WWE SmackDown preview (Nov. 21, 2025): The Vision is taking over John Cena’s random tournament

SmackDown airs tonight (Nov. 21) with a live show emanating from Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. This is the sixth episode of SmackDown during the seven week build to Survivor Series, which takes place on November 29.

The Vision is taking over John Cena’s random tournament

The opening round of John Cena’s “The Last Time Is Now” tournament wraps up tonight on SmackDown with the last two matches.

First up is Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed. With Bronson’s random entry into the tournament, the door is open for The Vision to use its numbers advantage to take over and become the favorites to win. Bronson is favored to beat Carmelo, at the very least, based on their positions on the Raw and SmackDown card, respectively. The Miz doesn’t even need to screw Hayes over this time, so perhaps he’ll strike after the match, since he’s a sore loser after being bounced out of the first round last week. For whatever it’s worth, the winner of this match moves on to face GUNTHER next week on Raw. If WWE wants to avoid a heel vs. heel match, then perhaps the babyface men’s War Games team will get involved tonight and make sure there is a shocking upset here.

More Raw stars are coming over for the last opening round match, which is Penta vs. Finn Balor. The winner of this match faces Solo Sikoa next week on Raw. Does that give babyface Penta the edge over the Judgment Day? More importantly, will there be any kind of interaction between Penta and his lucha brother Rey Fenix tonight?

The rest of the card

Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green plans to hold a championship celebration tonight, after she stops holding R-Truth’s balls. Will former champion Giulia crash the party, or is it already time for a new challenger to emerge?

Fraxiom vs. DIY is also booked on tonight’s show. Tommaso Ciampa is sick of being called a jackass by these guys and Ilja Dragunov, so now he has a chance to do something about it.

Other stuff to keep an eye on

– Speaking of Dragunov, is there time for him to issue another open challenge for his United States championship tonight? Is Zack Ryder hanging out backstage with his wife and ready to answer the call, just in case?

– WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill dominated B-Fab last week and then disrespected Michin in the aftermath. Does that mean Jade gets to squash Michin soon?

– Damian Priest’s injured eye is still holding him back in the ring. Should Aleister Black appeal to GM Nick Aldis to book their next gimmick match ASAP so that Priest has less time to fully recover?

– Is Aldis doing anything about finding out the identity of Jacob Fatu’s mystery attacker(s), or is that angle on hold until after Survivor Series?

– It’s War Games season! That means the brand split rules are essentially out the window and anyone from Raw can show up on SmackDown tonight. I guess even suspended SmackDown wrestlers like Drew McIntyre can make an appearance. Part-timer rules are still in effect, though, so don’t expect to see Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns show up to interrupt WWE Champion Cody Rhodes when he asks what we want to talk about. If Cody does get in the ring, will Paul Heyman send some phony police out to arrest him after he attacked the NYPD on Monday night?

– After rescuing Alexa Bliss on Raw, has Charlotte Flair already changed her tune about joining Rhea Ripley’s War Games team? Will WWE save any announcements about Becky Lynch and AJ Lee possibly joining the bout for next week’s Raw?

– Will the Street Profits provide live updates on social media about how the food tastes in WWE catering tonight?

– Next week’s episode of SmackDown features a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match pitting Solo Sikoa and his MFTs against Motor City Machine Guns, Rey Fenix, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sami Zayn. Tonight is a double taping, so the live audience in Denver will get to see this match after SmackDown goes off the air. Will the Wyatt Sicks send a message to one or both teams as they prepare for war games?

– Does LA Knight have any trash to talk after winning in the opening round of The Last Time Is Now tournament last week? Does WWE plan to release a full bracket yet, or reveal whether Knight’s next opponent will be Sheamus, Rusev, or Jey Uso? Will the tournament matches between these four men take place after Survivor Series, or will they be taped tonight for next week’s episode of SmackDown?

– Where the f*** is Randy Orton?

What will you be looking for on SmackDown?