The Brawling Brutes kick off the show
Friday Night SmackDown kicked off with the Brawling Brutes and Drew McIntyre. Sheamus and Drew McIntyre talked about their 20 plus year rivalry before they said that they both have massive mutual respect for one another. Sami Zayn then came out and said that he doesn’t care about who the fifth member is and he can guarantee a win for the Bloodline at Survivor Series. Sheamus then told Zayn that you won’t see the fifth member coming. I thought this was solid and I liked the fact that they mentioned the rivalry’s that Sheamus and Drew have been in.
Grade: B-
SmackDown World Cup: Ricochet VS Mustafa Ali
Backstage, Ricochet questioned why Ali is risking his health for tonight’s matchup. Mustafa told Ricochet that as long as he can breath, he can compete. This match was good, both men are top tier talents in the wrestling world and some of the moves were great. Ali hit a backstabber onto Ricochet off the top rope which was crazy and Ricochet hit a suplex and a lariat onto Ali that turned the heart of 205 Live inside out. Also, the story in this match was great. Both guys have loads of respect for one another and Ricochet clearly didn’t want to harm Mustafa whilst Ali was in the mindset of doing whatever it takes to win. That was shown when he locked in the Koji Clutch, a move he adopted when he revealed himself as the leader of Retribution. In the end, Ali missed the 450 splash and Ricochet managed to hit an awesome standing shooting start to get the win and advance to the World Cup semi finals. The two fist bumped after the match before they walked off together. Two great wrestlers who told a fantastic story.
Grade: B+
SmackDown’s tag teams, Karrion Kross VS Madcap Moss
Jey Uso was backstage complaining at Sami Zayn for what he said in his earlier promo. Jimmy then told Sami he needs to chill out before he told Jey to stop worrying about the Honorary Uce. The New Day were then backstage and they talked about how it’s been a sad time for them as they have now lost their tag team title reign record. Imperium then came up to them and told them that they are what is wrong with their great sport. Imperium then accepted the New Day’s challenge for a six man tag team match later on in the night. Emma was then backstage and she gave Madcap Moss some advice for how he should take on Karrion Kross. Moss then said he was looking for revenge on Karrion Kross but to be honest, that didn’t really happen. He looked good in this match but as soon as Scarlett pulled out any sort of distractions/interference, Karrion Kross locked in the Kross Jacket to get the win. Emma ran down afterwards to check on Madcap so I’m assuming we are going to get a mixed tag team match later down the line. Another good win for Kross.
Grade: C+
Bray Wyatt and LA Knight, Shotzi VS Shayna Baszler
Bray Wyatt came out to the ring and apologised to LA Knight for attacking him last week. The megastar came out and talked about respect before he slapped Bray Wyatt in the face. He then said they are even and the two can move on. Bray Wyatt then held his hand-out for a handshake but Knight slapped him again. On the titantron behind Knight, Uncle Howdy appeared. Bray Wyatt knows what his character is and I really like the fact that LA Knight thinks he’s a bigger star than Bray. It makes lots of sense given who he is.
Grade: B-
Karrion Kross was then walking backstage before the Usos came up to him and asked if Karrion was going to be the fifth man in the War Games match. Kross said he’s not a follower and when he comes to take Roman’s titles, he’ll do it on his own time. In the background, Bray Wyatt was annoyed. After this, it was time for a match between the number 1 contender to the SmackDown Women’s Championship Shotzi and the Submission Magician Shayna Baszler. Baszler was in control for most of this match and whenever Shotzi did get in control, Ronda Rousey would always interfere. In the end, Raquel Rodriguez came out and this distraction allowed Shotzi to get the Rollup win. In the end, neither one of these women should have lost so it was never going to be particually great. Raquel coming out was cool though as she is someone who can genuinely beat Rousey.
Grade: C
LA Knight gets laid out, Imperium VS The New Day and Braun Strowman
LA Knight cut a promo and after we came back from an ad break, he was seen completely decimated under lots of different things. This showed why you don’t mess with Bray Wyatt. After this, Imperium came out for their tag team match with the New Day. Kofi and Xavier came out before it was revealed that their tag team partner was none other than Braun Strowman. This match was ok, the bits between Imperium and the New Day were good but I didn’t get what was going on between Gunther and Braun Strowman. Why was the former UK Champion scared off Braun Strowman, it really doesn’t make much sense. I’m pretty sure this was just a set up for after Strowman wins the SmackDown World Cup. In the end, the New Day got the win with their tag team finisher that isn’t the Midnight Hour!
Grade: C+
SmackDown World Cup: Butch VS Sami Zayn, the fifth member gets revealed
The Main Event of Friday Night SmackDown saw Canada’s Sami Zayn take on England’s Butch. This match was alright, the two worked well together but there was so much going on on the outside. In the end, Sami Zayn looked on top but Jey Uso was then thrown in the ring. That then allowed Butch to get the rollup for a surprise victory that sees him face the Emperor of Lucha Libre in next week’s World Cup Semi Final. After this, the 8-men brawled before Roman Reigns’ music hit and on the 10 year anniversary of Roman’s debut in WWE, he managed to take out the Brutes and Drew McIntyre without breaking sweat. However, that changed when Kevin Owens’ music hit and the Prizefighter came down to the ring. Like Roman, he took everyone out before he stood face to face with his old rival. Sami then faced off with Owens which allowed Reigns to rock KO with a superman punch but as he went for the spear, Owens reversed it into the Stunner to the shock of the Honorary Uce. We then got the shot of the five faces staring down the Bloodline to fully confirm who is entering War Games at Survivor Series.
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