WWE SmackDown October 2, 2026: Start time, match card, how to watch and everything you need to know
WWE is only two weeks away from presenting its next Premium Live Event, Crown Jewel 2026. However, the company has announced a major title match to take place on the upcoming episode of SmackDown. This could lead to the card for Crown Jewel being altered in a major way should the challenger emerge victorious and defeat the champion. SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis posted a video on X announcing that Roxanne Perez will challenge Chelsea Green for the WWE Women’s Championship. The match will take place on the upcoming October 23rd edition of Friday Night SmackDown.
Champion match for the Crown Jewel Championship at the namesake PLE set for November 7 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Interestingly, her opponent will be none other than her Judgment Day ally, Liv Morgan, who is the reigning WWE Women’s World Champion after winning back the title from Stephanie Vaquer in a triple-threat match involving Becky Lynch at Money in the Bank 2026 PLE. On the October 12 episode of RAW after Money in the Bank, Chelsea Green interrupted Liv Morgan’s championship-win celebration.
If the match ends with Roxanne Perez defeating Chelsea Green and becoming the new WWE Women’s Champion, she will replace her in the upcoming Champion vs. After a back-and-forth exchange, an impromptu non-title match was made between Green and Morgan’s ally, Roxanne Perez. Despite multiple interferences from Judgment Day, Green held her own and fought valiantly against the Prodigy. However, the numbers game proved too much for her, as a distraction led Perez to deliver a Pop Rox on Green and pick up a huge win.