GUNTHER is officially John Cena's last opponent, and these are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 12/5/25 episode of "WWE SmackDown!"

SmackDown opened with a video recapping the events of Survivor Series before we got the usual shots of people walking backstage. Nick Aldis was shown telling Drew McIntyre he was still suspended and ordered him to leave, but Cody Rhodes attacked him in his truck.

Gunther defeated LA Knight Friday night on WWE SmackDown and will now face John Cena in his retirement match at Saturday Night's Main Event. Here are all the results and highlights from the show in Austin,

If you can’t watch Smackdown on USA Network today at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central) on cable, or you are locked out by the FuboTV dispute, you can utilize a free trial from DIRECTV, which is also offering $40 off your first month.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown airs on Friday nights at 8 p.m. There are several ways to watch with a free live stream. Friday, Dec. 5 will serve as the 49th episode of Season 27, and it will air on USA.

On the road to WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, where John Cena will take the final bow of his illustrious WWE career, we make one final stop on this Friday Night SmackDown.

Friday's SmackDown managed to hype both Survivor Series and the upcoming Saturday Night's Main Event at the same time. We got two matches in the Last Time is Now tournament, a WarGames advantage bout, and an elimination match to close the show.

Multiple top stars from "WWE NXT" are backstage at "WWE SmackDown" on Friday night as the show is set to go live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. According to PWInsider Elite , those stars include Oba Femi, Trick Williams, and Sol Ruca.