Add as a preferred source on Google Nick Aldis is running Friday nights again after dropping his first WWE match to Gunther on Night 1 of SummerSlam.
Triple H caught up with Aldis after the loss holding the resignation letter Aldis had turned in and ripped it up on the spot, telling him to get back to work as SmackDown General Manager.
Aldis had stepped away from the job on the July 24 SmackDown, when he signed the contract for the Gunther match.
Adam Pearce spelled out the terms in the segment: Aldis couldn’t work as an active wrestler and keep the GM spot at the same time, so Pearce took over both Raw and SmackDown while Aldis was off the desk.
Nick Aldis has resigned as WWE SmackDown GM! pic.twitter.com/remQTFaaF8
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) August 2, 2026
At U.S. Bank Stadium, Aldis had the crowd with him from the opening bell and looked like he might steal it late, hitting a superplex and a running powerslam before locking in the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf. Gunther got to the ropes, cut him off and choked him out with the sleeper for the tap at 11:40.
Aldis stayed in the ring after the finish and got a big ovation, complete with “you still got it” chants, before his wife, Mickie James, and their son Donovan came in to celebrate with him.