Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross, Kofi Kingston VS Sami Zayn
SmackDown kicked off in the parking lot were Karrion Kross and Scarlett had been involved in a car accident. As Kross was being checked on, Drew McIntyre attacked him before WWE officials and referees pulled the Scottish Warrior away. The big thing with this was Mr. Kross was scheduled to take part in the main event matchup where the winner would earn a shot at Gunther and the Intercontinental Championship. A nice and different way to start the show.
Grade: B-
Back inside the arena, Kofi Kingston came out and he and his brother Xavier Woods talked about how much their record tag team title reign means to them. Sami was then backstage and told Jey to come out with him before he got a phone call from the tribal chief. We don’t know what he said but it had something to do with Jey needing to make sure that Sami Zayn gets the win unlike Monday. The match was pretty solid, both men are excellent at what they do and the best part of this whole thing was Sami hitting some of the Usos moves. At one point, Jey Uso connected with a super kick onto Xavier Woods and whilst Zayn and Kingston were exchanging rollups, Jey Uso assisted Sami which allowed the Honorary Uce to get the win. Jey can’t stand Zayn, but he is too scared to go against the Tribal Chiefs wishes. This was all good.
Grade: B
Rey Mysterio attempts to Quit, Roxanne picks Cora’s poison, Braun and Omos
Triple H was talking to police officers before Raw’s Rey Mysterio came to see him. The legendary luchador told Hunter that he can’t take any more of what’s going on with his son Dominik and wants to quit WWE entirely. Triple H knew that this “wasn’t best for business” and asked Rey to have 5 minutes in his office to see if they could sort it out. Roxanne Perez was then backstage talking to Shotzi before she asked Raquel if she would face Cora Jade on this week's NXT. The best part of this was Raquel mentioned her history with Cora Jade. After this, Bayley laughed at Roxanne’s choice before Perez took a dig at Bayley’s losing streak. The six women would all face off later on tonight. Braun Strowman was then facing two enhancement talents known as Brian Thomas and James Maverick. Strowman squashed them like a certain “Nigerian Giant” does on Monday Night Raw and speak of the devil, Omos walked down the arena steps alongside MVP. P told Strowman that “monsters fade into the shadows” before the two walked off. Omos VS Strowman isn’t going to be particularly exciting but, it’s arguably the perfect match for the Crown Jewel Premium Live Event.
Grade: C- for the match
Mansoor VS LA Knight, Damage CTRL VS Raquel Rodriguez, Shotzi and Roxanne Perez
Whilst the Bloodline were talking backstage, Jey Uso asked Sami Zayn for a thankyou before Zayn told him he didn’t do anything. Even Solo backed up Zayn which is particularly interesting. Jey Uso for the 2023 Royal Rumble? The Maximum Male Models were then in the ring ready to take on their former boss, now turned LA Knight. Wade Barrett said that Knight was his favourite ever NXT superstar who isn’t called Mandy Rose which is very funny before he marked out for the megastar. Mansoor got a bit of offense in due to some distractions by Mace and Maxxine Dupri but, LA Knight mostly dominated and hit the BFT to get the win. In a surprising turn of events, the former Million Dollar Champion seemingly turned heel by saying he doesn’t need any of the fans. This feels strange. Knight can play a good heel but he’s so easily likeable. His catchphrases are already starting to get over with the main roster crowd so he could be a big favourite in a few months. Let’s see how it goes.
Grade: C
Damage CTRL were then ready to take on the team of Raquel Rodriguez, Shotzi and NXT’s Roxanne Perez. Roxanne was in the ring for most of the match, but this was a good thing as it showcased her ability whilst also giving the commentators the chance to hype up NXT. Raquel, Shotzi, Kai and SKY all got their offense in as they build up to their women’s tag team title match and Bayley is so good at making her opponents look great. Perez managed to kick out of the Bayley-to-Belly, but she still ended up losing to Bayley as she showcased her experience by getting the rollup victory. WWE should do this more with NXT talent.
Grade: B-
Hit Row VS Legado Del Fantasma
Another Viking Raiders video aired with Sarah Logan’s back turned to the camera. The return to the ring is hopefully not too far away for the former NXT Tag Team Champions. When we came back to the arena, Hit Row and Legado Del Fantasma quickly started to brawl. Wade Barrett reminded everybody that the two factions had previously feuded on NXT before a pretty short match. Whilst the referee’s back was turned, Santos Escobar attacked Ashante ““Thee”” Adonis before rolling under the ring which was pretty funny. Zelina Vega then jumped onto B-Fab before Legado hit their tag team finisher to get the win. It was an important first victory for Legado and after the match, Santos and Zelina joined them in a line.
Grade: C
Liv Morgan “goes extreme”, Intercontinental Championship Fatal-4 Way Number 1 Contenders match
Sonya Deville cut a backstage promo and took the mick out of Liv Morgan before Morgan attacked her. She placed Deville onto a table before she jumped off a piece of scaffolding. It looked crazy. The main event matchup then saw Sheamus, Ricochet, Solo Sikoa and Karrion Kross fight for the right to face Gunther down the line. However, Karrion Kross was unable to compete due to the incidents that happened at the start of the show meaning he was replaced by Rey Mysterio. Mysterio is also now a regular member of the blue brand so it will be interesting to see what the Judgement Day have to say about it. The match itself was really good. Sheamus and Solo showcased their brawling styles whilst Mysterio and Ricochet showed why they are two of the greatest highflyers of all time. At one point, Jey Uso and Sami Zayn tried to help Solo Sikoa before the Brawling Brutes came down to even the odds. The six men brawled leaving Rey and Ricochet left in the ring. After some back-and-forth offense, Rey Mysterio connected with both the 619 and the 5-star frog splash to get the win. Mysterio winning is an interesting choice but him VS Gunther should be a lot of fun.
Grade: B+
Bray Wyatt returns to Friday Night SmackDown
Bray Wyatt came out to a brand-new entrance theme and the fireflies were out in force. Wyatt cut a promo from the heart and talked about how tough it’s been for him since he’s been away. It was really nice to hear from “the person” Bray Wyatt but before he could finish, the masked figure came over the titantron and issued the words “they don’t know who they are dealing with, but they will”. I’m very excited to see where this goes.
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