cargill and Rhea Ripley? It's loose ends galore.
The "SmackDown" Squabbles
Gone missing. Royce Keys wasn't on this show. Why? No explanation.
Judgment Day spin-off. Finn Balor appeared, only to interact with R-Truth and Damian Priest, teasing some kind of continuation there. Because we haven't seen that before, right?
Solo-Solo. After "costing" MFT their tag title match, Solo Sikoa could be on the outs with the Tongas. That spells bad news for those two, because I don't see them having success at all on their own without drastic changes. Meanwhile, Jacob Fatu continued to try to re-recruit Sikoa to the Bloodline. The latter wound up warning Fatu he might have to come to Roman Reigns' show to interfere in his business if Fatu keeps interfering in his. It's happening, folks.
If you were confused by this review, I don't blame you. It has become genuinely confusing to watch. I give Friday's "SmackDown" a crown score of: 👑 2/10 👑
WWE SmackDown full-card results:
Queen of the Ring semifinals: Liv Morgan def. Charlotte Flair — 👑 2.5/5 👑
King of the Ring semifinals: Jey Uso def. Je'Von Evans — 👑 3/5 👑
U.S. Championship No. 1 Contender Match: Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints — 👑 3/5 👑
WWE Tag Team Championship: Damian Priest & R-Truth (c.) def. MFT (Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga) — 👑 1.5/5 👑
Undisputed WWE Championship: Gunther def. Cody Rhodes (c.) via DQ — 👑 0/5 👑
Undisputed WWE Championship - Special Guest Referee (Sami Zayn): Cody Rhodes (c.) def. Gunther — 👑 2/5 👑
Recap "SmackDown" with Uncrowned's live blog:
Fri, June 19, 2026 at 8:03 PM PDTDrake Riggs
RESULT: Liv Morgan def. Charlotte Flair
Suddenly, medical, Aldis, and Bliss emerge ringside, trying to tell her to quit. Morgan grabs her, getting sprung off the ropes, only to land an Oblivion — which Flair kicks out of! But then it's back to the half Crab, and Flair taps.
I really don't know why we had to go through all of that drama to weaken Flair against a world champion.
👑 Crown score: 2.5/5 👑
Morgan goes for a roll-up, and Flair turns it into a Figure-4! Morgan flips it, but Flair rolls again to regain control. Morgan grabs the rope. Flair tries to stand and gets her leg chopped at again. Morgan locks on a single-leg Boston Crab and smacks at Flair's knee in the middle of the ring. She crawls, only to get pulled back. Flair still makes it to the rope.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMorgan gets back to targeting the knee. She attacks the back of Flair with punches before propping her upside down in a tree of woe. Morgan stomps at the knee in the corner. Flair pulls her off and lands a big boot. She climbs up to land a diving Natural Selection! Morgan kicks out.
A very awkward Frog Splash gets attempted by Morgan. Flair gets the knees up, then seeks a Figure-8. Morgan kicks her off to land a Backstabber.
Morgan goes for an Oblivion after some outside-the-ring exchanges. Flair counters it with a German suplex with a bridge pin. Morgan kicks out, and they slowly work to their feet. Morgan hits Three Amigos, and the crowd is not enthused.
AdvertisementAdvertisementFlair attempts to go for a top-rope Moonsault but can't stand properly, allowing for a big Morgan avalanche Powerbomb. Flair still kicks out.
Flair manages to fight back with a boot through the ropes before she hits a big Cross-Body. Morgan kicks out, and they start trading forearms. Flair drops her with a back elbow, then gets to rattling off chops. Morgan goes for an Irish Whip, and Flair falls before reaching the corner. Flair counters a corner attack with a super kick. Morgan kicks out and gets back to kicking at the knee.
Morgan not winning this match right away actually makes her look incredibly weak as a champion. Which is fair, since she hasn't even defended her title yet.
The match is just her attacking the leg so far, unable to get the pin.
AdvertisementAdvertisementWhere is Alexa Bliss, by the way? She was backstage with Flair before she forced her way out there.
Morgan attacks Flair's knee before the match even starts. Aldis tries to tell her not to wrestle, and she gets in the ring to start the match. Morgan rushes her and takes an elbow in the corner. Morgan goes right for the knee and rolls Flair to the outside of the ring, ramming Flair's knee into the ring LED board and the steps.
This SmackDown has just been weird. Flair limps her way out to the ring after demanding the back to play her music.
Queen of the Ring semifinals: Liv Morgan vs. Charlotte Flair
Well, the main event match is still on, and Liv Morgan is, somewhat surprisingly, alone. No Judgment Day in sight. Not even Dominik Mysterio — yet.
AdvertisementAdvertisementCharlotte Flair gets attacked
Jade Cargill, Michin and B-Fab confronted Charlotte Flair before she entered Gorilla Position, telling her she wouldn't be in the semifinals if it weren't for her friends — then they attacked her leg.
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I did indeed release a big sigh.
Four vignettes/backstage promos in a row
Liv Morgan, Paige & Brie Bella, Fatal Influence, then Uso, Zayn, and Rhodes all had back-to-back exchanges of nothing more than minor teases about their upcoming matches. It feels like the show is suddenly stalling.
