WWE SmackDown recap, reactions (July 24, 2026): Where’s the heat?

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JULY 24: CM Punk listens to his opponent during SmackDown at Oakland Arena on July 24, 2026 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano/WWE via Getty Images) | WWE via Getty Images The sub-headline gives you all the intro you need, I reckon. A live blog of SmackDown (with a much better subhead, I might add) is here. I struggled with how to divide this show up, and the way I ended up choosing might seem weird, but it honestly made as much sense to me anything else. The Men Given a performer and character like Gunther and a need to keep him busy outside of the World title scene, all the stories WWE’s come up with for Gunther over the past year are perfectly acceptable. Unfortunately, they also kind of feel like barely different variations on the same theme. At this point, they’re also making “The Career Killer” gimmick something that’s holding Der Ring General back rather than allowing him to remain a viable main event talent. That’s largely because, as Nick A