Lets Play: WWE 2K25 My 31 Favorite Matches of 2025 Day 18
🩸 DAY 18 – LA Knight def. Zack Ryder Last Time Is Now Tournament – First Round Match Event: SmackDown #1369 Promotion: WWE Date: November 14, 2025 City: Albany, New York Venue: MVP Arena Transmission: USA Network Commentary: Michael Cole & Corey Graves 💭 PERSONAL NOTE FROM YOU This was a dream match I didn’t expect to get. Two guys from different eras of internet hype, fan movement, and underdog rise finally crossing paths in a real storyline. It felt like a full-circle moment. 📖 WHAT HAPPENED IN THE MATCH The match starts with a feeling-out process — Zack immediately tries to steal it with a Rough Ryder, but Knight ducks out of the way and Zack sends him to the floor. Commercial break. Back from break, Knight has taken control. He whips Ryder hard into the corner and hits a high back body drop. Knight strings together: • rapid jabs • big running lariat • side Russian legsweep • jumping neckbreaker Covers — two-count. Ryder fires back with: • stiff right hands • a short Impaler DDT • sets up for the Broski Boot — but Knight moves and Zack crashes into the turnbuckles. Then we get a great momentum trade: Zack goes for a Killswitch — blocked. Knight plants him with an inverted DDT. LA rolls to his feet, climbs the ropes, goes for a diving attack — NOPE. Ryder moves and blasts him with the Rough Ryder. 1… 2… — KNIGHT KICKS OUT. The crowd goes nuts. Ryder tries a front kick → Knight blocks the BFT attempt. Ryder tries a schoolboy → Knight kicks out. Knight eats a corner knee → Ryder climbs the ropes— ZACK DIVES— COUNTER POWERBOMB BY KNIGHT. And that’s the moment the match shifts for good. Knight scoops him up… lines him up… B! F! T! 1… 2… 3. LA Knight moves on in the tournament. Zack Ryder gets the moment he always deserved. Fans get a dream match nobody expected in 2025. 🔥 DAY 18 SUMMARY DAY 18 – LA Knight vs. Zack Ryder (SmackDown Tournament Match) Not a ranking — just one of our favorite matches of the year. A fun, nostalgic, unexpected clash with both men giving a PPV-level performance on TV. Knight advances — but Ryder gets the love and respect he earned over a decade. Broadcasted live on Twitch -- Watch live at / rkorocker98
