Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown" kicked the build to Night of Champions into high gear and continued the push toward a massive clash between CM Punk and John Cena.

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton advanced to the King of the Ring semifinals after winning their respective matches on WWE SmackDown. Orton defeated LA Knight, Aleister Black, and Carmelo Hayes, while Rhodes overcame Shinsuke Nakamura,

John Cena will wrestle on SmackDown for the first time since 2022.John Cena's farewell tour has been an exciting program to witness on WWE television programming. The Cenation Leader has wrestled some marquee matches against the likes of Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.