The lineup for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown continues to take shape, and some interesting additions have been added to the mix just a few hours before the show is set to premiere live from “The Copper State.”
Heading into the Friday, October 24, 2025 episode of WWE SmackDown from the Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona, WWE has announced some big updates for the show.
Now confirmed for the 10/24 blue brand prime time Friday night program, which airs live this evening starting at 8/7c on the USA Network in North America and on Netflix for international viewers, is a WWE United States Championship match.
After Ilja Dragunov made a surprise return on WWE SmackDown last week, “The Mad Dragon” is back just seven days later and is ready to make his first official title defense as the newly crowned champion.
WWE has not announced an opponent for Dragunov’s U.S. title tilt on tonight’s show, however it was noted that he will continue the ongoing WWE United States Championship Open Challenge series that former champion Sami Zayn revived several weeks ago.
Additionally, WWE has confirmed that Undisputed WWE Champion “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes and “The Scottish Psychopath” Drew McIntyre are both in the house in “The Grand Canyon State” tonight, as they prepare for their WrestlePalooza rematch at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on November 1 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Previously announced for tonight’s WWE SmackDown show in Tempe is WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton in non-title singles action, as she is advertised to go one-on-one against Kiana James.
Also expected is a tag-team tilt pitting FrAxiom duo Axiom and Nathan Frazer against the veteran #DIY team consisting of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
It all goes down tonight at 8/7c on the USA Network and Netflix from the Mullett Arena in Tempe, AZ. Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com this evening for the best live WWE SmackDown results coverage on the world wide web.
For those interested, you can catch up to speed on past blue brand action here at WrestlingHeadlines.com by reading detailed match-by-match and segment-by-segment results of past episodes of WWE SmackDown by checking out our extensive WWE SmackDown Results archive section.
"It is my duty to keep the legacy of the open challenges alive."
New United States Champion @UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR is looking for a fight, who will step up TONIGHT on #SmackDown?
📺 8e/7c on @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/0E9BOFKJX7
— WWE (@WWE) October 24, 2025
After last week's chaotic ending, what will be the fallout from the brawl between @CodyRhodes and @DMcIntyreWWE?
We find out TONIGHT on #SmackDown!
📺 8e/7c on @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/xaboWzRobu
— WWE (@WWE) October 24, 2025
WWE Women's Champion @tiffstrattonwwe goes one-on-one with @kianajames_wwe TONIGHT on #SmackDown!
📺 8e/7c on @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/lWAqJDk0JA
— WWE (@WWE) October 24, 2025
