Cody Rhodes Starts the Show, Bobby Lashley VS Santos Escobar VS LA Knight: Undisputed WWE Championship Number 1 Contender’s Qualifying Match
Cody Rhodes arrived to kickstart this week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown and Cody went through the list of men that could potentially face him at Backlash. Honestly, there really wasn’t much to this other than the symbol of Rhodes being the new face of Friday Night SmackDown.
Grade: C+
The Bloodline were walking backstage before they realised that their old locker room now belongs to Cody Rhodes. Solo said he’d “make things right”. Santos Escobar then made it crystal clear that him and the rest of Legado Del Fantasma didn’t attack Dragon Lee last week before it was time for Escobar, Bobby Lashley, and LA Knight to face off in a Triple Threat match where the winner would advance to next week’s Number 1 Contender’s match (for the Undisputed WWE Championship). The action here was decent, it was nice to see Santos in this position, and it got a little bit chaotic when Legado and The Street Profits got involved. In the end, Knight was able to drop Escobar with the BFT to get the win, and I can now very much see a feud between Lashley and Escobar’s group’s going forward.
Grade: C+
A Shift in The Bloodline, Bron Breakker VS Cameron Grimes, Bayley Speaks, Naomi VS Tiffany Stratton, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven VS ?
Rey Mysterio talked himself up in a backstage interview before The Bloodline arrived as they had some business to attend to. Paul Heyman said it was about taking accountability for what happened on Sunday before Solo Sikoa stopped him and hinted he might take out either The Wiseman or his brother Jimmy Uso. In the end, he didn’t do either of those things, as Tama Tonga arrived and floored Jimmy instead. Solo then decided to get involved and hit not 1, not 2, but 3 Samoan Spikes to pretty much finish off his brother for good. Heyman then went to call Roman Reigns, but Sikoa stomped on his phone to make it clear that Reigns and Heyman don't have the power anymore. This was a great segment, and it looks like we might finally be going back to the dominant Sikoa that debuted in WWE, rather than the one who always loses (like he has been for the past 6 months). Great stuff from everyone involved, especially Paul Heyman.
Grade: B+
Bron Breakker was then out next as he took on Cameron Grimes in a literal squash match. Bron is really good so this works for him, but it’s a bit of a joke how poorly WWE have treated Grimes on the Main Roster. Like, Breakker-Grimes took place at NXT The Great American Bash in 2022, and unlike this one, that was actually a big deal.
Grade: C-
AJ Styles cut a really good video promo on his opponents Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio before Bayley arrived to conduct her first promo as the new WWE Women’s Champion. Bayley then said it was time for new opportunities which is when Tiffany Stratton came out, only for The Role Model to say she was talking to Naomi. After another great Bloodline segment backstage which makes me think Tama Tonga has a different “Tribal Chief” to Paul Heyman, it was time for a one-on-one match between Naomi and Tiffany Stratton. This was okay, but it did feel a bit clunky at parts. Tiffany definitely looked better here, but that ultimately meant she lost as Naomi scored the win via rollup. All of this could’ve been better.
Grade: C
A-Town Down Under had a really fun and well-done video package before Logan Paul also cut a good promo on both Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven were then booked in a Tag Team match against Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair, and I bet you can imagine how that went! Piper got in a bit of offense, but as soon as Cargill tagged in, Jade dropped Chelsea with one move before she scored the victory. I said this the other day, but this doesn’t work for me.
Grade: C
AJ Styles VS Kevin Owens VS Rey Mysterio: Undisputed WWE Championship Number 1 Contender’s Qualifying Match
After Kevin Owens cut a fun little promo where he walked into the arena with a Detroit Tigers Championship Title, it was Main Event time as KO, AJ Styles, and Rey Mysterio collided for the opportunity to face LA Knight in next week’s Undisputed WWE Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match. In-ring-wise, this was definitely the best stuff on the show, particularly the little sequences we got between AJ and KO. All three guys were able to bust out their big moves, but in the end, a mid-rope Styles Clash from AJ on Rey onto Owens was enough for The Phenomenal One to score the 3 count meaning it’s going to Styles-Knight 2 next week!
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