Last week’s episode of WWE Smackdown sent the entire WWE fanbase into a tailspin as The Rock came back on the show to not only announce the location of WrestleMania 42, but to express his desire for Cody Rhodes’ soul. The Rock likely won’t be on tonight’s episode, but the WWE Champion Cody Rhodes surely will be. There’s a couple of other matches announced for tonight as well, so let’s check out what’s in store on the final Smackdown of February 2025.
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WWE Women’s United States’ Championship: Chelsea Green (c) Vs. Mystery Opponent
Prediction: Nikki Bella Will Kickstart A WrestleMania Feud With Chelsea Green
Back at the Royal Rumble, Nikki Bella made her return to the WWE after she hadn’t competed in the ring since 2022 (which was funnily enough a Royal Rumble match as well). Since then, she has been absent from WWE TV, despite the fact that her return isn’t supposed to be a one-off according to Bella herself, which she spoke about on her podcast:
Because I do know there’s a lot of rumors on the internet. Is this a one-off, or is she here to stay? Well, keep tuning in, because you will see another Fearless Nikki appearance, sooner than later, that is for sure. But I’m definitely doing more than what I just did on Saturday.” – Nikki Bella on The Nikki & Brie Show (H/T Cagesideseats)
WWE has been silent since that Rumble return, but with the prospect of a mystery opponent for Chelsea Green tonight, there’s a good chance that Bella will face Green. A WrestleMania feud between the two would make for a great storyline and this could be the perfect start to it.
WWE United States’ Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. LA Knight
Prediction: Nakamura Will Retain Tonight, He’s Destined To Drop The Belt To Somebody Else
Since losing his United States Championship in a shocking upset at Suvivor Series, LA Knight has been on warpath to get his belt back from the man who holds it now, Shinsuke Nakamura. Although Nakamura’s new look took people off guard at Survivor Series, Nakamura’s title reign so far has been unremarkable (a recurring theme for Nakamura’s WWE title reigns). On paper it seems that Knight should win the belt back as he’s the much hotter star, but that won’t happen in my opinion.
Jimmy Uso has been firing up on Smackdown with more screen time and a big win over Drew McIntyre last week. I forsee Uso winning the United States Championship from Nakamura at WrestleMania 41 and then celebrating in the ring together with his brother Jey Uso who will beat Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. Thus, Nakamura retains his championship tonight by some form or fashion.
Trish Stratus Appears Tonight On WWE Smackdown
Stratus Will Hype Her Tag Match At Elimination Chamber
With this weekend’s Elimination Chamber happening in her hometown of Toronto, Canada, there’s no surprise that WWE wanted the city’s best export to be on the card. Trish Stratus is teaming up with Tiffany Stratton to take on Nia Jax and Candice LeRae tomorrow night but Stratus will also make an appearance on tonight’s Smackdown which is also in Toronto.
Presumably, Stratus will come out to trash talk her opponents only to be interrupted by the heels. Not much to expect in terms of story for this segment, but seeing Stratus is always a joy.
How To Watch WWE Smackdown In 2025
WWE Smackdown Airs On The USA Network In The United States
- SmackDown did great ratings on FOX, thanks in part to The Bloodline story.
- FOX let SmackDown go because of disappointing ad revenue.
- The quality of SmackDown on USA hasn’t dipped.
Every WWE show moved network in the past year. NXT was a big success for the USA Network on Tuesday nights, but just recently they made the switch to CW, which brought a new look to the developmental show.
In 2019, SmackDown made its own big move, going from cable to network TV on FOX. This led to a huge increase in ratings, thanks in part as well to The Bloodline story, but with FOX not getting the ad revenue they hoped for, they let the Friday night show go. On September 13, it went back to the USA Network, and although that meant a big decline in viewership, the quality of the show hasn’t missed a beat.
International Fans Can Now Watch SmackDown on Netflix
Archived Episodes Of Smackdown Are Also On Netflix
- SmackDown has officially moved to Netflix internationally.
- Netflix has a series called WWE SmackDown Vault.
- Select episodes of older SmackDown episodes will be available to watch.
For American fans, the change to WWE Smackdown isn’t as major as the change for international audiences. Starting in January 2025, Smackdown has been streaming live on Netflix for all outside the United States.
As well, WWE viewers in the U.S. noticed that Netflix added WWE Raw content on January 1 with selections named “Raw Vault”, “Raw Is Netflix”, “Best of Raw 2024”, and “Raw Classics” (which is hosted by Big E), there’s more online for international fans.
According to Sports Illustrated, WWE SmackDown Vault is on Netflix, along with the WWE NXT Vault as well. The description for WWE SmackDown vault reads:
“From Attitude Era origins to the modern day, these matches and milestones spanning over 25 years reinforce what it means to lay the SmackDown in WWE.”
According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider:
“The Raw Vault has been added to Netflix both domestically and internationally. We are getting emails from readers pointing out some episodes are not there. That was always going to be the plan. They will be adding new content every month to that area. Internationally, the SmackDown and NXT Vaults will be similar with new content added regularly. They are not going to put everything up at once. The idea is to keep people paying for new content.”
As proof of this, Johnson reported that international viewers can currently see every episode of SmackDown from 2022-2024. While you can’t see any episodes from 2009-2021, there are select episodes from other years such as 1999, 2000 and 2008. In time, look for Netflix to have every episode just like the WWE Network did.
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