Triple H kicks off the show, the Bloodline take over
Triple H kicked off the season premiere of SmackDown by welcoming everyone to a new era. Whilst he was talking, a QR code appeared which showed the story of the 3 little pigs. After Triple H had finished speaking, Roman Reigns music hit, and the Bloodline came out. Roman was quickly interrupted by Logan Paul before Paul Heyman went on about potential celebrity challengers for the Tribal Chief. Nothing in this was particularly notable but, Logan Paul calling Jey Uso the tribal chief was awesome. Both Roman and Jey’s selling was great before Sami Zayn cut a great promo onto Logan Paul. Not the greatest segment but it did have a potentially massive moment.
Grade: C
After the ad break, Solo Sikoa was in the ring ready to take on Ricochet. The match was pretty good, Ricochet is so entertaining to watch whilst Solo Sikoa is really being positioned as a major player on both SmackDown and in WWE. As Ricochet attempted to hit his finisher, Solo Sikoa caught him mid-air and hit the Spinning Solo to get the win. This was solid.
Grade: B-
After the match, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso got into an argument before Roman Reigns agreed with Zayn that Jey Uso is a “hothead”. He then told Sami that it was his problem to sort out. They then left and the New Day came face to face with them. Kofi Kingston took the mick out of Jey, saying that he used to be the Right-Hand Man but now, he is being bossed around by Sami Zayn. Zayn wasn’t happy with this and challenged the New Day to find a partner for a six-man tag. The Bloodline took over more than a third of the show and I’m fine with that. If we are going to get some tension between Roman and Jey again, the Bloodline may well become even more fascinating than they are now.
Legado Del Fantasma arrive on SmackDown! Xia Li and Sonya Deville VS Shotzi and Raquel Rodriguez
Hit Row came down to the ring to compete in a tag team match, but they were attacked by 3 men in masks. They revealed themselves as Legado Del Fantasma. Legado are an awesome team, and they now have a new member, Zelina Vega! Vega is such a cool edition to the group; she can add loads in both the in-ring aspect and in a manager role. It’s a shame that Elektra Lopez isn’t going to be with them, but Vega will arguably fit the role even better. Another great faction on Friday Night SmackDown.
Grade: A-
Xia Li and Sonya Deville were ready in the ring and they took on the team of Shotzi and Raquel Rodriguez. Shotzi and Raquel came out together on Shotzi’s tank which looked cool, and this was a typical Raquel Rodriguez tag match. The heels worked on Shotzi but as soon as the former Blackheart made the tag, Raquel destroyed Xia and Sonya before she hit the Tejana Bomb onto the former WWE official to get the win. This was alright but it wasn’t the greatest.
Grade: C
Ronda Rousey and Liv Morgan video package, Karrion Kross lays out Drew McIntyre again
A video package aired showing off the story between Rousey and Morgan. It was more positive towards Rousey than it was Morgan but that’s the point. WWE is position Rousey as a bigger star than the champ, so it makes sense that she is the star of the video package. Let’s hope the match goes well.
Karrion Kross and Scarlett did their awesome entrance before Drew McIntyre attacked him. McIntyre was finally on top of Kross, but the security guards pulled him out of the ring. By the time Drew had taken out the security guards, Karrion Kross was able to take advantage by pulling the strap that was connected to Drew’s hand. He continued to pull him into the ring post before Kross wrecked McIntyre’s back by whipping him with the strap. Pretty much this whole feud has seen Kross stand tall over McIntyre so the big question is, can he stand tall in the most important moment. I am looking forward to their match tonight, Kross should definitely win.
Grade: B
Backstage videos/segments, The Bloodline VS The New Day and ?
A video aired showing the Viking Raiders. You could then hear Sarah Logan’s voice, warning everyone about what was to come once the Raiders return. The Usos and Sami Zayn then came down to the ring and looked very confident about their chances against the New Day. Their faces quickly changed to a look of concern once they saw Braun Strowman was the New Day’s partner. The New Day and the Usos did a lot of wrestling together, but Sami Zayn also kept getting in. The best part about all of these is they continued to build the issues between Zayn and the right-hand man who at times was slapping Zayn’s back to make the tag. In the end, Braun Strowman got the tag and ran wild. He bulldozed threw both Zayn and Uso, who were still arguing on the outside before the New Day hit their weaker tag team finisher onto Jimmy Uso to get the win. Even though Usos VS New Day would be cool given the fact that the Usos are super close to beating the New Day’s tag team title reign record, the New Day are banned from fighting the Usos for the tag team championships. Hopefully that gets addressed and not just completely dropped.
Grade: B-
LA KNIGHT! Intercontinental Championship: Gunther VS Sheamus
The cameras quickly rushed backstage to see Max Dupri attacking the MMM with a steel chair. Dupri then told his “sister” that his name is LA Knight, “YEAH”. This was great and it was made even better by Wade Barrett being on commentary. He may have lost Toxic Attraction, Carmelo Hayes and Pretty Deadly for a bit but the likes of Knight, Escobar and Legado will keep him very happy for now.
After this, it was time for the Main Event matchup between the Intercontinental Champion Gunther and the Celtic Warrior Sheamus. This match was great, not as good as their instant classic in Cardiff, but it wasn’t really ever going to be better due to the ad breaks. However, these two still managed to once again knock it out the park. Gunther is a contender for wrestler of the year right now and some of the stuff he does is crazy. His chops are on a different universe to everyone else’s, and he even brought out his big splash, something that I am a big fan of. Sheamus was also brilliant. He kicked out of the powerbomb that Gunther usually always wins with, and he even hit the 10 beats of the Bodhran on all 3 levels of the ring ropes. That was awesome and very unique. At one point, Gunther looked to have tapped out, but the referee didn’t give it. Imperium and the Brawling Brutes then both ran down and started a big brawl outside the ring. Inside the ring, as Sheamus was going for the Brogue kick, Gunther hit him with the shillelagh whilst the referee wasn’t looking to get the win, meaning he retains his championship. This was all great. Gunther tapping is weird but hopefully it will be cleared up soon. Gunther standing tall in the ring over Sheamus whilst the Brutes and Imperium were still brawling on the outside created an awesome visual. I’m really looking forward to their six-man good old fashioned donnybrook tag match tonight.
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