4 Mistakes WWE made on SmackDown before Saturday Night’s Main Event 

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Nearly every match had interference during and/or after the conclusion. Danhausen continued to work in his backstage laboratory, draining energy from the arena.

With two big events in two weeks, Triple H needed to hit a home run, or at least a triple, with the go-home show. WWE made the next four mistakes on SmackDown before Saturday Night’s Main Event.

#4. THAT was Blake Monroe’s SmackDown debut?

WWE has aired vignettes for Blake Monroe’s impending arrival on SmackDown for the last few weeks. They’re the same segments used during her time in NXT. Each promo was close to two minutes long.

When it came time for her first appearance on SmackDown, fans may have missed it if they were looking down at their phones or surfing the web. Monroe appeared backstage to mock Chelsea Green. It lasted about 15 seconds.

Nia Jax and Lash Legend then attacked Green for assisting Tiffany Stratton earlier in the night. The pre-taped promos lasted longer than her live appearance.

WWE should have made a much bigger deal of her first appearance, but like most things in 2026, they dropped the ball. Sol Ruca has been treated like a star.

#3. WWE goes with the same stars week after week

Instead of an exciting debut or an unexpected opponent, Lash Legend answered Tiffany Stratton’s United States Title Open Challenge.

Legend and Nia Jax are already booked for a tag title contest at Saturday Night’s Main Event. So there’s nothing for Jordynne Grace?

WWE may have released over 30 stars a month ago, but it feels like the same rotation of stars gets all the chances. That spot could have been a one-off for someone like Jaida Parker, or even Bayley or Lyra Valkyria from RAW.

#2. Not ending the SmackDown opening segment with the big reveal

SmackDown’s opening segment basically set up a tag team contest for later in the night. It’s nothing new, but the manner in which it played out was boring. Flair and Ripley argued until Flair said she wanted a match with Fatal Influence.

The two sides agreed, and the segment just ended. We then go backstage, and Bliss claimed she wasn’t medically cleared. All she really wants, however, is for Flair and Ripley to team together ahead of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Having that end the opening segment would have been much better than essentially an agreement between two enemies. There was no heat to end it, and this would have been something.

#1. Cody Rhodes proves Sami Zayn’s point about Cody Rhodes

After another awkward segment between Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes, Zayn went to Nick Aldis to ask why he wasn’t booked for anything on tonight’s show. Aldis said there wasn’t room for him on tonight’s SmackDown.

This claim comes after showing a recap of Tribal Combat from RAW. Zayn admits that if it were Cody asking this, he’d easily have a spot. Rhodes overheard the exchange and made a match between them.

The whole segment again proves Sami Zayn to be correct, and that he’s being used by Triple H as a middle finger to diehard WWE fans who criticize the product when it doesn’t make sense. Aldis didn’t stop Cody, allowing him to dictate what happened.