Bayley Breaks Down Over Naomi’s Pregnancy, What Recently Scared The Rock?, WWE SmackDown Ratings Tank (8/22/25), Drew McIntyre Posts A Strong Warning

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is stepping into the shoes of MMA legend Mark Kerr for A24’s upcoming film The Smashing Machine, and he admits the role initially scared him.

During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the actor and WWE icon said portraying the UFC fighter was intimidating, but also described the experience as “freeing.”

You can check out some highlights from the interview below:

On being scared to take on the role: “It was very real. I had not experienced that in a very, very, very long time, where I was really scared and thinking, I don’t know if I can do this. Can I do this? I realized that maybe these opportunities weren’t coming my way because I was too scared to explore this stuff.”

On looking for an opportunity to prove himself: “I was so hungry for an opportunity to do something raw and gritty and rip myself open. And all of a sudden, Smashing Machine comes along.”

On finding it a new experience for him: “You have to be willing to tap into all the stuff that you’ve gone through, and this was stuff that I had not explored on camera or otherwise. I’m not a big therapy person, even though I’m an advocate for whatever it is you need. I found it so scary, but also, so nourishing and freeing. I ripped it open.”

On opening himself up to explore something that scared him: “After all these years I’ve been making movies, it became so glaring to me. It’s almost like a… [trails off] There’s a song from George Strait called ‘Where Have I Been All My Life?’ This reminded me of that. Where have I been?” Johnson says. “The thing I was fearing is the thing that actually gives me the greatest peace—a safe place to explore all this stuff that I’ve experienced over the years. I have a place to put it.”

Last week’s episode of WWE SmackDown held steady in the key demo but dipped to its lowest total audience in seven weeks.

According to a report from Programming Insider, Friday’s show averaged a 0.35 rating in adults 18–49 and 1,258,000 viewers. That matched the previous week’s demo rating but marked a 12% drop from the prior audience of 1,430,000.

The 0.35 rating ties for SmackDown’s second-lowest demo since July 4th (0.32), while the audience was its smallest since that same holiday episode, which drew 1,116,000. Despite the slide, SmackDown ranked #2 for the night across cable and broadcast, trailing only the NFL preseason game, which topped the charts with a 0.42 demo rating and 2,563,000 viewers. (By comparison, the previous week’s NFL preseason broadcast delivered a 0.29 and 1,222,000).

Drew McIntyre delivered a heated message to Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton in a video posted to social media. The former WWE Champion, who was RKO’d by Orton on SmackDown after taking verbal jabs at Rhodes, recorded the promo while working out.

McIntyre reflected on the recent chaos, admitting that he may have gone too far when he kicked Rhodes’ head through the announce table. He noted that the consequence is having to wait for his shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship, adding that WWE won’t disclose “what’s wrong with their golden boy.”

Turning his attention to Orton, McIntyre called their rivalry a “side quest” and revisited their long history. He questioned Orton’s motivations, mocking WWE for “Cody reruns” and suggesting Orton was trying to mimic John Cena. McIntyre then declared, “I think you’re Old Yeller. I think you want to go out in a blaze of glory. I think you see me as your way out of this industry — and I’m happy to oblige.”

He closed by promising to confront Orton on Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown, warning that if Orton tried to sneak up on him again, he’d be met with a fist to the face.

Please, Randy, don’t make me give you the Old Yeller treatment… pic.twitter.com/N3riCED1fq

— Drew (@DMcIntyreWWE) August 25, 2025

Lyra Valkyria says she thoroughly enjoyed her rivalry with Becky Lynch and is energized by the current WWE landscape. The former WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion spoke with TV Insider in a new interview, and you can check out some highlights below:

On her rivalry with Becky Lynch: “It has been an incredible few months. Now I’m looking back on my reign as IC Champion for the first time and everything that has happened with Becky and Bayley over the last few months. I now have this really cool catalog of matches. I’m creating this body of work that I’m really proud of. I’ll tell people all the time when I first started watching WWE, I used to fast forward the matches to get to the winner and what happened at the end. What they said to each other. I’ve always had an appreciation for that side of it. To get to now do more of that and do it against people I looked up to and made me want to do this has been amazing.”

On the background of her character: “My inspiration comes from an Irish mythology goddess called the Morrigan, who is basically Ireland’s version of the Valkyrie. That’s where it all came from. The audience is so funny. I have all this research and want it to look like this and that. There was so much work into it. Then it’s broken down into, “Bird Lady!”

On the chants she gets from fans around her entrance theme: “I always have the NXT crowd to thank for the chants that happen when I do my entrance. That started in NXT. It’s that close-knit, homegrown crowd that comes back every time. It was pretty crazy when it started. The fact it stuck and evolved to the point of people doing it during WrestleMania. That’s very cool.”

On the current WWE landscape: “It’s hard to say because I’ve only been around now, but I could not have found a better time to be part of this locker room than right now. I really feel that, especially at Evolution. It’s so hard to talk about a feeling in this setting, but I wish I could take the atmosphere and good vibes and camaraderie between the girls at Evolution and show that to the world. I think that was a big reason the show ended up so good and why we knocked it out of the park. It’s because we are all rooting for each other, but there is still a level of competition. I have to talk about the appreciation we got from the crowd as well. That moment before the bell rang before our first match, the rise in the way the people came up. It was like they were saying they wanted this show and wanted more from us. We really took in that appreciation that day, especially even going up with all the events that were happening that weekend. Beyoncé was across the road, but I think the crowd went out of their way to show us the love.”

Bayley admitted that she got emotional after learning about Naomi’s pregnancy. Naomi revealed the news on last week’s episode of RAW, where she also vacated the Women’s World Championship.

Speaking with Mercedes Mone during an Instagram Live over the weekend, Bayley recalled her reaction. She said,

“We were supposed to be on this tour together, but now she can’t because she wants to start a family. Dude, I cried so much when she told me. I felt like such a loser.”

She continued, “I wasn’t at Raw because they’ve just been doing the vignettes with me, and I was like, everybody better be waiting to give her a big hug! I hated that I couldn’t be there.”

Naomi promised fans she’ll return to reclaim the championship once her pregnancy journey is complete.