CM Punk and Kevin Owens to appear on SmackDown in Philadelphia; Chelsea Green returns as Interim WWE Women’s Champion

CM Punk and Kevin Owens are scheduled to appear on the August 7 edition of WWE SmackDown, which will be broadcast live from the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia as the Friday fallout show from last weekend’s SummerSlam 2026. Chelsea Green will make her first SmackDown appearance as the Interim WWE Women’s Champion following her ladder-match victory at SummerSlam.

SummerSlam 2026 ran over two nights in Minneapolis, Minnesota, producing multiple storyline developments that SmackDown will address. On Night 1 Fatal Influence defeated the Bella Twins and Paige, after which the twins turned on Paige in a post-match beatdown. Randy Orton returned on Night 1 to attack Cody Rhodes, an interference that cost Rhodes the Undisputed title match against CM Punk. Night 2 saw Kevin Owens win the fatal four-way to become the new number one contender, Baron Corbin defeat Trick Williams to capture the US Championship, and Chelsea Green climb the ladder to claim the Interim WWE Women’s title.

WWE has listed Cody Rhodes, Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton, CM Punk, Gunther and Trick Williams among the featured superstars for tonight’s show. A grudge match between Charlotte Flair and Jade Cargill has been made official after Flair informed acting GM Adam Pearce she wanted a one-on-one match to avenge Jade’s attack that injured her tag partner, Alexa Bliss; the pair previously brawled during last week’s show and again during the ladder match at SummerSlam.

Kevin Owens’s fatal four-way victory at SummerSlam established him as the new number one contender for the Undisputed title, and both Owens and Undisputed Champion CM Punk are confirmed to appear on the SmackDown fallout. The blue brand registered two major returns at the pay-per-view—Randy Orton and Kevin Owens returned at SummerSlam—and both are expected to appear on SmackDown tonight, with Owens’s appearance confirmed by WWE.

Chelsea Green’s ladder-match triumph delivered her first World title in the promotion as she became Interim WWE Women’s Champion. With Rhea Ripley recently undergoing surgery and rumblings of her relinquishing the title, Green’s SmackDown appearance will be her first on the blue brand since SummerSlam.

Fans are anticipating further returns on SmackDown; Alexa Bliss, who was written off television before SummerSlam following an attack by Jade Cargill, is among the names being expected and could return during the Charlotte Flair vs Jade Cargill match to assist her tag partner. The show could also feature other performers who have been away from programming returning with new creative direction.

Money in the Bank is the next pay-per-view after SummerSlam 2026 and is scheduled for October 10, 2026, at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.