Imperium VS The Brawling Brutes, Ricochet VS Ivar
The first Friday Night SmackDown after WrestleMania 39 saw Imperium battle the Brawling Brutes in six-man tag team action. Everyone involved in this match is talented and they all put on a good showing. However, I’ve seen this match lots of times in the past 8 months and it would be so much better if WWE did new feuds and matches, particularly given the fact that this is meant to be the start of a “new season”. Also, the ending saw Sheamus get the victory after he delivered the Brogue Kick to Giovanni Vinci. This made no sense as Gunther was the legal man and he definitely didn’t make a tag to Vinci in the closing phase of the contest. Honestly, that ending really annoyed me.
Grade: C
Paul Heyman talked about Roman Reigns’ success before Jey Uso walked in and asked where Jimmy is. The Wiseman told “Main Event” Jey Uso that the Tribal Chief asked Jimmy to watch the show from home so Jey could finish the Sami Zayn problem on his own. When Uso left, Heyman turned to Solo and told him that “if Jey doesn’t solve the Sami Zayn problem, you need to solve our problems”. Ricochet then made his way down to the ring as he was about to go one-on-one with Ivar. These two have completely different builds, but they are both capable of diving off the top rope. However, it was pretty clear who was more comfortable in the air as whilst Ricochet kept hitting his moves expertly, Ivar kept missing. In the end, this cost the Viking as the One and Only was able to pick up the victory after delivering the Shooting Star Press. The loss does no good for Ivar, but I like Ricochet so I’m glad he won.
Grade: C+
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez VS Natalya and Shotzi, Triple H has an announcement, The Judgment Day VS The LWO
Sami Zayn spoke to Kevin Owens backstage and he told his best friend that he needs to go and speak with Jey Uso. Kevin Owens said that it was a really bad idea, but he also knew that Sami wasn’t going to listen. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez then made their way down to the ring as they were about to face the team of Natalya and Shotzi. Both Natalya and Shotzi believed they deserved a title opportunity at Becky Lynch and Lita more than their opponents do, but they weren’t able to back it up in the ring as Liv Morgan picked up a quick victory after hitting the ObLIVion. I find it a bit ridiculous that WWE never mentions the fact that Raquel and Shotzi were best friends at the end of 2022.
Grade: C
Xavier Woods and Madcap Moss were once again playing WWE 2K23 together before LA Knight walked in and said WrestleMania Goes Hollywood was clearly missing something. Xavier Woods then called the Megastar “rubbish” before LA smashed Woods’ PS5 controller. The two will face off in a match next week. Triple H then made his way down to the ring to address the WWE Universe. Hunter started by talking about WrestleMania (which is what he spoke about on Monday) before he announced that there will be another WWE Draft in a few weeks. Personally, I didn’t get anything out of this promo. However, I always enjoy the Draft and hopefully, it will mean that we get fresh/new feuds and matches. Also, his last line made it feel like we’re going to get some NXT stars involved.
Grade: C+ (because I like the WWE Draft)
Triple H welcomed the brand-new SmackDown Women’s Champion down to the ring as Rhea Ripley walked out alongside the rest of the Judgment Day. Rhea said she did the impossible at WrestleMania before Finn Balor said he’s the last man standing after his feud with Edge. Dominik Mysterio was then booed to death before he finally said that his father’s pathetic before Damian Priest sent a message to Bad Bunny. Out of all of these promos, Priest’s was by far the best delivered and the most intriguing. The newly named “Latino World Order” then made their way down to the ring as Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar teamed up to take on Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio. This was probably the best match of the night as all four men got in what they needed to put in. Rey and Dominik continued their high-intensity feud whilst Santos and Damian showcased their immense talents. Zelina Vega also dropped Rhea Ripley on the outside with a hurricanrana which was pretty cool, but in the end, it was Priest who picked up the victory after delivering South of Heaven to Escobar. I’m happy that Priest is being booked this strong.
Grade: B-
Sami Zayn VS Jey Uso
After an announcement that Shinsuke Nakamura is returning next week (awesome), Sami Zayn found Jey Uso backstage and told him to realise that Roman will turn on him sooner rather than later. Before Jey could say anything, there was a lot of shouting in the background and that was because Solo Sikoa had dropped a massive case on top of Kevin Owens’ leg. Paul Heyman watched on in the background. This led into the Main Event as Sami Zayn looked to focus when he took on his former buddy. This was a solid match, both guys are excellent and the two were pretty evenly matched. In the end, though, Solo Sikoa arrived and delivered a Samoan Spike to Sami which allowed Main Event Jey Uso to pick up the win after delivering a Superkick. After the match, Solo beat down Zayn some more before he went for another Samoan Spike. However, Jey stopped his younger brother (like he did at Raw is XXX), but this time, it was so Jey could deliver another Superkick of his own to the Master Strategist. As Solo went to get a chair, Matt Riddle’s music hit and the Original Bro took both of the heels out to end the show. Even though Matt Riddle wasn’t the most exciting save, it does make sense given Solo was the guy who put him on the shelf for months. Should lead to a fun six-man tag down the line.
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