WWE SmackDown results, highlights (Dec. 26): Carmelo Hayes wins U.S. title

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WWE delivered its last "SmackDown" of 2025 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, sending fans home happy with some fun Christmas themes and an even more fun title match. Let's not waste any more time. Read away and then go watch the epic U.S. title match if you missed it.

👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑

Surprise, surprise. The "SmackDown" Uncrowned Gem of the Night still belongs to the men's U.S. title scene. Ilja Dragunov just doesn't know how not to put on bangers, but this time he lost.

Stunningly, the champion was dethroned by one Carmelo Hayes, with whom he teamed last week.

I stand by the fact that Hayes should have advanced through the John Cena retirement tournament and been the one to defeat the legend. (If LA Knight wasn't going to.) But this was a great way to prop him up highly by beating the company's best work-rate champion since Dragunov returned. And for Dragunov, his run has been excellent, and practically a weekly seminar on how to have killer matches with zero storyline attached. Now, he can go on to bigger and better things. That's wishful thinking, but exactly what should happen.

As for the match itself, I mean, my God. It was perhaps Dragunov's best yet, and some of the late match sequences were absurd. A mid-air cutter reversal from Hayes, the H-Bomb reversal, then the First 48 counter off a coast-to-coast into a Nothing But Net. Madness.

When WWE tries and gives wrestlers time, you see brilliance like what these two did.

Three hours — I mean, stages — of hell

Perhaps lost in translation last week, Drew McIntyre was granted the decision of where his title match with Cody Rhodes would take place and what the stipulation would be. That was so wildly illogical that it's difficult even to dissect. If anything, it's only deepening the hole WWE has put itself in, where McIntyre has to win the match to avoid looking like a complete clown.

Before all that, however, McIntyre made Rhodes look like the clown in their face-to-face when McIntyre made the announcement of their match. The Scotsman antagonized and attempted to get Rhodes to hit him, cutting a devilishly excellent heel promo. The match will be a three stages hell match on "SmackDown" in Berlin, Germany, two weeks from now.

That's not a stipulation we get often, so I'm here for it — although it makes it easier to excuse a McIntyre loss. Well done there, WWE. But really, this entire segment only bolstered the notion that McIntyre should win.

Watch out for Miz-tletoe

Joe Hendry has officially arrived in WWE as a member of the roster, and I dare say his introduction on "SmackDown" was perfect.

This time, it was the silliest business you can think of, but in a fun, harmless way — not the way that makes you want to slam your head into a wall. Playing up the holiday season, WWE pitted Hendry against The Miz after their interaction at Saturday Night's Main Event, and made it a Christmas-themed street fight.

It all came after Hendry opened the show with a hilarious song about Miz.

Hendry shined, and as he should have, with Miz continually playing his role to perfection. Alpha Academy and R-Truth even got involved in the fun, battering Miz with their finishers, utilizing cookies, trees and tables.

Though it was intentionally comical, it makes one wonder exactly what Hendry's run on "SmackDown" will look like.

New wave on the horizon?

We've already seen it over on "Raw" with Je'Von Evans, but WWE is seemingly realizing it needs to freshen things up with its main roster. What's always an easy way to do that? Bring up the NXT stars.

Now, of course, the art of the surprise, while nearly dead in this day and age, is the best route. However, the teasing of "free agents" Evans — and now Trick Williams on "SmackDown" — is a pretty intriguing approach.

The former NXT and TNA Champion Williams has been pushed to feel like a big deal, and it was noticeable in his presence alongside "SmackDown" general manager Nick Aldis — and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Teasing that match alone is a great way to establish Williams early as a new threat, not lacking in confidence. To keep the storyline afloat, Williams mentioned "Raw" has made him a big offer, but he wants to hear out "SmackDown," or at least play the field. That's until Rhodes cut him off.

Even more interesting, Oba Femi received a brief vignette later in the night. Are times actually about to change?

🤷 IT HAPPENED 🤷

1. Charlotte Flair defeated Lash Legend with a roll-up. WWE had this in the palm of its collective hand here and entirely dropped the ball with the finish. Don't get me wrong, the match was perfectly fine, but how you don't have Legend beat Flair clean to establish her as the force she's been presented as is quite frankly absurd. It was barely a distraction, too. Flair would have lost nothing from taking the pin, as we've seen her lose plenty since WrestleMania 41.

The women's divisions' booking is almost unsalvageable at this point. Nothing but wrong decisions to close 2025.

2. Giulia and Kiana James defeated Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre in their tag team match, when Giulia pinned Green. So this was nothing special, and as Uncrowned readers know, this program is dumb. However, some pluses were highlighted in this match. The big one being that it was mostly a showcase for James, who looked great. Additionally, this program was an easy way to flip Giulia and James to faces. They just both deserve better. If anything, it would be more interesting to see James go for the U.S. title than Giulia.

👎 DOWN & OUT 👎

Jade Cargill, Michin and B-Fab all cut promos on each other backstage. The mind legitimately can't stop being boggled by WWE taking this route for the first extended program of Cargill's title run. Even if they wanted to do a short-lived one, there are better options than someone who lost their way out of the U.S. title picture.

👑 It's a Christmas miracle. The last "SmackDown" of the year was pretty solid. I give this show a Crown score of: 7/10. 👑