WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Highlights and Analysis from November 26 (2024)

Fresh off a clean victory over Big E in the main event of Survivor Series, Universal champion Roman Reigns arrived at SmackDown on Friday night ready to find out which Superstar would step up as his next challenger.

That person would be determined in a Battle Royal featuring the blue brand roster.

Who would emerge as the top contender to the most coveted title in all of WWE?

Find out now with this recap of the November 26 Fox broadcast.

Kayla Braxton kicked off this week's show in the ring, and just as she was about to bring up rumors of Brock Lesnar's suspension running out, Universal champion Roman Reigns and special counsel Paul Heyman interrupted, making their way to the squared circle.

Heyman criticized Braxton for her "rumors," going so far as to say he was ashamed of her before dismissing her from the squared circle. Reigns said he didn't care about rumors because he beat Lesnar's ass and that was a fact. Big E was another loser. The overconfident Reigns claimed he could beat one, two, three or four because he was The Tribal Chief.

"When my days are done around here, which could be sooner than later, the whole world will acknowledge me," The Head of the Table concluded.

Grade

B

Analysis

Heyman browbeating Braxton may have seemed somewhat meanspirited, but it is a great look at the psyche of the special counsel. Here is Heyman, sharing the ring with Reigns, feeling overly confident in his ability to get one over on Kayla after months of her exposing his links to Lesnar.

With backup, he takes on an air of authority that he otherwise does not have. He bullied Braxton, and that will inevitably come back to bite him in the ass. For now, it was a nice touch to a character that has been every bit as great as Reigns' over the last year.

Speaking of The Head of the Table, there wasn't much to take away from his promo except one gut-punch of a line that insinuated Reigns believes his time in WWE may be winding down. Is there something we don't know? Was it just a throwaway line meant to generate discussion? Could Reigns be negotiating?

Whatever the case may be, it was an eyebrow-raising line, for sure.

Jeff Hardy and Drew McIntyre teamed up to battle Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss, whom the babyfaces beat up and embarrassed a week ago on SmackDown.

The fan favorites started hot, but the heels wiped out Hardy prior to the commercial break. McIntyre received the hot tag after minutes of Corbin and Moss dominating. He unloaded on the opposition and tagged the hometown hero, born and raised in North Carolina, back into the match, and Hardy scored the hard-fought victory with a Swanton Bomb.

Result

Hardy and McIntyre defeated Corbin and Moss

Grade

C+

Analysis

There was nothing to this one that you wouldn't see in a house show, but the crowd loved Hardy. The hometown boy was motivated, turned in a great performance as the babyface in peril before coming back to score the decisive pinfall.

Hardy has been red-hot of late and would make the perfect top contender to Reigns between now and WrestleMania. He's beloved, he can work a main event style WWE match and his strengths mesh well with Reigns. Let them tear the house down in some heated main events and reap the rewards.

Especially considering the lack of ready babyfaces beyond Hardy, McIntyre and maybe King Woods.

Cesaro sought to teach young Ridge Holland a lesson Friday night as the Brit's mentor, Sheamus, watched from ringside.

While The Celtic Warrior hyped his young protege up, Holland dominated the in-ring action. His hubris got the best of him, though, as the Swiss Superman scored the pinfall from out of nowhere, infuriating the newcomer and Sheamus.

Result

Cesaro defeated Holland

Grade

C

Analysis

It feels almost sacrilegious to complain about Cesaro winning a match, but in this context, it didn't make sense.

Unless there are doubts about Holland's ability to thrive at this level, he probably should have won his first match on television.

At the very least, he was given the opportunity to dominate a superior wrestler, letting his inexperience and confidence prove the difference between victory and defeat. Holland is a rough, rigid worker who is still very inexperienced considering his opposition, but working with the best in the business will help him evolve and grow as a performer.

The rivalry between Shinsuke Nakamura, Rick Boogs and Los Lotharios continued this week as Boogs battled Angel in a "Thanksgiving Leftovers" match.

After finding himself on the defensive for most of the contest, Boogs fought back, only for Humberto to play his guitar at ringside, creating a distraction. Nakamura put him through a table full of Thanksgiving dinner leftovers, but it was Angel who benefited as he delivered the Wing Clipper and scored the victory.

Result

Angel defeated Boogs

Grade

D

Analysis

There was nothing inherently wrong with the match, outside of the forced usage of Thanksgiving props, but this is very much a feud going nowhere. Worse yet, it only hurts whoever comes out on the losing end.

Nakamura is a lame-duck champ who hasn't defended his Intercontinental title in two months, and Boogs is actually over, so it would behoove WWE to try to protect him. On the other side of the ring, too many losses for Los Lotharios hurts their credibility before they ever get a fair shot at a run.

None of this is hitting, but it is keeping the performers on television, so there's that.

Michael Cole joined Charlotte Flair in the ring for an interview, just days after the SmackDown women's champion lost to Becky Lynch at Survivor Series. After blaming the officiating for her loss, Flair watched as Toni Storm interrupted.

The prospective No. 1 contender said she'd make it easy on her, making her presence felt.

A brief back-and-forth concluded with Flair blasting Storm with two pies to the face, humiliating the 2018 Mae Young Classic winner.

Grade

C-

Analysis

So...Storm just stood there after the second pie and didn't do anything about it?

It was a strange segment that made the top challenger to Flair's title look super weak rather than helping her to build equity with fans who aren't as familiar with her work. That will prove costly later when WWE gives the two women 13 or so minutes on pay-per-view and expects the audience to be invested, only to remember they booked Storm so poorly in the lead-up to the show.

Flair just brushing off her loss to Lynch as a refereeing issue felt tone-deaf, too.

After a backstage confrontation between Sasha Banks and WWE official Sonya Deville, The Boss teamed with Naomi to battle Natalya and Shayna Baszler.

At ringside, Natalya dodged a baseball slide from Naomi and dropped her on the floor. Banks returned the favor, delivering a backstabber to Baszler behind the official's back in hopes of Naomi fighting her way back into the match.

Naomi repeatedly came within inches of making the tag to her partner, only to have Baszler or Natalya cut her off and take Banks off the apron. Finally, The Boss wiped The Queen of Spades out with running knees to the face. Back inside, Naomi scored the victory for her team and then came face-to-face with Deville at ringside.

The WWE official clapped despite hints of dismay.

Result

Naomi and Banks defeated Baszler and Natalya

Grade

C+

Analysis

Natalya and Baszler did a hell of a job of cutting the ring off and really putting Naomi in a position to build sympathy. The crowd was firmly behind her, making her pinfall victory that much more impactful.

The feud with Deville has been fantastically done, and by the time those two finally clash in a match, it will be the most heated non-title women's match in a long damn time.

If there was one disappointing element to the whole thing, it was the absence of Shotzi.

Is she just not pissed off at Banks anymore? Are we tossing her aside now that Survivor Series is over?

Yes, this was all about the Naomi-Deville program, but it was set up via Banks, so why not also feature Shotzi in some form or fashion in this segment?

Participants included Ricochet, Erik, Ivar, Drew Gulak, Mace, Angel, Humberto, Sami Zayn, Mansoor, Jinder Mahal, Shanky, Jeff Hardy, Rick Boogs, Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Happy Corbin, Madcap Moss and Cesaro.

An irate Drew McIntyre, conveniently left off the lineup, hit the ring and cleared it until Adam Pearce appeared and ordered him out of the ring.

Pat McAfee and Michael Cole put over the opportunity that awaited the 18 men involved while the typical punching, kicking and teased eliminations of any Battle Royal ensued.

As the field thinned, The Viking Raiders eliminated Los Lotharios while Zayn fell through the ropes and to the floor, thus not officially eliminated. That left Corbin, Ricochet, Hardy and Sheamus to battle between the ropes.

The Celtic Warrior dumped Ricochet and then ate Whisper in the Wind by Hardy. The Charismatic Enigma found himself on the receiving end of an alliance at the hands of the heels. Hardy turned the tide and tossed his opponents. His celebration was short-lived, as Zayn reentered the ring and dumped the hometown hero for the win.

When Kayla Braxton entered the ring to interview the victor, she received news that Brock Lesnar's suspension had been lifted and that he will be back next week. A camera caught a dismayed Reigns exchanging looks with Heyman.

Result

Zayn won the Battle Royal

Grade

D

Analysis

This was the least inspired Battle Royal in quite some time with little or no attention paid to presenting compelling sequences or an interesting side story. It was a match that existed for the sake of existing, especially when you take into consideration how quickly the winner was dismissed and ignored in the wake of the Lesnar news.

Zayn was just tossed aside to the point that no one would really be surprised if his title shot disappeared, never to be spoken of again.

And all of that goodwill the company built with the North Carolinians by way of Hardy's win earlier in the show? Gone following the screwy finish.