PW Friday Night Fiasco: Scheduling Clashes & ICYMI Highlights
If last night left you staring at the remote in disbelief, you’re not alone. On Friday, December 5, 2025, WWE SmackDown, TNA’s Final Resolution, and ROH’s Final Battle all aired at the same time. SmackDown was 8:00 PM ET on FOX, ROH streamed on HonorClub around 7:00 PM ET, and TNA started at 8:30 PM ET on TNA+ and TrillerTV — total overlap.
As a fan, you’re flipping channels, splitting streams, or just picking one and FOMO-ing the rest. It’s exhausting, it’s unfair, and honestly, it sucks the joy out of what should be a communal hype-fest.
Why does this keep happening? Look, wrestling’s ecosystem is a wild mix of corporate giants and scrappy indies fighting for eyeballs. WWE’s got the broadcast muscle, airing SmackDown live weekly because that’s their bread-and-butter ratings machine—last night’s episode drew from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, pulling in the post-Survivor Series fallout crowd.
TNA and ROH, meanwhile, are leaning into their PPV model for big December payoffs: Final Resolution marking the end of TNA’s year with title defenses, and Final Battle as ROH’s traditional year-closer, loaded with seven championship bouts to cap off a stacked HonorClub slate.
The result? Direct counter-programming on a prime night, forcing fans into triage mode. It’s not malice—it’s just the brutal reality of a fragmented industry where everyone’s chasing that holiday surge. But come on, promoters: a little calendar coordination could turn this into a “Wrestling Wonderland” marathon instead of a choose-your-poison nightmare.
Fans deserve better than this scheduling schizophrenia!
Rant over. Since we can’t rewind time (or clone ourselves), here’s your “In Case You Missed It” lifeline—a quick-hit roundup of the top highlights from each show. Spoilers ahead, obviously. Grab your popcorn (or protein shake) and catch up.
WWE SmackDown: Cena’s Farewell Gets a Brutal Twist
SmackDown delivered that classic blue-brand polish, blending tournament drama with Survivor Series fallout. The big story? The “Last Time Is Now” tournament finals to crown John Cena’s retirement opponent for Saturday Night’s Main Event. Fans were chanting for the underdog, but…
Gunther def. LA Knight via submission in a hard-hitting main event. Knight brought the fire with DDTs and that signature elbow drop, but Gunther’s power game—German suplexes for days—proved too much. The Imperium leader advances to face Cena, leaving Knight looking like the eternal almost-there hero. Brutal near-falls had the Austin crowd electric.
Ilja Dragunov def. Carmelo Hayes in the U.S. Open Challenge. Dragunov retained his United States Championship with a Torpedo Moscow after Tommaso Ciampa’s interference DQ tease turned into chaos. Hayes’ athleticism shone, but this sets up a Ciampa-Dragunov grudge match.
Cody Rhodes promo gone wild: The Undisputed WWE Champion called out suspended Drew McIntyre (who got booted from the building early), then announced the NXT Title winner at Deadline (Rick Saints vs. Oba Femi) gets a shot at him on SNME. Rhodes vs. NXT? Cross-brand dream match alert.
Women’s tag tease: Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss reunited post-Wargames, eyeing the Kabuki Warriors’ titles. Bayley vs. Sol Ruca got booked for SNME too. Quick hits: Jade Cargill squashed Alba Fyre, and the Wyatt Sicks brawled with the Street Profits over tag gold.
Solid episode, but man, that Gunther glazing felt predictable. If you skipped for the indies, you missed Cena’s shadow looming large.
TNA Final Resolution: Title Chaos and Debut Surprises
TNA went all-in from El Paso, Texas, with a stacked card of defenses and faction wars. This was peak TNA: high spots, hardcore vibes, and enough swerves to fill a bingo card. Highlights?
Frankie Kazarian retained the TNA World Championship against JDC. The “King of TNA” survived The System’s interference (Moose, Eddie Edwards, etc.) with a low blow and Styles Clash. Post-match, Santino Marella got KO’d by Stacks—referee drama at its finest.
Lei Ying Lee retained the Knockouts World Championship vs. Xia Brookside, but chaos erupted with Dani Luna and Indi Hartwell brawling into the ring (setting up a dog collar match next week). Lee’s foot-on-the-ropes win was controversial, but the post-fight pull-apart stole the show.
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo def. Steve Maclin for the TNA International Championship. Stacks (with NXT backup like Tyriek Igwe) countered Maclin’s aggression with a superkick party, pinning the champ clean-ish.
Faction frenzy: The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Trey Miguel, Myron Reed) topped Order 4 (Mustafa Ali, John Skyler, Jason Hotch, Special Agent 0) in an 8-man tag. High-flying dropkicks and Bronco Busters galore. Pre-show bonus: Bear Bronson debuted in a six-man tag win for The System.
Other gems: The Hardys retained the Tag Titles over High Ryze; Leon Slater kept the X-Division belt against AJ Francis; and a street fight saw Matt Cardona survive Mance Warner.
TNA’s intimacy shines here—every match felt personal. If SmackDown was the blockbuster, this was the gritty indie flick you binge for the twists.
ROH Final Battle: Survival of the Fittest and Title Flips
ROH closed the PPV year with a bang from Columbus, Ohio (tied into GalaxyCon), cramming seven title matches into one night. High-flying survival and pure wrestling? Yes, please. Standouts:
Bandido retained the ROH World Championship in a wild Survival of the Fittest elimination match vs. Blake Christian, Sammy Guevara, The Beast Mortos, Komander, and Hechicero. Bandido outlasted the high-flyer frenzy (corkscrew moonsaults, hurricanranas everywhere) with a 21-plex to pin Hechicero last. 28 minutes of non-stop insanity.
Red Velvet def. Mercedes Moné to win the ROH Women’s World TV Championship—and new! Velvet reclaimed her gold after 481 days sidelined, countering Moné’s crossface into a rope-assisted roll-up. The CEO’s reign ends in shocking fashion.
Athena retained the ROH Women’s World Championship vs. Persephone in the other main event. The Goddess dominated with Kryptonite combos, but Persephone’s fire made it a fight—Athena sealed it with the O-Face.
Deonna Purrazzo def. Billie Starkz to become the inaugural ROH Women’s Pure Champion. Tournament final delivered: armbars, sentons, and a Venus de Milo submission after Starkz burned her rope breaks early.
Crossovers popped: Ricochet retained the AEW National Title over Dalton Castle with a 630 Senton; LFI’s Sammy Guevara & Beast Mortos snagged the ROH Tag Titles from… wait, themselves? Nah, they defended against Adam Priest & Tommy Billington. Shane Taylor Promotions held the Six-Man Tags over SkyFlight.
ROH’s underdog charm won out—pure athleticism without the fluff. If you’re an HonorClub sub, this was $10 well spent.
