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It’s the firstFriday Night SmackDownpost-WrestleMania 41, andJohn Cenais your newWWEChampion, kicking off his historic 17th championship reign, dethroning Ric Flair as the most decorated champion in WWE history.Cena appears tonight onSmackDownfor the first time as the new champion, a three-way TLC match for the WWE Tag Team Championship between DIY, Motor City Machine Guns, and champions The Street Profits, and Zelina Vega takes on Chelsea Green for the Women’s United States Championship.
Here are your key moments fromFriday Night SmackDownfor April 25, 2025:
Here are your results fromFriday Night SmackDownfor April 25, 2025:
John Cena’s Last Real Champion Tour Begins
Randy Orton Is Now The First Challenger For The Last Real Champion
John Cena begins his official run to retirement as WWE Champion, promising to ruin wrestling for the fans and the rest of the WWE roster by retiring with the championship.
Randy Orton, in this upside-down world,is the face and the first apparent saviorfor the company, and all of this feels very weird, but very interesting, with the role reversals.
Orton is the right first opponent for a heel champion Cena, putting Cody Rhodes on the back burner for a bit andallowing this new reign of terror to play outbefore coming back for revenge.
A final Orton/Cena program is going to ring bells, just like all of their previous encounters, and we’re hopeful we finally figure out what The Rock’s purpose in all of this is atBacklash.
Zelina Vega Is Your New Women’s United States Champion
Vega Finally Defeats Green For The Championship
In a win that was a very long time coming and very overdue, Zelina Vega finally won her first WWE gold as the new Women’s United States Champion.
Chelsea Green, the inaugural champion,made the championship and her character a lot of funand got herself over with the fans in a big way throughout her reign.
Vega remains one of the most underrated wrestlers in WWE, and this championship runcould help put additional shine on the new championship, especially if WWE finally pulls the trigger and allows a rematch to take place atBacklashas opposed to another SmackDown rematch.
Here’s hoping the crowd and the company get behind Vega as she deserves, as she’ll undoubtedly make this run incredibly special.
Aleister Black Returns To WWE
Black Gets A Hero’s Welcome With His NXT Presentation
In news that should come as a surprise to no one,Aleister Black returned to WWE after a four year absence.Black, who spent the past four years with AEW and performed as Malakai Black after his shocking release from WWE in 2021, left AEW in February when his contract expired.
With the return of Black, and creative using his NXT presentation as opposed to his incarnation in his original main roster run, he nowreceives a second chance at a proper runonSmackDownthat will allow him to be one of Triple H’s chosen top stars.
If they stay the course and stick the landing, there’s no limit to how far Black can climb in WWE.
WWE
Our Take On Tonight’s Friday Night SmackDown
Major Storyline Foundation Laid That Sets The Tone For Post-Mania
The differential between the first post-ManiaMonday Night Rawand the first post-ManiaFriday Night SmackDown was clear tonight, and although the stories are in line with what they’re doing on the Red Brand,the energy level of the crowd didn’t seem to match Monday’s energy, and it wasn’t the performers' fault, especially for the incredible main event, which received a mostly solid energy response but deserved way more than it got.
The triple threat TLC match for the Tag Team Championships was an immediate classic and getting the entire matchcommercial free in the last half hour of the show was absolutely the right choice for the presentation.
A returning Aleister Black, the new Women’s United States Champion in Zelina Vega, the fully loaded United States Championship picture, and the exciting build between the final John Cena-Randy Orton show down has set some solid story structure as the build toBacklashbegins.
