WWE SmackDown Results & Highlights (4/18/25): Cody Rhodes & John Cena's final face-off, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner crowned and more

The last SmackDown before WrestleMania 41 set the tone for what fans can expect at the two-night weekend extravaganza in Las Vegas.
WWE brought the final SmackDown before WrestleMania 41 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The night featured the traditional Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, a top title match, memorable moments, and an intense clash between John Cena and Cody Rhodes in the main event segment.

Seth Rollins came to the ring and sat in CM Punk's style on the mat to cut his promo. He called his upcoming main event match against CM Punk and Roman Reigns 12 years in the making and berated both of his opponents. Rollins also spoke about how Paul Heyman brought all three together years ago and claimed to save the future of the business by beating both of the WWE superstars.

The match started with 26 superstars from RAW and SmackDown. It was a jam-packed action contained in the ring as superstars began to toss each other over the top rope. The match came down to the final four: Shinsuke Nakamura, Andrade El Idolo, Carmelo, and Rey Fenix. Nakamura was the first to be eliminated by Andrade. El Grande Americano appeared out of nowhere to eliminate Rey Fenix.

The segment began with Rhea Ripley addressing her triple-threat match at WrestleMania 41 for the WWE Women's World Championship. She was then joined by her opponents, IYO Sky and Bianca Belair. As tensions heated, Naomi made her presence to confront Bianca about ignoring her and was ready to talk down Jade Cargill. Just then, Cargill arrived in the ring, and Naomi pushed her to Rhea Ripley. This led to all five women brawling, with the segment ending in chaos.

This match was for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Both teams went back and forth against each other in tag team wrestling action. However, the ending saw DIY interfere and cause a disqualification. They attacked both teams outside the ring and took off with the tag team titles.

Randy Orton came down to the ring to make it clear that he will not sit out this year at WrestleMania 41. The Viper announced that it would be the 20th time he competed at The Show of Shows. Following a loud cheer, Orton made it clear that he would be in his wrestling gear at the show and ready to battle any opponent sent his way.

This was a non-title match between the two SmackDown stars. It was a slow-paced yet exciting match to witness. In a surprise turn of events, Zelina Vega connected with a top rope Super Code Red and scored the pinfall over Chelsea Green.

LA Knight cut a promo, and as Solo Sikoa arrived, the brawl began outside the ring before the match started. The match between LA Knight and Solo Sikoa was a short one, as Jacob Fatu attacked LA Knight. However, Braun Strowman arrived to save LA Knight, and the duo took out Sikoa and Fatu. GM Nick Aldis came out and made an impromptu tag team match. In the end, LA Knight connected with a BFT on Solo Sikoa to pick up the win for his team.

This was a six-man tag team match pitting all members of both teams against each other. It was an exciting contest that ended with
Rey Fenix connecting the Meteora from the top rope on Julius Creed to pick up the win for his team.

John Cena shut up Cody Rhodes before he could speak. Cena berated Rhodes for not accepting The Rock's offer at Elimination Chamber. Cena revealed that in that moment, he realised it was easy to beat him at WrestleMania. After Cena gave some more heated remarks, Rhodes fired back by calling Cena overrated, over timed, and mocked his physical shape and his Hollywood appearances. The segment ended with John Cena hitting a cheap shot and trying to drop Rhodes with an AA before Rhodes countered it with a Cross Rhodes.
Also read: WrestleMania 41 Night 1 and 2 matches, main event, full predictions and more