WWE SmackDown results, grades (Nov. 6): Kevin Owens beats CM Punk in No Holds Barred thriller

"WWE SmackDown" was inside Brooklyn's Barclays Center on this Friday, Nov. 6, for the WWE Crown Jewel 2026 go-home show — and two big names went at it atop the night's docket. In the end, it took a whole lot of weaponry for the winner to stand tall.No, you go to sleep!It was a little bit poetic that CM Punk was the one left unconscious at the end of the night, despite landing his patented GTS (Go To Sleep) finisher on Kevin Owens in the closing moment of Friday's main event.That's right. Owens beat Punk clean as a whistle in their presumed blow-off No Holds Barred match. The early goings felt somewhat off, with the two failing to capture the energy of their first match by utilizing weapons as much as they did. I know that sounds weird, but for some reason, it just didn't click. But the second half of the match saw more actual wrestling, where both men thrived and brought it home.WHATEVER IT TAKES!!! 😱@CMPunk pic.twitter.com/e68v3ud3v3— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2026 Don't get me wrong, we certainly got some sick spots out of this one, and even the sight of "Super Punk." At one point, the "Best in the World" survived a Fisherman's Buster through two tables and a Stunner. That admittedly was a bit of a head-shaker, considering he ultimately lost via a chain-wrapped punch. But had Punk still won after that, it would've been a lot worse. Owens was the right call tonight.🤯 🤯 🤯This match is MADNESS!!!@FightOwensFight | @CMPunk pic.twitter.com/EpQnYtQ1oO— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2026 KO PUNCH. 👊KEVIN OWENS BEATS CM PUNK IN NO HOLDS BARRED!!! pic.twitter.com/RnhZ1G0Dct— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2026 This main event was better than all three other matches on Friday's show combined. Calling them matches is generous, really, but we'll touch on that later. As for Punk and Owens, it's difficult to tell which directions they head next, especially Punk.Slotting him back into the WWE title picture after his shortcomings since dropping the title would be off-putting. So, unless Punk is turning heel, which he already somewhat is, you can't do that. Putting him back on "Raw" could work, and probably works better than, let's say, revisiting a Drew McIntyre feud once the latter returns. That feels like the only thing that makes sense right now — or having the feud we hoped for with Cody Rhodes after he turns heel to end his Randy Orton feud. First Kevin Owens, then the WWE Championship. It all starts tonight for @CMPunk! 😤 pic.twitter.com/sg7Xcgq0nd— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2026 Wishful thinking. But those two don't need a belt to make some gold.Owens, on the other hand, almost has to be headed for a title opportunity again. I don't love continually rehashing the Sami Zayn stuff, but considering how incredible that dude is right now, how can anyone complain?👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑"SmackDown" just loves to go through waves with our Uncrowned Gem of the Night award. For a while, Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov were the consistent kings of the trophy. Now, it's the Zayn show.The WWE Champion once again proved why he's the best thing going in WWE right now, and it's not close. Not only does he feel entirely real when he speaks, but most of what the man says is real. Zayn is a truth-teller champion who is blanketed by the bad guy label, which is kind of the only issue he has right now. But at the same time, he has to be that way. It's a perplexingly good dynamic that is working very well for him, and it shouldn't end drastically soon.To my surprise, Zayn cut tonight's promo alongside Jimmy Uso, too. It was fantastic, and a much-needed foil for him to play with — before he let Uso get decimated by the 946, which was a great wrinkle. It also only supported my belief that 946 will interfere in Zayn's Roman Reigns match to get him the win at Crown Jewel.🚨 THE 946 HAVE ARRIVED 🚨And @SamiZayn turns his back on Jimmy Uso! 😡 pic.twitter.com/nCsdjRE3D2— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2026 "Who booked this crap?"If you told me "No one," I would believe you. The aforementioned bookends were the only good thing about this show; everything in between was a disaster of epic proportions.Tama Tonga lost to Shinsuke Nakamura, continuing the most boring tag-team "division" of all time.One step ahead 😏@ShinsukeN picks up the HUGE win! pic.twitter.com/nxqq5RlTCZ— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2026 Blake Monroe was nowhere to be found. (Again.)Then came the worst part, and it might be a record: There were two non-finish no-contests on this "SmackDown." In back-to-back matches, too. It was roughly five minutes into each, at most.Talk about a great way of robbing the audience. My goodness.First, former Women's Tag Team Champions Tatum Paxley and Alexa Bliss ruined the title match between B-Fab & Michin vs. Fatal Influence by attacking both sides, despite being the faces. That was a heel-vs.-heel match, which actually looked like it was shaping up to be good. All of this was in place for WWE to scramble and force a completely unnecessary WarGames match on us because, once the brawling started, Charlotte Flair and Bayley came out to join in.We got company. 👀@AlexaBliss_WWE, @TatumPaxley and @itsBayleyWWE have entered the fray!! pic.twitter.com/bv0I1NBuQv— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2026 The Queen is here, CHARLOTTE FLAIR is BACK!!! 💎@MsCharlotteWWE pic.twitter.com/3wB4rNdxNr— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2026 Listen, I love Bayley getting away from Lyra Valkyria and even moving to "SmackDown." And I know she was beaten down by B-Fab, Michin and Jade Cargill on Monday. But for her to on-screen throw herself into this mess — and a WarGames match because of it — is a bit ridiculous. It also insinuates that the heels are just going to be buddies and team up for no reason other than the match. Perfect evidence of how WWE needs to remove WarGames from the Survivor Series event. Let stories dictate the match, not events. It's not hard.What is hard, though, is the fall Nathan Frazer and Axiom have taken from being anything more than jobbers.In Frazer's match with Damian Priest, Frazer took a Razor's Edge onto the announce desk, and the referee stopped the match. That was one of the most absurd and stupid burial booking decisions I've seen in a long, long time.OH MY GOD! 😱@ArcherOfInfamy pic.twitter.com/u13T4N2exY— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2026 In kayfabe, we're being told that the referee has never seen Fraxiom compete a single time. These dudes were in that wild six-team ladder match at SummerSlam when WWE actually pretended to care about tag wrestling. That match alone is all that's needed to see how awful stopping that match was. It did nothing for anyone, but once again, it reminds us that in the WWE world, referees are brainless.Green or gold?With all of the rambles out, I do have to give a slight nod to Chelsea Green, who delivered a very wholesome promo alongside Nick Aldis. She played the doubter role, humanizing herself by sharing her many self-belief shortcomings. It was as babyface champion as a babyface champion could be. Liv Morgan came out as the bully, delivering some good lines too, but highlighting that now she definitely has to lose their Crown Jewel match.Sadly, WWE won't leave this story with a happy ending, because you know that after that promo, Green will win and get cashed in on by her friend, Tiffany Stratton. That's the ultimate way to fully capitalize on the sympathy that's been created, after all.I give Friday's "SmackDown" a crown score of: 👑 2.5/10 👑WWE SmackDown full card results and grades:No Holds Barred match: Kevin Owens def. CM Punk — 👑 4.25/5 👑Damian Priest vs. Nathan Frazer ends via no contest — 👑 0.25/5 👑Women's Tag Team Championship match: B-Fab & Michin (c.) vs. Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid) ends via no contest — 👑 0.75/5 👑Shinsuke Nakamura def. Tama Tonga — 👑 1.75/5 👑Recap "SmackDown" with Uncrowned's live blog: