Kevin Owens Beats CM Punk in No Holds Barred SmackDown Main Event

Kevin Owens beat CM Punk in a No Holds Barred main event on Friday night's SmackDown, and he needed a steel chain to do it. The finish came at 24 minutes 25 seconds. Punk had just hit the GTS and Owens stayed on his feet, bounced off the ropes, and knocked Punk out with a right hand wrapped in the chain Punk had brought into the match. Owens collapsed on top for the pin.

The show was taped at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and aired Friday as the go-home episode before Crown Jewel in Riyadh on Saturday. The main event lived up to the slot. Punk hit Owens with the steel ring steps. Owens put Punk through two tables at ringside with a fisherman's buster off the apron. A Stunner inside the ring got only two. The two men had set up rows of chairs earlier and used most of the furniture in the building before the chain ended it.

A series now tied at one each

This was a rematch. Punk won their first singles meeting on the August 21 SmackDown in Toronto and kept the Undisputed WWE Championship that night, with help from Sami Zayn. Friday's win evens the series at one win each. Sportskeeda's post-show analysis pointed to a deciding third match down the road, with Survivor Series WarGames on November 28 in Houston as the natural stage. Neither man is on the Crown Jewel card, so both leave Riyadh weekend with the rivalry open.

The win also changes Owens's position. Zayn holds the Undisputed title and faces Roman Reigns in the men's Crown Jewel championship match on Saturday. Reviewers at 411Mania wrote that an Owens challenge to Zayn for the title now looks likely, possibly at the Royal Rumble. Owens beat the man Zayn helped in August. That story writes its own next chapter.

Charlotte Flair returns

The other headline from the taping was a return. Charlotte Flair came back on the show, a development reported by both The Chairshot and KhelNow in their results coverage. Her return lands in a women's division that has a champion against champion match at the top of Crown Jewel: WWE Women's Champion Chelsea Green against Women's World Champion Liv Morgan. A returning Flair gives the division a fresh challenger the morning after that match, whoever wins it.

Crown Jewel is next

Crown Jewel runs Saturday in Riyadh with two champion against champion matches. In the men's match, World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns faces Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn. Zayn opened Friday's show with his final words before the match, and the broadcast kept returning to it between matches. In the women's match, Green faces Morgan. The card also carries a Last Man Standing match and a World Tag Team Championship defense, according to The Chairshot's preview.

The taped SmackDown did the job a go-home show has to do. It settled one rivalry for now, reopened the title picture behind Zayn, and put a returning star back on television hours before the roster's biggest autumn show. The Orbit Post will update this article in place with the Crown Jewel results as they land on Saturday.

Key facts

Event: WWE SmackDown, taped at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, aired Friday November 6, 2026. Main event: Kevin Owens defeated CM Punk, No Holds Barred, 24:25, chain-wrapped right hand. Series: tied 1-1 after Punk's win on August 21 in Toronto. Return: Charlotte Flair. Next show: Crown Jewel, Saturday November 7, Riyadh, Reigns against Zayn and Green against Morgan.