The Bloodline kick-off SmackDown, The Usos VS Hit Row: Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships
Roman Reigns and the Bloodline kicked off the show and Paul Heyman talked about how it’s going to be a big few weeks for everyone in the Bloodline. Roman Reigns then talked about how he is going to beat John Cena and Kevin Owens “cause that’s what he does”. Sami Zayn then cut a passionate promo where he made it clear that Kevin Owens holds him back. This was another great promo from Sami Zayn who has performed at such a high level in 2022. As for Roman Reigns, he is so good at the role he plays.
Grade: B
The Usos stayed in the ring to defend their Undisputed Tag Team Championships against Hit Row. This was an alright match, but I was surprised with how much offense Hit Row got in. Ashante “Thee” Adonis looks pretty decent but I don’t rate Top Dolla as a top-level talent. In the end, Top Dolla’s knee went on him and this allowed the Usos to hit the 1D to retain. Hopefully, the Usos will face more believable challengers at the Royal Rumble.
Grade: C
SmackDown Women’s Championship Number 1 Contenders Gauntlet
Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser made it quite clear that they weren’t happy about the main event of SmackDown being a “Miracle on 34th Street Fight”. After this, it was time for a gauntlet match where the winner would earn a shot at Ronda Rousey for next week's show. Emma and Xia Li kicked off the match and after about 2 minutes, Xia Li picked up the win after hitting the Cyclone Kick. Tegan Nox was next to enter the match and she was looking for revenge after Xia Li cost her tag team gold last week. These two had a better match but it was still pretty short and Li got the win after hitting the Cyclone Kick again. I’ll be honest, I’ve not been impressed with how Tegan Nox has been booked since she’s returned. Raquel Rodriguez was next out and she was still wearing her metal elbow brace (how is that legal). It definitely helped her because she was able to pick up the win to eliminate Xia. Liv Morgan was next to enter and the two babyfaces had the best “match” of the gauntlet. They hit some decent moves and Rodriguez picked up the win after hitting the Chingona Bomb. Sonya Deville was the final entrant in the match and she didn’t prove to be too much of a problem as Rodriguez picked her up and pulled out the victory with another Chingona Bomb. However, Ronda Rousey came out and said that Rodriguez had one more person to face and that person was none other than Shayna Baszler. Again, this didn’t seem to bother Raquel as she managed to pick up the win with a roll-up. I actually thought this match was alright until the end. If Shayna’s going to come out, she has to win. Yes, it makes Raquel look like a badass but it just makes Baszler look rubbish. Raquel will also most likely lose to Rousey next week.
Grade: C
Bray Wyatt snaps, Rey Mysterio VS Angel
Bray Wyatt did his long entrance to the ring before he asked for an apology from LA Knight. He then joked about the crowd believing it was him who attacked Knight before something changed in him. All of a sudden, Wyatt attacked the cameraman and laid him out with the Mandible claw. I thought this was alright, the segment was shorter than the entrance which isn’t great but I liked how he suddenly snapped. I really want him to get some people around him though.
Grade: C+
After this, Rey Mysterio made his return to Friday Night SmackDown to take on Angel of Los Lotharios. This was a short match that was done for the crowd to be entertained by the Legendary Luchador. He did all of his trademark stuff and he ended up picking up the win with a nice-looking DDT. I like Angel, I think he’s pretty decent and hopefully, Los Lotharios will get a decent amount of TV time in the future. Also, it’s worth noting that Karrion Kross and Scarlett were watching the match from the crowd.
Grade: C
Braun Strowman and Ricochet responded to Imperium’s comments from earlier on in the night by saying that they were going to show them who’s the best. Karrion Kross and Scarlett were then walking backstage before Emma came up to them and questioned why they were showing so much disrespect to both Mysterio and “Riddick”. Scarlett then said something the Aussie didn’t like so she decided to slap her. Karrion Kross managed to hold Scarlett back before he sent a message to Emma. This was alright, a mix-tag match could be interesting. John Cena got an awesome video package that was a good 5 minutes long before another video aired of Lacey Evans training in the military. I like Evans but this is about the 70th video package I have seen of her in the past year.
Miracle on 34th Street Fight: Braun Strowman and Ricochet VS Imperium
The main event of the final wrestling show before Christmas saw Braun Strowman and Ricochet team up to take on Imperium’s Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. Usually, these matches are filled with fun spots but this time, it was filled with ridiculous moments. After Giovanni Vinci had been busted open by a punch from Strowman, he managed to get his revenge by dropping a Christmas tree onto him. Vinci and Kaiser then opened a box and then all of a sudden, a ballerina came out and started to dance before she just left. Imperium then decided to open the other box and the New Day came out of it dressed as Nutcrackers. Imperium and the crowd seemed a bit confused and then the NXT Tag Team Champions decided to low blow because they can. Then, Braun Strowman picked up a lifeless Ricochet and held up some mistletoe before ring announcer Samantha Irvin kissed her real-life partner. It must be true love as Ricochet woke up and picked up the win with an assisted splash. The whole point of these matches are to give the crowd and the WWE fans something to smile about before Christmas. It definitely did that.
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